Future's Past

As I followed the two ponies out of Cloudsdale Station’s detainment level, I once again wondered what had just happened to me. After being thrown head-first into the future, being picked up by some money-hungry trading mare, jumping halfway across the galaxy in only about half a week…wait, what? I travelled halfway across the galaxy in merely a week? Oh, that’s incredible! How are they doing that? I need to find a library.

Focus Twilight, you just barely escaped death and have been saved by your compatriots. That’s pretty much the definition of getting one’s act together. So, where was I? Right, so I landed on this station, got stopped at customs, thrown in jail and „interrogated“ by the most sadistic human I’ve ever met. That was quite a day and surprisingly I still manage to keep myself from falling over right here on the floor and taking a nap. Perhaps its my curiosity keeping me awake.

„Alright people, make way for Your Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle! Please don’t stand in the way, we need a clear shot for the hangar here, people!“ I heard the stallion guard yell into the hall and several heads turning toward us.

And then the second pony, a unicorn mare with a cyan coat, or at least I assumed it was cyan since it was mostly obstructed by her uniform, turned her head towards the stallion and her face changed from stern to mad in the span of what felt like less than a second. „Are you crazy, private? The President ordered absolute discretion during the escort of the Princess! Don’t you know that this is exactly what every damn tabloid outlet in the entire galaxy is just waiting for?!“ she almost yelled, desperate to keep her voice down.

The stallion began to mope. „I’m terribly sorry, ma’am. I’m new and wasn’t aware that-„ and was immediately interrupted by the mare.

„Dismissed, private!“ she replied and the stallion walked off after a quick „Yes, ma’am“. Great, first no one knew me and now everyone does. As I began analyzing the situation, my gaze turned out the main window of the station.

Ah, from here you once again have a nice, clear view of Equus below. I’m pretty excited to see how it has changed, but at the same time, I feel like I shouldn’t see it. Would that count as a spoiler?

„Is she really a princess?“ „Did that mare call the winged unicorn a ‚Princess‘?“ „Mom, look, it’s a real princess!“ I heard ponies and people of several different species alike murmur around me as we walked through the main hall. Feeling flattered, my cheeks reddened a bit.

Anyway, about spoilers. If I understand time travel well enough, any action I take will not affect the timeline. Basically, if I travel back in time and attempt to kill my grandfather (why I would ever do that, I don’t know, I liked my grandfather the few times he came to visit my family when I was a still a filly), that attempt would fail and cause the timeline to happen the way it originally did. I think I once read something like that in a paper where the phenomenon was referred to as Novikov’s self-consistency principle.

But that theory is entirely at odds with what happened when Starlight Glimmer got ahold of a time travel spell by Star Swirl the Bearded and tried to stop Rainbow Dash from effectively causing our Cutie Marks to appear, unwittingly changing the entire history of Equestria into something worse and worse with every new loop in the process. Perhaps it requires a special set of conditions to actually be able to modify the timeline. Or we just jumped from one alternative universe to the next.

Whichever theory is correct, I’m bound to find out soon enough. That, assuming I ever manage to get back to the past.

„Ugh, Your Highness? Are you still there?“ the mare suddenly asked, waking me from my daydream. „Yes.“ I responded. Actually, no, I might have fully left reality there for a moment, as I suddenly found myself staring at a very sleek-looking shuttle, with a wide-open hangar gate leading straight into the depths of space behind it.

„Right, great, Your Highness. Please, board the shuttle so that we may take you to the President.“

Wanting to get off this station and craving real fresh air after spending about half a week breathing nothing but this sterile, canned and processed stuff, I followed up on the mare’s request and boarded the shuttle, where I took a seat in the very center of the ship after being stopped from sitting directly next to the long window going almost completely around the circumference of the ship. Wow, these ponies went from treating me like a criminal to apparently becoming overly paranoid about my safety in no time.

But to be perfectly frank with you, after all that has happened to me since I got here, I really wouldn’t want it any other way, at least for a little while.

The ship’s pilot, a stallion with a white coat and orange mane, turned around from the ship’s controls and announced „Welcome aboard Your Highness and crew, we will now depart for the surface of Equus with destination set on the city of Equinopolis.“

What in the name of Celestia is „Equinopolis“?

The shuttle’s engines began whirring up and we slowly began lifting off the ground. We then promptly proceeded to fly the ship out backwards through the hangar gate, which while at first making me raise an eyebrow before remembering that we’re in space and not in an atmosphere.

„Do you feel comfortable, Your Highness?“ the mare with the uniform asked. „Yes, all things concerned, I do feel quite well, thank you.“ I responded.

„Great. Anyway, my name is Commodore Solar Flare. Command has picked me to watch your transfer into safe territory. I’m terribly sorry you had to experience that interrogation process. If you want me to, I can fill you in on any details you might want to find out about.“

I looked at her with a pretty „unroyally“ curious face. „Yes, please. That is precisely what I have been wanting to hear for several days and two trans-galactic journeys now. First question is just to reassure myself: What is the current date?“

Solar Flare looked slightly puzzled, possibly since she had expected a more elaborate question. „It’s April 1st, 3997, at 0634 Galactic Standard Time.“

Slightly disappointed but also intrigued, I began pondering what else I could ask her about, and then realizing that the amount of questions I would have is too great to be easily covered over the course of a flight to the surface of Equus, so I considered which questions I was most keen on having answered right away, and what I came up with boiled down to „What in the holy name of Celestia is wrong with that person?!“.

I also immediately regretted wrapping that question in a small outburst, since both Solar Flare and the pilot seemed reasonably frightened. „I am aware that this event was very traumatic, Your Highness-„ „And stop referring to me as ‚Your Highness‘! I’m no more worthy or valuable than any one of you! I’m just a pony trying to find its place in society myself! Just because I had been granted these wings and given position as the Princess of Friendship of Equestria way back when, that doesn’t automatically make me better or more important!“

Okay Twilight, you are safe now. Keep calm, you are just alienating the very first ponies, or people for that matter, around here that don’t want your head on a silver platter or your stacks of non-existent money.

The resulting silence of the ship was finally broken by Solar Flare.

„Uhm, about the wing-thing, your highness…“ she said, and began to unzip her uniform. And below the military attire, she revealed a set of perfectly normal-looking wings. I gasped.

„You see, Princess, in the centuries since your disappearance, Pony society went through some changes. Some ponies no longer wanted to be restrained by biological factors, particularly Earth ponies. The amount of Earth ponies wanting more than just the ability to grow crops kept rising in numbers, and  over time, research into manipulating genes both before birth and during life reduced the amount of Ponies with neither a horn nor wings to a bare minimum, something you rarely see outside of the lowest classes of society nowadays. However, Alicorns like yourself or I are still relatively rare. I was born a pegasus. When I joined the United Systems Navy, my abilities became more and more apparent to the higher-ups at Command and ultimately, as a sign of their gratitude for my ongoing loyalty, gallantry, intrepidity and sense of duty, they granted me a horn, increased magical abilities and all, though that doesn’t include the rank of Princess, which is given away by the shape of my wings, which are those of a normal pegasus.“ Solar Flare explained.

I’m torn on what she said. On one hoof, the society I grew up in and that I helped rebuilt after it was almost completely destroyed by Nightmare Moon was highly based on tolerance and celebration of each Pony’s naturally-granted abilities.

This change, basically viewing lack of both a horn and wings almost as a disability limited to the weak, sick or simply less fortunate, was entirely contrary to that idea, a borderline disgusting notion. I even once fought some Unicorn ponies who had stolen Rainbow Dash’s wings to turn themselves into Alicorns, since they clearly both used highly forbidden magic and, well, they had stolen the wings from somepony else.

But had they actually given themselves wings, they too wouldn’t have become Princesses. What was the term I had used to refer to such a Pony again? „Pseudocorn“? Solar Flare is one of those, but contrary to the wing thieves, she didn’t commit any crimes or employed forbidden magic to obtain her horn. Or maybe she did, I can’t say. And even if she did, the magic at work here is perhaps no longer  strinctly forbidden.

Though in hindsight, perhaps my punishment of briefly causing their magic essences to fizzle out was somewhat drastic.

But on the other hoof, Solar Flare does have a point. Granting each Pony heightened abilities offers them a lot more freedom to built their own destiny instead of just the single one given to them by their Cutie Mark. And in a twisted but strangely sensible sense, Earth Ponies are put at an inherent disadvantage compared to both Unicorns and Pegasi. They can channel their magic through their hooves, allowing them to grow and harvest crops more quickly and efficiently than other ponies could.

But after the invention of mechanized farming by both us and the humans, we essentially rendered these abilities obsolete, in a way making Earth ponies second-class citizens. So one might argue that giving everyone a horn or wings promotes a more just and equal world for everypony.

However, the humans of Earth, from what I have gathered about them, have survived and thrived for millennia without any apparent magical abilities. They don’t even seem to have any particular demand for them. But, again, this is 1800 years after that and reality is bound to disagree with me again, just like it has about the current date and the usage of cash. Speaking of which…

„Uh, yeah. I do have a request. I’m currently 1200 credits in debt to a pony I met shortly after I arrived here. The money was meant for a flight ticket from Olympus to here.“

Solar Flare looked stunned. „You came here all the way from Olympus? Why didn’t you inform anyone? We could have easily picked you up there! Olympus may be one of the United Systems’ most distant worlds, yet its still an important part of it and the Navy has a major outpost located there.“

Any response I could potentially provide here is bound to be somewhat embarrassing. „Well, the fact is, I wasn’t sure if anyone would even recognize me, let alone buy into my story that I’m a Princess. It began when the Pony that picked me up asked me for an autograph and then scoff at the idea that I would be anyone famous, only having the autograph in hand should I end up becoming famous and then being able to resell the autograph for a possibly insane price to a fan of mine.“

Thankfully, reality decided to be kind to me for once and Solar Flare didn’t seem amused in the slightest. „What was the name of the Pony that picked you up, exactly?“ she asked.

„If I remember correctly, it was a pegasus by the name of Captain Starshine.“

Solar seemed almost a bit annoyed by my response. „Starshine. Don’t worry about her, Princess. Starshine is a trader seeking to make a fortune in the outer regions of the galaxy. She has resorted to tactics like this one several times and has gotten in trouble with United Systems law more than once for them. Any dirty trick that allows someone to increase his or her fortune one can imagine has probably been employed by her at some point. I know her myself, we went to school together. Okay, not exactly ‚together‘ as in the same class, but we were together on our six-month mission into the Orion sector during senior year. She’s actually a much nicer and generous Pony than she purports to be.“ Solar explained in an ernest but faintly reminiscing voice.

She looked back to the controls in front of her and continued: „I haven’t seen her in ages. So it would be of benefit to both of us if we pay her a visit later, once you had your talk with the President. You can pay your debts to Starshine and I can reunite with her. Is this idea to your liking, Princess?“

Lines like that last one still make me blush a bit every time I hear them. „Yes, I do like that. But you don’t need to be so formal. Like I said, just because I’m a Princess doesn’t mean I’m better than any one of you. Just talk to me like you would talk to a friend. Just call me ‚Twilight‘“

Solar chuckled. „Sure, Princess-, ugh, Twilight, I will.“

Suddenly the pilot turned his head. „I’m sorry having to interrupt your little tea party, but you might want to brace yourselves, we’re about to enter the atmosphere of Equus. We’ll arrive at Equinopolis in around 30 seconds.“

„But I still had some questions!“ I exclaimed.

Solar looked over and said „Save it for another time. For now, just hold on to your seat. We’ll have ample time to talk soon. Now, just concentrate on your meeting with the President.“

She turned her head back towards her console and the shuttle began to rock from the reentry process.

„Capitol tower, this is Darkstar. Requesting landing clearance.“ the pilot began talking. A voice from the speakers responded with „Confirmed, Darkstar, you are cleared to land in bay 2. Please make sure that the package is delivered to the president right away.“

I raised an eyebrow. „‚Darkstar‘? ‚Package‘?“

Solar Flare looked over and explained „Code words that, when used right after each other, are meant refer to the ship that carries the Princess of Friendship, i.e., yourself.  It’s called the ‚Darkstar protocol‘. We already caused quite a stir back on Cloudsdale Station, and the fewer people aware of your arrival, the better.“

Since I’m assuming that something like the Internet would still exist in this world, that explanation seemed downright ludicrous to me. Literally anyone with a smartphone or whatever camera-equipped personal assistant people carry around these days could snap a photo of myself or our shuttle as it departed from the station, post that to any public site and have it spread around faster than one can say „Apples!“.

Solar Flare tried to explain it with the apparent fact that this protocol never had to be activated and thus the code words would be unknown to the majority of the population, coupled with the fact that we deliberately used a generic Station-to-Surface shuttle for my transportation. While this explanation would seem sound at first, under closer inspection, it still falls apart, as no one would need these code words. Plenty of people and Ponies saw me being escorted to the hangar bays and just going from the social-media-addicted population of the 22nd century, I’m going to assume that more than one of them shot a photo of the event. While I don’t recall seeing any flashes, the lighting conditions on the station were more than adequate for a phone of even that age to take a really good shot.

I was suddenly pulled back into reality when I noticed that we were flying straight through a city riddled with massive skyscrapers and cars flying through the urban canyons creating by said skyscrapers in double-file at multiple heights. This looked nothing like the Ponyville I remember.

But it was. In the distance, I could see, standing on a massive pedestal and towering above most other buildings, my old castle. I suppose someone uprooted it and placed it on a hight spot at some point to make it more easily visible. The only difference I noticed was that the flags hanging from the castle’s flag poles appeared to be different. There was some emblem emblazoned on them, but from this distance, it was tough to make out.

This is Ponyville. Almost 2000 years after I disappeared.

„Everything all right, Twilight?“ Solar Flare asked.

„Nono, everything’s fine. Just thought I’d seen a ghost or something.“ I responded, wanting to escape that particular conversation as quickly as possible. Nothing against Solar, but seeing my old castle was both a relief and punch to the guts at the same time.

Finally we approached the Capitol. We passed through another set of hangar doors and the shuttle settled down on the ground with s thunk.

And to my great dismay, the hangar doors closed right behind us. „Can’t I at least go out into the open for five minutes? I haven’t had the chance to breath fresh air for almost two weeks now, half of which I spent on various space ships in a time period I’m unfamiliar with.“

Solar Flare made it very clear to me that this wouldn’t be possible, as the Darkstar protocol was still in effect and the amount of people coming in contact with me or even witnessing me should continue to be kept to a minimum, at least for the next few time intervals. Bummer, but I also really don’t want to argue with her right now. I’m just glad that no one is out to strangle me to death with plundervines at the moment. I need to mention that when I get a chance to talk to Solar Flare again.

The pilot ended the flight with „Thank you for traveling with Air Equus, I hope you had an enjoyable flight and will cover the fuel expenses.“. Very funny.

As I climbed down the ramp from the shuttle, I looked around and noticed that this hangar bay was strangely empty. „Is this another side-effect of the protocol?“ I asked Solar. She nodded, asked me to wait here and began trotting over to two ponies who looked like futuristic Royal Guards waiting over at the far end of the hangar.

„If you would please follow us, Your Highness, the president would like to meet you as soon as possible.“

These Ponies just won’t let me catch my breath for even a second. While I certainly appreciate their efforts to make me feel comfortable, which I somewhat welcome what after my first impressions of this place were like, I still feel locked up. I can move around, but not freely.  One more time, 3997.

„Yes, guards, go ahead.“ I responded, somewhat resigned. We began walking through a pair of sliding doors and into the main hall.

Wow, this hall is beautiful. While it only had a single window at each far end, it was decorated with crystal lights and red carpet. Very posh, as Rarity would perhaps say.

„President Cera is waiting in her office. Please, Your Highness, enter this elevator, so that we may bring you to her.“

I’ve never truly gotten used to the hifalutin way some Royal Guards talk. Hopefully the President doesn’t talk like that.

We stood in the elevator for a mere ten seconds while the floor number on a holographic sign above rose faster than I could count. When the elevator came to a halt, the sign read ‚Floor 400‘. Wow, that’s pretty high.

The elevator doors opened and we emerged into a fully open dome, with the president’s desk being immediately noticeable at the back, flanked by two other desks helmed by a Pony and human, respectively.

„Ah, Your Highness, please come in, I’ve been expecting you. Have a seat over there, I’ll tend to you in a moment. Would you like a drink?“ the president, who was a human woman, asked me.

I replied with „Nice to meet you, Mrs. President. Yes, I would like to have a cup of coffee.“, and were confused when the president asked me what coffee was.

It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?

Thrown of the trail, I just said „I’ll have whatever you have, then.“, to which the president ordered the guards to bring us a cup of Ol’ Joe.

‚Cup of Ol’ Joe‘? Is that seriously what they are calling coffee nowadays?

The fact that I was all of a sudden drinking a high-quality brew of coffee answered that particular question with a resounding ‚Yes!‘.

As we were sipping our, erm, „Ol’Joe“, the president began with „I don’t think we have been introduced yet. I’m President Colleen Cera. I’ve actually entered office just last year, but so far, things have been well. The United Systems parliament gets along with me. How about you?“

Fair enough question, I should really introduce myself. „Yes. My name is Twilight Sparkle, I study magic and I was given the position of Princess of Friendship some 1900 years ago.“ Celestia, help me, this is getting awkward. I have absolutely no idea what to talk about, even if the amount of questions I would have is immense. Just come up with something, Twilight! Think! Ask Cera whatever!

„Why do pseudocorns exist?“ Horseapples, Twilight, that just came over as incredibly racist! Also, Solar Flare is the first sentient being in this time period you have subtly referred to as a friend. Way to ruin that for your own subconscious!

Trying hard to suppress a somewhat offended face, Cera began. „Well, since we have always strived for a more equal world, with equal opportunity for every human and pony alike, we had to break down some structures, even if they are otherwise perfectly natural. We developed the necessary technology, we just had to go the next way and actually implement these technologies. And few ponies have seemed to mind. We have been tampering with Pony genes for centuries now, so most Ponies are either unicorns or pegasi. And sometimes, a Pony gets granted both as a reward.“

„But those two concepts are entirely contradictory! You seek to establish a more fair and just world for Ponies by removing their natural ‚handicaps‘ of having neither a horn nor wings and actually grant some of them both. I had to deal with something similar at one point in my life, shortly after I became a princess. You see, miss, there was this village, located at the edge of this land when it was still known as Equestria, where all Ponies who lived there were equal, or so it was implied, since they all gave up their Cutie Marks and joined a quasi-collective. The whole concept broke apart when myself and five of my friends were sent to investigate the place, and it turned out that the town’s founder, a Pony by the name of Starlight Glimmer, had been conning everyone and seeking power, i.e. ‚Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others‘. I later found out she did this because she was entirely abandoned by her friend in magic kindergarten after he had gotten his Cutie Mark and was whisked away into a private school. Somewhat drastic, but case-in-point for trauma. Cutie Marks, combined with each Pony’s natural magical distribution, are a good thing. They celebrate each Pony’s natural abilities and allow all of them to express themselves in a way to maximize their contribution to society. You don’t create a more equal world, you drive a wedge between them without even noticing it.“ I tried to explain. But apparently I had failed to notice a flaw in my own logic, and Cera was quick to point it out to me. Yes, I have wings myself.

Also, would she please judge my arguments based on their merits and not by the amount of limbs I have?

This is not going well. I suppose I’m more conservative than I had thought I am. And once again, shifting each Pony’s magical capabilities allows them to express themselves in a way they might prefer, if just by the ability to shape their own destiny.

Nothing is eternal.

I honestly don’t want to think about this any further. I’ve missed millennia, and right now, I have little choice other than trying to fit in. Society might have changed in a way I may find somewhat odd, but the same sorts of changes, albeit with fewer or even no changes to genetic code, or so I presume, from what I have seen work really well for the humans of Earth. You know what, Twilight, push aside the past for a while and give this new world and its workings a chance. You  are after all keen on always discovering something new.

Anyway, what else could I ask? Maybe…

„Different topic. Who does the United Systems represent? I have seen several different races when I was visiting Olympus station.“

The President looked slightly relieved, likely because the previous topic made her feel pretty uncomfortable. I wouldn’t blame her, honestly.

„Yes, quite. The United Systems represents the territories of the Terran, Equestrian, Lomar, Sculari and Valencia races across a grand total of 332 planets. They are all situated in the US main sectors to the galactic south. The north is composed of more autonomous regions that aren’t directly represented in the parliament but are still bound by United Systems regulations. The Palamen live there, however they don’t recognize United Systems . Beyond that, little is known about those regions.“ the president explained.

Sounds reasonable enough. But why would a government claim hegemony over a place it is barely familiar with? „Do you maintain diplomatic relations with the Palamen?“ I asked, wanting to resolve this apparent contradiction.

The president however wouldn’t let me. „No. Like I mentioned, the Palamen don’t accept the United Systems as a legitimate  government over any part of the galaxy. Any attempt by out diplomats to make contact with them have been met with trespassing warnings, and they have attacked US ships multiple times.“

So I might have popped right in on an interstellar war just waiting to happen. Great.

Suddenly one of the guards in the room approached the president. „Mrs. President, I’m afraid you will have to cut your meeting with the Princess short. You were asked to speak to the parliament about the recent tensions with Jovalia.“

Jovalia?

The president looked over to me. „You must apologize, your Highness, but you heard the guard. I’m afraid I have to go, and unfortunately I doubt we can resume our conversation anytime soon. I’m usually very busy. But it was great getting to know you. Do you need anything else?“

Two things, actually. „Yes, what is Jovalia?“

The president seemed uneasy. „Jovalia is a planet in the northern regions of the galaxy.“

That wasn’t a whole lot of info. Strange. „One last thing: I have a debt that I need to pay back, 1200 credits. Who could help me with that?“

„Don’t worry about that. Commodore Solar Flare requested you return to her right away, she will help you. I’m sorry, but I really need to hurry. Nice to have met you, Your Highness“. The president tried to shake hands with me and rushed off, escorted by two guards.

That was quite an odd encounter. Not only did the president appear to avoid my question about this planet of Jovalia, I also still didn’t get the chance to mention that prison guard who wanted to strangle me to death with Plundervines. One thing is for certain: I’ll mention that to Solar Flare first thing later.

***

I’m out of danger for the time being, yet I still feel uneasy. I know I should be a lot more rational and not believe in things like signs, but I still have the strange feeling that something bad will yet happen. All I can do right now, however, I try to find out exactly what is going on. There’s something off and I’m determined to find out what it is.

And I need to find Sunset Shimmer. Somehow.