The Beginning and the End

by bdoubleowo

Rating: everyone
Tags: Luster Dawn, Spike, Random, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 9460

Right before she sends the letter to Celestia that will end in her being sent to Ponyville, Twilight accidentally time travels. To the future.

(Notice: MLP S9E1 and S9E2 are called "The Beginning OF the End." This is "The Beginning AND the End.")

Twilight Sparkle time travels. She was TRYING to send a letter to Princess Celestia about to incoming return of Nightmare Moon. She DID travel about twenty-eight years into the future.

(Crossover between MLP S1E1 "Friendship is Magic, Part 1" and MLP S9E26 "The Last Problem")

EDIT 3/4/20: WHAAAT?! 56 bookshelves and 28 tracking as of now?! This has got to be easily my most popular story. Many, many Pinkie-sized hugs to you all! :pinkiehappy:

Published 2020-03-03 16:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-03-23 22:36:05 UTC

It All Starts Here

CANTERLOT CASTLE, YEAR 2012 AC (AGE OF CELESTIA)

Twilight Sparkle loved books.

To her friend Minuette, this was an understatement. She shook her head and sighed, reflecting on the task at hoof. She and her other friends Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts were about to do the impossible: try to get Twilight to go to a party.

At that moment, Minuette noticed a purple unicorn mare trotting up the road, reading a huge book. This was in fact Twilight Sparkle, the friend of Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts, and the personal student of Princess Celestia herself. Minuette smiled and trotted over to Twilight.

“Twilight! There you are!” she said, smiling at her friend. “Moondancer’s having a little get-together in the castle courtyard. You wanna come?” All three of them stared at Twilight, who blinked.

“Ooh… Sorry girls.” Twilight put her book away and smiled nervously at her friends. “I’ve got a lot of studying to do.” She then ran off, leaving her friends in the dust.

Minuette rolled her eyes. She then turned to Twinkleshine and stated something that may or may not have been true, for it was speculation: “That mare makes more time for books than she does for her friends.”

****************************************

Twilight Sparkle ran into her library, slamming the door against the wall. “Spike!” she shouted. “SPIIII-KE!”

“Right here, Twilight!” Her purple and green dragon assistant Spike stood up from where he had fallen, for Twilight had hit him with the door. “What’s up?” He picked up the red-and-yellow present that had fallen next to him, and Twilight noticed.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the present.

“Oh! It’s a present for Moondancer. I heard she’s throwing a party?” Spike said.

“Yes, she is. However, I need you here. The fate of Equestria could be at stake!” Twilight said matter-of-factly. Spike raised an eyebrow at that.

“Really?” he said, kind of sarcastically.

“Yes, Spike!” She rolled her eyes at her assistant’s disbelieving. “Get me the book Predictions and Prophecies. ASAP! It’s very important!”

Spike ran off to find the book. Twilight started pacing and levitating many different books around her to find more information.

“Here it is!” Spike was standing on top of a very tall ladder, waving the book in the air. Twilight grabbed it with her magic and started to read it. When she finished, her face was pale.

“It’s worse than I thought. Spike, write a letter to the Princess!” Twilight shouted. Spike grabbed a piece of paper and a quill, and gave Twilight a thumbs-up.

“Alright. Spike, write this down: Dear Princess Celestia…” Twilight began, but was quickly drowned out by a roaring noise.

“Spike?! What is going on?!” she shouted. Spike quickly made his way over to Twilight’s side.

“I don’t know!” he replied, raising his voice to be heard over the noise. “It started when I started writing on the paper!”

Twilight levitated the paper over to her, read it, and then glared at Spike. “Did you just grab a random piece of paper off of a desk?!”

“Uh…” Spike said. “Maybe?”

“This was a spell sent by Princess Celestia herself! I was supposed to test it and then tell her my findings!” Twilight moaned. “You just caused it to activate, and by writing on it, you changed the spell!”

“Sorry…” Spike said, embarrassment coloring his voice.

By now, the roaring noise had grown as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice, which Twilight had only heard from Princess Celestia occasionally. Now, there was a sort of vacuum in the room as well, causing things to start flying around. Twilight dug her hooves into the floor, and Spike grabbed onto Twilight’s leg.

“This is not good!” he screamed, stating the obvious. Twilight nodded in response and prepared to make a shield around her and Spike so that they could escape the chaos without being affected by the vacuum.

Her horn glowed with magic, ready to make the shield. Twilight concentrated, preparing herself for the task.

However, once she concentrated on her magic, she stopped concentrating on her hooves. They had been dug into the floor of her room, but now the pressure had let up. She let out a minor shriek and suddenly found herself flying up towards the ceiling, which now had a silvery bowl-shaped object in the middle. Both the vacuum and the roaring noise seemed to be coming from that same bowl.

Suddenly, she felt something pulling on her tail. She looked down to see Spike, who had fallen off of Twilight’s leg, grabbing onto her tail and screaming as he was whipped around with the wind. Twilight picked Spike up with her magic and held him close, as the bowl got closer and closer. Suddenly, the two of them were sucked in, and everything turned green.

Twilight tried to scream, and found that there was no noise muffler inside the bowl. She and Spike both screamed – loudly – as their surroundings swirled around them. The only things that were around them were lots of green and some sort of clock shape, almost as if they were being teleported somewhere. Suddenly, the green disappeared, and Twilight fell out of the sky and into a fountain.

“What the-?!” Twilight spluttered. That was when Spike fell right on top of her, dunking the wet purple unicorn back into the fountain.

Moving Spike out of the way, Twilight sat back up, jumped out of the fountain, and shook herself, causing water droplets to spray out of her mane and tail. She looked around, noticing that they seemed to have teleported to a completely different location.

“Spike… I don’t think we’re in Canterlot anymore.” She lifted Spike onto her back and continued to look around, but more nervously than before.

“What? Of course you’re in Canterlot!” an unfamiliar voice said. Twilight jumped back, only to be faced with a creature that she had never seen before. This creature was pony-like in shape, with cloven hooves and a long ruff around its neck. It appeared to be female, due to the creature’s long eyelashes. A fork-like shape protruded near the top of her head, and Twilight assumed it was like a unicorn’s horn.

“My apologies for scaring you,” the creature said. “I was just shocked. You don’t know where you are? Welcome to Canterlot! That was an amazing entrance, by the way.” Twilight was confused.

“Um… I don’t mean to be rude…” Twilight began, “but… what are you?”

“Oh! You’re not being rude. I’m a kirin!” The creature – kirin – smiled and pointed to herself. “It’s okay if you’ve never seen one of my kind before. We grew up in a small village, and for the longest time, we couldn’t even speak! But then Applejack and Fluttershy came to us and helped us see that we needed to be able to talk. Our leader’s name is Rain Shine, and she has an assistant named Autumn Blaze. Autumn Blaze was actually instrumental in helping us learn to talk again!” Twilight’s eyes were the widest they had probably ever been.

“Wow… That’s a cool story! May I ask a question, though?” Twilight asked. The kirin nodded. “Actually, it’s two questions. One, who are Applejack and Fluttershy?”

The kirin gasped. “You don’t know who Applejack and Fluttershy are?!” Creatures around them stopped and stared, and Twilight grinned nervously, waving at them.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, who doesn’t know the Element of Honesty and the Element of Kindness?! It’s ridiculous! They’re also part of the Council of Friendship!” The kirin jumped up and down happily.

Now it was Twilight’s job to gasp. “Element of Honesty?! Element of Kindness?! Spike, maybe we are okay after all! Nightmare Moon didn’t return after all! The Elements of Harmony stopped her!” Spike smiled at that.

“Oh, Nightmare Moon returned in the year 2012 AC – Age of Celestia. That was about eight years before the year 1 AT… it’s the year 20 AT right now, so…” The kirin was rambling, but it caught Twilight’s attention.

“Wait… it’s the year 20 AT?! What does AT stand for?!” Twilight’s thoughts were spinning.

“Oh, wow! You really need to read a few books!” The kirin giggled, and Spike snorted at the thought of the irony in that statement. “AT stands for Age of Twilight, silly! Princess Celestia retired twenty years ago, and our princess is Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. She heard Spike say, “Wait, what?” to the kirin, but it was faint. Maybe the kirin responded, but Twilight had no idea. Twilight Sparkle had passed out.

Author's Note

Haha, what if Twilight knew her destiny before her destiny happened?? :P

An idea I've had ever since the S9 finale.

The Future is Now

CANTERLOT CASTLE, YEAR 20 AT (AGE OF TWILIGHT)

“Twilight?”

“Twilight!”

“TWILIGHT!”

“Whuhhh?” Twilight slowly opened her eyes, revealing Spike and an unfamiliar unicorn standing over her. Spike sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re okay!” Spike hugged Twilight, then let go and pointed at the unicorn. “This is Amber Heart. She’s a nurse at Canterlot Medical Center. We’re at the center right now, actually. She helped me bring you here.”

Amber Heart nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay, Miss Velvet.”

“I am, too, Nurse Amber Heart.” Twilight smiled, then turned to Spike and mouthed, “Velvet?” Spike shrugged.

“Thanks for helping us!” Spike said.

Amber Heart smiled at him. “You know, you remind me of someone. I just can’t put my hoof on it! What’s your name, little dragon?”

“My name is Garble,” Spike lied. Twilight raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Well, it was nice meeting you!” Amber Heart opened the door, waved, and trotted outside. Twilight stood up and stared at Spike.

“Velvet? Garble?!” Twilight asked indignantly.

“Well, since you’re apparently the ruling princess of Equestria, I couldn’t say your name was Twilight Sparkle, could I?” Spike asked in response. “I told them your name was Shining Velvet – Shining from your brother’s name, and Velvet from your mother’s.”

“Huh. Good job, Spike!” Twilight rubbed his head, and Spike laughed. “Where’d Garble come from, though?”

“I dunno. Just sounded like a good name. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was an actual dragon named Garble, though.” Spike shrugged. “Or one named Smolder, or Sludge. Those were my second and third choices.”

“Alright, then.” Twilight jumped out of the hospital bed and lifted Spike onto her back. “Well, it’s time we find out how to get home.”

“Wait, Twilight!” Spike pulled on her mane, causing the purple unicorn to glare at him. “We’re in the ACTUAL FUTURE. We should find out about you, and how you became a princess, so that you know how to keep the timeline on its course when we return!”

“No, Spike. That’s cheating, and it’s also probably going to cause some kind of paradox. If anypony sees me, they’ll probably assume I’m my future self’s daughter or something, since I look like Twilight Sparkle. If I was, hypothetically, looking up my own mom, ponies may get suspicious.” Twilight sighed. “Although it would be interesting…”

“Well, then, let’s leave Canterlot!” Spike said. “I mean, you’ve never moved from Canterlot, and knowing you, you probably never will!” This statement earned him a glare from Twilight. “What? Anyway, why don’t we go to a smaller town’s library? They’ll probably have information about you. Especially if you’ve apparently been ruling for 20 years.”

“Great idea, Spike!” Twilight smiled at him. “The only question being… which town should we go to?”

Spike jumped off of Twilight’s back and ran over to a street vendor. He grabbed a map, paid the vendor, then returned to Twilight. Spike handed the map to her, and Twilight opened it.

“Ah! Perfect! Thanks, Spike!” Twilight clapped her hooves together. “Hmmm… That town looks good!” She pointed to a small location; close enough to Canterlot to get there easily, but far enough that ponies probably wouldn’t recognize her at first glance, or at all.

“What’s it called, Twilight? I can buy the train tickets.” Spike said, holding up two bits that he had taken from Twilight’s saddlebag, which she had never taken off from when she had been reading on the hill back in 2012 AC. “Granted, they’ll probably be more than two bits, but there are more bits in your saddlebag.” He peered at Twilight’s hoof, which was still pointing at the location of the town in question on the map.

“The town, Spike, is called Ponyville!” She smiled, and Spike raised an eyebrow at her.

“Seriously? Ponyville? That’s an original name…” he muttered. “Anyway, can I have some bits? I’ll go pay for the tickets.” Twilight hoofed over the bits, and Spike ran off to the train station.

She looked around Future Canterlot, examining all the changes. For one thing, Canterlot Castle had to be at least twice as large as it was in 2012 AC. Also, there was a huge statue in the middle of the fountain – the very same one that she had fallen in. As she looked closer at it, Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. It depicted Twilight herself, surrounded by five other ponies: two were earth ponies, one was a unicorn, and the other two were pegasi. Twilight had no idea who those other five ponies were, but they must have been important.

Suddenly, Twilight heard the pattering of feet behind her. “Twilight, I got the tickets!” Spike announced, his voice quiet enough that only Twilight could hear him. “The ticket pony almost wouldn’t take my bits, something about them being ‘outdated’? But he soon accepted them.”
“Spike… what did you do?” Twilight asked him sternly.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Nothing! Really! He just shrugged and accepted the bits, and gave me the tickets! Honest!”

Twilight laughed. “It’s alright, Spike. I believe you. I was just messing with you. Now come on, we can’t be late! We don’t want to miss our train!” She picked Spike up with her magic, placed him on her back, and galloped toward the Canterlot train station.

As they left, neither of them noticed the blue light of a changeling detransforming behind them. The changeling, who was light blue with pink chitin, red wings, and teal eyes, stared in shock at the departing unicorn and dragon. “Is… is that… no… but…” she sputtered, at a loss for words.

Ocellus had learned many tricks in the changeling hive about how to detect other changelings while both they and you were in disguise, back when she was a nymph and when Queen Chrysalis was in control. Both the purple unicorn and her dragon companion that Ocellus had seen had none of the identifiers – meaning that they had either found a way to avoid being detected by other changelings, or they weren’t changelings at all. Ocellus was willing to bet that it was the latter reason. If it was… she had to tell somecreature. Maybe… maybe even Princess Twilight.

Ponyville, Circa 20 AT

THE FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS, IN BETWEEN CANTERLOT AND PONYVILLE, YEAR 20 AT (AGE OF TWILIGHT)

Twilight Sparkle, unicorn student of Princess Celestia, had discovered something: riding trains with no book to keep one busy was boring.

She groaned, alerting Spike. “How much longer will this take?!”

“Not much longer, actually. We’re almost there!” Spike said, pointing at the window. Twilight could see a small station coming up on the left. The train stopped, and the doors opened.

“Finally.” Twilight muttered. She stood up and trotted out the door, Spike following. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

“Spike? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I just…” Spike held his head for a minute. “I just feel… well… déjà vu.”

“Déjà vu? But we’ve never been here before!” Twilight blinked. “That’s weird.”

“Yeah…” Spike muttered, a little confused. Twilight picked up Spike and placed him on her back.

“Alright, Spike. What’s the plan?” she asked him.

Spike pulled a long scroll and a quill pen from Twilight’s saddlebag. He read the scroll, which was apparently a long checklist of a sort, then looked at Twilight. “It says, ‘Step one: Go to Ponyville.’ Check.” He took the quill pen and checked a box next to that step. “’Step two: Find the town library.’ Same old Twilight, eh?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Spike, the town library is sure to have magic books, and possibly a solution to our time traveling. It’s a very important place to go to!”

He held up his hands in an ‘I-surrender’ pose. “Okay, okay! The only problem is, we don’t know where it is. At least I don’t… do you?”

“No, I don’t. But maybe we can ask somepony.” She noticed a young yellow-coated earth pony foal – Twilight couldn’t tell if the foal was a colt or a filly – with a pink mane trotting down the street with a rubber chicken in their mouth. She trotted over to them.

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight asked them. The foal looked up, noticed Twilight, and gasped. The rubber chicken fell out of their mouth, and Twilight levitated it back to them.

“Thanks.” They smiled. Then, suddenly, there was a loud gasp from behind the two ponies.

A pink earth pony mare with a very poofy pink mane – which, Twilight could see, had stuff stuck in it, and the mare seemed oblivious to it – ran over to the foal. “Li’l Cheese, what are you doing! You almost – gasp – missed the Welcome to Ponyville party!”

“I know!” Li’l Cheese said. “Mom, there’s a second new pony!”

“Whaaaaaaaaat?!” the mare said, then looked up. Twilight blinked, and nervously waved.

“Um… hi? My name is Twi-“ Twilight was suddenly cut off as the mare hugged her. “Huh?”
The mare suddenly released her. “Twilight, you didn’t have to disguise yourself! We here in Ponyville know who you are! Plus, you did a reeeeally bad job of doing it.” She nudged Twilight with a smirk on her face. “Your best friend Pinkie Pie knows what’s going on.”

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight’s mind was drawing a blank. “Look, I’m just trying to find the library. Do either you or Li’l Cheese have directions?”

“The library was destroyed, duh! I mean, it’s been many years, so I understand that you may forget, but still! During the Tirek battle? Remember?” Pinkie looked confused. Then, a smile appeared on her face.

“You know what, Twilight? I know what will jog your memory!” She ran off, and Twilight was left alone with Li’l Cheese.

“Your mom just ran off without you…” Twilight told them. “Is that… normal?”
“She’ll be back.” Li’l Cheese said, and that was when Pinkie returned… with two other mares, one a pegasus with a rainbow mane and a leather jacket and the other an earth pony with a yellow mane in a bun and a red and white scarf around her neck, in tow.

“Pinkie Pie, what in tarnation are you trying to do?!” the earth pony yelled.

“Sorry, Applejack, but I needed to show you something awesome!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Look!” She pointed at Twilight.

Applejack looked over at where Pinkie was pointing, and her jaw dropped. “Rainbow Dash! Look!” She nudged the pegasus mare next to her, who was staring at Twilight in shock.

“Li’l Cheese, why don’t you go check on the Welcome to Ponyville party preparations for Opal Glow?” Pinkie whispered to her foal, who nodded and ran off toward a bakery nearby. It said ‘Sugarcube Corner’ on a sign next to it.

“Twilight?! Wasn’t the last Friendship Council meeting only two days ago? When you told us and Luster Dawn about your coronation twenty years ago?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Why are you here so soon? I mean, it’s great to see you. But this is uncommon... especially since you decided to come as a younger version of yourself.”

Twilight threw her hooves up in exasperation. “Why does everypony assume that I’m a disguised version of Princess Twilight?!” Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. “Wait. You’re Applejack!” She pointed at Applejack, who looked confused.

“Yes…?” the orange mare said, still confused.

“A kirin in Canterlot mentioned you, and another pony named Fluttershy!” Twilight said excitedly. “Are you really the Element of Honesty?”

“Well, I was...” Applejack started. “But when they were destroyed...” Twilight’s eyes went wide at that statement, but the orange mare was soon interrupted by her cyan pegasus friend.

“Wait. Then you’re not Twilight Sparkle?” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Are you just some kind of perverted changeling?”

“What?!” Twilight was really confused. “NO! I’m not a changeling, whatever that is! I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia and a resident of Canterlot! I have never been to Ponyville until today, and yet everypony seems to know me already. I get that the ruling princess nowadays is also named Twilight Sparkle, but how much time has honestly passed between my time and now? WHO EVEN ARE YOU PONIES?!” Twilight glared at the three ponies, who looked at each other in shock.

“Darling, are you feeling alright?” Twilight turned to see a white unicorn with a fancy purple mane streaked with gray trotting toward them, followed by a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane in a ponytail. “We could hear your rant from Carousal Boutique, which is pretty far down the road.”

“I’m fine.” Twilight clenched her teeth. “I am just trying to find the town library! Pinkie says there isn’t one, but what town doesn’t have a library?!”

Rainbow Dash flew over to the white unicorn. “We can’t let her leave, Rarity! She’s a changeling, for Twilight’s sake! Impersonating a younger Princess Twilight!”

Rarity scoffed. “Of course she’s not, darlings. If she was, she wouldn’t be so adamant against the fact. Plus, she claims to have zero knowledge of changelings, and either way, whether she was a changeling or not, she would have still heard of them. It’s been a while since the Canterlot wedding invasion, after all.”

“So what does that mean?” Applejack asked her.

“It means, Applejack, that she is lost, possessed, in a costume, or simply time displaced.” Rarity said, trotting over to Twilight. “I do apologize for my friends’ behavior.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I did ask them for directions, after all.” Twilight said, smiling. Spike, who had been watching these entire proceedings in silence, finally spoke up.

“Wait, do you five know Twilight or something?” he asked.

“I’ve never seen these ponies in my life, Spike.” Twilight answered. He rolled his eyes.

“No, I meant Princess Twilight,” he said. “They act like they do, at least.”
Pinkie suddenly bounced up to them. “Yeah! We’re Princess Twilight’s best friends! We helped her defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra...”

Pinkie continued speaking names, but Twilight barely heard. Her mind was still caught on Pinkie’s quote: “We helped her defeat Nightmare Moon...”

Twilight suddenly felt dizzy, and was finding it hard to stand on her hooves. She was going to help defeat Nightmare Moon. She, Twilight Sparkle, with friends, would defeat Nightmare Moon. A part of her was wondering what happened to her relationship with Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings and Moondancer, but she shrugged off the feeling. Suddenly, Twilight felt her knees give way.

“Y’all okay, sugarcube?” she heard Applejack ask her, but it was faint. For the second time that day, Twilight Sparkle passed out.

School of Friendship

When Twilight woke, she was lying in a soft bed in some sort of farmhouse, with a purple earth pony colt with a dirt-colored mane looking at her.
“Aah!” the two of them yelled at the same time.
Twilight blinked, and the colt grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Twilight told him. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Little Macintosh, but nobody calls me that. Pa says that if they call me it, a ‘fallout’ may happen. Don’t know what that means, but the point is, they call me Little Mac.” The colt – Little Mac – smiled. “I already know who you are, though. You’re Twilight Sparkle, right? I thought you’d be taller, though. Also, don’t princesses usually have both a horn and wings, instead of just a horn?”
Twilight laughed and ruffled Little Mac’s mane. “I am Twilight Sparkle, but I’m not Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m an accidental time traveler, I guess.”
“Wowww!” Little Mac squealed. “What’s it like?! Can I come with you?! Do you have a blue box?! Or a companion?! Or a car?! Or…” Twilight shook her head.
“Answer number one: Confusing. That’s what it’s like. Answer number two: I don’t know how to get back yet, and when I do, no, you can’t come. I’m pretty sure your parents wouldn’t like it, and also, paradoxes. Answers number three, four, and five: What are you talking about?” Twilight asked him. To that, he just shrugged.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It opened, and Applejack poked her head in. “You’re awake! Great!” she said. Rainbow Dash was standing next to her, holding a brown Stetson hat. “We were worried when you just fainted like that.”
“Yeah, we were!” Rainbow Dash said, flying over. She placed the hat on Little Mac’s head.
He laughed. “Thanks, Auntie Dashie!” Twilight stared as he hugged her, then Rainbow Dash, then Applejack. Little Mac noticed her staring and explained, “Auntie Dashie is Aunt Applejack’s wife, and Aunt Applejack is my father Big Macintosh’s sister.”
“Oh my.” During the time period that Twilight usually lived in, lesbian or gay couples, although existing, were rare. Twilight wouldn’t call herself a homophobic pony, but she was surprised. “Oh, sorry... Did I say that out loud? I apologize. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”
“It’s alright, Twilight. We get it. Neither of us actually came out until a couple of months ago, so it’s sort of new for us too.” Rainbow Dash laughed, and Applejack joined in. After a few seconds, Twilight did too.
Once she had calmed herself, Rainbow Dash continued. “Besides, we’re not the only lesbian mares in Ponyville. Scootaloo’s aunts Holiday and Lofty live here, and Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon have been married since 8 AT.”
“Wait… Lyra Heartstrings?” This was the first time Twilight had heard of any of her Canterlot friends in this future. “She’s married to a mare named Bon Bon?”
“Yep!” Little Mac stated happily. “She gives me free treats sometimes. Bon Bon’s great!”
“Enough about this, though,” Applejack said. “We need to get back on track.”
“Yeah, you’re right. How long was I out, by the way?” Twilight asked.
“Um… about an hour or two?” Rainbow Dash said. “I think?”
Twilight gasped. “Aah! I need to find the library! I’ve wasted enough time as it is!”
“Well, I guess I could ask Headmare Starlight Glimmer of the School of Friendship for access to her library.” Applejack shrugged. “We’re still in relatively close touch, even though I’ve retired from teaching.”
“School… of… Friendship?” Twilight asked. “What? Why would you need an entire school to teach about friendship of all things?!”
“Well, it’s not just friendship, obviously!” Pinkie Pie said, popping up from behind Applejack, who jumped about a foot in the air.
“Pinkie?! What are you doing here?!” she yelled, her breath heaving. “Ya almost gave me a heart attack!”
“I just got here, silly!” Pinkie smiled, and hopped over to Twilight. “So, are you ready?”
“For what?” Twilight asked her.
“Duh! For your Welcome-To-Ponyville party!” Pinkie squealed happily, then paused. “Actually, it’s called Welcome-To-The-Ponyville-Of-29-Years-In-The-Future-For-The-Pony-That-This-Party-Is-Being-Thrown-For, but we shortened it.”
Everypony stared at her. Twilight blinked, then got out of the bed.
“Look, you four seem like nice ponies. Really, you do. But right now, I have a very important mission. I need to get back home, and since Pinkie there seems to remember defeating Nightmare Moon, that means I actually do so! But I can’t do so if you’re following me around all this time!” Twilight breathed in, then out. “The fate of Equestria does NOT rest on me making friends!”
“Actually. . .” Rainbow started, then thought better of it and shut her mouth. “Never mind.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me...” Twilight nudged herself past Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and stood in the doorway. “Thank you for the help. I’ll go see Starlight Glimmer straightaway!” She ran out of the barn at top speed.
Applejack snorted. “Wow. She’s definitely not anything like our Twilight.”
“You said it,” Rainbow agreed.
Suddenly, the sound of pattering feet and heavy breathing could be heard from behind them. Applejack turned to see Spike standing there, panting heavily. “I… got… here… as fast… as I could,” he breathed. “I tried to follow you, but Rainbow flew so fast, and Ponyville’s so new to me…”
Rainbow Dash noogied Spike affectionately. “Sorry ‘bout that, Spike. I should’ve remembered.”
He shrugged, then noticed the empty bed. “Wait. Where’s Twilight?” he asked, panicking.
“She’s fine, Spike!” Pinkie said. “She just ran out of the room no less than a minute ago. She was headed to see Starlight Glimmer at the School of Friendship!”
“Right… a School of Friendship…” Spike thought for a moment, then shrugged again. “I got nothing. Where’s that again?”
“You can’t miss it!” Pinkie pointed out the window, and Spike, following her hoof, could see a star-shaped point on a crystal castle extending above the treetops. “Go to that castle, and the school’s right next door! You wouldn’t be-LIEVE the trouble we had with Chancellor Neighsay at the beginning!” She made a show of shielding her mouth, then whispered to Spike, “If you ask me, he had a Brain that was full of racism.”
“Uh…” Spike stared at Pinkie, who was grinning like she had just won the Running of the Leaves.
Her mane deflated a small amount. “Aw. I was hoping someone would’ve gotten that joke.”
“It’s alright, Pinkie.” Spike hugged her, and her mane poofed right back up again. “I’ll head to the school then. Thanks!” With those words, he ran out of the barn.

************************
Twilight Sparkle was very, very confused.
She had trotted throughout Ponyville for at least half an hour, then finally had sucked it up and asked a passing unicorn for directions. After discovering that the School of Friendship was actually on the other side of the town, she thanked the pony and headed off that way, only to find that the school was closed when she got there. “Go figure…” Twilight grumbled to herself.
She sighed and turned, nearly bumping into a blue unicorn that had teleported straight out of thin air. “Gah!”
The unicorn punched the air happily. “Yes! Finally, the Great and Powerful Trixie has mastered the teleportation spell! After all this time, she has done it!” She turned around also, noticing Twilight lying on the ground. “Oops. Did Trixie knock you over?” Trixie offered her hoof to Twilight, who accepted it and stood up.
“Ugh… no, you didn’t. I wasn’t looking where I was going, that’s all. Plus, unicorns don’t really teleport where I’m from, so I was just surprised.” Twilight answered.
“Really? Where are you from?” Trixie asked.
“Canterlot.” Twilight answered again. “I’m Twilight, by the way. Twilight Sparkle.”
Trixie’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Oh no. Oops, I forgot… I’m sorry, I’m not your Twilight!” Twilight said frantically. “I’m just time displaced! Honest!” Trixie’s eyes were still widened as Twilight tried to get the blue unicorn to understand.
“Trixie?” The voice of a newcomer startled Twilight out of her mindset. She turned around and saw a light pink unicorn with a purple-and-cyan mane exiting the school. “What’s going on?”
Trixie shook her head. “Oh, nothing, Starlight! It’s just… Twilight Sparkle… here! She hasn’t returned to Ponyville in a while! IS SHE HERE TO INSPECT US?!” She grabbed Starlight, who quickly levitated the scared unicorn off of her.
“Trixie, Twilight doesn’t come to inspect us anyway.” Starlight explained. “Also, I don’t… see…” She trailed off, noticing the purple unicorn lookalike of her princess that was standing at the base of the stairs. Twilight waved shyly, not sure what would happen now.
Starlight blinked, her mind filled with questions. After what seemed like forever, her mouth opened and she uttered a single word.
“What.”

School Is In Session

Ponies trotted by, not even noticing the two unicorns staring at each other by the school. Starlight stared at Trixie, who stared at Twilight, who stared at Starlight. Lots of staring, yes.
“What.” Starlight uttered.
“Uh… hi?” Twilight asked. She was really confused now.
Starlight’s mind could not process this, and all she said was “What? What? What?” like someone had randomly and unexpectedly teleported into her nonexistent police box spaceship. Twilight trotted over to her and poked Starlight, confused.
The pink unicorn suddenly jumped, freaked out. Twilight stepped back, afraid that she had scared her new acquaintance. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to… are you okay?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, yeah…” Starlight said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting to see… well… don’t take this the wrong way, but… I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
Trixie trotted over to her friend and put her hoof on her shoulder. “It’s alright, Starlight. We already talked! What, you think she’s some sort of perverted changeling or something?”
Twilight facehooved. “Why does everypony assume I’m a changeling? Seriously! Rarity’s the only one who didn’t assume anything!” Starlight and Trixie looked at each other, then turned back to Twilight and shrugged.
“Well, anyway, I should get to why I’m here. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof, so I’m going to redo my introduction.” Twilight stuck her hoof out. “Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m here because I accidentally changed a spell that I wasn’t supposed to edit, and this is where it sent me. I was look-” She was interrupted suddenly when something crashed into her hindquarters - something alive!
“Aah!” She jumped, levitating the mysterious thing into her line of sight. To her surprise, it was Spike, who waved.
“Sorry about that, Twilight. I had been looking all over for you!” Spike said to her. He nodded politely to Starlight and Trixie.
“I apologize for running off, but this is really important.” Twilight turned back to the two mares and spoke up again. “I was looking for you, Starlight Glimmer, because Applejack told me you run the School of Friendship, and apparently it’s the only library in town?”
“What?” Starlight looked confused for a second. “Oh, right! The Tirek incident. Yeah, we’ve pretty much got the only library in Ponyville. Mayor Dinky Hooves has been trying to get funds to build a new one, but as of now, she’s still a few bits short.”
Twilight smiled. “I hope she’ll have the amount soon. Anyway, do you have any books on time travel?” she asked.
Starlight looked at Twilight in confusion. “Time travel? What for?”
“Well, that’s why I’m here. You see, we – Spike and I – live in your past. I had just been about to send a letter to Princess Celestia about the status of Nightmare Moon returning, and Spike wrote my dictation on the back of a piece of parchment that contained a spell I was supposed to examine for the Princess,” Twilight explained. “However, once Spike tried to send it, his dragon fire caused the spell to… change, somehow, causing both me and him to travel here, into our future.”
Trixie’s eyes went wide. “Wait, then that means…”
“…Nightmare Moon wasn’t stopped?” Starlight finished. “No, she apparently was. If she hadn’t been, our world wouldn’t exist right now. Somehow, someway, Twilight Sparkle is returned to her original time period, and without memory of her future.”
“If Trixie didn’t know better, Trixie would say the Doctor had a hoof in it…” Trixie muttered, just loud enough for Twilight and Starlight to hear. “But she’s not here right now.”
“Who’s the Doctor?” Twilight asked.
“Earth pony mare, tan coat, blond mane, hangs out with Minuette a lot. She usually wears a coat over a shirt with three stripes on it, and has an hourglass cutie mark. She helps out with time issues occasionally.” Starlight said. “I’m still not sure how an earth pony is so good with time travel, as they can’t do magic… I mean, magic like spells. Of course, they’ve got their own magic too.” Starlight facehooved. “That came out wrong. My apologies to any earth ponies nearby.”
Twilight blinked. “Well, anyways, do you have any books about time travel? Magic books perhaps?”
“Trixie will go check!” Trixie said, and bounded up the stairs to the School of Friendship. She unlocked the doors using magic and ran inside, leaving Starlight, Twilight, and Spike standing outside.
There was an awkward silence.
“So… uh… I’ll go help Trixie?” Spike said, then ran after the blue mare.
The silence continued, until suddenly Starlight sneezed.
“Bless you.” Twilight said in response.
“Thanks…” Starlight said, rubbing her nose with her hoof. “I’m really sorry about earlier. I just wasn’t expecting to see a younger version of my mentor in front of me.”
“Wait… your mentor?” Twilight asked, surprised. “I end up mentoring you?! How?! I don’t know enough to be a teacher!”
“Well, it occurs about eight years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, so…” Starlight chuckled. “And in case you’re wondering, you were a great mentor.”
The two stood in silence for another minute, until that silence was suddenly broken by Trixie slamming the school’s doors open. “Trixie found one!” she shouted happily. Spike, who was sitting on her back, waved a book in the air.
“Awesome, Spike! Thanks, Trixie!” Twilight said, and levitated the book over to her. Starlight, Spike, and Trixie looked over Twilight’s shoulder as she read.
“Starswirl the Bearded’s Time Travel Spell – Edited by Starlight Glimmer?” Twilight turned to Starlight, who blushed a little.
“Oh, yeah. I used to be a dictator of a town at the edge of Equestria that we called ‘Our Town.’ Not the most creative name, I know, but I digress. The philosophy was about cutie marks and special talents being evil, and that life would be better if we were all equal. Anyway, a future version of you caused my rule to end, and I wanted revenge, so I decided to stop Rainbow Dash from performing her Sonic Rainboom, therefore ending the link between your cutie marks and your friendships.” Starlight rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed at her past self’s actions. “However, it turned out that each time I tried, a new version of Equestria resulted from it – an alternate timeline that was worse than the original, and each was worse than the last. Future Twilight ended up bringing me to an Equestria that was a total wasteland, and it showed me what my actions were doing.”
“Wow…” Twilight said, a little sadly.
“Then I ended up showing Future Twilight why I was so against cutie marks – my friend Sunburst got his cutie mark, and his parents sent him off to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I never saw him again. To past me, Sunburst’s cutie mark had ruined our friendship.” Starlight said, then sat down and sighed. “The point is, the spell I used to go back to the Rainboom is right there in that book. You would insert the time and place you want to go to where the spell says ‘Sonic Rainboom, Cloudsdale, year 979 AC – Age of Celestia.’”
“Yeah, that’s the year that I’m from. Year 999 AC is my time period.” Twilight replied. “It would have been year 1000 AC at midnight on the next day. That day would have been the Summer Sun Celebration, the longest day of the thousandth year since Nightmare Moon’s banishment.”
“Cool!” Trixie said. “Trixie remembers where she was on that day… Trixie was in Manehattan, getting ready for her performance… when the sun didn’t come up, she had to improvise a bunch. However, it was probably one of Trixie’s best performances.” She looked up, and noticed Twilight’s confused expression. “Trixie used to be a magician. Now she’s the counselor here at the Friendship School.”
“Nice!” Twilight smiled.
“It was fun, but apparently Trixie was a braggart.” Trixie shrugged. “Talked in the third pony, and whatnot. Trixie still talks in the third pony; she never broke that habit.”
“That answers that question…” Twilight muttered under her breath. “Anyway, this spell is perfect! Thanks, Starlight!” She hugged the light pink mare, then hugged Trixie, then levitated Spike onto her back. “See you later!” Twilight then ran off.
Trixie turned to Starlight. “Trixie thinks that we should write to Princess Twilight. She should know about this.”
“Agreed.” Starlight said, and levitated a piece of parchment and a quill pen over to them. “Do you want to write it, or should I?”
“You can write it. Can Trixie dictate?” Trixie asked, and Starlight nodded in response. “Alright then, Trixie shall begin.” She cleared her throat.
“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle…”

Letters to the Princess

“‘…Today in Ponyville, Trixie and her friend Starlight were getting ready to lock up the School of Friendship when somepony ran up to us, asking for a book on time travel. To our surprise, it was a younger version of you! She said she was from the day before Nightmare Moon returned. She had a younger Spike there with her as well. Trixie thought that you should know about it. Sincerely, the Counselor and Headmare of the School of Friendship, Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer.’” Spike, the Friendship Ambassador, said, as he read off a scroll that he had just received via dragon mail. He looked up at Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and blinked. “I do not remember that happening at all.”

Twilight looked serious. “If it’s true, then it is imperative that she is returned back to her own time as soon as possible. That day was very important for me, and for all of Equestria!” She jumped off of her throne. “In fact, this matches up perfectly with what Ocellus told me earlier. Spike, take a letter. Send to Luster Dawn: ‘Luster, my faithful student. I am afraid something important came up, and our lesson scheduled for today must be postponed. I apologize, but I promise that we will be able to have it some other day. Your teacher, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.’” She looked at Spike and smiled. “Got all of that?”

Spike blew flames over the letter, and it disappeared in the green blaze. “Sent it, Twilight!” He gave a thumbs-up, and Twilight nodded.

“Keep track of everything, alright?” Spike nodded and mock-saluted, causing Twilight to laugh. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Good luck, Twilight!” he said, and Twilight smiled before leaping out the window, spreading her wings, and flying off toward Ponyville.

********************************************************

Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she flew towards her old home. She had been living in Canterlot again for a while, but she still missed the everyday goings-on that could only happen in Ponyville, Equestria. Sure, not everything had been sunshine and rainbows- Twilight shuddered as she remembered the destruction of the Golden Oaks Library- but it was still a great place. She landed in front of Town Hall, shaking her head quickly to get in focus.

“Princess!” A voice shouted nearby, and Twilight looked to see who it was. Dinky Hooves ran over, a little out of breath. “What a surprise!”

Twilight laughed. “Mayor Hooves, you’ve known me since you were a foal. Seriously, you can just call me Twilight.”

“Well, then, you can call me Dinky.” Dinky smiled, and then cocked her head in confusion. “Speaking of which, Prin- er, Twilight, what brings you here today?”

“Oh, I got a letter from Starlight and Trixie.” Twilight showed it to Dinky, but not close enough for the unicorn mare to read the contents. “I’d really love to stay and chat, but I’m here on possibly very important business.”

"I completely understand.” Dinky blew a strand of her mane out of her face. “I have a lot of paperwork and stuff to do anyway… Have a great day, Twilight!” She smiled, and walked back towards Town Hall.

“Bye, Dinky!” Twilight called back. She then started on the familiar path towards the School of Friendship, recalling past memories. As she walked, she saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, friendship counselors, sitting outside with a young hippogriff and colt. Scootaloo was nearby, playing buckball with some of her young charges. They saw Twilight and waved, and the princess waved back. Tears came to Twilight's eyes as she watched them, remembering how she had helped the three Crusaders in the past. She trotted up the walkway to the school and knocked.

"One sec!" A voice called, and the door opened. Trixie stood there, the doors aglow in her horn's blue aura. "Princess Twilight! Trixie welcomes you to the School of Friendship!" Twilight rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Thank you, Trixie." She stepped inside, and Trixie closed the doors behind them. "Now, about the letter you sent me?"

"Oh, yes. Starlight's in the school library with Past Twilight as we speak." Trixie started walking toward the aforementioned location, and Twilight followed. Then Trixie stopped short, and Twilight almost bumped into her. "You know what? Trixie thinks she will call you Princess. That way it won't be confusing."

Twilight nodded. "Good idea. To be honest, though, it's still going to be confusing."

"True. But Trixie would like to help remedy that." Trixie started walking again, this time trotting a little faster than before. Eventually, they reached a door.

"Here we are!" Trixie opened it, and inside Twilight couldn't help but gawk. Since she had been there last, the School of Friendship's library had expanded. It now included many new books, some of which were right now floating in a pink aura near a table. Standing next to that table was Starlight Glimmer, who also had some books. She looked up and smiled.

"Twilight! It's so good to see you!" Starlight ran over and nuzzled her former mentor, then pointed at the table. "She's right there."

"Thank you, Starlight and Trixie." Twilight smiled, then her face turned serious. "Now I must talk to... well, myself."

********************************************************

Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and accidental time-traveler, was having the time of her life. She had learned so much new information. After she had received the spell from Starlight, she was planning to go and cast it herself, but Starlight and Trixie had asked if she still wanted to see the school's library. Of course, how could Twilight refuse an offer like that? The answer was that she couldn't, and so she had followed the two mares into the library. Now Twilight knew that she had made the right choice- she didn't want to leave this wonderful place.

"What are you reading?" A voice asked, coming from close by. Twilight grinned and showed the stranger the cover.

"It's a book of scientific discoveries. So many different ponies' achievements are in here- Aristrotle, Haycartes, Starswirl the Bearded-" Twilight squealed in happiness. "It's like a dream come true! This book isn't even published back when I'm from!" She smiled.

"Believe me, I know." The stranger smiled, and Twilight looked up. Looking back at her was an alicorn that looked sort of like Princess Celestia. However, this pony had purple fur, a mane of indigo, plum, and pink, and a six-pointed star as her cutie mark. Twilight stepped back in shock.

Princess Twilight looked back at her, smiling sadly. "Hello, me."

Meeting the Princess

Author's Note

Hi everyone! In order to have this chapter be as not confusing as possible, I will heretofore be calling Past Twilight “Past Twilight” and Future Twilight “Princess Twilight.” Thank you for understanding! Also, my apologies for not uploading in a while, I’ve been really busy so I haven’t been able to write or upload. :fluttercry:

However, this has changed! :pinkiesmile:

Twenty days ago was the one-year anniversary of this story's first chapter's creation! WOOOO! :pinkiehappy:

also yes the part about pinkie bouncing was a reference to minecraft manhunt and nobody can stop me from obsessing over dream smp XD

Meeting the Princess

Past Twilight’s jaw dropped.

As Princess Twilight watched, Past Twilight’s horn fizzled out and the book fell on the table. The unicorn mare looked like she was in shock.

Trixie trotted over to them, looking confused and worried. “Is… Is she okay?” she asked. Princess Twilight shrugged in response.

They waited a couple minutes.

After what seemed like a whole day (even though it was like 3 minutes in reality), Past Twilight blinked and looked up at them. “Hello there,” she said. “Are you… Are you really me?”

Princess Twilight chuckled. “Yes, I am. My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and current ruler of Equestria.”

“Wow.” Past Twilight was very shocked. All this time, she had been hearing about Princess Twilight, but seeing her future self in pony was completely different. “Your mane is pretty.”

Princess Twilight smiled. “Thank you.”

The two sat in an awkward silence. However, this was soon broken by Spike, who asked, “Hey, um… Do you guys want anything? I saw a kitchen here and I want to make a gem cake.”

“Did somepony say CAKE?” A perky voice suddenly entered the conversation. Pinkie Pie bounced over happily. Then she gasped. “TWILIGHT! What are you doing here? You should’ve told me, I would’ve thrown a party!” She pouted sulkily.

Princess Twilight smiled. “Pinkie, I’m sorry. But I am here for an important mission, not a fun day.”

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie bounced up and down. “Your past self is here! How are you going to get her back home?”

“Pinkie…” Past Twilight looked at her, confused. “Why are you bouncing?”

“Because I can.” Pinkie grinned and kept bouncing. They could hear Starlight and Trixie giggling in the background.

Princess Twilight laughed, and even Past Twilight had to crack a smile. “Pinkie Pie, you are so silly!”

“I know!” Pinkie bounced over to Spike. “Hey Spike! Wanna make a gem cake?” Spike nodded excitedly, and Pinkie bent down. “Get on!”

Spike climbed on Pinkie’s back, and Pinkie ran off towards the kitchen. The two Twilights, as well as Starlight and Trixie, looked on in amusement.

“Anyway…” Past Twilight turned to Princess Twilight. “Pinkie had a point. How are you going to get me home?”

“Well…” Princess Twilight put a hoof to her muzzle as she thought. “I was thinking of using Starlight’s variation of Starswirl’s time travel spell. However, instead of going to the day of the Sonic Rainboom-” She was interrupted by a scoff from Past Twilight.

“Sonic Rainboom? That’s an old mare’s tail. There have been rumors it happened in Cloudsdale when I was a filly, but everypony knows that didn’t actually happen.” Past Twilight rolled her eyes, then blinked. “Unless… did it actually happen sometime in between now and when I’m from?”

Princess Twilight facehoofed for a second, then removed it sheepishly. “Actually, the rumors were true. That’s how you got your cutie mark, Twilight.”

“WHAT?” Past Twilight gasped in shock. “I thought there was something magical about that rainbow! A Sonic Rainboom! Wow!”

Princess Twilight nodded, then continued. “Instead of going to the day of the Sonic Rainboom, we would go about 5 minutes after you originally left Canterlot in your time. Do you remember the time?”

“Uh…” Past Twilight thought for a second. “I think it was about noon?”

“Alright. That will help us immensely.” Princess Twilight took a deep breath, then readied her magic. “Are you ready?”

“Wait! I’m leaving now?!” Past Twilight jumped up and hugged Princess Twilight’s hoof. She knew that that behavior was unfitting for a mare, and especially for Celestia’s personal student, but since it was sort of her own hoof she was hugging, Past Twilight did it anyway. “Please don’t make me! Yes, stopping Nightmare Moon is important, but if we have time travel, I can travel from any time to the correct one! For example-” Past Twilight let go of Princess Twilight’s hoof so she could explain. “-Theoretically, I mean- I could stay here, in this time period, for years! We could do the spell any time, and no time at all will have passed in my Canterlot!” She smiled at her future self, who was looking at Past Twilight with an expression akin to longing.

“You are absolutely right.” Past Twilight squealed happily upon hearing those words. “However,” Princess Twilight continued, “we can’t wait that long. You see, you will still age here. If we send you back a year older than you were, the timestream will be affected and that won’t be good at ALL.”

Past Twilight’s face fell. “But… but the knowledge… How am I supposed to wait now that I know this is all right here?” She blinked, as a thought came to her. “How many years is this time from mine, anyway?”

Starlight turned away and began calculating, if only to have something to do. “Twenty-eight years. Your time, 2012 Age of Celestia, was eight years before 1 Age of Twilight, and it’s 20 Age of Twilight right now. So that’s twenty-eight years.”

Both Twilights stared at her. “Huh.”

“What?” Starlight snorted. “Yeah, I know, it’s not that long ago. Shocker, huh?”

Princess Twilight laughed, then looked at Past Twilight. “I know how. You see, a couple years ago, I learned a spell that might help with this situation.”

“Is this some sort of ex machina or something?” Spike asked. He and Pinkie had returned, and Spike was eating a piece of gem cake.

Pinkie looked up at Spike. “Don’t call out the author!” she admonished him. Spike stared at her with a very confused expression.

Princess Twilight facepalmed. “No, it’s not an ex machina. It’s a memory spell.”

“It’s an ex machina.” Past Twilight deadpanned.

“It is not!” Princess Twilight argued. “It’s a way to help get the timestream back on track without letting you retain knowledge of the future!”

This caused Past Twilight to stop and stare. “But I want to know the future! There is so much to learn! Please don’t erase it!” She could feel her eyes tearing up.

Princess Twilight walked closer to Past Twilight. “Look, Twilight. Yes, the future is incredible. But there will be so much to learn in your own time. Plus, you will experience the magic of friendship, and discover the Elements of Harmony. You really wouldn’t want to miss that.” Princess Twilight leaned closer and whispered in Past Twilight’s ear, “There are rainbow lasers.”

Past Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.

“Anyway…” Princess Twilight laughed sheepishly. “We have to prepare. Are you ready?”

Past Twilight looked at her surroundings: a crystal castle, with her future self staring at her. Spike ran over to Past Twilight, and Past Twilight lifted Spike onto her back. Pinkie Pie waved to him, a slice of gem cake still in her hoof. Starlight and Trixie were standing next to each other, watching the events unfold and holding hooves. Past Twilight remembered the other creatures she had met as well: Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Li’l Mac, Rarity, that Canterlot kirin, and the Canterlot nurse Amber Heart. She realized that she hadn’t actually met Fluttershy, which was a shame, but Past Twilight knew that she would meet her one day. Past Twilight put on a determined expression, and looked up at her future self.

“I’m ready, Princess.”

Princess Twilight smiled, and readied her magic. A glowing aura surrounded her horn, and the silvery orb shape showed up in the sky again. Past Twilight looked at Princess Twilight, who nodded and set her horn on Past Twilight’s head. Past Twilight gasped, as the events from the day shot through her mind. She could see herself and Spike meeting their future friends, being on the train, flying through the silvery orb back in their Canterlot dorm…

Then everything disappeared, and both Past Twilight and Spike blacked out.

“Twilight? Are you all right?”

Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes slowly. Her mentor, Princess Celestia, was standing over her.

“Princess! I- I’m so sorry! It’s a huge mess in here- I didn’t get that spell done-” She raced around, levitating items and putting them where they belonged. “I don’t even remember how the room got so messy- I probably was studying again-”

“Twilight.” Twilight stopped as she felt Celestia’s hoof on her back. “It’s okay. I’m glad you got your sleep.”

“Oh wow! Princess!” Twilight jumped, remembering her dream. “Can I tell you about my dream? Also, Nightmare Moon is returning and will possibly end the daytime forever.”

Princess Celestia stopped. Then she smiled. "You know, Twilight? I have a special mission for you relating to just that."

The End