The Adventures of Starswirl and Clover

Clover’s POV
While walking down the dirt roads of Ponyville, I made a mental note of each shop with a “Help-Wanted” sign. Starswirl seemed to have an amount of bits that would last for a long amount of time, but I didn’t really know. He didn’t ever share anything with me; getting him to talk was like pulling teeth. We stopped at a small cafe and sat at an outside table. Most of the menu items were fairly expensive, so I just got a petunia sandwich. Starswirl got carrot soup. Once we paid the waiter, I decided it was time to discuss the game plan.

I cleared my throat. “So, I was thinking that after we visit the library we could look for jobs. You know, to have a source of income,” I suggested. He nodded his head in agreement, soup dripping down his beard. I wrinkled my nose. “Does food always get in your beard?” After a moment, he swallowed.

“Maybe…” he replied. I rolled my eyes, and he shrugged. “Actually, Clover, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” I leaned forward, prompting him to go on. “What exactly is your cutie mark?” I giggled at such a silly question.

I decided to answer after my laughter had died down. “Well, I got it after trying basically every skill a pony can learn. I was pretty good at whatever I did, though not exceptional. I realized that I don’t want to be good at just one thing. I wanted to be good at a lot of things at once. So I’m basically a ‘jack of all trades’.” Starswirl was just staring at me, mouth full of soup.

Slowly, he swallowed. “So let me get this straight: your special talent is being good at everything?” I nodded and took a bite of my sandwich; it was surprisingly satisfying. “Well, my special talent is magic. Not much to say there.”

“I have a question for you, now. Why do you always wear that hat?” I asked.

Before answering, he looked up into the brim of his hat. “When Celestia was making me… do things… I had a feeling that she might want to eliminate me one day. So I enchanted this hat to protect my mind. If she wanted to erase my magic, she wouldn’t be able to,” he answered. I smirked thinking about how smart Starswirl was in comparison to everybody else. After a while, our conversation drifted into innocent playfulness, and we learned a lot about each other through questions and answers.

Once we finished eating, we headed back to the library. As we entered, a small bell jingled above the door. A blue mare with a white mane greeted us. “Welcome to the Ponyville library. I am the great and powerful Trrrixie! How may Trixie help you?” she said in an arrogant tone.

Starswirl and I looked at each other with confused looks. “Er, we were just looking for the history books,” Starswirl responded. Trixie tilted her head to a case of books labeled Equestrian Lore and History. I nodded my head to say thanks, but she just scoffed. Starswirl pulled me over to the shelves.

“You know, you two could be related,” I stated. He shot me an annoyed glance and began shuffling through the books. “I’m serious! If she got an attitude adjustment, she could be your sister. Her coat is the same shade as yours, her eyes are the same shade, and let’s not forget the hat and cloak!” I looked from Starswirl to Trixie, pointing out the similarities in their appearances.

Eventually, he put a hoof out to shut me up. “Clover, would you please just help me look through these books?” I nodded and began searching the shelves.

Starswirl’s POV
As I continued reading through the books, I noticed that most of history involved Celestia- Princess Celestia- and the Lunar Princess- Princess Luna. And, if that wasn’t strange enough, I saw where I had lived a thousand years ago, and had died of old age. Clover was put down as my apprentice, but I couldn’t find anything else on her. In one of the newer books, I saw where there were two other princesses: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, of the Crystal Empire, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship. I was confused; Twilight was certainly a powerful unicorn, but how could she have turned herself into an alicorn? It was practically impossible. Clover pointed out something in one book about the elements of harmony. It turned out they were some pretty powerful objects, solving almost every problem in Equestria.

I sighed. “You know what this means, right? It means we can’t be seen in public, or somepony might recognize us,” I stated. Clover’s attitude visibly saddened. I put my hoof on her shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but we can’t just leave now. We don’t know where they keep the mirrors in this world.”

She pushed my hoof off. “I know, but if it’s that dangerous, how come nopony has recognized us yet? We’ve been walking around in public for almost two days! Not even the librarian noticed,” she replied. I thought it was rather strange that we hadn’t been spotted. Did the ponies there really not care about their own history? Before I could respond, however, I heard a small jingle, and looked to see who had entered. Standing in the door was a regal looking Twilight Sparkle. I felt my heart rate quicken as she stared at me.

“You… You’re… Starswirl the Bearded! Oh my goodness! How can you be here?! Have you just written the time travel spell?! It must be so amazing to be able to see the future! What’s it like in the past? I’ve never had a primary source before! Princess Celestia will be so excited! You’re Starswirl the Bearded! And Clover the Clever! I mean, I didn’t believe Pinkie when she told me, but I just had to be sure. How can you be here?!” she blurted out. During her little outburst, she had begun circling me and Clover, studying us like statues. I suppose somepony cares about history, I thought.

When she finally stopped, she was staring at me with a gigantic smile on her face. “I, er, well, not exactly time travel… can we discuss this somewhere private?” I answered meekly. Twilight nodded rapidly, grabbed mine and Clover’s hooves, and teleported us.

Once we reached our destination, I had to catch Clover before she toppled over. It’s a good thing I caught her, too; the floor she was about to hit was made of hard crystal. I looked around and noticed a large table with six thrones surrounding it. Twilight gestured for us to sit in one of them. I took the one with a lightning bolt on it, and Clover sat in the butterfly one. Twilight sat in the largest throne, across from us.

I cleared my throat before attempting to speak. “Clover and I are from a different dimension, an alternate reality.” I proceeded to explain to her about the mirrors and why we were running. All the while she payed attention to every little detail I gave, and hung onto every word I spoke. After I finished, she pulled out a quill and some parchment.

“Spike!” she called. A short, purple dragon came running through the doors. Twilight levitated the quill and parchment over to him, and he took it. “Take a note please, to Princess Celestia.” I saw Clover get paler, and her pupils shrunk. I gave her a look of comfort, but it must not have worked, because the next second she was breathing heavier. “Dear Princess Celestia, I must inform you of some news from Ponyville…” she dictated the rest of the letter, and Clover was shaking by the time Twilight had finished. “Okay Spike, send the letter!” Clover opened her mouth to protest, but the letter had burst into flames before she had a chance.

Clover shrunk down in her seat, lying her head down in defeat. Twilight looked over her and raised an eyebrow. I gave her an apologetic look. “Er, Twilight, I don’t suppose you have an extra room here we could use?” I asked.

Twilight beamed. “Of course! Please feel free to stay as long as you like! Follow me,” she replied. Nudging Clover out of her seat, I began to trot down the hall. We stayed some distance away from Twilight so that we could speak to each other in private. “You okay?”

She sighed. “Not really. I know things are different her, but what if the Queen’s not? What if I’m still in danger?” The words were distant and shaky, as if she were talking to herself. I tried to respond, but was once again interrupted by Twilight.

“Here you are! Starswirl, your room is on the left, and Clover’s is on the right. Do you need anything else?” Twilight asked.

“No, we’re good. Thank you, your highness.” She nodded with a huge smile on her face, and seemed hesitant to leave. After she finally left, I pulled Clover into my room. “Don’t worry. I would never let anything happen to you.”