A little loopy.

by FaelaArts

SSL27

Loop 27

My god, he’s gone. My assistant is gone. My poor assistant, putting up with the draining sensation while diligently working as I asked.

I never expected that being in the same place as him when the loop resets would end in this. I crept into his room at the end of a loop, knowing this was where he had been six hours ago. I anticipated him to appear in front of me, like he had when I had watched from the hallway.

He didn’t.

It’s been two loops and he still hasn’t returned. I fear I might have removed him from the loop. Whether that means he has just moved on to after the loop, or been removed completely, I cannot tell, but I must be absolutely sure to avoid looping in wide open areas from now on. What if someone happens to have a starting position in those areas?

I fear what this might mean for the future. My magic continues to grow, the headaches growing harder to ignore. I’m running out of spells to maintain to keep the headaches down. I might have to create a new spell to do so. Maybe something that will allow me to levitate the moon. But I couldn’t do that to Luna.

Maybe the world would suffice, but am I at the stage where I could even attempt such feats?

That thought both excites me, and chills me to the bone.

Either way, I am working on creating a spell to seal off my magic for a few moments. If I time it right, I can cut off my magic as the loop ends. It is possible that is the means for escape. Either way, I must ensure my body can survive without my spells that currently maintain my life. It is risky, death might come before I can reapply them.

So much unknown, and yet I feel time slowly ticking down.

Comments

[ChrisCornflake]

Welp, that's not ominous at all.

[Mad Maudlin]

Signs indicate that Sweetie Belle's own age resets, as Starswirl managed to make the last 6 hours of his life last for a rather long time.

Now the question becomes.. does she keep the muscle growth and muscle memory? *muttermutter*Alicorn Sweetie*muttermutter*

And Rainbow Dash might've been a better choice, given that she has actual martial arts training.

[Darkus Relling]

This is a really good time loop story. Keep going!

[TheGreatEater]

5363765

That is the kicker, muscle memory, since it is memory. I'd think would pass, but I don't know about growth. And yes, Sweeticorn FTW!

[Crimsion Ink]

Finally, something loop related

[meerkat8472]

It's just as well that Sweeties loop resets to the middle of the night. That time she died outside could have really screwed things up for some ponies otherwise. I hope Sweetie has read this, it'd be awful if she went into Rarity's room as it reset. Because the end time and start time are both midnight, Rarity would most likely be there at both times. Then she'd be gone.

[you that read wrong]

Looks like star swirl's assistant got....
doseoffunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Sq5VFjp.gif

[Jirodyne]

5364467 Indeed, I questioned that would happen if she was in the room that someone resets, but it does bring up a question. Is it only because he was at the starting point without the person already there? And what would happen if the person was there at their reset point with him when the loop ended? Would nothing change and they just die normally and then never appear again? or would something else happen since there has been a change?

[DireCormos]

Am I really the only one who remembered the teddy bear? It came back and so will anyone else.

[Lunar_Repulican]

5364902 Those poor bees...they died by stinging each other...what a waste of life...

[iloveportalz0r]

5381056 ;_;

[Columba]

The teddy bear people! TEDDY BEAR!!!!!!

[Magatsu Orpheus]

...Did they ever find the assistant after Starswirl broke out of the loop?

[Amethyst Blade]

How the hell do I read this chapter...the entire think is blank....though i know there are words in it...

[Midna Diane Pie]

But I couldn’t do that to Luna.

Wait, how long ago was Star Swirl the Bearded? if he was living over 1000 years ago, then my confusion is over nothing. But if he lived in Luna's banishment, this makes no sense.

[Primary Source]

6290320

The comics and The Journal of the Two Sisters place Celestia, Luna, and Star Swirl in the same time period prior to Luna's banishment. The Journal mentions that Celestia and Luna first met him at their coronation.

In the episode Luna Eclipsed, he was called, "the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era." Pre-classical isn't clearly defined but the term suggests a time period that is long past. Luna also recognizes Twilight's costume in that episode; she compliments Twilight, "Thou even got the bells right," as if she is very familiar with Star Swirl's outfit.

It's funny; all these sources pretty solidly place Star Swirl in a certain time period, at least for a good chunk of his life. Other events aren't nearly as well-calendared--like when the heck did Discord first show up? How many years did he spend as a lawn ornament?

[Strange Entity]

I don't get it, though. Why would he die after the six hours?

[EnderHooves]

7275599 Well, I think it was because he has extended his life as long as he could and now he feels death stalking around that infinite corner of the loops.
The way I see it, his like is like an hour glass. Normally, sand doesn't fill the entire glass, and the act of sand going through the center point is the act of life. What he did added more sand to the top. But he didn't consider that the sand at the bottom would fill up completely. Since sand can't flow into a filled hole, life stops. Maybe the loops are, for him, like shaking the hourglass, forcing some of the sand back to the top.

[Pseudonymous]

Well, it looks like Sweety removed every camper and homeless pony from existence.
That's quite a weight to bear.

[JazzyWaffles]

It’s been two loops and he still hasn’t returned. I fear I might have removed him from the loop. Whether that means he has just moved on to after the loop, or been removed completely, I cannot tell, but I must be absolutely sure to avoid looping in wide open areas from now on. What if someone happens to have a starting position in those areas?

Oh. Sweetie was outside. Ponies may have started outside. Sweetie may have killed countless ponies.

I... didn't think of this. This is bad.

[Twilight_the_spy]

7275599
I know this is extremely late, but it may also help future readers with the same question.

When Starswirl ended his loop, he didn't end it in the room the assistant was currently in, instead he did so in the same room his assistant would "respawn" at at the start of the next loop. Due to the fact that whatever room he is in is kept the same... The assistant couldn't "respawn" there.

Thus, the assistant was either killed or perhaps completely wiped from existence (or was lucky, and like Starswirl wrote, was just 'moved' to be outside the loop). Honestly, unless more info appears later... who knows what happened to the assistant.

---

Edit: I realize now that as it is 5am and I apparently am not in the proper mind to read and analyze things, that I should go to sleep.

After rereading your question I've now come to the conclusion that you were asking about Starswirl, not the assistant. Hopefully more answers for that will reveal themselves later, but my thoughts are that he's just extended his life so much that if any of his life extension spells failed his body would attempt to "catch up" to his age. Ultimately that would result in his demise.

[Sozmioi]

5395429
What? They had a midair collision, no stingers made contact. With them that small, it's hard to see how they would be more than stunned. Might recover before they even hit the ground.

[Teraunce]

9295845
Thankfully that reset was a death reset so she reset back into her room, otherwise yeah that would have been very bad.