What The Future Has In Store
Time… it's nothing, but a word. The future, now that's something that everypony cares about. They dream about it and put effort into making it better. They say time flies when you're having fun. If that's the case, then why do ponies still think that the future is so far away?
Technically speaking, the past is so close to the present that it practically is the present, and the future is merely seconds away, so by that logic, shouldn't everypony just live in the moment? Why dwell on past mistakes and future promises? Why... well that's up to the mind to figure out.
So many ponies plan the future, but the future is always. It can be a year from now or even a nanosecond away. The future is unpredictable, it can't simply be planned. Everything can change in an instant. Dreams can be crushed, hearts can be broken and hopes can be shattered. Why is the future considered to be so spectacular when it also comes with pain?
The future can change a pony. You could grow up and become the opposite of what you expected. The plans you put work into can fade away into nothingness. Time does that to ponies.
Nopony expects that the future won't be what you planned. They choose to focus on their goals and are oblivious to the life around them and the cruel world that they live in. The future is never what you expect it to be… it's much worse.
I make my checklist for tomorrow. Study, write a letter to the princess, practice those new spells that I read about... the usual. I look up at the clock. 5:00 PM right on the muzzle. The day has already come and gone and all I've done is read. Just like I do every other day.
Sometimes I wonder if Spike even likes working here. He could explore the world and leave this boring life filled with the same routine each day. I occasionally let my mind drift off, so I can think about what it would be like if I'd done something different with my life.
Trust me, I love my friends. I love Ponyville, the library and everypony who helped me become what I am today, but each day is still filled with the same thing over and over again. It seems like every conversation I have is just slightly different than the last one.
This just isn't what I though life would be like. I wanted to reach for the stars and, well according to my cutie mark I did, but I always assumed that when I finally reached the end of the rainbow there would be a pot of gold. I got pyrite instead. At first glance it may appear to be gold, but in the end it's just a common mineral.
I get up from my seat at the desk and walk over to the couch in the living room. I look out the window and see the sun just starting to set. I allow myself to get caught up in the moment and just stare at the sky.
Somepony knocks at my door, thus pulling me from my time of solitude and peace. I get up and prepare to tell them that the library is closed when the knocking gets louder and have more desperation to them. I speed up my walk and open the door.
A very familiar face greets me. She is an alicorn with a lavender coat, violet eyes and a mane consisting of blue, purple and pink. The pony standing at my door is no other than I, Twilight Sparkle, though the sadness in her eyes and the wings tell me that something is amiss. Well, something is definitely amiss when I see myself as another pony, the others are just icing on the cake.
She steps into my home without asking and sits down. She pats the seat next to her, gesturing that she would like me to sit down as well.
I sit down warily and look into her eyes, waiting for this whole situation to be explained. "Hello." It's so simple. I didn`t expect something as casual as saying hello.
"Hello. Pardon me for asking, but do I refer to you as Twilight or perhaps another name?" She smiles slightly and precedes to answer my inquiry.
"You may call me Princess Twilight Star Sparkle or just simply Princess to make it easier." She puts her foreleg on my shoulder and then inhales deeply. I don't like where this is going. She's far too nervous to be here only to tell me positive things. "I have to tell you about your future and my present. I know that you have many questions, as would I at your age, but there are pressing matters that must be discussed."
"Princess Sparkle, you have my full attention. Please, I must know what's happening and why you've come back in time to visit me."
"Well, Twilight, life isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Things aren't always as they seem. This is also true with ponies. I will start by telling you my past, your future.
Nearly two hundred years ago I was you, the mare that you see in the mirror each day. I was a great student and I had the elements of harmony by my side.
One night, I read up on Starswirl the Bearded and found one of his unfinished spells. I read it aloud and it affected our friends. Their cutie marks swapped and they were different people, luckily I was not affected. After finding the cause of the problem and reversing it, I fixed Starswirl's spell. Princess Celestia praised me for this and gave me the honor of becoming a princess.
I was so happy, I would finally go down in history as one of the greatest unicorns and now alicorns as well. I had said that everything would be just fine the day of my coronation. I expected a perfect, happy life. I never knew the downfall of fame and of being a princess. I was shipped off to Canterlot and forced to work constantly. Everyday was full of meetings and nopony treated me like Twilight anymore. I was just a princess.
Our parents died nearly a year or two after the coronation, it was heartbreaking. I loved them so much and they were so dear to my heart. I still can't believe that they`re gone.
I rarely got to see our friends. But, when I did, I cherished our time. After years of this the others had begun to age. While they were slowly preparing to leave this world, I was still the young mare I once was. I had become immortal. I never realized how unfair life could be. Each friend died. I was at each of their death beds and I went to every funeral. It was devastating. I never thought that I could be happy again.
I had Spike though, so I clung to him for happiness and support. He ages slower than ponies. Shining Armor died a few years later and it was harder than almost every other death. He was my BBBFF. Apparently it wasn't meant to literally last forever.
Spike, sadly, was still not immune to fatality just like the others. He died while sleeping one night. I knew because he never came down for breakfast, I had made gem pancakes, his favorite. I had Celestia, Cadence and Luna, but they were busy and they seemed as though their minds were someplace else whenever I spoke to them. I fell back into my old routine. Each day I wake up, shower, eat breakfast, go to scheduled meetings, do paperwork, occasionally visit my subjects, eat once more and go to bed.
I've suffered without our parents for around one hundred ninety eight years, our friends and Shining Armor for about one hundred fifty years and Spike has been gone for nearly seventy five years. I have no place to turn and I have no time to be myself. I don't even have time to read anymore. Life has been so cruel." She was crying so hard that she could no longer speak. I could almost literally see her pain because it was so immense.
I put a hoof up to my eyes and felt that I too had been crying. My heart aches, but not medically. I don't know how to explain it. I feel as though I have drowned in my sorrows.
I look into her eyes and see the despair. It's strong and still on the surface. I don't believe that it will ever fade. "I don't know what to say. That's just so terrible! I- I can't imagine going through that! And I don't want to! DON'T LET IT HAPPEN TO ME! PLEASE! PLEASE! I don't want to be alone! Please! Please. Please..." She puts a foreleg on my shoulder.
"Don't cry Twilight. You can't change the future. Even if you don`t perform the spell you will still become a princess in time. I'm just simply preparing you. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't let yourself dwell on the past. Don't stick to the same schedule. Force yourself to spend time with ponies. Find somepony to love, somepony to have by your side. They too will leave, but you can't simply shut out the world as I have." I throw myself into her embrace and cry hysterically.
Once I finally stop crying I say something important to her. "I will stay strong. I will make the future better. I'll cherish everypony around me. I will smile even when I feel sad because I must live in the present. Also, thank you for warning me. I'm going to miss you Princess Twilight Star Sparkle, but I won't shed another tear because I will see you soon, every time I look in the mirror." She smiles at me and walks out the door with a small smile creeping up her mouth. She spreads her wings and takes off into the twilight.
I walk over to my desk and look at my boring checklist. "I couldn't be more grateful for having this same old checklist. I mustn't worry about the future. The present is now."
I can't prevent this pain and I don't want to endure it, but I would never be a princess if Celestia didn't think that I deserved it. I must accept the future for what it is. It's my destiny.