A Brief History of Equestria

by K9Thefirst1

Star-Swirl the Bearded

Star-Swirl the Bearded

“All you have to decide in life, is what to do with the time that has been given to you.”

Though he did not have a direct part in the actual founding of Equestria, there is no question that the unicorn Star-Swirl the Bearded, Father of Modern Unicorn Magic, played the vital role of laying down the foundations that the Founders would follow.

Sadly, little is known of Star-Swirl’s early life, not where he was born, or when, or even the name of his parents. Anecdotes and folk stories abound, however. Given the fact that he is one of the most powerful unicorns in all of history, there have always been those who claim him to be not entirely natural. Most stories say that he was a cambion (a demi-pony whose father was a changeling), if not a Changeling Prince himself. Still other stories claim that he was in fact Shadowed Fact, a powerful figure from ancient Pre-Historical mythology, in mortal form to guide ponykind.

Regardless as to his origins, we do know that the first confirmable record of his existence was in 190 BW, when he defended a small Hyracotherium village from a Greater Shadow that had been preying on them. Even this far before the founding he already had the look of an elderly unicorn stallion with a grey mane, coat and long beard, along with his now famed robes and hat, adorned with bells of an even now unknown nature or purpose.

After this he is recorded as having wandered the River Valley among the three tribes, interacting with members of each and carrying out tasks that they needed done, whether he was asked to or not. Sadly, almost all of these tasks are lost to us now, except for the anecdotal mentioning in one of Star-Swirl’s journals of some affair involving an Earth Pony named Humble Pie and a Pegasus named Silver Lining. Nothing else is known of this event.

As a result of his selfless work, Star-Swirl became well respected by the lower members of all three tribes, the only Unicorn of the Pre-Equestrian era to claim such a fact. However, being popular with the populous did not mean being popular with the rulers. While the Hyracotherium politicians at least pretended to appreciate Star-Swirl’s voluntary work, and the Celestine Junta more often than not held a begrudging respect (as soldiers and officers often became officers and higher officers), the nobility of the Kingdom of Unicorns were all but outright hostile, tolerating his existence and his tendency to voluntarily interact with the rabble of the other tribes only because of his unheard of amounts of power and his own work for the unicorns. The chief and most recognized example being how he saved the life of the much beloved (read: weak and easily twisted by the Court) King Tellurium (150-99/102-99 BW) from an attempt on his life in 101 BW from his nephew, who claimed that the King murdered his father with the leaves of a Yew tree for the crown. Given the weak will of Tellurium and the well known reputation of the court, modern scholars and historians agree that the whole incident was in fact the most public incident of a behind-the-scenes war amongst factions of the court for control over the throne, which would continue in one form or another until the Purge after The Great Warming. This particular incident being the last that Star-Swirl would perform for any of the nobility, and starting their now well-known antagonism. Had Star-Swirl been anypony else, he would not have lasted long amongst the court and their hired assassins. After this event, Star-Swirl took the king’s nephew with him, where he disappears from the historical record, and until his return to the castle to assist then Prince Aurum to the throne almost a century later, Star-Swirl was unwelcome to the court, due to a reputation of “disturbing the peace.”

The most potent reason for this view of Star-Swirl is most likely due to something that fascinates scholars and historians even today: his surprisingly modern view of the world, more specifically relations between the three pony races, and how they needed to work and live together. A matter of particular interest is Star-Swirl’s Philosophy of the Alicorn, the first treatise of which he produced in 110 BW.

An Alicorn, Star-Swirl claimed, was the epitome of all that is Pony. A being that is all at once Pure Unicorn, Pure Pegasus, and Pure Earth Pony; expressing all of the positives of each race, and cancelling out all of the negatives of the same; that they are in fact Gods and Goddesses in all senses of the word. This is interesting to scholars, not because he proved to be right (given the existence of the Princesses), but because, prior to Star-Swirl, there is no record at all, in any culture or mythology or cosmology in the world, that even suggests at a possible source of inspiration for Star-Swirl. In effect, Star-Swirl seems to have invented the concept out of whole cloth. However, those he shared his beliefs and speculations with didn’t know what to do with what Star-Swirl shared with them, assuming he had a specific goal to begin with. However, the Alicorn quickly became a symbol of the Pan-National sentiments that, while spread out far and wide within the Valley, never grew into a major movement. In fact, Smart Cookie is the only known public official of any of the tribes who publically expressed Pan-Nationalistic tendencies before The Great Warming. However, the idea of a being with the features of all three races proved unpopular among the upper classes of the three tribes, as it meant that Star-Swirl was in effect that the three Tribes were equal, a notion that at the time was disregarded as ridiculous.

Not wanting to push his luck at the court, Star-Swirl abandoned the King’s Castle and traveled amongst the ponies of the three tribes, taking time to interact with the commoners. The most famous example being the time he often spent at Orohippus Collage as a guest philosopher (the first unicorn to ever hold any position at an Earth Pony institution), more specifically his time as a mentor of sorts to future Secretary Smart Cookie. After his appointment as Court Mage and eventual promotion to Regent of the Kingdom of Unicorns however, Star-Swirl had to resign, coming to the university only as the occasional guest speaker.

Late in the night of October 48 BW, the Radical Anti-Monarchist faction of the Court in the Kingdom of Unicorns turned militant, rising against the Royal family and their supporters, dragging the King, Queen and their family from their beds and murdering them in the basement, intent on establishing an oligarchy of the nobility, with their faction naturally at the head. According to tradition, King Palladium and Queen Ruthinium, along with the three oldest sons died in the first magical volley. However, Princess Osmium was found to be alive as the revolutionaries gathered the bodies. Osmium was known for a streak of paranoia by even by the standards of the court. Convinced that somepony of the nobility would murder her, the princess took to wearing clothing that had gems sown into the lining, specially enchanted to guard against all harm, even her sleepwear as the story goes. Sadly, she was unable to take advantage of the time bought to escape, as the pony that discovered her status dispatched her at pointblank range. It seemed as though centuries of schemes and effort were successful, and the house of Æthelric the Stern of Two Dozen Sons was finally fallen. Except for one, it was soon found. Because King Palladium had four sons, and there were only four male bodies on the floor. Prince Aurum was alive and elsewhere.

The Prince was the youngest of the four sons, still at that age where mischief and sneaking about was expected. His status as the youngest son also made him a spare to the throne, and as such the Royal Guard was less concerned with his security than his elder brothers. At the time of the uprising, Prince Aurum was enjoying a secret rendezvous with his then-betrothed Argentum. When the screams started, Aurum had the presence of mind to hide himself and Argentum until the coast was clear. Realizing the danger he was in, Aurum left Argentum in the safe-keeping of her family and went into exile, seeking help from the one unicorn of power who would be willing to help him: Star-Swirl the Bearded.

At the time, Star-Swirl was staying with a detachment of pegasi at a surface fort, sharing stories and drinks with the warriors when a commotion was heard at the gate. A group of Unicorn Mercenaries were pursuing a young stallion through the snow, who was making his way to the fortress, calling out for sanctuary. Star-Swirl quickly went to Aurum's aid, the warriors begrudgingly giving him backup. This resulted in a lopsided battle between the monetarily-motivated mercenaries of the Radical Anti-Monarchist Faction of the Kingdom of Unicorns and the highly trained warriors of the Celestine Junta. The sentries brought the young prince to Star-Swirl, who told all present what had happened.

Until now, Star-Swirl was content to leave the governments of the three tribes to do as they wished, instead simply being an influence on the consecutive generations to bring about pony unity. However, the blatant aggression and needless bloodshed roused Star-Swirl from his personal non-interference policy, returning to the Kingdom with the young prince in tow, members of the Pegasi detachment following to oversee the events. Or as Star-Swirl himself puts it in his personal journal, “to enjoy the show.”

From the time of the ‘revolution’ to Aurum’s return with Star-Swirl, three months had passed, and the court was in a riotous uproar. As the Royal family (they assumed) was no more, there was no longer a need to play nice with each other, and age old and petty grudges, feuds and jealousies could now be carried out fully. The Throne Room now held the entire court, and each noble house was in the middle of a shouting match over who would hold power, and things were going to turn violent at any second.

As the story goes, Star-Swirl caught everyponies’ attention with a burst of bright light. Once their attention was on him and not their feud, Star-Swirl berated the nobles responsible and demanded that they all stand down and cease their attempt to supplant the throne. In response the entire court launched themselves at Star-Swirl, enraged at his attempt to control them and restore the Royal Line. At first this seems like an unwise move on the court’s part. However, considering how it had been nearly a century since Star-Swirl’s last visit to the court, and thus the last time anypony of the court had actually seen Star-Swirl’s full power. While the Junta soldiers watched from the windows and doors with laughter, and Prince Aurum made his way to the throne, Star-Swirl proceeded to beat the entire court (depending on the source, this numbers anywhere from 19 ponies to as many as 600) into submission on his own, without killing a single one. After the dust settled, Aurum donned the crown of his father, declaring himself king as he addressed the court.

“In light of the recent murder of my father the king, my mother the queen, and my brothers and sister, We do decry that all of those involved in the plot and responsible for the bloodshed are to leave Our realm before sunrise, or face execution. The remaining members of the court are to line up, where every tenth will then be banished from the palace for life for their accessory to the recent conspiracy.

[...]

“If it pleases him, We would like to request that the venerable Star-Swirl the Bearded, well known for his wise council and awesome power, become Our Court Mage and Advisor on all matters domestic and foreign, as We are quite young and unused to the weight of the crown.”

Against the protest of the court, Star-Swirl accepted the appointment, moving into the palace and setting up a Magi Laboratory in the highest room of the tallest tower. For the rest of both Aurum’s life and Star-Swirl’s time Pre-Equestria, Star-Swirl would serve the throne, tutoring the Royal line in political intrigue to counter the antagonistic court. The now Court Mage would also take advantage of his suddenly rooted living arrangements to carry out his magical experiments. Among his most enduring would be laying down the foundations for the Amniomorphic Spell, which revolutionized pottery craft for Unicorns, making bowls and jars and related containers able to preserve food and drink by weaving potent magics into the material of the container itself, without the need of the long and arduous process of embedding expensive gems and precious metals into the container itself.

But Star-Swirl also experimented in more esoteric magic, spells that pushed at the boundaries that separate this world from the Beyond, knowledge that he gladly shared with his only protégé, Clover the Clever. Among these is the Time Travel spell. While it’s nature of establishing only Stable Time Micro-Loops makes it worthless for any application practical or academic, the intricacies of the spell itself is a fascinating study for Magical Scholars.

This hobby would continue even after the dying Aurum named him Regent, with experiments that would push further and further beyond Time and Space. His final experiment is a mystery, as he had either destroyed his notes, or they were incinerated in the resulting explosion. However, concerning the events that brought the Princesses to this plane, it is clear that Star-Swirl was looking for some way to contact the Alicorns that he, and he alone, knew existed somewhere out there. And in a cold autum morning in 3 BW, the entire palace was awakened by a massive explosion coming from Star-Swirl's tower. When Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever and the guards arrived, they found the laboratory in ruins, and not a single sign of Star-Swirl anywhere. However, Clover and Platinum did find a single sheet of parchment left behind for them to find. Evidently Star-Swirl did not wish to leave his charges Platinum and Clover without some closure, leaving this letter behind for the two young mares:

‘To Princess Platinum and Little Clover, and whomever they deem it may concern.

If you are reading this, and my body is not splattered about the lab, then my latest Arcane Experiment has been successful, and I have breached the barriers of all that is and have pierced into the Immaterial. Though you may wish not to, I encourage you to weep if that is your heart’s first inclination, for not all tears are evil, nor are they all signs of weakness, but rather a sign of the great capacity for Love.

“To Clover, I leave all of my books, my equipment, and all of my notes to use as she sees fit, so long as she continues her studies without me. To Platinum, I leave all that her father intended in this eventuality. The key is hidden in a place I am certain that she hasn’t not reverse-covered. And to them both, I leave these words.

‘The two of you have grown into fine young mares, who shall certainly lead ponykind into a bright and glorious future. When the time is right Platinum, I know you shall do what is best for everypony, and you need not fear how I may judge your actions on that day. And Clover, this conversation was due to take place anyway, so I may as well express my sentiments now. While it may not happen today, or tomorrow or next year, eventually the nobles of the court will try to force you into a marriage. Platinum will certainly use what little power she has to deflect such attentions, and my final request that you be left be will certainly turn away the more honorable members of the court, how few they may be, I can no longer protect you little one. Therefore, be strong, and resist. If you are to marry, it must be by your choice, and no pony else’s. If you choose to marry, find a stallion who is stout of honor, and firm-holding to his principals, and good heavens may the Alicorns Above grace him with at least a half-decent beard!

‘I make no promises about what is to come. But I assure you that I have lived on this plane of existence for long enough, have held the helm of ponykind’s course for long enough. During all the years I've been taking care of you, I feel that you in return have been taking care of me. Though I have never said it aloud, I do think of you two as my own grandchildren, and you always will be. But now, you are growing into a lovely pair of mares too. It is time that you youngsters started gaining control. This is the only way that you will be able to grow now. Without an old fuddy-duddy bore like me in the way. But! But! One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Perhaps in some long-to-be time, when ponykind is in its darkest hours, I shall return with the allies who will assure that Love, Tolerance, and Peace shall know each and every pony’s heart. But even so, I fear that our paths must now part, forever. Now then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. All I ask is that you simply decide what to do with the time you have each been given. Goodbye Platinum. Goodbye Clover. Goodbye my dears.’

After the Great Warming, Star-Swirl became something of a National and Folk Hero for Equestria as the first Pan-Nationalist, a powerful unicorn that saw worth in the other tribes, and as a wise scholar and politician. However, with the passage of time, and the presence of the equally (if not even more) powerful Mimic and the Reign of Madness, his memory has sadly faded from the Equestrian consciousness, with his accomplishments and role in the shaping of Pony society fading along with it.

Comments

[K9Thefirst1]

And so we have the last of the biographies for now. Sorry this took so long, I wanted to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy before starting on Star-Swirl, and boy am I glad I did. Don’t worry, Star-Swirl’s story isn’t done just yet.

Humble Pie and Silver Lining, if you don’t know, are a reference to The Final Quest of Starswirl the Bearded. It’s a great story.

And I hope you all caught the Hamlet reff with King Tellurium as Claudius. Also, trivia: The Yew tree is considered by some as the source of the poison that killed Hamlet’s father due to a similarity to the symptoms described (to quote Wiki). Also, horses are the most susceptible and vulnerable to the poison. The More You Know.

Much has been made of Star-Swirl’s “Amniomorphic Spell” has something to do with fetus’. However, if TVTropes is to believed, the root for “Amnio” goes back to the same word for “bowl.” Thus making Star-Swirl the Bearded a Hairy Harry Potter pun/shout out. I like this theory, even in the event of it being wrong. Because it’s clever. ^_^

It’s really a happy coincidence that I settled on naming Platinum’s family after precious metals that I stumbled on this Meaningful Name situation. All of Platinum’s named family (other than her parents) are part of the, get this, Platinum group of elements! Furthermore, Aunt Osmium? The one that shrugged off a firing squad? Densest naturally occurring element. LOL.

Speaking of Platinum’s family: If you noticed a similarity to the fate of the Romanovs, you get a cookie.

And if you’re wondering: Yes. I enjoy making the Nobility of the Kingdom of Unicorns petty, childish and utterly stupid Starscreams.

[ArmadaOfGhosts]

And that is how my headfanon for Starswirl was established. Truly well written, looking forward to the rest.

[Terrace]

Star-Swirl's final address to Platinum and Clover clearly had elements of the First Doctor in them. In the episode The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Doctor left his granddaughter behind with much the same speech, though abbreviated.

"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye my dear."

[Littleflame]

Because King Palladium had four sons, and there were only four male bodies on the floor.

Found an error here. Isnt it supposed to be only three male bodies?
And how the Royal family was almost overthrown reminds me of how the last Tsar of Russia was killed. They thought all the family was dead and buried them, but now archeologists found the daughter's body miles away in only a nightgown. Similar, but not quite.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

So Star-Swirl may or may not have had something to do with the apperance of the allicorns Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, fascinating.

[K9Thefirst1]

1174767
Let's see... Three dead sons... Plus one dead father... That ought to equal four dead male bodies, unless I'm missing something.

Well, I know that Anastasia is now known to have died that night, but I was specifically thinking of an anecdote of how either the Tsarina or one of the princesses survived the first bout of fireing squad due to parts of the family jewels being sewn into her clothes.

1174817

Oh HO! You caught that did you? Ha ha, mine is a clever mind. ^_^

However, Cadence is a special case, because pony genetics are total BS.

[repoman]

1174767

Maybe Kind Palladium was among the 4 bodies, leaving only 3 bodies of the sons? IDK.

[Littleflame]

*facehoofs*
Sorry, I miscounted. My mind was on the number of sons, so somehow it translated the number being the number of the male offspring on the floor
If I don't make much sense, it's because it's really late here at night and I haven't slept for a while...

[SuperPinkBrony12]

1174831 Oh I get it Cadence was born naturally but Celestia and Luna were not, I'll bet Twilight was surprised to find that out.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Awesome use of the Amniomorphic Spell there. And yeah, I could almost hear Hartnell in that last bit. Gandalf, First Doctor? I can see it.

[Rubel]

So Starswirl planted the idea of the Alicorn in the collective consciousness of Ponykind and then left to the Immateria to seek them out? Sounds like he placed the seed of belief in the populous and then went into the Dream Time to use that seed to create them.

[K9Thefirst1]

1176900

That... Is awesomely badass. Completely wrong, but badass.

1175137

Well, in a Pre-Industrial society where refridgeration is impossible and other methods of preservation are either expensive (salts and spices) or time-consuming (curring and smoking), being able to put preservative properties into common containers would be a massive blessing.

[Rubel]

Aww. I was hoping I was right.

[Andy-025]

So Star Swill is Pony not born of Pony

[AlgaeNymph]

"Shadowed Fact"
Shadowfax sees what you did there.

[Tragicom]

I do love Hartnell's farewell to Susan. Though I do love that speech he gives when Steven leaves the TARDIS a little more, and I think I'm in the minority.

I've always subscribed to the idea that somepony misheard and he was actually father of the 'Omniomorphic' spell, or 'All-shaping'. Construction and re-organization of matter. Seems better for a legendary Unicorn.

[Nopony in Particular]

So Star Swirl may or may or may not be Pony-Jesus. Star Swirl is believed by some to be Shadowed Fact, an immortal being that was basically a god, in mortal form. Jesus(by my own belief) is a man who was God in mortal form. Both sought to unite their respective species. Both transcended and both promised to return.

Now with the potential flame war outta the way, I like Star Swirl's vagueness. It is fitting that one off the most powerful and mysterious unicorns ever has little known about him. I mean how old is this guy? He left the Royal Court for a century, came back and then beat their tails without any one getting seriously hurt! Don't forget that in his earliest known appearance, he was already with the appearance of an old man. Ooh, I know maybe he is more like Gandalf(both are ancient butt kickers who helped shaped their respective societies for centuries and one may be ancient being and the other IS) than Jesus. You know... that comparison is probably the weirdest thing I have ever typed.

[Trish Hankins]

Nice 1st Doctor reference.

[Xuncu]

Doctor...

[Jesin]

(I believe you've mixed up "populous" and "populace".)

[FreedomFiend]

I'm a little surprised Prince Aurum didn't have to get a sword from the Mare of the Lake.

Also, when I read "But! But!" I heard this.

[bitbrony]

"as it meant that Star-Swirl was in effect that the three Tribes were equal"
Is there a word missing here?

[Afalstein]

Star-Swirl is maybe a bit TOO obvious copy of Gandalf. Not that I'm complaining, Gandalf is worlds cooler than Dumbledore, which is what he's always compared to in the MLP show. But if you know the references, it's just a little distracting. Oh, but the Merlin reference was fun. And the part where he trashed the whole court of schemers was awesome.

This alicorn bit is interesting. Twilight's narrative seems to suggest that even she doesn't know of any further appearances by StarSwirl, though Celestia and Luna mentioned they met him, and you indicate in the notes that he'll be popping up again. I'm probably just misreading it.

So... stable time loops. I imagine we'll get more details about this later, but I'm guessing that it doesn't allow the user to go absolutely anywhere, and it seems like it means the person would go back to where they started, eventually.

[Silv3r Shadow]

Wow so cool

[AleneShazam]

Wait a minute...

Now then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties.

DOCTOR?!

[ShadowLDrago]

I enjoy making the Nobility of the Kingdom of Unicorns petty, childish and utterly stupid Starscreams.

Oh please, even G1 Starscream was better than that court, at least he's funny. And he can turn into a jet.

[BlueColton]

I hope that Starswirl eventually appears on the animated series. I believe he may even be from the future, which is why he knows so much a bout alicorns and magic, because he actually learned about it in some distant time. Regardless, he's a fascinating character that would make for a great tutor for Twilight. Perhaps he even tutored Luna and Celestia?

[LawnPygmy]

1717444 Or maybe, with his modern mindset, and the reference to the time spell only making stable time loops, maybe he's from Equestria's Future. He might even be self-causing. He goes back in time to cause the events that led to Equestria, then comes forward in time to ensure that the events that lead to his own birth take place, so that he can go back to help shape Equestria's founding so he can be born.

[Artist]

1174231
This is very interesting