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// Prelude: Discovery of the Century 
// Story: More About Time 
// by SilverStar7 
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“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” - Sophia Loren


Twilight and Spike had again found themselves digging around the library of the ruined castle within the Everfree Forest. They were still looking for something about the Tree of Harmony or the Locked Chest. Twilight had also suggested to Spike they were looking for anything that might be of interest. But of course the purple pony thought that every other scroll or book she found was of interest, and Spike kindly kept reminding her of why they were here. Unlike the last time where she spent the whole day reading Luna and Celestia's diary, today Spike was actually determined to find something. Part of it may have been that it was getting past the time the Star Spiders were out or maybe it was his newfound confidence following the enchanted comic book incident, but Spike wanted to get stuff done.

"I'm glad you're keeping me honest Spike," said Twilight. "If it wasn't for you I'd still be looking at that old book about those baffling bridles and silly saddles from the Paleo-Pony Period."

"You mean the first book you came across?" asked Spike, incredulously. He enjoyed Twilight's curiosity about the world around her, but sometimes he thought that every book was like a labyrinth to that pony – she got lost in them constantly and you needed to know how to get her out.

As they were going through the second shelf Spike tried to pull down a rather boring looking book about putting bells on hats when, suddenly, a secret compartment opened up a little down the shelf. "Twilight," he cried out. "I think I found something!" The purple dragon quickly ran to the small door and began to sift through the contents of the hidden storage space.

"What is it Spike?" asked Twilight, walking over with her muzzle in a book levitating just in front of her face. "These books are amazing! This one is an old guide to animal care. I bet Fluttershy would love to read something like this."

"What does that have to do with the Tree of Harmony?" asked Spike, his voice somewhat muffled because his head was now fully inside the compartment as he was digging through its contents.

" Oh, um..." Twilight reluctantly put the book away. "Yeah, I guess that can wait." She looked over to Spike only now realizing the dragon had discovered some sort of secret hole. "Wow! What's in there?"

The dragon emerged with his arms full of scrolls and books. They teetered slightly as he walked over to a nearby table. "I think this is everything," he said, slightly strained. "That compartment looks smaller on the outside than it seems on the inside." As soon as everything touched the table Twilight was already levitating scrolls over to herself and looking at them.

When she read a particular line on one of the scrolls her jaw dropped, her wings flew open, her eyes lit up. "Spike! You're amazing!" she said.

Spike laughed a bit, both at the comment and Twilight's comical reaction. "Tell me something I don't know. Like, what did I find, anyway?"

"These are old spells! Not just any old spells, they're spells written by Star Swirl the Bearded!"

"Wasn't he that really ancient wizard who you dressed up as on Nightmare Night?"

Twilight nodded, taking off into the air with a couple of scrolls in front of her. Her mouth was still open and for a while she simply hovered, almost literally drooling over the pages before her.

"Twilight?" said Spike. His friend didn't even notice. "Twilight?" he called again. And I lost her again. Looking around, Spike picked up the book on animal care and opened to a random page. "Oh yeah, this book sure is interesting. But, uh oh! I think the dust in here is aggravating my nose. I'm worried I might sneeze on... sneeze on..." The dragon began to fake a sneeze and suddenly Twilight snapped out of her trance, blinking to the ground and pulling the book away from Spike.

"Spike! Be careful! Don't you remember what happened to that Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy the last time you..." Twilight trailed off as her dragon rolled on the floor laughing. "Oh."

"That gag never gets old, I just had to bring you back somehow."

"Right, sorry I've been so lost today, Spike. I just can't believe what is written in these. Not only are they hoof-written by Star Swirl, but these are some of his other unfinished spells!"

"You mean like the spell that made you an alicorn?"

"Exactly! Star Swirl was the most important conjurer of the Pre-Classical Era. He was the father of the aniomorphic spell and created over 200 other spells. Some ponies have speculated that others might have been lost and we may have just found them!"

The alicorn levitated all of the contents of the secret compartment off of the table and began to walk toward the small side room that she and Spike had been using for research. "Come on, the Tree of Harmony can wait. We need to take a look at these!"

Spike ran to keep up with Twilight, who was trotting quite quickly. "Um, what do you mean ‘take a look at these?'"

Twilight shook her head as if the answer was obvious. "These spells are unfinished, Spike. We need to figure them out and figure out how to finish them." Spike stopped in his tracks and gaped at his friend.  When she was fully into the side room he then rushed to meet her again.

Giggling with excitement, Twilight spread some of the scrolls on the pedestal in the old room and prepared to begin deciphering the old spells. "This is going to be so great! Who would have thought we could find something like this buried in a ruined library?"

"Uh..." Spike was going to tell her "anypony would think you'd find old books and old scrolls in an old library" but he was genuinely concerned about what Twilight was planning and didn't think sarcasm would help his case. "Listen, Twilight, are you sure you should be trying to fix these spells? Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to cast an unfinished Star Swirl spell?"

"Of course, Spike!" Twilight dusted off the first scroll and set it in front of her as she spoke. "How could anypony forget Applejack trying to make dresses?"

"So why are you doing this then?"

"Because, Spike, Star Swirl the Bearded left dozens of unfinished spells here. We could have just made the most important magical discovery of the last century! Somepony needs to figure out what they're for and who in all of Equestria knows Star Swirl's magic better than me?"

"Princess Celestia might," Spike pointed out. He reached out and grabbed the scroll from the table. "I can get these to her right now for her to take a look at." Taking a deep breath Spike prepared to send the paper to Celestia, but Twilight took it away in a blink of magic, causing it to appear safely at her side.

"Come on, Spike. Don't worry so much. Celestia is too busy with the Equestria Games right now to worry about old spells, and besides, I'm only going to look at the spells that Star Swirl marked as ‘Nearly Complete' or ‘Almost Working' and not the really unfinished ones like that alicorn spell. I'll be very careful."
"I know you'll be careful. But don't you remember all of those times magic has caused unexpected problems? That Want-It-Need-It spell on Smarty Pants? Or just a few weeks ago with Fluttershy turning into a bat? Being careful might not be enough."

Twilight wanted to listen to the little dragon. He had a valid point, but her curiosity had more than gotten the better of her on this matter. She just had to know what these spells did. "Well somepony eventually has to look at these spells. These could be some of the most important magical discoveries in history! Think of all the good it could do if Star Swirl found a magical cure for Hay Fever or a way to stop Parasprites from multiplying?"

Spike heaved a sigh and looked to the ground, turning to leave the small circular room. "Alright, I guess if the advice of your Number One Assistant doesn't mean anything to you then fine, but if I come up here and you have two heads or Rarity's cutie mark–"

"Then I wouldn't want anyone else to be here to help me," Twilight smiled at Spike, who turned and actually was willing to give a small smile back. "This is just something I need to do. I feel somehow connected to Star Swirl and after I fixed his first spell I just want to see if I can figure any of these out. Some part of me just has to do this."

"You mean like how I needed to go on that dragon quest to find out who I am?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, Spike. It's actually just like that."

Spike sighed again, but this time it wasn't in defeat. It was more of his, Alright Twilight, if it means that much to you, kind of sigh. "Well, you let me go on my quest. I guess I have to let you go on yours. But please be careful."

"I will, Spike." And with that the purple dragon left the room and Twilight brought the first scroll back in front of her.

Let's see what Star Swirl came up with that he decided to hide away in this castle...


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As she read the scroll her eyes worked furiously. She wanted to remember every word she read. They were good words. The spell described was a time spell. A more powerful one than the spell Twilight had cast months ago. Instead of allowing the user to go back once for a short time this one was intended to allow the user to relive parts of their life. It talked a lot about correcting mistakes. Twilight could definitely relate to this. She would have loved to be able to redo parts of her life. Is that what this spell did? Is that what this spell does?

She paused at the incantation. It was as well written as any spell she'd encountered:

Life's mistakes will not define me
And I need not press through
For through my dreams I shall shape my life
To be a dream come true

Twilight bit her lip. This spell seems to be complete. It isn't like the one Princess Celestia sent to me. Everything is here. Taking a deep breath, the alicorn closed her eyes. "Do I dare cast this?" she asked aloud. The room did not echo her words. It stood silent, watching her. Waiting. Time spells were no laughing matter. Horrible things had happened to ponies who messed around with time. Her own curiosity was not worth her life.

Her eyes opened. A look of determination falling on her face.

I have to know what this spell does. 

It was marked incomplete. Or at least it was filed with these other incomplete spells. Maybe he finished this one and never got around to publishing it. Twilight was trying to convince herself this was a good idea. Some part of her thought about thinking about what the worst thing that could happen would be, but she didn't let that idea of a thought surface. It was a dangerous thought because this could be a dangerous spell.

The alicorn's horn began to glow as she read aloud. "Life's mistakes will not define me." She spoke with authority. "And I need not press through." That line was somewhat confusing. Maybe she should stop before-- "For through my dreams I shall shape my life." She could feel the magic coursing through her body. It was preparing to do something. Something powerful. 

"To be a dream come true!" Those last words she shouted and Twilight could tell something had happened. She had felt the magic leave her. Go somewhere to do something. Ever since the miscue with the earlier Star Swirl spell she had made sure to take a mental note on casting any unfamiliar spell so as not to think it was a dud when it did something like rearrange cutie marks.

So, was she in the past?

The stand in front of her still held the scrolls. That was not a good sign. Then again, perhaps it brought nearby objects with her. She walked into the hall now, looking at the sun through the many holes in the ceiling. It was in the same general area. And a dragon, her little dragon, was running toward her.

"Twilight!" Spike yelled as he approached, stopping a few feet from her. "I heard you shouting. Is everything okay?"

"You heard me shout the spell?" she asked, crestfallen. I can't be in the past if this Spike heard me say the spell...

The baby dragon's eyes went wide. "You cast one?! What did it do?"

"Apparently nothing, which doesn't make any sense, I could have sworn I felt..." Trailing off. Then, "I did feel. I know I felt magic leave me. Oh, Spike! What have I done? We have to get back to Ponyville! If this spell is anything like the last one, I don't even want to think about what could have happened!" Throwing Spike onto her back with magic, Twilight began to fly up through the roof and out over the forest toward her home and friends. Any other time she might have complained about how hard it was to fly, but the necessity made it easy. She'd never forgive herself if anything happened to one of her friends.

I only thought about what risk I was taking for myself. How could I have been so stupid to forget that my magic can affect my friends too?


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Rarity and Fluttershy were the first of her friends Twilight encountered. The two were in the marketplace together and seemed to be appraising threads. When she landed next to them Spike slipped off and gave a grunt as he hit the ground. She didn't even notice.

"Oh my goodness!" said Fluttershy, going to help Spike. "What's going on?"

Ignoring the comment, Twilight began to appraise her friends, checking for any sign of harm her spell might have caused. When she found none, she heaved a sigh and hugged her friends. "You're both okay!"

Not expecting the embrace, Rarity gave a small squeak. "Good heavens! I must ask: what is all the fuss about?"

"We have no time to lose." Twilight again picked up Spike in a magenta aura and brought him onto her back. The dragon's eyes rolled around slightly as he again tried to adjust. "I've just cast another unfinished Star Swirl spell and I don't know what it did. We need to go find Pinkie, AJ, and Rainbow Dash!"

Rarity gasped and Fluttershy began to shiver. "You mean, like that spell that changed all our cutie marks?" The yellow pegasus seemed to be hoping she was mistaken, but Twilight confirmed her fears with a nod.

"Come on!"

Sugar Cube Corner held two of the remaining six. Pinkie and Applejack were helping to unload apples and other supplies into the Cake's cellar. Again, they appeared fine. When the situation was explained, Applejack was the first to run off in the direction of Rainbow Dash's house. Pinkie, however, was the first to reach it.

"RAINBOW DASH!" the pink pony shouted through a megaphone that apparently materialized out of thin air.

A light blue pegasus looked down from a window, her hair wet. "Pinkie! I was in the middle of a bath! What is so important that--" she stopped when she saw that the other four were present and soon was on the ground with them, a towel wrapped around her hair.

"So let me get this straight. You don't have any idea what in the hay this spell did?"

Twilight shook her head. "Unfortunately I don't."

Rainbow lifted herself off the ground with that, hovering as she continued. "But you cast it! How can you not know?"

"Sometimes even unicorn magic can be a bit unpredictable. It can't happen without you intending to do something, but that doesn't mean you always know what you intended to do."

"But you... cast... and magic..." Rainbow grit her teeth and then face hoofed. Twilight thought she heard the mare say "egghead" under her breath.

"What Twilight is trying to explain," chimed in Rarity. "Is that unicorns don't always know the exact outcome of our spells. That's why Twilight was able to miscast the earlier Star Swirl spell."

"Now, if that last one done rearranged our cutie marks," said Applejack. "Then does that mean this spell had ta do anythin'? What I mean ta say is: 'Who says the spell wasn't just a dud?'"

The five then looked to Twilight. Spike also watched her from his perch on her back. Was Applejack right? After all, she saw no sign that anything in Ponyville was different. And it was unlikely that her spell would have been able to affect ponies in more distant areas. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe I just wanted to believe the spell would do something when it really didn't... "I suppose it could be." Twilight spoke slowly. "I mean, who's to say? You all seem fine and I haven't seen anything unusual." It probably was just a dud. The alicorn's head fell. She was disappointed. Disappointed both that the spell hadn't worked and that she had been wasting her friend's time. "I'm sorry, everypony."

Her friends drew in at that. Fluttershy, for once, was the first to speak. "Oh, Twilight. Don't be upset. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yeah, it's no big deal," said Rainbow, touching a hoof to Twilight's shoulder. "All this means is that you cared enough to check up on us."

AJ nodded. "Shucks, Twi', I'm mighty glad ya told us. It means a lot that you'd think of us first."

"Indeed," added Rarity. "And I couldn't imagine life without you!"

And finally Pinkie added her two bits. "No matter how horribly, terribly, brutally you mess up your whole life with magic, we'll always be there for you!"

The alicorn couldn't help but laugh at the Element of Laughter. "Thanks, guys." And the group hugged for a long moment. It felt like it had been a long time since the last group hug. Maybe it was, but either way Twilight was grateful for it and for her friend's love.


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Spike and Twilight made their way back to the library. On foot this time as Twilight still preferred not to fly. It was evening now. The two had gone back to collect their things from the castle, but now needed to return home for the night. It was true that the Everfree had felt safer since the Elements returned to the Tree of Harmony, but the old castle was still hardly safe to sleep in. Not to mention the fact that Twilight really felt a need to sleep in her own bed tonight. 

The scare had been exhausting. On their way to the castle she had promised over and over again that she wouldn't cast any more of the spells. That she would give them to Celestia as soon as possible. And eventually Spike was having to tell her that he believed her. He accepted her apology. He knew that she knew he was right. It was going to be okay. And so on.

But as Twilight prepared for bed, she recounted the days events. Going backwards through the day. Recollecting their things at the old castle, hugging her friends, going to find them, the spell, of course. Then she remembered the joke Spike had played on her. She even smiled slightly at that. It had been pretty funny how much she'd reacted to the thought of losing a book. And my fear of losing my friends put that in perspective. Her smile left.

She adored her friends, but while, logically, she should have been willing to smile at the thought of not losing them, the fear of almost losing them kept her frowning as she fell asleep.