Know that this is story of truth and every word, as unbelievable as you may find it, hides no lies.

Know that my name is Star Swirl, called the Bearded, High Council magician of King Diamond Heart of the Unicorn Kingdom.

As many ponies, my juvenile years were spent finding my true purpose and, as many, my given name matched the mark on my flank. Three shooting stars in a spiral, signaling my passion for understanding the revolutions of the stars and how our magic can control them.

Know that was I naught but reckless and prideful as a young colt, challenging any passing unicorn to a magic duel and confronting beast thrice my size. I travelled across every corner of the land that shall be known one day as Equestria, testing my courage and arrogance.

But all that was put to a rest when I discovered the source of all amic, the Three of Harmony and the secret guarded on its crystalline leaves.

Oh, what a fool I was, chasing a truth without knowing it and being terrified when I stumbled upon it!

My excessive confidence shattered, I returned to the Kingdom as a nobler pony. I offered my services to the King as an advisor, quickly raising in positions. I  I spent many years studying all forms of magic and took on an apprentice named Clover, who I named the Clever, for he was smart, more than he himself gave credit for, and lent him the court matters while I struggled with the one spell that I never finished.

For years, I searched in vain for an answer to that incomplete verse, to achieve the spell that will create new magic. Finally, in my later years, I turned my attention to a mysterious crystal that I recovered from the clearing near the Tree, a crystal that showed glimpses of another world. I learned to read its cycles, learn that when the moon was rising the portal was open and when it touched the highest point, it will close for another thirty cycles.

Once I was secure my student had learned everything he could possibly needed, I took my garment and walked inside the portal, leaving instructions in case I may not return. You can imagine my surprise when i stumbled in the other side, transformed into a creature like I have never seen before. My hooves replaced by strange appendages and my stature increased.

I was a stranger in a stranger land, an intruder in a world where no magic was known and no king was in charge. Once the initial impression was gone, I felt rejuvenated. I was once again a foolish stallion with a brand, new world in front of his eyes and I decided to stay. It wasn't without sorrow that I abandoned my world, leaving my student with plenty of question that may not get answered, but I have absolute trust he would follow my direction and put the mirror to good care.

I have found a new calling in this strange world. I founded an academy, a high school as it is called, and I named it like the fabled castle the king trusted me wished to build for his daughter. Canterlot High it is named and I am his founder and headmaster. From this place, I shall guide a new generation of apprentices and with time, I may share the secret of my true origin. I have confidence one day, the story will be know.

In the meantime, I secure this knowledge to my successors and their successors, to keep the secret safe. The portal is hiding in the statue I built in the school gates and shall remain safe until the time is right for it to be revealed.

******

Principal Celestia closed the book and let og a big sigh. When the previous principal told her there was an entire story behind the founding of the school, she wasn't expecting this at all. Her initial reaction was to call the entire story a fairy tale or an elaborate hoax and call it a night, then she saw the glow.

It came from the statue in the front gate. She peeked through her window and saw a young girl come out, not from behind the statue but from inside it. She looked as the girl examined her body, like it was the first time she had seen hands and legs and then with a not very comforting laugh, she picked up a voucher, which Celestia assumed was one of the many for the school dance, and walked into the school.

Celestia let go of her breath and sat down on her desk, trying to process what she just saw. Then she noticed the diary, she picked it up again and start reading it from the beginning once more…