A/N: So, we come to the final chapter. I hope that you all enjoyed it and are satisfied with the conclusion. I also hope that I’ve increased Star Swirl’s popularity a bit and that I’ll be seeing more of her in future fanworks. I know that this chapter is technically much shorter than Equestria Daily guidelines allow, but it’s the final chapter. What am I supposed to do? Also, if you enjoyed this fic, look forward to my future fics.
Study Seven: Star Swirl
“Come in,” the doctor said as she opened the door.
Star Swirl bounced in with a huge grin and her eyes shone with glee. “Hi, Doctor Drop!”
Dr. Drop blinked. “Did...you just refer to me without using my full name?”
“Yes I did. That’s okay, right? I thought that you might prefer it. But if you don’t, I’ll go back to calling you Doctor Tear Drop. But I’ve realised that I already made it clear that I know that you are different from any other hypothetical Doctor Drop.”
“No, that’s actually good news, Star Swirl,” said Doctor Drop with cautious optimism, “I also, see that you seem happier than usual. I’d go so far to say that you’re...sparkling.”
“Sparkling?” asked Star Swirl with a raised eyebrow before returning to her grin. “I like that! I think that from now on, I’ll always sparkle! Just like Twilight Sparkle! She’s so awesome! Which makes sense for the bearer of the Element of Magic.”
“So, I take it that you had a good week?”
“You have no idea!”
“Would you...like to share it with me?”
“I don’t think that I should tell you everything, but I finally discovered the meaning of my cutie mark!” She rolled her eyes. “So obvious now, but I was just too stubborn to acknowledge what, deep down, I instinctively knew.”
“I’m glad that you’ve made such a breakthrough Star Swirl,” Doctor Drop smiled. “It does tend to be such internal conflicts which cause problems like that. Now you can begin to move past that.”
“Oh, I am!” replied Star Swirl. She plopped herself onto the couch. “But after I discovered the meaning of my cutie mark, I was so annoyed! Why couldn’t I have figured that out for myself!?”
“Don’t you think that you would have managed to figure it out eventually?”
“Well, I do. I was getting pretty close, but with hindsight it seems so obvious! I should have known the instant that I earned my cutie mark in the first place! In fact, deep down I did know! I just...”
“Didn’t want to acknowledge it?”
“Yes!”
“That is typical of these cases, Star Swirl. You don’t have to feel angry with yourself over that.”
“But why would I refuse to acknowledge something that would make me happy?”
“Maybe because it would mean acknowledging that it wasn’t what you’d hoped it was?”
“That’s the conclusion that I came to. That and the fact that I was so excited by the idea of being like my ancestor, I didn’t think to question it until recently. I was so enamoured by the idea of being a great mage like Star Swirl the Bearded, that I didn’t think that maybe that wasn’t what my talent was meant for. But why did it take me so long to realise that?”
“You were blinded by your admiration for your ancestor and your desire to be like him. That’s something that you’ve only recently been able to move past. While there was nothing wrong with admiring your ancestor, it is only recently that you’ve begun to accept that maybe you weren’t meant to be exactly like him.”
“Yes, I realised that as well. But unfortunately, only then. It’s a good thing that you sent me to Ponyville, because my new friends who I made over there have allowed me to make a lot of progress. If it wasn’t for them, it probably would have taken me even longer with how stubborn I was being. That’s why, after I realised all of that, I rushed over to Golden Oaks Library to tell Twilight all about it. I was so excited! And after I told her...”
“So, it sounds like you’ve learned an important lesson,” said Twilight.
“Absolutely!”
“Well, did you hear about how ever since I moved to Ponyville, I’ve been studying the magic of friendship?”
“Yes, I heard about that, Twilight.” Star Swirl nodded.
Twilight blinked at the informal address. “Wow...you really have changed!”
“I still think that your title should be acknowledged,” Star Swirl explained, “but I’ve already done so myself and you claimed to prefer this. I’m not going to confuse you with another Twilight.”
“Thank you. You’re right about me preferring it. But anyway, I thought that I may be able to use your experiences as part of my studies.”
“Really!? You want to use my experience as a data point!?” Star Swirl grinned and leaned forward.
“Yes. And did you know that as part of my studies, I write to Princess Celestia about what I’ve learned?”
“No,” Star Swirl gasped as she shook her head. “I mean, I suppose that it makes sense that you are in communication with your supervisor, but wow! To exchange letters with Princess Celestia is pretty amazing! Why, where are you going with this?!”
“Well, not only do I do so, but Princess Celestia also asked some of my friends, specifically Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity and Spike to write to her as well. And Applebloom and Sweetie Belle have also written such letters to her before. So, I was wondering if you’d like to be the one who writes to Princess Celestia about this.”
“Would I!?”
“So you wrote to Princess Celestia about your experiences?” asked Doctor Drop.
“Absolutely! I’m happy to tell others about my story! Which is why I made copies of the letter.” She pulled a scroll out of her bag. “Go ahead and read it! I want others to learn from it! Which is great as Twilight’s publishing it as part of her studies.”
Doctor Drop levitated the letter over and read:
Dear Princess Celestia,
Twilight is letting me write to you because I have learned an important lesson. I once asked you to turn me into a unicorn, because at the time, I believed that that was the only way to fulfil my destiny as promised to me by my cutie mark. However, you told me that I was perfectly capable of doing so as an earth pony. I now see that you were right.
When I earned my cutie mark, I was excited not just because I had earned it, but because it was the same cutie mark as my ancestor and role model’s. Rather than stop and think about what I’d done to earn it, which would have allowed me to easily realise its meaning, I simply celebrated that I had something else in common with him. That in itself wasn’t a bad thing, but I chose to continue ignoring the evidence for what my true talent was and simply decided to try and make myself more like him. While there was nothing wrong with me having a role model and admiring him, I forgot that there is nothing wrong with the fact that I’m different from him, and that even though we had the same talent, that didn’t mean that we had to use it in the same way or that there is only one right way to use it. For example, Rarity Belle, Bearer of the Element of Generosity has a talent for finding and creating beauty, and she has decided to use that talent to make outfits. She could have used it in a different way, but that is the way that works for her and the way she uses her talent is at least as much a part of who she is as the talent itself.
Since moving to Ponyville, a village that I’ve come to love and intend to make my permanent home, I have made new, wonderful friends who have taught me so much, and one of the things that they’ve helped me to discover is my true talent. The one that I would have easily discovered myself from simple introspection were it not for my stubbornness and determination to be something that I’m not. I saw Star Swirl the Bearded as a mighty, powerful, mage, and I became enthralled by that image, wanting to fit it, while completely ignoring the fact that the image was not of who I was meant to be, and that being something else was okay and would actually make me happy. I’m so grateful to my new friends for breaking through my stubbornness and helping me realise that.
Star Swirl the Bearded used his talent for understanding and explaining magic to invent new spells and mentor younger unicorns, but just because I have the same talent, doesn’t mean that I should follow the same path. No. I shall apply my talent by continuing to learn about all types of magic, and I’ll compile my discoveries by writing them into a guide, so that everypony can learn all about magic. And making those discoveries and ensuring that they will be preserved and learned about by future generations will not only make me happy, but I believe that Star Swirl the Bearded would have been proud of me using my talents in such a way as well.
Your Loyal Subject,
Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh
PS. One day, when I finally have a foal of my own, I’m going to name them...anything but Star Swirl. Seriously, I’m not putting somepony else through the stress of feeling like they have to live up to that.
The Beginning
A/N: I debated about having Twilight write the letter, but eventually decided that Star herself was most appropriate. I also hope that the letter was done properly as even the show sometimes handles the moral a bit messily, and I REALLY don’t want to have messed that up. I was also wondering if I should have Star Swirl earn a title in the fic, but really, she’s just starting. She has time. I got the idea for the PS from Wolfwood2 from RPG.net. I also recently heard that Lauren Faust intended for Scootaloo to be a handicapped pegasus who was never meant to fly and would eventually have an episode where she learned that even though she admired Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t meant to become a stunt flyer like her and had to instead accept her true talent involving her scooter. As someone who had a disabled mother, I approve of the idea and I also feel a bit of vindication as this fic has a very similar message. Finally, my next ponyfic is on the way. I was going to call it Many-Trick-Pony until I was informed that it could be read as a euphemism for a prostitute. So right now, it’s untitled. Stay tuned though.
EDIT: Many-Trick-Pony is up and this fic is now the first in a series. The second is up and is called More than Forty Blinks.