The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

Clover's face was still aglow when he stepped into the antechamber. The morning had gone nothing like what he actually expected. However, he wouldn't give any of it up, even if someone were to offer him the world right at that moment.

Pyrus watched him as he entered with concern on his face. He had been socializing with the others of their class, getting ready for their big moment, but he had kept an ear on the door just in case he had needed to come to the rescue. He had been expecting Clover to enter with a sunken look on his face, but when the young stallion had entered with a look of barely contained joy on his face, concern made way for curiosity.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked once Clover was close enough to hear him.

"Huh?" Clover seemed surprised by the question. Whatever had happened left him off in his own little world.

"I said," Pyrus was starting to worry, "what are you smiling about? I could've sworn she was going to cook you up and eat you."

"Oh that," he said lazily. "No, it was nothing like that." One of his forelegs made its way up to his lips. "It's just... the kiss..."

"Elder Dahlia kissed you?!" Pyrus exclaimed, completely flabbergasted. "You sly colt," he snickered. "How'd you pull that off?"

"What?!" Now he was awake. "No!" His eyes darted back and forth, wondering if anyone else had come to that conclusion. "After I finished speaking with the elder, Azalea ambushed me. We talked for a bit, and then she... kissed... me..."

If you told everyone that Clover's coat normally had a golden sheen to it, they wouldn't believe you. He had started turning so red that you would've assumed it was his normal color.

"Look at you," Pyrus was also all smiles now. "Making moves all on your own now. I'm so proud." He wiped away a fake tear, earning himself a punch to the shoulder. "Hey!" He cried out as he rubbed at what would surely form a bruise. "All right, all right," he backed off in surrender. "Looks like somepony finally grew some balls. Especially if not even her mother could scare you off." He turned his back and made for the door before Clover could say anything more. "We'll have more time for this later," he beckoned to the door. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go put a ball of fire in the sky."

The morning was cool and the sky grew dark as the last rays of the setting moon dimmed on the distant horizon. Eight young unicorns stepped out into the amphitheater of the grand ritual hall. The place had been constructed as a permanent fixture in their society, where they could go about their sacred duty of raising and guiding the sun in relative safety and comfort.

The raised seats around the edges were available for anyone who wanted to watch as the ponies chosen for the daily sunrise carried out their task. However, as this was this group's very first sunrising, there were no small number of unicorns in attendance. Sure, plenty of friends and family had shown up, but also a sizable portion of the city had arrived to watch as these young ponies completed their rite of passage. Usually at least one elder was present to oversee the morning ritual, but today, for whatever reason, the three most influential ponies in the entire city were watching from the place of honor.

Despite how grand this entire setup may have seemed, it used to be a considerably grander affair. When the first of them had gained mastery over the heavens, the sun rising itself was proceeded with grand speeches as well as a ritualistic cleansing. However, traditions and customs tend to change over the years. Now, whenever the day's chosen heliomancer took to the field, everyone in attendance would fall silent.

That was what greeted them when Pyrus opened the door leading out from the antechamber. Very little light still remained to guide the way for him and his peers. Despite his normal lackadaisical attitude, he didn't slow his movements as he made his way to the raised dais at the center of the amphitheater, his head held high as any proud unicorn should.

The stone dais they now stepped out onto had been passed down through the generations and carefully maintained by the elders from each of them. Intricate spellwork had been carved into its surface in the form of a seven-pointed star. The purpose of this elaborate design was so unicorns could stand at every point of the diagram and pour their magic into the ancient spell at their hooves. The job fell to the last remaining unicorn standing at its center to use the near-godly power they'd have at their disposal to take hold of the distant sun and set it on its course. It was a demanding task that had to be done daily, and usually left the participants completely drained of their magic, unable to cast even the simplest of spells for several days.

Clover and the rest of his peers moved into position at each of the seven points. While this was the very first time they'd be carrying out this honor, every unicorn had been thoroughly instructed on how to channel their magic from a very young age, so there wasn't confusion on what they were supposed to do. That didn't mean that a number of them weren't feeling excited and somewhat giddy about the situation. They were young after all, and it wasn't uncommon for young ponies to be easily excited.

It was Pyrus' turn as he stepped forward and took his place in the star's center. Despite his rambunctious attitude and general disregard for the rules, he was a very talented unicorn. He had more magic at his disposal than anyone else in his generation, and the amount of control he had over it was unmatched among his peers. So much so, that Elder Gladiolus had argued with his fellow elders that Pyrus be granted this honor. They had been hesitant at first, but after Elder Lily had calmly listened to everyone's arguments, she agreed that the honor and responsibility might be just what the young pony needed to help mellow him out.

To the surprise of many, and to Gladiolus' apparent satisfaction, the young unicorn did indeed seem to be taking his role seriously. He stood there, calmly watching as the moon finished setting in the distance. It wouldn't truly finish setting until they began raising the sun. Fortunately, it wouldn't have to wait for long.

Pyrus looked to where the elders were sitting and after receiving a nod of approval from them, he began. He stood tall as the red glow of his magic began gathering around his horn. That was the cue for the surrounding ponies to begin channeling their own magic as well.

Clover and the others set their horns ablaze and offered up their own power. The formation beneath their hooves seemed to take notice of the proffered magic and began to pull at it. The light trailed down around their bodies and spun around their legs like ivy climbing a lattice. The reds, blues, pinks, and greens of the youths gathered together as they flowed down the engravings until they reached the pony at the center. Once there, it found its way back up to the focal point of the entire spell at the tip of Pyrus' horn. The colors of their magic mixed with his fiery red until it had taken on a brilliant yellow almost as bright as the sun they were trying to raise.

The stone dais felt like it was shaking beneath their hooves from all the magic it was being used to channel. More than one unicorn started feeling short of breath due to how much raw power was being torn out of them to empower the one standing in the center. That feeling persisted without change, and might have continued much longer, but that was when Pyrus finally reached for the sun.

As their collective magics made contact with the celestial orb, the overwhelming feeling of fire rushed through all of them. Even though it was a cold morning, with the sun's presence added to their own, every pony present now felt its warmth pulse through their bodies. Even before the first rays of the morning sun lit up the sky, they already felt like they were standing in the middle of a summer day.

When the sun finally did show its face, and its light washed over them, it was like they were breathing in the very breath of life. They had seen the sun rise before, every unicorn had, but to be so connected to it on such a spiritual level as it made its ascent brought more than one of them to tears.

As the magic continued to pour out of his body, Clover spared a glance to the ponies that were watching from their seats. Was this what it was like for them? Everyone had to take their turn with the sun at some point in their lives, so it must have. He had seen others walk away from their first sunrise looking particularly proud, and it made sense now. He caught a glimpse of Azalea's warm smile from the crowd, a smile he knew was meant only for him. He was actually kind of glad that Pyrus had decided to stick his nose in his business. Clover might never have built up the courage to talk to her, and now that he had, he was looking forward to what would become of them.

Clover was pulled from his reverie as he caught a glimpse of the elders as they watched from their vantage point. Something didn't seem quite right, all three of them were looking uneasy and Gladiolus looked like he might bolt at any second. What could've been bothering them? Was there something wrong? Was something different about this particular sunrise, or did something else happen? Something that wasn't his problem. That must've been it. This heat, this warmth, this life that filled him just felt so... right. Like he might melt into its embrace. Everything was absolutely perfect.

Until it wasn't. He didn't notice right away, but the warmth he was feeling started to feel a bit uncomfortable, and after a few more moments, it began to hurt. Now Clover was starting to worry. Had something actually gone wrong? He looked to his classmates to see if they had noticed something he hadn't, but that was when the dull pain started to burn. He looked down as the smell of charred fur began to fill his nostrils. The space around his hooves had started to glow a cherry red. Soon after, screams began to fill his ears, answering the question if something had gone wrong.

Clover snapped his head to the source of the scream to find the mare next to him with her mane fully on fire. He tried to help, but his magic was inaccessible and whatever was happening had left him unable to move, almost as if his hooves had been fused to the stone. The pull on his magic hadn't stopped either. Power continued to be forcibly ripped out of him, feeding magic that fueled the fire.

The shouting that came from outside the circle was barely discernable over the sound of the roaring fire that now thrashed around him. Two more of his classmates had now caught fire, while the first one that had done so collapsed into a smoldering heap. It hadn't taken long for his own clothes to burn away in this growing inferno, the collective smoke now making it very hard to breathe.

Clover's building dread was only worsened when he remembered that his friend was also somewhere in this burning hellscape. He tried to look through the flames to where Pyrus should've been standing. He almost wished he hadn't looked. For the unicorn still stood where he had been, but not as Clover would've recognized him.

Pyrus' fur had been charred black, blacker than it had ever been in his entire life. His mane had mostly been burned away, and what little remained continued to burn viciously without any sign of stopping. He was still standing tall, but he wasn't moving. His attention seemed to be focused on something overhead, and not even his own body being burned to cinders could pull him away from it.

That was when Clover noticed his eyes. There were no eyes left inside the pony's head. Instead there was only brilliant golden orbs that refused to look away from the sun for even a moment. Even now, Clover could feel the sun's might pulling at the very center of his being, threatening to drag him in. To claim him, so that his life might cause it to burn a little brighter.

And then without any warning, the fires all suddenly died out. Not even a trace of it remained. All the ponies that had been left standing on the dais collapsed to the ground all at once. The stone felt unusually cool beneath them, and Clover could barely make out the faint sound of hooves as they padded the ground.

But his attention refused to leave the sole participant of the sunrise that had remained standing.

Pyrus still stood where he was, still as a statue. The flames that clung to his body still hadn't quite gone out yet. When they did, what remained of the young unicorn began to buckle and crack. His limbs began to crumble into dust as they collected into an ashen pile on the ground, shortly before the wind picked up and carried the ashes away to parts unknown.

The last thing Clover saw, before the darkness finally claimed him, was the scorched and charred stone where his friend had once stood.