//------------------------------// // The Clover's Successor // Story: The Sun and the Clover // by BG9 //------------------------------// A dime piece, she was, a perfect portrait of femininity with long locks of hair reaching past her shoulders, rows of gold and red like a rainbow. Anon simply could not keep his eyes off her until a nudge to his right, the culprit another girl sitting down next to her. Her hair was a shade of light blue – so light in fact that he nearly mistaken it for white – garbed in a witch outfit decorated with stars. “Don’t even try it,” She said with a smirk. “She’s way out of your league.” “Out of my league?” Anon repeated quizzically. She nodded, like a detective putting a case together. “Right. You must be new to Canterlot High.” That he was, he’ll give her that. He’d only transferred to this school from another nearly 4 states away. Anon was about to realize, however, just how out of place he truly was. “Well yeah,” He confirmed. “Just transferred today actually.” The girl rolled her eyes, almost as if in exasperation. “Well as I’ve said before, she’s way out of your grasp. Sunset Shimmer, not only is she a noble, but she’s also saved the school from magical anomalies multiple times.” Anon was no longer quizzical, but skeptical, fixing this girl with a skeptic look. Is she insane? Does she suffer from schizophrenia? Magical anomalies? A noble?! “Alright, is this some sort of bullshit initiation? Trying to see what the gullible newbie can fall for?” It was now her turn to look at him quizzically, now longer mildly amused, before disbelief came over her. “Wait a minute: you do know what kind of school this is, right?” Anon let out an impatient sigh. “If I say yes, will you leave me alone?” He asked. She only giggles. “Not likely. To be honest, you should be thanking me; The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t talk to just anyone you know?” Alright, it’s official; this girl is a nutcase. A nutjob. A complete nut, A complete bag of nuts. Anon could only hope that the rest of the students were normal, or at the very least, not as unhinged as the girl next to him. He turned his head back to Sunset Shimmer only to see that she was now focused intently on him, both of their heads whipped away, almost as if being caught doing something shameful. Trixie rolled her eyes once more. “But honestly, you do know what kind of school this is?” The repetition of her earlier question made him feel uneasy. “It’s just a high school.” He tried to mask his uneasiness, but he failed horribly, Trixie’s eyes widening. “I think you’ve gotten on the wrong bus,” She said. “Perhaps, this may clue you in.” She presented to him, her hand, the back of it. He watched with growing shock, her hand began to glow a vibrant blue forming a mark; a wand, it seemed, with a blue mist around it. And just like a magic trick, it vanished no sooner than it had appeared. As wide as dinner plates, Anon’s eyes were. “How in the world did you do that? Some kind of illusion?” Anon asked, enthralled. Trixie giggled again. “It must be fate, a mere mortal wouldn’t even be able to see the bus, let alone cross the barrier surrounding it. You must have latent magical potential.” Anon’s face went pale. A joke. This had to all be a sick joke. An elaborate prank to screw with his mind. Magic? And an invisible bus? No damn way this was true. He caught another glimpse at Sunset only to be surprised even more. She wore completely different clothes from what she was wearing mere moments ago, and in her hand a metallic, two-pronged stick with an orange-red light at the end. Anon took a deep breath. “Alright, so say I believe in this magic thing? Where do I go from here?” It was the logical question to ask. “Well get enrolled here,” She gave a sly smile. “Unless of course, you want to be executed for meddling in our affairs.” He turned his head back to Trixie only to see that she too had changed her clothes in the blink of an eye, now wearing a blue robe. “Do I get a robe like that?” He asked. She held in a laugh. “You humans always crack me up,” She said. “Of course not, this is a two-year robe and you’re obviously a newbie; you’d never get into a two-year class. Your little crush up there has a five-year robe.” She explained. Anon nodded. “How many years are there?” He asked. “Same as your cute little human schools: 12 years. Your latent ability will determine what year you qualify for,” She said. “I wouldn’t hold your breath for anything higher than year one.” Anon finally felt his nerves begin to relax. “Ok, ok, this isn’t so bad. Magic is pretty cool.” He assured himself. Trixie only smiled coyly. “Oh you and I are going to get along just peachy newbie.” She said. A scowl painted his face. “I have a name you know?” His scowl only deepened when she shrugged nonchalantly before her face lit up. “Oh, you may want to hold on; things are about to get… turbulent shall we say.” She warned. No sooner had she said that had his body been utterly crushed as the bus lurched forward like a plane in take-off, the g-force alone was enough to make his body feel like melted butter under a steam press. He could no longer write this off as some elaborate prank once the pressure had vanished. A dazzling array of blue and white light lay just beyond the window, making it look as if they had just been sucked through a wormhole. In no time at all, Anon found himself in a place that was both familiar, yet different. The bus soared over a town with cobblestone pathways and stone houses, ripped right out of medieval England. But that wouldn’t be the most surprising sight as right in front of the bus lay a castle so massive, it may as well be five to six castles amalgamated together. It almost looked as if itself was another town. “Get your mouth off the floor rookie. That’s Canterlot High, the one and only school for mages.” Hearing Trixie’s voice snapped him out of his trance. “It’s absolutely massive, I’ve never seen a single structure so big.” He marveled. She scoffed. “It has to be this school receives nearly 100,00 students each year, and that’s the average. Anything less massive wouldn’t do.” Anon was simply floored at this point, besides himself, baffled at the surprising turn of events. It was hard to imagine something on such a scale to be feasible, let alone possible. Magic at this point didn’t seem so out of the realm of possibility anymore. He heard footsteps walking down the aisles, his gaze raising to meet the cutie he had his eye on. In her hand a checklist as she passed rows of prospective and returning students until she finally made it to his row. “Anon E. Mouse.” She said, certain this was his name only to ask to clarify. “Correct.” He confirmed. She nodded. “That’s a name I’ve never heard before, let’s see here.” She said, flipping through the pages on her clipboard, a shocked expression coming across her face. “Well this isn’t something you see everyday; a student with no history of magic and doesn’t hail from a magical bloodline.” She stated, simply amazed. “A student like yourself has only been seen since the Magic Silver Age.” She said. “Can you use a Magic Crest yet?” She asked. “Magic Crest?” His repetition of her question confirmed her suspicions. “I’m not surprised you don’t have one. You see; a Magic Crest is the amalgamation of a mage families work, dating back generations.” His continuously furrowing eyebrow showed that she was making no sense in his eyes. “Think of it like this: the Magic Crest is passed down from family heir to family heir and is the culmination of each previous heir’s magical ability. Everything such as their memories, abilities, and talents will be directly transferred to you. This is usually done when the previous heir of the family relinquishes their title to you.” If Anon was confused before, he was haplessly baffled now, his brain a mess of mush and magic mumbo jumbo so hot he could barely comprehend half of what she just said. She sees his distress, smiling sympathetically. “Here, let me show you.” She said, presented her hand to him. And just like Trixie’s hand before her, hers began to glow with an orange and red in color. Next, a symbol similar to the Yin-Yang symbol appeared, this time utilizing a sun with an S sliver separating two contrasting globes of golden and deep red. “My family is matriarchal, meaning the heir is female, mine was given to me by my mother. My family specializing in Solar Magic. My mother’s memories and magical ability have been transferred to me and I’ve been recognized as head of the Shimmer Family.” Trixie scoffed once more. “Sunset got lucky.” She said. “Usually people don’t acquire their Magic Crest till their 30s or 40s, sometimes later. I still have yet to claim my own.” She explained. “I only ask if you have a Magic Crest to see if it may have been planted there without your knowledge.” Sunset continued. “It’s not uncommon for mages facing prosecution to transfer the work of their family to their children, or even strangers in some cases.” She said. “Hold out your hand please.” She requested. He obeyed her order, holding his hand out, a rush of butterflies fluttering in his stomach when her hands grasped his own. “This isn’t going to hurt, is it?” He asked cautiously. She shook her head. “Not at all. It’s a simple trick really, all you have to do is run your own magical energy through someone’s hand and-” Her explanation was cut short, both her and Trixie’s mouth were agape as a bright green clover enveloped his wrist. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing. Anon raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Is the Crest good or something?” He inquired quizzically. Sunset quickly composed herself. “When we arrive at the school, we’re going to the headmaster’s office immediately.” Shit. The headmaster’s office? Immediately? That was never a good sign. Sunset rushed back to the front of the bus, Trixie tapping his shoulder with a serious expression on her face. “Does the name Clover the Clever mean anything to you?”