Relativity
In Equestria, magic is inherent in all things. However, despite this inherence, random acts of magic are still incredibly rare. Magic is more commonly demonstrated when a unicorn performs a spell or incantation. Unicorns find this exceptional talent in magic thanks to their horns. The unicorn horn can be separated into two parts. The outer shell, which is a hard material similar to that of the hoof, and a core that is composed of an unknown material. The only known property of this unknown material is, if removed then a unicorn loses his ability to cast even the simplest of spells. Upon further study, sorcerers' found that this unknown material is present in, at least some quantity, everything. The only pony that is known to have studied this material extensively, was Star Swirl the Bearded. Further information on the subject can be found in his book, What is Known About the Unknown.
This was the last thing Twilight remembered reading from the night before. Everything else was either read through shut eyes or blurred with the shadows of a dream. Upon waking up the next morning, Twilight found herself slumped on the floor with her book mark stuck to her face. With an embarrassed sigh, she whipped the paper from her face and pushed herself off the ground. Without much thought Twilight returned the book to the proper place on the shelf and walked to the center of the room. There, she lied down and mentally planned her day out.
She had the whole weekend to herself. Spike was helping the Apple family with a new cider recipe. Rainbow Dash went to Las Pegasus with Fluttershy, something about losing a bet. Rarity was working on a large order for a circus group. She mentioned to Twilight that it wasn't prestigious, but it did bring in quite the pretty bit. Then Pinkie Pie was helping the Cakes order more supplies for their store. So in the end, Twilight had nothing to do but study up on some subjects that she normally didn’t have the time for.
Twilight ultimately decided that she would follow up on her lead from the night before. This, "unknown material," had caught her imagination and she wouldn't let go. She knew she didn't have the book in her library and that meant the only other place that would have it, was Canterlot. “Hopefully I won’t have to wait long for a train,” she thought to herself. Amazingly, Twilight only had to wait thirty minutes for the next train to arrive. From there it was two hours to Canterlot, and a mile walk to the castle itself. Twilight was walking through the castle halls, sneaking around the guards for fun, when she remembered her experience with time travel.
The scrolls that held the time spell, were kept in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. She was able to recall that most of the scrolls in that room were written by Star Swirl himself. Through reason, Twilight decided that would be the best place to start looking for her book. That, and she wanted to read through some of the scrolls from that section of the library.
It didn't take long to reach the Star Swirl wing and soon she was sifting through incredibly old books and scrolls. After an hour or so, Twilight noticed that she wasn't making any progress. She placed a book back on the self and sat in the middle of the row. She slowly found her head resting on the shelf in front of her, she snorted and sent dust swirling into the air.
Even if Star Swirl actually wrote this book, there still was a good chance that it no longer existed. Fifteen hundred years, give or take, was enough time for a book to be lost or altered. It had been the tragic end of many of her studies. Just when she was near the end of a long search for answers, the final chapter, the last equation, the finalis pagina would not be there. She had long since given up on searching for these books, every time she did it eventually ended the same. In disappointment.
Twilight sighed and stood up. She made one last glance over the nearest books, nothing. She turned to leave, but jumped instead.
“Giving up already?” His voice was rough, like he had been yelling more than he should. She turned to see an old stallion sitting on a chair at the end of the row. A hood covered his face and left his whole demeanor of a person that didn't want to be seen.
“The book I was looking for was written over a thousand years ago, it probably doesn't even exist anymore.”
“What book are you looking for?” Twilight was tired and worn out. She didn't get much sleep the night before and she spent most of her day looking for this book. But she gave in and decided to humor this old stallion.
“The book I was looking for, What is Known About the Unknown, written by Star Swirl the Bearded.” The old stallion lifted his head and Twilight could clearly see him smirk.
“I had almost forgotten about that book. It wasn't very good, didn't sell many copies. Oh, and it doesn't exist anymore, I have made sure of that.”
“Why doesn’t it exist anymore?” Twilight was perplexed. Her tiredness from before had vanished.
“The book wasn’t very good, it didn’t have much information in it. It was more ideas and speculation than real research.”
“What are you saying?”
“I had all the books collected and burned.”
“Only the author of a book can do that.” The cloaked pony stood from his chair and walked over in front of Twilight. She knew she was right, only an author could destroy their own work. Either this stallion broke the law or was a petty vandal, or... it couldn't be. There wasn't any possible way that he was still alive. Even if he was at the pinnacle of health, he wouldn't last that long.
“You are right, technically speaking, but the princess can also remove books if she thinks they are hazardous to other ponies.” Twilight’s eyes were wide with anticipation. She wanted to know, she needed to know if it was really him.
“Are you-” He raised a chipped hoof and removed his hood. Twilight stopped talking, something about his appearance stunned her. His face was noticeable worn and tired. His eyes, a cold grey with streaks of brilliant gold. His mane was bleach white and seemed to flow with an invisible breeze. His coat was midnight black with specks of white that were scattered in arcanic patterns.
“Yes I am, but I am not bearded anymore.” Twilight was awestruck. She sat there trying to get her mouth to work, but the words wouldn't come out.
“You, uh, you’re really him? Star Swirl, but... how? You must be almost fifteen hundred years old.”
“I am only eighty.”
“Huh? But you look amazing. You don’t look much older than me.” Star Swirl smirked and walked past Twilight. As he moved Twilight could see how each step pained him. The sag in his back, the limp in his hind leg, and his long white tail. “There is more to him than I see,” Twilight thought.
Star Swirl sat in the chair behind Twilight and sighed a breath of relief.
“My appearance is the result of many failed and successful spells. My mane was blue when I was born, but as you can see it is now white. My eyes use to be brown and I happened to remove my cutie mark.” Twilight looked and as he said, it was gone. “But I didn’t answer your question. I was born one thousand, three hundred and seventy-five years ago. I have only been alive for eighty years.”
“So you’re telling me time travel is possible?”
“You already know the answer to that question.”
“How do you know that?” Star Swirl levitated a scroll to himself. He unfurled it and laid it across the table next to him. Twilight glanced over and realized it was the time spell she used a few months ago.
“Every time a pony uses magic it leave a mark. The more talented the pony, the more intricate the mark.” Star Swirl’s face contorted as he concentrated on a spell. Twilight noticed that his horn didn't glow the way that most unicorns did when they used magic. Twilight stopped and starred at the forehead of the stallion. He didn't have a horn. Twilight glanced back to the paper and was amazed when the scroll started to glow a soft violet. Somehow he performed magic even though he wasn't a unicorn. “See, you released magic while holding this scroll.” Star Swirl pointed to the left corner and moved his hoof along the intricate pattern. It was a fractal that glowed a mix of purple. Twilight stared at the paper, unable to comprehend what was happening. She looked back to Star Swirl and was about to say something, but was stopped.
"I will answer all of your questions in due time. But first I want you to leave, go home, and rest. Don't try to figure out what I did or what is happening. Forget everything that you saw. Can you do this?" Twilight slowly nodded her head. "Good, I will contact you tomorrow. Our meeting today was by chance. Tomorrow will be more, official." With that Star Swirl stood and walked out of the library, leaving Twilight in a coma state.
It took Twilight a moment to realize what had happened and to start to move again. She had never seen magic like that before. She had never been so mystified in her life. Everything she knew about magic was out the window, but she liked it. She wanted to know everything, to know how he did the things he did. This curiosity electrified her to the very core, this feeling she had felt many times before. But it was different this time, more pure. With this new energy Twilight raced home, half complacent that she was running through the streets of Canterlot.