Prompt: Twilight Sparkle Invents A Time Machine
“Er, I know an excessive amount of self-doubt is usually considered mentally unhealthy, but, well...” Twilight looked around the lab’s component-strewn floor and swallowed as she tapped the odd, bubble-shaped device dominating its center. “Are you sure this will work?”
Across the room, another unicorn, identical to her in every way save for a scar and patch over her eye, gave a snort. “Why are you asking me? You invented it.”
Twilight huffed angrily. “Using designs and ideas you planted in my head using the Trans-Chronal Subconscious Suggestion Ray!” She facehoofed. “Why in Celestia’s name did I ever think inventing that would be a good idea?!”
“If I remember correctly, there were copious amounts of hard liquor and applejuice ingested that night, sometimes in combination,” replied Future Twilight, ducking out of view to tighten an unseen rivet.
“That seems about right,” Twilight sighed. She walked over to the machine’s opposite side, watching herself over her shoulder as she finished the final tune-up. Now there’s a situation you don’t see every day, she though, then, remembering their previous conversation, said, “So, can we review the plan one more time?”
Future Twilight nodded. War-marked and battle-scarred as she was, she was still Twilight Sparkle, and Twilight Sparkle never passed up a chance to review.
“Right. Stage One,” she said, gesturing to a chalkboard that had suddenly materialized behind her. “We activate the time machine, setting a course for Ponyville twelve hundred years from now.” A pointer appeared beside her, and she tapped the second step outlined on the board. “Stage Two. We arrive in New Ponyvillage, where the evil Zarthenox empire has taken total control of all of Equestria, and commandeer a freighter.”
Twilight raised her eyebrows dubiously. “Total control? Sure the princesses would be able to repel any kind of direct invasion, regardless of magnitude.”
Her future self nodded, shuddering. “It sounds outlandish, I know, but trust me. They’re there, all right.” She cleared her throat and continued. “Anyway. Stage 3. Using our combined magical prowess and piloting skills-”
“Of which I need to remind you are nonexistent on my part,” Twilight interrupted.
Future Twilight shrugged. “You’re a fast learner.” She turned back to the board, rapping it again. “As I was saying... using our magical prowess and piloting skills, we successfully pilot the freighter off-world and dock with the rebel moon base that, for the last nine months, has been preparing for a devastating strike at the heart of the New Zarthenoxian capital. Stage Four:
With our combined magical power, we’ll be able to activate the four point eight Jigawatt laser that-”
“Jigawatts?” Twilight frowned. “I’ve never heard of a power measurement called-
“It’s a valid unit of measurement!” Future Twilight replied defensively. “Anyway, with us both powering the laser, it should reach critical capacity in a little under twenty minutes of channeling, vaporizing the central Zarthenox mind-control node that’s keeping the populace under control. After that, the ground teams will begin to drop-pod in, and we’ll head back to the machine and return to your time as saviours of the world.”
“That’s it?” asked Twilight. She gave a sarcastic laugh. “Whew. For a minute I was expecting something diffic- hang on.” She frowned, squinting at the chalkboard. Underneath the outline of Stage Four, there was a single sentence that looked like it had been hastily erased. “Stage Five... does that say...” she felt her cheeks redden. “‘Sexy clone makeouts?!’”
Future Twilight blushed heavily. “It was just an idea. I mean, it would have copious scientific value... probably...” She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m... we’re getting distracted. Let’s just get into the machine and head to New Ponyvillage before the Zarthenox turn any more innocent pony’s minds to jelly."
Twilight nodded and turned toward the machine, jumping into a seat and strapping herself in. Beside her, her future self did the same, and the machine’s top closed above them with a pneumatic hiss. Future Twilight punched in some coordinates on the machine’s keypad, and the room around them began to warp and spin as the machine prepared to tunnel through the dimensional soil of space-time.
“Hey, Twilight?” asked Twilight, even as the room began to coalesce into a single point of light in front of them.
“Yes?” replied Twilight, voice barely able to be heard through the roar of the dimensional rift opening around them.
“About those makeouts...”