Against the Current

by Boldish42

Twilight

Eventually I created a spell, my great gift to my teacher, friend, love. I say great gift because with time travel involved, ‘final’ gets a bit difficult to define. Anyway, my ‘secret unfinished masterpiece’ will eventually have made it to her. Masterpiece my left hind hoof it doesn’t even rhyme. Celestia will probably tell her something about how I didn’t understand friendship or something. Ha! Nope! All part of my convoluted, twisted, temporal paradoxical plan! Helps to know it’s going to work in advance.

Don’t understand friendship indeed. ‘Oh look at me! I’m Celestia. I know so much more than old crazy Star Swirl so I’ll just go through his magic mirror to make out with Good Sombra! Mwa Mwa Mwa!’ Take that Sunbutt! Yeah I’m still steamed about that.

Also since I know you’re reading this right now Celestia, along with Spike, Rarity, Pinkie, AJ, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and your sister. I’ll have to ask that you don’t tell Twilight the specifics of my feelings for her. I wrote this so she could know one day, but not today.

And yes I do know what day it is that you read this. So no telling!

Or, you know, reality splitting paradox.

See ya all soon! By the way, Thirty minutes are up.

*****

Everyone just sat there.

“Sooo… That was the weirdest thing ever for me. How about you guys?” Rainbow questioned the room.

“Having my old friend turn out to be the time travelling, time-crossed lover and student of my student call me ‘sunbutt’? Not even top five. Though it was unique… Number seven. No six.” Celestia mused.

Everybody else looked around.

“Yep,s’pose it’s right up there for me too. Even countin Discord.” AJ summed up all their thoughts rather well.

Then the door exploded.

“REPORT! I can’t believe I forgot about your report! I’m already one minute and thirty seven seconds late collecting it!” Twilight exclaimed, much more of her mane having sprung up, indicating her descending mental state. “What did you find out!!? What did it say?!”

“Twilight, dear, you read it as well, we know what you know.” Rarity tried to reason with her.

“No! You saw something I didn’t and I have to know what! The perception filter won’t let me read much!”

…

“What?”

Twilight could only look at them with confused disbelief. “The perception filter? They prevent ponies from seeing things, in this case words. Princess you’re the one who taught them to me, you mean you didn’t notice it?”

Celestia picked the journal back up from where she set it and began to scrutinize it intensely. “You’re correct Twilight, there is a filter here, but… It’s odd. It’s so.. specific, it’s unusual makeup makes it almost unnoticeable, even more so for the one it works on. How did you ever notice it?”

“Well.. because I was looking for it. Ever since you showed me that spell I’ve scanned every book I’ve ever read since. You know, just in case.” Twilight had the sense to look sheepish at this admission.

Once more everyone found themselves staring.

“Every book. Every single one. Twilight, dear that’s… how to say this?” Rarity trailed off, thinking deeply

“Crazy?” Rainbow deadpanned.

“Well, yes but I was trying to say it with more tact.”

“Eccentric perhaps?” Luna offered.

“Oh oh oh! Bonko! Nuts! Deranged!” Pinkie rattled off.

Twilight looked un-amusedly at them. “I prefer prudent. Anyway, forgetting how most of my friends apparently think I’m insane, please tell me what you’ve found.”

Celestia now had Twilight’s muzzle against her own, the smaller pony somehow eye to eye with her. Right, wings. My she certainly is getting used to them, I wonder if she.. wrong time.

“Well, Twilight, you see it gets a bit complicated there..”

And then, in a flash of blue, Star Swirl was deposited on top of Twilight Sparkle.

“WooHoo! Right side up! Another jump and I think I’ll have the whole dodging thing down! Great news, eh Twi?” The grey stallion declared proudly, stroking his fantastic, though short, beard.

“Mmmpphh.”

“Twi what’s the deal? You’re usually better at not getting crushed under my rear, You sick or something?”

Twilight stood on her hooves, looked up, and froze. “You.. You’re.. Star Swirl the Bearded! Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh! Star Swirl the Bearded!! I am your biggest fan! Wait, what are you doing here? No! Wait! How did you overcome the thaumatalogical instabilities inherent in temporal displacement matrices?!?”

For everypony and dragon who had seen the memory of Star Swirl’s Cutie Mark, the look of crushing realization on Star’s face was painful to behold. Even Twilight couldn’t miss it, despite the stars in her eyes, though she didn’t know what it was.

“I’m sorry, I just got so excited, you probably hate it when fans crowd you. I’ll uh, give you some space.”

At that, the look on Star’s face broke, slowly changing to a smile. “Don’t you dare. So this is the first time you’ve met me, huh? Well then, I have something I’ve been dying to tell you.”

“Hello Twilight Sparkle, I’m Star Swirl. Pardon me, I’m still growing the beard. Would you like to be my friend?”

-----

Some Years Later…

“Star Swirl, there you are! I’ve been looking for you all over. Could you give me a hoof with some of these calculations?” Twilight trotted out onto a balcony where Star Swirl was watching the sunset. “Star? Are you alright?”

The stallion sighed, looking away from the dying day. “No, I’m not alright, but that’s alright, right?” He smirked at his lame word play/philosophical thought. “I’m going away tonight, I can’t hold it back any more.”

“What? Well where are you going? I could come. Just let me pack and I’ll..” The look on his face, it was the same as when she first met him. So very sad. “I can’t come, can I?”

“No. I’m about to leap through time again.”

“Of course that’s what you meant. I’m so stupid.” She couldn’t help but bow her head. Until a gentle hoof lifted her chin back up.

“It’s ok to be forgetful, or foalish, or even ignorant. But, Twilight you have never been stupid. That’s not to say you’ve never done anything stupid, but that’s different.”

…

“pffff Ha!”

“We’re pretty bad with serious moments aren’t we?”

“At least with each other!” They both giggled, leaning against each other for support, until they found themselves in a comfortable silence.

“I’ve been fighting it, you know? The spell has been trying to whisk me off for months now. Can’t hold it back anymore though, going to be a big snap this time. At least I think it will, never can tell…. This is the last time I’m ever going to see you.”

Twilight looked to him, the stallion she had become so used to, tears welling in her eyes.

Seeing that, Star Swirl tried to help. “Oh! Don’t worry though, you’ll see me quite a few times yet.”

“It’s not that… It’s..”

“I know.”

Once more silence between them. The Ponyville bell could be heard in the distance, birds chirped, etc etc.

“It’s funny, this moment comes.. and I have no idea what to say.” Twilight admitted. “I mean, just talking seems like it would be a waste, but saying would be important. I’m making no sense am I?”

“No, I understand. And I think there is only one thing to say.” Star Swirl faced Twilight full on, leaning against her.

“I love you.”

Who moved in for the kiss first, neither could say, it didn’t matter. They shared the moment, until, the taste of kiwis, a flash of blue, and then Twilight was alone.

-----

The little filly tried, oh she tried her best, but this enemy was powerful. Stupid eyelids, stupid tiredness, stupid hypnotic letters that just droned on and on lulling her ever onward to sleep…

Fwump!

Awake! She was awake! Nope! No sleeping here! Sleeping fillies had to leave the library and she wasn’t sleeping! Nuh-uh!

“Uhhh, no more soft landings I guess…” A strange stallion was picking himself off the floor.

Twilight thought he looked really funny with those silly robes.

“Are you ok mister?” She inquired innocently.

The silly stallion whirled around to find a little purple pony. Cutie Mark or no, Star knew this filly.

“Oh, who me? Fine, just fine. Say, what have you got there?” He tried to shift her attention away with her pile of books.

“What, this? It’s magic books! I’ve got Copperfield’s Complete Compendium, and Hoofdini’s How To, and..”

“What!? No! Nonononono! What are you reading this… stuff for? Actually stage magics not that bad, I mean I have a many times great grandmother who was pretty accomplished at it, The Great and something or other. That’s where I got the idea for the robes. But you! You want real magic right?! Of course you do! I can see it in your eyes. So tell you what. Try… this!”

Pulling books off the shelves Star found what he was looking for. Laying it down in front of Twilight he smirked.

“Star Swirl the Bearded’s Seriously Superior Spells? I don’t know, sounds kind of dumb.”

Star deflated faster than a balloon.

“Young filly! Why, I’ll have you know that Star Swirl the Bearded was one of the most influential and powerful spell crafters of history! I mean look! I’m even dressed up like him! And I’m just some random stallion!”

“I thought you said that it was your grandma’s dress?”

“It’s a robe, and it can be both!” The pull of time hit Star then, nearly knocking the air right out of him. “Ah! Oh! Oh look at the time! Well, I must be off, good luck with your entrance exam!”

And then the silly stallion ran off. Twilight thought she saw a flash of blue, but she was pretty tired.

How’d he know about my exam? She wondered as she turned back to the new book in front of her.

Author's Note:

Not the end just yet. So how am I doing? Any good? Any suggestions? Etc etc.

Comments

[Loeden]

Loved this! And oh my gosh, I've seen Trixie as a SS descendant, but never an ancestress! I laughed like a madwoman at that part. Looking forward to the ending, even if it's a bit mind-bending.

[Boldish42]

4522751 Thanks that really means a lot. Seriously it does.