It's About Time

It's About Time
Season №:	2
Season episode №:	20
Overall episode №:	46
Original airdate:	March 10, 2012
Written by:	M. A. Larson
Storyboard:	Sabrina Alberghetti & Nicole Wang
See also
credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation
Episode guide
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It's About Time is the twentieth episode of the second season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the forty-sixth episode overall. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle receives a warning about an unspecified event from her future self, though her attempts to prevent it only seem to draw it closer.

Production

A small part with Pinkie acting as a fortune teller reappears in Cakes for the Memories.

Summary

Future Twilight

Whoa, what happened to future Twilight?

At the Golden Oak Library, Spike is woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of footsteps and finds Twilight Sparkle pacing around downstairs. She explains that she just finished planning her schedule for the month but forgot to leave time to plan for the next month, leading an annoyed Spike to return to bed.

Twilight arrives at a solution to the scheduling problem just as dawn breaks over Ponyville, though a sudden blinding light and rush of wind inside the room draws her attention. The light dims to reveal another Twilight Sparkle, featuring a tattered black suit, an eyepatch, a head bandage, a burnt mane, and a facial scar. As the new Twilight tries to share a warning from the future, however, the original Twilight keeps interrupting with questions. She learns that the other Twilight is from next Tuesday morning and that she used time spells from the Star Swirl the Bearded wing in the Canterlot Castle archives, but when the visitor finally has time to talk, she disappears before being able to specify what she's warning of.

"Disaster-proof" Equestria

Applejack, trying to protect Equestria from disaster.

After an accidental collision with Fluttershy in town, Twilight announces the visitation from her future self to a group of townsfolk and instructs them to "disaster-proof" Equestria. She oversees the operation to completion but returns to town still worried about an incoming catastrophe, whereupon Cerberus suddenly appears and begins terrorizing the townsfolk. Twilight remarks how the beast's absence from Tartarus could result in the escape of ancient evils and assumes this was the disaster that future Twilight meant to warn of. Using a toy ball, Twilight manages to distract Cerberus and lure him all the way back to Tartarus.

Twilight returns to the library the next morning and reports her success to Spike, who suddenly belches a late "lost dog" flier from Princess Celestia. The scrolled flier hits Twilight in the face, creating a paper cut in the exact same location as the scar from future Twilight. Realizing this as she checks a mirror, Twilight infers that the disaster is still incoming despite their efforts.

The signs appear

Twilight considers that her actions may end up causing the disaster and determines to remain completely still until Tuesday. Spike takes advantage of the situation by eating a tub of ice cream in front of her, brushing off her warning of a stomach ache as a problem for future Spike. Rainbow Dash shows up to give a disaster-proofing report but ends up joining in to tease Twilight. When Spike uses a quill to tickle her, however, Twilight throws him into a wall, causing him to belch a fireball that lands on her face. The flame burns Twilight's mane into the same style as that of future Twilight, though as she laments her failure to prevent the disaster, Spike mentions he knows someone who could help them predict what will happen.

Pinkie searches in her crystal ball to predict Twilight's future.

Spike brings Twilight to "Madame Pinkie's place", a tent set up in town where Pinkie Pie purports to tell fortunes with a crystal ball. Pinkie prophecies that Twilight will receive a really cool birthday present next year, but when Twilight demands that she use her Pinkie Sense to reveal what the disaster will be, Pinkie tells her that her Sense is only for vague and immediate events. Her tail begins twitching moments later, whereupon a flowerpot drops onto Twilight's head.

Now Twilight is sure that it calls for extreme measures.

Some days later, Pinkie Pie visits the Golden Oak Library and finds Twilight hustling amidst a variety of telescopes, machines, and graphs. Twilight shows off a head bandage matching that of future Twilight as a result of the flowerpot incident and explains how she decided to monitor everything so she can be prepared no matter what happens. Following a miscommunication about telescope apertures, Twilight accidentally injures her eye with sunlight, prompting Pinkie to apply an eyepatch in a way that matches the look of future Twilight. Seeing this as another sign of the disaster that is slated to arrive the next morning, Twilight determines that the only remaining solution is to stop time.

The disaster

Sneaking in to search for a spell to stop time.

Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike head to Canterlot that night to find a time spell in the castle archives. Twilight mistakenly believes it's illegal to roam the premises and has the group sneak around in black suits, though she accidentally rips hers while moving between bushes to hide. They eventually come across the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the archives, where a roaming guard surprises Twilight by casually greeting her and opening the door.

Inside the wing, Twilight sees that she now fully resembles future Twilight and has everyone look around for a time-stopping spell. Dawn soon arrives, but when Twilight braces for the disaster's arrival, nothing happens. As Princess Celestia walks nonchalantly by, Twilight realizes that she had been making herself frantic over nothing and promises Spike that she will solve problems as they come and let the future handle itself.

You just cannot change the events by time traveling.

Pinkie butts in with a spell that allows the caster to go back in time once for a short period. Twilight tries to use the spell to prevent her past self from worrying about the future, though she ends up recreating the exact scenario that led to her current predicament when the spell terminates before she can complete her message. As Pinkie reassures her that it's now the problem of past Twilight, Spike starts experiencing a stomach ache from eating too much ice cream and realizes that he has become future Spike.

Quotes

For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.

Twilight Sparkle: My future self tried to warn me about a horrible disaster that's going to occur sometime before next Tuesday morning!

Applejack: What kind of disaster?

Twilight Sparkle: I don't know! I got sucked back into the future before I could explain!

Twilight Sparkle: That's Cerberus! He's supposed to be guarding the gates of Tartarus. But if he's here, then all the ancient evil creatures that have been imprisoned there could escape and destroy Equestria!

Spike: Destroy Equestria?!

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah! Isn't it great?

Twilight Sparkle: Spike, stop! Think of the stomach ache!

Spike: Stomach ache, huh? That's future Spike's problem.

Pinkie Pie: Look deep into the crystal ball... for soon it will reveal all! Ah yes, I see something... It's a vision of the future... I see you, Twilight. You will get a really cool birthday present next year...

Twilight Sparkle: Yes, and?

Pinkie Pie: That's it.

Twilight Sparkle: Are you sure?

Pinkie Pie: Yep. Cool birthday present.

Twilight Sparkle: I thought I saw something last night in the Horsehead Nebula, but after staring at it for three straight hours, I realized— I was wrong!

Pinkie Pie: Three hours? But when did you sleep?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, I didn't sleep. I haven't slept since future Twilight was here. There are only three days left until next Tuesday. I can sleep all I want after that!

Twilight Sparkle: Ah! My eye!

Pinkie Pie: Don't worry, Twilight, I have eye patches stashed all over Ponyville, in case of eye patch emergency.

Spike: I thought the stomach ache would be future Spike's problem... but now I am future Spike.

Gallery

It's About Time image gallery

References

v • e Episodes, films, and animated shorts

Make Your Mark
Episode 1 Izzy Does It	Episode 2 Growing Pains	Episode 3 Portrait of a Princess	Episode 4 Ali-Conned
Episode 5 The Cutie Mark Mix-Up	Episode 6 The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over	Episode 7 Hoof Done It?	Episode 8 Have You Seen This Dragon?
Episode 9 Top Remodel	Episode 10 The Jinxie Games	Episode 11 Sunny Side Up	Episode 12 The Manesquerade Ball
Episode 13 A Little Horse	Episode 14 Missing the Mark	Episode 15 Cutie Blossom Bash	Episode 16 Family Trees Pt. 1
Episode 17 Family Trees Pt. 2	Episode 18 Father of the Bridlewood	Episode 19 Mane Smelody	Episode 20 Nightmare on Mane Street
Episode 21 The Isle of Scaly‎‎	Episode 22 Roots of All Evil Pt. 1‎	Episode 23 Roots of All Evil Pt. 2