A Swirl of the Stars, and a Whirl of Fate
If you were to ask any scholar, they would tell you that he was a wise sage, but he was not.
If you were to ask any noble, they would tell you that he was noble-born as well, but he was not.
If you ask any of the many, many ponies who followed him, they would tell you that he was a brave and courageous stallion, but he was not.
The stallion that history would come to know as Star Swirl the Bearded was none of this things. Although if you had had the chance to ask him, he probably wouldn’t have answered you.
For at some point, the stallion we would come to know as Star Swirl was nothing but a rogue and a mere traveling magician.
What began as a simple attempt to get free lodgings and a meal at a temple for the night quickly spiraled into a lie from which he could not escape. That very night, word came that the King was calling up a band of brave souls to set forth and attempt to gain intelligence upon or even slow the advance of an army coming from the east. The messenger had begged the temple sages to aid them but, while there was not one among their elderly ranks who could have endured such a trial, a brother of their order had just arrived.
"But I carry no armour, nor I have my weapons with me. Surely I would be more of a burden than an aid," the young Star Swirl tried to explain.
"Fear not, our brother. Take with you these relics, the spear and armour of a great knight of old, entrusted to our care. As a member of our order, sworn into allegiance to the house of the Unicorn King, you are equal to him in both nature and nurture, we know he would approve of your using them," the monks answered back.
And so, unable to come out clean and invoke the ire of the sages and the King, after being given a weapon he had no idea how to use and clad in armour so heavy he could barely stand, Star Swirl joined a rough band of mercenaries and patriots to face what seemed to be a vast and terrible army.
Throughout their sojourn, he grew weary of his brothers in arms. Most of them were imbued with anger, blinded by a sense of loyalty and devotion he did not share. His plan was to run at the first chance he got, once the party had settled for the night, yet in that first attempt he blundered straight into an enemy spy. In the panic and shock that followed his first encounter with a winged pony, and through sheer luck, he somehow managed to subdue his enemy. Having exhausted all of his energies, they both collapsed below a tree. The rest of the band caught up with him, cheering the brave Star Swirl for uncovering the spy.
So continued his every effort to flee, and just as his first attempt the rest ended with him walking unwittingly into the clutches of danger and death. The rest of the band were amazed at his ability to sniff out ambushes and patrols and the almost berserker-like fervor in which he sought the enemies of his nation. Truly this was a patriot amongst patriots.
After his fifth failed attempt at escaping ended with him nearly being captured by a squad of the advancing enemy army, Star Swirl, realised that his only chance to survive was to keep in the company of the others, and so, he ceased his attempts to flee.
It wasn’t long before Star Swirl began to impress his companions with other skills, such as the settings of traps and snares, being able to talk an entire camp of local bandits into aiding them, and even methods to stealthily avoid dangers and wild creatures without being seen. It was clear to them all that his passion and knightly virtue was tempered with great worldly knowledge.
That is not to say that his desire to do escape back to his carefree life had decreased. And so, when he was sent to scout the woods through which his band would have to advance, he seized the opportunity to run away, but as fate would have it, he walked right into the main encampment of the enemy army. Despite the initial shock of seeing so many winged ponies, he managed to remain calm and, mustering all the courage left in him, he asked for an audience with their leader.
The official story, as put forth by the King’s scribes at the time, was that Star Swirl managed to sway the barbaric Pegasus General through tales of the magnanimity of the Unicorn King. Once the unification of the tribes took place and the reformation of the land that became Equestria passed, the accepted recounting of events was that Star Swirl, through his wisdom and wit, was able to reason with the General and show him that an armed conflict wasn’t the road that led to harmony.
The truth, however, was far simpler than that.
When Star Swirl found the encampment of the Pegasus tribe, he came face to face with a weathered, tired, starved, and overall desperate group of ponies. He learned from the mouth of the General that they had been sent by their nation in search of supplies, for their region was going through a severe famine. Despite their best efforts to use the weather for their favour, they could not make the earth produce the life-sustaining food the ponies needed.
The solution presented to himself quite easily. Star Swirl was well aware of the pact his kingdom had with the Earthen tribes, and how a single Earthen pony could make the soil flourish with fruits and vegetables as large as a foal’s head. If a pact could be arranged between this new tribe, the problem would sort itself out.
However, Star Swirl also knew that his companions wouldn’t be as keen as him to listen to the pleads of the General, and that if it came down to a battle between his band of unicorns and the group of winged ponies, the losses for both parties would be great.
Knowing that every hour that passed was an hour that drew closer the clash between the Unicorns and the Pegasus, and that the moment of escape had long since departed and that he couldn’t leave in time to avoid the conflict, Star Swirl chose the only other available option. He retread the same path through which he came, and hoped to reason with the leader of his caravan.
Knowing full well that while his leader, a stallion from the Court of the King, could be reasoned with, the mercenaries, the opportunistic, and the thieves that had joined them through the journey were a different matter altogether.
The young Star Swirl was nowhere near as strong, dexterous, or agile as his companions; therefore, he had to find another method of imposing himself to them, and there was really only one field in which he excelled.
As it has been mentioned, long before Star Swirl found himself trapped within the maelstrom that his lies had built, he used to be a rogue and a traveling magician, getting by through his use of illusions and sleights of hoof. And so, if he was not befitted to play the part of a knight… then he would play the part of a mage.
Star Swirl never did tell anypony how he managed to sway a party of several dozen unicorns to his side, but whatever recollection chroniclers could obtain from the members of the improvised militia that returned with him say that he displayed feats of unrivaled magical skill, spells that were far beyond their comprehension, things that the mere act of putting them into words would be doing them a disservice. When asked, Star Swirl would only smile and send a few sparks flying from his horn.
Regardless of the veracity of these events, Star Swirl was able to convince the party of unicorns not to attack the advancing army, and send back a small division back to the King’s Court to inform him of the situation of the Pegasus.
The leader of the group ordered it that way, and entrusted the labour of reaching the Pegasus tribe to Star Swirl, seeing how he was the first to establish a peaceful relationship with them. In spite of his feelings towards the matter, and his still ever-present desire to leave this entire trip behind him and move on with his life, the unicorn obliged, and led his companions to the antagonist tribe’s camp.
As much as Star Swirl would have liked the negotiations to go smoothly, the truth is that there was a latent resentment growing in the hearts of his companions, both against himself and to the lack of battle they had been promised. And the situation did little to improve once the Pegasus General declared himself and his entire group to be under the protection of Star Swirl, deeming him a kind and trustworthy ally.
Protests didn’t wait to let themselves be known across the unicorns, the most wicked amongst them, perhaps still mad that Star Swirl had bested them, were crying for their leader to make an example of the alleged usurper of the glory that should belong to them.
It was with anger that the caravan leader answered them.
“Hear my words. Had I sent in this mission any among you, I would rest assured knowing that you would carry my orders in detail, and I would speak many praises to our King in favour of said pony. But it is not that way with your companion Star Swirl! Once entrusted with the duties imposed on him, he went above and beyond what was required. Face-to-face he came to speak with our foes, openly, not through riddles and schemes; and it was by his heart being laid out that he managed to give us the opportunity to bring these two tribes together. Why, then, do you feel the need to speak against a stallion such as him?”
Star Swirl didn’t say anything. He didn’t tell him that he just wanted to escape. He didn’t correct him by telling him that he was indeed scheming to con the Pegasus General into letting him go before he realised he couldn’t make it in time to avoid a conflict. He didn’t say anything, maybe because at this point he had started to believe those things himself.
Whichever the case, it was unanimously agreed that nothing else should be said against Star Swirl. And both parties started the trek back to the Kingdom of the Unicorn King.
Perhaps it was due to the dissipating enmity between his companion, but Star Swirl, despite himself, began to grow fond of the members of his band and the Pegasus tribe. Many a days were spent around the campfire with the young pegasus with laughing green eyes who delighted in his knowledge of old songs and stories, and the half-earthen unicorn mare with the freckled face, whose worldliness both awed and frightened him. Even one of the thieves, as grouchy and unfriendly a stallion as had ever been born, had somehow become a companion he relied on.
It was with this renewed energies and a different outlook on life, that the caravan arrived at the King’s Court.
The King had prepared a grandiose welcome for this new tribe, and once he witnessed with his own eyes the prowess with which the Pegasus controlled the weather, the Unicorn King immediately set forth motions for negotiations to be made between them and the neighboring Earthen tribes.
Star Swirl considered his task to be done, knowing that he had been involved in matters well above his head, and proceeded to leave, hoping to go back to his life on the road. Alas, fate seemed to have different plans for him, for he was called almost immediately to an audience with the Unicorn King. And much was his surprise when he saw the Leader of the caravan, clad in royal clothes sitting next to the king.
It just so happened that the leader of the caravan had been the Prince in disguise, and once he returned, he marveled his father with tales of the nonpareil bravery and wisdom Star Swirl had displayed when he met the Pegasus tribe.
Afraid that his lies would be discovered, Star Swirl told the King that he should not think so highly of him, that he did what anypony else would have done. And as he should have seen coming, the King misunderstood this as sign of humility from him, and greatly commended his virtue.
And it was through this set of unlikely circumstances that Star Swirl found himself appointed as the youngest of the Royal Archmages in the Court of the Unicorn King. And as much as he longed for the simple life of a rogue in the road, Star Swirl was not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth, so he accepted the opportunity that had been presented to him.
With the company of the other Archmages and scholars of the Court, as well as the support of the Prince, Star Swirl slowly became more accustomed to his new life.
The other wizards and mages, having lived their whole lives secluded in the court where the only contact they got with the outer world was through decrees and messengers, were in awe of Star Swirl’s knowledge and charisma. Where old tomes and ancient scrolls would fail to ascertain the solution to a problem, his experience and empiric ways would offer a new light under which scrutinise the enigmas of the world.
The years passed, and it got to the point where Star Swirl started to be revered by his peers, deemed to be without equal regarding profound dilemmas and arcane expertise. Despite considering himself to be average at best in every field, legends rose about his great prowess and mastery of the magic arts. How he could, with a single sweep of his horn alight, have the elements bend and kneel in front of him.
He never lost the spirit of the road, however. And he longed to travel the world once again, as he had done in his youth. So with the consent of the King, he embarked on a journey throughout the land, going beyond the mountainous domain of the Unicorns and towards the green pastures of the Earthen, and on the off-chance he had the support, he visited the flying cities of the Pegasus.
He learned and taught, he talked and listened, he laughed and cried, met new ponies and bid them farewell. It was during these journeys that his fame grew. His every action became anecdotes that were told and retold through villages, his every spoken word a snippet of wisdom that got repeated until it lost all meaning, his every trinket left behind became a magic relic to be exhibited in traveling museums for centuries to come.
It was then when he met a little unicorn filly with untold magical potential who he later adopted as his apprentice and protege, and who would succeed him in the spot of the throne’s Archmage when her time came. And it was during that time, probably due to the arduousness of maintaining a proper care of his image, that he gained the beard that would become his most recognisable physical trait.
It was during this period of time that the legend of Star Swirl the Bearded was born.
But, alas, not all which is good is meant to last.
Rumours began of an unstoppable force coming north, a threat of freezing wind demons whose dark hunger had been awakened by the growing strife between the three tribes, and tense relations grew wearier as the cold increased. Star Swirl did not want to give these rumours any credit, but as the days passed it became obvious that another force was at play here. He feared what these creatures could mean not only to his nation, but to the whole of ponykind. And yet, his pleas went unanswered or else resulted in bouts of anger from the rest of the Court that badly damaged the already strained bonds between the Unicorns and the other tribes.
He let his theory be known to his old friend, the new King, who in turn entrusted Star Swirl with the task of finding a solution. He spent days avoiding the issue, his smooth tongue that many had come to appreciate as a sign of wisdom, soothed the concerns of his colleagues and followers. He was able to so save face right up until the first report of a casualty in the farthest villages of the kingdom due to the freezing cold and lack of food. Then, the protests became too much for him to assuage. The cry for action and revenge rose from every corner of the kingdom, and in turn, the pleas of the King increased as well. Star Swirl knew there was no more avoiding it.
So he decided he would run away. A honorable Archmage could not have turned his back upon those ponies. A rogue, however, had no such trouble.
As always though, his luck was poor. As he walked through the castle grounds, he found one of the maids as she comforted frightened children with songs about his bravery and nobility, and how he would surely solve the blight that had fallen over the kingdom, just as he had done in the past. His resolve to flee was not yet broken, though; so he moved on, only to run into his apprentice instead. The young Clover spoke of her confidence in him, she spoke of what dire task defeating the wind demons would mean, but most of all she spoke of her gratitude towards him.
Perhaps, he thought, he had gotten mellow in his old age. Even still, if his resolve was not yet broken by the words of his closest follower and most loyal disciple, it would be after the words of his oldest friend.
The King reminisced with him about their first fateful encounter, all those decades ago, when the band of unicorns set forth in a sojourn to fight an invading force led to the encounter of a new tribe. And he spared no words in reminding Star Swirl of the bravery and zeal he had shown back in those days, and how he trusted the mage to find an answer that would help their kingdom. Star Swirl kept the sardonic laughter to himself.
“Just like everything else,” he had smiled then, with a hint of irony and melancholy. “I seem to be set in a path I did not even ask for.”
The King had smiled too and threw his arm over Star Swirl’s shoulder in a display not befitting of royalty. “I was born to fill my father’s place as King. Some things are just decided for you, Star Swirl. They’re never your choice to begin with.”
Perhaps he came to believe the words of the King. Perhaps he forgot he had even been trying to run away. Perhaps he had bought into his own legends. Perhaps he just knew that the ponies he loved were counting on him, because despite all wisdom, Star Swirl decided to leave. But his destination was no longer an undefined “elsewhere” in which he would be free of the constraints he himself had put upon himself by assuming the role of a noble Archmage.
No. The destination Star Swirl had in mind was closer, and it was also much, much colder.
He carefully measured his time, fully aware that it was a dwindling luxury. He waited for the Princess to leave alongside his apprentice to a summit with the leaders of the other tribes where the problem of the famine and the brutal wind was to be discussed, and he set forth on a last grand journey.
Whether or not he knew he was being followed by the most devout of his partisans, Star Swirl trekked through snowy fields and frozen riverbanks, never wavering, never resting. He only stopped after a day of walking, to move around some snow, and looking back at the spot where his unwitting entourage was hidden, he teleported in a flash.
I do not chastise you for coming after me, but where I’m going, you cannot follow, read the message written in the snow.
The battle, if one could consider it as such, was as brief as it was simple, and to any eye it was clear that the mage did not have a chance. The moment the first windigo appeared, Star Swirl was struck down by a gust of freezing wind. And with every new windigo, the temperature dropped as did his chances of emerging unscathed. Barely standing, shivering and immobile, while the windigos circled above him as vultures, Star Swirl conjured a spell of a black, dead aura. Unbeknownst both to the winter demons as to the hidden group of ponies, what seemed like a last ditch attempt at counterattack a nigh-omnipotent force of nature was but a mere step in the plan Star Swirl had hatched.
For as you will see, Star Swirl had won the fight long before it even started.
Taking a page from his days as a rogue, almost a lifetime ago, he had poisoned himself, numbing his body to the freezing cold, but leaving his mind lucid enough to do what he had set to do. The windigos were circling high above him, they were getting closer to the magic induced source of hatred that drove them crazy with hunger, and he could still see more coming. So Star Swirl waited. Waited just long enough for the vile creatures to turn their gazes towards him, waited to see the ravenous look in their eyes, waited for them to lunge towards him, before he cast a spell straight into the heavens.
Several pained, guttural screams could be heard all the way back to the old Kingdom.
By the time it was all over, the shocked ponies who had secretly followed him stood in awe at the barren space down the mountains where the battle had taken place. The windigos were no more. The three tribes were free from their magic winter. Their hatred purged from this word, a flag of a single nation could now be waved high above pony of every kind. Star Swirl wouldn’t be there to see it happen, however, for he was gone with the creatures of cold to a place ponies knew not.
And so, it is to this day that Star Swirl the Bearded is honoured as an Archmage extraordinaire, Patron of the Magical Ways, Discoverer of untold magic spells.
And one of the bravest unicorns who have ever lived.
