Ponyception with Twilight in "It's About Time"? [Spoilers]

[Pumpkinbot 69]

Me and a fellow Brony were discussing the newest episode. If Future Twilight told Twilight about the time travel spell, how did she/they learn about said spell initially, if she only learned the idea from her future self after she learned it from herself earlier?

 

In other words, Past Twilight learns about the spell from Future Twilight. Past Twilight panicks, gets the scroll, and, now as Future Twilight, tells Past Twilight about the scroll, which starts the whole cycle over again. What started this cycle?

[Electrobolt 2,068]

No way, I was thinking that too!!! The time loop HAS to start somewhere... But HOW???!!

[Champion RD92 8,655]

Time travel never makes sense...

 

That's why I don't think it could ever really be possible...but you never know, I could be wrong...

[Pumpkinbot 69]

Time travel never makes sense...

 

That's why I don't think it could ever really be possible...but you never know, I could be wrong...

 

Aaaactually, scientists have proved it's possible, you just need to move faster than the speed of light. =D

[Champion RD92 8,655]

Aaaactually, scientists have proved it's possible, you just need to move faster than the speed of light. =D

 

Oh yeah, huh...never mind XD

[Fghik 360]

What part of "wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff" don't you understand?

[Pumpkinbot 69]

What part of "wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff" don't you understand?

 

All of it, since I've never watched Dr. Who.

[SuperTheAwesome 199]

It started when future Twilight was taking lessons from Princess Trollestia.

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

Aaaactually, scientists have proved it's possible, you just need to move faster than the speed of light. =D

 

Well, maybe as a technical function of your own time vastly differing from that of everyone around you. But time travel as a fictional concept is almost entirely hypothesis because, to the best of my knowledge, it's almost impossible test at this time (no pun intended).

 

It's not really Ponyception in the sense that Twilight didn't pierce through several layers of reality. She created a predestination paradox (akin to Terminator, which is probably partly why they made the reference), effectively locking herself into a cycle which will keep recapitulating the events of the episode. But Twilight as we know her will continue into the future; she won't be locked in the infinite loop as she progresses through time.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Thereisnospoon303

[Twi Rubix 726]

Its past Twilight's problem...

I thought about the same thing too.

[Pumpkinbot 69]

<Stuff Thereisnospoon said>

 

Weeeell, there's still the question of how did she learn about the time travelling spell to begin with?

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

Weeeell, there's still the question of how did she learn about the time travelling spell to begin with?

 

She learned it because of the events initiated by Future Twilight.

 

If you're looking for a point of origin---a moment in time where Twilight was not influenced by Future Twilight's visit yet still carried through on the actions taken in the episode---you'll probably come up empty. That's why it is both a cycle and a paradox.

[Jadefire 2,796]

I think there's a name for this type of time travel paradox...

[cuteycindyhoney 13,285]

Me and a fellow Brony were discussing the newest episode. If Future Twilight told Twilight about the time travel spell, how did she/they learn about said spell initially, if she only learned the idea from her future self after she learned it from herself earlier?

 

In other words, Past Twilight learns about the spell from Future Twilight. Past Twilight panicks, gets the scroll, and, now as Future Twilight, tells Past Twilight about the scroll, which starts the whole cycle over again. What started this cycle?

 

 

She got it the same place Marty McFly got the song Johnny B Goode! Marty learned it from Chuck Berry writing and performing it. Chuck Berry learned it from hearing Marty play it over the telephone! Where did the song come from?

[Ruby Pinch 8]

im sure your on about the grandfather paradox Jade

[cuteycindyhoney 13,285]

im sure your on about the grandfather paradox Jade

 

I seem to remember someone mentioned that on Doctor Who. You know, the old chestnut about going back and killing your grandfather. The doctor said simply "Why would you want to do that?"

 

LOL

[Pumpkinbot 69]

She learned it because of the events initiated by Future Twilight.

 

If you're looking for a point of origin---a moment in time where Twilight was not influenced by Future Twilight's visit yet still carried through on the actions taken in the episode---you'll probably come up empty. That's why it is both a cycle and a paradox.

 

*brain 'splode*

 

Alright, thanks, gonna...uh, just start...y'know...mopping up brain matter...

[Kyreth 193]

I was reading something about this just last week and now I can't remember what that type of paradox is called. Dammit brain...

 

But yeah, its a cycle with no beginning. So its impossible. I'll just settle for shouting MAGIC at my screen whenever I watch that episode.

[SXCJ40 125]

Want to know how time works?

http://youtu.be/vY_Ry8J_jdw

[Eenohay 318]

She got it the same place Marty McFly got the song Johnny B Goode! Marty learned it from Chuck Berry writing and performing it. Chuck Berry learned it from hearing Marty play it over the telephone! Where did the song come from?

 

Actually Back to the Future follows a different theory than the one shown in the last episode, because when Marty when back in the past, he created a new timeline. He still knew everything he knew from his own timeline, and introduced it into the past of this other timeline, but it still was the original timeline's Chuck Berry who wrote the song at first, although in the second timeline it was first played by a mysterious dude nobody knew, that's why when he went back to the future, everything was changed.

 

However, in MLP, it used a typical time loop theory, wich means that if say I were to travel back in time now, that technically already has happened, and what I do in the past will not possibly change the timeline, as it has already been done before, that's why when Twilight went back to the future, everything was still the same as when she left.

 

And yeah, it doesn't make sense at all, because Twilight wouldn't have gone back in time if future Twilight wouldn't have gone back in time and so on. The loop doesn't start anywhere

[Pumpkinbot 69]

And yeah, it doesn't make sense at all, because Twilight wouldn't have gone back in time if future Twilight wouldn't have gone back in time and so on. The loop doesn't start anywhere

 

So it's Scrhodinger's Pony: The loop doesn't start anywhere, yet it had to have started somewhere.

 

PONIES ARE CATS, IT IS CANON

 

EDIT: Oh, hay, lookit that, I'm not a blank flank no more. :v

Edited March 13, 2012 by Pumpkinbot

[Killian Jones 2,653]

It's called an Ontological paradox. Basically you it's a paradox because the act of time travelling sets a series of events into motion prompting the time travel.

 

So it makes sense, I was satisfied.

[bardian97 3]

so... much... brainsplode... mebbe trollestia told h er initially to trick her into screwing everything up... that might be why she was so nonchalant about twilight being in the library late at night.

[XMark 18]

I love time travel stories with a stable time loop (that's what TVTropes calls this style of time travel at least). Time travel doesn't really make sense in any logical way, but the closest it can come to making sense is that even if you travel back in time, you'll find out that whatever you did is the reason things are the way they are. Oh, and there's the other possible concept where you start a new independent timeline that doesn't affect the one you left.

 

Has anyone made a looped version of the video on YouTube yet? Like, loop it back to future twilight meeting present twilight as soon as she goes back near the end of the episode. It would be funny if some people watched it and didn't realize the loop for a few minutes

[The Alpha Team 51]

Ughhhhhhhhh

Magic?