My Little Pony: Through Space and Time

by Magic Step

Hourglasses

Applejack could hear Diane Pie almost a whole minute before she was thrown in the cell with her.

"You are going to be sorry you ever messed with me! You are all going down in the most hideous way imaginable! I am obviously the real me, you idiots! You IDIOTS! Stop this moment! TWILIGHT SPARKLE! YOUR ROYAL MESSUPYNESS! DO YOU HEAR ME? STOP THIS!"

The wingless Rainbow Dash had been brought in less than ten minutes ago. She had just plopped herself on her cot, sunk her head in the pillow, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Applejack had tried to comfort her, only to have Rainbow Dash growl at her.

"Get away from me," she'd hissed. "This is all your fault! I'm the real Rainbow Dash, but no one will listen to me, and it's all your fault!" She'd clubbed Applejack over the head with her hoof.

Applejack could feel a lump forming on her head now.

She knew she couldn't be the real Rainbow Dash. The real Rainbow Dash wouldn't have let herself be seen crying, at least not in front of Applejack.

But now, Fake Rainbow Dash got off her bed and listened to the screams. She folded her legs under her body and faced the door, eyes narrowed in concentration.

The guards opened the door and crammed the shrieking pink pony in. Diane Pie flailed with all her limbs (all six of them) but ultimately was put in jail.

She scrambled to her feet and seemed about to yell something, but before she could say anything, or the guards could close the door, Rainbow Dash streaked towards the narrow opening, almost too fast to see.

Applejack threw her full weight in the path of the speeding pony, and they crashed together. The guards closed the door and ran off to Diane Pie's screams. "You'll regret this! I won't let you get away with this! I won't!"

Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack. "You sneaking little jerk!" And she bit Applejack's leg while kicking her in the stomach.

Applejack shouted and tried to pull away, but Rainbow Dash pursued her, wrapping her forelegs around her neck and trying to choke her. Applejack stumbled and fell to the floor, trying to twist her head out of the pegasus' grasp.

"You do know she's the wrong Applejack, don't you?" Diane Pie sighed.

"What do you mean, the wrong Applejack?"

Applejack's thrashing was growing weaker. She couldn't breathe.

"Just like the other Rainbow Dash was the wrong Rainbow Dash," Diane Pie said. "There's a wrong everypony. That's the wrong Applejack. She's from the past- you know, back when we were friends." She spat the word out.

Rainbow Dash let go and slunk back to her cot. Applejack gasped for air.

"You despicable creature," Rainbow Dash growled to Applejack.

"Would ya mind telling me what I did wrong before you suffocate me?" Applejack demanded.

Rainbow Dash turned to face the wall, which she stared at as intently as Diane Pie stared at the bars.

They remained that way for a long time.

---

"Rise and shine," Dame Fluttershy muttered.

Fluttershy rose from the bed provided, yawning. "It was a long day yesterday, wasn't it?"

"Indeed," Dame Fluttershy smiled. "It's quite shocking to meet your exact duplicate... but I'm afraid our ways must part."

"What?" said Fluttershy.

"Princess Twilight's orders," Dame Fluttershy said, flying out from the hidden house. "It's time for you to go home now."

"She can send us home?" Fluttershy said. "Oh, that would be lovely! I thought we were trapped here!"

"No such thing," Dame Fluttershy said. "No one ever remains trapped anywhere, even when they should..." she trailed off, looking to the sky.

"What?" Fluttershy said.

"Trust no prison," Dame Fluttershy said. "That's all. If you could take advice back to your world, I would tell you... don't rely on past experience."

"Oh," Fluttershy said.

There seemed nothing else to be said.

---

"What are we going to do about Diane Pie?" Princess Twilight asked.

Princess Rarity shrugged. "Do you think, if her memories were erased, she might be nicer...?"

"We-ellll..." Princess Twilight shrugged. The two ponies stared at each other for quite a while.

"Okay," Princess Twilight whispered. Then, louder, to the guards: "Please bring me the three prisoners from the past, and the two unicorns from the past, and Spike the dragon from the past." Then she turned to Princess Rarity again.

"It was nice, wasn't it, to remember what we once were..." Princess Rarity mused.

Princess Twilight shook her head. "Never again. I wish this second heartbreak had never happened."

---

"Where y'all taking us?" Applejack asked the guard as she was escorted down the hall.

"The Princess is planning to erase your memory and send you back to where you came from," the guard said.

"Now?" said Applejack. "But... but..."

"But what?"

"Can't ya just tell me what I did wrong?"

The guard pushed open the door to the throne room, where Princess Twilight Sparkle waited for them.

"You did nothing wrong," Princess Twilight said. "You were just at the wrong place in the wrong time. This isn't a punishment; just an attempt to establish equilibrium."

"I didn't mean what I did here," Applejack said, "I meant what I did wrong now. I mean, what I will do wrong. I mean, what did my future self do?"

Pain etched itself into the Princess' face. "It doesn't matter," she said softly. "Even if I told you, you would only forget in a few seconds anyway."

"Wait," said Future Rainbow Dash from behind Applejack, "You mean you're going to erase my memory?"

"Of course," said Princess Twilight. "Everypony will be sent to their correct timeline."

"But- but- but my timeline is here, Your Highness!"

"I'm not fooled by that," said Princess Twilight. "That's just the sort of trick I expect you to play, Rainbow."

"NO!" Captain Rainbow Dash screamed. "You are making a terrible mistake, Twilight! You need me, me!"

"Hey hold on," Diane Pie said, "What about me me me me me? I mean you can't seriously believe she's the correct one!" She pointed at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie looked confused. "I think I'm... wait, hold on, do I have to stay here if you think I'm the right one?"

"Ye-es..." Princess Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie launched herself into a begging pose at Princess Twilight's feet. "Then pleasepleaseplease send me back! I'm the wrong Pinkie Pie! Send me back send me back send me baaaack!" And she started crying.

"Oh, now you want to send us back," said Rarity, who had only just arrived. "What? Don't want to milk us for any more horn power? Ready to just work the unicorns you originally had to death?"

"I can't believe this is any future version of ourselves!" Twilight Sparkle screamed. "Not unless you've all been Discorded and dyed!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Dame Fluttershy, who had just entered. "Do you think-"

"Stop," said Princess Twilight Sparkle. "Somepony is missing."

"What?" said Captain Dash.

"I count only eight ponies, one dragon, and two guards in this room. We should have eleven ponies and one dragon and two guards."

"Who's missing?" asked Princess Rarity, hovering slightly with her gorgeous wings.

Princess Twilight rubbed her hoof under her chin. "Me, and the other Twilight. You and the other Rarity. Two Pinkie Pies..."

"Diane Pies," said Diane Pie.

"One Pinkie and one Diane," Pinkie Pie said. "Now everypony's happy! Whee-hee! Happy happy..."

"Dame Fluttershy, fake Rainbow Dash, and... oh, dear."

"Guards!" Captain Rainbow Dash shouted, leaping into the air and crashing spectacularily (she'd forgotten about her missing wings). "We have some ponies to round up! Search for a pegasus masquerading as me, a pegasus that looks like Fluttershy, and the fearsome Black Jack!"

---

Fluttershy flew towards the mountain, beating her wings slowly. She had to take her time, or she would surely run out of breath before she even got to the mountain.

She knew she was betraying a kindness. Her mind was screaming at her to stop, fly back, let her memory be erased, and trust that her future self knew best.

But deep inside, she felt a drive to make sure, at the very least, that her future friends knew what had really happened to their beloved pets.

She somehow hadn't been able to make herself tell them. She'd been unable to get the words out and had choked on them (but very quietly, so that no one noticed). But she felt certain she could show them.

---

Rainbow Dash blasted through the sky at incredible speed, making no effort to pace herself. She just felt she had to get away.

She couldn't put into words what she feared. She knew she was 'abandoning' her friends, but she didn't think this counted. Now, she was flying to find help.

She didn't trust the princess Twilight Sparkle one bit, and didn't believe that all she wanted to do was uphold the timeline. Nothing but bad could come out of this enchantment.

Because somehow, somewhere along the line, Captain Rainbow Dash must have transformed from a lovable jerk to an unbearable jerk.

And she wanted to know how to stop it.

"There she is!" somepony screamed. "Quick! After her!"

Rainbow Dash glanced over her shoulder and saw some pegasus guards in pursuit. But the best they could do was keep her in sight. They couldn't catch her.

---

Applejack crept through the castle halls, looking nervously to each side. She wasn't much for sneaking.

It probably wasn't her business. She probably would be better off not knowing. There must be some reason why nopony would tell her the crime her future self had committed.

She needed to know.

And that was why she just couldn't stay and let herself be sent back, even though that's what she'd want eventually.

She just couldn't.

Two guards ran past a hall in front of her. She tried to duck behind a suit of armor, but knocked it over in the process. In a panic, she charged through another door, running as fast as she could.

Some guards came after her.

"Stop!" one shouted.

"Oh, sure, whatever you say," one of the guards mocked. "Yeah, right, why do you even bother?"

"Shut up," said the first guard.

Applejack turned a corner and found herself at a dead end. She couldn't even jump out a window; they were too high up. She turned back towards the door, but the guards had already blocked it.

"Ha!" called a guard as they entered the room. "We have-"

A purple glow made Applejack whirl back around. A huge, swirling, purple disk appeared on one of the windows.

Applejack didn't see what happened next. Like a badly cut video, the guards were now on the floor, bound and gagged, the purple disk had disappeared, and four new ponies had appeared in the room: three unicorns and an earth pony. Two of them looked familiar.

"Roseluck?" she asked. "Pokey Pierce?"

"No!" shouted the pony she'd thought was Pokey. Applejack hadn't thought so; he was too nicely dressed up and his eyes were too harsh.

"Please," one of the unicorns said- a white unicorn with a blond mane. The four ponies turned so that Applejack could see their cutie marks. Each and every one had an hourglass.

"We are Time Guardians," said a bluish-green unicorn with magenta eyes and mane.

"You have to come with us," said Roseluck. "It's important."

The blue unicorn who wasn't Pokey came close to Applejack. His horn glowed.

The Time Guardians and Applejack were surrounded by a purple glow. The guards froze, as if someone had hit pause.

"Follow us," the white unicorn said, and they galloped out of the building. Every guard- every pony in fact- that they passed was frozen.

Applejack glanced at a clock as she ran past. The second hand was frozen, between ticks of the clock.

Time Guardians, huh? she thought. What sort of powerful magic is this?

---

"Princess Twilight," Captain Rainbow Dash pleaded, "You have to give me my wings back. Only I can catch her at this point."

Princess Twilight grimaced and looked out the window. Rainbow Dash and the guards chasing her were out of sight.

"Princess," Captain Dash continued, "please. You need my-"

Princess Twilight's horn sparked, throwing pink sparks around the room.

"What?" Princess Rarity said, sounding terrified.

Princess Twilight's face collapsed in despair.

"Evidently they won't be destroyed that easily," she muttered.

She flapped her wings and launched into the air, zapping wings onto Captain Rainbow Dash as she did so.

"You will chase your past self," she told Captain Dash. "Rarity and I will get the Hunter."