My "Gift"
Hi. My name is Minuette. I'm a unicorn who lives in Canterlot, capitol of Equestria and unicorn central. Most ponies here are well-to-do, with talents to match. What's mine, you ask? Well, my cutie mark is a simple hourglass, which makes ponies automatically assume my talent has something to do with time. It does; just.... not in the way that most think.
Some think I'm a clockmaker; others, the world's most on-time secretary. Some think I'm a dentist (I have no idea where that one comes from), and some even ask if I'm some kind of time travelling pony, if you can believe it.
Oh, how I wish it was one of those.
As I said, my talent does have to do with time. Time, as in, how much someone has left. For some reason, when I look at a pony, I can see these numbers, counting down like a clock timer, with slots that show the number of decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, even seconds that pony has left. When the time on the clock runs out, so does theirs.
Obviously, having an ability like this is quite a burden. Do you have any idea what it's like to look at a family member or friend and know the exact time they're going to die? It's something I can't even begin to describe.
You may be wondering how I discovered this ability. I'll never forget that day.....
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I was somewhere in the second grade at the time, and did not yet have my cutie mark. My parents were taking me and my older brother to see our Aunt Colgate and Uncle Crest (my Mother's brother) for our Uncle's birthday, at their house in Vanhoover.
We arrived around suppertime. Aunt Colgate had made Uncle Crest's favorite: oat tacos. We had all been seated at the dining table and begun filling our plates when suddenly, it happened: I saw a bright flash of light.
I blinked to clear my vision before looking around the table at my family, but none of them seemed to have noticed anything. I was about to shrug it off when I glanced at my Uncle.
There before him was a set of numbers, just kind of floating there. They read: 00:00:00:00:00:00:00:20. Once again I looked at my family and, once again, no one showed any signs of seeing what I was.
I looked back at the strange numbers and realized they were counting down, one with each second. What happened next was almost like slow motion to me.
15: Uncle Crest took a big bite of his taco.
12: Uncle Crest began choking.
09: Aunt Colgate screamed in alarm, rushing to his side as my Dad tried giving him the Haymleich.
07: Mother sent my brother out to get help.
05: Uncle Crest began turning blue as I started hearing a loud ticking noise.
03: The ticking was joined by the sound of a tolling bell.
02: I covered my ears with my hooves as the noises got louder.
01: I heard a snipping sound followed by a loud *SNAP* like a thick cord being cut.
00: Uncle Crest collapsed, lifeless, as the bell gave a final chime.
I sat there in a daze, everything happening around me in kind of a blur.
Aunt Colgate, crying out in panic as she shook her husband, not wanting to believe he was dead; my Mother sobbing as Dad held her, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. And my brother, rushing in the door with help only to find he was too late.
And then, I blacked out.
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When I woke, I saw my parents standing over me with worried faces. My Mother let out a sob of relief at seeing I was awake, and pulled me in for a hug.
When they were sure I was okay, they gently asked if I remembered what happened. I could only nod, still too shocked to speak.
The funeral came and went, and honestly, I don't remember much of it. I was pretty distant for quite some time after that. I never told anypony about the numbers or the bells and other sounds. I didn't want them to think I'd gone crazy. Besides, I still wasn't sure what had happened, myself.
I didn't see any more number sets after that, and began to wonder if it was just a one time thing.
Sadly, I was wrong.
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One morning, we were sitting at the breakfast table. Dad had already finished and was reading the newspaper. He turned the page, and I happened to notice the headline: STRANGE ILLNESS STRIKES GRIFFONSTONE. Before I could ask about it, Mom was rushing us out the door so we wouldn't be late for school.
That day, our class was going on a field trip to the Canterlot Castle Statue Garden. I was following along after the teacher next to two of my friends, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine, when all of a sudden, I began to hear that dreadful ticking sound.
I froze, unmoving. My friends, noticing I'd stopped, looked back at me and said something. I saw their mouths moving, but couldn't hear them over the noise. It was only a few seconds before the ticking was joined by the sound of a tolling bell, only this time, it sounded as if there were hundreds. The noise was overwhelming, and as I heard the first *SNAP*, I felt a pang near my heart.
It was all too much. I cried out in despair and collapsed to the ground in tears as the noises continued, *SNAP* after *SNAP*. It seemed as if they were getting louder, and I covered my head with my hooves, just wishing it would stop.
And suddenly, it did, as I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to find myself looking into the face of Princess Celestia. Her face was calm, and her voice was gentle as she whispered, "Are you alright, my little pony?"
I hesitated. The noises were gone, yes, but I was afraid they'd come back, and that was not alright.
I shook my head, and the princess looked thoughtful before asking, "What's your name, young filly?"
"Minuette," I managed to say.
The Sun Princess nodded before pulling away and standing straight again. She extended a hoof and helped me off the ground and then asked, "Minuette, will you come with me please?"
I hesitated, nervous, but decided it would be best to follow Her Highness' orders. I nodded.
Princess Celestia turned to the teacher and said, "It's alright; I simply need to speak to this filly. You can continue on with your tour, and we will join you when we're finished."
The teacher looked like she had a question, but before she could ask, the princess looked at me and motioned for me to come with her. I looked back at my friends, who were giving me worried looks, before turning and trotting to catch up to the princess, who had already started walking. Behind me, I could hear the teacher reluctantly resuming the tour.
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I walked alongside the princess for several minutes. I was nervous. Why had the ruler of Equestria asked to speak with me? Me, of all ponies? Had I done something wrong? Was it illegal to scream on the castle grounds?
Finally I opened my mouth to ask, but before I could speak, the princess stopped walking and held out a hoof for me to do so too.
"Minuette," she said to me. "Look around us. Tell me, what do you see?"
I was confused by her request, but did so anyway. That was when I realized we were standing on a street corner, just outside the castle. And there were tons of ponies, rushing about.
And they all had numbers floating before them.
There were numbers in front of me. So I turned to the left. But there were numbers there too. So I turned around again and again, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't escape those awful numbers.
I sat back on my haunches, and couldn't stop the tears from escaping my eyes. Was this to be my life? Forever haunted by these.... life clocks?
As I had these thoughts, I saw a bright flash of light from the corner of my eye, but I was too caught up in my thoughts to care what it was.
Just then, I heard Princess Celestia speak. "Oh dear...." she muttered. "It's just as I feared...."
I looked at her in confusion. Did she know what was going on?
"Hang on," she told me. "I'm going to teleport us back to the castle." And sure enough, we were surrounded by a bright, golden light, before being whisked away by the alicorn's magic.
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Seconds later, we appeared in the throne room. I shook my head, slightly dizzy from experiencing my first teleportation. Travelling through time and space to get from one location to another by becoming a temporarily being-less magic form for a matter of seconds before returning to normal again tends to feel odd the first few times.
When the dizziness faded, I stood there in awe. I had never expected to enter the castle, and certainly not the throne room. Not only that, I was there for a private meeting with the ruler of all Equestria!
That thought reminded me why I was there in the first place, and my nervousness returned. I gazed up at the white alicorn, who was easily four times my size, and gulped.
Instead of going to her throne to be seated, she sat down right next to me on the long red carpet. As if sensing my thoughts, she gave me a reassuring smile before she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Minuette," she began sadly.
"Why?" was all I could think to ask.
"For what happened on the street a moment ago," she explained. "But I had to be sure."
"I don't understand," I said. What did she have to be sure of?
"First, let me ask about what happened in the statue garden," she said. "Can you... tell me why you were crying?"
I bit my lip. After hesitating a moment, I answered, "I.... heard some noises."
The princess put a comforting hoof on my shoulder. "Did those noises include.... bells, perhaps?" she asked.
I looked up at her in amazement. "And... ticking and snapping..." I said. "But... how do you...?"
"I was afraid of this," she admitted. "You see Minuette, you are not the first I've come across to have this ability."
"I... I'm not?" I clasped my hooves together and pleaded, "Then please, what's wrong with me? Why do I see those numbers? And hear those noises? How do I make it stop?" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.
"There is nothing wrong with you," the princess replied firmly, but gently. "The reason you see and hear those things is because you have 'inherited', so to speak, this ability from the previous one who possessed this talent. I suppose they must have passed recently."
"What do you mean by inherited?" I asked.
"By my understanding, there is one pony like you for every generation. Many have come to me, seeking help and understanding. Over time I've become able to recognize the signs of a pony who has this talent, but I could not be certain until I saw your cutie mark."
"But.... I don't have a...." I trailed off as I turned to see that there on my flank, there was, in fact, a cutie mark: an hourglass. "But..... when?" Suddenly I recalled the flash of light earlier.
"All the ponies before you have all had that same cutie mark," she explained. "Though usually, they did not gain this ability so young."
"So... my talent is... knowing when others die?!" I exclaimed. "Please, Princess! I don't want to live with this my whole life! You have powerful magic! Can't you take it away?" I begged.
The Sun Princess hung her head. "I'm afraid not even my magic can remove somepony's talent," she said sadly. "However, there is something I can do to help you with it, at least."
Her horn lit up with magic, and she summoned a small, rectangular box. She opened it to reveal it held two clear oval shaped... somethings. I looked up at her in confusion. "What're these?"
"These are contacts," she explained. "They are usually worn to help improve eyesight, for ponies who prefer not to wear glasses. These, however, are special."
"How so?" I asked, curious.
"I can cast a spell on them that will help to block the sight of "life clocks"," she told me. "However, it will not last forever. The spell will only last for about ten years, and cannot be cast again for the same pony. But at least this way, you can spend your fillyhood without having to see the clocks."
"And... the noises?" I asked hesitantly.
"I'm afraid I can't do anything to prevent that, unfortunately. I'm sorry Minuette," she apologized.
"It.... it's okay. I understand," I said quietly.
The princess gave me a pained look before levitating the contacts out of the case, and then began casting the spell. The light became so bright, I had to turn away to shield my eyes. Even from behind my closed eyelids, I could still see the light.
Finally, it faded, and I slowly opened my eyes. I looked at the lenses, still floating in the princess' magic, and gulped. "Will it... will it hurt?" I asked.
She shook her head in response. "No, they're perfectly safe. Though, they may take some getting used to. Would you like me to put them in now?"
"O-okay." I forced my eyes to stay open as the special contacts got closer. A second later, they were popped into my eyes. I flinched at the strange feeling. After blinking a few times, I looked around. Everything still looked the same. When I looked at the princess, I didn't see any numbers; however, I realized I hadn't seen any before either.
"I am sorry that is all I can do," Princess Celestia said, breaking the silence. "All I can do now is offer my support. If you have any questions for me, or just want to talk, please don't hesitate to contact me, alright?"
"Okay. Thank you, Princess," I said. Then, without thinking, I ran forward and hugged her in thanks.
After a moment, Princess Celestia stood. "Shall I escort you back to your class now?" she asked.
I nodded, and, for the first time since my Uncle's death, I smiled.
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It's been some time since the spell on the contacts wore off. It's a hard thing to live with, but I refuse to let it keep me from living my life, though I still see the numbers, and occasionally hear the sounds telling of the death of someone, somewhere.
If there's one good thing to come out of this, it's that it's taught me to appreciate what you have while you have it, before it's gone. That's why I make certain to never miss a chance to spend time with my family and friends. For the most part, I've become able to look past their clocks, so as to not dwell on it, even though they're still there.... and they'll never let me forget it.
Even so, I can't help but have those days where I sink into depression. I still remember the last thing Princess Celestia told me, clear as day: Never look in the mirror.
I can't help but wonder what she meant by that. Would I be able to see my own life clock? Would it not start counting down till I did so? Or would it cause it to run out instantly? Sometimes on those depressed days, I consider looking, even if it means risking it.
But I never do.
Maybe someday I will. But for now, I'm going to live for what I have.
To this day, I've never told anyone about my "talent". Princess Celestia is the only other one who knows.
Except for you, Dear Diary. So-
"Minuette? Minuette, are you here?" a voice called out.
The blue unicorn dropped her quill in surprise, before turning to the door and using her magic to open it. There she found a white unicorn with a pink mane and a cutie mark of three blue stars standing on the doorstep.
"Oh, hey Twinkleshine. What's up?"
Her friend frowned. "Did you forget? We're supposed to go meet Lemon Hearts and Moondancer at Donut Joe's," Twinkleshine replied.
Minuette face-hooved. "Oh yeah! Just give me a minute, something I need to finish."
Her fellow unicorn nodded and waited patiently on the doorstep as Minuette closed the door and trotted back over to her desk. Picking up the quill again and dipping it in the ink with her magic, she wrote one last thing.
So be it a gift cursed,
Or a curse gived, I know not;
But I shall carry the burden,
Till my days end; so none else need suffer. - Minuette
And with that, she closed the book and tucked it safely back in the drawer, before trotting outside to go and meet her friends; who, she happily noted, all had lots of time left on their clocks.
The end.