After discovering some more of Star Swirl’s unfinished spells, Twilight's curiosity causes her to cast one, in spite of Spike's warnings. To her surprise, the spell doesn’t seem to do anything. Frightened that perhaps she repeated her previous mistake from Magical Mystery Cure, she rushes to Ponyville only to find everything is as it should be. After this, she agrees not to try to fix any more spells and goes to sleep...
Only to wake up in the past.
Using this opportunity, she begins to correct past mistakes. There are some setbacks, but overall Twilight believes she is making the world better.
Yet as she seeks to fix the problems of her past, she will find that sometimes past mistakes are exactly what our future needs.
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For those wondering about continuity with events in the show, chronologically, I'd say the events take place just before the episode Filli Vanilli. The basic outline of this story was actually planned out before season 4 began and much of it was written before the end of season 4.
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This fiction was featured on Dec. 9, 2014 - Now that's a great Hearth's Warming present. Thanks guys. 
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If you want to know more about the writing process for this story, you can check out my blog post More About "More About Time" for, well, more about this story.
No comments?!?
This sounds good! Can't wait to read the next chapters!
So you could say Owlicious... FLEW THE COOP!
;)
Facepalm aaaand Twilight hasn't learned a darn thing from her talk with AJ let's see how screwed up AJ's life will be in two-three chapters though I think I know how this will be resolved
4142196
Oh, she did learn something. But not the thing she was supposed to..
I bet she will go back and stop herself from casting the spell.
I guess this is how Starswirl went crazy...
Another great chapter!
Can't wait to read more!
Also, never question the almighty Pinkie Pie
"Still, the mare's words of warning were important to her, so she knew she wouldn't be visiting the applebuck season episode."
SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE SHOW EVERYONE PANIC
Lol
Aaaannnywho, another great chapter, and it seemed a good length to me.
More spaced out chapters are fine, you have a life too (I'm assuming, unless you are a robot sent from the future to write fanfics for some convoluted evil plan).
Can't wait for more!
4142432
Ah, but if she stopped herself from casting the spell, she wouldn'tve ever went back in time and stopped herself from casting the spell. So she would've casted it. (Insert Doctor Who reference here)
4146505
Except the story already establishes that except for the observer, time is non-linear.
It would probably unravel all the changes and there won't be a reason for Twilight to go back...
4147149
Wibbly wobbly
Timey Wimey
4142432
4142196
To be honest I have actually changed the ending several times. The whole story, in fact, is totally different from how I first imagined it. I have two chapters, one nearly complete, that will not be used. I may even change the ending again before I finish.
4146501
I'm glad someone caught that little joke.
I agree the length turned out fine. It was hard to cut what I wrote, but I think the story is better for it. The writing process for this has been quite interesting because of how dynamic this story has become. It has sometimes seems to write itself and other times stubbornly refuses to be written.
Must...Read...Chapter! Wait. There isn't a Crazy Twilight Emoticon. Aww
Well this'll have to do.
Uh Oh. Twilight's gunna be looked at like she's crazy throughout this book isn't she. Just calling it now.
4146471 NEVER EVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE EVER QUESTION PINKIE PIE OR HER LOGIC. EVER.
Comment, comment, comment and I was like comment comment and then she said comment comment so yeah all in all I said comment comment comment and that's how I got to this story.
YAY!!! First Comment! Woo Hoo. I love this story!
Another good chapter to another excellent story! Looking forward to more!
Also, I like that quote at the beginning
I am quite curious to see how the other side of the coin looks. To achieve such dreams causes some backlash, that article takes up a story spot, the spot on the wonderbolts should've gone to someone else. I can also imagine that the further back we go the bigger the changes get, how much longer til we get
Jeez Twilight, you singlehandedly arrange a deal where Rainbow Dash can get some cider and you're surprised when she's now your lesbian lover?
*Puts on SWAT armor* OK shit storm that Twilight once again created I'm ready for you.
Ohhh smooth. Sending the spells to Celestia so she wouldn't suspect Twi was trying to use them in secret. I bet this spell is also the reason the Alicorn Amulet exists. If not Star Swirl, some other ambitious would-be time traveller attempted to turn unicorn magic into alicorn magic. ...it ended badly.
A little question... In your story, what happen with the Cutie Mark Crusaders?
I mean... If Rainbow is in Cloudsdale, Scootaloo is not going to be with her hero too much time
And now that Applejack have too much work... What about Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom?
Are you going to put in your story what happened to them?
So everyone got what they wanted but that doesn't mean they got what they needed right?
Also what happened to Spike? Slowly erased from existence? Timberwolf? Another CMC mishap? Dragons? Cruel ponies or did Twilight accidently blow it off herself? How can he be balanced without tail support? Does he at least have a stump or is he all buttocks now?
"Oh well, a tail isn't all that serious. There were bound to be some negative consequences, so instead of freaking out at the slightest hint of one, I will deal with them responsibly."
- not Twilight Sparkle
I'm guessing that with AJ being so busy on the farm she didn't save Spike so he did escape bunt not before the timberwolves bit off his tail
4573700
The section didn't really fit with the direction of the story (and I'm actually going to be turning one of my ideas into another story after I finish this one). I wanted them in the story originally, but I don't want to shoehorn them in needlessly. Still, perhaps I could make room for them again. 
I'll be honest here. In an earlier version of the story, the CMC were going to be featured. I later took that section out.
There were actually months of planning involved in the creation of this story, and it looked completely different from what is being produced now. I think I'll make a blog post when I'm finished to talk about what this story could have been, because I think the original ideas are interesting but I don't intend to write a separate Twilight time travel tale.
4574664
The idea that what we want is not necessarily what we need is a big theme of this story. Our pasts are vital, but who would not be tempted to change something?
4574664 and 4579137
As for speculation about the cause of Spike's lost tail, as a general rule I don't like giving out spoilers. However, if you would like one, SPOILER: --Hawkx1 is apparently a mind reader; that is what I have written--
4582665 Woohooo
I really love where this story is going, keep up the good work!
I think the dragon code of Spike is going to make Twilight prediction fail
There are a-l-w-a-y-s negative side effects
Oh goodie a stright ship....fuck!!! really people Dash as a lesbain buck I hate that everywhere I go. JUst GRRRRR *rage mode*
"There shouldn't be any negative side effects this time"
Twilight? Phone for you. A Mr Murphy. No, no message, just hysterical laughter.
So... if this last change... changed that Twilight was an Alicorn...
Does that mean this time she can't change it back? No more time travel, now that Celestia is dead.
Oh yeah, and shit just got serious.
5172962 oh woe your right . She stuck without enough power , quick to the dilorine - back to the future theme -
A thothy if flim and flam never did that con with the tonic then how well applejack get her key ? Oh dear twilght had screwed up hehe thiugh that meta info
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No because Applejack couldn't the when you and Celstia didn't so there!
oh no, what have she done?
Eh poor speculation deleted.
4247886
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Emoticons/misc_Twilight_crazy.png?wrap=true
what twilight gonna do?
Oh Twilight, the spell did make your life a dream, but it wasn't talking about your new life.
The problem you have now is that fixing this is no longer as simple as stopping yourself from going back. You have lost your beginning. The current timeline does not have you ever getting the spell.
It is a shame that you did not trust Luna. If you do want to go back again, you are probably stuck in this timeline until you ascend HERE, and that is going to be harder than the first time. Even when you do ascend, no matter what time you go back to, you are not going to be able to get a full restoration.
5352696
To continue the analogy from the start of this chapter, rebuilding a house of cards is not as simple as returning the card that toppled it to the box. And without the time spell, it's like trying to fix the house with her hooves and horn tied behind her back. That said, such a thing is not impossible - just incredibly difficult.
It can be easy to get lost in stories that involve time travel. I am glad that people are understanding all of these problems. 5172962 quickly noted that Twilight can't return and you noted the problem of there not being a starting point. As Twilight discovered when talking to Rainbow Dash in chapter 9, this is all one cohesive timeline. We are not dealing with a multiverse. While the solution would be easier, it would be even more confusing...
5347377
That's fair. Compared to how Twilight's situation looks now, Spike missing his tail is more fun than going to one of Pinkie's parties.
5353299
2.bp.blogspot.com/-28iEoqzrZoA/UElmwg6UEGI/AAAAAAAA27M/zVqSygUHid8/s640/1.JPG
so what twilight gonna do after tell luna her story?
BUSTED... It is hard to put anything over on the Lunar Princess... Unless you are really practiced, your dreams will always betray you.
I keep getting reminded of Butterfly Effect while reading this fic. I can't shake the feeling that sooner or later Twilight screws up majorly and causes her past self to not get sent to Ponyville, not become an alicorn or end in a mental hospital.
We can already see her starting to mess up things up, for instance, Rainbow will already be in the Wonderbolts Equestrian Games team and won't get her rainbow key unless Harmony/the universe can create another scenario to get it, and even then, she probably wouldn't be in Ponyville to deal with Tirek.
Could not Twilight say the spell to Luna? I mean, after using it too much, she could have it memorized.
It's that, or ask Discord to help her travel to the past, after all it was because of him.
5400241
Yes, Twilight wants to teach Luna the spell. The problem is not Twilight's memory, but Luna's unwillingness to use it.
I'm sorry that wasn't clear. I'll need to make sure to edit and possibly revise these chapters after I finish. I hope I'm not sacrificing quality just to finish this story sooner.
And as for Discord... he's in the next chapter I'll be posting.
5362933
Well, that's the question now. If Luna won't help, what can she do?
5405822 If Luna don't want, there is still Cadence... She is the alicorn of Love and the ex foalsitter of Twilight, maybe she listen.
The problem is that Luna really really really shouldn't use that spell.
First off it would introduce a paradox. Twilight being, well, at least mentally isolated from the effects of her own time travel means when she changes history it doesn't hurt your brain to think about it. But if Luna changes history, then Twilight's no exception to that. What if Luna's changes inadvertently prevent Twilight from learning the spell in the first place? Then how would she teach it to Luna? In fact, Luna's past has the library ruined by the vines and her Twilight never discovered anything, so if Luna goes back and makes some positive, but ultimately ineffective change, would that reset Twilight so she remembered the library being destroyed and never heard of a time spell? But nothing about Twilight's new past determines her memories now, so why would that change? Would Twilight still be a time traveller, in a slightly different body from Luna's changes? In short, paradoxes are really freaking annoying to deal with.
And secondly, this spell destroys alicorns. It unprincesses ponies. If any spell could do that, and I was a princess, I would only cast it in an XK class end-of-world scenario. Why do you think Star Swirl the Bearded figured out how to ascend to an alicorn, but remained a unicorn his entire life? Because he cast this very spell, went back and fucked up his own ascension. So instead of Princess Beard you have Star Swirl the unicorn, leaving a note to never ever ever ever ever this means you Twilight ever use this spell.
Thirdly, Luna's feelings are important. Could she really face her sister again, knowing of the sacrifice made to save her? It would feel like a cheap way out, would alienate her from her sister who couldn't understand what Luna has been through. Celestia deserves to live in an un-fucked timeline where things didn't get pushed around trying to make the future better, but Luna deserves to have ponies look at her and realize what a horror she's been through, not look at her and wonder why she is having crazy dreams about her sister dying.
But... if... or rather when Twilight manages to ascend again, or to convince Luna to use this spell... there is only one slight change the traveller needs to make that will fix everything, as long as they only change that one little thing. I would suggest some time right after the Empire reappears. The traveller must follow her original schedule to the letter, with the very slight exception of leaving a note for Celestia saying the elements need to be returned to the tree before a terrible infection destroys everything they love, mentioning time travel, the seeds, and the scene with Discord that only Celestia and Luna would have been witness to of course. I suggest the Empire because it's a good landmark, and because when they return the elements to the tree then, and later S3E10 rolls around, Celestia is going to be like, "Oops, was gonna free you, but I guess those plunder seeds of yours fucked up that idea. Oh well, ta ta!"
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