Dear Future Self

by Inkwell Prose

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike
Length: 3753

Upon the discover of an old book, Twilight relives old memories of when she was just a small filly.

While Twilight and Spike were reorganizing the huge library of the castle, Spike discovers a book Twilight hasn't seen for a long, long time. Within its pages are memories of her childhood before and after she realized her special magical talent.

Published 2016-02-09 02:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-09 02:30:01 UTC

The Discovery

Monday, cleaning day, Twilight Sparkle's favorite day of the week, and Spike's.... least. While he was barely out of bed, the Princess of Friendship was practically bouncing down the stairs in pure joy of the day ahead. A whole day dedicated to cleaning up her castle, and she had Spike participate as to lend an extra claw, and it was somewhat of a bonding idea she had with her dragon assistant. When Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs, she trotted into the kitchen and quickly grabbed her cleaning checklist from the drawer and called up for Spike to come down to start.

"Spiiiiiike! C'mon! We have to get an early start if you want to be done before breakfast!" Spike rose his head and looked at the clock in his room; it was only five in the morning. The sun wasn't even out yet. He ignored her and went back to sleep, returning to one of his many dreams about Rarity. Twilight was sure this would've happened, so she called up again. "If you come help, I'll get you some gemstones from Rarity!" This got the little dragon's attention, as he was downstairs and ready in close to ten seconds; it was an academy record! "Thought so. Now, shall we get started Spike?" she asked.

"Mhm," Spike said with a reaffirming nod, and grabbing the checklist from Twilight. He went and grabbed a quill as well, so he could mark off each cleaning task as they went. Twilight's checklists were always in alphabetical order, so the first thing to do was to beat all the dust out of the rugs and tapestries around the castle. Once they were done, Twilight gave Spike a nod, and he preceded to mark it off the list, moving to the next thing, which was dusting the shelves off.

Task after task, check after check, the two moved their way down the list, making the castle look spick and span. They have been at it for close to two hours, but they were almost done. All that was left was to reorganize all of the books in Twilight's library. It was probably the hardest task to do out of all of them, even though Twilight has magic. But, she prefers to do it all by hoof as to avoid any errors that can occur when magic is used.

"Alright Spike, last thing to do! With both of us, it shouldn't take long, so I need your full help, okay?" Twilight asked, awaiting the dragon's response.

"Then we get the gemstones?" he replied, and when Twilight gave a happy nod, Spike went to work on the shelves, pulling off all the books he could grab in his claws. Twilight flew up and started with the higher shelves; she knew Spike wouldn't be able to get to them without pulling out a ladder. Once all the books were off, they would be reorganized in a new pattern. Twilight always loved to switch things up.

As she pulled the books off the shelves, she laughed a little to herself. Every single book she owned she has read four times over, backwards, and upside down! And there are a lot of books in her ever-expanding library. Even back when she lived in the Golden Oak Library, she had a vast collection. Nowadays, there's too many to count! So many she has collected over the years, and even some Celestia gave herself. Still, they all reside here; years and years of books in one room, and it made Twilight giddy.

Pulling off another book, she read the title. Suddenly, her face lit up happily. It was the book about how to have a successful sleepover. It hasn't even been touched since she held the one with Applejack and Rarity; it was the first time to really get to know those mares. She set it down and grabbed another. This one was the book she judged by its cover, believing it was about the supernatural and curses, but in reality was just a natural remedy book. She could thank Zecora for that one. With a tad of blush forming, she quickly put the book on the piles of removed books and went back to organizing. Spike had finished removing them from all but one lower row, and Twilight was almost finished with her share.

"Nice work so far, Spike. Not much longer and we'll be done." Twilight said from above.

"Thanks, Twi," Spike responded, pulling off another book. Suddenly, there was a thud on the floor, next to Spike's feet. He looked down and tilted his head; a book had fallen out of another book. He bent down and picked it up curiously, turning it over in his claws. "Um... Twi? Have you ever seen this book before? I know I haven't."

"Hm?" Twilight responded, flying down to ground level with Spike. He showed her the book he found, and Twilight took it curiously. It definitely had some wear and tear; the binding was barely holding the thing together, and most of the cover was faded. Water damage was definitely present on the pages within. There was also a quill sticking out of the top, as a sort of bookmark. Twilight tried to read the cover, but could only come back with a few letters. A 'T', 'li', 't', then a 'J' and 'al'. Anything else was illegible. "Well whatever one it is, it's definitely taken some damage."

She found it odd that it was even damaged as badly as it was, honestly. Twilight always strived to take care of her books, but this one looks like it was left out. Which made her want to find out what it was even more.

"Maybe it's an old spell book!" Spike exclaimed, snatching it back. But, Twilight thought otherwise.

"I don't think it's that, Spike," she said, calmly taking it back. She opened the book and tried to read the first few pages, but they were so torn and ragged, it would be impossible to make out a single letter. "I hope not all of the pages are like this."

"All those poor spells," said Spike, a bit saddened. Twilight just rolled her eyes and continued flipping through the pages, hoping something will jump out at her. Sure enough, about ten pages in, was a picture. It was scribbled in crudely, and half of it was torn, but she could somewhat make out what it was supposed to be. There was two ponies, one small and one big. One had to be a stallion, by the way the muzzle was sketched. The smaller one didn't have a cutie mark yet, so it was still young. Looking back at the stallion, she looked at the tiny cutie mark almost ripped off with the rest of the paper, and her heart leaped with joy.

"Spike! I know what this book is!" she exclaimed, bouncing around in happiness.

"What is it Twi?!" asked Spike, now just as excited. If Twilight was this excited about something, then it must be good.

Twilight stopped and held up the book for him to see. "This, Spike, is my old journal! From when I was just a filly! I used to write everything in here, and I mean everything. Right before we moved into the Golden Oak Library, I had lost it, and now we've found it!"

"So it's just a journal? Well that's a bit of a bummer." Spike responded, disappointed.

"Well, it may just be a journal to you. But to me, it's a book full of so many wonderful memories," Twilight retorted, looking back down at the journal, a rush of happiness flowing through her body. She had to read through it again, she had to relive her memories. But first, they had a job to finish. These bookshelves weren't going to organize themselves. "C'mon Spike! Let's get this done!"

"Way ahead of you, Twi," he says, already putting the books on the lower shelves of the library. Twilight quickly began to work on the higher shelves, going at least double the speed as before, determination in her eyes. Her goal now was to get to reading that journal. And before they knew it, all of the shelves were stocked and organized, looking the best they have in a while. Spike quickly turned to Twilight to ask if they could go visit Rarity and get the gemstones, but-

"Can we read this first, Spike? I know I promised but... Pleeeaaassseeee?" Twilight asked, practically begging Spike now to wait. He was a bit upset, but reluctantly agreed when Twilight gave him one of the saddest looks she'd ever given him, and it won him over. His only requirement was that they went and got the gemstones right after they were done reading, which Twilight agreed to happily. She sat down on the floor, and Spike next to her, and opened up to the first readable page. Even as a filly, she had really good writing. Nice and small, and even in cursive.

"Wow, what happened to your writing? It's gotten worse since then," Spike said, laughing a little until Twilight gave him a glare that would shut a Manticore up.

"It's natural for it to change, Spike. For better or worse," she said, still fuming a bit, "But that doesn't matter. Shall we read?" Spike nods and together they dove into the journal, Twilight reading aloud-

Dear Journal,

Eeeep!!!! I finally got a journal! I've always wanted one of these! Now I can write everything that happens in here and I'll be able to show all my friends my cool journal and I'll decorate it and eeeeep!!!! I'm so excited!

"Wow," Spike interrupts, "You were really excited over a little journal."

"I was still young. What did you expect?" Twilight asks, tilting her head.

"A lot less excitement," Spike responds. But Twilight rolls her eyes and continues-

I'm going to use my favorite quill to write in this journal, too. It's ice white and very soft to the touch. I love it so much!

Twilight looked at the quill inside the rest of the pages of the journal and puts a hoof on the feather; still as soft as ever-

Anyways, that's it for now. My mom is calling for me to practice my magic. I have a chance to get into Princess Celestia's School for Magic! I really want to get in. Magic is my favorite thing ever!

Twilight Sparkle

"Short first entry," said Spike.

"They get longer, and better, Spike. Remember, I was still young when I wrote these." Spike nods in agreement and Twilight flips the page. As she promised, the next one was rather lengthy-

Dear Journal,

Today was one of the best practice days ever! I've finally manage to perform a levitation spell after months of practice. It wasn't easy though. I'm very tired now after it, but really hyper at the same time somehow. Maybe the adrenaline?

Anyways, that doesn't matter because I'm getting closer and closer to being able to perform magic way better than ever before! Mom got me four new books to read too, so my night is spent. Well... More like next few hours. I'm a fast reader! Mom says she could never read half as fast as I can. I once read an entire book about spells in thirty minutes! It was seven hundred pages long! Mom and Dad couldn't believe it, and neither could I, honestly.

I'm getting off track. I can't even remember where I was. Oh! What I used the spell on today was a table! I meant to levitate the orange on the table, but my aim still needs work. Still, my parents were proud of me, which makes me proud of myself.

Now time to go read these books!

Twilight Sparkle

Spike is trying hard not to laugh at Twilight's lack of aim back then. Twilight can't help but giggle to herself a little; it was kinda funny. Oh, how she's improved over the years. I mean look at what she's accomplished. Defeating many villains, becoming the Princess of Friendship, she definitely has improved. Twilight flipped a few pages ahead to another entry-

Dear Journal,

I'm so happy right now! The best BBBFF (That stands for Big Brother Best Friend Forever) in the whole realm of Equestria just got me a little plush doll! It looks just like a pony! It even came with a little notebook and quill, so it can write in its journal too. I gave my BBBFF the biggest hug ever! He's always been so nice to me. We do everything together, and I couldn't ask for more than that.

I'm naming the plush Smartypants, because he's smart, like me! He's going to study and read and write in his journal, too, with me every night. In fact, he wants me to right now, and it's only six thirty! Hold on, Smartypants, let me finish this! Well, time to go then.

Twilight Sparkle

"Oohh, so that's where you got Smartypants. And why he's so important to you, huh?" Spike asks.

"Yeah, I've never been so happy. It really did mean a lot to me that Shining Armor got that for me," Twilight responds, "Even now, he's still the best BBBFF ever." Twilight flipped the page; the entry on it was very short

Dear Journal,

I'm learning how to use big words! Like, sofyistikatid, kronologikal, and filosofikal. They're hard to spell, since I've never seen them before. I hope I spelled them right...

"No, Twi. No you didn't," Spike says. Twilight gives him a glare, then continues.

Don't worry. By the next time I write in here, I'll know how to spell them perfectly! I have Smartypants to help me spell. Mom and Dad said not to worry about it because I'm already smart enough, but you can never be too smart!

Twilight Sparkle

"And look at you now, Twi, the smartest pony I know," Spike says.

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight says, "That means a lot to me." Twilight flips through a few more pages and reads another-

Dear Journal,

I'm so nervous right now! Tomorrow is my test to see if I can get into Celestia's School for Magic. It's the biggest thing in my life! And I have to be perfect, or I won't get in! I don't even know what kind of test it will be! Well, it will be magic based, but I don't know what they're gonna have me do. I'm so nervous!!!

Calm down, Twilight, you got this. You've been practicing for months. You got this! You will pass! You have never failed, and you won't now!

I will pass this test!

Twilight Sparkle

Next page-

Dear Journal,

I passed!!!!!!!!!

Let me tell you what happened

So I went in and there was a bunch of ponies with clipboards. This one stallion looked really scary. Anyways, I assumed they were the judges and another pony rolled in a cart with an egg on it. There was a dragon in it, and I had to break it open with my magic. So I readied myself, and took aim at the egg and-

Choked...

I couldn't do it. I tried and tried, but nothing was happening. I was scared I would fail. The judges weren't looking impressed, either. I tried again, and a spark came from my horn and simply bounced off the egg. I was sure it was over...

But then a big boom happened! A loud one that shook the entire building, maybe all of Canterlot! It sparked me up, and magic shot out of my horn like I knew exactly what I was doing. The rest is all fuzzy and white, until Celestia herself was beside me! She put a hoof on me and I soothed my magic out and looked up at her. She was smiling at me, and then she pointed to my flank. Could it be? It was! My cutie mark!

It's a big pinkish-purple star in the middle of five smaller white stars. I love it so much! My parents are so proud of me, too. I also got into Magic School. I'll start Magic Kindergarten next week! I can't wait!

This was definitely the best day ever!

Twilight Sparkle

There was a long silence after that entry, especially from Twilight. She finally decided to break the silence after a minute. "That was the best day of my life, Spike. It was the day everything changed for me. I kept practicing under Celestia's guidance and eventually became a Princess of all things. It was all because of that day."

"Wow. Can you imagine..."

"Yeah, it would be such a different world if it didn't happen." Twilight flipped to near the end of the journal, to the last entry, to the finale-

Dear Journal,

I think my time writing this journal is over. I have bigger things to focus on now that I'm Celestia's star pupil. And what an honor that is! So, to end this chapter of my life, I wanted to leave a message for Twilight Sparkle, the older one that is.

Dear Future Self,

Hi! My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you already know that. I wanted to see how you were doing, and how our life has turned out so far. What happened after you graduated magic school? Anything exciting you've done? Oh yeah, you can't really answer me, but you know what I mean. Well I just wanted to say myself, to myself, that no matter what, you're gonna do great things, and you will make an impact. I believe we will, so it must be true! I bet our life is amazing and full of adventure and magic! Anyways, that's all I really wanted to say. Oh! Say hi to Mom and Dad for me. I'm sure they'd love to hear from me! Or well, you. Wow, this is confusing. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me!

Twilight Sparkle

Once again, Twilight was stricken with silence. She had totally forgotten that she had ever written this, and here it is. She didn't really know how to react, except for the silence she had. "Um, Twilight?" Spike asked, nudging her with a claw to try and break the spell on her. Twilight looked over at Spike, and closed the journal.

"Time to get those gemstone, Spike," she said, getting up and putting the journal back on the shelf. Spike had some questions he wanted to ask her about the journal, but he also really wanted the gemstones, so he didn't ask. He just followed her out of the castle and to Rarity's.

"Goodnight, Twilight," Spike calls from upstairs, "And thanks for the gemstones!"

"Don't thank me, Spike, thank Rarity," she calls back happily.

"Oh I'll thank her alright," he says to himself, grabbing the Rarity plush off his bookshelf and closing the door.

Twilight was alone downstairs, sitting in the throne room, just admiring the castle. It had been a long day, and she was just unwinding a bit before heading to bed. She was a bit hungry, too. Twilight trotted into the kitchen and made a sandwich; daffodil and daisy. She ate it gleefully and started heading to go to bed. Passing by the library, she looked inside and saw her journal on the shelf. She couldn't help herself but go inside and take another look. Almost instantly, she opened it to the message she wrote her future self.

I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me!, she read again, smiling. She grabbed the quill from the inside of the rest of the journal, and flipped it to the next page. It was time for a reply-

Dear Past Self,

Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you already knew that. I am your future self. I finally got to read your message to me. Sorry it's taken so long; I had forgotten I ever wrote it. But better late than never, right? I wanted to answer your questions, even though you kinda already know the answers.

After magic school, I stayed in Canterlot with Mom and Dad, like we said we would. Due to circumstances you know about, we moved to Ponyville, where we met our friends. Since then, our lives have been full of adventure and magic! Physical magic, like the magic we used to get into Magic School, is still prominent, but now there's a greater, more powerful magic we have, friendship! And with that, we've saved Equestria on many occasions, and even became the Princess of Friendship! Yeah, the Princess of Friendship! Crazy title, huh? But it was a crazy ride to get there. Since then, life has been great, for everypony! Our brother got married to Cadence. Shocker, right? They're having a foal soon, as well. I'm so excited for it! All of our friends are amazing too, and I'm so happy they're in my, our lives. Oh, and I will say hi to Mom and dad for you, me, this is confusing.

Well, I guess this means that it's over, huh? You have your answers and have lived the same life I have. But I don't think our story is over. We still have a long ways to go. Someday, I'll find this journal again, when I'm older, and relive it all again. Maybe I'll write another entry then, to explain how life is then. Who knows, the future is an exciting, and scary, thing to think about.

So for now, this is goodbye.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Twilight put the quill down and looked at what she wrote. She slowly closed the journal and slid it onto the shelf. She smiled to herself as she trotted upstairs, passing Spike's rather noisy 'snoring' and into her bedroom. For a while, she thought about the future, and what it may hold for her. It was scary, but she was filled with much curiosity. Twilight eventually fell asleep. Her dream was more of a flashback, to her memories, to when she was writing the journal, and it was the best dream she had ever had.

Author's Note

Now I know this may not be the best, or an original idea, but it was something that came into my head one day, and I never expected to finish it. But I like what I have, so I hope you do too. That's about it.
Inkwell Prose