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// To my dearest Starswirl 
// Story: Starswirl's Journal 
// by AlesFlamas 
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If you are reading this, my final letter, then it means I have perished upon the Black Throne and all has proceeded as it should. I was never meant to see the world I so desperately dreamed of, Starswirl. I did not say this in my letters, as I was frightened by how you might react, but in my visions of a wartorn world, filled with fire and hatred, the one who stood at the forefront of it all, the harbinger of this senseless violence: it was me. In the future I had seen, I had slain my brother, and in an attempt to unite the three tribes, started the war that would end all wars. And I succeeded. It was a possibility that frightened me, Starswirl. There is a darkness in my bloodline, a physical, permeable presence that has morphed all that sit upon the Black Throne into tyrants and monsters. I hope that by dying here, I will end the chain, but my brother lives yet, so I fear he may still carry it within him.

Before I carry on about my brother, you might, no, I daresay you are wondering how this all came to be. To make a long story short, I contracted the Pox of Purpose the day I discovered the king. This has nothing to do with my discovering his body, I just coincidentally contracted it. But regardless of where it came from, I knew the exact moment I became infected what my fate was. I knew when the disease would take effect, how long it would take to gestate, and, most importantly, the period of contagiousness. I had devised my plan long before you quarantined me. And the application itself was no problem. After escaping, I enlisted the aid of another doomed pony, who shall remain nameless, as his name doesn't matter. He brought me to Negra Beliza, where I requested an audience with my brother, who was all too eager to see me. However, I first requested that I be taken to see my Oracle sisters. He said that I could have whatever I wanted, as in the end none of it would matter. How wrong he was.

It was at the Temple of Divination that the disease began to take effect. I began to vomit profusely into the temple fountain, which acts as the water distribution and filtration system for the entire city. My sisters understood what I was doing, thankfully, and forbade my brother from seeing me, on the claim that I had contracted a horrible, contagious disease (which wasn't untrue.) But my brother was not so easily dissuaded. He gave me three days. If I was not better within that time frame, I was to be presented to him, regardless of my condition. On the first day, the Pox took full hold and I lost my talent. I could no longer see the future, but I was no longer concerned with that. I had seen all I needed to. On the second day, all able-bodied citizens were suddenly collapsing in the streets. The citizens of Negra Beliza, after all, have never had to deal with a single disease in their collective lives, so the Pox were especially quick and harsh on them. On the third day, I blacked out for an indeterminate amount of time. When I awoke, I discovered my sisters had brought me to Castle del Toro and placed me upon the Black Throne. My brother, apparently, had made a coward's retreat. This amused me, but something inside me still worried. And so I began to write this letter, with the last of my strength.

Be wary, me beloved, as my brother is a crafty stallion. His words are as poisonous and beguiling as chimera's milk. Likely by the time you read this, he'll already have amassed a small army. You must defeat him at all costs. Please. . .you must. . .

My strength begins to wane. . . my final hour is at hand, my dearest Starswirl. . . . Do not mourn me, my beloved. And when she grows older, do not allow Clover to mourn me. Tears are wasted on the dead. Save them instead, for the living who walk the earth, shrouded in a miasma of hatred. Save your tears for those who themselves can not shed them. But do not cry for me. I've already done enough for all three of us.

I love you, Starswirl.

Forever yours and always, till death do us part and far, far beyond,

Rain.