//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: A Future Throwback 
// by Crimson Scrawl 
//------------------------------//

Twilight woke up with a yawn, feeling more tired than usual. She'd spent nearly an hour composing a letter to the princess about the latest lesson in friendship she'd learned, so long that she let Spike off the hook and wrote it herself. Now she was feeling exhausted, almost as if she hadn't had any sleep even though the sun was peeking over the horizon and filling her room with sunshine.
She got up and stretched, shaking out her mane, and yawned again. She left the room and froze.
Where the heck was she?
The place she found herself in was huge, practically a castle! She was in an enormous hallway filled with doors. Had she wandered into a rich family’s home during the night, falling asleep in a spare bedroom? She peeked back into the room she’d woken up in and was surprised to see that it looked decently similar to her own room, but different enough that she should have realized it. She was just so tired, though, even with the shock of waking up in a strange place.
Nervous about being caught breaking and entering, she quickly ran through the halls towards the exit and left, looking back over her shoulder and frowning at what she saw. It was a castle! Since when did Ponyville have a castle? She looked around, wondering if she’d teleported herself in her sleep, but she could tell that she was still in Ponyville based on the things she recognized around the absurdly beautiful castle.
Shaking her head, she decided she needed to get some coffee to clear her mind. Maybe she was having an amnesiac moment in her sleepiness, and a nice cup of coffee would help her not be so confused.
It didn’t take long to reach her favorite coffee place, and she hoped no one saw her leaving a home that wasn’t hers. Especially a castle that had appeared out of nowhere–what if it was a new installation by the princesses and she’d accidentally teleported herself there in her sleep because she was so excited?
When she got in line at the cafe, she was getting weird looks from everyone. Had her nighttime excursion really become the talk of the town so quickly? She blushed and kept her head low as she ordered, embarrassed when even the barista couldn't stop staring at her.
Everyone was whispering too, and it felt very clearly about her. She squirmed uncomfortably as she waited, hating the attention.
Eventually, her coffee was delivered to the pickup counter and she nearly ran out of the cafe to avoid the weird looks she was getting. Maybe something was on her face?
Fluttershy's home was closest to the cafe, so she decided to stop by and see if she knew anything about why the whole town seemed to be gossiping about her.
–
When Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's door, she was surprised to hear a masculine voice inside. As far as Twilight knew, Fluttershy didn't have any stallion friends. She hoped she wasn't interrupting, but she needed someone to vent to.
"Oh, Twilight, it's good to see you!" Fluttershy said. "Would you like to come in? Discord and I were just sitting down for our afternoon tea."
Twilight blinked and then gasped when Fluttershy opened the door and revealed none other than the god of chaos himself, sitting daintily on a tiny tea stool.
"Discord," she said, taking a defensive position. "I don't know how you escaped, but I'm going to get the Elements of Harmony and turn you back into your statue!"
Discord chuckled heartily, wiping away a fat tear from one of his eyes. "Oh, Twilight, you always have such funny things to say."
Fluttershy didn't seem so amused, though. "Twilight, what's wrong?"
"Did you put her under another one of your spells?" Twilight demanded, stomping one of her hoofs. "Bring back my friend right now! You know we'll win against you! The power of friendship will always prevail!"
After that, Discord seemed taken aback before bursting into raucous laughter. "Oh Ms. Sparkle, you're on one today! Although I don't appreciate those spells being brought up… I don't regret things as a rule, but if there were anything to regret it would be turning dear Fluttershy into someone cruel."
Fluttershy gave him a small smile and placed a reassuring hoof on his arm. 
That just made Twilight even angrier. She stamped her hoof again and turned to run straight to Princess Celestia. She could snap Fluttershy out of her fugue later, but right now, she needed the elements.
"Wait, Twilight… ummm…. Where's your wings?"
That stopped Twilight in her tracks.
"Fluttershy, that isn't funny," she said, turning back to face her. "You know only alicorns have horns and wings, and I'm a unicorn."
Fluttershy gave Discord a concerned look, and he looked concerned as well.
He pulled out a comically large magnifying glass and pointed it toward her flank.
"Hmm… yes, no wings," Discord said. "Where did you wake up this morning, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight held up her chin and tried to seem offended at the question, but Fluttershy's unashamed concern melted her defiance.
"Um… I don't know. It was some sort of castle I’d never seen before."
With that, Discord pulled out a strange object that she could only describe as a 'doohicky' and began scanning her with it, humming and murmuring to himself as it made beeps and squeals.
"Ah, yes, hm…" Discord hummed to himself. "Well, this isn't our Twilight, dear Fluttershy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked defensively, beginning to suspect that this was all a stall tactic to keep her from the elements.
Discord showed her the screen of his weird scanner, but it was all gibberish. She glared at him and he chuckled.
"Even displaced in time, you still glare the same way," Discord said.
"Displaced in time?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you mean…"
"What, are you saying I time-traveled somehow?" Twilight asked incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous! There's no such thing! And any spell that could even come close to that would be way more powerful than I could pull off."
Discord hummed and snapped his fingers, summoning a pair of reading glasses and a book. It was her diary!
"Hey!" She said, jumping up and trying to swipe it from him.
He always stayed frustratingly out of reach, so close yet so far as he flipped through the pages to the end.
"'Time spell has worked on objects'," Discord read, mimicking Twilight's voice in a falsetto. "'Up to three hours! The Princesses will be so impressed with my progress.’”
He paused to chuckle. “Oh, how adorable. You still call them ‘princesses’ in your diary. Anyway, back to it: ‘Spike wants to be the first live test subject, but I could never do that to him. I've decided to try using a crystal I found to amplify my powers, just to see if it will help. I'll try it right after finishing my journaling for tonight.'"
"Oh, dear," Fluttershy said, covering her mouth. "Twilight, I think Discord is right. It sounds like you switched times with present–your future–Twilight."
"That's impossible," she said. "This is all some big ruse to keep me from getting the elements!"
"If only, Twilight," Discord said, sighing nostalgically. "I'll admit I much prefer my life now, but that chocolate milk rain was a wonderful prank."
"Discord," Fluttershy said, her voice nearing… dangerous?
"Yes, yes, I am sorry for all the pain I caused, of course," Discord said, assuaging her. "Which is why this has nothing to do with me."
Discord… apologizing? And seeming sincere?
What in Equestria was going on?
"Ah, I know just the ponies that can convince you!" Discord said, snapping his claws.
Twilight nearly screamed when she realized he'd teleported her… on a beach somewhere.
"Hey!" 
"Now where are those former princesses," he said, now wearing a bellboy outfit. He pulled out a scroll and it rolled down to the floor, full of names. "Let's see. Celestia, Celestia…"
She was about to start arguing with him, no longer happy to humor him, but then… the princesses!
"Oh, Princess Celestia, Luna!" Twilight said, bowing as the two walked up to her. "I need your help! Discord's brainwashed one of my friends and they keep saying such strange things to me!"
"Ah, I'm sure they have it from here," Discord said, bowing low. "Toodle-oo ladies!"
He snapped and was gone, leaving Twilight more confused than before.
"Twilight, what's wrong? Has Discord been breaking the rules of his agreement?" Celestia asked. Was she wearing… vacation clothes?
"We know you haven't been a princess for very long, but you will need to take care of these things on your own from now on," Luna said, also in vacation clothes. "We believe in your powers, Twilight."
"Wha– me, a princess?!"
At her shock, the two mares seemed to finally take a look at her.
"Her wings…" Luna said quietly to Celestia.
Celestia sighed. "We have some things to talk about, Twilight."
–
Once the princesses convinced her that she was indeed a pony out of time, she took a train back to Ponyville and began walking back to Fluttershy’s house. No wonder everyone was staring at her, not only was she supposed to be the new princess but she had no wings! Everything was so overwhelming to learn, especially that Discord was an ally.
"Oh, you're back," Fluttershy said when Twilight returned and knocked on her door. "Come in. I'll put on some more tea."
"We've decided that to avoid any paradoxes, we shouldn't tell you too much about the future," Discord said. "Though a time paradox might be fun to observe…"
One glare from Fluttershy had Discord literally zipping his mouth shut with a conjured zipper. After a few moments, though, he unzipped himself and continued.
"Ask away, but to keep you from losing the joy of experiencing life as you should, we might not answer your questions."
"Don't bother, the princesses already explained everything," Twilight said gloomily. "It's all so exciting, but how can I do any of that when I'm here and not in the past!"
"Discord, is your chaos magic enough to send her back?" Fluttershy asked, nosing a warm cup of tea Twilight's way.
Discord tapped his chin with his talon thoughtfully. "Hmmm… let me see." 
He snapped his fingers and nothing happened. He snapped again to no avail.
"I'm sorry, but no," he said. "I'd be a little too powerful with control over time, and there's no entertainment in an all-powerful villain."
Twilight shook her head and sighed. "Well, I can't leave! Everyone stared at me like some kind of freak when I got a coffee! And that place isn't my home, at least not yet."
"Maybe sleeping would fix it?" Fluttershy offered.
Twilight opened her mouth to answer that she wasn't tired when she was overcome with a sickening twisting sensation. All the colors went blurry and fuzzy like a watercolor painting and she felt like she was falling, falling, falling.
After what felt like forever, she tumbled from a warp hole into her bed. Her own bed! She nearly sobbed in relief at the familiar bedspread.
She was exhausted again, painfully so, but it seemed to be night now. She was about to write about the excursion in her diary when something stopped her; a note, written in her own writing.
Hi, me
It's a little weird writing this. I guess I (we?) talk to myself all the time but never so literally. Sorry about throwing you into the future. Because everyone saw I was an alicorn, I had to work with the princesses to cast a forgetful spell on the whole town. It should affect you, too, so you'll be able to experience everything as you should. I guess I wish I had known some of the things I did now, but mostly I'm glad I got to learn so much from my friends.
P.S. Hopefully Discord didn't harass you too much
Love,
Twilight Sparkle from the future
By the time Twilight finished reading, her eyes were drooping shut. She was so tired. When she closed her eyes, clutching the note, she fell asleep before she could notice the note disappearing into thin air.
When she woke up in the morning, she wouldn't remember anything that had happened the day before.