5. Act
5. Act
There was one matter that Shooting Star needed to tend even before finding the young Trixie. She owed it to Professor Starlight to show her younger self how to teleport safely. This would be less complex than Star’s other goals but still not exactly easy by any means. A major concern was that rather than being just another mare in the crowd, Star was definitely going to be memorable to Starlight Glimmer. The young unicorn frowned as she stared at her own cutie mark. The golden star with its fiery tail trailing behind was very distinctive, especially against her silvery coat.
The last thing I need is to have Professor Starlight recognize my cutie mark the day I first show up to classes. Or would it even work that way? Star wondered. If she was going to recognize me then wouldn’t she have already done so? No, because I haven’t yet committed myself. Even if effect could precede cause, it is not immune to cause. This is a solvable problem. I’ll need to cover my mark and then? Well, I can’t be a blank flank. That would be a bit odd. So I need to draw something in its place. What, though? It has to be simple because I’m a lousy artist. It’ll need to be simple and bland and totally forgettable. I’ll just draw two lines. That will do. Simple, easy, and boring! With the proper stage paint applied, Shooting Star went in search of a young unicorn of great potential.
Appearing on the dirt road a short walk outside a small village, Shooting Star took up her role as a simple traveler stopping for food and lodging. She was a performer offering a little show for the foals in thanks for the hospitality, Shooting Star arrived in the village about mid morning. On the calendar, it was a weekend. After paying for a pleasant lunch, Shooting Star introduced herself as ‘Minerva’, ‘Mare of Mystery’ Okay, so it's a bit pretentious but it’ll hold. Besides, I’m playing a role here. I have to be the role. Now to spot a very very bright young filly with an interest in magic and a mind like a steel trap!
As expected, the young Starlight Glimmer was easy to spot.
“So? What do you think of my little show?” Shooting Star asked her after performing a small act for the village foals. As she expected, Starlight’s interest had definitely been drawn as she sat in fascination throughout the show.
“It’s amazing! Did you study at Princess Celestia’s school? I want to go there someday but my mom and dad said that if you aren’t a pony from Canterlot, you have to be REALLY good at magic.”
“I learned these tricks from a great stage mare. She was a powerful magician I met while traveling. That’s when I realized that you could find some of the best magic in unexpected places. So I travel from place to place, learning what I can.”
“Is that why your cutie mark is a road?” Young Starlight asked.
“A road?” Star answered in confusion and then looked at her flank and seeing it. “To tell you the truth I’ve never really thought about it. Sometimes I think ponies place too much importance on cutie marks.”
“Yeah, That’s true.” The filly agreed. “Miss Minerva? Can you teach me some of your magic?”
“I don’t see why not!"
And so Star spent the next couple of days tutoring the young Starlight in basic magic spells and theory, gauging the foal’s aptitude and potential. It was hardly a surprise that young Starlight clearly measured in the top one percent of unicorns in her magic potential. False modesty aside, Shooting Star was quite proud of her own abilities but she seriously doubted if she were in Starlight Glimmer’s league. At the end of the second day, ‘Minerva’ smiled and tore a sheet from her notebook and jotted down one last formula for her student.
“I have to continue my travels in the morning but before I leave, I have one last piece of magic for you to study. This is the formula for a teleportation spell. We will practice it and you must show it to nopony. This is for you alone.”
“I promise Miss Minerva!” Starlight avowed earnestly as she clutched her mentor’s notes in her magic.
It was with fascination and delight that years later Starlight noticed that her mentor had left one last hidden gift on that page.
One day Starlight would use that clue left for her and her alone to uncover the means to gain her revenge.
Stats
Page generated in 0.023 seconds
Total duration
617 users online
1,167,595 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well at the very least, this means that Shooting Star is is constructing a stable time loop, rather than rewriting history. Unless of course, certain events are fated to be, but the details of how they are caused is malleable.
Does Shooting Star have a plan to make the safe teleportation spell propogate throughout ponykind? Because if she only teaches it to Starlight and Twilight, there are other capable spellcasters out there who will continue using the old version. Either knowledge of the old version needs to be thoroughly erased/replaced with the safe spell, or it needs to become common knowledge that the old spell is dangerous.
You didn't. You didn't just.
Oh, boy. That there Butterfly Effect is about to happen, isn't it.
8015229
Shooting Star is trying to manipulate history to obtain the outcome she wants. Her aims are pure. Problem is that the very attempt makes her history's tool in return.
but why? Why not go back to the origin of the spell's creation and swap out the spells there? Why not go back in time and tell Celestia and have her shepherd the swap over time so no one is the wiser?
The initial plan was selfish because it was only for Twilight, so it was okay if it was for only one or two people. But the new plan acknowledges that was selfish and tries for more than just her. But if the plan is to help more than just Twilight it would be easier to help hundreds of thousands without screwing up the timeline than it would be to help 3 or 4.
8015640
Shooting Star actually considered that. It was the first thing she thought of. Problem is that the further back in time she goes, the harder it would be to move about discreetly and the greater the risk of doing unforeseen damage to the timeline. Her worst fear is setting up a time paradox where by simply providing the correct spell, she eliminates the need for Twilight to tell her the story. Therefore Shooting Star never goes back with the corrected time spell.
She has adapted her original plans quite a bit, however. She does not want this to be happening to other ponies either but there is a reason she does not want Starlight Glimmer to share her knowledge: She is trying to make sure not to alter Starlight's destiny (Not realizing she helped create it.)
As for the rest of it: She still has to make sure she doesn't break time first. She has tests to make that if she fails could very easily condemn her to be a body in a large and tragic pile. She has saved one pony (Or series of ponies) That was the easy part.
The next test is a bit scarier for her.
8015720 bah I still think going as far back as you can and telling Celestia the whole story and making her complicit in making sure everything fell into place would be the best bet. She's the chess master who everyone always says knows something of the future anyway.
But whatever, time travel is almost always pointless in most stories anyway unless the writer is breaking the rules or making no sense.
8016408
That's an interesting thing about time travel in MLP. On the one hand, we have seen time as immutable. On the other hand, it is very fragile. And Shooting Star is clever... Maybe almost as clever as she thinks she is, but she's not nearly Celestia level wise.
8014412 oh, now i get it: her fake mark looks like =
8016812
There are only 4 canonical approaches to time travel
1. Bootstrap paradox. The moment travel had happenened, the exact moment signifies new changein Universe, failure or success, noone can stop it. May create a closed time loop. Usual plot device of short stories of classics.
2. Time travel can happen and creates new universe. Original traveller moves along the time axis of new universe into their own time. May create paradox of existing after erasing self. Original universe looses them. Most popular plot device.
3. Immutable or partially immutable timeline. If alternate universes are considered, traveller is unable to join new timestream physically. Sometimes such timetravel possible through non-physical means - sending information or consciousness, e.g. like Visitors. Partially immutable time - there are key events where traveller can jump streams. Doctor Who. A variety of this is the singularity rollover time travel - time travel possible only by moving into future, but one can jump into next iteration of universe after its death and new big boom: see War Eternal.
4. There is only one universe but changes created by time travel aren't instant or definite. Time and space are malleable and causing paradoxes may create artefacts\remnants of another time, odd entangled changes. Erased traveller may be on some kind of timer , perhaps protected by technology or some soft laws of universe. Star trek, DC comic TV series, specifically the Flash.