//------------------------------//
// The Truth Comes Out 
// Story: Family Reunion 
// by MisterEdd 
//------------------------------//

Clover and Starlight made their way into town just as the royal chariot touched down. Scores of ponies crowded around the two princesses as they descended from their chariot, waving hooves and flags in excitement. A large banner reading, "Welcome Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" was erected by a team of pegasi and featured the princesses' cutie marks painted at each end. Tables and chairs had been set up, the catering was finished and the balloons and streamers hung with care. Celestia and Luna eagerly interacted with their subjects, exchanging kind words or shaking hooves.  

While Twilight, Spike and the other Elements stepped up to greet the royal sisters, Starlight watched Clover's reaction to the pair. He was surprised at first, clearly startled over the transformation from filly to adulthood. He then picked up his jaw and gave his head a little tilt. A more inquisitive expression took surprise's place until inquisitiveness was left in the dust by mirth. Clover beamed with pride at Celestia and Luna.  

"Let's introduce you," Starlight said, pointing her head in their direction. "Or, re-introduce, I suppose." 

"Yes, I'd like that," Clover agreed. 

They wove their way past the throng of cheering, animated ponies and before long, they joined the party of nine, who had congregated on a small wooden stage. Princess Celestia's famous motherly grin was replaced by astonishment while Princess Luna, being a little more stoic, was clearly just as stunned as her sister. Clover dipped and prostrated himself before the princesses. All this time, no one said a word.   

"Clover the Clever," Celestia announced, her smile returned to its rightful place. A few members of the crowd whispered amongst themselves. "It's been far too long. We're so happy to see you, old friend." 

"You look as strong and virile as ever," Princess Luna added.  

Clover nodded gratefully. "You are both too kind, Your Majesties. It seems as though twere only yesterday that you were both fillies playing in the royal garden as your mother performed her queenly duties. Now you are both grown and rulers of Equestria."  

"It is a tad weird, isn't it?" Celestia laughed. "And how are you finding our time period?" 

"A bit strange, if I'm to be truthful, Your Majesty. The customs and technology are so different, it feels as though...I'm on a different planet, far off beyond the stars." The princesses both nodded but remained silent. "That being said, I see so much happiness and progress. Everything is cleaner and everyone is so healthy. A part of me is sad to see the old ways disappear but I am also happy at how far we as a nation have come." 

An alabaster hoof dipped beneath Clover's chin and brought it up so that he could look Celestia in her pink eyes. "You're as wise as ever, Clover. I speak for Luna," she gestured towards the Princess of the Night, who nodded in agreement. "When I say that we are overjoyed to see you again old friend. Please, rise. You don't need to kneel. Not when you mean so much to us." 

Clover glanced over at Starlight. She nodded and reluctantly, he rose to his hooves. 

"Everypony, in light of this historic circumstance, let us dedicate these festivities to mine and Princess Luna's good friend Clover the Clever and please be sure to show him what Ponyville hospitality looks like. Now let the party begin!" 

Celestia's proclamation was met with thunderous applause, something that came as no surprise to anypony that had ever heard her speak. On the stage, a band started playing a lively jam and ponies began pairing up to dance. Starlight bobbed her head along to the music, smiling at the sight of her friends joining in and dancing, or trying to in Twilight's case. Clover, meanwhile, was tapping a hoof and watching with a smirk, looking like every elderly pony too old to dance. It was time for her to rectify that.

"Hey Clover, why don't you ask one of these lovely mares for a dance?"

"Oh, I-I be not sure about this. I haven't danced ‘i long time and-..." 

"No more excuses!" 

Starlight lifted him up with her magic and shoved him onto the dancefloor, causing him to lightly bump into a unicorn. He shook his head and was ready to apologize when he saw who it was. 

"Clover, Darling! Care to grace a lady with a dance?" Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him. 

"Well actually-..." Clover started, only for Rarity to stop him with a hoof to the lips. 

Pivoting on a hindhoof, she twirled and swung her hips as she curled her forelegs, lifting them one at a time. Watching her, Clover quickly found his rhythm, bouncing and swaying to the beat. The two craned their necks forward, Rarity's head passing Clover's over his right shoulder and then repeating the action on his left. Taking Rarity's hoof, Clover spun her around and, holding her across her waist, the two leapt across the dancefloor. Starlight was speechless. 

"Huh, Clover the Clever can dance!" She murmured in awe. 

The music drew to a close and everypony applauded the two, who bowed and thanked them. Other than the princesses, nopony clapped harder or cheered louder than Starlight, who was genuinely impressed by his dance skills. It was so nice to see Clover happy and accepted among the modern-day ponies. To think, it was only yesterday that he'd arrived here from another time. Kissing Rarity on the hoof, Clover trotted back over to Starlight, who nodded her head at him. 

"Nice moves out there. Careful though, I think Rarity's falling for you."

Clover stared back at the mare, who gave him a little wave. "Who knows? Another time, another place, I could've been able to make her happy." 

Starlight fixed him with an impressed look. "You really love your wife, don't you?" 

"She is the love of mine life and the mother of mine daughter. I hast a duty to her as a husband," Clover replied, taking a seat beside her on the bench. "Besides, she was there for me 'i mine darkest moments. To betray her trust like that would be akin to betraying myself."  

Things grew quiet between them. Again, Clover bore that same haunted expression from earlier, the look of a stallion still grappling with his inner demons and not quite winning. For Starlight to find somepony that she could emphasize made her swell with joy and kinship-based love at the pony beside her. That joy, however, quickly turned to guilt when she remembered what she'd promised to do. If there was ever a moment to do this, now was the time.   

"Clover, there's something that I have to tell you."

He stared perplexed at her, likely due to the unusual fluctuation of uncertainty in her voice. 

"Yes, Starlight?" 

"I..." Her chest ached and her eyes misted up. "I tried to destroy Equestria!"

"What didst you say?" Clover stared at her with wide-eyed shock. 

Starlight sniffled, the tears now flowing freely. "I'm sorry but...I'm not the good mare you think I am!" 

Unable to bear his answer, she galloped away from him, choking sobs escaping her throat. 


~*~


Clover stood frozen in place, staring off in the direction Starlight had run off in. He'd gotten up to go after her but was now conflicted by the news, the revelation swirling around in his head like a thick cloud of smoke. To hear such a thing from Starlight of all ponies was baffling. Although he'd known her for only two days, he found that he genuinely cared for her.   

"What happened?" 

He turned, finding Twilight Sparkle standing across from him.

"She said..." Clover shook his head slowly. "She said that she tried to destroy Equestria." He peered at her confusingly. "What did she mean by that?" 

Twilight sighed and lightly pushed his shoulder so that he was sitting back down.

"There is so much to tell you, but I think I can summarize it so that you can get the point." 


~*~


"There you go, stupid!" Starlight admonished herself in between sobs. "You just lost a friend as well a pony who understands what it's like to be you. Now he hates me!"

She slumped down to the ground, the soft, cool grass on the hill doing little to soothe her. She remembered to earlier in the day when she and Clover sat in this very spot, just talking and getting to know one another. Across the park, the party continued to rage on, the music playing and ponies hooting and laughing. All of that merriment, combined with the memory of Clover on the hill only added fuel to the misery that Starlight felt. She covered her face in her hooves, muffling her crying. 

"Methought I might find you here."

Starlight jumped, nearly toppling over. Clover was situated motionless a couple of feet away.

"C-clover?" Starlight sniffled and wiped her face on her foreleg. "What are you doing here?" 

He smiled faintly at her. "I wanted to see if thou were alright. Thou were very upset at the party."

"Well that's the understatement of the year," Starlight mumbled. There was a period of silence before she felt the air shift around her as Clover sat down next to her. He didn't speak to her so she remained quiet. Instead of looking at her, Clover was watching the ponies off in the distance. 

"I be not one for parties," Clover disclosed to her. Starlight merely looked at him. "Methought that this would be a great way to socialize with everypony else as well as to please some very old friends."   

Starlight sniffled once more. "Everypony loves parties."

Clover shook his head. "Not me. Not since the War. Whenever I see celebration, I am reminded of all those who are no longer around to laugh and dance and be merry. Friends, allies, brothers- and sister-in-arms, all lost to a pointless conflict."   

"What happened?"

Clover heaved a great sigh and turned his green gaze towards her mournfully, his face a sculpture etched with the grief and regret of a thousand lifetimes. "At first, 'twere us ponies, along with the dragons, griffons and draconequui against the umbrums, changelings, bat-ponies and sirens. King Solaris, Princess Celestia and Luna's father, later fell 'i battle and his widow Queen Concordia….she went mad with grief." He swallowed before continuing and for the first time, Starlight saw an expression she never expected to see: rage.   

"Aligning ourselves with the umbrums, we betrayed and destroyed the draconequui. I personally witnessed the betrayal of their rulers. The look of pain 'i King Seth's and Queen Eris' eyes still haunt me to this day. Afterwards, under the Queen's command, we turned on the umbrums as well, leaving none alive. Not e'en the refugees were safe." Clover stopped again, letting out a shudder of disgust. "Now they're gone. We swept both races from the earth and they bid us 'heroes.'" He turned to Starlight. "What were we heroes of? What didst we accomplish?"

Starlight tried and failed to speak until she managed a weak, "You saved us from an invading force."

Shaking his head, Clover glanced once more towards town. "The Umbrum Empire was indeed powerful," he remarked ruefully. "Yet not all of its citizens were monsters or invaders. Those we disposed of on Dravite Hill. Stallions, mares...even foals." 

A weight yanked on Starlight's heart. She didn't see a legendary hero or a mighty spellcaster. Instead, she saw a stallion that'd been forced to do unspeakable things in the name of his monarch and now suffered extraordinary guilt.  

"Twilight told me what thou'd done, what thou tried to do," Clover stated and Starlight dreaded what his next words were. "The reason that I bring this up is because I wasn't angry with thou."

Starlight stared at him in astonishment. 

"You're not?"

Clover shook his head. "After the War ended, I feared that mine..." His jaw clenched. "...Actions would taint not only myself yet my children, mine entire bloodline e'en." He placed a hoof on her shoulder and met her eyes. "I am...so sorry. You paid for mine sins and I can ne'r take it back." 

"It wasn't your fault!" Starlight stated with finality. "You can't take the blame for what I did. I was stupid and selfish, only thinking about how I felt wronged and wanted payback, never stopping to consider the consequences of my actions. I don't blame you for what I did or for what you did in the War and neither should you." She pulled Clover into a hug and laid her head on his chest. 

"Better than me anyway."  

She felt his forelegs wrap around her, pulling her into his warmth. "That's where thou art wrong, Starlight. Methinks think that thou art a very good pony. A great pony e'en."

Starlight blinked up at him. "Wh-what do you mean? Haven't you been listening?"

Clover chuckled and rubbed on of her cheeks. "Indeed I hast been. Thou didst something terrible, yes. Thou attempted to try something e’en worst. That thee but recognize that thou didst wrong and are now trying to fix it. ‘I doing so, thou hast proven that thou learned from thy mistakes and now strive to be a better pony because of it. Many go their whole lives with such a level of personal insight and are poorer for’t."

Now Starlight's eyes produced fresh tears but no longer ones of sadness. Her smile broadened at the wisdom in Clover's words and in his faith in her. She hadn't lost a friend or family due to her past and in fact, revealing it made the two of them closer. Starlight chuckled and gently sniffled, unable to stop the tears of joy. Clover snorted humorously and gently dabbed her face with his cloak.

"There, there. All’s well. ‘tis all fine now," Clover murmured consolingly. "Now then, allow us to get thou all cleaned up and looking presentable. We hast a party to return to! Right?"   

"Right!" Starlight cheered. The two cantered back to the party in high spirits, throwing in a light jab and flank bump on the way. For the rest of the evening, it was as though the momentary drama never took place. There was much eating, chatter, dancing and laughter for the both of them, with everypony agreeing they'd never seen anypony happier. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna filled Clover in on many of the things he'd missed, such as Nightmare Moon, Luna's banishment and subsequent return and the re-discovery of the Elements of Harmony by Twilight and her friends.  

Of special note was the rise of King Sombra and the reign of Discord, both of which equally shocked Clover greatly. At the mention of his name, Discord literally popped onto the scene as a balloon sculpture of himself, nearly giving poor Clover a heart attack. Once the initial alarm had worn off, the two got along surprisingly well, although Clover was visibly uncomfortable with the draconequus' insistence on invading his personal space. Pinkie Pie convinced Clover to try a cupcake, after which he went on a binge and ate six before throwing up. Wiping his mouth, he then swore off sugary sweets, albeit while staring longingly at a plate of donuts. 

The party continued late into the night and it wasn't long before Celestia and Luna had to leave to attend to their royal duties. Soon, it was down to just nine attendees: the Elements of Harmony, Spike, Starlight and Clover, all of them sitting around a table swapping stories. Clover, having discovered the oral nirvana that is Sweet Apple Acres cider, began chugging the liquid with wild abandon, even challenging Rainbow Dash to a drinking contest. Both contestants ended up unconscious, with the winner being undecided, mostly due to Applejack and Fluttershy losing count somewhere around thirty and forty-five. As Starlight hauled Clover's mumbling form to his room and tucked him in, she decided that that night was the best that she'd ever had.