Celestia’s breath caught in her throat.
“Wh-what?” she stuttered, looking to her mentor in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re leaving,” Clover said quietly, her thickly braided tail swishing back and forth.
“Why?” Celestia whimpered, her fear slowly beginning to turn to anger. “Why are you sending me away?”
“Listen, my little pony,” Clover said calmly, walking up to her and nuzzling her cheek. Celestia stepped back, refusing the comforting gesture.
“No, I won’t listen!” she said angrily, stamping a hoof. “What the hay!”
“Tia!” the older mare shot sternly. “Language!” The younger pony fell silent, apologizing under her breath. Clover’s gaze softened. “Listen, Tia,” she said quietly, looking out over the city, “do you ever think about the sun?” Celestia cocked her head.
“The sun?”
“Yes.”
The unicorn filly looked to the glowing orb in the sky as it set, its orange and pink hues dancing in her eyes. She felt her heart fill with something akin to longing, but with more vigor and strength. She could feel herself moving towards it and stopped herself, blinking.
“Yeah, I do,” she said, unable to look away. Eventually she shook herself, turning back to Clover. “What does that have to do with me leaving?”
“I saw how you handled yourself today,” Clover commented, beginning to walk back up the path. Celestia trotted after her. “You’ve stayed in Unicornia long enough, and your books can only take you so far.”
“You mean…I’m leaving to study?” Celestia asked, confused.
“It’s more like a journey of self-discovery,” Clover the Clever said, her gaze fixed ahead of her. “You remember how Lulu was asking about Talent Brands a little while back?”
“Yeah..?” She remembered only faintly the conversation’s specifics, but went along with it.
“I realized today that you may never earn them if you stay here,” Clover continued, looking back to check on Luna, who still dozed happily on her back. “You need to get out into the world and see for yourself what you’re capable of.” There was something she was keeping from Celestia. Her words were hesitant. Ignoring it, Celestia looked to her younger sister.
“What about Luna?” she asked reluctantly. “What’s she going to do when I’m gone?”
“She’s coming with you.”
Celestia stopped, surprised. Clover paused, looking her up and down.
“What, did you think I’d send you away without her?” the mare asked. Celestia shook her head.
“I just thought…” she began, stopping herself. What had she thought? Luna looked so young to her, but Celestia knew that she was much older than she appeared. Luna had always had that strange property about her, though it was largely unnoticed by her. Celestia looked down at her own hooves, raising one from the ground. Had her legs always been this long?
“You’re much older than you think,” Clover said, continuing to walk again. “I had left home at a much younger age than you are now.”
“You did?” Celestia trotted up to her side, now walking closer to her mentor. Clover nodded.
“I left at night and travelled for many months until I made it here to Unicornia. My family never knew what happened.” There was a distant look in her eyes. Celestia could see the beginnings of teardrops forming at the corners of her aged eyes, and the older mare blinked them away. “It does not matter now.” Celestia looked back to the sun. They were slowly climbing the slope up to the castle now, and the city below them was once again as distant as it had been all those years before, when they had only been allowed in the castle gardens. The rooftops were bathed in the fading light, and Celestia felt her chest grow warm as she took in the scene.
“Are you worried about us?” Celestia asked, looking at Clover. The mare looked away, avoiding eye contact with her student.
“Of course,” she said, her voice wavering, “but this is something that has to be done. It is far past time for the both of you to leave me.”
“Why?” Celestia felt the question escape her mouth before she could stop herself. Clover had already given her the answer to that question, but there was something she was hiding from her. Clover often seemed to keep herself from telling the two fillies everything on her mind. Celestia had learned to put it aside, but now it was painfully obvious there was something being kept from her. The fact buzzed in her mind, not giving her a moment’s rest. She needed to know.
“The reason why…” Clover said quietly, her voice distant,”…is something you must discover for yourself.”
“But you know why.” Clover looked at Celestia in surprise, her eyes wide. The white unicorn had stepped in front of her, looking straight into her eyes. “Don’t you?” Clover hesitated.
“I do know,” she admitted at last, her ear twitching in discomfort.
“Then why don’t you tell me? Is it really so bad that I cannot know?” Celestia’s voice was slowly raising in tone. It was strung out, desperate. “Can’t you tell me?” Clover turned away.
“I wish I could tell you everything I know, I really do,” she started, pawing at the ground with a hoof. “However, if I told you, everything would be ruined.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.” Clover was never one to exaggerate, and Celestia looked to her in confusion. How could what she knew ruin everything?
“I don’t understand.” That was all Celestia could say. She didn’t understand. The harder she tried to think the more confusing everything became.
“You don’t need to.” Celestia looked at Clover in surprise. She was looking straight into her eyes, her gaze remaining steady. “All you need to do is trust me. You will know in time why I chose not to tell you everything I know about you and your sister.” Celestia looked away, turning back to the sun. It was only slightly peeking over the horizon now, and the sky was becoming black with the coming of night. A few stars were beginning to peek out from their veil of darkness, catching a glimpse of the light before it all but disappeared.
“I trust you,” Celestia murmured, turning back to Clover. “Let’s go home.”
They arrived in Unicornia castle as the moon was beginning to show its face in the blackened sky. The ponies in charge of lowering the sun and raising the moon were still out on the castle balcony, and the wisps of their magic could be faintly seen from the ground where they stood. Luna had still not awakened, and Celestia carried her up the stairs to their room as Clover the Clever tended to her evening duties about the castle. Luna was heavier than she had expected her to be, and Celestia began to realize now their age. They were in that troubled stage between childhood and adulthood, when a pony was only beginning to mature. She wondered how Clover had ever left home before that.
Celestia gently tucked her younger sister into bed, the younger filly stirring in her sleep as she was placed onto the mattress. Luna turned over, snuggling into her pillow as she mumbled something inaudibly. Celestia smiled gently, turning to see Clover walk into the room. She was carrying two saddle bags; one over her back and the other in her mouth. She placed them by the door, and Celestia guessed that they were for their departure tomorrow.
“I’ve already arranged somewhere for the two of you to stay,” she whispered, trotting quietly to the bedside. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know tomorrow. Now you need to rest. The trail to Maytown is easy, but it is a long ways, especially for younger ponies.” Celestia only nodded as she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over herself. Clover kissed her goodnight. “Sleep well my little pony.” She left quickly, closing the door quietly behind her.
Celestia stared up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. There were so many different questions running through her mind that she found herself unable to concentrate on just one of them, and allowed them to bounce about, never latching on to any one in particular. She glanced over at Luna, who slept soundly in her half of the bed. Celestia was jealous that she didn’t have to know about their trip. Her younger sister would be resting easy tonight. She drew closer, snuggling up to her sister. She was warm and soft, and eventually Celestia fell into a light and unrestful sleep.
**********
Celestia was awoken by a sudden creaking and shuddering of the mattress. She threw the covers over her head, groaning loudly.
“Wake up wake up wake up!!” came the familiar tone of Luna’s voice. The bed shuddered as the young filly bounced on it. “We need to get ready to go!” Celestia threw the covers off and looked up at her sister. Luna was grinning, her tan saddle bags already strapped onto her sides. “Come on Tia!” she pressed, poking her sister with a hoof. “We’re going on an adventure!”
“Luna, are you already wearing your bags?” Clover the Clever’s tired voice rang from the hallway. “I told you to wait until you were leaving to put them on!”
“Nooo, I’m not wearing them,” Luna shouted back, quickly discarding the bags and tossing them across the room. Celestia sat up, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Sunlight was already filtering through the windows of their small room. She had definitely overslept.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked, rolling out of bed and looking around for a hairbrush.
“Like, forever!” Luna jumped off the bed, running up to her sister. “Clover told me that we’re leaving! Isn’t it exciting Tia? It’ll be like going to the Leaf Turning Festival every day!”
“I wouldn’t say that,” the older unicorn replied, finally locating the brush and swiping it through her tangled mane. It stuck to the knots that had twisted into her hair overnight, causing her to flinch. Clover trotted in with some baskets of food and placed them on the table, and Luna flocked to her instantly.
“Breakfast, Tia!” she yelled, hopping into her chair. Celestia trotted after her, climbing into the seat beside her sister. On the table was two bowls of oats and a basket of small apples. Luna chomped at her oats noisily, the grains clinging to her face and mane. Clover scolded her for this, and Luna wiped the bits of food to the floor in childlike defiance. It was clear that Luna had taken the news of their trip much better than Celestia had, and was itching to leave the castle.
“Slow down, Luna, nopony is going to take your oats,” Clover said, looking to the blue filly in concern. “You’ll be sick if you eat that quickly.”
“Sorry,” Luna replied, bits of oat dribbling from her mouth as she spoke.
“Now listen you two,” Clover began, “you’ll be staying at the Goldenrod Inn once you reach Maytown. The owner is an old friend of mine called Strawberry Creme, she should give you a place to stay.”
“Is she sweet?” Luna asked, ginning. Celestia groaned audibly.
“Painfully so,” Clover replied, paying no mind to the joke. “As long as you tell her that Clover the Clever sent you, she’ll treat you well. The path to Maytown is very straightforward, so you won’t get lost so long as you don’t wander off.” Celestia forced herself to eat, picking an apple and biting into it. She still had her reserves about leaving, but was beginning to feel better about it now that Luna seemed to be all for it. Breakfast was finished rather quickly, and the two fillies soon prepared to leave. Luna had her bags on quickly, and she bounded about the room in excitement.
“I can’t believe we’re going to Maytown!” she screamed, hopping back onto the bed.
“Luna, if you keep running around you won’t be able to make it to Maytown,” Celestia said, rolling her eyes as Clover adjusted the straps on her saddlebags.
“I will too,” Luna replied, sticking her tongue out at her sister, blowing raspberries. Celestia snorted, turning away.
“Try not to fight like that, girls,” Clover the Clever said, pulling away slightly to examine Celestia’s bags. “You’ll be going without me, you know.” Deciding that the saddle bags were secure she stepped back, looking Celestia up and down. They were nearly eye to eye in height, and Celestia was surprised at how tall she was. Surely she hadn’t been this tall before?
“Can we go yet?” Luna asked, trotting up to her sister. She was taller as well, but the tips of her ears only came to Celestia’s jawline. Luna’s pale blue mane was long, and came down to the halfway point of her neck. Celestia’s pale pink mane was thick and wavy, and ended at her shoulder blades.
“Are you both ready?” Clover seemed hesitant. Celestia could tell she didn’t want them to go.
“I’m ready,” Celestia said confidently, raising her head.
“Me too!” came Luna’s reply.
“Then shall we?”
Clover the Clever walked with them until they reached the edge of town, where she stopped. She would not go any further than beyond the final buildings of Unicornia.
“Goodbye Clover!” Luna said excitedly, latching onto the older mare’s neck. Clover groaned in mild pain, bending over to allow the young filly to rest on the ground.
“Goodbye Luna. Please get off.” Her voice was strained. How old was Clover? Celestia’s mind fumbled.
“Goodbye Clover.” Celestia hugged Clover tightly, nuzzling into her mane. The braids she had twisted were slowly fraying and becoming undone. Would there be a time she could return home and braid Clover’s mane again?
“Be safe, Tia,” Clover whispered, breaking away. Celestia could hear her voice falter.
“I will,” she promised, turning to her sister. “Let’s go, Luna.” The two of them set off down the road, Luna humming happily as they went. Celestia did not turn back. She did not wish to see Clover cry.