Five Minute Differenceby carefreedudeChaptersI can fix this!The secrets of timeTime to testPreventative mistakesI can fix this!I can fix this! I can fix this! The purple unicorn ran through the destroyed streets of Ponyville. All around her, ponies ran in a panic from their burning homes. One plum-colored earth pony sped by screaming; flames searing thought her shoulder-lengthed mane scorching fur as it went. The unicorn did her best to avert her gaze from the sight of it. I fixed it before! I can do it again! She zoomed by the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner. A scrawny yellow stallion with an orange mane limped out of the half-demolished building carrying an infant. He gave the unicorn a pleading look, in hopes she would stop to assist him. She didn't. But it wasn't this bad before. I think I made it worse! She passed by city hall, to see the entire top half smoking in pile of rubble next to the once-proud structure. Underneath the wreckage was an old grey mare who was barely conscious. She was laying in what was probably a pool of her own blood, but the poofy pink tail sticking out from of the stone nearby, suggested otherwise. The unicorn tried to hold back her tears as she continued to charge forward. No! No! No! Why is everything so different?! It shouldn't have made this big of an impact! A rainbow suddenly crashed into the street ahead, causing her to skid to a halt. A blue leg extended from the crater the rainbow created. The unicorn approached the hole to see a what looked like a fusion of a cyan pegasus and a black bug. It's pupils slowly rotated to look up at the unicorn, one a rosy pink, the other a harsh emerald green. "T-t-twi-light. He-he-elp meee." It spoke painfully, it's voice raspy and sour. Twilight could only look on in horror of the abomination before her. With tears now fully streaming down her face, she dashed around the crater towards her destination. She continued to run through the carnage, passing ponies being burned, maimed, and being converted by the black creatures flying about. She did her best to ignore it. She couldn't stop. She had to get back to the library; only four words rang through her head the entire time. I can fix this! She finally saw her home approaching as she ran. Just like the rest of the town, the great tree was aflame, and just like the rest of the town, she tried to ignore it as she dashed through the open door. Everything she held dear was quickly being engulfed by the inferno. Her books, her photos, everything. Her entire home had become her own personal circle of tartarus. To top it all off, the body of her favorite assistant lay unmoving in a crimson mess. Twilight choked back more tears as she sped past his lifeless form and into the basement. She had seen his body like that more times than she cared to remember, but the sight still brought her to the breaking point. As she slammed the door shut behind her and locked it, several changelings entered the library in pursuit of the unicorn. They individually started ramming the basement door, in an attempt to enter. She didn't have much time. The basement was filled with scrap parts and discarded blueprints. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Twilight ran to the end of the basement to where a large machine stood. The chrome behemoth was decorated with flashing lights and hummed slightly. Nearby, was a stool with a strange helmet resting upon it. The helmet was the same color as the machine with it's own set of flashing bulbs. It also had a hole in the front for a horn to fit through. Twilight quickly pushed several buttons on the machine's keyboard at a frantic speed. She then quickly sat down on the stool and levitated the helmet onto her head. At the same moment, the changelings finally busted down the door and scrambled into the basement. With a panicked breath, Twilight pushed one last button as a changeling lunged at her. A bright light was suddenly released from her horn, brighter than it had ever cast before. The unicorn clenched her eyes shut and let out a violent and painful scream as light enveloped her. After what felt like an eternity of pain and suffering, she opened her eyes again. Everything around her had changed. She was no longer sitting her basement, but instead in her loft with a book in front of her. Her home was no longer a deadly inferno, but how it was always meant to be; peaceful and serene. A look out her window showed the town was also how it should be. The skies were clear except for a few pegasi flying by. The buildings were still upright and intact. Any signs of the changelings were completely gone. It looked like whatever happened before never occurred. This didn't stop Twilight from breathing heavily and sweating. She knew this was how it always started. She was brought out of her mild panic when something put a claw on her back. She tuned to see her faithful assistant Spike standing next to her with a confused and worried look. "You okay Twilight? You were just talking to me about Starswirl, and then suddenly you froze up." He moved a claw to scratch the back of his head. "Granted I wasn't really listening but-" He was cut off by Twilight wrapping him in a hug. Tears once again began streaming down her face as she held him. "Geez Twilight. What's gotten into you?" She refused to respond. She was just glad to see him like this again, even if it was for a short while. No. Not for a short while. I can fix it this time. The secrets of time"Spike!" Called out Twilight from her study. The young alicorn had spent days looming over one of Starswirl's books. She held a particular interest in the piece due to the cryptic fashion it was written in. The book in question was resting open on her desk, revealing several characters of the alphabet arranged in a seemingly random order. All around her were various notes and drawings, most of which were scratched out, crumpled up, laying within a nearby trash bin, or some combination of the three. "Spike!" She called out again, obviously trying to pull the small dragon's attention from whatever it was he was already doing. Twilight was obviously excited. After all the time spent reading and rereading that book, she had finally revealed the truth it was concealing. "I'm here!" The purple dragon said through gasping breaths, tired after apparently bolting up the castle stairs. He was wearing an apron and was holding a large green bowl in his claws. The bowl was filled with copious amounts of cookie dough. Aparently, the young dragon was about ready to begin baking before Twilight interrupted him. Twilight gave Spike a moment to catch his breath before she spoke to him. "You know, Twilight." He spoke again, still trying to breathe. "I like this castle and all... But couldn't we install an elevator or something?" Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes a bit at the dragon's request. "If you have working knowlege of how to construct an elevator in a tree made entirely of crystal, then be my guest." "Ha ha." Responded spike with an unamused frown. Having finally regained his composure, the small creature approached the princess, setting the bowl down in the process. "So, what was so important, Twilight?" "Well, as you know Spike, I have been trying to decipher this book for several days now and I finally learned it's secrets!" She was so giddy, Spike was afraid she was going to start jumping around uncontrollably like Pinky Pie before a party. "Starswirl may be a genius, but his tricks can't stop me from solving a puzzle." "Uh huh?" Spike said. "And what exactly was it that he was hiding?" Twilight was in the dragon's face before he could even blink. "What was he hiding?! He was hiding one of the greatest discoveries in the history of ponykind!" "Really?! What is it?! Space travel?! Immortality?! The ability to shoot lasers out of their eyes?!" He seemed to get more excited with each suggestion. "No. Already been done. And you apparently need to lay off those comic books." Spike responded mearly by crossing his arms and turning his head. "I'll have you know that those are a rich tapestry of art and enjoyment. Why wouldn't anypony want to try having laser eye beams?" "Because this pony found something even more exciting." Beamed Twilight. "Well don't keep me waiting, what is it?" "Time travel!" Exclaimed Twilight with obvious excitement in her voice. "Time travel?" Responded Spike "That's right! Time travel!" "Uh... Didn't you already do that?" Asked the dragon, scratching the back of his head in the process. "What do you mean Spike?" "Well, I mean when you went back in time a couple of years ago. Remember, you went back to tell yourself not to freak out about the future and ended up causing yourself to freak out about the future anyways." Twilight giggled a bit before responding. "Of course I do, but this is completely different from that experience." Spike tilted his head a bit. "How so?" "Well for starters, how about being able to travel through time longer than just over a minute as well as being able to do it as many times as you want?" "Really?!" Shouted Spike, bringing his claws to his mouth as he thought all the things he would do with that. But as he thought of it more, he realized a problem with this concept. "But wouldn't going back in time be apart of what happened in the time line anyways, just like how you caused your own freak out by time traveling?" "That's the thing Spike, the concept behind this method of time travel will be drastically different from that other method. You see Spike," She began, grasping one of her notes from the desk with her magic. The note consisted of two parallel lines with a half circle on one line and perpendicular line connecting the two lines. "What I did the first time would be considered an ontological paradox." Spike looked upon Twilight in the same manner as a lobster being taught calculus. "Uh... Onto-what?" "And this is why I made the drawing. You see Spike, imagine that this line here was our current timeline." She pointed a hoof at the line with a half circle. "What I did the first time would be indicative of this half-circle here. I can loop as many times as I want on that circle, but the time line will still continue forward regardless." "O...K?" Responded Spike, still not quite following her. "Now imagine if I were to actually change something in the past that wasn't meant to be interfered with via time travel. We would then be sent on this perpendicular here onto the other timeline." She followed the motion with her hoof across the lines in the drawing. "The result of which would be an entirely new reality based on the change we made." "I think I get what you are saying, and if I am, that sounds awesome. So, how do you do it? Is it like a spell or something?" Twilight set the first note down and levitated another sketch from the desk. This one seemed to depict the components of a machine of some kind. "It will involve magic yes, but it also requires a bit of engineering as well. If this theory and diagram are correct, we should be able to get a working time machine up and running in no time at all." "Wait. You said you figured this out by decoding Starswirl's notes right?" Twilight nodded in response. "So how come Starswirl didn't just make this thing himself?" "That thought crossed my mind as well, and the only conclusion I can think of is that he didn't have the technology to make such a machine. I mean, it can be easy to come up with the theory, it's another story trying to actually make it happen." "Well when you put it together, can I be the first one to use it? I wanna get back at Rainbow Dash after she put super glue on the door handle. Having two of me will be a good way to get the job done." Spike squinted and started maniacally rub his claws together. Spike's evil contemplation was interrupted by Twilight levitating the bowl in front of his face. "Sorry, but even if I did allow you to use it for such a purpose, it doesn't work that way." She then started to lead the way down the stairs with Spike close behind. "But I thought you said this would be time travel, as in there would be a past and future me meeting each other." "I never said anything of the sort, Spike. I only said that it would be different from what I did before." They were about half way down the stairs and Twilight could hear her loyal assistant beginning to huff and puff from exhaustion. Out of kindness, she levitated him onto her back for the rest of the trip. "I think this means you need to lay off the sweets Spike." Although grateful for the help, Spike rolled his eyes in response. "Or that we need to get that elevator installed." Twilight only giggled in response. "So how does this different time travel thing work exactly?" "Well, we need to experiment to be sure, but the concept is that the physical body does not actually go through time, but the mind does." "I... don't follow." They were now rounding the way into the castle kitchen. Spike jumped off to finish the cookies he was preparing. "Think of it like this, it's pretty much taking your brain from now and placing it in your body in the past. All your memories and thoughts will be implanted into your past self." "So at any moment, future Spike could show up and eat all the cookies before I get a chance to eat them? I don't like the sound of that." "Well theoretically, if this does work differently from the other method of time travel, then it would have happened already. Meaning that if future Spike were to go and do that, then it would be the present version you who ate them after you became future Spike." Explained Twilight. Spike tilted his head again. "You lost me again." Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes again. "Just trust me when I say that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. I will make sure everything runs smoothly." Time to test"Alright Spike, grab me that one last bolt and we should be done." It has been roughly two months since Twilight made her amazing discovery. She had worked tirelessly since then in the castle's basement to make it a reality. After many weeks of sweat, toil, and one or two claw injuries from Spike, she was finally going to see the fruits of her labor. Her scaly assistant was quick to deliver the desired part she requested. "Here you go!" He exclaimed excitedly, holding out the bolt towards her. Spike was more than happy to see this project completed as well. His mind has been abuzz with all the things he could do with this device. Grasping the metal object with her magic, Twilight secured the piece in place with a strong twist. Satisfied with the final step , she moved back to admire her work. The contraption resting before her was a foghorn-grey behemoth with various colored bulbs protruding outside of it. Nearby was a wooden stool with a red cushion for the seat. Placed upon the cushion was a helmet of the same color as the large machine with it's own set of bulbs. It also had a hole in the top middle for a horn to fit through. Several colored wires connected the helmet to the machine. Wiping away some sweat from her forehead, she couldn't help but smile at all the work she put into building her invention. She probably would have spent hours staring at the metal giant if Spike didn't tap her on the side. "So... Are we going to use it or just stare at it?" Asked the dragon, obviously eager to try it out. Twilight gave off a slight twitch for a moment as her scaly companion's words sunk in. She then moved closer to the machine, placing a hoof on it as she did so. "It's finally done, Spike." She sighed. "Together, you and I have built the greatest thing in the history of ponykind." She breathed to herself and leaned her head closer to the machine. "Just give me a moment let this sink in a bit more." Spike, while mildly annoyed that they weren't using it right away, allowed Twilight her moment. "Alright. But please don't be too long." He pleaded. "I wanna be the first one to try out the T.A.S.M.O.T." Confused, Twilight turned to look at Spike. "Tasmot?" She asked. "Yeah, do you like it?! I came up with it myself. It stands for Twilight's And Spike's Machine Of Time." Spike was practically beaming from how smart he felt at this moment. Twilight brought a hoof to her chin as she thought about the name to herself. "Well as odd of a name Tasmot is, I suppose there are worse names we could call it. Personally, I was just going to refer to it as 'The Machine.'" "Aww come on, Twilight. That is such a boring thing to call it. At least my name took some effort to come up with." Twilight merely shook her head in response, followed by a slight smile. "Alright Spike, we will call it the 'Tasmot' on one condition." "Yeah! What is it?!" "I get to use the Tasmot first." The baby dragon's jaw nearly hit the floor when he heard this offer. He really wanted to try out the time machine as soon as it was done. Twilight even jokingly said at one point during it's construction that he could use it first when pigs fly. Although Twilight caved when Pinkie dressed herself up as a pig and shot herself out of her cannon. So naturally, he wanted to decline her offer. But he also wanted the name for the machine to be the one he came up with. After roughly a minute of thinking, the dragon finally replied. "Alright fine, But I get dibs to go next!" "Very well, I hereby christen this machine as, the 'Tasmot'." Twilight said with a smile. "Now lets fire this bad boy up and take it out for a test run." Over the course of several minutes, the machine was booted up. The various-colored bulbs flashed at random intervals and gave off a slight hum. Upon the seat nearby, sat Twilight with the helmet strapped to her head. She cast her gaze upon the nearby clock hanging on the wall. "Alright Spike, the time right now is 2:08 pm. Since this is our first time using the ma- I mean Tasmot," She quickly corrected herself. "I will only be going back to a very recent time. Let's set the machine to ten minutes ago at 1:59 pm. That should place me at right about the time we finished the machine" The dragon quickly inputted the exact date and time into the machine. He then held his claw over one last button, ready for Twilight's command to press it. Twilight watched as the second hand of the clock ticked slowly around to the twelve. Each second felt like an eternity as the hand progressed. She was feeling a startling mix of fear and excitement. The back of her mind worried about something going wrong. Nothing can go wrong, Twilight. You made sure that this machine was made perfectly. You have nothing to fear. She glanced back at the clock to see the second hand just passing over the eleven. There is nothing to worry about. 3... 2... 1 "Now Spike!" She called out. Without a moment of hesitation, the dragon dropped his claw upon the button. A blinding light was released from her horn as her magic poured into the machine. Twilight let out a violent scream as the machine did it's work. She did her best to keep her eyes open throughout the ordeal. Where once there was a crystal room, now a strange yellow abyss. If there was anything recognizable within this golden space, it was too blurry and distorted to make out. She could only look upon it for about half a second before she experienced more pain and her vision went black. A fraction of a second later, Twilight's vision returned to see her forehoof resting upon the powerless foghorn grey machine. She found herself breathing heavily and could feel a cold sweat go down the back of her neck as she stood there. She could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest after what just happened. Whether or not the machine had worked, it was a terrifying and painful experience. "Alright. But please don't be too long." Pleaded a voice from nearby. Twilight turned to see Spike standing behind her with a mildly annoyed expression on his face. "I wanna be the first one to try out the T.A.S.M.O.T." The alicorn stood there wide eyed and her jaw hanging, staring at the baby dragon. Did... Did it really work? She started to give the room a closer examination. The Tasmot was resting behind her, the helmet was currently resting on the nearby stool, and the clock. The clock showed the time- 1:59! She stared at the clock for roughly thirty seconds as the second hand continued to tick it's way across the face. She would force herself to blink from time to time, just to be sure she was not mistaken. But the longer she stared, the more fact of the matter sank in. I-I did it! Twilight's mouth quickly formed into a smile as this thought bounced around her skull. She had done it. She was the first pony to use time travel without an ontological paradox. She started to look over herself to make sure everything was still in order. Purple fur, one horn, brushed mane, two wings, four hooves, tail. "Twilight? What are you doing?" Asked Spike. He has been watching the princess act strange for the past minute or so. This seemed to be enough to pull her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Twilight turned her gaze to the purple dragon. He was staring at her with a little bit of concern on his face. "Are you feeling alright? I mean, I thought you would be more excited than this." "Spike!" Twilight finally responded loudly, causing the dragon to jump a little. "Is there anything different about me?!" "Uh..." He began, trying to understand what she was asking. "Besides you spacing off into your own little world for a minute, I can't say there is." Twilight suddenly smiled and started jumping in place, to Spikes confusion. "It worked! It worked!" She shouted. She then immediately rushed to a nearby desk and levitated out a scroll, a quill, and some ink. Spike watched, more confused than ever, as the princess began jotting down several notes on the scroll. He managed to look over her shoulder to see what she was writing. The time is 2:02 pm Testing began on Sunday September 23rd at 2:09 pm. Spike and I set the machine to go back ten minutes to 1:59 pm the same day. The actual test itself was very painful during transport, but was immediately gone upon finishing. So far, everything seems to be different than before I tested the machine, but more test will need to be done in order to be sure. "You tested it!?" Exclaimed Spike as he watched her write. "Twilight!" He said with an obvious whine in his voice. "You said I was going to use it first. You promised!" "Spike, don't you remember? You-" Oh yeah, that's right. I made that deal with him before I went back in time. "I... Guess you wouldn't remember actually. Well then I'll tell you. You let me use it first so long as I used your name for it." Twilight explained. "Wait. So you are letting me use the name Tasmot?" Spike asked excitedly. "That is correct, Spike." This caused the baby dragon to grin from ear to ear. "So, since you got your turn, does that mean it's my turn now?!" Apparently, his eagerness was getting to him. "I guess so, but I must warn you tha-" The alicorn's words were cut off as the same yellow abyss from earlier engulfed her vision. Twilight floated in the endless golden void motionless as she tried to comprehend what exactly was happening. Before any idea could surface, she was suddenly dropped back down into reality. As her vision returned to her, she found herself staring at the machine's monitor with her hoof hovering above the keyboard. Just as before, her heart was racing. What?! I- I made another leap in time?! Twilight was inwardly panicking as she quickly turned her head towards the clock. The time read 2:09 pm. That was the time I made the leap back in time. But why am I back here now? "Come on Twilight! You promised!" Whined a voice behind her. The princess turned around to see her assistant on his knees pleading something of her. "I swear, you told me it was my turn!" Twilight stared at the pleading dragon, as her mind tried to piece together what exactly just happened. Okay. Let's see what I know... I used the machine to jump back in time. Then I was suddenly forced back to the exact time before I jumped. The question is, wh- "Twilight! Are you feeling alright? Your spacing out again." Spike said with a mild amount of worry in his voice. "That's the third time now." Third! Thought Twilight. "Spike! What do you mean this is the third time I spaced out!?" The dragon looked at her with a perplexed look. "What do you mean what do I mean? You spaced out right before you claimed to have gone back in time. You spaced out after you promised that it was my turn. And now you spaced out after claiming you made no such promise and looking over your notes." Spike lowered his head as a thought dawned on him. "Twilight. Is there something you're not telling me? Because you spacing out is starting to worry me. Not to mention that- Hey, are you even listening!" Sometime while Spike was talking, Twilight ran over to her note on the desk to see that more has been added since she wrote in it earlier. The time is 2:05 pm According to Spike and the note written above, we have successfully performed a leap back in time. Unfortunately, I have no memory of this ever occurring. It's almost as if the last five minutes of my life never actually happened. Because of this, I cannot actually be sure if I really did make that jump. Spike also keeps saying something about his turn since I went first, also something about calling the machine the Tasmoc or something along those lines. Spike is going to be disappointed though. Because of my absence of memory, it may indicate that there are more dangers involved in this than originally thought. I'll perform some tests to be sure, but Spike will not test until I can be certain there is no danger. Twilight was surprised to read this. Apparently the time she spent back in time had completely lapsed her past self and vice versa for after she returned. She turned to Spike again to see the dragon cast a worried look her way. "Spike. I know that you really wanted to try the Tasmot out, but this note and my absence of memory proves that there is more going on here than we originally predicted." Despite Spike's disapointed face, Twilight walked over to the machine to power it down. "We will perform some tests tomorrow, but for now I just want to get some rest." She hit a switch on the side of the machine and started heading towards the stairs out of the basement. As the lights of the machine faded away, Spike gave it one last disappointed look before following the purple princess. "Alright, if you say so. But why do you need to rest? It's still the middle of the day." The two had managed to walk their way out of the basement and were now making their way to the staircase to Twilight's bedroom. "I suppose it is, but I would rather hold off till tomorrow for more tests. There are a few things on my mind at the moment." Like why on Terra did I return back and why my past self had no memory of my time in the past. About halfway up the stairs, Twilight turned to her dragon companion. "Spike, can you do me a favor?" Spike stopped behind her, slightly relieved to cease walking up the steps. "Sure, what is it?" "Could you grab my book titled Recordari? I think there is a spell in there that can help us." Preventative mistakesDespite the exhaustion that Twilight claimed to have been experiencing, she still stayed up late into the night studying the book she requested. Spike on the other hand spent the majority of his time brooding over his missed opportunity at the Tasmot before finally becoming too tired to stay awake. The next morning, Spike awoke to find Twilight missing from the bedroom. "Huh?" Spike yawned out. "She can't still be awake, can she?" He received his answer when the scent of coffee hit him. The young dragon let out another yawn as he made his way to the staircase. Upon reaching the basement where the machine was kept, he found the purple alicorn setting up an old video camera they had in storage. Set up in a nice pile next to the camera was a collection of video tapes. Next to those was a small television and a VCR. Spike scratched the back of his head with confusion of the display. He then turned his attention to Twilight. The young princess had a small grin on her face. She looked, for lack of a better word, tired. The bags beneath her eyes and the mug of coffee on the nearby table were clear indications of her lack of sleep. "So much for getting rest." Spoke Spike, attracting Twilight's attention. "Oh, hey Spike." Began Twilight with a long yawn. "What are you doing up?" "It's seven in the morning." Replied the dragon, causing Twilight to look at the wall clock. The time depicted on it said 7:03. "Did you even sleep last night?" Twilight let out another yawn. "Can't say I did much of that, Spike. I've been up all night reading. Then I had to take the late train to Canterlot for all this." She pointed a hoof at the new electronics in the room. "I got home around a half hour ago or so." Letting out another long yawn followed by a deep stretch, Twilight levitated a video tape from the pile and placed it in the recording device. “So what exactly are you going to do with all this equipment?” Inquired Spike as he rubbed his eyes a bit. Letting out another yawn, Twilight answered the dragon. “I am simply going to make a recording of us doing various random tasks before and after using the Tasmot, and then use the recordings for my research.” Twilight levitated her mug to take a swig of her coffee before continuing. “A video recording would be far more reliable than simply writing everything down. This way, both my current and past self won’t risk leaving out important information.” “Makes sense I suppose.” Spoke Spike as he poured himself his own cup of Joe. “But how would you be able to compare video tapes? Wouldn’t the current you make one copy and then past you would just make a new copy when current you goes back in time to become past you, making the past you's tape the current you's tape before you leave past you and… I’ve confused myself again.” The princess levitated over a bowl of sugar for Spike before answering. “I believe I understand what you are asking, and I already figured out a solution.” She then gestured to the open book on her desk. “That book I asked you to retrieve for my yesterday has the answer. Recordari is a book about spells involving the conservation of scrolls. “For the most part, the spells simply involve keeping books and scrolls in pristine condition. I’ve used such spells to keep my old library to high standards. But there were a few spells describing how to transfer writing from one scroll to another, and it was among these spells where I got the solution I was looking for. You see, many many years ago, a unicorn named Light-“ “I’m sure this is very interesting Twilight, but can you just describe the spell please?” Interrupted the scaly assistant, obviously too tired to listen to this tale. With a look mild annoyance, Twilight complied with the dragon’s request. “I suppose long story short, there is a spell within the book that lets one take an entire novel and place its contents within one’s mind. Kind of like filing it away, so to speak. Now while the book is in the pony’s mind, it can only be accessed again by placing it on a new source of pages. I performed a few experiments last night with the spell, adding my own modifications to it, and was able to recreate the results with video.” “So now you and your past self can just watch the video instead of trying to leave notes to each other?” Spike asked after finally understanding what Twilight was speaking about. “Correct Spike.” “Does that mean it’s finally my turn?!” Asked Spike with more than a little bit of excitement in his voice, almost spilling his coffee in the process. “Sorry Spike, but I’m gonna take one more test run myself before I let you give it a try.” This was obviously not something the small dragon wanted to hear, as he let out some smoke from his nostrils and folded his arms across his chest. “This isn’t fair. We had a deal that said I would get to go after you, but now you are going back on that promise.” Twilight let out a sigh as she placed her mug on her desk. “Spike, I promise you that once you get your turn, it will be worth it. I have a special surprise that will make up for all of this.” Still not fully convinced, Spike did concede to the princess’s wish. “Fine, but you promise for real this time that it will be my turn after this?” “Cross my heart and hope to fly.” Responded Twilight, making the gestures with her hoof as she did so. “Alright, so are you going to get in the Tasmot now?” “Not quite yet.” Twilight hit a button on the camcorder that caused a red light to turn on. “We need to make the recording first. Didn’t I just get done explaining this too you?” Spike only responded by frowning at her slightly. “Hello past Twilight." Spoke the princess, looking directly into the camera as she did so. "The day is the twenty fourth of September. The time right now is 7:07 am. Over the next five minutes Spike and I will be recording our thoughts for you to view. You will be able to compare the two recordings after I leave you a copy.” Twilight made her way back over to Spike. “Alright Spike, is there anything you would like to share with your past self at all?” “You still don’t get your turn buddy.” “Oh come on Spike. You’ll get your turn, now is there anything else you would like to say at all?” “This is going back to the same time that we are in right now, correct?” Asked Spike. “Yes it is.” “Then I don’t think there is any new information that I wouldn’t already know.” “Well, it’s only been about a minute, I’m just trying to waste time. We still have another four minutes to kill after all.” Explained Twilight. Spike sighed as he tried to bring up a topic of discussion. Finally, a thought did occur to him. “So is your time in the past going to be five minutes every time then? Or did you do that on purpose last time, and we can actually stay in the past longer?” Spike took another swig from his mug. This question caused Twilight to light up a bit with more energy. “I’m glad you asked. You see, that was another quandary that kept me awake for a while, and I have an answer. You see, many years ago, a unicorn named Cranium Maxi-“ “Can we skip the story again please?” “No no, Spike, not this time. I’m still trying to kill time here and,” She snuck a peak at the wall clock, “we still have another three and a half minutes.” Spike emptied the last of his mug and started making his way back to the pot. “Alright, but can I at least get the abridged versiON!” Spike let out a mild shriek as he tripped over a fold in the rug, causing his empty mug to shatter on the crystal floor. “Are you alright?!” Asked Twilight, quickly making her way over to her favorite assistant. Spike picked himself up and dusted himself off a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine. I can’t really say the same for the mug though.” The dragon sighed a little. "That was my favorite mug." Twilight levitated a broom and dustpan from a nearby closet and began to clean up the mess. “It’s okay Spike, accidents happen.” She snuck another peak at the clock and then one at the camcorder. “Although, this does pose a good opportunity for us.” She emptied to mug shards into the nearby trash can before moving back to her spot in front of the camera. “What do you mean by 'good opportunity?'” Asked Spike. “Well, I was thinking that if we used the Tasmot properly, then we may be able to use it to actually fix past mistakes. We could potentially take problems that have occurred and make it so they never happened at all. I would say that preventing that mug from breaking would be a good test, don’t you think?” Spike pondered this for maybe two seconds before responding. “Sounds pretty good to me.” Twilight took another peak at the clock. “Alright, that should be five minutes right there.” She turned to face the camera. “Alright past Twilight, I hope you and I will get some good data from this experiment.” She then pressed a button that caused the red light to turn off and for a video tape to eject itself from the back. “Now all I have to do now is just place the contents of this video in my mind and we will be set to use the Tasmot.” Twilight’s horn began to glow and caused the video tape to float in front of them. Twilight squinted hard as a black stream began to leave the tape and make its way to her forehead. Spike watched in amazement as the information began to dissolve through the mare’s skull. After roughly thirty seconds, Twilight gently placed the tape on the ground and turned around to Spike. “And now we can go back in time.” Ten minutes later Twilight once again sat on her stool with the helmet on her head. The machine was abuzz with flashing lights and a mild hum. Spike stared at the screen as he input the data needed to send the mare on her journey. Once finished, he turned on his seat to face the princess. “Alright, we are all set. I’ll initiate on your mark.” He hovered his claw over the enter key as Twilight stared at the clock, waiting for the minute hand to tick its way back to the twelve. Round 2 Twilight. This time we are going to get some serious data. The clock ticked away past the ten. Alright Twilight, just breath. You have already done this once. ‘Tick’ ‘Tick’ ‘Tick’ “Now!” Just as before, Spike dropped his claw on the button and activated the machine. The bulbs began illuminating in random patterns as Twilight’s horn began to glow brightly. Twilight clenched her eyes shut as the same pain from before began to engulf her. Once again, Twilight floated in an endless yellow void. Twilight tried to make out anything within but found herself unable. Before she could hopefully bring things into focus, she was suddenly shot back into reality. Breathing heavily, Twilight found herself standing next to Spike in front of the video camera. A quick glance at the clock revealed that she arrived at the desired time of 7:07, right when she began recording. “Spike.” Spoke Twilight through heavy breaths, trying to get the annoyed dragon’s attention. “What? Do you want me to say my thoughts or something?” He looked directly at the camera. “You still don’t get a turn buddy.” Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at this. “No no, you are the past one. Well I suppose you are the current one, but soon enough, you are going to be the past one. Or actually, you would become the future one, but you will remain yourself as the current one. Eventually though, there will be a past, present, and future one.” Spike merely tilted his head at what she had to say. “If you are going to be talking like this, then I’m gonna need more coffee.” He then began making his way over to the coffee pot, heading straight for the fold in the carpet again. Acting on the memory of what happened before, Twilight quickly grabbed Spike with her magic and levitated him over the fold. Spike, not knowing why she was doing this, remarked “I appreciate the help, but I think I can walk five feet to get coffee.” “So you think. But I just saved you from making the same mistake as before.” “What mistake?” Twilight chuckled some more. “You will understand as soon as you watch the vid- Oh! I almost forgot.” The princess grasped an blank video tape with her magic and began to perform the same spell as before. This time however, a green stream of information began to flow out of Twilight’s head and into the video tape. Once the spell was complete, she levitated a marker from the desk and marked the front of the tape as DATE: SEPTEMBER 24 TIME: 7:07 FUTURE VERSION “And with that, my past self can now compare the two tapes.” “Wait wait wait. Are you future Twilight?” Asked Spike, his unbroken mug still in his grasp. “Yes I am.” “Awesome! Now that means it’s almost my turn! What’s the future like anyways?” “It’s not much different than now, it was only about twelve minutes from now, give or take.” “Ah. Still, you got the machine work twice now. Are you going to be sticking around longer than five minutes though?” “I’m afraid not Spike.” Spoke Twilight, sneaking another look at the clock. “As a matter of fact, my time is almost up. So I need you to do something for me.” Before the dragon could respond, Twilight continued. “Soon I will begin acting like I don’t know what just happened. I need you to simply explain to me that I came from today at 7:22 and that I should review both tapes and record my thoughts. I will give you more instruction later. Okay?” “I guess. I suppose I will see you soo-“ The end of Spike’s sentence was cut off as the yellow void once again flooded Twilight’s vision. Just as before, Twilight was unable to make out anything within the golden abyss before being forced back to reality. Upon returning, she was staring at Spike, who was currently sipping at another cup of coffee from his still unbroken mug. Noticing that the princess was just staring at him, Spike swallowed the contents within his mouth and began to speak. “Ah, this must be future you again. Past you told me to tell you to stop the camcorder.” The dragon finished by gesturing over to still recording camera. Twilight quickly stopped the recording and retrieved the tape. On the desk nearby, there were two more tapes. Both had the same label scribed on to them, the difference being one said FUTURE, while the other said PAST. On the tape that Twilight had, she noticed it had the same date printed on it, but instead of past or future, it simply said REACTION. “Good. Past me did things exactly as planned. Spike, thank you for doing everything you were told.” “Thank you for preventing me from breaking my mug.” He took another sip from the cup. “This is one of my favorites.” Twilight simply let out a small giggle. “Well Spike, I just want to review this last tape here and then you will finally get what you want.” Spike’s eyes widened as he tried to forcefully swallow the liquid in in his mouth. “Did you mean.” He managed to get out between coughs. “Yes Spike. I finally mean that it’s your turn.” Twilight smiled, as she finished his sentence. “Woohoo!” Spike exclaimed as he accidentally spilled the remainder of his cup on the floor. “Oops, I’ll clean that up.” Twilight was once again about to laugh until a yawn escaped her mouth instead, reminding her of how much she has not slept. “Actually Spike, your turn is going to wait till tomorrow.” She said as she yawned a second time. “I really do need to get some sleep now.” Spike, who was in the process of retrieving a washcloth for the spill, was frozen from what he had just heard. He was about to protest before seeing the tired mare sluggishly walk past him and to the steps. “Alright, I can wait one more day.” As Twilight ascended the steps, Spike got to work wiping up his spill. Author's Note I suppose it's been a while since I last wrote hasn't it. Sorry about that.
I can fix this!I can fix this! I can fix this! The purple unicorn ran through the destroyed streets of Ponyville. All around her, ponies ran in a panic from their burning homes. One plum-colored earth pony sped by screaming; flames searing thought her shoulder-lengthed mane scorching fur as it went. The unicorn did her best to avert her gaze from the sight of it. I fixed it before! I can do it again! She zoomed by the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner. A scrawny yellow stallion with an orange mane limped out of the half-demolished building carrying an infant. He gave the unicorn a pleading look, in hopes she would stop to assist him. She didn't. But it wasn't this bad before. I think I made it worse! She passed by city hall, to see the entire top half smoking in pile of rubble next to the once-proud structure. Underneath the wreckage was an old grey mare who was barely conscious. She was laying in what was probably a pool of her own blood, but the poofy pink tail sticking out from of the stone nearby, suggested otherwise. The unicorn tried to hold back her tears as she continued to charge forward. No! No! No! Why is everything so different?! It shouldn't have made this big of an impact! A rainbow suddenly crashed into the street ahead, causing her to skid to a halt. A blue leg extended from the crater the rainbow created. The unicorn approached the hole to see a what looked like a fusion of a cyan pegasus and a black bug. It's pupils slowly rotated to look up at the unicorn, one a rosy pink, the other a harsh emerald green. "T-t-twi-light. He-he-elp meee." It spoke painfully, it's voice raspy and sour. Twilight could only look on in horror of the abomination before her. With tears now fully streaming down her face, she dashed around the crater towards her destination. She continued to run through the carnage, passing ponies being burned, maimed, and being converted by the black creatures flying about. She did her best to ignore it. She couldn't stop. She had to get back to the library; only four words rang through her head the entire time. I can fix this! She finally saw her home approaching as she ran. Just like the rest of the town, the great tree was aflame, and just like the rest of the town, she tried to ignore it as she dashed through the open door. Everything she held dear was quickly being engulfed by the inferno. Her books, her photos, everything. Her entire home had become her own personal circle of tartarus. To top it all off, the body of her favorite assistant lay unmoving in a crimson mess. Twilight choked back more tears as she sped past his lifeless form and into the basement. She had seen his body like that more times than she cared to remember, but the sight still brought her to the breaking point. As she slammed the door shut behind her and locked it, several changelings entered the library in pursuit of the unicorn. They individually started ramming the basement door, in an attempt to enter. She didn't have much time. The basement was filled with scrap parts and discarded blueprints. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Twilight ran to the end of the basement to where a large machine stood. The chrome behemoth was decorated with flashing lights and hummed slightly. Nearby, was a stool with a strange helmet resting upon it. The helmet was the same color as the machine with it's own set of flashing bulbs. It also had a hole in the front for a horn to fit through. Twilight quickly pushed several buttons on the machine's keyboard at a frantic speed. She then quickly sat down on the stool and levitated the helmet onto her head. At the same moment, the changelings finally busted down the door and scrambled into the basement. With a panicked breath, Twilight pushed one last button as a changeling lunged at her. A bright light was suddenly released from her horn, brighter than it had ever cast before. The unicorn clenched her eyes shut and let out a violent and painful scream as light enveloped her. After what felt like an eternity of pain and suffering, she opened her eyes again. Everything around her had changed. She was no longer sitting her basement, but instead in her loft with a book in front of her. Her home was no longer a deadly inferno, but how it was always meant to be; peaceful and serene. A look out her window showed the town was also how it should be. The skies were clear except for a few pegasi flying by. The buildings were still upright and intact. Any signs of the changelings were completely gone. It looked like whatever happened before never occurred. This didn't stop Twilight from breathing heavily and sweating. She knew this was how it always started. She was brought out of her mild panic when something put a claw on her back. She tuned to see her faithful assistant Spike standing next to her with a confused and worried look. "You okay Twilight? You were just talking to me about Starswirl, and then suddenly you froze up." He moved a claw to scratch the back of his head. "Granted I wasn't really listening but-" He was cut off by Twilight wrapping him in a hug. Tears once again began streaming down her face as she held him. "Geez Twilight. What's gotten into you?" She refused to respond. She was just glad to see him like this again, even if it was for a short while. No. Not for a short while. I can fix it this time.
The secrets of time"Spike!" Called out Twilight from her study. The young alicorn had spent days looming over one of Starswirl's books. She held a particular interest in the piece due to the cryptic fashion it was written in. The book in question was resting open on her desk, revealing several characters of the alphabet arranged in a seemingly random order. All around her were various notes and drawings, most of which were scratched out, crumpled up, laying within a nearby trash bin, or some combination of the three. "Spike!" She called out again, obviously trying to pull the small dragon's attention from whatever it was he was already doing. Twilight was obviously excited. After all the time spent reading and rereading that book, she had finally revealed the truth it was concealing. "I'm here!" The purple dragon said through gasping breaths, tired after apparently bolting up the castle stairs. He was wearing an apron and was holding a large green bowl in his claws. The bowl was filled with copious amounts of cookie dough. Aparently, the young dragon was about ready to begin baking before Twilight interrupted him. Twilight gave Spike a moment to catch his breath before she spoke to him. "You know, Twilight." He spoke again, still trying to breathe. "I like this castle and all... But couldn't we install an elevator or something?" Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes a bit at the dragon's request. "If you have working knowlege of how to construct an elevator in a tree made entirely of crystal, then be my guest." "Ha ha." Responded spike with an unamused frown. Having finally regained his composure, the small creature approached the princess, setting the bowl down in the process. "So, what was so important, Twilight?" "Well, as you know Spike, I have been trying to decipher this book for several days now and I finally learned it's secrets!" She was so giddy, Spike was afraid she was going to start jumping around uncontrollably like Pinky Pie before a party. "Starswirl may be a genius, but his tricks can't stop me from solving a puzzle." "Uh huh?" Spike said. "And what exactly was it that he was hiding?" Twilight was in the dragon's face before he could even blink. "What was he hiding?! He was hiding one of the greatest discoveries in the history of ponykind!" "Really?! What is it?! Space travel?! Immortality?! The ability to shoot lasers out of their eyes?!" He seemed to get more excited with each suggestion. "No. Already been done. And you apparently need to lay off those comic books." Spike responded mearly by crossing his arms and turning his head. "I'll have you know that those are a rich tapestry of art and enjoyment. Why wouldn't anypony want to try having laser eye beams?" "Because this pony found something even more exciting." Beamed Twilight. "Well don't keep me waiting, what is it?" "Time travel!" Exclaimed Twilight with obvious excitement in her voice. "Time travel?" Responded Spike "That's right! Time travel!" "Uh... Didn't you already do that?" Asked the dragon, scratching the back of his head in the process. "What do you mean Spike?" "Well, I mean when you went back in time a couple of years ago. Remember, you went back to tell yourself not to freak out about the future and ended up causing yourself to freak out about the future anyways." Twilight giggled a bit before responding. "Of course I do, but this is completely different from that experience." Spike tilted his head a bit. "How so?" "Well for starters, how about being able to travel through time longer than just over a minute as well as being able to do it as many times as you want?" "Really?!" Shouted Spike, bringing his claws to his mouth as he thought all the things he would do with that. But as he thought of it more, he realized a problem with this concept. "But wouldn't going back in time be apart of what happened in the time line anyways, just like how you caused your own freak out by time traveling?" "That's the thing Spike, the concept behind this method of time travel will be drastically different from that other method. You see Spike," She began, grasping one of her notes from the desk with her magic. The note consisted of two parallel lines with a half circle on one line and perpendicular line connecting the two lines. "What I did the first time would be considered an ontological paradox." Spike looked upon Twilight in the same manner as a lobster being taught calculus. "Uh... Onto-what?" "And this is why I made the drawing. You see Spike, imagine that this line here was our current timeline." She pointed a hoof at the line with a half circle. "What I did the first time would be indicative of this half-circle here. I can loop as many times as I want on that circle, but the time line will still continue forward regardless." "O...K?" Responded Spike, still not quite following her. "Now imagine if I were to actually change something in the past that wasn't meant to be interfered with via time travel. We would then be sent on this perpendicular here onto the other timeline." She followed the motion with her hoof across the lines in the drawing. "The result of which would be an entirely new reality based on the change we made." "I think I get what you are saying, and if I am, that sounds awesome. So, how do you do it? Is it like a spell or something?" Twilight set the first note down and levitated another sketch from the desk. This one seemed to depict the components of a machine of some kind. "It will involve magic yes, but it also requires a bit of engineering as well. If this theory and diagram are correct, we should be able to get a working time machine up and running in no time at all." "Wait. You said you figured this out by decoding Starswirl's notes right?" Twilight nodded in response. "So how come Starswirl didn't just make this thing himself?" "That thought crossed my mind as well, and the only conclusion I can think of is that he didn't have the technology to make such a machine. I mean, it can be easy to come up with the theory, it's another story trying to actually make it happen." "Well when you put it together, can I be the first one to use it? I wanna get back at Rainbow Dash after she put super glue on the door handle. Having two of me will be a good way to get the job done." Spike squinted and started maniacally rub his claws together. Spike's evil contemplation was interrupted by Twilight levitating the bowl in front of his face. "Sorry, but even if I did allow you to use it for such a purpose, it doesn't work that way." She then started to lead the way down the stairs with Spike close behind. "But I thought you said this would be time travel, as in there would be a past and future me meeting each other." "I never said anything of the sort, Spike. I only said that it would be different from what I did before." They were about half way down the stairs and Twilight could hear her loyal assistant beginning to huff and puff from exhaustion. Out of kindness, she levitated him onto her back for the rest of the trip. "I think this means you need to lay off the sweets Spike." Although grateful for the help, Spike rolled his eyes in response. "Or that we need to get that elevator installed." Twilight only giggled in response. "So how does this different time travel thing work exactly?" "Well, we need to experiment to be sure, but the concept is that the physical body does not actually go through time, but the mind does." "I... don't follow." They were now rounding the way into the castle kitchen. Spike jumped off to finish the cookies he was preparing. "Think of it like this, it's pretty much taking your brain from now and placing it in your body in the past. All your memories and thoughts will be implanted into your past self." "So at any moment, future Spike could show up and eat all the cookies before I get a chance to eat them? I don't like the sound of that." "Well theoretically, if this does work differently from the other method of time travel, then it would have happened already. Meaning that if future Spike were to go and do that, then it would be the present version you who ate them after you became future Spike." Explained Twilight. Spike tilted his head again. "You lost me again." Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes again. "Just trust me when I say that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. I will make sure everything runs smoothly."
Time to test"Alright Spike, grab me that one last bolt and we should be done." It has been roughly two months since Twilight made her amazing discovery. She had worked tirelessly since then in the castle's basement to make it a reality. After many weeks of sweat, toil, and one or two claw injuries from Spike, she was finally going to see the fruits of her labor. Her scaly assistant was quick to deliver the desired part she requested. "Here you go!" He exclaimed excitedly, holding out the bolt towards her. Spike was more than happy to see this project completed as well. His mind has been abuzz with all the things he could do with this device. Grasping the metal object with her magic, Twilight secured the piece in place with a strong twist. Satisfied with the final step , she moved back to admire her work. The contraption resting before her was a foghorn-grey behemoth with various colored bulbs protruding outside of it. Nearby was a wooden stool with a red cushion for the seat. Placed upon the cushion was a helmet of the same color as the large machine with it's own set of bulbs. It also had a hole in the top middle for a horn to fit through. Several colored wires connected the helmet to the machine. Wiping away some sweat from her forehead, she couldn't help but smile at all the work she put into building her invention. She probably would have spent hours staring at the metal giant if Spike didn't tap her on the side. "So... Are we going to use it or just stare at it?" Asked the dragon, obviously eager to try it out. Twilight gave off a slight twitch for a moment as her scaly companion's words sunk in. She then moved closer to the machine, placing a hoof on it as she did so. "It's finally done, Spike." She sighed. "Together, you and I have built the greatest thing in the history of ponykind." She breathed to herself and leaned her head closer to the machine. "Just give me a moment let this sink in a bit more." Spike, while mildly annoyed that they weren't using it right away, allowed Twilight her moment. "Alright. But please don't be too long." He pleaded. "I wanna be the first one to try out the T.A.S.M.O.T." Confused, Twilight turned to look at Spike. "Tasmot?" She asked. "Yeah, do you like it?! I came up with it myself. It stands for Twilight's And Spike's Machine Of Time." Spike was practically beaming from how smart he felt at this moment. Twilight brought a hoof to her chin as she thought about the name to herself. "Well as odd of a name Tasmot is, I suppose there are worse names we could call it. Personally, I was just going to refer to it as 'The Machine.'" "Aww come on, Twilight. That is such a boring thing to call it. At least my name took some effort to come up with." Twilight merely shook her head in response, followed by a slight smile. "Alright Spike, we will call it the 'Tasmot' on one condition." "Yeah! What is it?!" "I get to use the Tasmot first." The baby dragon's jaw nearly hit the floor when he heard this offer. He really wanted to try out the time machine as soon as it was done. Twilight even jokingly said at one point during it's construction that he could use it first when pigs fly. Although Twilight caved when Pinkie dressed herself up as a pig and shot herself out of her cannon. So naturally, he wanted to decline her offer. But he also wanted the name for the machine to be the one he came up with. After roughly a minute of thinking, the dragon finally replied. "Alright fine, But I get dibs to go next!" "Very well, I hereby christen this machine as, the 'Tasmot'." Twilight said with a smile. "Now lets fire this bad boy up and take it out for a test run." Over the course of several minutes, the machine was booted up. The various-colored bulbs flashed at random intervals and gave off a slight hum. Upon the seat nearby, sat Twilight with the helmet strapped to her head. She cast her gaze upon the nearby clock hanging on the wall. "Alright Spike, the time right now is 2:08 pm. Since this is our first time using the ma- I mean Tasmot," She quickly corrected herself. "I will only be going back to a very recent time. Let's set the machine to ten minutes ago at 1:59 pm. That should place me at right about the time we finished the machine" The dragon quickly inputted the exact date and time into the machine. He then held his claw over one last button, ready for Twilight's command to press it. Twilight watched as the second hand of the clock ticked slowly around to the twelve. Each second felt like an eternity as the hand progressed. She was feeling a startling mix of fear and excitement. The back of her mind worried about something going wrong. Nothing can go wrong, Twilight. You made sure that this machine was made perfectly. You have nothing to fear. She glanced back at the clock to see the second hand just passing over the eleven. There is nothing to worry about. 3... 2... 1 "Now Spike!" She called out. Without a moment of hesitation, the dragon dropped his claw upon the button. A blinding light was released from her horn as her magic poured into the machine. Twilight let out a violent scream as the machine did it's work. She did her best to keep her eyes open throughout the ordeal. Where once there was a crystal room, now a strange yellow abyss. If there was anything recognizable within this golden space, it was too blurry and distorted to make out. She could only look upon it for about half a second before she experienced more pain and her vision went black. A fraction of a second later, Twilight's vision returned to see her forehoof resting upon the powerless foghorn grey machine. She found herself breathing heavily and could feel a cold sweat go down the back of her neck as she stood there. She could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest after what just happened. Whether or not the machine had worked, it was a terrifying and painful experience. "Alright. But please don't be too long." Pleaded a voice from nearby. Twilight turned to see Spike standing behind her with a mildly annoyed expression on his face. "I wanna be the first one to try out the T.A.S.M.O.T." The alicorn stood there wide eyed and her jaw hanging, staring at the baby dragon. Did... Did it really work? She started to give the room a closer examination. The Tasmot was resting behind her, the helmet was currently resting on the nearby stool, and the clock. The clock showed the time- 1:59! She stared at the clock for roughly thirty seconds as the second hand continued to tick it's way across the face. She would force herself to blink from time to time, just to be sure she was not mistaken. But the longer she stared, the more fact of the matter sank in. I-I did it! Twilight's mouth quickly formed into a smile as this thought bounced around her skull. She had done it. She was the first pony to use time travel without an ontological paradox. She started to look over herself to make sure everything was still in order. Purple fur, one horn, brushed mane, two wings, four hooves, tail. "Twilight? What are you doing?" Asked Spike. He has been watching the princess act strange for the past minute or so. This seemed to be enough to pull her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Twilight turned her gaze to the purple dragon. He was staring at her with a little bit of concern on his face. "Are you feeling alright? I mean, I thought you would be more excited than this." "Spike!" Twilight finally responded loudly, causing the dragon to jump a little. "Is there anything different about me?!" "Uh..." He began, trying to understand what she was asking. "Besides you spacing off into your own little world for a minute, I can't say there is." Twilight suddenly smiled and started jumping in place, to Spikes confusion. "It worked! It worked!" She shouted. She then immediately rushed to a nearby desk and levitated out a scroll, a quill, and some ink. Spike watched, more confused than ever, as the princess began jotting down several notes on the scroll. He managed to look over her shoulder to see what she was writing. The time is 2:02 pm Testing began on Sunday September 23rd at 2:09 pm. Spike and I set the machine to go back ten minutes to 1:59 pm the same day. The actual test itself was very painful during transport, but was immediately gone upon finishing. So far, everything seems to be different than before I tested the machine, but more test will need to be done in order to be sure. "You tested it!?" Exclaimed Spike as he watched her write. "Twilight!" He said with an obvious whine in his voice. "You said I was going to use it first. You promised!" "Spike, don't you remember? You-" Oh yeah, that's right. I made that deal with him before I went back in time. "I... Guess you wouldn't remember actually. Well then I'll tell you. You let me use it first so long as I used your name for it." Twilight explained. "Wait. So you are letting me use the name Tasmot?" Spike asked excitedly. "That is correct, Spike." This caused the baby dragon to grin from ear to ear. "So, since you got your turn, does that mean it's my turn now?!" Apparently, his eagerness was getting to him. "I guess so, but I must warn you tha-" The alicorn's words were cut off as the same yellow abyss from earlier engulfed her vision. Twilight floated in the endless golden void motionless as she tried to comprehend what exactly was happening. Before any idea could surface, she was suddenly dropped back down into reality. As her vision returned to her, she found herself staring at the machine's monitor with her hoof hovering above the keyboard. Just as before, her heart was racing. What?! I- I made another leap in time?! Twilight was inwardly panicking as she quickly turned her head towards the clock. The time read 2:09 pm. That was the time I made the leap back in time. But why am I back here now? "Come on Twilight! You promised!" Whined a voice behind her. The princess turned around to see her assistant on his knees pleading something of her. "I swear, you told me it was my turn!" Twilight stared at the pleading dragon, as her mind tried to piece together what exactly just happened. Okay. Let's see what I know... I used the machine to jump back in time. Then I was suddenly forced back to the exact time before I jumped. The question is, wh- "Twilight! Are you feeling alright? Your spacing out again." Spike said with a mild amount of worry in his voice. "That's the third time now." Third! Thought Twilight. "Spike! What do you mean this is the third time I spaced out!?" The dragon looked at her with a perplexed look. "What do you mean what do I mean? You spaced out right before you claimed to have gone back in time. You spaced out after you promised that it was my turn. And now you spaced out after claiming you made no such promise and looking over your notes." Spike lowered his head as a thought dawned on him. "Twilight. Is there something you're not telling me? Because you spacing out is starting to worry me. Not to mention that- Hey, are you even listening!" Sometime while Spike was talking, Twilight ran over to her note on the desk to see that more has been added since she wrote in it earlier. The time is 2:05 pm According to Spike and the note written above, we have successfully performed a leap back in time. Unfortunately, I have no memory of this ever occurring. It's almost as if the last five minutes of my life never actually happened. Because of this, I cannot actually be sure if I really did make that jump. Spike also keeps saying something about his turn since I went first, also something about calling the machine the Tasmoc or something along those lines. Spike is going to be disappointed though. Because of my absence of memory, it may indicate that there are more dangers involved in this than originally thought. I'll perform some tests to be sure, but Spike will not test until I can be certain there is no danger. Twilight was surprised to read this. Apparently the time she spent back in time had completely lapsed her past self and vice versa for after she returned. She turned to Spike again to see the dragon cast a worried look her way. "Spike. I know that you really wanted to try the Tasmot out, but this note and my absence of memory proves that there is more going on here than we originally predicted." Despite Spike's disapointed face, Twilight walked over to the machine to power it down. "We will perform some tests tomorrow, but for now I just want to get some rest." She hit a switch on the side of the machine and started heading towards the stairs out of the basement. As the lights of the machine faded away, Spike gave it one last disappointed look before following the purple princess. "Alright, if you say so. But why do you need to rest? It's still the middle of the day." The two had managed to walk their way out of the basement and were now making their way to the staircase to Twilight's bedroom. "I suppose it is, but I would rather hold off till tomorrow for more tests. There are a few things on my mind at the moment." Like why on Terra did I return back and why my past self had no memory of my time in the past. About halfway up the stairs, Twilight turned to her dragon companion. "Spike, can you do me a favor?" Spike stopped behind her, slightly relieved to cease walking up the steps. "Sure, what is it?" "Could you grab my book titled Recordari? I think there is a spell in there that can help us."
Preventative mistakesDespite the exhaustion that Twilight claimed to have been experiencing, she still stayed up late into the night studying the book she requested. Spike on the other hand spent the majority of his time brooding over his missed opportunity at the Tasmot before finally becoming too tired to stay awake. The next morning, Spike awoke to find Twilight missing from the bedroom. "Huh?" Spike yawned out. "She can't still be awake, can she?" He received his answer when the scent of coffee hit him. The young dragon let out another yawn as he made his way to the staircase. Upon reaching the basement where the machine was kept, he found the purple alicorn setting up an old video camera they had in storage. Set up in a nice pile next to the camera was a collection of video tapes. Next to those was a small television and a VCR. Spike scratched the back of his head with confusion of the display. He then turned his attention to Twilight. The young princess had a small grin on her face. She looked, for lack of a better word, tired. The bags beneath her eyes and the mug of coffee on the nearby table were clear indications of her lack of sleep. "So much for getting rest." Spoke Spike, attracting Twilight's attention. "Oh, hey Spike." Began Twilight with a long yawn. "What are you doing up?" "It's seven in the morning." Replied the dragon, causing Twilight to look at the wall clock. The time depicted on it said 7:03. "Did you even sleep last night?" Twilight let out another yawn. "Can't say I did much of that, Spike. I've been up all night reading. Then I had to take the late train to Canterlot for all this." She pointed a hoof at the new electronics in the room. "I got home around a half hour ago or so." Letting out another long yawn followed by a deep stretch, Twilight levitated a video tape from the pile and placed it in the recording device. “So what exactly are you going to do with all this equipment?” Inquired Spike as he rubbed his eyes a bit. Letting out another yawn, Twilight answered the dragon. “I am simply going to make a recording of us doing various random tasks before and after using the Tasmot, and then use the recordings for my research.” Twilight levitated her mug to take a swig of her coffee before continuing. “A video recording would be far more reliable than simply writing everything down. This way, both my current and past self won’t risk leaving out important information.” “Makes sense I suppose.” Spoke Spike as he poured himself his own cup of Joe. “But how would you be able to compare video tapes? Wouldn’t the current you make one copy and then past you would just make a new copy when current you goes back in time to become past you, making the past you's tape the current you's tape before you leave past you and… I’ve confused myself again.” The princess levitated over a bowl of sugar for Spike before answering. “I believe I understand what you are asking, and I already figured out a solution.” She then gestured to the open book on her desk. “That book I asked you to retrieve for my yesterday has the answer. Recordari is a book about spells involving the conservation of scrolls. “For the most part, the spells simply involve keeping books and scrolls in pristine condition. I’ve used such spells to keep my old library to high standards. But there were a few spells describing how to transfer writing from one scroll to another, and it was among these spells where I got the solution I was looking for. You see, many many years ago, a unicorn named Light-“ “I’m sure this is very interesting Twilight, but can you just describe the spell please?” Interrupted the scaly assistant, obviously too tired to listen to this tale. With a look mild annoyance, Twilight complied with the dragon’s request. “I suppose long story short, there is a spell within the book that lets one take an entire novel and place its contents within one’s mind. Kind of like filing it away, so to speak. Now while the book is in the pony’s mind, it can only be accessed again by placing it on a new source of pages. I performed a few experiments last night with the spell, adding my own modifications to it, and was able to recreate the results with video.” “So now you and your past self can just watch the video instead of trying to leave notes to each other?” Spike asked after finally understanding what Twilight was speaking about. “Correct Spike.” “Does that mean it’s finally my turn?!” Asked Spike with more than a little bit of excitement in his voice, almost spilling his coffee in the process. “Sorry Spike, but I’m gonna take one more test run myself before I let you give it a try.” This was obviously not something the small dragon wanted to hear, as he let out some smoke from his nostrils and folded his arms across his chest. “This isn’t fair. We had a deal that said I would get to go after you, but now you are going back on that promise.” Twilight let out a sigh as she placed her mug on her desk. “Spike, I promise you that once you get your turn, it will be worth it. I have a special surprise that will make up for all of this.” Still not fully convinced, Spike did concede to the princess’s wish. “Fine, but you promise for real this time that it will be my turn after this?” “Cross my heart and hope to fly.” Responded Twilight, making the gestures with her hoof as she did so. “Alright, so are you going to get in the Tasmot now?” “Not quite yet.” Twilight hit a button on the camcorder that caused a red light to turn on. “We need to make the recording first. Didn’t I just get done explaining this too you?” Spike only responded by frowning at her slightly. “Hello past Twilight." Spoke the princess, looking directly into the camera as she did so. "The day is the twenty fourth of September. The time right now is 7:07 am. Over the next five minutes Spike and I will be recording our thoughts for you to view. You will be able to compare the two recordings after I leave you a copy.” Twilight made her way back over to Spike. “Alright Spike, is there anything you would like to share with your past self at all?” “You still don’t get your turn buddy.” “Oh come on Spike. You’ll get your turn, now is there anything else you would like to say at all?” “This is going back to the same time that we are in right now, correct?” Asked Spike. “Yes it is.” “Then I don’t think there is any new information that I wouldn’t already know.” “Well, it’s only been about a minute, I’m just trying to waste time. We still have another four minutes to kill after all.” Explained Twilight. Spike sighed as he tried to bring up a topic of discussion. Finally, a thought did occur to him. “So is your time in the past going to be five minutes every time then? Or did you do that on purpose last time, and we can actually stay in the past longer?” Spike took another swig from his mug. This question caused Twilight to light up a bit with more energy. “I’m glad you asked. You see, that was another quandary that kept me awake for a while, and I have an answer. You see, many years ago, a unicorn named Cranium Maxi-“ “Can we skip the story again please?” “No no, Spike, not this time. I’m still trying to kill time here and,” She snuck a peak at the wall clock, “we still have another three and a half minutes.” Spike emptied the last of his mug and started making his way back to the pot. “Alright, but can I at least get the abridged versiON!” Spike let out a mild shriek as he tripped over a fold in the rug, causing his empty mug to shatter on the crystal floor. “Are you alright?!” Asked Twilight, quickly making her way over to her favorite assistant. Spike picked himself up and dusted himself off a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine. I can’t really say the same for the mug though.” The dragon sighed a little. "That was my favorite mug." Twilight levitated a broom and dustpan from a nearby closet and began to clean up the mess. “It’s okay Spike, accidents happen.” She snuck another peak at the clock and then one at the camcorder. “Although, this does pose a good opportunity for us.” She emptied to mug shards into the nearby trash can before moving back to her spot in front of the camera. “What do you mean by 'good opportunity?'” Asked Spike. “Well, I was thinking that if we used the Tasmot properly, then we may be able to use it to actually fix past mistakes. We could potentially take problems that have occurred and make it so they never happened at all. I would say that preventing that mug from breaking would be a good test, don’t you think?” Spike pondered this for maybe two seconds before responding. “Sounds pretty good to me.” Twilight took another peak at the clock. “Alright, that should be five minutes right there.” She turned to face the camera. “Alright past Twilight, I hope you and I will get some good data from this experiment.” She then pressed a button that caused the red light to turn off and for a video tape to eject itself from the back. “Now all I have to do now is just place the contents of this video in my mind and we will be set to use the Tasmot.” Twilight’s horn began to glow and caused the video tape to float in front of them. Twilight squinted hard as a black stream began to leave the tape and make its way to her forehead. Spike watched in amazement as the information began to dissolve through the mare’s skull. After roughly thirty seconds, Twilight gently placed the tape on the ground and turned around to Spike. “And now we can go back in time.” Ten minutes later Twilight once again sat on her stool with the helmet on her head. The machine was abuzz with flashing lights and a mild hum. Spike stared at the screen as he input the data needed to send the mare on her journey. Once finished, he turned on his seat to face the princess. “Alright, we are all set. I’ll initiate on your mark.” He hovered his claw over the enter key as Twilight stared at the clock, waiting for the minute hand to tick its way back to the twelve. Round 2 Twilight. This time we are going to get some serious data. The clock ticked away past the ten. Alright Twilight, just breath. You have already done this once. ‘Tick’ ‘Tick’ ‘Tick’ “Now!” Just as before, Spike dropped his claw on the button and activated the machine. The bulbs began illuminating in random patterns as Twilight’s horn began to glow brightly. Twilight clenched her eyes shut as the same pain from before began to engulf her. Once again, Twilight floated in an endless yellow void. Twilight tried to make out anything within but found herself unable. Before she could hopefully bring things into focus, she was suddenly shot back into reality. Breathing heavily, Twilight found herself standing next to Spike in front of the video camera. A quick glance at the clock revealed that she arrived at the desired time of 7:07, right when she began recording. “Spike.” Spoke Twilight through heavy breaths, trying to get the annoyed dragon’s attention. “What? Do you want me to say my thoughts or something?” He looked directly at the camera. “You still don’t get a turn buddy.” Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at this. “No no, you are the past one. Well I suppose you are the current one, but soon enough, you are going to be the past one. Or actually, you would become the future one, but you will remain yourself as the current one. Eventually though, there will be a past, present, and future one.” Spike merely tilted his head at what she had to say. “If you are going to be talking like this, then I’m gonna need more coffee.” He then began making his way over to the coffee pot, heading straight for the fold in the carpet again. Acting on the memory of what happened before, Twilight quickly grabbed Spike with her magic and levitated him over the fold. Spike, not knowing why she was doing this, remarked “I appreciate the help, but I think I can walk five feet to get coffee.” “So you think. But I just saved you from making the same mistake as before.” “What mistake?” Twilight chuckled some more. “You will understand as soon as you watch the vid- Oh! I almost forgot.” The princess grasped an blank video tape with her magic and began to perform the same spell as before. This time however, a green stream of information began to flow out of Twilight’s head and into the video tape. Once the spell was complete, she levitated a marker from the desk and marked the front of the tape as DATE: SEPTEMBER 24 TIME: 7:07 FUTURE VERSION “And with that, my past self can now compare the two tapes.” “Wait wait wait. Are you future Twilight?” Asked Spike, his unbroken mug still in his grasp. “Yes I am.” “Awesome! Now that means it’s almost my turn! What’s the future like anyways?” “It’s not much different than now, it was only about twelve minutes from now, give or take.” “Ah. Still, you got the machine work twice now. Are you going to be sticking around longer than five minutes though?” “I’m afraid not Spike.” Spoke Twilight, sneaking another look at the clock. “As a matter of fact, my time is almost up. So I need you to do something for me.” Before the dragon could respond, Twilight continued. “Soon I will begin acting like I don’t know what just happened. I need you to simply explain to me that I came from today at 7:22 and that I should review both tapes and record my thoughts. I will give you more instruction later. Okay?” “I guess. I suppose I will see you soo-“ The end of Spike’s sentence was cut off as the yellow void once again flooded Twilight’s vision. Just as before, Twilight was unable to make out anything within the golden abyss before being forced back to reality. Upon returning, she was staring at Spike, who was currently sipping at another cup of coffee from his still unbroken mug. Noticing that the princess was just staring at him, Spike swallowed the contents within his mouth and began to speak. “Ah, this must be future you again. Past you told me to tell you to stop the camcorder.” The dragon finished by gesturing over to still recording camera. Twilight quickly stopped the recording and retrieved the tape. On the desk nearby, there were two more tapes. Both had the same label scribed on to them, the difference being one said FUTURE, while the other said PAST. On the tape that Twilight had, she noticed it had the same date printed on it, but instead of past or future, it simply said REACTION. “Good. Past me did things exactly as planned. Spike, thank you for doing everything you were told.” “Thank you for preventing me from breaking my mug.” He took another sip from the cup. “This is one of my favorites.” Twilight simply let out a small giggle. “Well Spike, I just want to review this last tape here and then you will finally get what you want.” Spike’s eyes widened as he tried to forcefully swallow the liquid in in his mouth. “Did you mean.” He managed to get out between coughs. “Yes Spike. I finally mean that it’s your turn.” Twilight smiled, as she finished his sentence. “Woohoo!” Spike exclaimed as he accidentally spilled the remainder of his cup on the floor. “Oops, I’ll clean that up.” Twilight was once again about to laugh until a yawn escaped her mouth instead, reminding her of how much she has not slept. “Actually Spike, your turn is going to wait till tomorrow.” She said as she yawned a second time. “I really do need to get some sleep now.” Spike, who was in the process of retrieving a washcloth for the spill, was frozen from what he had just heard. He was about to protest before seeing the tired mare sluggishly walk past him and to the steps. “Alright, I can wait one more day.” As Twilight ascended the steps, Spike got to work wiping up his spill. Author's Note I suppose it's been a while since I last wrote hasn't it. Sorry about that.
