That Has Made All the Difference
Two Paths Diverged in a Yellow Wood
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back."
That Has Made All the Difference
Rainbow Dash landed gracefully on the cloud with expert poise and precision. She let tension fade from her legs once she had a sure footing. Standing on clouds appeared to be strange and weird to earth ponies and unicorns, but pegasi got used to them fairly quickly. Every now and then, they would suddenly become in grips with an existential thought that they were standing on water vapor that had condensed onto particles in the air, but this would pass when they would remember that they had been doing so their entire lives.
She slowly trotted into her home. Posters of the Wonderbolts dotted the walls here and there. A kitchen sat to her left with a staircase to her right. Of course, her entire home was made out of either clouds or cloud-suitable material. She galloped up the stairs to her bedroom. Here, she took off her uniform and neatly folded it. She stowed it away in her dresser, for use tomorrow.
Exhausted, she bounded into bed. She snuggled up underneath the covers. She thought about the many hours of practice she had used up today. This was expected of her. The Wonderbolts were the top pegasus group in Equestria. They were so famous they had a new show practically every week. It was glamorous, and it paid well, but there was no time left in the day for other activities. On occasion, she would get home so late that she only had time for a power nap before having to return to practice.
She loved performing in the shows, don't get her wrong on that, she just hated practicing. The endless task of performing the same twist up to infinite times. The constant yelling from other Wonderbolts to go "faster". The sharp scoldings after messing up their otherwise perfect routine. In the end, however, it was all worth it. The satisfaction of executing a perfect show surely outweighed the constant pressure and stress from the practicing, right?
Rainbow Dash was unsure to the answer of this question even today as she lay there under her covers, desperately trying to get some peace and quiet after a long day. If she didn't get enough sleep, she would be groggy and sour at practice. This would lead to some mistakes at practice, and she couldn't allow mistakes to happen.
A knock came from the door below. With a sigh, she pulled the covers off her body. She slowly went down the stairs, turning on lights as she went. She flew open the door with her mouth to see her best, and pretty much only, friend Fluttershy.
"Oh, hi Fluttershy."
"Hello Rainbow," Fluttershy said in her usual just-above-a-whisper voice. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to a party on Saturday."
"Who's throwing the party? You?" Rainbow wouldn't think that Fluttershy would ever be that much of a socialite to throw a party in her cottage.
"No, Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash recognized the name, but hadn't really gotten the chance to meet her acquaintance.
"That pink earth pony who's always throwing parties and whatnot?"
"Yes. She's kinda become one of my dear friends. You should really meet them. I just know you'll get along splendidly."
"Oh, and who are they?"
"Well, there's Twilight Sparkle, she's the new librarian from Canterlot. Then there's Applejack, she's a farmpony down at Sweet Apple Acres. There's Pinkie Pie, and you know her. And there's Rarity, she's a fashion designer."
"They sound interesting, and I would love to meet any friends of my best friend. So when's this party?"
"Six o'clock."
"Oh, I'm busy then. Got a show in Manehattan. Maybe another time?"
"Yeah, maybe..." Fluttershy trailed off. They stood there awkwardly for several seconds.
"Well, sorry. I gotta go. Got some sleeping to do."
"Sleep? It's seven!"
"I know, right? These Wonderbolts are driving me crazy. But it's fun..." This time Rainbow trailed off, leaving the question still open. "Well, bye Fluttershy."
Rainbow Dash closed the door made out of clouds. Another missed opportunity at friendship. Her only friend was really Fluttershy, but now that she's in the Wonderbolts and that Fluttershy has four new friends it's really given them less time together. Sometimes she wished that she wasn't in the Wonderbolts so that she could be more socially active. She imagined herself in an alternate universe, with a bunch of friends doing wild and crazy things together.
But she was in this universe, and that fantasy would have to be put to rest. In fact, she was almost sure that in the alternate universe, her alternate self would only wish to be in the Wonderbolts. She was that pony's dream, and she was hers. She could quit the Wonderbolts, but that was out of the question. The Wonderbolts needed her, even if they didn't show it. She was the one that the Wonderbolts deserved.
As she went back to bed, she once again wished that she had friends instead of a ticking clock running her life like a fascist government. It was necessary for the good of the Wonderbolts, but it didn't make it any easier to bear. Before falling asleep, Rainbow Dash began to cry. She cried for her friends that she would never have. She cried for the life she had chosen for herself. She cried for the opportunity to go back and change it all.
But there would never be an opportunity. No magical time-traveling machine would come and transport her so that she could convince her past self of not joining the Wonderbolts. There would be no alternate universe portal that would switch the two Rainbow Dashes so that she could live in the friend universe. Nothing like that would happen. She made her choice, and now she has to live with it. You can never escape the consequences of your actions.
Because this is real life.
"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
- "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Alternate Ending Line: Because this isn't a sci-fi fanfic. This is a sad fanfic.
FUN FACT: Robert Frost originally wrote "The Road Not Taken" to make fun of his friend. On their walks, he would be slightly OCD about which way they went, taking way too long to decide. Funny how one of the most famous poems ever is making fun of his friend.
AN: Man, look at how snooty this looks. Who quotes a poem in a fanfic? Seriously!
When I first read that poem, I thought it was more positive. I thought it was something like, "I took this path, and things are much better off now." When I came up with the idea for this story, I thought about this poem and thought about it in a different light. I now think something along the lines of, "I took this path, and it's been really bad. I should've taken the one more traveled by."
Anyway, hope you like it.
