//------------------------------// // Revelation // Story: Fallen Star Swirl // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "How... how is that possible?" Spike scratched his chin with his claw. "Hold on. If you're Star Swirl the Bearded, where's your beard?" Spike questioned the unicorn's lack of facial hair. Apart from his gray mane and blue coat, he bore no resemblance to the legendary magician. "I shaved it. When I left here... when I gave up. But I am the only Star Swirl in Equestria." he explained. Twilight's eyes lit up with studious interest. "If you're Star Swirl the Bearded, oh, I have so many questions for you! How did you discover time spells? When was the first time you teleported?" she began a series of long questions for the unicorn. Star Swirl took several steps back as Twilight's friendly interrogation caught him off gaurd. "I, uh, would be happy to-" Twilight advanced on him with questions. "Why did you make the want it/need it spell? I used it once and it seems like it has a very limited range of uses." "Well, there's a funny story about tha-" "Did you know your recipe for the wing spell is very fragile? Epecially at high alititudes. But I've developed a new recipe for hoof-made wings that I think will be a lot more durable in the long term." Twilight levitated several books in front of his face. Star Swirl was overwhelmed. His horn glowed a dark blue and the books flew away from him. "Enough! Half of that spell is mine 'you majesty' so that means half of the credit belongs to me!" "You want to be a princess?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes... I mean, no! I mean, you know what I mean! Half of that spell belongs to me. I worked for over two-hundred years on it!" Star Swirl said. Twilight thought. "Why do you need credit? You have a whole wing dedicated to you in the Canterlot Library! You're famous! You're a legend! You're-" "A failure." Star Swirl's gaze dropped to the floor and he turned away from the praise Twilight bestowed upon him. "What are you talking about? You're Star Swirl the Bearded! Or, Star Swirl the... Shaved... now, I guess. Anypony would give up their cutie mark to be you!" Spike said. Star Swirl didn't turn to face them. "That spell was supposed to be my masterpiece, literally MY crowning achievement, not yours. I worked so hard, spent so much time trying to get it right. But I never did. Now... I'm just a name from the pages out of a dusty old book. I'm just Star Swirl..." Twilight felt sorry for the unicorn. She honestly did look up to him and it pained her to see him that way. But she was determined to make things right. "Star Swirl, if you say that this spell is half yours than I will be happy to share the credit with you." Star Swirl turned to face her, his mood visibly perked up. "You... you really mean that?" Twilight nodded. "I'll talk to Princess Celestia tomorrow. I'll make sure everypony knows that this spell is your masterpiece and that I helped you finish it." "Thank you. Thank you so much, really you don't know what this means to me. I feel so relieved." "They could even call it the Star-Sparkle Spell. That way, everypony will know who it came from." Spike suggested. "We'll both go to Canterlot first thing tomorrow morning. We'll make sure everything gets sorted out." Twilight assured him. "Thank you so much, I'm sorry for barging in on you like this. It's been so long since I was in Ponyville..." "It's all right. Honesly, you're... you're kind of my hero." Twilight admitted shyly. Star Swirl smiled at the comment. "Do you have a place to stay?" Spike asked. "Actually no, I kind of just arrived in town today. Everything's changed so much." Star Swirl said, looking around. Twilight's eyes lit up. "You could stay here for the night! Then we could head out to Canterlot together!" she suggested. "I would like that, thank you again. I really don't deserve any of this... I can see why you deserve to be a princess Twilight." Star Swirl said. Twilight thought her heart would burst and she would faint at any moment. Sleepover with Star Swirl the Bearded! This was a dream come true. She shifted her hooves giddily. Somethings never changed. "I have so many questions to ask you! Would you mind maybe... autographing my books? You're in most of them by the way." Star Swirl chuckled. "Well, of course. And I'll be happy to answer any of your questions but really, it's been kind of a long day for me. For now, I'd just like to get some sleep." Twilight nodded. It had been a long day for her as well. They both helped Spike clean up the rest of the living room, put books back on the shelves and then Spike showed Star Swirl to the guest room. Twilight and Spike then headed to Twilight's bedroom/study. Twilight removed her gown and accessories, quickly finding a new place to store them in an organized fashion amongst her other clothes, including her gown from the Grand Galloping Gala and her Star Swirl the Bearded costume. She giggled as she looked at the bearded outfit. She never imagined she'd meet the real thing, let alone help him get recognized for his masterpiece. Her first day of being a princess and already she'd met a living legend. She could only imagine what more was in store for her.