Starswirl's Letter to Princess Celestia
Dear Princess,
With a great sense of seldom, I do contact you Princess. Now, I wish you to know that this will be the very last letter I will send you, and do not take me as a fool for I wish I could send many more, but this is the very last one. I suppose I will show my faculties quickly, before you proceed to question the intent of that statement. I will put it quite clear princess. I, Starswirl the Bearded, will die. It comes to no shock, I am sure, but the truth is very relevant to this message for Princess, Starswirl the Bearded, will die now. Well I state now in the the sense that my time is slowly ticking to the end, and I have finally observed when I will die as a means to know if it can be stopped. I studied every magic, and have delved into every art, but in all ways that will save, I will still die. Perhaps not physically, but I will still die in a way that is unacceptable in every matter, so I will leave the fact of my demise to that, and move onto my true message. Oh dear Princess, I am dying, and there is no flask of potion that can save me, rather the only thing that will make me immortal is that my art and studies will become immortal instead. I ask, with the most kindness I can, that you do not abandon these studies, or allow them to die.
I do understand that your duties cannot truly allow you to pursue these inquiries I have been prying at for the majority of my old and young life, but I do ask that you please stay loyal to my wishes. Preserve this knowledge I have given you, and your ponies, for this gift is the only thing that will ensure I will remain alive, even past the mortal clenches of death that cripple my mind as we speak. I feel myself slipping as I write these words to you, and my magic only holds this quill by the sheer will that I will live a few more years with every word I write (so forgive me for being so long winded.)
I remember being a child, and aspiring to be like the one who I am writing to now. I have never truly taken just how little you have changed over these years, but yet I grow old and brittle. Your beauty remains like the sun which raises every day, and as the subject of your glory, I can only admire the beauty as I slowly fade. I find it humorous that a mere child to this sun has played even the half of the role I have played for it. Princess, how does it feel to be immortal? The more I question how you think on it, the more I am saddened by your grief. It is improper to bring it up, but isn’t that pain of loss so unbearable. That fear of pain is partly why I have chosen to walk from the life, and be immortal in the sense of written word. Perhaps this afterlife you have spoken of does truly exist, which I do find myself questioning as I slip into a cold darkness that is overfilling my eyes as we speak.
Death is strange, for it is both cold and warm. It’s embrace takes those who are experiencing it to a feeling I cannot say I can ever explain, or even mimic with the complexities of magic. If only I could, but I cannot, so I will change the subject before I go too much into my fate, rather than the favors I ask of you. I feel a chuckle in my stomach as I am realizing the rambling nature of this letter, and it’s utter confusion of the one to read it. Celestia, I ask one more favor from you as I feel this breath being taken from me. I ask that when you do find one to advance these studies, to give them this letter as well, for only these words of advice will come from my mouth, and only those who truly are following my example, following my path of knowledge and magical prowess will understand why these words will be put together (well how I wish them to understand it):
Ambition, praise, and wealth are the three things you must embrace, but in the constricting grip that will keep it from breathing. You must accept these things closely, but you must not let them get anywhere without your permission. You are the one who rules what you do, and no excuse will ever allow you to abandon any regret you have. For I know this personally, I will save details, but you must not abandon your principles in the act of finding something. The act of giving your will, for Ambition is burning a city down, to obtain the dark ashes it will leave behind.
Also, young student, you must be prepared, to learn what you wish not to be true. In the world of magic, rarely do things stay constant, and everything you know can change with a simple discovery. Do not walk away from magic, because you feel it has betrayed you, rather walk closer to that burning light to let the world better understand these talents that have been given to us.
With that last message, I must bid you farewell princess. Take my word, the closer I feel to losing myself, the better and more comfortable I feel. It will always be an option to that you hold inside, for I know you do. You are all powerful, so you must be able to choose what you want. I am not asking you, I am informing you, that if this afterlife truly exists, I will hope to see you there sometime.
Your loyal Subject
Your Bright Student
Your Son
-Starswirl