//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: The Land After 
// by Fat1thatyoulove 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 6 – Letters from yesterday

The crackle of the fire has started to come down as a low flame just barely flickers to the burnt wood and ash pile.

Clover blinks to the fire as she floats the bucket to the ground and her cloak to the log, "Master, why are you letting the fire go out?" As her magic floats up a few pieces of wood to the dying fire.

However as no response comes up Clover turns her head around the open area for any trace of the older stallion, "Master?"

Again no response comes up as Clover sets the logs to the fire and starts her trot towards the one tan tent set up near in a little in front of her.

Her eyes focus to the down flap as she brings her hoof to it as she peeks inside. The magically created tent almost triples in height and width as Clover now looks to the older stallion that sits in the simple wood chair that stands next to the small end round table.

"Oh there you are Star Swirl, are you going to sle-..."

"What is this Clover?" The mare's light smile is held but her head cocks a little to one side as she looks over the stallion's emotionless face.

"What is what master?" Clover blinks to the stallion as she waits for a response.

However, her words only agitate the stallion as he flaps the letter he has in his hoof, "This, what is the meaning of this letter Clover??"

The mare takes a step inside of the tent as the flaps of it close behind her, "That is the letter Celestia sent you, why can you not read it in this light-..."

"Bha! I can read this letter!" He quickly takes the letter from her racing hoof as his voice starts to stumble a little out of confusion and almost anger, "I-I read every word of this-this letter, twice!" He tosses the paper to the table as the older stallion struggles to stand from his seat.

"And-and I must say Clover I am disappointed, angry and insulted at you-Aha-ha-ha!!" His words are brought to a quick end as the old stallion starts up in a sick cough.

Clover extends her hoof to the swaying stallion but Star Swirl takes a step back as he regains his voice, "NO! Do not touch me." He raises one hoof as his frail body shakes a little to his three hoof stand, "Obviously I had put my faith and hopes in the wrong pony"

"Master what are you talking about?" Clover shakes her head to the stallion's angered face as she continues to speak up, "I-I have never seen you like this?"

"What is the matter??" Star Swirl jabs his hoof in the air towards the piece of paper as he answers the question, "You have rejected my recommendation for you to become the next Unicorn Mage! H-how could you allow all of your training to be thrown away? How could you do this to me? You are the only pony I can trust to make the decisions that need to be made."

The words slowly lower the mare's head as she speaks up, "I-I did not think it would upset you this-..."

"Upset!" The stallion quickly brings one of his front legs to cover his coughing as he tries to talk through it, "Clover, I do not have much time in this world. I need you to over see my work, I need you to make sure The Element of Harmony is properly dealt with."

"Master do not talk like that you-..."

Clover's words are cut off as Star Swirl shakes his head, "I have accepted my fate a long time ago. B-but how could you do this to me Clover, how??"

The mare's head comes down a little as she closes her eyes, "...Because Star Swirl I am following tradition."

"Tradition?!" The word widens the stallion's eyes as he shakes his head, "You have followed no tradition, a mage's top apprentice is to be his successor that is you. How have you followed tradition?"

His slightly raised voice brings a faint whimper from the mare as she holds her eyes to the ground, "The tradition says the apprentice becomes the successor if they are fit..." She shakes her head a little as she struggles with the next few words, "S-Star Swirl, I am pregnant."

Star Swirls face loses its intensity for a moment, however the older stallion's lapse in emotion is quickly dropped as his voice comes up with an almost rage filled tone, "This is what happens?! What, my student can not handle having a stallion in her home and instead gives into her desires like some common Mule?!"

The tone the stallion has is something Clover has never heard, sure she has seen the stallion mad when he tries to get a point across. But this tone is almost mindless and full of just raw emotions, the mare blinks to the comment as she shakes her head almost on the verge of tears from admitting it to herself and from the hard tone of the stallion in front of her, "M-master, it was not like that?"

Star Swirl's mind is absent to his words as he lifts his hoof up, "Does Preston know he ruined your life Hmm? Does he know everything you have done has been for nothing??"

Clover's lips quiver as she shakes her head, "He does not remember..."

"Does not know? What kind of stallion or beast does not remember?!"

The stallion's comment brings a quick response from Clover as she speaks up, "That night...T-the spell Celestia used to turn him into a pony broke. Master his memory receded almost all the way back to when Celestia first tasked me with looking after him."

Star Swirls pointing hoof goes a little limp as the mare in front of him gives a sad little whimper as she turns her head towards the ground she stands on, "I-I do not even know how to tell him Master...H-he just views us as animals."

The older stallion's mind slowly comes back to him as he blinks to the room he stands in, however he holds his eyes to the mare in front of him as he speaks up, "Clover...It is alright."

"How?" Clover's eyes glimmer a little to the water that has built up to them, but she does not completely break down as the strong willed mare impatiently waits for an answer.

Star Swirl nods his head as he sighs, "I just know this..."

The mare gives a simple nod as she tries to recompose herself.

To the silent mare Star Swirl now brings his voice up, "...When does my new successor arrive?"

Clover sniffles a little as she speaks up, "Celestia asked me and...Preston to come because she wants us to help you meet him."

Star Swirl sighs as he studies the mare's face, "Of course..." He takes a deep breath as he trots over to the simple bed in the room to sit on, "...Now if you excuse an old pony Clover, I need to rest my mind."

"Yes master." Clover turns towards the front of the tent, but before she can even put a hoof outside Star Swirl speaks up, "Clover..."

He pauses his voice as the mare's eyes come back to him, as they do he gives a faint smile, "Take care of yourself."

The mare nods as she speaks up, "I will Master."

Star Swirls horn sparks up as he floats over a piece of paper, a faint laugh comes up from the old stallion as he hoovers the paper in front of Clover, "Strange, but before I left this morning I actually brought along your tent from last time..."

Clover's magic comes over the slip of paper as she gives a faint smile to the comment, "Well thank you Master. Good night."

The older stallion nods to the words as he gives a little smile to the mare, "As to you Clover."

As the words loft a little to the tent Clover takes a step out and back into the night sky and crackle of fire. The magical piece of paper floats a little in front of her, however the silence to the world around her is brought to an end as a voice comes up.

"Alright, time to eat." Preston holds a little smile as he claps his hands together a little as he looks around the camp.

Clover blinks to the man's smile as she brings her normal sounding voice up with a quick clear of the throat, "Yes, well Star Swirl made some mushroom stew and I believe he brought a few apples and carrots along as well."

Her trot into the camp does not stop at the log Preston now sits down to, and as a result the man trails after the trotting mare with his eyes as he speaks up, "What are you doing?"

Clover's horn sparks up as the piece of paper floats to the ground, "Making our tent." As the paper settles to the ground a faint bolt of magic strikes against it as Clover takes a step back.

A slightly loud chime of magic now rings up to the camp as a simple tan tent pops up to where the piece of paper sat.

The sight of the magically created tent brings a faint laugh from Preston as he turns his head towards the pot of food above the fire, "Oh ya, forgot about ponies invented the TARDIS."

His laugh brings a faint smirk to Clover's face, but it's unseen to the man as she instead begins to trot towards the flaps in front of her.

Preston speaks up to her trot as he cocks his head, "Wait you're not going to eat anything?"

The mare halts her trot as she turns her head to the man, "I ate some of the stew before I went to the spring. I am feeling tired so I think I will just go to sleep." Clover does not wait for a response as she passes into the tent, her eyes come to set on the simple one large pillow bed as she brings a hoof to it after only a few steps.

The room may be almost triple the size that it looks on the outside, but that does not really mean there is much to it.

Clover's horn sparks up as she moves the heavy cotton blanket back as she eases herself into the bed and her head quickly to the pillow.

However, just as she sits down the sound of the flap of the tent coming open flicks her ears. She sits up a little as she looks over the man who cradles a few apples in his arms.

Preston's eyes turn to the mare as he gives a faint laugh, "Um...Sitting outside in a forest alone is not something I really wanted to do. Can I eat in here?"

Clover nods as Preston's walk quickly brings him to the other side of the bed, however he hesitates for a moment as he stares to the pony that sits only about two feet from him.

"Um...Apple?"

His words and gesture sparks up Clover's horn as she floats an apple from the man's arms, "Thank you."

As the apple floats from him Preston slowly moves a hand to the bed as he pushes the blanket aside to allow him to slip under it.

The part of the bed where Clover rest is now up a little, but it does not bother her for the moment as she now sits up a little more for the apple she has floating next to her.

However before she takes a bite of it she looks over the heavy clothing Preston put back on, "Are you going to sleep in that shirt? It is only going to get hotter in the forest?"

The comment makes his chest itch as the sweat that already started to form from the short walk from the spring brought on, "I don't know..."

He shrugs the comment off as he turns his attention to one of the apples in his hold. As the sound of his first bite comes up to the tent Clover floats her own apple to her mouth.

End of chapter 6