Generations

by James Pwyll

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Crossover
Length: 1677

A young earth pony named Twilight Sparkle finds herself meeting an unexpected, yet familiar figure

Twilight Sparkle, though aware that her life would undoubtedly have unexpected turns, never once imagined something like this. A dream, or perhaps, something more than that. Visions of another mare, so very much like her, who wishes to speak with her. A mare who looks to this young earth pony, and sees potential. And perhaps, just maybe, a chance to learn of her life, and impart a little bit of wisdom here and there.

Cover art by the incredibly talented NekasZer0

Published 2018-11-03 16:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2018-11-03 16:50:02 UTC

First Meeting

"Wha...what? Where am I?"

Twilight, startled at her surroundings, got to her hooves, and frantically started to look around. This was not her bedroom, that much was certain. Instead, it was a place she'd never even seen before. At first glance, it appeared to be a library of some sort, with books on shelves high up as far as one could see. But there was something strange about this place. The walls, and all other parts of the architecture, seemed to be made out of, of all things, crystal. It was strange, no question, and so the young earth pony continued to look around.

"H...hello? Is anyone there?"

No answer.

"...Fluttershy? Applejack? Rainbow? Anyone?!"

"They're not here."

The voice was calm and collected, but even so, it was unexpected, and prompted Twilight to immediately spin in place. When she finally saw who it was who had spoken, her eyes widened, with disbelief as clear as day on her face. For there, standing just a few feet away from her, was another mare. Yet this was not just any mare, but rather, to Twilight's utter shock, one who appeared to be a mirror duplicate of her. Well, almost a mirror duplicate. There were, it had to be said, some very noticeable differences, chief of which were the horn and wings this stranger now sported. Seeing this bizarre sight, Twilight steadily started to back away.

"Who...who are you?! Why have you brought me here?!"

Her tone betrayed her fear, and as such, the other mare took but a single step forward, keeping her voice as calm as possible.

"I mean you no harm, Twilight. I only wish to talk."

Twilight stopped, looking to the mare with confusion.

"How...how do you know my name?"

The other mare gave a quick giggle.

"As you can probably tell from looking...I know a fair bit about you."

Twilight stopped here, eyeing the stranger up and down. This was, it had to be said, completely overwhelming for her. Yet, as she started to glance around, some small measure of relief came to her, and she sighed deeply.

"...This is a dream, isn't it?"

The other mare nodded.

"Yes...but also no."

Again, Twilight looked to her with confusion, and the other mare smiled nervously.

"I know, it's complicated. Believe me, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it when I first learned of it."

Raising a hoof to her mouth, she cleared her throat, then stretched out that same hoof and offered it to the younger earth pony.

"But I think it's high time I introduced myself. My name...is Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight, the younger one, hesitated, which nobody could really blame her for, eyeing the offered hoof with suspicion. Then, after a full minute of internal debate with herself, she accepted it, giving it a quick shake.

"Twilight Sparkle. But...not a Princess."

The Princess giggled again.

"A pleasure to meet you, Twilight."

Another pause, and then the younger Twilight groaned with frustration.

"Look, I'm...I'm sorry, but this is all a bit much to take in. Could you please explain what's going on right now?"

The Princess gave a firm nod.

"Yes, you do deserve an explanation."

Turning, the alicorn moved over, and Twilight saw, for the first time, that there was a roaring fire nearby, with a small table beside it and two comfy-looking chairs on either side of that table. The Princess moved to one of these chairs, getting herself comfortable and letting out a contented sigh, before looking to her younger lookalike.

"Will you join me? I've prepared some tea, if you're interested."

Sure enough, there was indeed a small pot of tea on the table, and Twilight, being the kind of mare she was, couldn't really refuse an offer like that. So, after much trepidation, she walked over to the other chair, sitting herself down and looking over to her elder.

"So...I assume you've already got a working theory as to what's going on?" the Princess asked.

A pause, and then Twilight nodded.

"You're...another me? From some other world?"

The Princess smiled.

"You're quick. I like that."

A minute or two passed, during which the Princess got down to getting two cups of tea ready, just as she'd said she would. After offering her guest one, and taking a sip from her own, she looked to the younger mare with more seriousness than before.

"A few years ago, I became acutely aware of the fact that there were other worlds out there. Versions of my reality that were, in one way or another, different from the way I knew things to be."

Twilight nodded, understanding.

"The multiverse theory?"

The Princess nodded back, still smiling.

"Most of the worlds I came to see were...well...let's be generous and call them unpleasant."

Twilight sipped her own tea, utterly enraptured by this tale.

"After a while though, I got to thinking. What if there were alternate worlds where things weren't terrible? Where things were going right? So, I began to search."

Her smile widened.

"And after a while...I found you and your world."

Here, Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"And...what made you so interested in my world?"

Princess Twilight considered that.

"Well, I suppose it was simply a relief to see an alternate world where things weren't apocalyptic. But beyond that, I found myself looking to you and...well..."

Her expression softened, and her smile was small, but it could still be said that she was probably thinking about something pleasant.

"I suppose I could just say it was nostalgia. I was reminded so much of myself when I was younger. Going to somewhere I'd never been. Meeting new people, having fun."

The Princess turned her gaze to the fire, staring into it for a little while, all while retaining that look of fond memories gone by.

"I suppose...I wanted the chance to speak to someone who was going through all that for the first time...before all the big events of their life unfolded."

Twilight, having listened to all of this, didn't really know how to feel about it. But after a minute or two, something else popped up in her mind. A new notion that, while small at first, began to grow and grow until it ultimately dominated her thinking. Her ears drooped, and she stared into her tea cup.

"I'm...sorry."

Princess Twilight looked to her, confused.

"Sorry? What for?"

Twilight continued to avoid looking at her.

"You're an alicorn...you're a Princess...and you've done so many wonderful adventurous things!"

She winced.

"And I'm...none of those things."

Her shoulders slumped.

"...I must be such a disappointment to you."

There was silence for quite a while, and Twilight wondered through it all how the Princess would react after that. What she was not expecting though was for said Princess to place her hoof gently under her chin and lift her face up, causing her to look straight into her eyes.

"Twilight...you have nothing to apologise for."

The young earth pony opened her mouth to speak, only to be halted when the Princess placed that same hoof to her lips.

"No buts! I know, when I was your age, I too had doubts about how good I was, how worthy. And yes, even today I sometimes feel that way."

Her smile grew.

"So trust me when I say that, no matter what kind of pony you are, not matter what rank you have...you are no disappointment."

She giggled briefly.

"As for the accomplishments, well, it's still early days for you. I expect a great many things will come your way, sooner or later."

Having finally been freed to speak once more, Twilight looked to the older mare with curiosity.

"Is...is that why you wanted to speak to me? To see me when those big things happen?"

Princess Twilight shook her head.

"Big things...and small things. Because sometimes, the everyday occurrences can be just as important as the grand adventures, if not more so."

She sighed.

"If you're willing, I would very much like to talk to you about the life you're leading. The things you learn, the friends you've made. And maybe, if you wish, I can possibly give you some advice from time to time."

A knowing smirk came to her.

"After all, I probably know a thing or two about some of the situations you'll find yourself in."

The two shared a laugh at that, and the younger Twilight sighed, looking greatly relieved over this matter.

"I...I would like that. But my friends? Well...they're kind of an odd bunch."

Princess Twilight held back a snort.

"Oh, trust me...you have no idea."

Though curious to that remark, the younger Twilight said nothing, instead looking as her elder once more stared into the fires.

"My day has come and gone...but your star now rises."

Looking back to her, she looked to the younger mare with warmth.

"A star...that I think will sparkle just as much as mine did."

Author's Note

A little something I've been toying with in my head for a while. As we all know, there will eventually be a new MLP show coming out. I don't know when, but I'll be pretty interested in seeing it when it finally arrives. But, the knowledge that the show will feature, in name at least, the same characters as FiM, got me to thinking. What would it be like if one generation met the next? What would they say to one another? Would the older generation impart wisdom to the yougner? So, I decided to maybe write a fic about it.

As you can probably guess from what you've read here, it'll be a very long time before another chapter comes out, so for now, this story is complete. But when it does come, it'll be these two mares, talking about what the younger has been up to, and what the older Pirncess might have to say on the matter.

I'm pretty excited about it, and I hope you all enjoy it if and when it gets added to :twilightsmile: