“22,478.”
“You sure about that, Twilight? I remember last time when you were off by one digit. You almost cost us a new lab table,” I said as I wrote the number in her notebook.
“Oh please, Twinkleshine. I told you I wasn’t a hundred percent certain about it, and you just cast the spell anyways,” Twilight said with a scoff.
I rolled my eyes. Twilight always struck me as overconfident. Roommates can be a pain sometimes.
Lyra rolled her eyes. “Calculating the theoretical trajectory of harmonic magic is fun and all, but can we at least get something to eat. I haven’t eaten all day,” she said as she curled up in her dorm room bed.
Lyra’s a smart mare, but sometimes she thinks more about food than important stuff like magical quantum mechanics. Then again, her talent is playing an ancient instrument, not magic. I guess I can’t blame her. We’ve been doing this for three hours.
Twilight Sparkle gave a sigh. “But our final exam is in two weeks! What if we lose track of where we are?”
“Oh no, two weeks! How awful!” Minuette said sarcastically. “You’re overreacting, Twilight. We’re four of the best students in the entire school. We’ll ace this easily. Let’s just go get a hay sandwich and we’ll continue once we get back.”
Twilight sighed again. “Fine. Let’s go get something to eat.”
“Alright. A hay sandwich won’t hurt, I guess,” I said. I never liked Minuette’s constant procrastination, but I find the smell of a hay sandwich hard to resist.
“Yay!” Lyra said as she hopped out of bed with a squee.
The four of us set our books aside, trotted out of the dorm room, and headed for the cafeteria. The ornate halls of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns looked especially beautiful in the evening hours.
“Where’s Lemon Hearts and Moondancer? Haven’t seen them all day,” Lyra asked.
“Lemon Hearts went to the library I think. Moondancer’s probably reading her fourth book of the day,” I said.
“Wouldn’t surprise me. She’s the eggiest egghead that ever egged. Only pony I know who could read Daisy Field’s The Magical Vibrations and be enthralled by it,” Lyra said. Personally I always liked Daisy Field. Her dialect is a bit wonky, but it’s definitely interesting.
We trotted down the sparkly stairs to the school cafeteria. The cafeteria had long tables stretching all across the wide hall. The large windows offered a view to the bustling Canterlot streets and school campus. The air smelled of wholesome bread and freshly brewed tea infiltrated our nostrils, making us sigh happily. At the far end of one of the tables, we spotted our friends Lemon Hearts and Moondancer. Moondancer was reading a large book like always, and Lemon was eating her hay sandwich. We all trotted up to her.
“Hey, Lemon and Moon! How’s it going?” Minuette said. They both jumped at her sudden greeting.
“Oh, hey girls. Pleasure meeting you here. I was just getting lunch,” Lemon said. Moondancer gave a small wave, still staring down at her book. “I thought you were studying for your final exam,” Lemon said.
“We were, but Lyra and Minuette’s stomach proved stronger than their brains,” I said with a smirk.
“Oh, hushies, Twinkle. Minuette and I will go get your burgers. We’ll be right back,” Lyra said as her and Minuette trotted to the counter.
Twilight scooted over to Moondancer and took a look at the book she was reading. “Famous Mages of the 13th Century? Haven’t you read that before?” she asked.
“Twice. It gets better with every read,” Moondancer said quietly. I swear, if it there was a contest for most books read in a week, she would win with flying colors. I almost envy Lemon Hearts. She has to put up with a roommate who barely talks at all, but is such a good friend. Not that everypony else is a good friend, but Moondancer is just a wonderful and caring pony. She was pretty much the brains of the group. Well, we all are really smart, but Moondancer especially.
“Not as good as Famous Mages of the 16th Century, in my opinion,” Lemon said. I always preferred the 8th century myself.
“Find anything good in the library?” Twilight asked.
“It’s hard to find much when you’ve read almost everything in there,” Moondancer said.
“Heh. We all can relate,” Lemon said. It was kind of true. I had read most of the stuff in the school library. It’s a big library too. We had all moved on to the Canterlot Royal Library, the biggest in Equestria, once we finished that.
Lyra and Minuette both returned with the sandwiches. They passed them out to all of us and took a seat.
“Mine doesn’t have ketchup, right?” Lemon said.
“As right as my right hoof,” said Minuette. Lyra rolled her eyes. We all digged into our hay sandwiches.
“So what are we doing about our graduation in three weeks?” Lyra asked.
We all stopped eating for a second and looked at her.
“Uhh…” Twilight said. The thing is, we never really thought about our graduation. We’ve been so focused on our work, that it distracted us from it.*
“12 years of school, eh? It goes by so fast. Why it seems like yesterday when Lemon Hearts got her head stuck in the Erlenmare flask,” Lyra said with a giggle.
“Oh shush. That was 10 years ago. I’m never gonna live that down, am I?” Lemon said as she tried not to giggle.
“Good times,” Lyra said as she took another bite. “So, graduation?”
“Oh, right. Um, well we never really gave it much thought,” Lemon said.
“What!? It’s only one of the most important nights of our lives! How could you possibly not think about it!?” Minuette said.
“Well first of all we have that final exam,” I said.
“Exam Shuhsplam,” Minuette said. “We passed our previous ones with a bunch of flying colors. Why should this one be any different?”
“But this one’s over all we’ve ever done throughout our 12 years. It’s going to be way harder than our previous ones,” Twilight said.
“Not for a bunch of nerds like us. We got this. Trust me.”
Minuette’s a great mare and all, but Celestia forbid her procrastination.
Moondancer gave a yawn. If there’s anything that pony loves more than studying, it’s taking a nap. One time she slept through an entire Saturday. She of course was disappointed that she didn’t get to study.
“Not sure if I’ll attend the party or not. I’ve got some studying to catch up on,” Moondancer said.
“Really, Moony!? I appreciate the fact that you’re working hard but school will be over. There’s not a whole lot left to study,” Lyra said.
“I know, but… you know how I am with parties.”
“There’s probably only going to be us and a few other random ponies. It won’t be a big deal,” Lyra said.
“Eh, I’ll see what I can do.” Moondancer said.
“That’s the spirit,” Lyra said with a smile.
I finished my burger quite fast. I had a lot of studying to catch up on.
“Yeesh, Twinkle. You scarfed that burger down,” Twilight said.
“Uh, yeah. I need to, uh, finish my studying and take a nap. I’m getting awfully tired.”
“Aw, you sure?” Lemon asked.
“Y-Yeah, yeah. Today was a long day and I just need a nap.”
“Alright, Twinkle. Take care,” Lyra said.
I nodded and trotted back to my dorm room. The truth is I really didn’t need a nap at all.
~
That night I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried. The absolute darkness of my dorm room didn’t help. It was completely silent. Well, except for Twilight’s snoring and occasional mumbling below me.
“Mmm... Tell me more about your time magic, Meadowbrook,” she mumbled. She was awfully cute, I have to admit.
I pulled the covers close to me and I laid there for a while, going over the magical formulas and terms I studied earlier. Gotta put this insomnia to some use, I suppose. After a while my mind drifted to graduation.
Twinkleshine. Salutatorian of the 1187th graduating class of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. And then a round of applause. A tear in my eye as I took the stage and accepted my diploma. That was my goal. Something that would possibly be the proudest moment of my life. The thought brought chills to me as I reflected on it. Even if I did mediocre on my exam, I still had a great shot at it. Moondancer would likely be valedictorian of course. No surprise there.
But… what happens after that? Everypony has plans. Twilight will continue to be Princess Celestia’s personal student. Moondancer would become a writer. Lemon Hearts would become a professor. Minuette would become a magical researcher. And Lyra… well she would become a musician. Not exactly magic related, but hey, it’s certainly something.
I’m not a very good long-term planner. I’ve thought about what I want to do, but I can’t seem to decide. What if I choose to do something, but I lose interest in it? What if I don’t find it to be fun? What if I’m terrible at it? What if all my friends grow up to be successful and I’m just struggling along, barely doing enough to support myself? The possibilities are endless, but sometimes that’s not always a good thing.
I’ve loved magic for all of my life. Ever since I cast my first spell I’ve wanted to learn more. And learn more I did. I read every book I could find about magic. I practiced spells every day. I became friends with Lemon, who lead me to all the others. And I attended this school. But now here I am. Two weeks until graduation, second-best in my class, and I have no idea what to do.
I sat there thinking about it for the longest time until I finally gathered enough courage to do something.
“Hey Twilight?”
She rolled in her sleep. She was always a heavy sleeper.
“Twilight,” I said a bit louder. I could hear her the ruffling of her bedsheets as she woke.
“I’m sleeping, Twinkle.”
“I know, but I can’t. I can’t stop thinking about what happens after graduation.”
“Still can’t decide? Even after all these years?” Twilight asked.
“Not one bit. It’s easier said than done,”
“Well, your special talent is magic. That should narrow it down.”
“Magic is a broad category. I could do all sorts of things. Research, performances, teaching, you name it. But none of them strike me as something I want to do.”
“Oh please. You’re one of the best magic students I know. And that means alot coming from Celestia’s personal student,” she said.
“Thanks, Twilight. But… what good is talent if you don’t put that to use? I know a lot, and I can do a lot, but what can I use that knowledge for? What if I don’t like my occupation? What if it turns out I’m not good at it?”
“Twinkle, you’re overreacting. You’re amazing at magic. I’ve never seen anypony learn a teleportation spell that fast before. And the way you do those magical calculations? Don’t even get me started. No wonder you’ll likely be salutatorian. I’m sure you’ll find a use for your talent.”
I gave a sigh. “Any recommendations?”
“You write in your journal a lot. I’m sure you could be a great writer like what Moondancer wants to be,” Twilight said.
“I never said it was good writing,” I said with a chuckle.
“Oh please. I’ve read your essays and they’re some of the best I’ve read from a magic student.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re one of my closest friends. Of course you’d like everything I’d write,” I said.
“No, I really mean it. Your knowledge of magic is amazing. It could definitely help others in the long run.”
There was a long pause. I reflected on her words for a second. Maybe she was right...
“I’ll think about it. Thanks, Twilight,” I finally said.
“Mmhm. I’m sure you’ll do great,” she said.
“I just… I kind of miss when everything was a lot simpler. When I didn’t have to worry about my future or anypony else. When I was always a happy little filly. When all I had to do was get my homework done on time and I could have all the time to myself.”
“I get what you mean. Sometimes I yearn for those days. When we all just played around without a care in the world. I remember when we acted out famous moments in magical history. You were always a great Clover the Clever,” she said with a giggle.
“Not as good as your Starswirl. Even did the beard and everything,” I said.
Twilight gave a giggle. “I mean, I had my mother help a bit.”
“True, but it was still very cute,” I said.
“Yeah, it was. I also miss those days sometimes. I’m sure all our friends do too. It’s kind of hard to look back on those days. I should feel happy that it happened, but I can’t help but yearn for those days. It makes me sad to think about them,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“And as we get older, we get even more of those memories. It’s almost scary to think about. Having so many happy memories that make you feel sad. Kind of ironic too, if you really think about it.”
“I agree. The past is a well full of many experiences. Some good, and some bad, and in the end all of those memories are stored inside of our own heads, waiting to be told to ourselves.”
“Well aren’t you just the philosopher today,” I joked.
Twilight chuckled. “It’s a habit. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to bed. I have to work on some more teleportation with Princess Celestia tomorrow,” said Twilight.
“Alright. Good luck, and goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Twinkle,” she said with a yawn. I heard the covers turn, and within a few minutes she was already snoring.
And so I was alone with my thoughts again. The surrealness of the dark and almost silent room took over me. I reflected on what she had said for a moment and smiled. Then I pulled the covers over myself and fell asleep. I’d be a bit groggy in the morning, but tomorrow isn’t a particularly hard day anyways.
~
The next day after classes I decided to go to the Canterlot library. I figured there I’d find something interesting to read. While I was browsing in the magical history section, I came across Moondancer sitting at one of the tables reading a book.
“Hey Moon,” I said. She responded with a wave, not looking up from her book.
“What’re you reading now?” I asked Moondancer.
“Magical Polarities by Starcrossed,” she said.
“Ah. I’ve read that. Excellent book in my opinion. Starcrossed was always one of my favorite mages,” I said with a smile.
“I’ve just started it. I’m enjoying it so far.”
I gave a nod and sat next to her with my copy of Interstellar Nova by Galactic Rush that I had checked out earlier.
“How’s life been treating you these past few days?” I asked.
“Same as always. Been studying my flank off for the exam,” she responded.
“Me too. Part of me will be glad when this is all over. It’s been a tough 12 years of this.”
Moondancer nodded in agreement. She adjusted her glasses and kept reading.
“I’m sorry. Am I distracting you?” I asked her.
“No, no. You’re fine, Twinkle. I’ve just been thinking a little bit for these past few days.”
“Oh? About what?”
“Graduation and stuff. It’ll be a bit disorienting to wake up and not have any classes on the chemical properties of magic or the classification of magical herbs and all that. Not sure how I’ll feel about it,” she said.
“I feel you. It’s going to take some time getting used to,” I said.
“Any plans yet?” she asked me as I tensed up.
“Well, uh… not really. It’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for the past couple of weeks. I talked with Twilight the other night and she gave some good advice. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do yet though.”
“Ah. Well, I, uh, hope it goes well for you. I’m not really good at offering advice though…” she said quietly.
“That’s fine. Just hoping it goes well is enough,” I said with a smile.
“Well, alright. As for me I’m probably going to start out by getting a decent-paying job when I get out, and then I’ll start writing my first book soon. Probably just something about dream magic. It’s a topic that has always interested me. I already have an outline created for it,” she said.
“I’ll be sure to read it, Moon. Maybe if you’re having trouble I could help if you’d like. My essays were some of the best in the class,” I said.
“Not a bad idea. I’ll keep that in mind,” she said as she turned the page in her book.
Suddenly we heard a familiar voice behind us.
“Hey Twinkle! Moony!”
I turned around and saw Lyra trotting up to us. She had her lyre in one hoof and her saddlebags were overflowing with sheets of music.
“Oh, hey Lyra. How’s it going?” I asked her.
“Oh it’s going wonderfully. I’ve been working very hard on my music as of late and it sounds wonderful. I’ve also just been hired to play at the local diner once I graduate. I’m so excited!” she said in a quiet voice.
“That’s wonderful! Is it The Sunny Shore?”
“That’s the one. The owners were so impressed with my audition. One of them even had tears in her eyes.”
Lyra was always an emotional performer. Even if she seemed fun and quirky on the outside, her music gave her a chance to put forth her more thoughtful side. It’s something I always admired about her.
“Was it Diminuendo?” I asked
“That’s the one.”
“Ah. I always thought of that as your best work.”
“I’m proud of you, Lyra. Good luck,” Moondancer said.
“Thanks, Moony. It isn’t exactly much, but it’s a great place to start.”
“Anyways, I was just about to go back to my dorm. Want to come with?”
“Sure. Want to come with, Moon?” I asked.
“You girls go ahead. I’ll stay here and continue studying. Have fun.”
“Alright. Take care, Moony,” Lyra said.
~
Lyra and Minuette’s dorm room was probably the messiest out of all of our’s. Mostly because Minuette has all those useless magical artifacts she never gets rid of. What even is a Magicular Mortensen? Her final exam should be to clean her dorm in less than two hours. Combine that with Lyra’s music and you got quite the mess. I guess I’m one to talk though. I probably have at least 20 notebooks scattered around my dorm room.
“Where’s Minuette at?” I asked as I walked into the dorm room.
“Hanging out with Lemon, I presume. Probably getting something to eat or whatever.”
I nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. Lyra strummed her lyre a little bit, making me a bit relaxed.
“Sunny Shore, eh? Nothing like eating gourmet potatoes while listening to the sounds of a lyre,” I said with a smirk.
Lyra gave a light giggle. “Nothing says Canterlot like old instruments and mediocre food.”
“In all seriousness, I’m glad you accomplished this. You’re such a great musician, Lyra,” I said with a smile.
“Heh. Thanks, Twinkle. It means a lot. Seeing ponies appreciate the hard work I put into all this. And I have no place to go but up.”
“Well, I’ll always have your back and be there to support you, Lyra.”
“Thanks. Anyways, what’re your plans? Knowing you it’s probably something like a magical physicist or something,” she said with a giggle.
“Heh. Well, I actually don’t know. I’ve been so focused on studying that I haven’t had time to plan this out.”
“Oh. Surely you had time during the summers to plan it out.”
“Well that’s the thing. Even during summer I still spent all my time studying, even when I had no classes or tests to worry about. I feel like I’m the only one without any plans. Even Minuette is well on her way to become a magical researcher, and she’s written 15 essays on the molecular components of toothpaste!”
“Do you even have a place to stay?”
“I’ll probably just rent an apartment somewhere. I don’t exactly have a whole lot of bits either,” I sighed. “Salutatorian of the Celestia-forsaken class and I can’t even get a decent home.”
“Perhaps somepony could take you in while you figure out what to do. I’m sure somepony like Moondancer would be more than happy to let you stay,” Lyra suggested.
“No no no. I don’t want to be a burden to her. She doesn’t need me to bother her,” I said.
“Oh, please. I’ve never seen Moondancer get mad. A bit quiet and nerdy, but she never seems bothered, even when Minuette constantly boops her while she’s reading,” she said with a giggle.
I also giggled. “Well, I guess so. Maybe I’ll ask her sometime and see what she thinks. Thanks for the idea, Lyra.”
Lyra gave a nod. “Anyways, what makes you so scared about your future?” she asked.
I gave a sigh. “I just… feel so overwhelmed. It’s all gone by so fast. It feels like yesterday when I was finishing the fifth grade, and now here I am. About to face the world and try to make a living. This is supposed to be an exciting time for me, and I just feel scared. I think I’m the only one out of our little clique that feels this way.”
“I can see what you mean. I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by the future. I don’t think that this is really something only you struggle with. I’m almost certain that most ponies have a fear of the future in some way or another.”
“I guess, but I haven’t done anything to prepare for it. You’ve worked hard at your dreams, and look where that’s getting you. I look at the past and wish that I could have done more. I’ve realized that I should plan my future way too late.”*
“I don’t think it’s ever too late to begin planning your future. Some ponies don’t figure out what they want to do until a lot later in life. You’re still relatively young, only 18 years old. You have plenty of time to find out what you want to do,” she said.
“Are you… sure? It just seems that everytime I try something new, I get too scared to do it.”
“You aren’t going to accomplish anything by being scared. You need to take charge and do what you have to do, even if it makes you extremely uncomfortable. I’m scared of performing sometimes. I often have extreme stage fright. And when I did that audition earlier today, I was scared out of my wits. I was practically shaking. But you know what, I did? I did it anyways. I played my cute little heart out, and look at where I am now. I’m ridiculously scared, but that should not stop you from achieving your dream.”
I paused for a second. “But… what if I fail? What if I’m not as good as I’m made out to be? What if I’m just a mediocre little mare who knows way too much about magic but has no idea how to use that knowledge?”
“I’ve had failures. Probably way too many to count. All of our friends have had failures. I bet that every single successful pony that ever lived had their own failures. They’ve all had their struggles, and their own pain. It’s something everypony deals with in their lives. You aren’t alone in this. You just need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take those failures in stride, learn from them, and become better. And I know that your friends will be there by your side to help,” she said.
I sat there for a moment, and I did something I haven’t done in years. I began to cry.
“Thanks, Lyra. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. Was I too harsh? I didn’t mean to hurt you…”
“No, no. You’re perfectly fine. It’s just… that’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much, Lyra,” I said as I gave her a hug.
“Anytime.”
“Also, clean your dang room, Lyra,” I said as we both shared a laugh.
~
On the day of my final exam, I walked out of that classroom a new mare. It was… easier than I expected. I pretty much know for certain that I did okay. Lyra and Minuette might’ve been right. I walked back to my dorm room and sat on the bed. I would know the result in a couple days, and graduation would be in a week. I was all alone. Twilight was probably having a quite rigorous exam given to her by Princess Celestia. I thought about talking with my friends about it, but I was too worn out to care. Transfiguration magic takes a lot out of you.
I looked over at a picture on my nightstand. It was a picture of the six of us on top of one of the Lunar Mountains. We had gone there for summer vacation a couple years back. It was probably the most thrilling experience of my life. The picture had meant a lot to me. It was probably one of my most prized possessions. I smiled and laid down in my bed.
No more homework. No more tests. No more lessons over stuff I already knew. It was kind of sad in a way. I’ll miss having those long lectures over the magical components of certain molecules and long essays over an obscure mage. I pulled the covers over me and drifted off to sleep, thinking about the days ahead.
I bet Moondancer got every single question right. What an egghead.
~
“Fillies and gentlecolts, please welcome Twinkleshine, Salutatorian of the 1187th graduating class of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.”
Walking up to accept my diploma was probably the most surreal experience of my life. Time seemed to slow down even more with each step. It almost felt like hours. Hours of applause, hours of smiling and waving to everypony, and hours of shaking Princess Celestia’s hoof. I felt like I was walking on air. I think I wiped a tear from my eye. Before I could comprehend what happened, I was sitting back in my seat next to the other graduates. I took a deep breath. I had done it. No going back now. A new chapter of my life had begun.
I could barely focus on the rest of the ceremony. Moondancer was obviously Valedictorian. I think Lyra tripped when she trotted up to accept her diploma. Poor mare.
The rest of the night has been just as surreal. I hugged my family with tears in my eyes after the ceremony, took an endless amount of pictures, and met with the rest of my friends.
“Hey Twinkle! Or should I say, Miss Salutatorian~?” Minuette said.
I giggled. It had a nice ring to it. “So, um, what now?” I asked.
“You’re going to that party, right? The one at Lemon’s house?” asked Lyra.
Shoot! I had forgot about that. “Yeah, yeah. Definitely. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said with a tinge of reluctance.
“Great! We’ll be leaving in about half an hour. See you there!”
I nodded. Crap. What had I gotten myself into?
~
It was boring. Like, painfully boring. Then again, what do you expect when everypony’s idea of fun is reading 5 books in one night. At least it was calm. A good section of our graduating class was there. Most were just either talking about what they plan on doing in the next few weeks, or studying. Must still be afraid of pop quizzes.*
I mostly just sat on the couch drinking the punch. It was quite mediocre, but satisfying. The party was beginning to wind down at around this time. Ponies started to head home and everything was slowly getting more quiet. Moondancer and Minuette were both taking naps on the couch. Lyra was playing her lyre, clearly getting tired. Twilight was talking with one of her classmates about astronomy, I think.
Lemon Hearts was sitting next to me also drinking punch. I leaned on her shoulder and yawned.
“Tired, Twinkle?” she asked.
“A little. I might head home in a bit.”
“That’s fine. But, uh, can we talk outside for a bit before you go?”
My ears perked up. “Yeah, yeah. That’s… that’s fine.” I got up from the couch and trotted outside with Lemon. The night sky was particularly beautiful tonight. Moonlight cascaded down upon the town of Canterlot. The warm summer air surrounded us as we felt a wave of calm wash over us.
“It’s been an eventful day, don’t you think?” Lemon said.
“That’s an understatement,” I said with a chuckle. “I still can’t believe it’s all over. A new chapter of our lives has ended, and another one has begun.”
Lemon gave a nod. “It’s scary, and yet exciting. Any plans yet?”
“You know if I had a bit for every time somepony has asked me that in the past month,” I joked.
“Heh. I understand. I’ve been asked that a lot too. And every time I give the same answer. It gets a bit annoying at times.”
“At least you have a plan. I’m likely moving in with Moondancer for a couple months while I figure out what to do.”
“Right, right. Well, good luck, Twinkle.”
“Thanks, Lemon. You too.”
We both stood there for a moment looking up at the night sky. I could still faintly hear the sound of Lyra playing her lyre. It was quite surreal, if I do say so myself.
“Professor, eh? Seems to suit you well,” I said.
“I might start out with smaller local schools first to build up some experience. Only problem is that teaching foals is a bit hard to do. I prefer older ponies.”
“Heh. I can guess why,” I said with a giggle.
Lemon chuckled a bit. “I can teach advanced level spells to young adults easily, but Celestia forbid that I teach a foal telekinesis.” We both laughed a little.
“Anyways, any ideas you have so far?”
“Well… I’m still not sure. I sort of have a plan to try a lot of things and see what fits.”
“Throwing stuff to the wall and seeing what sticks?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“Right, right. That sounds like a good idea.”
“But… what if nothing works? What if nothing just makes me happy and satisfied?” I asked.
“Magic is your special talent. There’s gotta be something you enjoy.”
“What if I don’t enjoy it though? What if I’m just doing it to get by instead of actually, you know, getting some enjoyment out of it?”
“I doubt that’s going to happen. Everypony enjoys their special talent.”
“The truth is, I sometimes find magic to be stressful. I enjoy doing it, but at times it’s all just a big mess. Just because I’m good at it doesn’t mean I always enjoy it.”
“Even when doing something you’re good at, you shouldn’t expect it to always go smoothly. Everypony has experienced this at some point in their lives. I sometimes find teaching others stressful. Lyra probably finds music to be hard at times. And I’m sure that Twilight gets quite anxious about magic a lot.”
“That’s an understatement,” I said. “Twilight could go into a panic if she were to even misplace her quill.”
Lemon giggled. “True. But yeah, you see what I mean? Even Twilight, somepony who’s life revolves around magic sometimes has a hard time studying it. You just need to do everything you can to get it done successfully.”
I looked at her and she gave a smile. I sighed. “Thanks Lemon. I’ll, uh, see what I can do.”
“That’s the spirit! Now go out there and show them what you can do!” she exclaimed.
I gave a slight smile. “All of Equestria shall soon be aware of my expert studying skills,” I joked.
We both shared a laugh. “You’ll be the greatest studier in all the land!” Lemon said as we both laughed again.
“You know, I miss times like this. When we used to laugh and have fun and be free without a care in the world.”
“Who says it has to stop? I mean, we don’t have to worry about school anymore. We have lots of time right now. Just because time has passed doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with each other. Only thing that’s changed is that we’ll have jobs and we’ve hit puberty.”
I giggled. “Well, I guess.”
I paused for a second before a thought came to me.
“What was that name for our little clique back when we were fillies? Was it… The Egghead Club?”
Lemon giggled. “That was always a lame name. We knew a lot about magic, but not about good proper group names.”
I gave a little laugh. “It was you who named it, right?”
“I believe it was. I’m still not very good at names, to be quite honest.”
“Heh. Good times. Even if all we did was study for hours on end. Think we just dropped the name eventually and did the studying.”
“I have a lot of good memories during that time,” I said.
“I do too.” She raised her glass of punch. “To our good memories, and the ones that have yet to come?”
I looked at her, and then to the moon. I could tell that the music was about to end and that it was about midnight. I looked back at her, smiled, and raised my glass.
“To the memories.”
Author's Note
Special thanks goes out to my boyfriend and editor Michael, and my good friends Sinny, Tai, Heros, and Aquila. You guys keep me going. This wouldn't have been done without you. And thanks to Everfree Northwest and Scribblefest for hosting this writing contest.
~Ponka
