More About Time

by SilverStar7

Epilogue: From Another Millenia

"We also need to forgive ourselves... For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done. You can’t get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened." - Morrie Schwartz

"Worthless draconequus," Star Swirl scowled under his breath as he made his way out of the sculpture garden. With that pointless chat, he had lost the last hope of using his time spell. At least for the foreseeable future.

It was soon going to be time to accept the fate that had befallen his friend. Yet before he could grieve properly, he had one more task to complete. Scorpan had left the day before so that he could return to his homeland. It had been hard to see a new friend leave so soon, but Star Swirl knew that Scorpan had not made the choice lightly.

Returning home was not being done for ease, but with a purpose. Scorpan was hoping that he could teach the people of his land about the peace and harmony of Equestria. That he could help them to learn the power of love and friendship. And Star Swirl certainly could not stand in the way of such a noble cause.

Yet before leaving, Scorpan gave Star Swirl a mission of his own. Star Swirl sighed again; he had sighed far too often lately. It was the hope of avoiding this that made Star Swirl desperate enough to seek help from Discord. Yet now, he had no choice but to see it through.

I'm sorry, Clover, he thought. I really tried everything I could... She deserved so much better than his best. So much more than her fate.

* ~ * ~ *

The cells of Tartarus sat perched upon tall mountain peaks. With three slabs of meat and a rub on the belly, Star Swirl was able to work past Cerberus. Celestia would need to consider getting a new guard dog. If she wasn't careful, he'd just wander off someday and then this whole prison complex was worthless.

Making his way up a winding path, Star Swirl did not look toward the cell at the top. He looked to his hooves and took his time. This was not a meeting that he wanted to have.

The prisoner spoke before Star Swirl had even arrived at the cell. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Star Swirl the Bearded. Come to taunt me over my defeat? Or perhaps you are here to examine me and discover how my magic works?"

"Neither, Tirek," Star Swirl insisted as he reached the summit. "If I had my way about it, I would never look at your face again."

"I don't see any spears at your back," Tirek said. "Nopony is forcing you to come here."

"No, not a pony," Star Swirl shook his head. "A gargoyle."

Tirek gave a "hmmph" and rolled his eyes.

He doesn't even care about his own brother. Star Swirl sighed. "Do you know what your brother said to me about you before he left?"

"I'm sure it was heartwrenching and wonderful. He was a lot like you ponies the last time I saw him..."

Star Swirl had to grit his teeth and take a deep breath through his nostrils so that he didn't go on a tirade against the centaur. "You don't even deserve to know what he said. You are cruel and malicious and I don't understand how you and Scorpan could even be related."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I promised Scorpan I would come." Star Swirl removed a golden triangular pendant from his cloak. "I'm sure you know what this is." He held forward the item and Tirek rolled his eyes. "Your brother wanted you to have it." Star Swirl tossed the necklace into Tirek's cage.

"Why did he want me to have this?" Tirek asked. "To taunt me with the knowledge that he is free to roam about this world? While I rot in this sad excuse of a prison?"

"No!" Star Swirl shouted his response. He'd had enough of Tirek's mockery. "Because, even after all of the terrible things that you have done. Even though you would have done worse than that if given the chance. He wanted to know that he still calls you his brother." Star Swirl snorted and shook his head. "He wanted you to know that he forgives you."

Tirek raised an eyebrow. "He forgives me?"

"You don't deserve it. I told him that he shouldn't. But he says he has to, because you didn't know what you were doing."

At this Tirek pulled back his head in laughter. "I didn't know? Ha! He and I both knew what we wanted the moment we set foot in Equestria. Or did he forget already that our purpose for being here was to steal the magic of these ponies?"

Star Swirl wanted to leave then. He wanted to declare Tirek unsavable and be done with this conversation. Yet he had made a promise. A promise between friends. I knew what you were asking of me was hard, Scorpan. I just had no idea how hard it would be. Holding firm, Star Swirl made one last attempt. "I'm going to say what your brother wanted you to hear. Nothing more or less:

"Scorpan says that he pities you. Not because your arms have ended up in chains of steel, but because you have placed your heart in chains of hatred. He pities that you were not able to see what friendship and love have to offer. That your lust for power has blinded you to joy and wonder beyond what can be produced from magic.

"I can't forgive you." Star Swirl looked away from Tirek. "One of my friends paid her life to end your reign of terror and as long as she remains dead I cannot forgive you."

Tirek laughed. "This is the joy you say comes from friendship? All I see is sadness and pain."

The anger in Star Swirl could be held back no longer. At that taunt, he turned his horn on Tirek and fired a beam of magic at the tyrant. Yet the magic surrounding his cage prevented Star Swirl from being able to reach him. And Tirek simply continued to laugh. When he had finished his outburst, Star Swirl declared, "I hope you rot in this cell for all eternity." And then, he teleported away from Tartarus.

* ~ * ~ *

Later that day, Star Swirl placed the time spell in with his other unfinished works. Someday, perhaps, he would find use for it. Celestia told me to press on and press through my losses. Star Swirl considered that again as he closed his secret library compartment. He again thought of Clover and it pained him to think how much the future would be lacking with her loss. She had shown so much promise in her life. How much could she have given to the world if she'd been allowed more time?

"No," Star Swirl said aloud. He turned and reopened the compartment. Looking around, he found the notebook. In it was his unfinished masterpiece. This spell was one he had worked on for months. It would allow him to experience magic in ways known to only a few in pony history. And it would allow him to save Clover as well. If I can become an alicorn, then I won't need to keep fiddling with that time spell. It will just work and I can finally fix the past.

Leaving the library, Star Swirl thought about what his spell could be missing. It would probably take him weeks of work, maybe even months, be he would do it. He would do it for Clover! He thought about what his friend would say. He imagined Clover standing there in her brown cloak and talking with him. She would probably encourage him; tell him that anything he wanted to do was possible.

Star Swirl paused at the door of the library, leaning on the frame. No, that wasn't her. More likely than not, Clover would scold him for ignoring Celestia.

He looked down at the book in his hoof. Could he really pursue alicornship for the sake of a spell that Celestia had told him was not worth his time? She was one of the first alicorns after all. If anypony in all the world understood the true magic involved in alicornship, it was Celestia. The time he had spent with her had demonstrated that beyond any shadow of a doubt. That pony is far wiser than I...

If Star Swirl ever wanted to move forward with the alicorn spell, he would need to stop looking back. But that would mean abandoning his time spell.

And his friend.

Pain shot through Star Swirl's chest. It was like he was losing Clover all over again. He fell to his knees. His notebook dropped to the floor. The tears burned his eyes. He couldn't let her go. He wouldn't! And he began to weep. His body shook. "Why did it have to be you, Clover?" he asked aloud. His tears dropped to the ground and wet the cover of his master work.

"Because it couldn't be you," said the voice of Clover from above him.

Star Swirl's head swung up and he looked into the ethereal form of his lost student. She hovered several feet above the floor, her brown cloak's hood resting gently on her back. "Clover?!" he gasped.

The mare gave him a light smile. "This isn't really me. It's only an imprint." Clover's smile faded and she looked to the floor. "I had a feeling that I would not survive the final battle with Tirek. So I came to this library and I performed the imprinting spell on your notebook. You said my name, so here I am."

The stallion gaped. He had attempted to teach this spell to many of his students, but even Clover hadn't been able to succeed. "When did you learn how to do this?"

Clover giggled gently. "Let's just say that, when you need to do something for a friend, you find a way."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Star Swirl explained. "I have a time spell. It will let me change history to save you. But I need alicorn magic for it to work."

"Are you bringing it to Celestia?" asked Clover.

"No," Star Swirl grumbled. "That mare would never cast such a spell."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she values the preservation of history more than saving the lives of those who fought Tirek..."

Clover frowned. "Is preserving history not important to you?"

Star Swirl smirked and let out a short laugh. That pony was always forcing him to question himself. It was one of the reasons he liked her as a pupil so much. Most of his students simply followed his instructions, but Clover thought about them. "Of course preserving history matters." He looked up at Clover. "But you matter more to me."

"Am I really so much more important than any of the other ponies who lost their lives that day?" Clover asked her question in such a plain way that it made Star Swirl feel foalish.

Yet he told her the truth, "To me," he said. "You are more important than any of those. Yes."

"I'm really not," said Clover. "And I'm also not more important than your work."

Star Swirl shook his head. "You are so much more important than that! You were my favorite pupil. I had such hopes and dreams for you."

"And yet you spent my last birthday in this library and only remembered about it a week later." Clover smiled.

Star Swirl frowned. "If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't miss a single one of your birthdays. I would spend as much time with you as possible."

"I'm not trying to guilt you," she explained. "I'm trying to help you. You used to be a pony full of life and laughter. You need to find that again."

"I don't understand."

"Star, we didn't stop the tyranny of Tirek so that you could live under the tyranny of your guilt," Clover said. "I don't want you spending the rest of your life stuck in this library. Not when there are plenty of living ponies who would love to spend their birthdays with you."

Star Swirl looked at Clover. "But should I really forget about you?"

"You don't have to forget about me," said Clover. "But don't spend the rest of your life living on my memory." Clover lifted her hoof and pointed to one of the high windows in the castle library. "I want you to go out there. I want you to live your life. I want you to make new memories and new friends." Then Clover walked forward. Her form moved to the floor and toward his body. "If you really care about me, then please, take care of yourself." She smiled. Her body had begun to fade away. "Now that I'm not around, I don't know anypony else who will." The mare waved as the rest of her form dissolved. Star Swirl waved back to her.

And she was gone.

The bearded stallion shuddered in his loneliness. For a moment, all was silent. He then looked back to the floor and lifted up his notebook with his magic. Could she really want me to give up on this? he thought. Then he looked out the window that Clover's imprint had pointed to.

"No," Star Swirl said, confidently and picking up his notebook. Placing the book inside his cloak, Star Swirl made his way out of the library and into the main halls of the castle. "But she certainly didn't want me to sit in this library for the next year trying to figure it out." Perhaps he would take the time to show some of these spells to Celestia. That could wait, though.

He had some friends to go and visit.

* ~ * ~ *

In his final years, Star Swirl the Bearded explored much of the world of magic and much of the world of Equestria. From unlocking the secrets of the Crystal Mirror to exploring the Caverns of Maretania. And all of these things he did for the sake of knowledge, and for the sake of his friends. He did eventually confide in Celestia about his alicorn spell, even leaving his notebook to her in his will. Yet he never told her about the second time spell.

He was not hiding this spell from her. Nor was he afraid of her finding it. Star Swirl simply never got around to bringing it up. This was not because he didn't think Celestia could help. On the contrary, Star Swirl knew she was amazing with magic. It was just that, as time went on, he saw less of a need for going back. And more of a need for moving forward.

Even as other spells entered his hidden store, that one remained untouched. It was a complete spell, sure. But also a completely unnecessary one.

A pony would only wish to travel to the past if they had forgotten about the hope promised by the future.

Comments

[Voldine]

Lovely. Well done.

[Dovah Merith]

6021351 Ive found you comenting on most of the stuff i read

[Tetrominon]

6020826
i.imgur.com/K5lwJnK.gif

...

i.imgur.com/Lxi7IUN.gif

[nukestar]

6021625
That doesn't change the fact that Twilight broke the fourth wall at the end of Magic Duel

[Dream Seeker]

A great ending to a great story. Thank you for writing this.

[ToxiClay]

"Worthless draconaquis," Star Swirl scowled under his breath as he made his way out of the sculpture garden.

This is more properly rendered 'draconequus.'

Brilliant work with this story, by the way. I archive-dove and finished it in a single sitting. C:

[Timmy]

For the first time, I randomly found a multi-chapter story that had very recently ended without tracking the story in the first place. That counts as an accomplishment in my book. As for the story... I'd be genuinely surprised if this story was never featured.

[hawthornbunny]

I just started reading this on my daily commute to work and I already know I'm gonna enjoy it. :) I've categorized this as a Voluntary Timeloop in Timeloop Stories.

I kept getting a faint horror vibe from this that I couldn't quite place, but it took me a while to realise I was thinking of The Butterfly Effect. ^^

[SilverStar7]

6023981
Sorry about these errors. I will correct them. Unlike some others on FiMFiction, I don't have an editor or proofreaders; mistakes are bound to get through. I hope they weren't too jarring for you to enjoy the story.
6025289
I'm really glad you enjoyed this. Yes, the story was featured a few times. It was never featured for more than half a day, but honestly that's more time than I deserve considering that this is my first real multichapter project on FiMFiction.
6025904
Several readers have compared this to The Butterfly Effect. I don't think it's as dark as that, but I can't say for sure. I've actually never seen the movie...

[ToxiClay]

6027262 The errors absolutely did not take away from my enjoyment of the story at all. I loved it. I'm in a bit of a weird position is what it is -- I'm a copyeditor by hobby, and spelling/grammar problems leap out at me a lot worse than they might for other users. I've long had to train myself out of the habit of pointing out errors as I see them, because if I do it too much it ends up taking away from my enjoyment of the story. It's a weird place to be in. The reason I apologized (and didn't bring up earlier errors before) is because i'm never sure how any given author will take corrections (especially for issues that could be considered 'minor' to anyone else), and so I feel it best to apologize off the jump rather than not, until I learn otherwise.

So, if I did give offense, I apologize. C:

I adored this story, and I'd love to see more of it, but I completely understand if there's nothing left to say. I'll definitely follow you, though!

[SilverStar7]

6027755
I was in no way offended. To me, having grammatical and spelling errors in a story like this is like having something stuck in your teeth at a dinner party. It is far more embarrassing to get home at the end of the night, and realize it was there the whole time, than it is to have someone point it out at the start of the night so you can deal with it.

For now, I don't have plans to continue this story, but I would never rule anything like that out. Thanks for the follow.

[hawthornbunny]

6027262 - I reckon you'll see the parallels straight away if you watch it, but no spoilers. ^^ Like Final Destination, it's one of those horror movies that manages to be creepy just from the horrifying implications alone. Although, like many time travel movies, it does end up contradicting its own established time travel mechanics.

If you do watch it, try to find the alternate ending as well; the original ending of the movie was originally cut because I think people found a bit too unsettling, but I think it's a much more powerful one.

[hawthornbunny]

Finished! And wow, this is awesome! You did a great job of making each reality seem as concrete and genuine as every other. This was a really well-thought-out and executed story which stays true to the ideals of the show, too. I loved it. ^^

[ferret]

The moral felt a little sideways, but the imagery was top notch, and I really got into the characterization. Also it made me rant which I guess is a +something.

[Alphamon_Ouryuken]

6033295 Took the words right out of my mouth!

[Meta Four]

I found this story last week and binged it over the course of two days.

First, the bad: Throughout the story, you've got a big problem with dulled prose. I think you're breaking the "show, don't tell" rule-of-thumb, plus... I'm not quite sure how to describe it. But you describe things as states of being when you could depict them as actions, which blunts their impact. For example, just from this chapter:

Star Swirl had to grit his teeth and take a deep breath through his nostrils so that he didn't go on a tirade against the centaur.

You've already established that Star Swirl is pissed at Tirek. With that context, just describing his actions ("Star Swirl gritted his teeth and took a deep breath through his nostrils before speaking again.") is enough to imply that Star Swirl's fighting the urge to rant. So the "so that he didn't go on a tirade" isn't really necessary. Or if you still like the "tirade" bit too much to drop completely, you could make that another action. Reword it something like "Star Swirl gritted his teeth and took deep breaths through his nostrils, until the urge to launch into a tirade finally passed."

Or take this bit:

The anger in Star Swirl could be held back no longer. At that taunt, he turned his horn on Tirek and fired a beam of magic at the tyrant.

Don't tell us that Star Swirl is angry; show him acting angry. Emphasize his speed as he turns and shoots that magic missile. Maybe have him shout something incoherent as he does it. Is he just shooting off one long magic blast, or a bunch of short ones? Details like that.

Passages like that pop up all throughout the story. I understand if you'd rather not go back and extensively edit this whole story—just try to keep that in mind for any future stories you write.

Now, for the good: This was a very interesting and entertaining story. The early chapters, where Twilight's first few changes to the past seemed to work just fine, still had an undercurrent of vague unease that made me keep reading. Well before you drop the big bombshells, details like Owlowiscous disappearing, or Rainbow Dash being absent from the group hug, do a great job foreshadowing that something is not right. And when Twi noticed Spike's missing tail, that's when the story grabbed me by the throat—and it didn't let go until the very end.

You also took a plot that could have been a cliché—character gets a phenomenal new power; character misuses that power and screws up their life; character fixes their life by restoring the status quo and giving up their power—and you made it really work. You tied it in with a message about identity, and about the necessity of hardships and screwups. And you addressed the unfortunate implications that usually come from such a plot (namely "the moral of the story: don't rock the boat, kids!") by having your characters explicitly focus on making the future better. The whole finale and moral wouldn't feel out of place in an actual episode of the show.

On a completely different note: When Twilight tapped into her friends' magic in order to cast that spell one last time, I half expected this to result in all six of them traveling into the past the next time they fell asleep. That would have been crazy.

[cheesegal]

This story deserves to be more popular, it's so good that I spent literally all night reading it from beginning to end, I didn't get to sleep till past 5am but it was worth it

[cheesegal]

6305044 I don't think I should stay up that late reading mlp fiction ever again! Apperantly during family prayer this morning I kept saying Twilight instead of please and I couldn't even remember how to end the prayer, I can't even remember having family prayer this morning...

[Yami Vizzini]

That was a heck of a ride. And not too dark, if only because I binged through the depressing bits (Celestia being dead, the group finally suddenly arguing after they'd all seemed so supportive throughout) instead of letting them hang over my head.

[IWillEatYourShirt]

It's 2:37 AM and I have to get up early tomorrow. But it was worth it.
Great story, had me hooked from the start.

[SilverStar7]

200 Likes

I just noticed this threshold today and I want to say "thank you" to all who have supported this story. While I might have written a story that was more popular recently, this one is still my favorite and I consider it my masterpiece.

To have 200 readers appreciate the work I put into this story is fantastic. Thank you all.

[Munazza]

7015853 I did the 200th like. It was an awesome story, but honestly, I didn't understand any of the time travel part.

[Inky Scrolls]

7695067 That's a really good reason to write. Sometimes I think people can get disheartened when they think that very few people will read what they've written but, as you say, if even one person can read it and take enjoyment from it, then it was worth writing.

I'm glad I (unintentionally!) helped you to find the motivation to write this story; I look forward to reading more when I have the time!

[Zubric]

Might give this a re read st some point. The

[Zaid ValRoa]

Hello.

Last month, I made a review of this story. Not sure why I didn't post it here back then.

This was an engaging story, and I wish you the best for the future.

[Daring Starburst]

This story was amazing! I honestly wish it could be made into a movie!

[Zubric]

8639858
iI don’t hate the story, I just don’t really care for same-gender shippings. probably should have never made my comment in the first place to be honest. So my comment really doesn’t reflect the stoyr as whole, just one aspect.

[WUBZ-_-Vinyl]

Okay, I just got done reading this story in one sitting, and I must say. This was a great read! However, I still don't fully understand how when Spike gave the letter to past Twilight visiting her past self, how Twilight didn't somehow screw things up even further? Like, we all know Twilight likes to screw up at the drop of a hat sometimes. The letter didn't consist of any negative events, only a warning, and we know what happened in that episode where future Twilight met present Twilight. She still did it anyway. I suppose that's the one thing that I don't really understand from this story. The plot was good, the grammar was perfect, didn't even come across a single imperfection I don't think. The pacing was spot on in my opinion. Would I read this again? Well, I don't know. I'm fully aware of how this story ends and I know each and every event that happened so the exciting factor of the story would be gone knowing that I already know how this all pans out. But who knows? I just might read this again in a year or two just to experience it all over again despite the fact that I have impeccable memory when it comes to stories. However, I am sort of curious as to what happens to Discord after he got angry at Twilight for what she said to him and he disappeared. Here's my ratings.

Story 10/10
Pacing 10/10
Dialogue 10/10
Emotion factor 9/10

What can I say? It's a great story and I recommend anyone who is into this time travel business to give it a try! Good day :)

[Pony With A Box]

11137652
Ngl I don't remember what this story about or what my thought process was back in 2014 lol, but that makes sense.

Glad to see this site still going strong haha

[Andy Ray]

And that... is the sweetest!..

We need more fics like this!..

[Andy Ray]

11145256
To remind: this story is about Twilight improving everything by the means of past-error correction. Unfortunately, such correction is... tricky. Things get out of hoof!

My apologies, I cannot remind you about your thought process...

Why, of course this site is going strong! The ponies must prevail! [insert MLP parody of Daleks swearing to conquer the universe one day].

[SilverStar7]

11146997
Thank you for your thoughts as you read through this story! It's been great to see your reactions over the past week or so. Folks like you, who would find this story long after I wrote it, were honestly a huge motivation for me to push through and finish it. And I'm glad that you enjoyed it

To answer your question regarding why Twilight didn't travel to the start of Season 4, there are a couple of reasons. First, as Twilight potentially only had one shot at this, and preventing any of her changes should at least restore her alicornship, it seems reasonable to try to eliminate as many changes as possible. Second, I actually started writing this before Season 4, and wrote the bulk during Season 4. I can't remember for certain, but I probably wrote some of that chapter before deciding that I would use the start of Season 4 as the justification for Celestia's death. The writing process for this was rather disjointed.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this, and I hope you'll use today to give yourself a brighter future tomorrow.

[Andy Ray]

11148470
Knowing you were touched by my reading and my commenting fills me with determination.

Initiate getting emotional !..
Initiate hugging like bros!..

I was afraid you were gone...

Good advice right at the end. Must build my future... or I'm done-for... Done-for!..

Even though right now I could use a little past-error-correcting... To bring back online the person, who introduced me to MLP ...

Maybe, it's better this way...

Suddenly... thinking of Pinkie looping through the day she'd cloned herself, till she passed Twilight's test ...

...Wait...

So it's been YOU, who's given my comments all those likes ?!.. ... !