My Thoughts on Starswirl the Bearded's Role in Season 4

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

I've seen a lot of threads about Starswirl the Bearded recently, many of them theorizing that he'll return either as a villian or an ally in season 4. At first, I was very skeptical of these theories; it just sounded improbable to me. However, with more thought, I think it makes perfect sense for Twilight to meet Starswirl. These are my thoughts on how that may come to pass in season 4.

 

With her transformation and new Alicorn state, Twilight and her friends are bound to have endless questions about these things. Who better to answer them than the writer of the spell which transformed her in the first place?

 

We already know that going back in time is possible as shown in It's About Time. I believe that Twilight (and possibly the Mane 6 + maybe Spike) will travel back many, many, many years to before the very founding of Equestria in order to speak to Starswirl. We do not know how much magic energy and skill it would take to travel back that far. It could be an amount beyond the levels of any living unicorn, perhaps any in history. However, Twilight was probably the most powerful unicorn in Equestria (that we know of, and besides The Great and Powerful Trixie of course) at the time of her transformation. That ability she already possessed plus her new Alicorn form would make her incredibly powerful when it comes to magic. If anyone could pull off a time travel spell to go back thousands of years, it would be Twilight (with possibly the help of Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and/or Shining Armor).

 

So anyways, Twilight uses the time travel spell to go way back in time, speaks to Starswirl, and discovers the true nature and meaning of her transformation. This would answer many of the questions left behind from the season finale, as well as give us some insight into pre- or early Equestrian times. I think it would be an amazing way to explain things to both Twilight and the brony audience.

 

Also, I noticed a potentially large flaw with this theory as I'm writing this, so I guess I'll point it out now. If Twilight did go back and speak to Starswirl, it's likely that it would've affected Twilight's present. This is because Starswirl's time travel spell does not seem to create alternate timelines with each use, but rather something of a loop like it did in It's About Time, where by the time the spell is used, the consequences of the time travel have already affected the user. If Twilight were to go back like I've suggested, her actions in the past would have to somehow lead to the present events without changing anything. It's possible to do, but it would take much more depth and thought from the writers.

 

NOTE: Though I think (or rather hope) it's likely he'll return in some form in season 4 (likely in the parts 2 and 3 of Magical Mystery Cure), I think it's unlikely that Starswirl is Discord. Just personal opinion, it doesn't make much sense to me.

 

tl:dr- Alicorn princess lady breaks physics and meets pony Gandalf.

[Kamil 315]

Twilight goes back in time, talks to Starswirl, prompts Starswirl to create time travel spell.

 

Because we have already shown that stable time loops are allowed.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

You're extremely optimistic for something that hasn't even been officially announced yet. Saying Star Swirl will come back as a villain is as credible as me saying that Rainbow Dash is going to marry Big Mac and raise a family. I mean, there just is nothing to go on.

[Stalliongrad 982]

I support his role either as the next major supporting character or antagonist. Because i think his story could go both ways. I think Starswirl the Bearded intentionally left the spell unfinished to see if anyone was good as he was writing magic. I also think that he is the creator of many of the magical relics in Equestria. Like the Elements of Harmony and the Alicorn Amulet. It has been said he didn't finish the spell because he could not see the magic of friendship. But i highly doubt someone as talented as him couldn't see it. But if he is a good guy perhaps he left the spell unfinished to find his own apprentice. If he takes Twilight in and teaches her even more powerful magic i could grow to like her as an Alicorn. Though i always thought Zecora fit into this role better. Zecora proved you don't need to be a unicorn to do magic.

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

I think it's too early to get into specifics of the plot, but it does feel like the show is gradually buinding up the mystery surrounding this character. Whether it was on purpose or not, Starswirl's field of magic has thus far pretained to reshaping destiny and fate (time travel, anamorphism, cutie mark rewriting, possibly age spells), which is a strange route to take in a culture that considers having your fate branded on your behind the ultimate sign of adulthood. Intresting, especially when you consider that Starswirl was also ignorant to the magic of friendship, i.e. the defining aspect of this universe

The writers recently said at Unicon that they have no real intentions for Starswirl, but it's possible that they're just foolin'. Only time will tell...

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

I mean, it's kind of an odd and not exactly equal comparison, but the way the show has treated Starswirl reminds me a lot of JK Rowling and the Harry Potter books. So many times, she mentions a character once in passing, and then 4 books later, they play some major role (Regulus Black or Aberforth Dumbledore for example). I'm not necessarily saying this time travel theory is exactly how it's going to happen, but I've just gotten that vibe lately that there's a lot more to Starswirl than we know.

[Kamil 315]

Starswirl knew magic related to cutie marks? Well then, clearly the Cutie Mark Crusaders will find a way to talk to him. I mean, if he can shuffle the marks around arbitrarily, surely there's some way to generate new ones?