After a disruption in her family, Ribbon Wishes is forced to take a second look at the life she has accepted.
Ribbon's family is anything but normal. They are a family of fortune tellers, living at the edge of society. That is the life Ribbon has known. Ponies accept their power but think of them as amusing or quaint. But what happens when a member of that family can't abide by their traditions? What if her destiny simply doesn't match up? Could it even coexist with her family?
It was a lovely start to the spring season. It was so bright out that nopony dared to waste away inside. Ponies and animals alike were tired of sleeping in during winter and always made up by going outside and running on the new grass or swimming in the rivers. They all had their own places to go and the road to town was a busy place again. Ribbon Wishes was one of them that used it. But she looked at the world somewhat differently. She always had. And what made all the ponies happy on that spring day weighed her heart and her displeasure came out in her sighs. Earlier, she had opened the window to her room in her family’s cottage, and the light made her eyes squint to the point of tears. She knew that she was wrong. She was going to town again despite her own predictions. If anything, nature and the weather ponies seemed fit to spite her. If she wanted a heavy rain, they would give the brightest of all days with not a cloud in the sky.
Her sisters were laughing as usual and having a good time. Sometimes Ribbon had to be compelled to join. Other times, she was the loudest among them. It depended on whether she wanted to distract herself from her humdrum life. Reminiscing had that effect. Whenever she could remember how things were before her cutie mark, she was happier. Back then, she loved to smile every day, especially if she saw the sunrise. But it was so long ago, the sisters being completely different ponies. Their voices sang about young things even while harvesting vegetables or gathering water by the stream to wash clothes. All that was simple and a cutie mark never did anything but make things complicated. She seldom found herself singing or even whistling the old tunes anymore. She would rather be silent and would often come up with excuses as to why she wouldn’t talk. As on any normal day, her sisters together pulled the family wagon into town while Ribbon herself paced behind. The chatter of Glitter Wishes and Crystal Wishes could be heard over the creaking wagon, the old bubbling brook or even the whistle of trains pulling into the town station. It was definitely one of her quiet days.
Another pair of mares that were looking curiously at the wagon passed by on the right. Ribbon was deep in thought and didn’t see them but it caught more than her sister’s eye.
“I can see you back there, Ribbon, but I can’t hear you. Those were two mares you let pass by without so much as a word!” Crystal scolded. After looking her in the eye, Ribbon felt her face flush and she hunched her shoulders while muttering a quick apology. Her sister huffed and returned to their conversation about what perfume they wanted to buy or whatever materialistic nonsense was on their minds.
Crystal redefined the meaning of having eyes in the back of one’s head. No pony, as far as Ribbon knew, had ever snuck up on her even at night. It was one reason why none of the foals used to come and play hide and seek with her. But that came with the territory for a family overflowing with perception. And for all that, Ribbon couldn’t tell whether it would be sunny or not the next day. Her sisters knew and that’s why she was stuck passing out flyers yet again to random ponies on the way to a small space reserved for their shop. Ribbon would have liked to pull the cart and focus on the road ahead but the only harnesses they had fit her shorter sisters. They were stout with thick necks and cheeks so round that it would seem like they’re always happy. Their mother, Lavender Wishes, told her that she was always the approachable one, being that she was tall and lean. Ribbon never really understood what she meant by that but she couldn’t argue since ponies seemed to relax in her presence. In no time, their mouths would loosen and they would grin or even giggle when they wouldn’t with Crystal.
Ribbon passed out a few flyers until they reached town square. It’s a wide open space with town hall right in the middle where shops of all kinds ringed around it. Everything from the store that sold peppermint drops to the shop owned by her own unicorn family where fortunes were read for a modest fee. Some in the big cities charged a small fortune for one’s fortune. Still, for outsiders, the family business had always been seen as an oddity even for a town like Ponyville, an oddball in its own right.
Her two sisters stopped the wagon at their plot and walked around it to open the back gate. Ribbon gazed at the royal castle in the distance. In the morning sun, the light sparkled off the grand star at its very top. She could picture the spacious halls and admire the freedom her princess had with it. A pony like her could fly wherever she wished and would never have to ask another soul for permission.
“It would be nice if you would come here and help instead of giving a blank stare at that garish castle,” Glitter said, sneering. She was pulling a heavy pole from the back of the cart.
Ribbon turned around and returned to the wagon. “Oh…I’m sorry. I know I’m not on the ball today,” she said humbly. Even with her head lowered, she was still taller than her older sisters; the only one with an athletic body in her family. She still did it anyway, even if they hardly noticed her humility.
“What’s with you and that castle anyway?” Crystal said. She chortled as usual in her own judgmental way. “It’s not like you’ll ever get a chance to go in. You know, royalty and all.” Her sisters were the sort to amuse themselves with their own words. They surely thought that they had the world figured out. As they set up the tents, Ribbon was willing to offer a token attempt at a smile in reply to their constant jabs against royalty or even the princesses. At least then, she might fit in. Ribbon never thought they were funny but she understood where her family and others like them were coming from. Royalty had a bit of a bad history with fortune tellers. Ribbon remembered hearing about it from a young age and was always reminded of it ever since.
Even with her mind distracted, Ribbon easily finished ahead of her sisters. Her blue tent had fabric walls that flapped and ruffled in the breeze and a pointy top that ended in a small pennant. At least she enjoyed that part even if it was just leading her into what had always numbed her spirit. The signs were set up around each of their tents, telling ponies that the shops were open. But Ribbon didn’t think much of her own fortune. If she had to describe it, she might call it bleak.
Glitter came when Ribbon wasn’t looking and pulled her closer with one arm on her shoulder. A jejune smile grew on Glitter’s full lips, the same kind when she wanted to give some patronizing talk. Her hoof touched Ribbon’s cheek and she scrunched her face reflexively. Glitter’s hooves were always glazed with a polish laced with something that gave it a silvery sparkle. Her cutie mark on her flank was an image of a large crystal ball, or orbs of fate as the family once called them, and three glints of light around it as if it were a constellation.
“You know we always love you dear, even when you’re lost in your silly little world. We just got to get you back on track every now and then,” she said. Ribbon thought that Glitter always sounded so sweet when her words were nothing but vapid excrement. Although, she just had that way with her voice. With her, even bad news could sound cheerful. It was either very silly or very annoying. Ribbon wished that she would tone it down.
“Thanks. I’ll be mindful,” Ribbon replied, nodding meekly. She gave a half-hearted pat on Glitter’s soft back even though being talked to like that didn’t make her feel close.
“Remember that we’re all being counted on,” Crystal mentioned seriously. She made sure to bring that up once a day like it was her motto. She had her dark green robe slung over her back. It was monogrammed with her initials in gold, something she didn’t earn overnight. For what it was worth, she wasn’t just the oldest; she was essentially their boss when they were at work.
Those two slipped into their tents. Ribbon tugged her own felt robe from her bag. It was soft, the color of the night sky. Unlike her sisters, Ribbon never thought that she looked very good in her robe. It felt restrictive, tight around her shoulders and neck to the point where she couldn’t move in it comfortably. Sighing, she gave one last look at the castle before going in. She half-hoped to see the princess bolt like an eagle from one of her upper windows and go soaring off on some adventure. She always wished that her sisters would be more open minded about ponies like the princess but she knew that it would never be easy. Years back, Ribbon listened to Crystal tell a story of the time Prince Blueblood, a member of royalty in the capital, supposedly had his carriage obliviously splash muddy water all over her while flying down the street. She would always say that all royalty was like him even if they pretended to be different.
Ribbon sat down at her chair and placed her crystal ball on the center of her round table. The smell from a few candles wafted in the air, lending to the general ambiance. It smelled like spices. The ponies that came in liked that since it reminded them of exotic things and they sure loved the appeal, the strangeness, of fortune telling. That made one of them. Ribbon sure didn’t see anything exotic in her family’s craft. She could make the candles herself and they were nothing special. The balls had been passed down for generations and a whole bunch were still lying around in the attic from the days of Star Wishes, Pearl Wishes….one generation after the other. Pearl had an opaque ball described as the size of a foal’s skull. If the stories were true, she had a fondness of implying how ponies were going to die. None of that was something Ribbon liked to remember. A few things were so disturbing that it would give Ribbon nightmares. A hundred years ago, Dream Wishes was said to have the power to see into ponies’ dreams, a clairvoyance that the princess of the night wouldn’t have liked if she had been around then. Ribbon only wondered what he could have done to mess with ponies. Did he ever try to manipulate lives?
Twenty minutes later, Ribbon was leaning into the table with her hooves pressed in her cheeks. Fortune telling was boring as it was but the wait was arguably worse. She could have dozed off if somepony hadn’t finally come to her tent. The pony with a light green scarf tied haphazardly around her neck peeked inside and Ribbon waved her in. It was her first visitor of the day so she started with her routine.
“Welcome to my tent of secrets! Do you wish to reveal your fate?” She always had to do it the way she first learned how. There was a little bit of bated breath. Half dramatic and half mysterious to lure in newcomers and intrigue those that had questions they wanted answered.
The pony was Cheerilee, a mare from town. She always had a beaming smile but hers was dull that morning. It took a few seconds for her to go and sit down. She didn’t even take off her accessories like most did when entering. She tapped her hooves together like she didn’t know what to do with them. They looked unkempt, scratched and scuffed up as if used to plow fields all day. Ribbon thought it was strange. She was a regular spa lover and none of it was like her.
“Before we begin, I ask that you close your eyes and take a deep breath,” Ribbon implored. She mimicked the actions to show her what to do. Usually, patrons liked the ritual of hearing their own heartbeat before hearing their fortune told. It prevented them from being too nervous or excited. But for Ribbon, she just wanted enough time to think. When Cheerilee had calmed, Ribbon opened her eyes.
She knew the mare well enough like she knew most of the townsfolk. She was a teacher. She taught youth about the nature of the world. When it came to ponies, things always clicked in Ribbon’s mind like a puzzle being put together in the dark. Cheerilee didn’t do field work and probably only got a paper cut or two to mar her perfect coat. It means she was doing something to her hoof. Maybe biting on it? Ribbon wondered what a teacher would even be doing walking into a place like hers unless she had a question that couldn’t be found in a book. At that point, Ribbon was pretty sure she found all the pieces and they were pretty huge. She wasn’t even told a single word. And for what it was worth, getting to that point was one thing she actually looked forward to. It pleased her to figure out those ponies’ problems well before it was presented.
Ribbon reached over and patted the mare’s hoof. “Let’s begin,” she said.
It was always the same. Ribbon would lead with a few simple questions, usually about emotions. It got ponies in the mood to talk. Then she followed through with her so-called “predictions” and so on. She couldn’t just blurt them out even if she figured out the answer. It would raise questions and sometimes, she did need it if she didn’t figure things out right away. It always gave her an edge. During their talks, Ribbon could easily tell if she was getting warmer by studying the eyes and movements of her patrons. They were so easy to read. And those two eyes told volumes about a fascination for the local farm stallion, the one that Ribbon always saw Cheerilee together with so often. She was the only one she ever gave that look towards. A soft undertone of love was waiting in them, waiting to be released. If marriage was in her future then when? Ribbon just consulted her crystal ball…or in her case just thought for a few more seconds, closing her eyes as if meditating. Occasionally using magic to make the ball glow. Was it Big Macintosh that she spotted sneaking over to the jeweler last week? Didn’t the jeweler get his deliveries next Sunday? Then she remembered the beautiful meteor shower that was mentioned in the paper. It was all starting to form a picture in her mind.
When Cheerilee left, she looked so happy to hear her “fortune” being read. It was like her life force was recharged with hope. She gladly paid the 25 bits. Ribbon guessed that she could look forward to a lovely proposal next Monday for sure. She usually enjoyed that part as much as the patron did. Seeing a look of surprise or delight when they were really anticipating something special. But they came less often than one would think. It was mostly the mundane that stepped in her tent but at least they came and went fast enough. A certain patron made things far more difficult. The ones from out of town, with personalities she had never met. Ribbon could never see them coming and just one would put her on guard for the entire day. When one of them did come, she had to pretend that she wasn’t feeling well and would pass them on to her sisters. If she lived in some big city, her whole charade would just fall apart. In a small town, Everypony knowing each other was the only way her plan could work. She never took it for granted and always listened carefully. According to word of mouth, that attracted a far more diverse set of patrons. It sure pleased Crystal too.
Sometime later, Ribbon was waiting to be seen. Traffic was actually down so she passed some time by playing a solo card game on the table. It didn’t look like she was going to win so she was glad when a pony disturbed the curtain, breaking the boredom. The sight of a familiar purple head and clean cut mane caused her to shift her weight, nearly knocking the table over and spilling cards to the floor.
“Oh, Princess Twilight,” she started. She didn’t even bother with her routine and hastily cleaned her mess.
“Please, no need to be formal,” Twilight said with a smile. She really did have the most approachable of smiles that beckoned even the coldest ponies to open up. “I hope you’re between customers at the moment. I was hoping to come and speak to you.”
Ribbon would never reject her princess and friend. She urged Twilight to go and sit down.
“I went to your sisters but when they saw me, they said that they were far too busy and couldn’t possibly talk to me today,” Twilight told her. She seemed curious about it.
“You went to my sisters?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t spoken to Crystal and um…Glitter for a while but I guess they just couldn’t find the time for anypony else.” Twilight then hovered her muzzle above Ribbon’s crystal ball. “I like this one. Plain…just like I would like it if I were a fortune teller…I guess.” She giggled at the silly suggestion.
“Well, it does sound like you,” Ribbon agreed. That was more than a mere comment. Ribbon knew about Twilight’s fondness for being inconspicuous. She couldn’t recall if Twilight wore her crown or even a simple sash since her coronation. If she had, she hadn’t seen it in a newspaper. Even before then, she would hardly do anything to draw attention to herself. If Ribbon didn’t know any better, she would think that Twilight hadn’t changed at all. The mare even kept her wings folded nearly all the time. Sometimes, she thought that there may be something behind that.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Twilight said, putting her head down on her hoof.
“What do you mean?”
“Well…about your sisters. I like them but I know that we’ve never really had much in common. I guess that’s why we don’t know a lot about each other. Since they’re busy, I am hoping that perhaps you can take their place and help me with some matter.”
Ribbon honestly had wished that her sisters were not so stubborn when it came to royalty. This was the case where their skills in fortune telling could have come into play. Ribbon didn’t like the sound of it. It had to have been about some kind of future event Twilight wanted to know about. She was always worrying about it in some way. Trying to keep it under her control like she could tame her own destiny. But she wouldn’t get Crystal’s sharp angled ball that she used to see the clearest of fortunes nor Glitter’s ability to use glitter to determine whether a future would be good or bad. Ribbon had never bothered to ask how that worked. Twilight was going to put her faith in a ball that was useless in her hooves. And as much as Ribbon wanted to, she couldn’t pass Twilight off to Crystal. She would never turn her friend away either without having heard something.
“Uh…go right ahead, Twilight,” Ribbon said. She swallowed heavily and her throat felt course. She saw quite the challenge ahead. She had no idea what Twilight was going to bring up. What does a princess even worry about? And it had to be that Twilight herself always kept her feelings close at hoof. Some ponies like Fluttershy could hardly even talk about their opinions of food they get at a restaurant without their cheeks flushing. But Twilight could look the same no matter what unless a test was involved and the only test was being taken by Ribbon herself. Actually, every day in that tent was like a test.
Twilight looked cool, even comfortable, in the tent despite her having had clashed with the idea of the “supernatural” as it were. Ribbon did hear that she had gotten over much of her distaste of it in the past year or so and besides, it was a conversation between friends more than between a fortune teller and her patron. Twilight talked for nearly half an hour about what was going on with her and Ribbon needed every second. She tried to prod the princess for as much as possible. It was about a stallion named Flash Sentry which lived all the way in the Crystal Empire. Despite using words like “careful examination” and “hypothesis”, Twilight clearly had issues she needed discussed. The colt she liked was coming to town that very night.
And while she spoke, Ribbon was thinking so fast that her head was heating up. It always looked bad to not have something to say nearly right away. There were lots of factors to take into account. A colt she never heard of much less met. A city she wasn’t familiar with. Worst of all, Ribbon has never seen Twilight interested in colts before. It was not like Ribbon thought the mare was asexual but even the idea of an educated guess was going to be a huge stretch. She felt like her mind was being choked. Out of her insecurity, she didn’t know what to pick. “Well, I guess that’s it,” Twilight said, giggling lightly. She must have thought that talking about relationships was a cute novelty but Ribbon could feel a headache coming on.
“Let me consult my crystal ball,” Ribbon whispered. She closed her eyes and pressed her hooves against the sides of her head. Her pulse rushed faster than normal. She was worried that Twilight would somehow catch on to something but instead she just sat there eagerly awaiting her fortune. Everything was telling Ribbon that she couldn’t make it work. She just didn’t know Twilight as a princess. Or did that even matter? She didn’t have enough time. In a few seconds, she had to have an answer. Any answer.
After the long day, all three sisters packed up their tents and got ready to move out towards home past the outskirts of town. They managed to meet their quota so Crystal was rather content. She hoped that Lavender would have a pineapple cake ready and waiting.
Glitter complained as usual about her hooves and back aching as they trudged along the road with the cart in tow. She was the one that liked manual labor the least. Ribbon was lying in the cart amongst the materials. She would normally be taking a short nap but that day, she couldn’t manage to doze off. Instead, she stared back as the town shrunk in the distance, her hooves dangling over the gate. Some of the castle caught a red hue from the sunset. But she couldn’t even enjoy that. Her mind still reeled from Twilight’s visit. She was so unfocused that she couldn’t think about anything other than what could happen. She knew that no matter what she said, Twilight wasn’t the sort to hold a grudge. But what if she was wrong? The thought of it was why she had tried to refuse payment from the princess. But so adamant was she, that the gold was practically forced upon her. Twilight even hurried out to avoid further protest, galloping away at full speed.
So Ribbon could be worrying over nothing. At least nothing she had any control over in the end. The only thing that begun to ease her mind was the sight of the old cottage. It was a two story house made of stone and surrounded by oak trees. The scent of pond water and the woods greeted them. Ribbon jumped out from the wagon as it was returned to its shelter near the animal stables. She had always lived on her family’s land and as far as she believed, she always would. But that wasn’t so bad. It was theirs for several generations and it was meant for her and her sisters. The land wasn’t something that ever needed to change. One look, and anypony would fall in love.
The three of them walked to the front door.
“I’ve been waiting to eat all day,” Glitter whined. Ribbon knew that she needed to be fed soon or she was liable to throw a tantrum. The mare was already beginning to sweat and her face looked almost pained.
“As long as you clean your hooves first, I don’t care if you eat yourself sick,” Crystal said.
Glitter burst inside and rushed to the washroom. Ribbon smiled amusingly. She would rather take her time settling down. She went to her bedroom to set aside her saddlebag where her crystal ball and robe were put away. She turned and glanced at her full body mirror. She saw her cutie mark. The ribbon tied in a bow behind a crystal ball. She had it since childhood and it remained just as bright, affixed to her fur. Nopony else she ever heard of had willed a cutie mark into existence. Even she didn’t call it a ‘cutie mark’ at first. Inking one’s fur was nothing special. But with everypony else believing it, then it became just as real as anypony else’s. Bu Ribbon usually didn’t look at it because it stared back, a stranger she couldn’t welcome into her heart. It was all fake. A fake cutie mark, a fake talent, and fake predictions.
Her mother called her from downstairs and she hurried to dinner. She thought that if she bit down on the cake and it turned out to be plastic, she would have deserved it.
Ribbon mostly forgot about the princess visiting her. A week passed quickly with work and daily life a blur. She went shopping, planted flowers and cooked meals with Lavender. The two were in the middle of knitting sweaters for the winter when Crystal stormed in the house. She was in such a fluster that she didn’t even bother wiping her hooves on the mat.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Lavender said, frowning. She stood and put the unfinished garment down. Her cutie mark was a stalk of lavender sprouting from a crystal ball. It looked nice against her light violet fur.
Ribbon sighed. “Don’t you always have a problem with the world?”
Her older sister suddenly scowled. She normally did that when criticized or when something’s gotten under her skin. “Ribbon! I have no time for your absurd childishness!” she spat. Ribbon felt heat rising in her face and she was preparing for a huge shouting match but her mother moved as fast as ever. Any frayed nerves were soon calmed, at least temporarily. They both knew that one small shush from their mother was enough to quiet any room; the sound from a mare that knew when to intervene. She had such perception as to be able to tell what emotions a pony had at any given moment. When she used to do fortune telling, she could do more than foretell an event. She could predict love, embarrassment, pain, and hate. Nopony could lie to her either unless they could do it with no emotion which most would call impossible.
Their mother may have pacified things but Crystal refrained from sitting and kept pacing around, refusing to even let their mother touch her.
“I haven’t seen you so worked up in years. Maybe not since you first started at the shop,” Lavender said.
“Maybe because I’ve never seen anything this bad in all those years,” Crystal replied dejectedly. Ribbon noticed that Crystal’s eye lining was smudged. It was a sobering thought that something bothered her so much that she might have cried. She even started to feel a bit guilty about her lack of tact earlier.
Glitter came down the stairs. She was in the middle of redoing her hooves and had her tan colored hair tied together. Usually she left it free and decorated with huge glass beads.
“What is going on down here?” she inquired.
“I guess you better all see for yourselves,” Crystal said, huffing. She gave a copy of the newspaper from her saddlebag to Glitter. Her bag had an emblem of her cutie mark on it. Three angular crystal balls in a triangle pattern.
Glitter started to recite the article plastered on the front page, the title in black blocky letters. A ROYAL AFFAIR. They called it a scandal. Ribbon had never heard of anything like it in her entire life. As Glitter kept reading, Ribbon felt dizzy. It was all too unreal. She had no idea that it was against the law for royal guards to enter into a relationship with royalty. When the part came about the poor colt being dismissed from the guard, Ribbon wanted to vomit. She knew it was all her fault. The next part practically stole the breath from everypony except Crystal. Not only did the town know about the relationship but they knew that Twilight had gotten her advice from the Wishes family fortune tellers. They even mentioned Ribbon by name. She felt hot as if there was a literal spotlight shining upon her.
“We’ll never hear the end of this!” Crystal exclaimed in alarm. “If the ponies think we caused this then that will be a serious blow to us! We’ll have to move away!” Each worse thought made her chest heave faster until she sat on the couch and fanned herself. Ribbon didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t even move her mouth to speak.
“Please be calm,” Lavender entreated. “I’ll go make some tea right away. That always does the trick.” She glided briskly into the kitchen and started pouring water into the tea kettle. They could all hear the clattering of plates and cups.
“Oh please, there isn’t going to be an end to anything!” Glitter said.
Crystal looked at Glitter as if she didn’t believe a single word she had made. “What are we going to do about it?” she replied.
“We’re going to go and confront the princess and make her take back what she had told the paper!”
The sisters argued for a bit even after the tea came. When Ribbon herself was prodded for an opinion, she had to force herself to speak. Her mouth felt like paper so she just muttered about the accusations being wrong. She didn’t want to necessarily say anything bad about the princess or make a mistake that she couldn’t take back. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Crystal ordered the two of them to pack their bags and prepare to head out. If they didn’t get things settled with the paper by tomorrow then they might as well not even bother with work anymore.
The three of them marched through town on the way to the castle. Ribbon expected the worst from the ponies. A lot of times brought out the mob in them. Jeering or even throwing things wasn’t too much when they were angry. She even felt worried more for their safety than anything else. But she thought that maybe Crystal’s stony face kept most of them at bay. She saw a trio of foals going the other way. One with purple hair must have realized who they were and snickered quietly. One burning glare later and they bolted away like rats.
At last, they were there. Crystal swung the doors open dramatically and went in first with her sisters behind. A long hall greeted them. It was rather empty inside with a very high ceiling. The air inside was dry and cool like in a museum. The sounds of their steps echoed off the walls. It was almost cavernous, bigger than Ribbon imagined.
A stallion came from one of the farther rooms. He plodded forward and saw them. Despite a ravished head of blue hair no longer in its former shape and sunken eyes, Ribbon easily recognized him from his photograph in the paper. The name ‘Flash Sentry’ below his image made him sound dignified. Not so much then…he sure looked different when he wasn’t wearing his polished armor and a winning smile.
“I didn’t expect any of you to actually show up here,” he said indignantly. He turned his muzzle up and scrunched his nose.
“Of course you wouldn’t. You never heard of us. Not that it stopped you from libeling us in the paper!” Crystal shouted. She obviously had no concern for his problems. She and Flash stood a couple meters from each other with unflinching eyes.
“Libel?! If anything, what I said was the truth and you know it. Whichever one of you is named Ribbon ruined my career in the guard!”
“Our sister is a grand fortune teller!” Glitter protested.
Ribbon could only wait in the back behind them. She avoided looking poor Flash in the eyes. If she spoke, anypony could have read the guilt that clung to her words. She wished she could step in and do something but she felt powerless.
“Considering your attitude, I would guess you’re Ribbon Wishes?” Flash said to Crystal.
She looked at him incredulously. “I am the elder sister and I speak on her behalf all the time!”
“Why can’t she speak for herself and defend her words personally?”
“Whatever. I didn’t come to speak to some unemployed loser!” Crystal said.
Flash growled and raised his hoof as if had contemplated striking her. He didn’t though and panted through his teeth. Glitter had gasped and stepped back but Crystal didn’t even budge. “I predict a lot fewer ponies coming to your joke of a family business in the future,” he said.
That was a bad idea as soon as he said it. Thinking it was over, he even lowered his guard. Crystal smirked and took a step forward. “Maybe…but I predict a lot of pain in yours!” She walloped him in the lower jaw with a thud. Even a large stallion like him found himself collapsed in a heap on the floor. He could have been mistaken for a drunk if it wasn’t for a bruise on his face.
Glitter hollered excitedly. “You showed him!” she said. Crystal told her to be quiet and to follow her. They still had to see the princess. Ribbon went with them but as she looked back, she noticed Flash moaning and squeezing his eyes shut. She couldn’t believe that just happened. And she thought the situation couldn’t get any worse. She really hoped she wouldn’t end up having to jump in front of Twilight to defend her from Crystal’s wrath.
They reached the throne room. It was so pretty that they stared up in awe. Even Crystal looked impressed. Ribbon couldn’t believe was there, walking in the very center of an actual throne room. Crystal was surprised at there being six thrones and Glitter peered at them oddly.
“I think it’s like a council or something,” Ribbon mentioned offhandedly.
Crystal nodded. “Maybe.”
Twilight soon arrived like a royal coming to an important meeting. They all had the same strong gait. Even Twilight when she had to. It was impossible not to notice. None of them bowed when she arrived. The meeting was going to be anything but formal. There weren’t even any proper introductions.
“My friend spotted you coming. I apologize for not seeing you all sooner. I know and understand why you may be upset,” Twilight said.
“We sure are,” Crystal replied, clearing her throat. She started taking charge, making demands. “I want to see you retract anything bad you might have said about the Wishes family and our business right away before things get out of hoof.”
Twilight inhaled then exhaled deeply before smiling. She was an inexperienced princess but it didn’t mean she wasn’t made of tougher stuff. “Well, for starters, I must say that I hadn’t intended for anything to be made public. I am not sure how it was leaked but I do apologize for that. As for my actual words, I can’t do what you ask of me. To do so would be to cover up something I meant to say. It would be like a lie.”
Twilight’s rationalization made sense but Crystal ignored it. “But ponies are going to get the wrong impression. I thought you liked my sister.” She turned to Ribbon. “Please explain to her what happened.”
Ribbon didn’t have a lot of options. She really had only two and both would leave its mark in one way or another. The closer she got to the truth, the more it might hurt. But keeping so much of her locked inside has hurt since she was little. For being so kind and accepting of her place instead of lashing out. And again, she barely had any time at all to think.
“Princess, I am sorry about earlier,” Ribbon said sadly. “I gave you the wrong predictions and caused you trouble. Sometimes, it just happens. In our family, we make mistakes too.”
Twilight probably had no reason to question Ribbon’s statement but she did appear disappointed as if she wanted to hear more. “I understand but you gave me the wrong advice. You didn’t see what was to come and now, Flash Sentry is disgraced and I am subject to an inquiry from the capital. I may have been one to let things slide but the ponies are demanding I investigate your family’s practices,” Twilight said firmly.
“There will be no such thing!” Crystal interjected. “We won’t suffer that one bit!”
Ribbon was worried about what Twilight would say. Her wings even bent back like some Pegasus ponies do when irritated.
“You may have no choice,” Twilight growled.
Crystal laughed arrogantly. “Who do you think you’re talking to?! You may be a princess but you’ll never be my princess. Let’s go, girls. We’re done here.” All three of the Wishes sisters walked out of the throne room with Twilight on their tails. Her youthful face grimaced as she saw a couple ponies helping Flash to his hooves. He still looked dizzy.
“Your business is no longer welcome in town,” Twilight declared. Seeing Flash with his bruised jaw inflamed her anger even further.
Crystal turned and glared at Twilight. “You’re like all the other royal ponies. Snubbing us fortune tellers from your ivory towers. Well, we don’t need you!” The three of them withdrew from the castle. Before leaving for home, Crystal picked up a rock and chucked it through one of the stained glass windows in front. Ribbon could only bite her lip to prevent herself from crying.
The mornings came and went without much to do. Ribbon got used to watching the clouds pass above through her window. She didn’t have to go to work so getting up early was no longer a thing she had to do. Crystal forbade her from going to town so she mostly stayed in her room. Usually to avoid bumping into her. They hadn’t spoken much and she didn’t mind. There was something different about Crystal. Or maybe it was there all along and Ribbon just couldn’t tell. She had seen it at the castle. A chink in her armor. And every time their eyes even briefly met, she could still glimpse something just a little darker underneath. They were the eyes that craved control and she hated them because they were unrecognizable. They didn’t belong to her sister.
She tried to forget those eyes by looking for shapes in the clouds. Sometimes they were in the shapes of stars or a fish. Often enough, she would fall asleep and when she woke, the same clouds would still be there. She knew they were the same since the clouds barely moved at all. Clouds were made by ponies so it was their job to get them from place to place. They were helpless without ponies to direct them across the sky. In so many ways, they reminded Ribbon of herself.
She also stayed in her room to avoid the fallout from the newspaper article. Partially because she couldn’t see it as anything but her fault. She should have done more to prevent it somehow. And all the shame was for her. And when certain thoughts came, reminding her of everything she had done to become just like her sisters, she quickly tried to smother them. She would try to read, think about things her mother said or go to sleep. She slept a lot in her room while she was all alone.
She wanted to spare her ears from all the rising tension below. Crystal yelled all the time and did most of it. She spoke harshly of the princess and when Lavender tried to make a calm rebuttal, it would only end with more shouting because Crystal was always right and she was going to let the whole world know it. The farm animals outside were even disturbed by the noise. They mooed, squawked, and squealed. Ribbon mostly held her stuffed bear close and shut her eyes until it was over. The bear was from Lavender and Ribbon had a little red ribbon which she tied around its neck. She put ribbons on a lot of things. The mirror, her bed, her old toys. She loved to make her things her own.
She turned over in bed. Wide awake, she looked at her nightstand. Her crystal ball was on its iron ring which acted as a stand. Next to it were a bunch of framed pictures of relatives and a few friends. One of them had Crystal and herself when they were younger. She was hugging her older sister tightly when that photo was taken. Ribbon was six and reminded most ponies her age of one of those insects that looked like sticks since she was so thin. Crystal was never like that. She was already starting to gain weight, even though she was only fourteen then. Crystal never knew her elder sister to be anything but responsible and she always had thin smiles except in that picture. How could she be any different when their mother had always been away at work?
On the other side of the ball was a photo of her uncle, Cotton Wishes. It wasn’t just a random relative. He was a master glass maker, the one that made nearly every one of the crystal balls the family has used for more than twenty years. Hers too was made by him and it was delivered from his home where he lived by the western sea.
That was a long time ago. Ribbon lacked any kind of cutie mark and her flank was utterly bare. She was milking one of the cows on one very similar morning when her crystal ball came into her possession. It had been a hot week and the flies kept annoying her. The cow would sometimes accidentally whip her when it tried to shoo them away. Milking a cow was just the worst as she had to use her hooves to keep the stream steady. After, it was a matter of keeping the pail from tipping in her teeth while walking to the cottage to put it in bottles. She could have used magic but it was even harder that way. Keeping that steady required finesse.
Her sister had rushed over, telling her to stop. She looked all excited like it was somepony’s birthday. Ribbon put her pail down and met her by the stable doors.
“You’re not going to believe what showed up this morning,” Crystal said. She held a package. Ribbon thought it looked familiar. A brown box tied with black string and a small white tag that had the recipient’s name on it.
Ribbon took her time opening it. She was only twelve and the future hadn’t taken up much of her thoughts. It was still somewhere off in the background behind school and her friends. That one tag with her name in gold broke that trance in an instant. And it had snuck up on her before she could even prepare for it. The bare crystal ball reflected the image of a filly that neither smiled nor jumped for joy. She just stared at it, her mouth as blank as her flank.
Of course, Crystal misinterpreted her speechlessness as a sign that she was overjoyed. She gripped Ribbon’s shoulders and had the biggest grin that Ribbon had ever seen her make. “Isn’t this just wonderful? I bet you couldn’t wait to get your ball and it’s finally here!”
After a few seconds, Ribbon managed to force herself to smile back. It would become a familiar feeling to her but not being used to it didn’t make it any easier.
“Yeah….but how does he know to send us all one of these?” Ribbon asked.
“Because it’s what he does. It’s important to the family. Back when it was just one wandering group, our ancestors listened to those crafts ponies. They were the ones with the wisdom to know where the family should go even before the towns that we would call home even existed,” Crystal said with an air of amazement.
“Wasn’t it Pearl Wishes that settled here a year after the Apple Family?”
“Yes, she was,” Crystal answered. “Her ball was given to her by the old family crystal makers. Their lineage still exists in the west where Cotton lives.”
“That’s neat.”
Crystal looked somewhat amused. “It’s more than ‘neat’. You foals always seem to forget even the most basic of history these days. Even your own. It makes me think you would be better off being taught at home.”
“But mom knows the importance of friends,” Ribbon said. Her sister rolled her eyes while Ribbon reached down. Protected by some hay and paper stuffing, her crystal ball lay in the center. Ribbon picked it up with both hooves. It was so new, it was slippery like an egg. Crystal told her to be careful with it.
Ribbon frowned. “There’s no need to tell me that,” she assured her. She looked at the ball closely. There was nothing to it. Just a colorless sphere. “I kind of expected something more than this.”
“Each one of us gets one of these when we come of age. I didn’t get mine looking the way it does now”. Ribbon remembered going up to Crystal’s room when her ball was unveiled. It was cut with sharp angles that formed triangles. The whole thing was colored a deep blue. When ponies looked into it, they were supposed to be hypnotized by what would appear to be the rippling surface of water.
Ribbon looked up at her. “So we all get one no matter what?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “Every member of the family.”
Ribbon stared up at the ceiling fan which spun around slowly. She was in her room all morning and her stomach sounded like it was boiling. She heard a knock down below. It must have been her uncle. Her sisters were anything but lethargic those last days and though a series of phone calls, they were trying to contact family members across Equestria for opportunities to seize upon. Ribbon knew that they contacted Cotton too and there was a chance he could come but she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. She had missed them though and the idea of catching up with the uncle she loved to go on walks with sounded delightful. She thought she heard a stallion’s voice so she got out of bed and brushed her hair.
She went downstairs and saw Cotton chatting with the others in his lively manner. He loved to wave his hooves around when expressing something. He and Ribbon shared the same body type, tall and lean. Glitter had already taken his stylish scarf and hat for him. He wore a baby blue button down shirt and had a diamond piercing in his left ear.
“Ah! Ribbon, my dear! Come down here so I can see you,” Cotton said excitedly. Even his voice was light, bordering on shrill if he ever saw an insect. He gave her a hug with his long arm then eyed her up and down. He always wore expensive perfume that she never really cared for. But that never mattered. She always liked his bubbly personality. “You look as lovely as your mother says. I do hope you are up to date on your summer dresses?”
“Sort of. We don’t go into town anymore though so we can’t get any new ones,” Ribbon said.
He brushed aside a couple bangs and sighed. His hair was styled in a sort of spiky array that draped down his face and neck. It obviously required a lot of gel to set in. “Yes, that whole affair with the royalty. What a mess to find oneself in. Well, no need to fret. I have traveled all this way to be by my family’s side.”
“And we are grateful,” Lavender said. “But for now, let’s have you settle down. I have your favorite coffee.”
His ears perked up. “With foam and a wisp of cinnamon?” She nodded and he giggled happily as they headed to the kitchen. “Oh, what would I do without you?” Before they exited the room, he turned toward Ribbon. “I almost forgot. If would you kindly do this little thing for me and let me see what you’ve done with that old crystal ball I gave you? I always love to catch up with my work and see what each family member has done with them.”
“Of course, uncle,” Ribbon replied. He winked at her and left. She noticed his cutie mark. It was a crystal ball held in a white linen hammock tied to a branch or stick above. It made sense; he was a designer of fabrics of all kinds from silks to wool.
After they had gone, Crystal’s face soured immediately. She looked like she had just heard that Glitter was going to be cooking dinner.
“About time he got here. I expected him two days ago and he shows up now as if we called him for anything other than a family emergency,” she criticized. Her cheeks were slightly reddish as if she was just holding her frustration in the whole time he was in her presence, only releasing it now when it would do no damage.
“Well, he does live really far away,” Ribbon said.
“He probably stopped by every antique shop and clothes store on the way. We both know how he is. He’s still as vain as he ever was. He can’t just stop trying to attract every mare he sees.” Ribbon had no idea what she was blabbing on about. She always saw Cotton with mares but not in the same way as her other male relatives. He was the only one without foals of his own but Crystal thought of him as selfish for not wanting to pass his skills down. She kept reminding them all that once he retired, it would be hard to find somepony to make new crystal balls. Ribbon thought that point of view was shortsighted.
Crystal noticed Ribbon’s odd stare and looked offended. “Just go and get your ball!”
“Fine!” Ribbon ran up to her room and slammed the door, trying not to scream. She grabbed her ball from the nightstand, the movement pulling it closer to the edge where the light shone. Then she hurried back downstairs and into the kitchen where her mom and uncle talked. She was at least able to calm herself by then to not alarm the two older ponies. Her sisters were outside tending to some chore while she sat down. She set the ball on her lap and started to eat some of her breakfast. She shoveled it into her mouth but they didn’t notice. Lavender and Cotton talked for what seemed like forever as older ponies tended to do until Ribbon was left tapping the fork on her plate in a bored trance. So much time passed that her back legs were turning numb so she stood up and Cotton glanced at her.
“Oh, excuse me for forgetting you, dear.” They both chuckled as if Ribbon had done something funny. “I was just having a nice chat with your mother. I do see you have the ball with you.”
“She does indeed. Ribbon, let your uncle see it,” Lavender said. Ribbon used her magic to float the ball over. When he received it, he moved it around in his hooves, examining it carefully.
“This is something I wasn’t really expecting.”
“What do you mean? It’s the same ball you gave me,” Ribbon said.
“That is what I meant. I recognize it like an old friend.” He looked up at her. “I’ve never seen anypony not make their ball their own before.” Ribbon didn’t like where things were going again. She always thought of him as the tolerant member of the family, sort of like the opposite of Crystal. Where the eldest sister would condemn, he would forgive. But would even he question the way she did things with her own crystal ball? It was one thing to not be able to decide whether to give ponies fortunes or not. That was something else entirely. It was far too much.
Ribbon’s entire body already felt tense and that was just one more added to the weight. She went and seized her ball back from his hooves. She already knew she was acting a bit childish but she didn’t care.
“Ribbon…what are you doing?” Lavender said. Her voice was laced with motherly concern.
Ribbon grimaced painfully. “I don’t really feel like talking about my ball. I’m sorry I didn’t do with it as you would have liked, uncle. Now, if you would excuse me…” Ribbon left the room at once, her voice cracking. She very much hated to displease her uncle but she feared that if she did then the damage had already been done.
Cotton blinked a few times then reached for his coffee. “I sure didn’t see that coming, Lavender.”
“Neither could I. Isn’t it sad how our own family’s feelings are so out of reach?” she said.
“I guess that’s a good thing? Like there are some things we just aren’t meant to know?”
Lavender paused but slowly nodded. “You could be right. Ribbon is just such an odd filly. Then again, any other mother would want to know everything she could.”
Ribbon returned to her room. She had run so fast that she panted. Her thoughts were full of mean things to say. They swarmed, threatening to strike like angry bees. Yes, her crystal ball was plain but she had no reason to be any different. Not in her family where everypony had to have a crystal ball. She knew why she was angry. She wanted somepony to be the bad guy. She knew it was unfair but if it was that easy then it wouldn’t be her fault for having no future of her own. But she saw the look in his eyes. He had expectations that looked all too familiar. And it scared her as to how similarly she looked towards herself. And it was all because of a shiny ball.
She almost hated that stupid thing. She practically slammed it down on the iron ring and fell on the bed, facing away from the window. She used magic to open a new box of tissues and held her bear tightly like it was her only friend in the world. As an ache in her throat grew, she couldn’t tell that the cloud she watched when she woke was long gone. A ray of light grew hotter in the crystal. Such a magical thing it was. It became a magical flame.
Ribbon almost managed to doze off until a great pain in her side caused her to flip over and fall off the bed. It felt like the hot touch of a branding iron. She yelped and cried although very little tears came out. Her ears squeezed shut as she sat up and rubbed her flank with her hoof. She looked up and saw that light had been concentrated into a beam through the magic crystal, focusing on the door now that she was no longer in its way. It hurt a lot but it was already fading. She decided to see if it left a mark. She didn’t expect much except a reddish spot. As she looked at it, she noticed that there wasn’t much inflammation or damage to the fur but there was something far worse. Just looking at it gave her chills. There were trails of greyish ink spreading across her fur going up towards her spine. She was lying down so it went in the direction of gravity, making the crystal ball in her cutie mark look like it got destroyed violently.
Ribbon couldn’t believe her terrible luck. She had to get it fixed right away before somepony saw it. She tried to think where they kept the dyes. It was probably in the cupboard over in the downstairs closet. With everypony busy doing something, she was sure that she had the time and opportunity to fetch the dye and clean her fur.
She went downstairs and went around the corner at the same time Cotton entered the family room. He had a pencil behind his ear.
“Dear, it sounded like you were in distress! What was the matter?” he said.
Ribbon backed away and covered her left cutie mark with her tail. “Oh, nothing. Just a little accident.” Her eyes quivered uncontrollably so she blinked to stop them.
“Oh dear. I hope I hadn’t caused you to start…hurting yourself,” he whispered so others couldn’t hear. Cotton raised his hoof to his mouth in mild shock.
Ribbon was in no mood for drama and rolled her eyes. “No, uncle. I am not “hurting myself”.”
“Then what could have possibly happened?” His curious nature took over and he walked closer to try and get a look but Ribbon tried to prevent him. Of course, she knew that he would only become more concerned as long as she kept it up so she eventually lowered her tail. He blinked several times in a row when he saw it as if he thought he was seeing some impossible parlor trick. But he had one of the highest intellects in the family and the only logical thing dawned on him.
“That cutie mark…..is…fake,” he stammered.
“I’m really sorry, uncle. Please don’t be mad.” He didn’t respond and walked backwards until he found the couch and sat on it. Two pairs of hoof steps approached the front door. It was already too late. She couldn’t go anywhere in time. Crystal and Glitter entered the house, arguing as usual.
“Oh, you’re done catching up, uncle?” Glitter said. He nodded weakly but didn’t reply.
“I hope so. It’s best that we start discussing our plans going forward for this family,” Crystal added. She then turned to Ribbon. “Ribbon, make yourself useful and get some…” She was in such a hurry that she didn’t notice it at first but with her incredible perception, it didn’t take long to see that something was amiss. “What happened to you?”
“It looks like she was playing with dark magic,” Glitter joked. She chuckled but with nopony else remotely finding it funny, she stopped.
“It looks like she was playing all right,” Crystal hissed. She rushed over and ran her hoof over Ribbon’s flank. “What is this?!” Her eyes looked like they were going to pop from her skull with veins pulsing in her head.
Ribbon shoved her hoof off and struggled to get away. Crystal still reached for her and in the process, accidentally stepped on her tail. Ribbon was pulled to the floor, hitting her hooves on the wood. She squeezed her eyes shut and winced painfully.
“Stop it!” Glitter screamed. She nearly threw herself at Crystal and put her hoof around her neck. They both fell backwards, spitting and yelling at the same time like she had her older sister in a wrestling hold. Lavender came into the family room. With no hope even for her voice to be heard over the cacophony, she blew into a whistle. Everypony became silent save for the sounds of breathing and sniffling.
“Why is my family fighting like this?” she demanded.
Crystal got up, pushing Glitter away. Her mane was messed up and her nostrils flared. “Mom, the papers were right after all.” She pointed at Ribbon. “I don’t know how but all these years, she’s never had the power of foresight. I went and I defended her…for nothing!”
“How dare you! She’s our little sister!” Glitter cried. She went and helped Ribbon up. Ribbon looked at Crystal, her rage fueled sister, and knew that it was no mistake. That was the new Crystal and there would be no returning to the way things were when she still believed that they would be together always. Those times were past. One look past a fake cutie mark brought out a look into Crystal’s very soul. All the memories, expectations, even love, were just a shell. And in an instant, neither of those two mares knew the other.
Everything was quiet as Lavender took Ribbon to her room. “Please wait here. I need to deal with things, okay?” she said. She gave Ribbon a kiss then closed the door. Ribbon wanted to hold her ears shut and not have to hear the muffled arguments downstairs concerning her. It all sounded painful. What she wanted most was to get out of that room, out of that house. She grabbed a few things and stuffed her saddlebags. There was no room for thinking. No time for worry. Lastly, she opened her window and breathed in the fresh air of freedom. When she reached out, she knocked her crystal ball down and it struck the floor with a nasty cracking sound. Almost out of instinct, Ribbon turned and looked at it.
“Oh no…what have I done?”
Scooping up the two halves of her ball nearly elicited tears but she managed to choke them down. She put them in her bag with her other things and jumped out of the window onto a wood shed then on the ground. She forced herself not to look back as she left home or she wouldn’t have wanted to go any further.
Ribbon’s inability to predict the weather bit her in the flank once more as the wind picked up speed. She choked on dust and had to cover her muzzle to protect it from the swirling dirt. Her flank began to hurt too so she took cover near the bank of a stream. She splashed a little cool water on it which helped a little.
She thought of maybe sleeping under a nearby bridge that night when she saw Twilight Sparkle trot across it. Ribbon whistled and caught her attention. The princess used her powers to teleport next to her.
“Princess, why are you walking out in the country?” Ribbon asked. She certainly didn’t expect royalty to just go wandering around.
“I wanted to come and make some sort of peace with your family after what happened,” Twilight explained. “I think we both said things we shouldn’t have and I’ve been reflecting on my actions. I might have been hasty in enacting a ban upon you all.”
“If anypony should apologize, it should be me,” Ribbon said. She looked away. “I’ve made so many lies. So many that I couldn’t keep up. Everything’s just been falling apart these days.”
“What do you mean? You never knowingly lied, have you?”
“Of course not. I tried my best to give everypony my best advice and as far as my family was concerned, I was just another fortune teller in a long line of fortune tellers since that’s how it’s always been.”
Twilight went and gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Please tell me…how have you been lying all this time and what does it have to do with fortune telling?”
“I don’t exactly have their gift. The power of foresight. It didn’t matter though. I really wanted that power so much because all Wishes are supposed to have it.”
Twilight seemed a bit confused. “But you could have chosen to follow a different path. Maybe one that was meant for you?” she said.
“No, being part of the family was not something I could choose,” Ribbon said. She hated admitting to something so simplistic but it was true. Every fortune she gave and trip to town was just one more lie on a whole mountain of deceit. She grew up hearing how bad lying was. Her teacher would say that liars were the ones that were selfish and only cared about themselves. But she knew it was more complicated than that. Sometimes ponies lied on behalf of others. Ponies like her. And when they did, it was very easy for lies to become mixed with the truth until they couldn’t be told apart. A cutie mark made of dye would look real until light revealed it for what it truly was. But light that strong always hurt especially when it literally burned a hole through it all.
Twilight convinced Ribbon to return to the cottage and to take her there. It wasn’t far and in no time, Twilight looked upon it for the first time. One look at how simple everything was drew her in. It even made the Apple Family farm look complicated. There was just one small stable for farm animals and a fenced pen where chickens pecked at the dirt for seeds.
As they approached the cottage, Ribbon saw Cotton sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch.
“Uncle, what are you doing out?” Ribbon asked.
He looked weary and he fanned himself. “I’m tired of listening to their racket. I just can’t stand being yelled at much less threatened with...” He looked at Twilight. “Who is this? Did you bring a guest?”
“I am not a guest. I am Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twilight? So you’re the princess of friendship I heard so much about? I think I first read your name in the Las Pegasus Times.” He got up quickly and made an awkward attempt at a bow. “Excuse my ignorance.”
“You’re excused,” Twilight said.
“Well, I’m not sure if you’re trying to make amends but I don’t think Crystal is going to hear it,” Cotton warned.
“That may be the case but I will try nonetheless.”
Ribbon was the one to open the door slowly. She peeked in and saw her mother and Glitter sitting together on the couch with a used box of tissues on the table next to them. Going into the house wasn’t the same as it was before. Nothing obligated her to return. She could have run off on her search for a new life if she hadn’t cared so much for her family. But for once, she wanted to return.
Crystal had been in the middle of another rant aimed at one of them. Considering that she was cut off in the middle of an attack against somepony’s intelligence, it must have been against Glitter. She turned to see them walk in. The sight of her youngest sister must have started to soften her face for just a moment but then she noticed Twilight and her eyes turned into angry slits. If she had fangs, she would have bared them.
“Twilight Sparkle! What are you doing here?! You’re not welcome!” she yelled. So much spit came out that she could have waxed the floor with it if she kept at it enough.
“Don’t put words in my mouth!” Lavender said. She got up, going close to Crystal. “You can’t speak for all of us like this!”
Crystal winced in annoyance. “Are we going to go through this again?! I speak for our best interests.”
“Was what happened today in our best interest?” Lavender replied.
Crystal almost got into her mother’s face. “This is all because of a lack of family unity! She even went and got that princess involved!”
Ribbon couldn’t take any more and stomped her hoof down which forced them to notice her. “Why do you get to decide what holds this family together?!”
Crystal huffed like it was such an obvious answer. “Because I’m the smartest! Who does everything around here? Who ran the shop after our mother retired? Who called as much family as possible to help us after what you’ve done?” she said.
“You can’t possibly understand what I’ve really done for us! Besides, Twilight is even smarter than you and she agrees!”
“Hang on!” Twilight interjected worriedly. She looked at Ribbon. “I’m sorry but I haven’t even heard both your side and theirs. It’s important so I can be honest.” Ribbon knew she was right. She lived with those problems for years but she had to take into account that Twilight was still a stranger. Then she remembered something important. It wasn’t going to be easy but it was something they all needed to see. She rummaged in her bag and pulled out the broken halves to her crystal ball. She set them down on the floor to the shock of her sisters. Even her mother couldn’t believe it. Both the ball and her ruined cutie mark were now out of the shadows.
To Ribbon’s surprise, a couple tears broke from Crystal’s eyes as if freed. It instantly reminded her of the old Crystal that presented her with that old ball in the first place. “So now even Cotton’s ball wasn’t good enough for you anymore?” she said.
“Crystal, let me explain. It was an accident.”
Crystal wiped the tears away. “What about that ink on your body? And everything you’ve done? Was all that an accident too?”
“No, it wasn’t. I did it on purpose. I should have known better though. I’m sorry,” she said.
Twilight seemed nearly dazed by the thought of Ribbon doing the apologizing. Even Crystal became quiet and she went over to the couch and sat down with the others. Twilight moved two chairs across the table from them where she and Ribbon sat. There was an awkward silence where nopony wanted to speak. But being her usual self, Twilight pushed them to start a new dialogue. Twilight tried to mediate as much as possible to avoid direct accusations from being levied. It was just a start and not a whole lot was said in the end but it was done without any yelling. There was a box of tissues on hoof, just in case.
The entire family did agree on one thing, albeit reluctantly. Ribbon was going to go away for a while. Not to live permanently elsewhere but to be able to think on things on her own. Twilight could tell that the mother felt the worst about it but was the first to accept it. In return, Twilight told the family that they could return their business to town with her blessing. Lavender thanked her profusely. Her grateful bowing stuck in Twilight’s mind as she watched her and Ribbon embrace one last time before her departure. The young daughter had everything she wanted to take on her back. Glitter watched from the porch and Crystal could be seen behind a window. Ribbon’s uncle, whose name she had learned, approached her.
“Well, that was interesting,” he said. “I guess I’m not really needed now that Crystal can set up shop back in town.”
“Don’t say that just yet.” Twilight looked at him and smiled. “There might be something you could still help out with.”
Where Ribbon Wishes had gone, she woke to the same mornings and sunrises as she had always seen before. At least it would appear so. The sunlight streaming through the curtains was the same that greeted her in her old bed and made her get up even when she dreaded the long walk to town. For days, she thought the mere arrival of the dawn would be followed by the clop of hooves outside her door. Her sisters getting ready by taking baths before she did. After twenty minutes, she still braced herself for that reminder knock to get up even though she had never failed to wake on her own. When it didn’t come, she would slowly sit up and look around her as if the absence of sound was a more profound change than the dimly lit guest room she slept in at the castle.
Ribbon eventually got up as she normally did and reached the large window across the room. She opened the curtains and let the morning light flood in. When she unlatched the window itself and swung them out, she still felt dizzy when she looked down. She was high up in one of the towers. She could look outward and see the horizon stretch out to the mountains and watch songbirds fly from the perch outside her window. Each time it was opened, a cool breeze would blow in and over Ribbon’s body. It felt as though being cleaned, especially on her flanks. Her fake cutie marks were no more. She asked Twilight to use her magic to get rid of them once and for all. She may have been used to walking around without clothes but ever since then, she’s truly felt naked.
Ribbon smiled at the beauty of the morning and went to her personal washroom. She bathed in a copper tub. They had lots of bubble bath for her to use. She spent extra time floating around and blowing bubbles. She hadn’t done that in a long time. Playing in the tub and without a cutie mark. It was like she was 12 again only that time, she didn’t think about that crystal ball anymore. Twilight took it from her hooves. Since the shards didn’t fit together, Ribbon assumed it was going to be discarded. She didn’t really care and wasn’t about to start missing it.
After playtime, she got out of the tub. Her stomach was cramping so she decided to leave her room. Since her cutie mark was gone, she wore a dress anytime she went out. She wasn’t going to get any unwanted attention if she could help it. Twilight had a friend donate the dresses to her. They were the kind her family couldn’t normally afford so it made Ribbon feel a bit weird putting them on. But the appeal of silk was lovely to spin in and with all the accessories, she couldn’t help but want to strut around like one of those fashionistas.
In her dress, Ribbon went down the hall towards the main entrance of the castle. It was sort of silly how a few weeks ago, she barely wanted to leave. She tried to fill as much of her time going around dusting bookshelves and making some use of herself around the castle. It must have annoyed Twilight since she had to nearly shove her out the door. But the truth was that Ribbon didn’t know what to do now that she didn’t have to do chores. In fact, life in general wasn’t easy anymore. Twilight told her that she was just not used to making those kind of decisions. Like what she wanted to do that day. It was hard to believe how her sisters used to have so much say over every little thing.
But Ribbon had started making them. She didn’t want to rely on some royal servants. Getting her own food was one family tradition she didn’t want to lose that easily. She thought about it and a nearby café sounded good. She’s gone to it a few times lately and their coffee was simply wonderful every time.
Twilight ordered a festival to be held a couple weeks ago with floats, parades, and what not. It was a lot of fun and along with the spring rodeos, Ribbon knew that it all helped to turn that Wishes scandal into nothing more than a faded memory. She didn’t get any looks anymore and the newspapers stopped caring. The town ponies were as respectful to her as they had always been. As she walked down the street, she waved towards Flower Wishes. The mare waved back. Her maiden name was Lily but she married into the family through a cousin. They didn’t have to worry about anything to do with fortune telling.
Before she arrived, she caught a glimpse of her sisters some distance away. It was still early in the morning and Ribbon could tell that they were about to set up shop. Every morning, a tinge of guilt tugged at her heart. They had to make do without somepony passing out flyers like she used to. But Ribbon was certain that they were more than capable to do that themselves. She looked at them, half hoping and half worried that they would turn and notice her. It’s because she still loved them and would have run to them one of those days if she hadn’t known how bad an idea that was. Twilight didn’t have to remind her that it wasn’t yet time. She thought that fact wasn’t lost on Crystal. A few times she would be out getting groceries or looking at clothes when she would feel a cool touch on her neck as if she was being watched. She would turn and look around, only to recognize nopony.
The café sold all manner of good stuff. Ribbon came to like their muffins that crumbled in her hoof and espressos too. Ribbon was walking around, browsing casually, when she heard a pleasant gasp from behind. She turned to notice who it was, and saw Ms. Cheerilee looking rather lively. When she approached, they ended up hugging and laughing like old friends.
“Wow, Ribbon. I haven’t seen you in a while. I heard a rumor that you moved away,” Cheerilee said.
“That’s actually not the case, Cheerilee. I’ve even moved into town if you will believe that.” Ribbon saw a very elegant looking emerald necklace around the teacher’s neck. She grinned. “Oh, is that what I think it is?”
Cheerilee realized that she saw her engagement gift. “Yes, yes, it is,” she said. “I still wanted to thank you for what you did. I was so unsure about whether our relationship was even going to work but going to you made all the difference.”
Ribbon didn’t feel like revealing to Cheerilee about everything so she just patted the mare’s shoulder. That wouldn’t really be a lie. “I’m just glad that I could help. It means a lot to hear that from you.”
Cheerilee nodded. “I’m just here to get something to eat before work this morning. If you’re free later then I would love it if you came and visited my house. I bet Big Mac would be happy to see you.”
“Perhaps. I wasn’t really planning on going anywhere but what’s the occasion?”
Cheerilee came closer as if trying to avoid others overhearing. “I was actually thinking of asking for a favor,” she whispered. Cheerilee was tense as if she had tried to practice what she was saying for some time but could only half remember it when she tried to speak it. “I know you’re not fortune telling anymore but we would be beyond grateful if you would think about speaking to us about the future again.”
Suddenly, Ribbon regretted not telling her the truth. The mare looked so expectant that the reason had to be of some consequence like last time.
“I’m not sure…I’ve retired,” Ribbon mumbled.
Even if it was important, Cheerilee was smart enough not to push it. “I understand. I just would like you to think about it. You don’t even have to worry. It’s not something that has to be done today or tomorrow or even this month. You can just come by anytime you feel like it. I want you to know that I miss your voice. You’ve always known exactly what to say.”
They said goodbye and she went and got her things before going to work. Ribbon couldn’t help but be a bit shaken by what happened. It was just one way that her past was still hidden in the shadows. It could come by at any moment and confront her. And there was the possibility that even if she wanted to say no, she couldn’t.
After Cheerilee left, Ribbon got a bran muffin and some plain coffee. She went up to the register. The pony that was manning it when she came in must have gone on break. She had seen the new pony at the register a few times before. It was a stallion with a dark grey coat. A Pegasus to be exact. He had definitely caught her eye before. When she walked around town, she would spot him playing sports with the other guys that she assumed were his friends. He had a bold cutie mark, an atom with thunderbolts in the center instead of a nucleus. Ribbon had pegged him as a scholar. The saddlebags he had with him were always filled with books.
The stallion turned to look at her and gave a pleasant smile. She wondered if he had noticed her before too. His wavy dark brown mane partially obscured his eyes.
“More simple food for a mare with such expressive tastes?” he asked playfully.
Ribbon remembered the dress and felt a blush in her cheeks. “Oh, this? It’s just something I like to throw on.”
“Well, it’s lovely. You never come by looking plain,” he said. He rung her up and she saw that his name was Positive Charge on his nametag.
“I’m Ribbon Wishes. It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
He went and held her hoof, briefly giving it a slight shake. His gaze was just as reassuring and soft as his touch.
As the months passed, spring turned to summer, and the nights were hot and sticky. Ribbon had learned a few new things in the new season. She was good at finding her way around in the dark. She would sometimes wear the same clothes two days in a row. But most of all, she didn’t mind any of it because she wasn’t afraid of the dark or the colt that worked at the café. She couldn’t learn enough about him and all of the quirks in his personality. The café was just a part-time job. He also went to school to study weather technology so they spent most time together at night. She didn’t mind spending the night with a heavy sleeper. In the dark of his apartment, nothing could make him stir. He ended up being the first pony outside of her family and Twilight to learn that she didn’t have a cutie mark. His own cutie mark story helped her open up. It was hard to picture a little colt at ten years old making his own little weather machine strong enough to make its own tropical storm clouds that drenched everything from the ceiling fans to the floorboards.
The only bad thing was that with the room nearly impenetrable to light, Ribbon’s body was usually fooled. She would wake up late and if she wanted to meet a friend, she would miss them. It was one of those days and she got dressed as fast as she could without killing herself in the process. She went outside had shook a few grey feathers that were stuck to her dress. It was interesting how Pegasus ponies loved to hug with their wings. She checked her watch. It was 10:30.
This wasn’t just a meeting with a friend. Twilight was waiting for her at the castle and she was going to get an earful for sure about punctuality but she was more worried about her sisters. It was going to be their fourth phone call together. They’ve done it a few times. Twilight said that they were opening up lines of communication. It made sense as nopony would be able to take control over the phone, especially with Twilight listening in and able to interject whenever she wished. It was a completely different experience to be able to speak to Crystal on what could be called equal terms. Her voice was sometimes strained but she never raised her voice or even spoke out of turn. Ribbon was skeptical that she would do anything but bring up some nonstarter argument like her coming home immediately. There wasn’t any heavy breakthrough; talk was mostly about how work was doing or Ribbon’s life in the castle.
Each time did more to lead them closer to real progress and she had hoped that the fourth talk would get to the real issue. Her place in the family. But she just had to be late of all days. She was mad at herself and galloped to the castle as fast as she could. When she finally arrived, she saw Glitter walking away from the main entrance. Ribbon was two and a half hours late.
It took a few seconds for Glitter to recognize Ribbon in her dress. They went up to each other and embraced. After, Glitter’s muzzle crinkled as if she smelled something bad but she didn’t mention it. Positive Charge tended to smoke and the smell sort of clung to her dress and to everything in his apartment. It was one of the few things she disliked about him so she understood Glitter’s reaction. It was impossible for a mare that grew up in the country to tolerate the smell of smoke for long. She tried to make him use fresheners to get rid of it but he often forgot since he was gone so often.
“I’m so happy to see you,” Glitter said.
“I’m glad you came but I didn’t expect a visit so soon,” Ribbon replied.
“You weren’t there for our phone call so I decided to come and check up on you personally. Twilight told me just now that you’ve been out,” Glitter said.
“I’m sorry. I got up late after I spent the night over at somepony’s house. But I really wanted to speak to you all.” Ribbon wasn’t sure how Glitter was going to respond. She was the middle sister and often expressed both concern and enthusiasm for everything that Ribbon did. And the concern she did have was of a different nature than what the others had. Lavender was overly sappy and Crystal hardly let her feelings out if she really had much at all.
“I can tell you’re doing your best,” Glitter said softly. She smiled, a mare very proud of what her little sister was doing. Living in a castle. Making new friends. Ribbon wasn’t that surprised. They were always on the same side, it seemed. Even when they were foals. “I would like to ask something of you.”
“What would that be?”
She sighed as if unsure whether to ask or not. “Um…maybe it’s too soon. I was going to do it during our talk today but you didn’t show. I was wondering if we could meet for lunch sometime. Maybe catch up?”
To Ribbon, the idea of eating lunch with her sounded delightful. It’s been so long and even Positive Charge wasn’t enough on his own to fill the void that she used to fill.
“Glitter, I can’t wait for our little date,” she said, giggling.
Glitter laughed and rubbed a hoof against Ribbon’s cheek. “That’s grand. Be sure to be there on time though…or I’ll just have to find you.”
After one last embrace, Glitter headed home. Ribbon watched her until she was gone. She was so very excited and pleased at the same time at the prospect of seeing her in the near future. She even practically skipped to the castle. In her room, she bathed then changed her clothes into something light and airy.
She had been thinking more and more about Cheerilee lately. A lot of times, the mare would be on her mind before she fell asleep or when she was walking around town and she spotted her walking with Big Mac. They were always very close, touching each other often on the shoulder or holding hooves. At least from a distance, it didn’t look like they had any sort of trouble.
Ribbon remembered that it was those kinds of relationships that aren’t always in the best of situations. When others had seen her, it must have looked like she was part of a trio of sisters perfectly in sync when out in the streets. Nopony could have guessed otherwise. Ribbon pondered what Cheerilee wanted help with those months ago. The idea of going to her house was still on the table. To be honest, she had decided a while ago and she was just coming up with excuses to justify going. The biggest one was that Cheerilee was a friend and Ribbon should do everything she could for one. After getting ready, Ribbon left at once for the teacher’s house. She didn’t bother going to see Twilight. The princess was probably busy elsewhere.
Was it wrong for her to want to get involved? What if they had already dealt with their problem? What if it wasn’t really a problem at all? What Cheerilee mentioned was something about the future and the future was always vague, especially to her. But she kept going forward despite knowing that she had no crystal ball anymore and no desire to pretend to have powers she didn’t have. But nopony needed powers to talk and that was all she could offer. She just hoped that Cheerilee wouldn’t be disappointed.
Cheerilee had a little flower garden outside her house. It wasn’t much but a one story dwelling with white paint and a brick chimney sticking out of the thatched roof. It all looked well-tended which surprised Ribbon. She thought that teachers always spent the majority of their time working rather than on things like gardening.
Ribbon knocked on the door. Practically holding her breath, she waited for it to be answered. Cheerilee did and was taken aback by the unexpected guest at her doorstep. She held a plate and a towel in her hoof as if in the middle of drying dishes.
“Oh, Ribbon Wishes….uh…please….come in,” she stammered. A huge grin grew on her face as she ushered Ribbon in.
“I am sorry for showing up out of the blue like this,” Ribbon said. She rubbed her hooves on the mat before going in. She reflexively smiled.
“Nonsense. I said you could come over anytime. Unless I’m working. No point coming to an empty house!” Cheerilee said, laughing. They went to the living room and both sat down in chairs. There were photos everywhere. Cheerilee was alone in many but a few photos of her with Big Mac were clustered on one of the smaller lamp tables.
“You have a lot of photos of him,” Ribbon mentioned, gesturing to the photos.
“Yes, he’s truly special to me,” Cheerilee said softly. She then got up suddenly. “Oh, dear. I forgot it’s hot out. You must be thirsty. Do you like lemonade?”
“Uh, lemonade is fine.”
She nodded and went to fetch some of it. Ribbon examined the rest of the photos. Many were of Cheerilee with foals, most likely students. They always looked close and always smiling, hugging and holding.
Cheerilee returned and set the glasses down. “Ribbon, is something on your mind?”
Ribbon turned around. “I was just admiring your students.”
The mare chuckled. “Sorry, I always tend to ask that a lot since I do it in class to get the foals to open up.”
“It’s okay,” Ribbon said. She tasted the lemonade. It was bitter but cold at least.
“For the record, most are students but a few are my nieces and nephews.”
“I guess that’s why some of the photos were taken at the Ghastly Gorge nature reserve,” Ribbon said.
“I do love to take the little ones out on trips.” Cheerilee looked even more pleasant when talking about foals related to her. Her body relaxed and she smiled more.
“Where is Big Mac?” Ribbon asked. “Is he out?”
Cheerilee nodded. “He’s working at the farm. But it’s okay. He’s not a big talker. A bit of a silent type but I don’t mind.” She must have thought about him because her tail twitched on its own.
Ribbon frowned. It sounded like bad timing. “Did you still want to talk about the future? Without him, I mean?”
Cheerilee’s ears stood on end as if excited. Ribbon herself felt a bit excited as well. “Oh, yes…I do. Very much so! In fact, it might be better if he wasn’t here. He just tends to stare like a statue anyway. Besides, it’s hardly something he can relate to.”
Ribbon tapped her hooves together and took out a notepad. “Is it okay if I write down my thoughts while we talk?”
Cheerilee furrowed her brow. “What? Where’s your crystal ball? I hope you’re not abandoning your talent fully just because of that silly paper.” She fidgeted in her chair and looked genuinely anxious that Ribbon wasn’t going to be able to say much without it.
Ribbon tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. She knew that her words weren’t going to be taken well. But she was still determined to say them regardless. “I’m afraid I can’t do that anymore. Predicting things…I mean.”
“You mean you’re just giving up?” Cheerilee said in dismay.
“I’m hardly doing that. I want to help you but I can’t do it like that. I can’t foresee the future. It’s not something I can do or have ever been able to do.”
Cheerilee started to sob. She held a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “Ribbon, you’ve told me what I needed to hear before. Why can’t you just do it again when I need you?”
The mare’s trembling voice pulled at Ribbon’s heart. She wasn’t used to it and it didn’t put her at ease.
“I only told you what you wanted to hear,” Ribbon said. “But I don’t do that anymore. That was in the past. What you need is for me to tell you the truth. Not the truth molded into some mock prediction but the real thing even if you don’t like what it looks like.”
After Cheerilee wiped her cheek, she stood and gave Ribbon a steely gaze. Ribbon froze and held her breath. She thought she was going to be kicked out then and there but instead the mare turned and walked towards a door.
“Wait there,” she said flatly.
She didn’t necessarily look angry but she closed the door without concern for its impact rattling the pictures on the walls. Ribbon considered that maybe she had made a mistake. Sure, she wanted a change, but was it worth losing a friend over? She had never seen Cheerilee completely lose her smile like that. To appear so empty. Who would forgive her if she was wrong?
Only a minute passed which was why Ribbon was startled when Cheerilee entered the room without a word. She carried a small horseshoe box. It was tattered and discolored. She set it between them and sat down.
“I wanted you to see this. Without a crystal ball, this is the next best thing,” Cheerilee said.
Ribbon looked at the box. “What’s inside it?”
Cheerilee sighed wearily. “Just memories.” She took several photographs out and laid them on the table. There was a little foal in them. A little Cheerilee to be precise. So small that she was in a little bed on top of white linen. She was asleep in all three. Ribbon peered closer and noticed that there was a tag on the little bed. A bright orange tag with Cheerilee’s name on it. The date was from some year before Ribbon herself was born. She couldn’t make out the rest. Then Ribbon noticed that for a sleeping baby, she sure looked restless. She had grey spots under her eyes and her arms were thin. A white stuffed bear in the bed looked brand new.
“Why did you want me to see this?” Ribbon asked. Whenever she saw pain and suffering, her heart often physically ached and even felt heavy. That was no exception. If Cheerilee herself had the same pain then it was well hidden.
“When I think about the future, I see myself back at that hospital. Still less than a year old,” she said. Cheerilee then told Ribbon about how she had a rare form of immune deficiency when she was a newborn foal. They didn’t know it until she got sick one day. They had to rush her to the hospital. She was so weak that she couldn’t eat and had to be fed mechanically. She had lost color in her face, her hair started falling out and she turned thin and brittle. Back then, treatment for the disease was limited and if it wasn’t for an experimental drug, she may have not survived. She wondered what her parents thought as they took those photos. The ones that could have been her very last. By the time she finished speaking, Ribbon was holding Cheerilee’s hoof.
“They say that the thing which triggered the deficiency…was probably passed on from my mother,” Cheerilee continued. “I’ve been putting off having a foal of my own for years. I know he doesn’t look the part but I realize that Big Mac loves foals. He might not understand the dangers of me having one though. I don’t know how he would react.”
It all sounded so familiar to Ribbon. Did everypony have something they were afraid of their loved ones knowing? “If he wanted a foal no matter what, then what would you do?”
“I was willing to have one of course. But with nopony knowing for sure about genetics and all that, I knew of only one way to find out the future and that was you. Until then, I wasn’t going to do anything to risk having a foal. Big Mac could hate it all he wants but I had no choice.” She smiled a bit but still sobbed and had to use more tissue.
“I don’t know genetics but I still want to help you get through this,” Ribbon assured her.
“How? You can’t help with the future,” Cheerilee said curtly. She withdrew her hoof and placed it in her lap.
“You’re right, I can’t,” Ribbon replied, sighing. She got up and went to the window and looked outside. It was anything but melancholy outside. A sheet of hazy sunlight glowed after a light rain. “My sisters are the ones you should ask. They can predict pretty much anything. Where you are likely to tread and even whether to take an umbrella out or not.” She then turned around and gave Cheerilee a serious look. “But don’t ask them whether you’ll regret it. Regret is always the past and that’s what I think you really want to deal with. Isn’t it, Cheerilee?”
The mare shrunk in her chair and cringed as if scared. “I don’t know. What if I can’t?”
Ribbon went next to her again after taking one of the photos. She lifted it so the mare could see it. “Then that part of your past will always be your future.”
Cheerilee seemed to break down after that and started to cry fully. They stopped talking and Ribbon patted her back while all of it was let out. Being the youngest of three sisters, she had never done that before. To be the one comforting somepony in their time of need. It felt even better than making a hundred fake predictions. Because unlike them all, Cheerilee’s crying was something real.
With everything that’s happened, Ribbon had been pushing herself to do more than usual. Talking with Cheerilee went so well but she was hardly content to end it there when there was still so much to do. She was determined to talk to Big Mac at some point so she was going to make sure to be ready when she was able to. She bought a portable case to keep her papers neatly organized. It would prevent them from being mixed up with each other and from being lost in her coltfriend’s apartment.
Of course she liked living in the castle but she was more than ready to move out when she did. Positive Charge’s place was a welcome change from the echoing halls that made her seem very small and alone. The colt was a delight for her to learn about. The first time she jotted down observations about ponies on a notecard was when she wanted to paint a picture in her mind about him. She tried to do that even when he was somepony she saw in the distance. From how he behaved, he was swift and powerful but also intellectually curious about things. A fine bit of both worlds. She wondered if that was too good to be true but in reality, she wasn’t that far off. The colt loved to play the part of a gentlecolt but unlike most, he wasn’t quiet and he often spoke his mind. When they were together, he would pry into what she was doing. But he wasn’t nosy in a bad way. He was much more warm and comforting than he had let on out in public.
She told him about her desire to help Big Mac and Cheerilee get through their issues. That she could only ignore that proverbial itch for so long. She had made the cards to help her to form opinions and to focus on what mattered. He was enthusiastic to hear about her plans. When he went to bed, he would give her a kiss and tell her to keep it up. And keep it up she did. She talked to lots of ponies. She even went to Flash Sentry. He had become Twilight’s personal guard and was still a rather cute stallion if she would say so herself.
She was so busy with her work until the night before her date with Glitter. She stayed up until midnight, her focus switched away from her other subjects. After working so long that week, she felt comfortable with framing her own problems in the same way. As comfortable as she would be after a week that had utterly drained her mind.
The next day, she waited for Glitter at her coltfriend’s café. She hadn’t eaten and already ordered a sandwich and a tall latte. She was reading her notes until the last possible second to memorize them. But when she saw both her sisters approach, their sight took the forefront of her thoughts. The two mares wore dresses. Crystal had one that she hadn’t worn in years. All the family’s dresses emphasized lace and puffy fabric.
Ribbon barely recognized Crystal. She wore a large floppy hat with feathers sticking out and her lacy collar almost reached her chin. It amused her in a way. The mare she once looked up to could be just like any other. And a mare set on a completely different path. Ribbon couldn’t believe that she used to think it was the only one for her. And now her high and mighty sister wasn’t even the prettiest at the café, much less the family. Ribbon had gotten rather proud of her looks, especially in those fancy clothes of hers.
Crystal seemed to want to avoid the eyes of the other ponies in town. She even wore dark glasses, something she never used to do. And her body language was stiff. It was like the two of them completely switched bodies.
“Ribbon…it’s been so long,” she said, obviously eager to start the conversation.
Glitter signaled the waiter to come to the table then turned to Ribbon. She smiled in delight. “Thanks for coming on time. Mom sends her regards.”
“Send her mine when you can. I hope she’s been well,” Ribbon replied.
“She’s been as well as any of us,” Crystal said. “We’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you all too.” Ribbon couldn’t see Crystal’s eyes. “Could you please remove the glasses? It’s harder to talk to you with them on.”
Crystal took them off hesitantly. “I hope that’s better.”
“It is. Thank you.”
“That’s a lovely dress,” Glitter mentioned. She cocked her head to get a better look and the beads in her hair rattled. Ribbon smiled. It was rather lovely. One of her favorites. A velvety magenta dress with golden buttons.
“It sure is. Thanks for noticing,” Ribbon said.
Crystal frowned. She obviously had something on her mind and it wasn’t dresses. “Ribbon, have you been alright? Here in town?”
“Crystal, I am more than alright. I haven’t been better in a long time,” Ribbon replied confidently.
Crystal leaned closer and put a hoof on Ribbon’s shoulder. “We’ve heard things from town. They say that you live out of the castle now and there’s a stallion involved,” she whispered. Even Glitter seemed shy about the subject and looked everywhere but in her eyes.
Ribbon wondered when the two had become so prudish. She looked at Crystal and tried to contain her amusement but she couldn’t stop snickering. Crystal looked almost dumbfounded as Ribbon couldn’t keep quiet. Perhaps out of embarrassment, she started to sweat so she pulled a fan out and tried to use it to cool herself.
“Oh girls….there is a stallion in my life now. And it was never a secret of mine. I’m sorry you two got worried over nothing,” she said. Her two sisters looked at each other in confusion.
A reflective smirk came across Glitter’s face. “A stallion…lucky you. You’re the first among us to find a special friend,” she complimented. Crystal used her fan to hide her muzzle which probably meant she was thinking the same thing.
“I guess so….I’m even living with him now if you believe it,” Ribbon said.
Crystal suddenly turned as serious as a royal funeral. “But Ribbon…it’s one thing to have a coltfriend that your family doesn’t know and another to…live with him as uh, your situation is at the moment.” As she spoke, Crystal breathed anxiously, making it seem like she was tired.
“You mean since I’m not married?” Ribbon said blatantly. “I wasn’t going to mention every little thing to you. It’s not like it was before.” Ribbon knew that a slightly younger Crystal Wishes would have wanted to explode after being spoken to like that. She would have wanted to reach across the table and shake her sense of propriety into her or slap her silly. But it wasn’t going to happen like that. By Celestia’s grace, cool heads prevailed.
But Crystal stirred her coffee quickly. “I’m surprised you would make a decision like that and so soon.”
“But it was a decision that I made for myself.” After that, the three of them became silent. Nothing but the noise from other tables inside the café and the bustle of the workers could be heard. Crystal and Ribbon stared at each other as if trying to read each other’s minds. Crystal had to have known that she sat across a pony that could be as stubborn as she.
Glitter suddenly tapped her hooves on the table in anticipation as a waiter finally returned. “Look, girls. Ribbon sure knows how to decide what to eat!” she declared.
Crystal swallowed and then smiled softly before finally breaking eye contact. “Yes, that’s our little decision maker. Any other family would be proud.”
Ribbon sighed in relief as her sisters got the food she ordered for them. Glitter sniffed, savoring the smell of her soup. Ribbon embraced something else. She stared up at the clouds, almost light-headed. Why wouldn’t she be after what happened? She’s done the impossible, hadn’t she? After all those years, it was like Ribbon’s future was her own at last. And it wouldn’t have been done without all those phone calls and all the times they spoke together on the phone. There really could be no future without a past. And who knew her own past better than she? And in a way, she had to thank her family. She got her amazing perception from them. Hers is just a different kind but equally special.
As she thought, Ribbon felt a very warm sensation on her skin. It wasn’t her fur. She could tell that it was much deeper as if bursting from her very soul. It tingled and warmed up under her dress like something trying to escape. Without talking, Ribbon tried to take the dress off and soon, she was tossing it aside. The other customers looked on, unsure what was going on. Her two sisters stood in alarm and the waiter hurried over.
“Miss Wishes, are you alright?” he asked her.
Ribbon laughed. “Things are great. Just great.” She turned her head and saw a glimpse of what appeared on her body. A red ribbon was imposed against her light blue fur. Her favorite kind. It was tied in the shape of a heart. She rubbed her tail against it. It didn’t come off or smear. That time, Ribbon knew it was impossible to remove like it would be to remove her own name.
Twilight came walking by with her friend that owned a boutique. She must have noticed Ribbon’s new cutie mark because she trotted over and gasped.
“Wow, you did it, Ribbon! Congratulations!” she exclaimed.
Then, out of nowhere, Twilight’s mare friend took Ribbon’s discarded dress from the ground, cradling it like a foal. It already had grass stains on it and the mare seemed like she wanted to cry.
“What is this? After I was so generous, you let this happen to something so lovely?!” she shrieked. She got up and bolted away and Twilight ran after her.
“Rarity……!”
“This is a rescue dress now, Twilight!” They disappeared behind a house and the three sisters broke out in laughter. Ponyville was definitely a strange town.
The warm spring sunlight fell upon Ribbon’s shoulders. She was relaxed, leaning back in a black leather chair. The smell of lemon cleaner was still thick in the air even after a month since she started her practice. It was all new but she liked the look of her office. Just having one at all made her giddy at times. The furniture had a professional air to it but the couch, paintings and flowers made it comfortable to the ponies that came in. It was a delicate balance that anypony that worked with mental issues would relate to. Every day was a gift from Celestia and she wasn’t about to start wasting it.
Her case load was rather heavy most of the time. She even had a receptionist that filled her work hours with ponies with all sorts of issues that needed dealing with. She was looking through the file of a foal that was the victim of repeated bullying when she stopped to give her eyes a needed break. She reached across her desk and grabbed one of the pretty fruits that were carved to look like flowers. It was from her coltfriend for their first anniversary together. He knew that fruit and chocolate were her weaknesses. She ate it greedily before picking up her pen.
Her receptionist buzzed her on her phone. Somepony had come to visit so Ribbon told her to let them in. A minute later, her family strolled into her office. Her mother and sisters.
Ribbon was pleasantly surprised. She only expected her mother to come since she had been planning a visit for a while. Her family looked around, absorbing the neatness of her office.
“Hey, this is nice to see you all,” Ribbon said. She went and hugged Lavender. “What is the occasion? Is it just to see the office?”
“Well, of course. Why else?” Crystal said, grinning.
“This place is something,” Glitter said. She looked particularly impressed. “I didn’t know ponies in your line of work made so much money.”
“Well, there is a lot of money to be made from it.”
Lavender nodded. “I know, dear. We’re all happy for you.”
“We also didn’t come just to visit. You got a package today from Uncle Cotton,” Crystal said. She was holding a brown paper box tied together by black string. Ribbon smiled and took the package. After opening it, she found what was inside. It was her old crystal ball. She had to blink rapidly, unsure whether it was some kind of trick of her eyes. Surely, he wasn’t able to fix the ball and if he could, why?
But there was something different about it. She reached down and tried to pick it up but as she nudged it with her hoof, the thing jiggled apart, revealing it to be two halves still. There was a letter next to the ball which Ribbon opened and read.
Ribbon, my dear niece. I’ve heard so much in the last year. Living with royalty, getting a coltfriend (how delightful!) and now this. Your own practice. It must be so fulfilling…I know the feeling myself as a fellow business owner. I just wish you the best no matter what you do in the future. Still, I bet you never expected to see that old ball again? Well, fortune teller or no, they’re still valuable and I’ve made it even better for you. I hope it makes up for lost time. Love, Uncle Cotton.
If her uncle was there, Ribbon would have wanted to squeeze his tiny rib cage until he couldn’t breathe. Instead, she settled on tearing up. She opened the ball and gazed at it in the light. The broken edges had been smoothed and coated with an opaque layer. And there was something engraved in the crystal itself. On the left side, the cutie marks of her family was etched in. On the right, a large version of her own. Her mother picked that one up.
Ribbon was nearly speechless. She looked at them both in astonishment.
“Princess Twilight gave us the idea…me and your uncle came up with using your cutie mark,” Lavender said. “That way, you can live where you want and not worry about where you stand at home.”
“That means so much….thank you.” Tears streamed down her cheek. She dabbed at them with tissues and hugged her family, telling them that she loved them. Then after she regained her composure, she set her side on a stand on the windowsill. Lavender kept the other side as they all departed her office, set on celebrating life together.
It was family history that none of the Wishes family could ever foretell the future of one of their own. Not even the greatest of them knew of their children’s destinies or what would come of the family after they were gone. Some tried in vain to do what couldn’t be done. But Ribbon Wishes, a mare without a shred of a fortune teller’s power, managed to find out a truth never understood. The future of the family they all searched for was there all along. It was just hiding in plain sight.