Hey! It looks like you're new here. You might want to check out the introduction.
Show rules for this event
The Last Words of Star Swirl the Bearded
The Last Words of Star Swirl the Bearded have always been a topic of contention amongst Equestrian scholars. According to eyewitnesses, during his last moments the great sage called for his nurse, Gorephella, a gryphon able only to speak her mother-tongue. In his hurry, he whispered a single sentence in Equestrian, which was absolutely incomprehensible to her, but in such a tone to indicate the direst urgency. Despite all efforts, she was never able to replicate whatever sounds she had heard in that moment, and so his last nugget of knowledge has been lost forever.
In most cases, such utterances would be quickly forgotten, mere curiosities said from a oxygen-depraved, half-crazed mind. However, it is known that, despite the poor state of his body, Star Swirl kept his mental faculties intact up to the hour of his death. Considering the contents of his final research, about the nature of magic and destiny itself, many believe that, in that single sentence, are secrets far beyond what modern pony society has uncovered.
One common hypothesis is that he had found the secret to immortality, to reverse the destiny shared by all mortals, but was unable to properly communicate it, thanks to a final curse left over from Discord. Others, choosing to focus on the fact Gorephella wouldn’t be able to understand him, believe the sentence itself was capable of forever changing the destiny of any pony able to understand it, and that Star Swirl tried to divulge it as an alert, lest pony society itself collapse from it.
More conspiracy minded academics, however, believe that the sage revealed, in that moment, the great betrayal of Celestia, Luna, and their yet-unnamed third sister, a secret alicorn capable of altering fate itself, and that this knowledge could only ever be held by a being with no connection to the princesses: a non-pony. In his hurry, he obviously didn’t remember the incapacity of his nurse to actually understand Equestrian, and as such, the truth was lost forever.
Twilight Sparkle knew all of these hypothesis, as well as many more obscure ones about these Last Words. After all, she had studied each one of them, cross referenced all possible sources, no matter their credibility, until she could finally pinpoint, to the minute, the time and place of her idol’s death. She, having become the Alicorn of Friendship by finishing his last incomplete spell, felt a sense of duty in finding the truth.
Luckily, with a few modifications, his own time travel spell would be able to take her to that place in distant lands, over a millennium in the past. And for such a simple task, the one minute she would have would be enough.
She charged her horn, manipulating the immense power she could now command to transport her through and time and space, managing to arrive right outside what would be his last room. A quick invisibility spell later, and she managed to easily slip in. His death bed sitting right in the middle of a room crowded by apprehensive pony academics in long, flowing robes, save for a single gryphon right next to his bed, fitting the most common description of Gorephella. One last spell, and she was able to hear clearly every single sound in the room.
She saw Star Swirl beckon with a too frail hoof for the nurse to come as close as possible, gesturing that he needed to speak. She got closer and closer, to the point his mouth was touching her ear. He took a last, ragged, painful breath, and whispered in what was, indeed, the direst of tones.
“Wonder how long these buggers will get stuck on this one.”
In most cases, such utterances would be quickly forgotten, mere curiosities said from a oxygen-depraved, half-crazed mind. However, it is known that, despite the poor state of his body, Star Swirl kept his mental faculties intact up to the hour of his death. Considering the contents of his final research, about the nature of magic and destiny itself, many believe that, in that single sentence, are secrets far beyond what modern pony society has uncovered.
One common hypothesis is that he had found the secret to immortality, to reverse the destiny shared by all mortals, but was unable to properly communicate it, thanks to a final curse left over from Discord. Others, choosing to focus on the fact Gorephella wouldn’t be able to understand him, believe the sentence itself was capable of forever changing the destiny of any pony able to understand it, and that Star Swirl tried to divulge it as an alert, lest pony society itself collapse from it.
More conspiracy minded academics, however, believe that the sage revealed, in that moment, the great betrayal of Celestia, Luna, and their yet-unnamed third sister, a secret alicorn capable of altering fate itself, and that this knowledge could only ever be held by a being with no connection to the princesses: a non-pony. In his hurry, he obviously didn’t remember the incapacity of his nurse to actually understand Equestrian, and as such, the truth was lost forever.
Twilight Sparkle knew all of these hypothesis, as well as many more obscure ones about these Last Words. After all, she had studied each one of them, cross referenced all possible sources, no matter their credibility, until she could finally pinpoint, to the minute, the time and place of her idol’s death. She, having become the Alicorn of Friendship by finishing his last incomplete spell, felt a sense of duty in finding the truth.
Luckily, with a few modifications, his own time travel spell would be able to take her to that place in distant lands, over a millennium in the past. And for such a simple task, the one minute she would have would be enough.
She charged her horn, manipulating the immense power she could now command to transport her through and time and space, managing to arrive right outside what would be his last room. A quick invisibility spell later, and she managed to easily slip in. His death bed sitting right in the middle of a room crowded by apprehensive pony academics in long, flowing robes, save for a single gryphon right next to his bed, fitting the most common description of Gorephella. One last spell, and she was able to hear clearly every single sound in the room.
She saw Star Swirl beckon with a too frail hoof for the nurse to come as close as possible, gesturing that he needed to speak. She got closer and closer, to the point his mouth was touching her ear. He took a last, ragged, painful breath, and whispered in what was, indeed, the direst of tones.
“Wonder how long these buggers will get stuck on this one.”