A Silver Thread of Fate

Since coming to the Elysian Fields, I've spent a lot of time waiting and watching. I've of course been waiting for Ice Blossom to appear, but at the same time, I've had the opportunity to contemplate time itself. See, I know that time doesn't just go in straight lines. While it's also cyclic in nature here in the Hereafter, I also know that in the land of the living, there is a branching timeline for every choice a pony's made. Every single one. I'd definitely know, since one of the unique properties of the sky in the afterlife allows ponies to watch not just their lives, but every variation of their life.

With this in mind, one of the ways I've taken to passing time is just watching myself. It’s not as narcissistic as it sounds. I've seen an entire life ended because I didn't have support when I needed it most—who'd have thought a runty pegasus diving off Canterlot could make such a big splat?—and another who never met Ice Blossom in the first place. Surprisingly, some of the ponies I'd become were far more emotionally stable than I'd ever been, and most of them didn't have Blossom or Chill Beat in their lives.

Did that make the two Neighponese mares who'd brought me so much companionship at university naught but emotional crutches?

At any rate, I quickly picked up on something with so much time watching my life play out in so many different ways. At a pivotal moment in a timeline, there would usually be a slight tremble indicating there's another branching path that I could follow if I so chose. They were always pretty interesting, except for one.

It was the one I had come across many times. It was the week I first got to Ponyville, and I'd lost touch with reality after the petrification of Pound Cake. The event always showed me sleeping in the little hollow under the tree that Sweetie directed me to. I'd go to sleep, and the entire scene would shake violently. I always thought it meant something big would happen, so I would latch onto that new branch and start to watch...

But it would always play out similarly enough that I thought it was just a red herring. Usually, I'd just go back by the time I saw my fight with Twilight play out the same way, right down to the point where I could have killed her before starting over. Interestingly enough, there was never a branch at that moment in time... Just the night before.

That was the very scene I was watching right now, on the divergent path. It's all from 'my' perspective, so I never see anything but what I should have. Everything was black, but I knew I was in the middle of Ponyville. Lyra counted down to the start of the duel, and I readied myself for the dastardly trick. I detonated the light amplification crystal, and began my fight with Twilight, somehow keeping the upper hand. I know now from talks I've had with the mare that she was admittedly holding back, even when I was trying to kill her.

“I never said this was a wizard's duel, you foolish impostor!” 'I' croaked, glaring at the horrified Twilight before biting her leg. Taking advantage of her pain, I increased the distance between us, and began to look around. Almost everyone was gathered around. I saw Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash interposed between me and the rest of the crowd... Bon-Bon, staring in terror at the sight of Lyra's body so roughed up and bleeding. Huddled up against her is a small silver-gray near-unicorn... all of them looked at me like I was the villain!

Wait a moment... I loop back and watch her vision sweep across the crowd, making sure that I hadn't simply seen wrong. A silvery foal is definitely huddled up against Bon-Bon... but much to my surprise, I see a nub of a horn growing out from her head. But that's not right... I was always a pegasus in every other timeline... What makes this one so different?

After a moment, the answer hits me. In all my viewings, I've never seen the dream that I experience in the hollow beneath the tree. Does that mean that the branch in this timeline was whatever led Luna to decide my pony form in the dream would be a unicorn instead of a pegasus? Did she decide my form? If so, how much did the princess influence my life, then?

It’s definitely an intriguing thought. My life as a unicorn, after everything that I'd done as Lyra. Would I be a strong mage? Would I be more like Trixie? Would I even go into alchemy? Or was I destined to go down the scholarly path and become a powerful mage’s apprentice?

That brings up a lot of other questions. If I didn't become an alchemist, would I have ever cured my dwarfism and acquired a cutie mark? Or would I do as Twilight would later do: perform some magic bullshittery of the highest order, invent new magic, and become an eternal loli-alicorn? I mean, yeah, it isn't fucking likely, but I have to consider every possible angle. It’s one thing to watch an entire lifetime that was similar enough to my own, allowing me to skip some of the filler, but I’m looking at a whole new life with endless possibilities. I need to be ready for anything...

But can I allow myself to become invested in a me who wasn't me? An entirely new variant of me? I'd seen a lot of shit in my life, and I have no doubt that unicorn Silver would have her own issues. Like, if her destiny isn't alchemy, she might not even take on the mantle of Silver Script. Maybe she'll be Silver Glimmer, or Silver Shimmer or Silverburst. So many possibilities, and without watching this new life I've discovered, I might never find out. Am I prepared for that? Probably not. At the same time, though, I am nothing if not morbidly curious.

With a smile, I mutter aloud to myself, “This should be good.”