• Published 6th Apr 2019
  • 1,537 Views, 594 Comments

Distant Reflections - David Silver



Equestria and Everglow have brushed against one another through the course of their histories, each time fleeting, but memorable to those involved. Many many years later, the unaging Twilight captains a space vessel to explore the universe.

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82 - Threat of War

"Too far too far." He turned a knob carefully. "This has to be perfect." Time did not tolerate sloppy jobs! What was he, that so called Doctor? He would certainly hope not... There was a narrow band of time where that pony could fit without friction, he just had to put her there.

Remi would be along for the trip, but Tinker could move her afterwards, so that wasn't much of a big deal, near as he could see. He just had to hit that perfect spot.


The human crew member looked up sharply. "Incoming message." He tapped at his unseen keys. "It's come in rough. Long distance?"

The mineralite scowled at the man. "What does it say?" she demanded with clenched teeth. "Are they coming?"

"They haven't entered the mineralite space, and won't," he reported as if listening to the message coming in, rather than repeating what he was told to say. "We're on our own."

She kicked a panel hard enough to dent it. "You said you could rely on them! They're abandoning you?!" She grabbed a shard of plastic off a desk. The plastic had not been unattached, wrenched free in her rage. "What is the purpose of keeping you then?!"

The pony swallowed audibly. "There are other Everglow ships out there, just because one gave up..."

"We have heard nothing from other ships." She threw the shard violently enough to puncture the wall it smashed into, the plastic shattering from the force into little pieces, except the part that remained embedded. "This is impossible!" And she stormed off, her angry booming rants shaking the hallway until the elevator door shut behind her, returning peace to the bridge.

"She's gone," announced the communication officer.

With a sizzle of magic and a bright flare of stars that was Twilight's cutie mark, she appeared at the center of the bridge alongside Steel Prism, Fast Shadow, and Under Score. "It worked," she cried with a smile, looking around to confirm that her spell had brought them exactly where they wanted.

The pony crewperson, along with most of the rest of the crew, recoiled in surprise. "Who?! What?" He looked over to the human communication officer. "You knew?!"

"Sorry." He shrugged helplessly. "There was no easy way to share the idea with her around."

Steel swiped the air with his crackling blade. "We're here to help. If there's only one hostile, we have them surrounded."

A new female voice rose, a woman standing up with a slap of her hands on her console. "You don't understand how powerful she is. There are a lot of us on this ship. Do you think we didn't even consider fighting?"

Under Score inclined his head towards Twilight. "While I have little doubt such thoughts did come to you, you are not a vessel with a crew trained specifically for the act. Miss Sparkle here is a wizard, the old fashioned sort, of staggering potential. I and the others are well trained in military maneuvers, both personal and ship actions."

The pedigree of qualifications did a little to calm them down. One person, another human, took a step forward. "Welcome to my ship. I am its captain."

Steel inclined his head. "Not the pony?" He pointed to the one pony in sight who cowered in response.

"She made him pretend the spot, to get more sympathy," explained the true captain. "We have no further use for that little lie, now do we? What's the plan?"

Fast nodded at the captain. "Pleasure to work with you. Steel and I." She gestured at each in turn. "We're the captains of our ship. And we'd like to liberate yours for you and get it back in your hoo--hands."

Twilight raised a hoof. "One question. Do you have permission to be here?"

"Hm? Of course." The captain nodded as if that should be obvious. "You don't wander into mineralite territory on accident, and not without all the proper forms filled. We are a registered trade vessel."

Steel nodded. "That's fine, good. Then we just need to get the outlaw out of the way. Crew, with me." He tossed his head towards the same elevator she had withdrawn to. "Do you know where she fled to?"


Twilight had seen Pinkie's last moments. They were not negotiable, emblazoned hot in her memory.

But Pinkie had lived an interesting life.

The Pinkie she saw had lived long and well, but she wasn't the only Pinkie. She hadn't even been the first. "I get to... be you?"

Pinkie nodded at her clone. "There are parties that need running. If I'm gone, you can step in." She pointed at her double. "When I'm around, you can do whatever you want."

"And no more trying to erase me?" The other Pinkie's ears were folded back in fear. "I'm not try--"

"--I know, I know!" Pinkie hugged her double. "That was Twilight. She, uh, cleared out the chaff? The smarter mes didn't go there." She inclined her head. "Like you."

"You went there," noted the clone with a raised brow.

"Ugh, I was not on my A game!" Pinkie slapped her forehead with a hoof. "I was totally out of it. Forgive me and I'll forgive you?"

The clone rubbed her chin with a hoof. "I moved away."

"Far away." Pinkie threw a hoof in agreement. "But if you're like me, that's not that big a problem."

The clone giggled, joined by the original. They both knew how to get places when they wanted. "Alright alright. So when you gotta do big important things and get called away, I hop on over and be you."

"Until I get back." Pinkie nodded quickly. "We swap notes, and go back to our usual lives."

And it was with that agreement that Twilight was at the bedside of the dying Pinkie who had lived the life that Pinkie had never returned to live.

Which led to the present, er, closer to the present. Remi appeared with Pinkie in a corridor. "What?!" She threw a paw wide. "Here?!"

"This is the only spot she can fit in."

"This is a doomed spaceship," howled Remi at the voice in her ear. They were in Twilight and Spike's original ship.

"We're in space?!" Pinkie turned around in place. "I expected more stars."

Remi sank down in a squat, bringing herself far more even to Pinkie's height. "Alright. I'm going to explain something, and it will sound crazy."

Pinkie inclined her head to the left and right in rapid little swishes of her mane. "I like the way this is headed. Please do continue."

Remi pinched the bridge of her snout. "Alright, so, causality. A thing happens, which causes a different thing to happen. A, B, C, nice and simple. We've just broken out of that."

"Uh huh." Pinkie did not seem as surprised as she should have been. "So what's the C we gotta B?" She suddenly clopped her hooves. "Ooo, is it a surprise? Is it a party?" She leaned in, lashes fluttering. "Tell me it's both."

Remi smiled brightly. "Actually... It could be both, if you're ready to make it happen."

Pinkie sprang up in place, punching at the air and giggling wildly. "I am so ready to make that happen. One thing though." She raised a hoof. "What about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? I was kinda trying to help them get home."

"They're fine," assured the voice in Remi's ear. "Time is repaired. We just need you back where you're supposed to be."

"Well you can't do that until this pink pony knows what she has to do to not die horribly." Remi waved at Pinkie, scowling at the voice.

"Her death wouldn't throw anything out of balance," noted Tinker's voice.

"You did not just say that." Remi grabbed ahold of Pinkie's shoulders. "I won't let go until I finish telling her."

Pinkie set her hooves on Remi's shoulders in turn, giggling. "Who are you talking to? Some kinda friend? Is that a walkie talkie?" She slid her hoof up to brush at Remi's right ear, where the voice was. "Nope, don't see that, hmm."

Remi gently brushed away Pinkie's exploring hoof, keeping her other hand on the pony. "Listen carefully. This is a space ship. Do you understand what that is?" What tech level Equestrians were, she wasn't actually sure. Especially not at Pinkie's time.

"Oooo!" Pinkie reached up and touched a badge she hadn't been wearing on her chest. "Two to beam up!"

Remi quirked an ear. "Huh... Yeah... You got it." She wasn't sure how, but the pink pony seemed to be on the right track. "This space ship will blow up in..." She checked the time, there in the hallway... but it was in Equestrian time. "Dang it.." She pulled out her data pad instead. "I'm gonna lend you this."

Pinkie accepted the pad with a loud Ooo of appreciation. "I never had one of these before."

"I will want it back, so you gotta do this right. This is the date, our date." She tapped at where it was displayed. "In..." She did some quick math. "About a week, this ship will explode, torn apart by angry greyscale space butterflies."

"I hate it when that happens," sighed out Pinkie as if that were a common annoyance. "So do I need to save somepony?"

"Yourself." Remi tapped Pinkie on the nose. "There are three living people on this ship. Twilight, Spike, and Octavia. None of them can see you or you lose. You have to get off the ship when they do, or you lose. When you do get off the ship, nobody can see you until..." She swiped and pressed at buttons quickly on the tablet, setting an alarm. "The alarm goes off. When that goes, you're allowed to be seen, and you won. Can you do that?"

"Oh gosh." Pinkie sat back a little. "That looks like a long time to be quiet." One of her weaknesses! "Butttt, I also don't want to die, not to grey meanies. Ugh, that sounds like the worst." She frowned a little in thought. "I'll give it my best!"

"You are endangering the time line we just put to right," warned the voice in Remi's ear. "How can you be at all certain this will work?"

"By having a little faith in good people." Remi gently ruffled the top of Pinkie's head with a smile. "You do your best. I'm sure it'll be good enough."

Pinkie saluted as Remi stood up and vanished almost instantly. "You got it," she promised the empty air. "Now how to do it...?"

"Hi!" chimed Pinkie, a new Pinkie, approaching with a big smile. "You're new, but you came with good company."

Pinkie... Pinkie Alpha tilted her head. "Woah, a clone. I didn't know I had a space clone!" She reared up to thrust her hooves in the air with excitement. "Hi Space Pinkie! Oh no, did I just lose?"

"I am not one of the three you were told to avoid," noted Space Pinkie.

"Oh yeah! Phew." Alpha Pinkie wiped away the sweat from her brow. She considered Space Pinkie. "So hi."

"Hello." Space Pinkie pointed at herself. "I'm actually a computer program. There are a lot of mes around the ship. Only one's Pinkie though." She leaned in. "Even advanced space computers can only handle one Pinkie at a time." They both gigglesnorted with shared amusement.

Space Pinkie pointed at Alpha Pinkie, her datapad specifically. "We are the solution to one another's problem."

"You talk kinda funny for me," noted Alpha Pinkie with a raised brow.

"I am a computer program." Space Pinkie tilted her head. "Your speech patterns are terribly spotty in my records, but don't worry!" Space Pinkie thrust up a hoof. "I am listening to you and will get better at it, but back to the task at hoof." She returned to pointing at the datapad. "I wish to also win the game you are playing. If you help me win, I will help you win."

Author's Note:

I look forward to seeing what happens with Pinkie, both of them. You?

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