Flurry of the Future
FWOOSH!!!
Early in the morning, a large sound resonated throughout the Friendship Castle. A follow up crash vibrated the place to its core causing many objects to fall to the ground. After several slow seconds the violent aftermath started to subside and the morning returned to its peaceful state.
“Ugh…it is way too early for this!”
Princess Twilight Sparkle awoke with bags under her eyes and an ache in her head. She groaned loudly as she begrudgingly got up from her cloud comfy like bed. She stretched her legs and cracked her neck, her thoughts going back to last night. Thanks to Starlight, Trixie, and Spike’s antics she was too busy taking care of an eldritch abomination to get a good night’s sleep. She was glad that they were all getting along so well and she was grateful for that, but often times it costed her sleep…and her sanity.
They were probably messing with some sort of ancient magical power way beyond their control, and they would be spending the whole day trying to fix the problem before she found out. “Yeah like that worked the last time with my table.” She said to herself.
“Um…Twilight, can you come down here real quick?”
Lifting her ears at the sound of Spike’s concerned voice, she let out a yawn and walked downstairs to where he was. As she came down she thought about several ways to access whatever situation she would get herself in. First things first however, she needed her morning coffee and breakfast. If whatever problem they had wasn’t world ending then they could wait ten minutes.
“Twilight”, Starlight called out, “there’s somepony here to see you.”
Okay so it didn’t seem to be some sort of monster out to terrorize Ponyville. Maybe she’s just over exaggerating, and today will be a fairly normal day with a normal friendship problem to deal with. Sure it might still be too early for any friendship problem, but as the Princess of Friendship it was her duty to solve it and make Equestria a better place one lesson at a time.
With a small bit of vigor she continued her way down stairs towards the main hall. So far everything seemed normal and nothing looked destroyed yet. With a relieved sigh she stepped inside the room where the first thing she noticed was the Cutie Map was still intact. The second thing she noticed was Spike and Starlight standing on one side gawking at whatever was on the other side. The final thing she noticed was a young Alicorn mare sitting with a wide smile on her face.
Her violet and light blue mane shined under the morning sun and her large wings extended outward. Her heart shaped cutie mark adorned her flank and her horn shined a brilliant yellow. She turned to face the now stunned Alicorn, and smiled gleefully. “Auntie Twilight! It really is you, the time spell worked! I am so awesome!”
Twilight’s only response was a simple “What?”
After a nice warm breakfast and a cup of coffee, Twilight was able to calm herself down and get her bearings. Despite the fact the mare claiming to be her niece from the future was standing before her, she will have to look at this situation as rationally as she could. During her meal she thought about the many questions that whirled around her head like a violent tornado. Hopefully she can go the rest of today without losing her mind about that fact that this mare traveled through time.
There goes the normal day she was hoping for.
“Okay,” Twilight began as she stood in front of her ‘older niece’, “where do I even start?”
Flurry Heart ruffled her feathers. “Well I can start by saying how much I miss your pancakes auntie. You stopped making them for me in the future just because I got older, I mean I know I’m not a filly anymore but seriously who gets too old for your pancakes?”
Twilight twitched her eyes repeatedly.
“Oh… that’s not what you meant is it?”
Spike shook his head as he spoke. “How about you start explaining things like how you got here?”
“And whether you are actually Flurry Heart or not.” Starlight said cautiously.
The young Alicorn crossed her hooves and pouted. “Okay fine I’ll tell you everything. I am Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire, daughter of King Shining Armor and Queen Cadence. I used the time spell from the Star Swirl Wing to travel back to the past, fifteen years ago to be exact. Took me awhile to figure out the kinks…but here I am.”
Twilight stared at her with utter excitement. “You used the time spell to travel back in time? And at such a young age too!” As soon as her excitement came up she immediately switched to being more serious. “But you still haven’t proved that you are who you say you are. I’m sorry but it’s not every day a mare shows up in my castle and claims that she’s my niece from the future.”
The younger mare happily grinned. “Well being…supposedly related to you I knew you would be skeptical. That is why I brought this with me. Remember that little game you made when you baby sat me?” Looking in her saddlebag she brought out two worn out teddy bears. She then placed them beside her and gave a small growl. “Roar…roar…don’t let the bear get ya!”
Twilight’s eyes lit up as she realized what she was talking about. “I taught you that game when I agreed to take care of you weeks ago. I still can’t believe how much of a disaster that was.”
“Well I can’t blame you for wanting to babysit the cutest Alicorn in all of Equestria. Then again I wasn’t exactly the most behaved Alicorn back then, especially when I lost my Whammy. Which I also brought with me just in case you need more proof.”
Twilight beamed when she pieced everything together. Immediately she flew right up to her niece from the future and gave her a huge hug. “It really is you! I knew you were going to be as great as your best aunt ever. I am so proud of you!”
Flurry wrapped her hooves around her aunt in response. “Thanks Auntie…I know I did great.”
Spike and Starlight could only stare at the cute yet strange sight before them. Last time they saw Flurry she was still in diapers and babbling incoherently. Now she’s speaking full sentences and eating solid food. “This is so weird…but at the same time so cool. She’s like a time traveler now.”
“But how is this possible? Flurry may have been powerful back then but was she really able to time travel with a spell that complicated?”
“Well you were able to use that spell to travel back and change it so it’ll put me and Twi through an infinite time loop for your evil plans, and you’re not exactly an Alicorn either.” Spike felt a hoof hit the back of his head as he looked to see Starlight with an annoyed frown on her face. “Right no mentioning your past, my bad.”
Starlight rolled her eyes as a thought came to her. “Come to think of it, when we came to the present the scroll disappeared. How did she use the spell without the scroll and more importantly, why is she here?”
“Maybe the scroll went back to the wing afterwards or maybe it was rediscovered. A lot can happen in fifteen years.”
“Still, messing with time magic is not a good idea. It can have some dangerous consequences when you mess with the past, I definitely know that for sure. If something bad happened in the future we need to find out what and see if we can fix it.”
Out of the corner of her eye Starlight saw Flurry in the next room floating objects well above her weight around her much to Twilight’s utter enjoyment, her concentration keeping steady the entire time. Without any effort she teleported each object back to their shelves with a smug grin. “See auntie, perfect just like me.”
“That was fantastic Flurry.” Twilight grabbed a checklist she labeled ‘Spells Flurry Heart Knows’ and happily checked off the last one. “I always knew you were a natural at magic, now I can see you’re even better in the future.”
“Well I certainly had the best teachers to help me with the more complicated junk. I should know, you taught me so much. Remember the transformation spell you used to turn the others into breezies?”
Twilight took a second to think about it, and then her eyes lit up like a bright light. “That’s such a hard spell to master. You really know how to use that spell?”
“Heh, a spell like that only took me a week to figure out. By the way if you’re going to use that spell try not to use it on trees. That made for a really weird weekend.”
Twilight gasped as she fluttered in the air with excitement. “My time traveling niece just taught me something she learned fifteen years from now! Is there anything else exciting about the future I should know?"
"Well...a few years from now we're gonna make this." In her saddlebags Flurry pulled out a small amalgamation of several crystals fixed into a ring around a crystal clear prism in the middle. "This is what we call a Crystal Communicator. It's this little device the scientists at the Empire made that let's us talk to ponies all around Equestria. It's sorta like those cell phones Auntie Sunset have. At least that's what you told me."
"We made cellular devices in the future?" Twilight's eyes lit up as she flew up in the air. "The possibilities of how we advance our world must be endless! Stay here, I must document everything you tell me about the future. Who knows what we can learn fifteen years earlier!?” Twilight quickly left the room as she mused all of the questions she was going to ask.
Placing the device back in her saddlebags, Flurry Heart shook her head in amusement. “Daddy was right, she was a total nerd back then.” The young Alicorn then turned around and spotted the two figures standing behind her. She smiled and went towards them scooping up Spike in the process. “Uncle Spike, Auntie Starlight, it’s so great seeing you two. Even if you are a lot smaller this time.”
“Uh…she does know we’re not related right?” Spike asked during the hug.
“Of course I do silly. I just always called you that back when I was younger. In fact I call all of Auntie Twilight’s close friends my Uncles and Aunties. Of course, when it comes to Uncles you’re the best one ever.”
Spike felt a small swell of pride in his chest. “Well I bet Uncle Spike is a pretty cool guy in the future.” Spike thought about the many possibilities of what he could be like fifteen years from now. “He must be a strong, tall, fearsome dragon, flying through the skies frying any bad guy he comes across to a crisp.”
As Spike puffed out his chest, Flurry Heart just giggled in response. “If by strong, tall and fearsome you mean two feet taller and still the lovable cutie you are now, then yeah you’re totally a pretty cool guy.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”
Starlight pondered as the two talked back to each other. She thought about how Equestria must be in the future, her older much wiser friends must still be solving friendship problems and making sure all is right in Equestria. Despite that the other potential thoughts still lingered in her mind and she needed to get them out. “So Flurry Heart, as much as we appreciate you coming back I think I have a couple questions for you.”
“Oh anything for you Auntie Starlight! Come on ask me whatever you wanna know. Mommy always said I was smart.”
“Well that’s something I can’t question. Anyways I just want to know what brings you back fifteen years ago. I’m pretty sure this is more than just a cordial visit.”
In an instant, Flurry Heart’s face grew pale. Her happy smile soon turned into a nervous grin as beads of sweat started to pour down her face. “Uh…you know…who needs a reason to travel back in time am I right?”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. “No…”
Flurry sighed. “Alright then fine, if you really want to know why I’m here it’s because…well…” She looked around the castle in a hurried manner. After a quick second of thinking her jovial mood came back. “Ponyville that’s what I’m here for! Living in the Empire for so long I never got to see the town back then. I wanna see how it was back then.”
“What about my question?”
“Oh come on Auntie. I may be a time traveler but I don’t have time for silly questions. Let’s go explore and you can interview me later ‘kay?”
Before Starlight could get a word in, the younger mare trotted out the door and outside the castle. She groaned as the doors closed. “Yeah…she’s hiding something.”
Spike nodded. “Big time. So what are we going to do? Obviously this is something she won’t share, and if your theory about something bad happening in the future I don’t want to know what might’ve happened.”
“You’re right Spike. If Equestria is in danger fifteen years from now, then she’s the only one who can help us prevent whatever happened. I’m going to follow her and see if I can get her to talk. While I’m at it I want you to contact Cadence and Shining Armor, tell them what’s going on and bring them here.”
“I can definitely do that but why?”
Starlight flashed a smirk before she left. “Because if I can’t get the answers, I’m sure her parents can convince her.”
Spike smiled as the door closed again. “Good luck Star!”
Before he got to work on the letter, Twilight frantically rushed in carrying a very long scroll covered in many hastily written words on them. Twilight panted as she glanced through her notes once more. She then looked up and noticed that Flurry was nowhere to be seen, much to her disappointment. “Seriously? What about all of my questions?”
Spike shook his head. “Sorry Twilight, but we have a letter to write. Maybe we can save your questions for later.”
“But…all of that knowledge…”
“Flurry! Flurry Heart? Where is that blasted teenager?”
Starlight spent the last several minutes running around Ponyville searching for the rogue Alicorn. Surprised that she was able to get a good distance away from the castle in such a short time, it made her start to worry if old age was starting to catch up to her. “Wait, I’m only twenty-seven.” She said to herself. “I think this whole time travel shtick is getting old for me.”
As she looked around, she heard somepony laughing loudly to whatever caught their attention. She recognized that laugh belonging to Pinkie Pie. Curious to what she was looking at, she went to where she was as she saw her staring up in the sky. “Hey Pinkie, what’s going on?”
Pinkie Pie started to laugh even harder. “I think you meant to say what’s up.”
Starlight looked puzzled. “Well I don’t really have time to make any puns.”
“Well that’s too bad because that’s what’s up!”
Pinkie pointed up in the sky at nowhere at first. But before Starlight could ask, she spotted two streaks speeding by at breakneck speeds. A pink trail was following a rainbow trail as they zipped around making loop-de-loops and destroying every cloud in their way. The spectacle before her made the Unicorn grin as she realized what was going on. “Guess I’m not getting old she’s just getting faster.”
Moments later the two speedsters slowed to a crawl as they made their landing. Rainbow Dash slid on the dirt with a graceful entrance, while Flurry Heart went a bit too fast and messed up her landing almost falling over as she stumbled. “That was such a rush! I haven’t felt wind like that in a long time.”
Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off her brow. “Gotta give it to ya squirt, didn’t expect you to keep up with me like that. Are you seriously that fast in the future?”
Flurry nodded. “Only reason I got so fast was because of you Auntie Rainbow. Later you’re gonna teach me everything you know about flying so I can get used to these oversized wings. Besides even when you got older you’re still faster than any other Pegasi out there.”
Rainbow grinned puffing out her chest. “I knew even getting older wouldn’t slow me down a bit! I bet future me is even more awesome.”
Flurry happily looked at the mare and laughed. “Yeah…you can say that again.” She then looked to see that beside her Starlight was there with Pinkie. Despite feeling disappointed that she found her sooner than she hoped, she ignored the thought and smiled. “Auntie Starlight you found me! Did you see me in the air? Bet you didn’t think I can fly like that huh?”
Starlight giggled. “You were amazing I’ll give you that. But we gotta go back and…”
“Oh my gosh Starlight!” Pinkie exclaimed interrupting Starlight. “You should’ve told me that Flurry Heart was coming from the future. I would’ve plan some kind of time traveler party for Flurry, and we can talk about how awesome we all are in the future. Flurry told me that Cheese Sandwich and I will travel all over Equestria teaming up to deliver parties to those in need! It’s like a dream come true!”
“That all sounds real nice Pinkie, but I really need to see if Flurry can answer some…”
“A time traveler party for me? I wanna Pinkie time travel party!”
“We really don’t have time for…”
“That sounds great Pinkie! We can get the others and we can talk about how awesome we are in the future. Isn’t that right Flurry?”
“Absolutely! We should go and…hey!” Flurry felt herself weightless in the air as she was surrounded by light blue magic. “Auntie Starlight…what are you doing?”
Starlight grinned. “Excuse me girls, I have to explain some things to my niece.”
Starlight teleported herself and Flurry far away from the two friends, putting the younger mare down she looked at her with a stern glare. “Listen young lady, why are you trying to avoid me?”
“Oh come on Auntie, you’re just overacting just like Auntie Twilight. I’m just having a little fun.”
“You never answered my question of what caused you to time travel. You’re acting like a stubborn kid.”
“…I’m fifteen…”
Starlight rolled her eyes. “Be it as it may, you are a Princess of an Equestrian nation and you need to take this seriously. I just want to know what happened in the future that caused you to time travel. Can we please just go home so we can talk?”
Flurry Heart noticed the serious tone in her voice and felt a hint of guilt. A second later she gave her a small frown. “I’m sorry Auntie, I didn’t mean to make you upset. It’s just being in Ponyville after all this time, I’ve forgotten how much fun a small town can be for a royal like me.”
Starlight sighed. “I understand, but we all have responsibilities to face. That starts by coming back to the castle, and answering just a few questions.”
“Alright, that’s a big my bad on my part.” Flurry glanced away towards Pinkie and Rainbow and grinned. “Which is why I am willing to give you all the answers to whatever sort of question you want.”
Starlight smiled a bit at that statement. “Good. It’s not much really I just got a couple questions about why you’re here. How about we…hey…where am I?”
Starlight suddenly noticed that she was not talking to Flurry anymore; in fact she wasn’t in Ponyville anymore. She looked around and saw that she was on a deserted island. “What the…how did she…?” Starlight looked at the ground and saw a small note. She picked it up and read what was on it:
Dear Auntie Starlight,
I will tell you after you get back to Ponyville. Until then you just find your way home while I enjoy my party.
Good Luck! Love,
Flurry Heart
Starlight looked at the island before her, then back at the letter, then back to the island. She then used her magic to angrily incinerate the letter to cinders. “I am SO telling your parents about this.”
“So you two think that Flurry’s here to warn us about some great threat to Equestria, and she’s just not telling us?”
After much explaining of the current situation, Spike and Twilight spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Ponyville looking for the young Alicorn. They sent the letter to Cadence and Shining Armor explaining the future mare’s presence and requested them to come to the castle.
“Yep, when we asked why she came all the way to the past, she ran off into Ponyville all nervous. She tried to play it off as if she’s afraid to tell us why. We think something terrible happened to all of us.”
Twilight skeptically shook her head. “I don’t know Spike; maybe she really did just want to see Ponyville in the past and was too nervous to admit it. Plus I’m sure if something bad is happening in the future, she would’ve warned us hours ago and we would be trying to prevent it now.”
“True but I’m still sure we should try to ask her anyways.” Spike then gave her a small grin. “Besides maybe when we find her you can ask those questions you have. This is your chance to ask her everything you want to know about the future.”
Twilight smiled as she teleported her scroll and quill next to her. “You know I can’t deny an opportunity to gain more knowledge.”
“There’s a reason I’m your number one assistant. Too bad I got no idea where she or Starlight could be now.”
“I think I got an idea that’ll make finding her much easier.” Stopping in her tracks Twilight’s horn started to glow brightly as wave of magic stretched all over the entirety of Ponyville. Concentrating she closed her eyes and felt a powerful magic source. “With this spell, I was able to scan all of Ponyville and see where Flurry Heart is right now.” Twilight then teleported herself and Spike right before Sugarcube Corner.
Spike glanced around his surroundings and grinned. “Nice one. Learned that after you babysat Flurry huh?”
“Learned it right after she left, it’ll be useful next time we need to look after her. Speaking of which, let’s see what she’s been up to.” Twilight knocked on the door and waited for a response. “She must be here to see what Pinkie baked in the past.”
Before Spike could respond, Applejack opened the door with a cheerful smile. “Well howdy there fellas. Guess yer here for Flurry Heart ain’t ya?”
Twilight nodded. “Hope you’re not too freaked out about my niece from the future. Is she here?”
Applejack led the two in. “Well I ain’t gonna lie when I say it was pretty freaky at first, but after she cleared up some things we got along nicely. Pinkie Pie don’ threw her some sort of Time Travel Party. Yer welcomed to join in if ya like.”
Spike raised an eyebrow at the thought of a Flurry in the center of what Pinkie would call a ‘Time Travel Party’. “Well a party is nice and all, but I don’t think this was all part of Starlight’s plan to find out the cause of fifteen years of time travel.”
“Well at least this is a great time to finally get my questions answered. Hopefully by the time we’re done here Cadence and Shining Armor well be here to help clear things up. Although you do bring up a good point, where is Starlight?”
“Well where ever she is, I feel sorry about her missing the party.”
“Thanks for everything Aunties!”
Flurry Heart and the others made their exits as the party started to die down. Flurry told them everything they wanted to know about what their future entailed, from their newer adventures to what she was told about their personal lives and accomplishments.
Twilight herself never felt excited about what’s yet to come in ages. “All of this knowledge about the future will have a nice new home in my archives." She said as she teleported her scrolls back to her castle. "To think all of that will happen to us in the span of five years. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us.”
“And that is just the tip of the iceberg. I would’ve told you guys much more, but I think not knowing is part of the fun. Don’t you think so?”
Spike shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t blame you, I wouldn’t like it if I knew everything that’s going to happen to me. There’s nothing exciting about knowing what’s ahead in life.”
“Guess that’s one way to say it…” Flurry Heart muttered under her breath. “But in any case I’m tired, can we go home now?
“Well that depends on what you mean by home. Cause if we’re talking about your home in the Crystal Empire that’s an entirely different story altogether.”
“That’s something I want to know.”
The three followed the direction of the voice to see an angry Starlight Glimmer. Her mane frazzled, her eyes twitching at the sight of the young Alicorn. “About time you got here, how was the party you oh so enjoyed without me?”
Flurry’s eyes shrunk the moment she laid eyes on her Auntie. A nervous chill crawled up her spine as she tried her best to hide it with a cheerful smile. “Auntie Starlight! I’m so glad we found you. Sorry you had to miss the party.”
“Oh it’s definitely fine that I wasn’t able to go to your party, but I am ecstatic that it went well and you had your fun. Thanks for the small vacation to the middle of a deserted island by the way.”
“A deserted island!?” Twilight immediately glared at her niece as she spoke in a stern tone. “Flurry Heart, you told us that Starlight was going to see your parents and was too busy to go to the party! I can’t believe you would lie to us!”
“Well…um…I might’ve, maybe, probably done it by accident. If it makes you feel any better I knew you would get back in town because you're one of the best Aunt ever.”
Starlight furrowed her brow as she went up towards the doors of the castle. “True, despite everything I was able to get back without much of a hassle. This was made much easier when I ran into some familiar faces.”
The moment Flurry Heart laid eyes on who was behind the door, her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. “Mommy? Daddy?”
Shining Armor and Princess Cadence looked at the mare before them in utter astonishment. When they read the letter claiming that their daughter fifteen years in the future daughter traveled back in time, they were skeptical but curious on the idea. Now she’s here, much older, cutie mark adorning her flank, beads of sweat running down her face.
Shining was the first to speak. “Alrighty then, guess I have no choice but to believe you now.”
“You brought my parents here?!” Flurry Heart almost yelled as she approached Starlight. “They’re supposed to be back at the Empire. I can’t believe you’d do that to me.”
“So I guess it's fine to send ponies to a deserted island without their permission?” Cadence asked as she approached her daughter. “From what Starlight has told us, you’ve been a very bad girl.”
“But mom…”
“Don’t you ‘but mom’ me young ma’am. You’ve lied to your aunts, abused your magic to get what you want, and above all that we must be worried sick in the future! I am very disappointed in you. I thought we taught you better.”
“You do realize this isn’t technically our daughter right?” Shining asked in an attempt to calm his wife down.
“I don’t care; I’m still going to ground you for this.”
Flurry Heart irritably groaned in frustration. Her tone changed from the excited and innocent tone she gave during her visit, to that of anger and annoyance. “Ugh! That’s what you always do mom! I do one bad thing with my magic and you ground me for a week! Why do I have all these responsibilities, you guys are so lame!”
“Flurry Heart!” Twilight exclaimed getting the mares attention. “You do not give that kind of tone to your parents!”
Flurry turned to face her aunts with the same malice. “Oh! I guess that means it’s time for my hour long lecture for my responsibilities again. Gotta take me away from what little social life I have so I can learn everything on about doing something I want no part of!”
Starlight frowned as she saw the young niece she came to convulse into these fits of rage. “Calm down Flurry, no one’s going to lecture you.”
“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore! No more questions and no more talking! Flurry rubbed her eyes as tears began to stream down her face. “I never asked to be a part of this stupid royal line. Everything was going so well until growing up ruined everything, I wish I’ve never been born an Alicorn. So just leave me alone!”
Flurry’s horn immediately glowed brightly as she ran inside the castle.
“Flurry Heart…can I come in?”
“Just go away. I don’t feel like talking to anypony.”
“I’m sorry that we got off on such a wrong hoof. I don’t understand what happened to you in the future, and I never will unless you talk to us. So please, let me in so I can help you. If the future is in ruins then you can tell us how we can fix it.”
There was a moment of hesitation before Starlight heard the sound of hooves against crystalline floor. The door opened revealing the Alicorn, her faced flushed with befuddlement. “Ruined future? What in the world do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t the future in danger by some dangerous threat? I thought you came back in time to warn us from some evil villain that conquers all of Equestria, or something like that.”
Flurry Heart shook her head and gave a small smile. “There’s no evil conquering villain taking over or ab a future in ruins. In fact with the rise of technology and the discovery of new magic spells, Equestria is flourishing better than ever. Sure there’s the occasional bad guy every now and then like that Storm guy or whatever his name was, but you and the others always win in the end. If anything the future is great for all of you.”
Starlight felt a combination of relief for the safety of Equestria, and confusion for the real reason for the time travel. “So, if there’s nothing wrong in the future, why are you so adamant about telling us why you’re here?”
Flurry sighed as she made her way towards the window. “Well that’s the thing; I said that the future is great for all of you. For me it’s just been the worse. When I was much younger everything was all simple, I was just the small filly still learning about the world. I would play games with mom and dad, learn cool spell from Uncle Sunburst, and whenever I’m with my aunts we used to have a great time just spending the day together.”
Starlight looked at the mare with concern. “I guess it all changed when you got older huh?”
Flurry nodded. “It was hard growing-up as the first-born Alicorn Princess. The older you get the more responsibilities you have. It’s always taxes this diplomatic meeting that, all of these boring political junk I have to deal with when I get older. I’m only a teenager and I’m already dealing with too much school to care about all of this.
“What doesn’t help is how busy you guys are. Your starting families, expanding your businesses, moving from Ponyville to start new lives, none of you are like you are now. Those pancakes Auntie Twilight made this morning, haven’t made them for me in years. The party at Pinkie’s, she doesn’t throw them like she used to ever since she started traveling with Cheese Sandwich.
Flurry turned around a closed her eyes in thought. “That’s why I used the Time Travel spell made by Star Swirl, enhanced it with my magic so I can stay here without any faults, and traveled back in time to just run away from all of that and return to a time where I don’t have any responsibilities. Where I can have fun and be with my family. You understand?”
“I do understand.” Starlight said as she approached Flurry. “I understand that you are a total brat!”
The teenager looked up to the older mare in anger. “What!?”
“You used time travel, one of the most dangerous spells in existence for your own selfish needs, like some immature child. You sent me to a deserted island where I could’ve died and for what? So you can avoid some questions and stay here longer. Alicorn or not a grown-up like you should know better.”
Flurry stood aback at the sudden accusations, she then growled and flared her wings in anger. “Who are you to tell me that using magic to solve my own problems? You told me all about how you once you magic to enslave a village, and used magic to send Uncle Spike and Auntie Twilight into a time loop. Because you lost contact with Uncle Sunburst, you turned into a super villain. You’re just as guilty for using powerful magic as I am!”
Starlight got closer to the young mare. “At least I learned that what I did was wrong. I don’t know if I taught you this lesson in the future, but you should’ve learned from my mistakes. Recklessly using magic to solve problems like this isn’t how we should do things.”
Flurry stepped forward as she stared Starlight right in the eyes. “Yeah…well at least I didn’t almost destroy the world using magic.”
Starlight stood straight up and looked down upon the mare. “At least I’m not running from my problems anymore.”
Flurry Heart sensed twinge of guilt the moment she uttered those words. She remembered how she felt before she left for the past. Frustration. Confusion. Dread. All these emotions pointed towards her future, throwing away any idea of optimism for the unknown. She wanted to run away from whatever fate she had masking it as a casual visit and nothing more. She couldn’t deny it any longer, she’s afraid of her own future.
Flurry sighed as a tear streamed down her face. “I can’t believe a princess like me would be so reckless with her own magic. In the future you’ve all taught me everything I needed to know for growing up, you, Twilight, and Sunburst even taught me how to control my magic. Look what good that all did, I was a crybaby in this year, and I’m a crybaby in the future.”
“I know you’re afraid about what comes next, but all this time travel nonsense isn’t how you solve your problems. You need to face them head on.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have responsibilities like I do. You’re not expected to one day lead country without a choice in the matter. If something were to happen to my parents it’s up to me to take their place. Just the thought of all this power and whatever duties I’ll end up having, not knowing what my future entails scares me. I don’t want to end up dooming the ponies I care about a second time.”
The young mare sat as she started to cry from the pressure of the unknown. She then felt a three soft objects floating around her surrounded in magical aura, her stuffed bears and her Whammy. “Auntie Starlight?”
Starlight Glimmer smiled as she dried her younger niece’s tears up. "Well it's good to see your Whammy still calms you down huh?" She said smiling as Flurry giggled softly. “Come on, I think we have somepony who wants to talk to you.
Starlight led Flurry out to the hallway where the others were waiting for them. Her parents immediately hugged her as their concerns for their daughter more than anything else. Flurry started to feel better as the worries about her future started to go away. She explained everything to the others, telling them why she wanted to stay in the past and why she didn’t want anyone to know. “I’m so sorry; I never meant to hurt anypony. I just can’t go back to the future if it means I can fail.”
“Oh my poor baby.” Cadence came up to her daughter and gave her the biggest hug she could muster, almost squeezing her too much. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been put through. “Don’t worry though, momma’s here!”
Flurry blushed embarrassingly. “Thanks mom…but can you lay off with all the hugs.”
Shining laughed at the sight before him. “Well this is what you came here for right? All this affection from our younger selves and your acting like you don’t want it.”
“Yeah but…now I realized how embarrassing this can be.” She sighed happily. “Still…this does feel nice. I really miss the times when we could just hang out without worrying about school or taxes.”
Twilight and Spike chuckled at the sight before them. “You may be older but you’re still a kid inside. I feel so bad that you had to face all that pressure of responsibility. I certainly know what that feels like.”
“Well when you’re born into royalty you’re expected to use your status to rule one day. I know we’re not perfect and all, but is it too hard to act like my age, just this once?”
Shining Armor rubbed his daughter’s mane with his hoof. “Well no matter how old you are, it’s important to have some fun every once in awhile. Maybe you just need to be reminded where you came from.”
Flurry raised an eyebrow wondering what her dad meant by that. Following his direction she saw him and her mother roll out a small stroller. Quickly realizing what they’re doing she gave out a happy. “Seriously guys?”
“Well what did you expect?” Cadence asked coyly. “We didn’t really have time to plan for a babysitter. Due to the fact that we were called rather un-expectantly without as much as a notice. Isn’t that right Twilight?”
Twilight furrowed her brow. “Yes. Yes it does.”
Flurry ignored the two as she took a peek inside the crib. There lied looking at her in wonder, was her younger self. Her large eyes stared at the older mare, unknown to the reason it looks exactly like her. She just babbled and laughed happily at the sight before her.
The older Flurry couldn’t help but smile at her younger more innocent self. She started to remember the stories she was told about how she almost caused a natural catastrophe when she was born after destroying the Crystal Heart. She remembered how during her childhood she was destructive with her own magic, she knew how powerful she was and she wanted to show it to the world. Maybe that was due to her wanting to be free to express herself without no restraint, or maybe this was the cause of being with her Uncle Discord.
She then looked into her saddlebags and pulled out her Whammy and showed it to her younger self. Baby Flurry reached towards the plushie and laughed cutely at it. Floating it around, the teenager made small noises that emulated the Wonderbolts zooming about making the baby clap and laugh even harder.
She shook her head in thought. “Well one thing for sure, I was so adorable back then!”
“Yeah you were.” Starlight said as she came up to the younger mare. “So…feel better now that we cleared things up?”
“Much better. At least I think I feel better, still don’t know about my future.”
“Nopony knows what lies in their future, but we can’t be afraid of what we don’t know. We just gotta keep going forward and see what happens. I promise everything will be alight.”
Flurry slowly nodded as she looked at the rest of her family. Too busy conversing with themselves she smiled when she thought about their future selves. They were different than they were now, carefree; more open to the world, overall just more fun. She still felt bad that she would have to leave them, at the same time however she felt a bit…hopeful for whatever’s going to happen in the future.
She breathed a sigh contempt as she made got everypony’s attention. “Alright guys… I think I’ve been here longer than I should. Guess it’s time to head back to my own time.”
“Oh honey…please don’t leave your mother.” Cadence said sobbing as she came up to her daughter with another large hug. “I’m going to miss you so much!”
“Mom, not in front of the family! Besides you’ll technically see me again in fifteen years.”
“But that’s such a long time!”
“Mom seriously, this is so embarrassing.”
“But I thought you came back for mommy’s and daddy’s affection!”
“I did, but now I’m starting to see why you stopped giving me your affection when I turned thirteen.”
“Alright you two enough with the hugs and kisses.” Shining said finally separating the two, much to Cadence’s displeasure. She turned to her daughter and smiled. “Then again, I think you have time for a little more affection.”
Shining Armor suddenly wrapped her arms around her daughter’s neck and fiercely rubbed his hoof against her mane. Flurry grunted in response. “Seriously dad! Enough with these lame noogies please!”
“Fine alright.” Shining said as he freed his daughter from his grasps. “Good to see you stopped being an angsty teen now.”
“Whatever dad.” She said as she fixed her mane. After gathering her things she used her horn she aimed a small laser to the floor in front of her that expanded into a large circle of light. “This portal will take me back home. Specifically to the moment before I traveled, as if nothing happen in the span of the several hours I’ve spent here. Again, I’m very sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused here.”
“It's fine Flurry,” Twilight said coming towards her. “I just hope you’ll be alright when you get back.”
“Don’t’ worry about me Auntie, instead you should worry about my younger self. She needs to grow up so she can have just as great of a future as I do. In other words make sure she’s as pretty as I am.”
Cadence and Shining gave their daughter one last hug. They let go as Cadence spoke. “You have a safe trip back, and don’t you go use anymore time spells without our permission.”
"And don't worry about your future honey, we me an your mother will have everything taken care of."
"No matter what what you do, we'll always be proud of you. Especially your Auntie Starlight."
Flurry Heart nodded. "Thanks everyone, I love you all!" As she stepped into the portal. She looked back at her family and waved goodbye at her family. As they waved back Flurry looked towards her younger self giggling in her mother's hooves and uttered one last thing before she faded away back to her own time.
“Enjoy your future it’s gonna be great!
