Spike burped. The flames shot out, green sparks shooting left and right. Twilight observed in fascination as the scroll materialized. If she could somehow harness the power of these flames, she could revolutionize transport in Equestria by centuries. Transportation times would be cut down to a few seconds. It would almost be as fast as Rainbow Dash. No more clunky trains or carriages. Frantically, she began to take down notes on the angles of launch, as well as the various magical resonances that she felt through her horn.
It would be nice if she had a sample to work with though, so first she had to find a way to get Spike to breathe fire. Obviously, it had to be something that couldn’t be sent, so she started to experiment, by asking Spike to send various tidbits. Spike was used to this behavior, and didn’t suspect a thing. Then she found it, glass. So she asked for one last jet, and at last, in a jar, was Spike’s magical flames. As she beheld them, she shivered. She could feel progress coming soon.
For the next few weeks, Twilight spent her time shut up in her laboratory in the basement of the library. Her friends tried to approach, but were repulsed by the giant barrier she had set up. They hadn’t realized when she had pulled off the observational studies, and she had learned ever since Pinkie Pie. Everything was set up accordingly. Even if Pinkie did eventually pull through, she was almost done. Just a few more calculations, and a bit of bottling, and her thesis would be complete, and she would never have to go to magic kindergarten ever again.
Launch date arrived. Tension filled the air. It was now or never. She needed a pony test subject, but it was too dangerous for her friends. That left only her. A streak of sweat ran down her brow, as she nervously lifted the jar. She had programmed the coordinates, yesterday. Now all she had to do was let the flames guide her to the target location. The ideal point of contact was apparently the anus, which didn’t make her any more comfortable than she already was.
She put the jar into position, and began to unscrew. The fire shot out, and everything was green around her. She saw streams of herself flowing off her, as they moved toward the target location. Then streams of her brain left, and she was left thoughtless, as her brain was no longer complete. At that moment, Twilight Sparkle was medically dead. Her friends were unable to help her in time. As her horn, maintaining the magic required to hold up the barrier, disintegrated as well, the barrier flickered out of the plane.
The streams started to coalesce on the target. With a slam, the door opened, shifting the ground relative to the target a molecule up. Then a stream hit that molecule, shifting it again, tearing open a massive rift in the area. Relative to what poured in of course. Little tiny Twilights from alternate universes, all trying to reach the target, hit the portal and came through. They were amazed at how vast the network of atoms was.
The friends found that the door to the basement was barricaded. One by one, they tried to break it down. Applejack gave it a hard buck, several times, as did Rainbow Dash. Rarity tried giving the door a fashion makeover. While that did make the door considerably happy, it did not give the door the ability to open by itself. Pinkie Pie threw the door a party. And Fluttershy, well nopony heard what Fluttershy did. Or saw it, for that matter.
Finally, after they killed the poor door (Splinters were everywhere), the friends began to descend the stairs. Each step they took let off an ominous creak. Periodic bouts of green were seen, more frequently the more they descended. Was it changelings again? Had they taken Twilight? Various questions began to wander their minds.
As more streams widened the portal, they also deflected the streams through the portal in all sorts of directions. Some went up, some went down, and some went nowhere. Twilight began to materialize, as did all the tiny Twilights, some bigger than others. And so Twilight came to be, with a bunch of other Twilights infesting her mane and coat. As they walked about her, she felt extremely itchy. Must be a side effect.
Then she saw her friends, and gulped nervously. So she gathered magic in her horn, because she didn’t want to talk to them yet. Along with her, she also teleported the fire in a jar. She kept on teleporting until she was sure she had lost them all. She would complete her thesis at any cost. Still, she felt itchy. So she took a sample of the itchy spot, and took out her portable electron microscope to examine. She wasn’t prepared for what she found.
Thousands of miniature versions of herself trotted around, all looking very confused. Just what had the fire done? No, the system wasn’t safe. Spike Anus Fire Rocket Transport was not for civilian use. All traces of research had to be hidden and destroyed, otherwise everypony would end up very itchy. She didn’t want to be the cause of an epidemic. As she began to turn around, the jars dropped around her, and she found herself off again.
Moments later, she found herself on top of Princess Celestia in a very interesting position. Well, more like awkward. Blushing she turned around to apologize, only to find herself at loss for words. She was surprised to find Princess Celestia a little red in the face as well.
“Twilight, what are you doing here?” Celestia finally managed.
“I uh I,” stuttered Twilight who was entirely unsure of what was going on.
It was an interesting memory, and one that Twilight was unlikely to forget. Nopony would ever know the full tale though, and SAFRTs would remain unknown to the Equestria.