The contested notes of Starswirl the bearded

by VectorSprite

Chapter 1

When I reached a certain plateau in my magical ability I decided that it was my responsibility to use my skills to help those in need. It was for this reason that I attempted to concoct a spell that would alert me to those who needed my help. For a long time the spell gave no results and I began to believe it had not worked as intended. Now I believe that the spell may have actually worked, but not to the scale I anticipated.

I awoke one night with a feeling of impending doom as if the world in it’s entirely was crying out for my help. I performed several divination spells which all foretold of a future that threatened all of ponykind. Finally, I gazed into my crystal ball and to my astonishment found what appeared to be a warrior from another world looking back at me. He spoke to me in a language not of this world, fortunately my linguistic spell was indeed capable of translating. He spoke of a mad warlord bent on subjugating his world in a tyrannical rule. He then said that this despot had the intention of invading Equestria, for he believed the key to his victory lied somewhere in our lands. We then struck a bargain, we both agreed to help each other protect our respective our worlds.

I reached into the magical either as he did the same on his world. I groped in the unknown until I came in contact with a magic unlike any I have ever felt. I managed to establish a connection and an enormous gateway opened. I realized the warrior must come from a world of giants, so I enchanted the portal so it would resize the traveler as to fit more comfortably in my home. The warrior then came through, but to my horror I found that in the time that had elapsed from when we spoke he had been attacked. Injured and possibly dying he collapsed on my floor. I shut the portal and attempted to treat my visitors wounds, but to my dismay I found myself at a loss for his body was unlike anything I could have imagined, and I could scarcely fathom on how to heal him.

Concentrating, I again reached into the magical either and searched for the foreign magic of his world. When I again felt the same energy I realized It was not from the other side, but rather something from my own alchemy lab. A jar of white stones I had been studying had the same magical aura as my guest, and as I moved them closer they began to shimmer as if being activated by his presence. I took a single stone and placed it on my visitor and it burst into lightning. At first I had feared I had inadvertently made things worse, if I hadn't outright killed him, but to my relief I saw his bleeding had stopped and his pain seemed to ease.

At this point I want to emphasize how difficult it is for me to describe this visitor. He is so far from a pony I struggle to put into words. I refer to him as a male solely based on the sound of his voice, which sounded masculin once translated but I have no way of knowing if this species even has the distinctions of gender. One thing however, I was capable of deducing was he was not a warrior of choice but of necessity. In times of peace he was likely one of study, but war had forced him to fight.

Using a metaphysical sensory charm I felt a strong spirit within in him, and an innate nobility, as well as a vastly important karmic destiny. It was in that moment I realized why fate had brought us together. The white stones had remained a mystery for many moons, but now I had an inclination as to their capabilities.

I used another stone and again watched the damage to his body reverse in a flash of lightning. At this time I had only a few stones left and was fairly certain they would be insufficient to to heal him entirely, but now that I knew what their magic aura felt like I knew I could find more. With my visitor stabilized I planned to return to where I had originally found the stones, a gloomy swamp which I believe seldom has visitors. I suspect I may have been the only one in fact, as I could find no previous studies pertaining to the white stones. When I first encountered them I mistook them for ordinary rocks, but when I touched one I realized they were no rock I had ever encountered. I initially studied their alchemic composition, never did I think to check for an aura which would have told me more. Indeed this reveals how how little we truly know of our world, just as my guest now proves we know nothing of the world beyond.

I moved the warrior to my bed and made him as comfortable as I imagined he could be, then I recovered what I could of his blood from my floor and stored it on my alchemy table. I readied my saddle bags and finally set out to find more of the stones. I left the remaining samples by his bedside in hopes he would find them if he needed them. It was risky leaving him alone, but without more of the stones I could do nothing for him.

I traveled back to the swamp, this time knowing what I was looking for I used a sensory charm, which led me to a hidden cave, and inside I found large deposits of the white stone. I can’t be sure how much there was or how far the cave went, I only stayed long enough to fill my saddle bags with the largest rocks I could fit.

When I returned I found my guest resting where I left him. I wasn't sure if he breathed as ponies do, but parts of his body moved which I took as indication that he was still alive. The stones I had left remained where I had placed them, I would need them later, but first I elected to study the blood samples I had collected earlier.

His blood was not like pony blood, as I expected at this point of coarse. The most obvious difference was it’s color, purple. Under a microscope I found it was not comprised of plasma and cells like pony blood but was entirely an oil like substance. I took a shaving of the white stone and combined it with a drop of blood in an attempt to understand it’s relationship with the warrior's species. The blood began to shimmer when it came into contact with the shaving. I suspect this is what his blood looks like when it’s inside his body.

I realized these rocks must have some connection to there there life force, and I began to think of a way my plan could work. You may wonder at this point, if you haven’t wondered already, why I haven’t used the large stones I collected to heal the warrior for surely they would have been sufficient. I believe that too be so, but I did not simply want to heal him but rather make him better than he once was. I said before I understood why fate had brought us together, and that, I believed was so he could receive something he could not otherwise get from his own world. If my visitors physical strength matched his strength of heart he would be powerful indeed and capable of saving his world and in turn protecting mine.I feared this plan to be presumptuous, even selfish, but I also feared that it may be necessary for our mutual survival.

With all of my skills of alchemy I transformed the samples of his blood into a liquid representation of his noble spirit, which made it change from purple to red. Next I took the remaining small stones I had from before and gave them permutative properties. I combined the stones with the transformed blood and it changed from red to orange, thickened, and began to expand. I ran some final alchemical preparations and, after placing the bigger stones in my largest cauldron, poured the liquid on them. I watched as the stones melted into molten lava which also expanded to the point to where my cauldron was almost completely full.

I knew a test was in order and I searched for something that could work. I found an old battle ax I happened to have lying around and decided that it would serve as the perfect test, after all a warrior needs a weapon. I dipped the ax into my cauldron and when I pulled it out it was changed, there was a strange pattern in the metal of the head which was now bigger and glowing with heat along the blade. I watched as the molten rock dripped down the head and along the handle changing it from wood to metal. No drips reached the ground, for it all soaked into the ax completing its transformation.

Finally it was time, I set the ax aside and levitated the cauldron over the resting warrior. I poured the contents and watched as he was consumed in red lightning before a bright light blinded me. The release of power must have knocked me out because I awoke to find the warrior standing over me in a new fully formed body. He asked me what had transpired and I explained what I had done and why I had done it. He understood and didn’t blame me for acting without his permission. He then told me his old name, which I will not record for his protection, but I can reveal the new name he took as per my suggestion. He now calls himself the Warrior of Hope.

I saw that my bed had been consumed by process, a small price to pay if it can save a civilization or two. The Warrior of Hope was now bigger, bulkier, I guessed this is what must be a heroic build for his species. Like the warrior ponies with the big muscles. I presented him with the ax and he said he felt a connection to it. I figured because the changing potion was created with his blood it meant the weapon was indeed apart of him on a metaphysical level. If I’m right there should be more to that ax then meets the eye, but what that may be he will have to discover for himself I’m afraid. It was at this point he remembered what had happened before he came through the portal. He explained how he and his allies were attacked. He believed it likely that they were still in danger. We made plans to meet again and I sent him home.

***

The proceeding was the contested notes of Starswirl the bearded translated to modern equestrian. The contested notes are so called because many scholars believe them to be a hoax. The story described is hard to swallow and indeed is easily written off as a work of fiction starring a historical figure however, there is enough compelling evidence to suggest these notes may be authentic.

First, carbon dating of the parchment determined that they are likely a little under 80 years old, far short of a thousand plus. At a glance these results should prove them to be a hoax, but alchemy experts have postulated that the magical energies described in the story can alter parchment imperceptibly that could easily affect carbon dating tests. Testing of other notes believed to be created around the same time have the same results. Some of the notes in question were confirmed by Celestia herself as being authentic.

Next is the writing itself. One quark of Starswirl is how he would shift from writing with his hoof and writing with telekinesis, depending on what he was doing at the time, Starswirl being a severe multitasker. Both styles have been expertly forged, if indeed this is a forgery.

Lastly there are a number of things mentioned in the story that allude to other things historians know about Starswirl. Celestia had once said she believed Starswirl must not have slept for he had no bed. In the book The History of Warrior Kings by Forgotten Bones, King Blue Tooth presents Starswirl with a ceremonial battle ax in acknowledgment of of his powerful magic. No such ax has ever been discovered. Finally, if this story is true it could explain why Starswirl suddenly started to study magic intended for combat. Many spells he developed are still used today by unicorns in the royal guard, and could have been intended for an incoming invasion.

Skeptics have there own evidence that points to the notes as being a hoax. First and foremost it’s a story about an alien. If Starswirl really encountered life from another world it probably would have been a big deal and it would be noted in history. Next is the vagueness of the alien. No description of the “unimaginable” alien seems to indicate that the author doesn't know what it looked like. Which would indicate the story is made up. Lastly why does Starswirl keep the alien’s old name secret but reveal his new name? Who in Equestria is going to care who this guy used to be? And why is it ok to know the name he currently goes by?

The last bit of evidence that can be discussed is the inconclusive evidence. First is the narrative of the notes. Starswirl occasionally will stop and address the audience, when historically Starswirl’s notes have always been mainly flat descriptions of experiments or events. It can be argued however, that this is actually a letter to someone. Who this was for and if they ever received it is unknown. Ponies who refute this theory say there is no signature and therefore unlikely to be a letter, but the lack signature suggests that the letter is incomplete which explains why the notes end so abruptly. Lastly, ten years after the discovery of these notes a map believed to be drawn by Starswirl was discovered. The map was of a swamp and detailed the location of a cave. The map was confirmed as real when both the swamp and cave were discovered and explored. The cave did match the description of being hidden but no white stones were discovered.

Several ponies have stepped forward as the author of both the notes and the map, some of which have offered evidence to prove their claims, all promptly debunked. So far the only conclusive evidence to be discovered is who didn’t write it, Starswirl not yet on that list. Are these notes that prove aliens have made contact with our world over a thousand years ago? Or is it just an elaborate hoax perpetrated by an expert on Starswirl the bearded?