What must not go unsaid

by TheStoryteller

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Tragedy, Starswirl the Bearded
Length: 2038

Before Starswirl the Bearded's untimely death, he leaves behind a few words before his passing

Starswirl the Bearded. The most powerful and intelligent unicorn the world has ever known. But even the greatest of legends must come to an end. But before his death, he left a couple of words that he didn't want to go unsaid. Now, Princess Celestia, his closest and dearest friend, reads his final words, and suffers the weight of what he could've never said.

Co-written by: Parodox

Published 2017-01-25 17:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-01-25 17:40:01 UTC

Chapter 1. The weight of ones words

It was customary for every funeral that it should be raining. To symbolize that the heavens themselves were weeping over the one who had passed away. But this time, for once, the heavens truly weeped for the passing of Starswirl the Bearded. Loved and known by all as the greatest and most intelligent unicorn that ever lived, made it all the more saddening that he had to die, as did all things. It was inevitable, time ravaged his body as it had done to all things past. But none thought of how heartbreaking such a thing might've been. Starswirl had touched everyone's heart, showing them friendship and peace. But there was one he touched who mourned his death most of all.

Princess Celestia.

The lonely goddess had refused to open her heart to anyone, except for Starswirl. She never knew what it was she liked about him, was it his humor? His charm? His interest in magic? She never knew, but the two became the closest of friends in very short time. But the moment Celestia had opened her heart to Starswirl she knew that it was destiny for him to break it. Even Starswirl knew it, so he tried to stop it.

With his ambition in magic, Starswirl tried to make himself immortal so that he could be by his friend's side. Alas, there was no such magic to do such a thing. The only thing that guaranteed immortality, was ascension in becoming an Alicorn. Celestia offered, but Starswirl refused. Later in time it had become clear that Starswirl no longer wished for immortality, but rather an extension of his life. Which, of course, there was a spell for.

The spell did as Starswirl wished. Every time he used it he wouldn't die. He still grew old and weary, but he was still living. The difference between the ascension and the spell is that when you stop using the spell, you die.

And that's exactly what Starswirl had done.

Starswirl the Bearded, had lived to be one hundred and fourty seven years old, and throughout his entire long life he had no regrets, except for one. One painful reminder that both he and Celestia shared.

Rain. It was customary for it to be raining on the day of someone's funeral, as if the very heavens themselves were weeping. Except this time, not only the heavens weeped, but the goddess that controlled them was shedding uncontrollable tears over her friend's corpse.

The room was dark, a few candles gave little light to the closed off room. Rain pouring softly against the stained color glass, a soft rumble of thunder softly shook the castle. In the center of the room was a stone table, carvings on all four of its sides and a figure lying on the table's flat top, completely covered by a white blanket, and as the rain fell, so did the tears of Celestia as she burrowed her head in her forelegs, leaning against the stone table.

She had wished to not be disturbed by anyone, for she wished to be left alone with her closest friend. She knew this day would come, that opening her heart would result in hurting it once more. But sir she could change anything, then she wouldn't change a single thing.

A knock came from the door. Celestia rose and wiped away her tears, and tried to speak like the high authority she was.

"I ordered that none should disturb me." She said in a slight growl that caused all of the candle lights to flicker.

"Forgive me your highness." The timid and scared voice that belonged to one of the maids said from behind the door. "But...there was a letter for you that Starswirl the Bearded had left behind in his studies.

The doors were thrown open and the maid was pulled towards Celestia by the sun goddesses magic. "Where?!" She ordered.

The terrified maid slowly reached behind her and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Her hooves trembled in fear as she slowly extended it towards Celestia. The paper became engulfed in golden magic and was pulled to Celestia.

With her job completed, the maid wasted no time leaving and closing the doors behind her. Now alone, Celestia unrolled the paper to see that Starswirl's hoofwriting was all over it. On it she read,

My dear friend.

If you are reading this then it means I have ~~died~~ passed away. I know you are sad, I don't need to be alive to know that, but I want you to dry your eyes. We both knew this day would come, I just couldn't bring myself to facing you to tell you this. I suppose that makes me a coward. I suppose I haven't changed, I've always been a coward. I never told you about my past, where I came from, who I was. But that's because I was afraid to tell you the truth. But now I know that I can't leave and bury this with me.

I grew up in a small remote village called Hamburg. My parents were farmers, growing crops for us to eat. You see Celestia, I wasn't a unicorn, I was a Pegasus.

I know that sounds far fetched but it's the truth. I was never born a unicorn, I was always a Pegasus. I spent most of my days flying and dragging rain clouds over my family's crops. As time passed I grew to the age when I had to leave. I said my goodbyes and I made my way for Canterlot. There I bought myself a house, got myself a job, and made a decent living. Then I met her.

The most beautiful and alluring unicorn mare I had ever laid eyes on. Being the foolish boy I was, I asked her out on a date. She said yes, and I took her out for dinner. On our walk to her home we ran into a unicorn Stallion who said he was her coltfriend. At first I was heart broken, thinking that she had cheated me. But to my relief, she said that she didn't love the Stallion, that she had the choice to love who she chose.

The Stallion saw me as a threat and attacked me with his magic. He tossed me around like a rag doll, and I was powerless to stop him. The mare begged him to stop and he did.

But not before leaving a reminder.

He destroyed the joints that connected my left wing to my body, and walked away with the mare in tow.

I cried that night. Cried like the helpless colt I was. I didn't want to accept it but I knew that I would never fly again. The best day of my life, became the most horrible in an instant. I walked home with my head low and my heart broken. I never slept that night, instead I lied awake in my bed trying to figure out everything that had happened.

Then a knock came from the door. I told them to go away but they refused to cease their knocking. I opened the door to demand that they leave but when I did, there was no one there. I thought that I must've been hearing things, so I closed the door and turned around.

Coming face to face with a hooded figure. His face was obscured by the darkness in his hood, but I knew he was a unicorn by the arch of his hood. The hooded pony told me that his name was the 'Master'. A powerful wizard who could give me the power of magic, and in return I would give him my wings.

I accepted, and my wings disappeared. Replaced by a horn. The Master told me that I could no longer be known by my old name, so he gave me a new one. Starswirl.

I took to magic like a fish to water. I learned to levitate in hours, teleportation in a day, and focused magic in seconds. Once I was ready, I searched for the Stallion and confronted him. With my new power, I defeated him easily. The mare I had loved saw what I had done and I never saw her ever again.

My life became different after I became a unicorn. Other unicorns started being more open to me, things I bought at the shop became easier to buy, everyone was being nicer to me. I thought it was because I had beaten that Stallion who must've been a bully to everyone.

But it wasn't because they loved me. It was because they feared me. They were afraid of what I was capable of, what I could and would do. I was blind to not see it at first.

It took me over a hundred years to discover it, but now I know the truth. You may watch over everypony from your towering castle, but you have to walk amongst them to see the truth. There's an invisible law that everybody sees and follows, and that law is 'the law of power'.

Power, the one thing everyone strives for. Unicorns wield magic, a form of energy that allows them to do pretty much anything. When Equestria was formed the three races promised to treat one another as equals with love and kindness.

That promise became null and void in a day.

Look around you, look at your elite guard. Haven't you noticed that not a single one of them is an earth pony or Pegasus? Look at your subjects and look closely. Haven't you noticed that the majority of Unicorns live in the richest and finest of livelihoods where the majority of Earth Ponies are farmers and live in the poorest of livelihoods?

Can't you see what is going on? The promise of peace and equality is a lie. A lie that everyone wants to believe but will never happen. But it isn't the ponies that cause this inequality, no. The true culprit is magic.

Magic. To wield magic means to wield power itself, and those that wield power tend to abuse it. Unicorns see themselves to be better than everyone else, that they are superior because they wield magic. I now know the horrible truth.

Magic is a destroyer. While there is good magic there is also bad. Think about all those who have wielded magic before and threatened every living thing. Sombra, Discord, Tirek, Nightmare Moon. All of them wielded magic.

Magic is the true culprit, the true divider, the true evil on this world. As long as magic exists in this world.

We will never have peace.

The note slowly fell and landed gently onto the floor at Celestia's feet. She was speechless, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and horror. As much as she wanted to deny it she couldn't. Her mind raced back to her past, trying to find some evidence that could prove Starswirl was wrong.

But anything she found it only strengthened what Starswirl had wrote. The proof was right in front of her, or it was before it left. The maid, the look of fear on her face stained Celestia's memory. She feared her. She feared her because of the power she had. Celestia collapsed, her mind not able to bear the truth she had been told. How could something so obvious be so hidden to her? She didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to comprehend everything that had happened.

She looked to the table and in a horrified and frightened voice she asked,

"Starswirl...what do I do?"

Starswirl had always been there for Celestia as a friend. A shoulder for her to cry on when things became to harsh for her bear. But Starswirl was gone, leaving the almighty goddess of the sun just like those who hungered for power.

Alone.