//------------------------------// // As We Head for the Future // Story: Never Too Clever // by Zennistrad //------------------------------// As soon as Clover followed his master out of the tower, he was immediately made grateful that he’d brought his cloak. The sky was a single continuous mass of grey, the blanket of thick cumulonimbus clouds pouring down droplets of water in an unyielding downpour. So thick were the raindrops that it was nearly impossible to see more than a dozen or two feet ahead, and his burlap garment was instantly drenched the moment he had stepped beyond the confines of the tower. Star Swirl, of course, had already surrounded himself in a force field, its radiant barrier causing the raindrops to bounce harmlessly off of its surface. He hadn’t bothered extending the force field’s radius to cover them both, nor did he even bother to tell Clover that it would be raining at all. Still, Clover could hardly find himself feeling annoyed, as there was a curious character to the rain that he couldn’t help but notice. He could see the clouds above, their towering, heaped, and vertical forms immediately recognizable to any pony that had spent even the slightest amount of time researching weather patterns. But the clouds looked different from the recognizable image he had held in his mind. A crucial difference, something there was to their appearance that gave him pause... or, more accurately, something there wasn’t. “Master,” said Clover, “don’t you think there’s something off about this rain?” Star Swirl’s eyes glided over to his apprentice. His eyebrow arched quizzically. “What do you mean?” “There’s something missing from it,” said Clover. “These are storm clouds, but it doesn’t sound like much of a storm right now, does it? You’d think we’d have heard at least one thunderclap by now.” He paused for a moment, allowing his thoughts to catch up to his words. “Come to think of it, I don’t think there’s been a thunderstorm around here in weeks.” “That is none of our concern at the moment,” said Star Swirl. “If you believe there is something wrong with the weather, you can bring it up with Commander Hurricane when we arrive.” Clover rolled his eyes. “General. ” “Hmm?” said Star Swirl. “General Hurricane is the General of the Cloudsdale Legion,” Clover repeated. “As well as Grand Consul of Fort Cloudsdale, and serving member of the Council of Three. He hasn’t held the title of ‘commander’ in over two decades.” “Hrmm...” Star Swirl paused for a moment, stroking his beard gently. “Ah, yes, I remember that now. But I fail to see the issue, as matters of title are hardly relevant to our task.” Clover felt something bristle inside of him, and tug at the corners of his lips. It was a complex feeling, though he would have probably described it as ‘the overpowering desire to be a smartass.’ “Really? And what about titles involving facial hair?” “Those are always relevant,” Star Swirl countered. “Now, let’s not waste any more time chattering, shall we? I have calculated that if we increase our trotting speed to one-and-a-half times normal, we should reach Fort Cloudsdale within two hours. Do try to keep up.” “Not a problem,” said Clover. “Just don’t stress those old bones of yours too hard, alright?” Star Swirl’s only response was a loud harrumph, but through it Clover could hear just the slightest hint of a chuckle. ———————— Fort Cloudsdale was situated above a vast expanse of fertile farmland, owned by a variety of earth pony farmers that tended to the crops. Because the land itself was part of the Earthen Territories, however, it was largely considered separate from Fort Cloudsdale proper. Though the farms provided for nearly all of the food consumed by the Equestrian Confederation’s pegasus population, they were for the most part considered beyond the jurisdiction of Fort Cloudsdale itself. After casting a simple cloudwalking spell over the two of them, Star Swirl led Clover down a dirt road cutting through the farms, where they were eventually met by a chariot pulled by two pegasus soldiers. Star Swirl climbed his way into the chariot without so much as a single word of acknowledgement, leaving Clover to be the sole pony offering any kind of greeting. The charioteers remained stoic regardless, pulling the vehicle through the pouring rain, until at last they breached the surface of the clouds. Clover ignited his horn, and with a simple spell, dried off the last of the water that lingered on his body and cloak. He pulled his hood down, and saw Fort Cloudsdale in all of its glory... ...right away, it was clear that the fort had seen better days. The layers of ringlike walls surrounding Cloudsdale proper had crumbled away, as had the clouds that served as a foundation for the buildings within, leaving many of the remaining clouds holding nothing but demolished brick and stone. Only the largest, innermost wall remained, its great stone watchtowers rising high above the rest of the fort, buzzing with pegasi soldiers keeping lookout. As the chariot approached, it moved towards a pair of great metal gates, which opened to allow the chariot in. The chariot landed without fanfare on a carpet of clouded ground. The interior of the Fort held a great many buildings of its own, some built solely out of cloud, some out of stone, and some with a mixture of the two. It was readily clear that the space was far more cramped than usual, as both the airspace and the cloudspace was greatly crowded with passing pegasi. Most of them, Clover noted, were thinner than most ponies, only those with high-quality clothing looking well-fed, and some pegasi outright gaunt in their appearance. Putting it out of his mind, Clover followed his master out of the chariot, pleased to feel the firmness of the clouds below his hooves. The two of them were soon approached by a flying pegasus clad in lightly armor with a light golden trim: Clover at once recognized it as the gilding of a mid-ranking officer. More familiar, however, was the appearance of the mare herself, who had a light pink coat and a long, butter-yellow mane that draped over her left eye. She landed softly on the clouds, shaking slightly as she looked Star Swirl in the eye. “U-um... hello? Are you Star Swirl the Bearded?” “That I am,” Star Swirl replied. “And I’m afraid I don’t have time to deal with riff-raff right now. I must speak with Commander Hurricane at once.” “Um. A-actually, it’s General...” “Whoa, hold on,” Clover interjected, stepping forward. He held his left foreleg out in front of Star Swirl, barring his master’s path. His lips gently curved upward as he looked the mare in the eye. “Pansy? Is that you?” Pansy’s eyes lit up, her ears twitching with sudden excitement. “Oh! Oh my gosh! Clover! It’s really you!” She confidently stepped forward, a grin plastered across her muzzle. As she beamed, Clover noticed a few signs of age on Pansy’s face, a pair of slight wrinkles beneath her eyes. “Wow, this is amazing! Goodness, it’s been years I last saw you! I’m, um...” She gestured to her armor, a small blush appearing at her cheeks. “As you can see, I’m a lieutenant now. And... wow! I didn’t notice it before, but you look like you haven’t even aged a day! How do you manage to look so young after all this time?” Clover shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Time is a fickle thing. Some of us feel it turning more than others.” It was a useful phrase, one he’d learned from a pony with a knack for answers that didn’t answer anything. “But let’s not delay our business any further. I take it you’re here in General Hurricane’s place?” Pansy nodded. “Mmm-hmm. He’s been in Canterlot for the past two weeks, trying to appeal to the other Council members for aid, and for help relocating refugees. It, um...” She paused for a moment, her eyes drifting downward. “...I don’t think it’s been going too well so far.” “Nonsense,” Star Swirl scoffed. “I am certain Empress Platinum is doing everything within her power to grant aid. She would not have sent for a wizard of my caliber otherwise.” Pansy almost seemed to sag at that moment, her wrinkles becoming noticeably more pronounced. Out of the corner of her mouth, Clover heard her mutter something, far too softly for him to understand. “And yet she still won’t tell the earth ponies to stop extorting us for food.” Star Swirl raised an eyebrow, and lifted a hoof to his ear. “Eh? Come again?” Pansy coughed loudly. “Um... nothing. Sorry, I think I just had a frog in my throat. Come on, let’s head somewhere indoors so we can talk about the, u-um, uh...” As her words trailed off, a slight shiver went through her body. Pansy gave an audible gulp. “...t-the raijū.” Star Swirl’s bells jingled lightly, a sure sign that he was about to make some kind of boast. “There is no need for you to fear, miss Pansy—” “U-um, it’s Lieutenant...” Star Swirl resumed his speech without any hesitation, as though completely unaware that he were even interrupted “—for not even the most vicious beasts in Equestria are a match for my spells.” Pansy pawed at the clouds with a hoof. “Right, of course. That’s what we’re all counting on. I’ll, um, lead the way.” With a beat of her wings, Pansy took to the air, keeping low to the clouds so that Clover and Star Swirl could follow. As they did, she turned her head over her shoulder and glanced at Clover, everything she wanted to say written plainly on her face. Is he always like this? the look said. Clover rolled his eyes, and returned the look with with a narrow gaze of his own. Pretty much, Clover’s expression replied. ———————— Pansy had led the two into one of the many military offices within Fort Cloudsdale, where the two were debriefed. The information given to them was frustratingly scarce, in part thanks what little was known about raijū in Equestria, and despite Star Swirl’s questions there was not much information they could go on regarding the creature’s weaknesses. Eventually, the two headed out of the office and to Fort Cloudsdale’s easternmost gate, where another watchtower stood tall just beside it, overlooking the scattered clouds and the debris they carried just outside. As Clover himself climbed to the top the tower, he found himself peering past the stone walls through a small window, too thin to allow a pony to pass, yet large enough for an archer to fire their bow through. As he looked out over the city, he saw Star Swirl standing a small cloud hovering just outside the gate, above a thick carpet of darkened storm clouds that hung between the Cloudsdale skies and the earth below. Clover called out the window, cupping his hooves over his mouth to allow the sound to carry further. “Master, are you sure you don’t want me to come down there and help? Apart from making the clouds go boom, we still don’t know what this raijū is capable of. It’d be easier if you let me restrain it while you figure out where to send it so it can’t do harm.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Clover,” Star Swirl called back. “That is exactly why I cannot allow you to come any closer. As talented as you are, I won’t allow you to risk your life against a monster we know so little about. We know that it was last seen by the scouts in the east, so it will likely come from this direction. We also know that it possesses enough intelligence to attack the fort at its openings. Stay your eye on the horizon, and keep watch for its approach toward the gate.” “Right,” Clover called back. “Because out of all my myriad talents as an explorer, mage, and scholar, it’s watching gates that I was destined for.” And he couldn’t get one of the pegasi to do this? I swear, one of these days he’ll get himself killed. “I’m pleased to hear it,” said Star Swirl. “Be ready to alert me as soon as you see something.” Clover sighed. Either he didn’t pick up on the sarcasm, or he didn’t care. Probably both. With nothing better to do, he began to train his eyes on the distance, watching for any sign of the raijū’s movement. Seconds passed. Then minutes. Even as the tension hung thickly in the air, Clover saw nothing outside apart from the usual scenery. Eventually, the carpet of rain clouds beneath the ruined outskirts of the fort began to thin, dwindling into a smattering of lumpy cumuli. With the rain gone, it became painfully apparent how high up in the air they truly were, easily thousands of feet. Clover’s ears twitched. At the edge of his hearing, he could pick up the sound of distant thunder. Sure enough, in the distance he could see a brilliant, crackling presence — and it was getting closer by the second, closing the distance between itself and the fort with such speed that it would have been impossible to track without its blinding glow. “Hey, master!” Clover called. “Incoming!” Star Swirl’s body tensed, his horn glowing in anticipation as he assumed a fighting stance. It turned out to be not a moment too soon, as a massive sphere of lightning barreled through the air, directly towards Star Swirl. A beam of intense white light erupted from Star Swirl’s horn, and in a blinding, thundering flash it impacted the ball lightning head-on. Clover’s entire field of vision was momentarily blinded, his eardrums nearly bursting from the deafening roar of thunder. When his senses came to, he looked outside to see Star Swirl, still holding fast in place, his bolt of concussive magic pushing against against a sphere of lightning that was nearly four times as large as him. Yet still, the orb crackled and pulsed with electricity, inexorably pushing forward through the force of the spell. Miniature bolts of static erupted from the sphere and jumped between the clouds, a few of them coming dangerously close to Star Swirl himself. Then the elderly unicorn let out a grunt of exertion, and the beam bursting from his horn doubled in diameter. The sphere was immediately knocked backward, sent flying from the impact as Star Swirl’s spell dissipated into nothing. As it soared backward through the air, it landed on a nearby cloud, in the midst of a pile of stone rubble from the destroyed outer buildings. With a flash of light and a peal of thunder, its body transformed into the shape of a beast — a gargantuan wolf with a body made entirely out of lightning. It let out a vicious snarl, its bestial growl laced with electric zaps and rumbling thunder. Star Swirl lightly brushed off his cape and turned to face the raijū, his eyes still burning fiercely. Still in the confines of the tower, Clover observed the aftermath of the initial confrontation, and made a worrying observation. While Star Swirl’s cloak and mane were lightly singed by the beast’s assault, the raijū itself appeared completely unharmed. Criminy, that thing’s magic-resistant. The old stallion’s in even deeper than I thought. A nagging feeling tugged at Clover’s heart. He didn’t want to take his eyes away, yet on a level deeper than he could explain, he knew that a solution wouldn’t come from where he was. He pulled himself away from the window and sat down in the lotus position, igniting his horn as he deepened his concentration in familiar ritual. The sounds of blazing spells, lupine howls, and rumbling thunder made it difficult to concentrate, yet soon he found himself being pulled deep into the routine. Deeper and deeper he delved into the fabric of the world, desperately searching for anything that could give him an answer. In the back of his mind he knew that he may not find anything comprehensible, nor even anything at all, yet his instincts drove him forward. Suddenly, Clover’s eyes snapped open. Before him were three glyphs, floating just before him. He squinted as he tried to make them out, hoping to pure chance that his mind could reasonably decipher them. Okay... ‘raijū.’ This first one’s probably about Fido out there. The second one’s a sound, something that goes kinda like ‘krakow’ or ‘boom,’ so that’s one’s probably about thunder or lightning. The last one, though... ‘Emptiness?’ ‘Need?’ ‘Lack?’ That doesn’t make any— Then, suddenly, something within Clover’s mind clicked. Urgency ran cold through his blood, and he stood up to his hooves so fast that he nearly jumped. He had a hunch about where the answer would be. He needed to find it, and quickly. “Sorry master,” he muttered, “I’ve gotta go. Try not to die before I get back.” ———————— The buildings of inner Fort Cloudsdale passed by in a blur. The streets, if one could even call them that, were full to the bring with pegasi, desperately lining up at the building entrances as they packed themselves full near to burst. Blaring horns resounded in Clover’s ears, blown in alert of the raijū’s attack as the pegasi scrambled to find shelter. All around him soldiers and civilians — though the two were not especially different in Cloudsdale — darted through the air as they scrambled to escort the young and elderly to safety. “Pansy!” Clover shouted out to the crowd. “Pansy! Has anypony seen Lieutenant Pansy? I need her to answer something!” His cries fell on deaf ears. All around him, the crowds simply flew about in a mad panic, despite the attempts made by the officers to form a more organized plan of disaster response. Even the cloud-level crowds had grown fairly thick — much sparser than they were in the city-state of Canterlot, yet not so sparse that Clover didn’t have to occasionally push his way past a pedestrian. “Pansy! Pansy! Come on, where are you!?” “Hey! You there!” The voice came from above, raspy and commanding, yet distinctly feminine. Clover halted in his tracks and looked above to see a hovering pegasus with a muted purple-blue coat and a slick, oily black mane. There was a prominent scar across her left eye, and Clover noted that it appeared to be fresh. Most likely, she’d received it during the raijū’s last attack. As Clover turned his head upward to meet her, she eyed him warily. “What in Poseidon’s name is a unicorn like you doing here?” “I’m here to help my master deal with the raijū,” Clover responded. “Now if you’ll excuse me—” “You!?” the mare blurted out. “Ha! You’ve gotta be joking. We’ve fought that thing multiple times and all it’s earned us are casualties. Trust me, I’m the fastest private in the Cloudsdale Legion, and all I could do was annoy it. You’d be better off heading back to Canterlot and eating snails, or whatever snooty crap you do.” “Snails are out of season, I’m afraid,” Clover quipped. “Either way, I’m not going to let Cloudsdale be destroyed. Do you know where I can find Lieutenant Pansy?” “Sorry, she doesn’t have time to deal with you right now,” said the mare. “She’s busy organizing the disaster response team. What the heck do you want her for, anyway?” “It’s about the weather,” Clover replied. “I’ve reason to believe that recent weather activity is the key to understanding why the raijū is attacking. If we can figure out what it is, I may be able to figure out how to stop it.” The mare crossed her forelegs as she hovered. Her brow creased as her eyes narrowed at Clover. “Uh-huh. Sure you can.” “I’m being serious!” Clover called back. “Look, if you can’t tell me where I can find Pansy, can you at least tell me when the last time you had a thunderstorm scheduled was?” “Pfft, that?” said the mare. “We haven’t made any thunderclouds in over a month. Orders came from General Hurricane to stop making them. Apparently the Council voted two-to-one in favor of abolishing them, or something.” She gave a shrug of her forearms in midair. “Guess unicorns and earth ponies don’t appreciate a good storm, but whatever. Doesn’t seem like anypony’s missing out, as long as there’s still rain.” Clover stood in place, his hooves glued to the cloud surface, as his mouth worked silently. “No thunder or lightning,” he mumbled. “’Raijū’ plus thunder sound plus ‘emptiness’ or ‘need’ or ‘lack’ would mean...” Right then, he could feel the epiphany strike him square in the heart. There was a soft whap as the frog of his hoof collided with his face. “Stars and stones, of course that’s what’s happening.” “What?” said the mare. “What is?” “Don’t worry about it. I think I’ve figured it out,” said Clover. “Thanks, miss...” “Nimbus Dash.” “Right. Nimbus Dash,” Clover repeated. “And listen, don’t worry about the raijū. I’ve got it figured out. You just get these ponies to safety!” As Clover teleported away, he could barely hear the sound of Nimbus Dash shouting at him, asking just what the heck he was even talking about. ———————— When Clover appeared on the clouded ground just in front of the eastern gate, he was greeted with a sight that he was hoping desperately not to see. Several dozen feet out, lying atop massive cumulus cloud, was Star Swirl. His cape and hat were tattered nearly beyond recognition, and his body was singed with numerous nasty burns that singed straight through his coat and charred his skin. Just beyond him, standing tall and triumphant, was the raijū. It raised its head skyward, and a a peal of thunder resounded through the air as it gave a deafening crackling howl. Then, with lightning-forged eyes, it looked down at Star Swirl, snarling hungrily. “Wait!” Clover cried out. His horn flashed blue, and in an instant he found himself standing between Star Swirl and the monster, staring up as the beast towered directly over him. He could feel the static charge in the air, and hear the cracks and zzzts as the beast’s body undulated and pulsed with electricity. The beast snarled, and several arcs of lightning narrowly jumped past him, singing the tips of his hair. Yet despite the threat the beast posed, Clover remained resolute. He looked up, and looked the raijū directly in its eyes. “I know why you’re doing this. It’s because you’re starving, isn’t it?” The raijū’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly. The tingle of static at Clover’s skin seemed to dull, if ever so slightly. “Cloudsdale provides for all the weather in Equestria. That’s half the Equus continent,” said Clover. “And that includes lightning. What you eat. But then they stopped making lightning, and you were left with nothing. You’re starving.” The raijū’s stance loosened, its towering stance almost seeming to shrink. A dull whine came from the thunder-wolf’s throat. “And now you’re mad that these pegasi have taken away what you need to survive,” Clover continued. “My master told me that you turned the clouds of Fort Cloudsdale into storm clouds, destroying much it in the process. You were trying to create lightning that you can feed off of, weren’t you?” The raijū sat onto its rear, ears folded against its head. Another whine came from its throat, the constant crackles of lightning shrinking down even further, until they were barely audible at all. “But that won’t satiate you, will it?” said Clover. “At most, you’ll only get back the energy you spent creating storm clouds to begin with. You need more than that. You need them to start making stormy weather again.” The raiju closed its eyes. It gave another whine, soft and quaking, as though it were crying. Slowly, raijū moved its head up and down. “Look. I don’t think the pegasi even know about what they did to you,” said Clover. He stepped forward, offering a gentle smile. “And I don’t think they even wanted to stop the lightning to begin with. If you stop attacking the city, I can explain to the all the ponies what’s really happening, and they’ll get the pegasi to start making storm clouds again. Can you do that for me?” The raijū tilted its head. There was another whine, inflected upwards, and it carried an air of uncertainty and hope that Clover couldn’t quite translate into language. “Listen,” Clover reassured, “I promise things will be okay.” He stepped forward, and held out a hoof in front of him. “Okay?” Slowly, the raijū stood back onto its legs. It reached out with a paw and held onto Clover’s hoof, shaking it gently. A slight tingle traveled up Clover’s let, yet he felt no pain from it at all. For what seemed like ages, the creature stared him in the eye, and beneath its elemental gaze Clover could see a genuine intelligence and compassion. The raijū released its grip, and gave a nod. With one last brilliant flash, it became a ball of lightning, and flew off into the distance. Clover let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He turned around to face Star Swirl, the soft rising and falling of his chest thankfully confirming that he was alive. Clover’s horn lit up with green light, and a massive aloe leaf appeared in the air above his prone mentor. Star Swirl’s body levitated upwards, and the leaf wrapped around him like a cocoon, glowing with ethereal light. The light surrounding the leaf then faded, and it vanished into nothing. Star Swirl floated down to the cloud’s surface, his body now free of all injury, and his cape and hat miraculously repaired. As his hooves made contact with the ground, Star Swirl’s eyes snapped open. “Huh? Bwuh? What? Whozzat?” Clover cocked a grin. “You alright there, master?” Star Swirl clutched his forehead and groaned, his other three legs still slightly wobbly. “I... yes, I believe so,” he said. He looked around briefly, confusion written in the wrinkles on his face. “What just happened?” “You drove the raijū off,” said Clover. “Sent it fleeing. You also figured out why it was attacking to begin with.” “I...” Star Swirl paused momentarily. “...I did?” “Yup, that’s right. Cloudsdale stopped making lightning due to pressure from the other two states in the Confederation. But it turns out raijū feed off of lightning, so it attacked out of desperation and hunger. You figured all they need to do is start making lightning again, and the fort will be just fine.” As Clover spoke, he cast a glibness spell to boost his persuasiveness, paired with a subtle illusion to hide his horn’s glow. “Ah. Yes, yes, of course. I did do that,” said Star Swirl. “I shall write a letter to the Council immediately informing them of my findings, and ask that they allow Fort Cloudsdale to resume the production of thunderclouds. I am certain that once they understand the situation, they’ll know what they must do.” “Great to hear,” said Clover. “Why don’t we report back to Lieutenant Pansy and tell her what you found?” “Gladly,” said Star Swirl. His horn lit again with magic, and the two teleported back to the entrance of the gates, where they proceeded to head into the fort. As Clover followed after his master, he chuckled silently to himself, letting the comfortable feeling of an old routine warm him from the inside. After all, it wasn’t the first time he’d saved Star Swirl’s hide without him knowing.