Twilight Sparkle rolled over in her bed, the light of the newly risen sun and the smell of fresh haybacon waking her from her deep slumber. While her bed was nice and warm, her stomach would not let her ignore the smell of food. Reluctantly crawling from her bed, she made a brief stop by her dresser mirror to see what the damage was. After taking a quick moment to tend to the worst of her bedhead, she made her way downstairs.

Spike, her number one assistant, was whistling a happy tune when she stumbled into the kitchen. She somehow managed to find her way to a seat without bumping her wings into anything. It had taken some time, but she had mostly gotten used to the feathery appendages now permanently attached to her sides.

"Morning Twilight," Spike said happily. He was clearly far more awake than Twilight felt. "Another late night?"

"Just a bit, Spike," she said with a yawn as Spike placed a plate full of food in front of her. "And I'm still no closer to finding any leads."

"Maybe you should take a break," Spike said as he watched her with visible concern. "You haven't been sleeping that much since you found that box at the Tree of Harmony."

Their last big adventure, the one that had started with both princesses going missing and Ponyville being covered in a sea of black plunder vines, ended when Twilight and her friends were forced to give up each of their respective Elements of Harmony to revive an ancient tree deep in the woods. However, upon the tree's revival, a locked chest had pushed its way up from the roots. She had tried everything she could think of and spent countless nights trying to come up with new methods for opening it, but nothing had worked.

So the only option left was more research, not that she minded. She was always up for more research. However, nothing in the library had provided any hints as to what was in the box or even to the existence of the Tree of Harmony itself. She had, of course, broadened her search to include the Royal Canterlot Archives as well. While the knowledge contained there was extensive and would likely take more than a few lifetimes to fully explore, she had just as little success finding anything that pertained to the tree or its origins.

She had gotten her hopes up a bit when Celestia mentioned that the enchantments on the old castle had likely kept its collection in tact. While exploring the ruins with her friends had been fun, despite all the traps they found that seemed to do little more than mess with ponies, the only thing of actual interest they had found was Princess Celestia and Luna's old diary. While that had been quite a find, it didn't get her any closer to an answer.

That left only one place left she could look, or Twilight would've looked if she could find her way down there again. About a month ago, Clover the Clever had shown up like he had just taken a step out of an Equestrian history book. At the same time, she had found that not only did he used to live in the same tree that she now occupied, but also that he had stored a massive repertoire of knowledge deep beneath its roots. While the trouble he brought with him may not have left the best first impression, everything turned out all right in the end. However, when their adventure had ended, and Clover had left for places unknown, the door leading to his personal collection was nowhere to be seen. The door was just gone, along with the fairy that had appeared the same day.

Twilight sighed as she looked down to the pancakes adorning her plate. She tilted her head as she studied it further, she could've sworn that there had been several strips of haybacon next to them only a moment ago. She didn't think she had eaten them already, her aching stomach was evidence enough that she hadn't yet. That was when she noticed the loud crunching noise just above her left ear.

A sense of deja vu came over Twilight. She slowly looked up to find a tiny yellow pony floating above her and happily munching on her pilfered breakfast. Whisper the fairy looked out from behind her pink mane and froze as she realized she'd been caught. She quickly stuffed the rest of it in her mouth and made a beeline for the door before Twilight had a chance to stop her.

Twilight successfully tripped over her own hooves as she chased after the troublesome creature out through her living quarters and down the stairs leading into the main part of the library. Her breath caught in her throat and her missing breakfast was quickly forgotten as she watched the small pink blur disappear into a set of huge oaken doors resting in the wall of the library as if they had always been there. The same door that had shown up when she first met Clover.

Excitement bubbled up in her chest and she blinked hard a couple times, just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Without missing a beat, she snatched up her bag containing all her notes about the mysterious chest and raced down the reopened stairway. Clover must be back if Whisper is going out of her way to make a nuisance of herself, and Twilight desperately hoped the stallion would have an answer or even a clue as to what was in the box.

Twilight's good mood refused to leave her as she practically skipped down the stairs, making her way down and out onto the ledge overlooking Clover's archive. Even though everything was just as she remembered it, it still took her breath away to see it again.

Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves stretched out before her containing thousands if not hundreds of thousands of books. If the Canterlot Archives would've taken a lifetime to go through, and Twilight had certainly tried with as much time as she spent there as a foal, then this would take more than a dozen to even begin scratching the surface.

It was almost like Hearth's Warming Eve had come early that year as Twilight couldn't help but to start doing a happy little dance right then and there. She was certain that if there were answers to be had regarding her questions, they would surely be here. While she itched to run out right away and begin digging through the seemingly endless repertoire of knowledge that stretched out before her, she had to remind herself that it would far more prudent, and polite for that matter, to find the pony she was certain she'd find down here as well. Hopefully, Clover knew something that could help or, at the very least, could point her in the right direction.

She descended the second set of stairs while still trying not to feel overwhelmed by the monuments of knowledge that towered ever higher with every step. She hadn't seen where Whisper had flown off to, but decided not to worry about it. The elusive fairy seemed to dance to her own tune and likely wouldn't show herself unless she had a good reason... or if she had a particularly nasty prank she felt like pulling.

Clover's study was still in the place she remembered it being, nestled tightly between roots of the tree and the surrounding stone. The door was open, and it almost seemed to be inviting her in, at least, that's what Twilight told herself. She placed a single hoof inside and looked around, disappointed when she didn't find the pony who had been pivotal in Equestria's founding.

While she didn't see him anywhere inside, her eyes were instinctively drawn to the piles of books sitting upon his desk. Many of them looked quite old, while others appeared to have been freshly printed. She slowly approached, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, and began looking through the various titles.

"Unicorn magic through the ages," she read off the first of them. "Magical experiments gone wrong," was another. In fact, every book Twilight found upon the desk seemed to be dedicated to some field of magic, some of them were more advanced, while others seemed to be for a pony who was just learning their first spell. Amidst all of them, she found a crisp new binder labeled, "Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." What was all this?

Twilight had just picked up a copy of "Rituals and Other Outdated Practices" and started flipping through the pages when something bumped into her. She let out a yelp of surprise as she instinctively reared back. Papers were thrown into the air, every last book was knocked off the table, and two ponies now lay collapsed in a pile on the floor.

While it wasn't the first time Twilight had been so distracted that she ended up in the middle of a mess, she still wasn't completely used to how her wings automatically tried to catch her if she started falling. As a result, instead of the books simply just falling off the desk, they were practically launched to the far corners of the room by her considerable wingspan. Now, she found herself in the awkward position of not being able to get up right away due to being so thoroughly entwined with her unexpected assailant.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Came the familiar voice as he attempted to disentangle himself. "Is that you?" Another moment passed before he finally managed to wriggle one of his hooves free. "We really need to stop meeting like this."

It took another minute for the two ponies to fully untangle themselves without damaging the minefield of books scattered around them, and several more to collect everything that Twilight had thrown all over the room. Once everything had been securely deposited back on the desk, the stallion took a quick moment to straighten his appearance before turning his attention to her. "Now," he said, a slight grin permeating his lips. "Is there something I can help you with, Twilight?"

Now that she had a chance to get over her earlier embarrassment, Twilight's smile made its way back onto her face as she took in the pony before her. Clover was only slightly taller than her, and with colors that wouldn't make him stand out in a crowd. Aside from his brown hair and dirty golden coat, the only thing that really stood out about him was his piercing green eyes and matching cloak he was rarely seen without. He started to tilt his head and raise an eyebrow at her, and it was at that moment that Twilight realized she was staring.

"Sorry," Twilight said nervously as she recollected herself. "I'm just surprised to see you is all. I mean, when did you get back?" Her eyes once again were pulled away by the not inconsiderable stack of book on his desks, and she couldn't help but ask. "And what's all this for?"

"Oh this," he said, his earlier smile making way for a frown. "Apparently, I'm going to be teaching a special class at Celestia's school," he said with a hint of annoyance. "It was her idea. She said it would help me get back in touch with ponies while also addressing some of the practices that unicorns have forgotten over the years. I'm not too sure about that first part," he said as he picked out the binder from the mess on the desk. "But some of what I found in their curriculum is actually a bit embarrassing, and that's putting it mildly. Now, did you need something, or is this just a social call?" He asked as he placed the binder back on the overburdened desk. "I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to address these educational reforms and present them to the school board." Clover let out a deep sigh. "To make matters worse, I hear Chancellor Neighsay, the board's current head, is a real stickler for the details."

Twilight shook herself out of her daze as she remembered the reason for her visit. "I was hoping you could help me with a problem I've been having," she said as she fished the collection of notes out of her bag.

The green glow from Clover's horn pulled said notes out of Twilight's grasp as he began to look over them. "It looks like some sort of chest," he observed. "Any clue as to what's in it?"

Twilight shook her head. "No," she said, "I haven't. I've tried every spell imaginable to open it, but nothing works. I can't even tell what it's made of. All I know is that it sprouted up from the roots of the Tree of Harmony and it remains thoroughly planted there."

Something she said must have caught him off guard, because the notes Clover had been meticulously looking over suddenly fell to the ground. "Where..." He swallowed hard as his face started to pale. "Where did you say this chest is located?

"The... Tree of Harmony," Twilight answered after some slight hesitation. "It showed up after my friends and I put the elements back in the tree and..."

"I have to go," Clover quickly cut her off as he scrambled through his room, grabbing various scroll and other implements from seemingly random shelves. "If the star has started acting on its own again after all this time, there's no telling what could happen."

"What?" Twilight questioned as she followed his movements, he moved like a blur as he packed his saddlebags. Before she knew it, he had a full pack sloppily slung over his back, and a look of panicked determination plastered on his face.

"Sorry Twilight," he said as he began charging a spell, "but there's no time to explain."

"Wait..." Twilight reached out a hoof as she realized what he was casting. However, he blinked out of existence before she could utter another word.

Only to reappear behind her barely a second later. Clover collapsed to the floor, his legs refusing to take his weight, all while the magic in his horn fizzled and popped like his spell hadn't had enough magic to hold it together. His bags popped open, their contents spilled across the ground, and while Twilight caught glimpses of their contents, seeing vague diagrams outlining the very tree she had been desperate to learn more about, there was only one thing that concerned her right now.

"Clover!" Twilight shouted as she rushed to his side. She looked down to find his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She started to shake him, scared as to what just happened, when just as fast as he had lost consciousness, he spasmed as his eyes started coming back into focus.

"What..." He coughed out. "What happened?"

"You teleported," said Twilight as she leaned over him. "You didn't make it very far, and then you were like this."

"The tree..." Clover's eyes widened as he seemed to finally remember what he was doing, or trying to do anyway. "I have to get to the tree." He started to push himself up, only to meet resistance in the form of a lavender hoof gently holding him down. Twilight wasn't putting any real strength into keeping him down, but she also didn't need to.

Once Clover had given up his feeble struggling, Twilight picked him up in her magic and carried him over to the nearby couch. "Clover," she started, making him wince at the use of his name. "What's wrong?"

"It's... It's complicated," he said as he lay there, averting his eyes. "You wouldn't understand."

"Clover..." Twilight said again as she repositioned herself so the pony had no choice but to look at her. "We went over this once before. You don't need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We can help you. If you let us."

Clover seemed to want to put up further resistance, but whether from the weight of her words, or just due to recent events, he started to visibly relax. "I can't... but I... no... no, you're right," he weakly looked back at Twilight as he continued to lay there. "You've got questions about the Tree of Harmony, and I may be the only one who actually knows anything about it. I was there when it was created, but..." He visibly cringed before continuing. "But it's a bit of a long story, and it's not exactly a pleasant one. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Twilight had to push down her building excitement when she saw the look in Clover's eyes. The memory clearly brought him no small amount of pain, yet for whatever reason, he was willing to put his faith in her. Carefully, she nodded her head before taking a proper seat beside him.

"Alright," Clover said as he let out an exceptionally long breath. "I'll tell you. It happened a long time ago... A very long time ago. Countless moons before anypony even dared to dream of a place like Equestria. I was only a few years younger than you are now, Twilight Sparkle, and I had never once set hoof outside the city of my birth. The ancient unicorn city of Elysium."

Author's Note

Hold onto your horses, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.