Semi-random musings about Star Swirl the Bearded and a certain time-related artifact... · 11:18pm Jan 10th, 2023
So... to begin with a disclaimer, I'm well-aware that the theory I'm about to propose may very well have been proposed by other users before, considering it could perhaps be seen as an obvious conclusion to make. And considering I haven't yet watched the piece of media that it's featured in, it may also be completely wrong, depending on the specific artifact's mechanics.
But this thought just came to me today, and I couldn't help but dwell upon it once it crossed my mind.
In the Reflections comic arc, it's suggested that the reason Star Swirl the Bearded is so skilled and knowledgeable about magic is because the mirror he made let him consult with other versions of himself and thus improve both his skills and his knowledge. Considering the way those comics were borderline if not outright discarded later, it's questionable whether that is still true in the show (although it's still possible), but today this idea came up to me and I couldn't help but wonder.
Going only by animated canon, could Star Swirl have become so powerful and so talented due to using the Time Twirler from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Sunset's Backstage Pass to spin back time whenever he performed a spell until he got it exactly right, and keep doing so for every spell he invented/practiced? Could he even have made the Time Twirler himself to give himself that advantage, questionable at best as it is to do so? Canon shows he came up with a time-travelling spell, so the Time Twirler could be within his abilities. And given that, from what I understand, Sunset is shown to remember each loop, it seems logical that Star Swirl would also remember each spell he learned.
I will admit that if this is true, Star Swirl would have needed to have lost the Time Twirler before he started developing the ascension spell at best, otherwise he would have been able to turn back time until he found the breakthrough that kept eluding him (and given how he didn't understand friendship, that would likely have been a lot of tries). But that still means he could have used it to learn a lot.
I will also that, for what it's worth, this is not necessarily a theory that I believe to be true, in large part because it would add a bit too much to Star Swirl's questionable behaviors and actions. In animated canon alone, he's already shown to be a hero with a lot of warts, and the comics only add to those in more ways than one. This particular one would make him a bit too questionable for my personal tastes.
Still, it was a possibility I couldn't help but consider once it crossed my mind, and which I thought I'd share. Should anyone want to weigh in, please feel free to. :)
Thank you to all who took the time to read this. As always, I hope all is well with all of you.
Best regards, and take care. :)
That's actually a theory that I hadn't seen. And it makes a certain amount of sense. The question, however, is raised - how did it end up in the human world? If Star Swirl made it and eventually sent it there, then why did he so hastily discard it? Why not lock it away somewhere where it could be forgotten (say a vault like the one Spike found in Inspiration Manifestation), or destroy it?
I'm not saying that this is a bad theory. I'm just trying to point out the bits of logic that need to be addressed if it's going to be utilized in a story.
5708146
Thank you for your feedback on this theory. :) And rest assured, I'm not upset in the least at having those bits of logic pointed out, nor did I think you were saying it was a bad theory by doing so. I fully understand what you intended, and I don't mind it in the least. :)
I will admit, at the time I wrote this blog post, the only conclusion I reached regarding the Time Twirler is that, if Star Swirl was the one who made it for whatever reason, he had already lost it by the time he started working on the ascension spell, at the latest. But thinking a bit more on the matter of how the amulet ended up in the human world... these are the three scenarios I came up with that seem at least minimally plausible, although I'll admit none of them is perfect.
1) The sorceress who Clover the Clever pursued during his Seven Trials stole the Time Twirler, but ended up losing it while Clover the Clever was chasing her, and it was never recovered by him for some reason, perhaps because the Time Twirler's location was one of the memories Clover lost forever, and he didn't have an unlimited amount of time to keep looking.
This one admittedly has the issue that, if presented before a harsher judge, it could potentially count as a 'failed trial' - although if one wants to be precise, we don't know for sure if all of Clover's Seven Trials were successful. Also, it might have been the sort of thing that would have come up in Clover's scroll, but we have no indication that it did.
2) Clover himself borrowed the Time Twirler from Star Swirl the Bearded in his pursuit of the sorceress in case he needed to use it on some extreme situation, but ended up losing it in the human world, and, like in the case above, its location was among the memories he lost forever, and he didn't have an unlimited amount of time to keep looking.
This one also has the issues of this potentially counting as a 'failed trial' and of the Time Twirler simply not coming up in the scroll, not to mention that, if one wants to be pessimistic, it could be assumed that the harsher Star Swirl from the animated series would have dismissed Clover if he had lost the Time Twirler even during these circumstances (although I'll admit I'm on the fence on whether even the animated Star Swirl would be this harsh).
3) Star Swirl himself somehow ended up losing the Time Twirler on a trip he made to the human world, perhaps already after he made the mirror, and as such the problem of him having limited time to find it would be even more prevalent.
This one might require Star Swirl to be on the scatter-brained side (which ironically would kind of fit with his comic self, although not exactly with the animated one), but depending on the circumstances in which he lost the Time Twirler (possibly during a hectic battle with some villain) I'd say it could be plausible.
(And funnily enough, this one did give me an idea for a 'quasi-understandable' reason Star Swirl could have used the Time Twirler, even though it's not one that wouldn't warrant him being called out for more reasons than one.)
For the time being, these are all the possible reasons I can think of for the Time Twirler to have ended up in the human world, and I'll admit all of them have holes to poke. But mine is far from the final word on this matter, and it's perfectly possible there's some reason that makes more sense that I just can't think of at the moment.
Again, thank you for your feedback! :)
5708302
No problem. And all of those scenarios do seem plausible by my reckoning.
5708335
Thank you for your feedback on them. :)
I confess that, having thought even further about this, odds are I'll use the third scenario (or at least a version of it that will still undergo some more work), as I feel it's the one that makes the most sense, and I did end up thinking of a way for Sunset's Backstage Pass to be relevant plot-wise on my AU as a whole, so I think an adaptation of it will also be included. (Assuming of course my life gets on track enough for me to write until then, which I really hope it does). But all the same, thank you for your feedback on all three scenarios I proposed. :)
5708520
Works for me. I've got some loose ideas of my own for the Time Twirler, but nothing concrete as of yet, and likely not along the lines of what you're planning.
5708537
Thank you for the feedback. :)
Should you decide to develop and implement any of your ideas, I look forward to seeing them and the story they'll be part of.