Resolve
Shooting Star was beyond furious. So stupid! That's why no other pony was ever affected! That's why Princess Celestia and Princess Luna never had this problem!
The problem came down to methods of teaching: Long Centuries ago, Star Swirl the Bearded had trained Celestia and Luna to teleport with hooves-on training. This was traditional learning. But eventually, after Celestia had founded her school for gifted unicorns, the equations had been written down and put in textbooks.
Originally, the equations had been copied from Princess Celestia's direct dictation. But eventually, a copy of Star Swirl's original notes had been found and authenticated and that is where the trouble had started as a new edition text had been prepared using those notes, just around the time Princess Celestia had taken Sunset Shimmer as her personal student.
Shooting Star had an icy ball forming in the pit of her stomach. "Well... That tells me where I needed to go next..."
***
In The Time of Star Swirl the Bearded
Shooting Star looked around the narrow streets of early Canterlot, not particularly caring about her incongruous appearance. She forced herself to calm herself... a little at least... and applied a translation spell. I hope the translation spell isn't as screwed up as the teleport spell!
Spotting a lone mare, she addressed the pony. "Excuse me? But doth thou knoweth the dwelling of Star Swirl?"
The mare simply blinked.
Shooting Star rolled her eyes. "WHERE is Star Swirl the Bearded?!"
A hoof shakily pointed toward a house in need of repair work. A tall pony wearing his famous cloak wordlessly entered.
"Ah! Thank you!"
The mare shook her head as the clearly insane pony raced to Star Swirl's home.
Star Swirl grumbled as he sorted through the papers on his desk, looking for the one he wanted, only to be interrupted as his front door was flung open.
Shooting Star glared at him. Without a word, she snatched a random page of notes in her magic and drew them to her scrutiny. She frowned. "What in the name of Tartarus? What IS this?"
Star Swirl snatched the sheet back from the intruder. "My private notes!"
"It's chicken scratch! Your 'Es', your '3s', and the symbol for Sigma... At least that's what I think that was supposed to be... are practically IDENTICAL! Who taught you how to hold a quill?! The publishers misread your notes!"
By this time a crowd began to form outside, the front door of the cottage still wide open, gawking at the mad-pony and the reclusive wizard. Shooting Star whirled on them.
"Can anypony here write in clear, legible characters?!"
A single tiny hoof nervously went up.
Star looked at the foal. "What's your name?"
"Clover," the foal said meekly.
Shooting Star looked at the foal agog and then shook herself, turning back to Star Swirl. "You are going to teach this foal everything you know. In exchange, Clover... YOU are to recopy all of Master Star Swirl's notes, neatly and help get some organization here!"
As the foal eagerly nodded, Star Swirl frowned. "And if I refuse?"
Shooting Star smirked evilly, having anticipated the wizard's stubbornness. "I was hoping you'd ask that. I'll be right back!" She flashed out of existence, only to reappear a moment later surrounded by a pack of excited fillies.
"I have a bunch of eager little students hungry for knowledge and books and if you don't accept my terms, I'll turn them all loose in your personal library."
"You wouldn't..."
"Try me. And if you try to go back on your word later, I WILL find out and I will be back."
"Alright!" Star Swirl relented.
"Good. If you'll just sign a few autographs for the girls. we'll be on our way! Oh! And it wouldn't hurt for you to take a broom to this place every once in a while and fix that shutter..."
***
After dropping the girls back off with Miss Trixie, Shooting Star had one last time jump to make, appearing in the Ponyville Library to leave the letter she had gotten from Princess Celestia on Twilight Sparkle's table for her future mentor to find.
Then Shooting Star finally jumped back home...
To find her teacher waiting there calmly with Princess Celestia, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, Miss Trixie, and a smirking Star Swirl the Bearded.
"Well done, Shooting Star. I hope you've learned some important lessons."
"Yes, Princess Celestia."
"Good. Because time travel is incredibly dangerous. As it turns out, you did not shape history to your design, history simply used you to fulfill its own plan."
"And part of that plan," Twilight Sparkle told her student. "Is that you are going to serve as teacher for eight little fillies you brought forward through time." She dropped her wings to reveal Shooting Star's new students.
"I will be most interested in seeing your progress," Star Swirl smiled in satisfied revenge.
"Oh! horse feathers..."