//------------------------------// // Epilogue: From Another Millenia // Story: More About Time // by SilverStar7 //------------------------------// "We also need to forgive ourselves... For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done. You can’t get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened." - Morrie Schwartz "Worthless draconequus," Star Swirl scowled under his breath as he made his way out of the sculpture garden. With that pointless chat, he had lost the last hope of using his time spell. At least for the foreseeable future. It was soon going to be time to accept the fate that had befallen his friend. Yet before he could grieve properly, he had one more task to complete. Scorpan had left the day before so that he could return to his homeland. It had been hard to see a new friend leave so soon, but Star Swirl knew that Scorpan had not made the choice lightly. Returning home was not being done for ease, but with a purpose. Scorpan was hoping that he could teach the people of his land about the peace and harmony of Equestria. That he could help them to learn the power of love and friendship. And Star Swirl certainly could not stand in the way of such a noble cause. Yet before leaving, Scorpan gave Star Swirl a mission of his own. Star Swirl sighed again; he had sighed far too often lately. It was the hope of avoiding this that made Star Swirl desperate enough to seek help from Discord. Yet now, he had no choice but to see it through. I'm sorry, Clover, he thought. I really tried everything I could... She deserved so much better than his best. So much more than her fate. * ~ * ~ * The cells of Tartarus sat perched upon tall mountain peaks. With three slabs of meat and a rub on the belly, Star Swirl was able to work past Cerberus. Celestia would need to consider getting a new guard dog. If she wasn't careful, he'd just wander off someday and then this whole prison complex was worthless. Making his way up a winding path, Star Swirl did not look toward the cell at the top. He looked to his hooves and took his time. This was not a meeting that he wanted to have. The prisoner spoke before Star Swirl had even arrived at the cell. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Star Swirl the Bearded. Come to taunt me over my defeat? Or perhaps you are here to examine me and discover how my magic works?" "Neither, Tirek," Star Swirl insisted as he reached the summit. "If I had my way about it, I would never look at your face again." "I don't see any spears at your back," Tirek said. "Nopony is forcing you to come here." "No, not a pony," Star Swirl shook his head. "A gargoyle." Tirek gave a "hmmph" and rolled his eyes. He doesn't even care about his own brother. Star Swirl sighed. "Do you know what your brother said to me about you before he left?" "I'm sure it was heartwrenching and wonderful. He was a lot like you ponies the last time I saw him..." Star Swirl had to grit his teeth and take a deep breath through his nostrils so that he didn't go on a tirade against the centaur. "You don't even deserve to know what he said. You are cruel and malicious and I don't understand how you and Scorpan could even be related." "Then why are you here?" "Because I promised Scorpan I would come." Star Swirl removed a golden triangular pendant from his cloak. "I'm sure you know what this is." He held forward the item and Tirek rolled his eyes. "Your brother wanted you to have it." Star Swirl tossed the necklace into Tirek's cage. "Why did he want me to have this?" Tirek asked. "To taunt me with the knowledge that he is free to roam about this world? While I rot in this sad excuse of a prison?" "No!" Star Swirl shouted his response. He'd had enough of Tirek's mockery. "Because, even after all of the terrible things that you have done. Even though you would have done worse than that if given the chance. He wanted to know that he still calls you his brother." Star Swirl snorted and shook his head. "He wanted you to know that he forgives you." Tirek raised an eyebrow. "He forgives me?" "You don't deserve it. I told him that he shouldn't. But he says he has to, because you didn't know what you were doing." At this Tirek pulled back his head in laughter. "I didn't know? Ha! He and I both knew what we wanted the moment we set foot in Equestria. Or did he forget already that our purpose for being here was to steal the magic of these ponies?" Star Swirl wanted to leave then. He wanted to declare Tirek unsavable and be done with this conversation. Yet he had made a promise. A promise between friends. I knew what you were asking of me was hard, Scorpan. I just had no idea how hard it would be. Holding firm, Star Swirl made one last attempt. "I'm going to say what your brother wanted you to hear. Nothing more or less: "Scorpan says that he pities you. Not because your arms have ended up in chains of steel, but because you have placed your heart in chains of hatred. He pities that you were not able to see what friendship and love have to offer. That your lust for power has blinded you to joy and wonder beyond what can be produced from magic. "I can't forgive you." Star Swirl looked away from Tirek. "One of my friends paid her life to end your reign of terror and as long as she remains dead I cannot forgive you." Tirek laughed. "This is the joy you say comes from friendship? All I see is sadness and pain." The anger in Star Swirl could be held back no longer. At that taunt, he turned his horn on Tirek and fired a beam of magic at the tyrant. Yet the magic surrounding his cage prevented Star Swirl from being able to reach him. And Tirek simply continued to laugh. When he had finished his outburst, Star Swirl declared, "I hope you rot in this cell for all eternity." And then, he teleported away from Tartarus. * ~ * ~ * Later that day, Star Swirl placed the time spell in with his other unfinished works. Someday, perhaps, he would find use for it. Celestia told me to press on and press through my losses. Star Swirl considered that again as he closed his secret library compartment. He again thought of Clover and it pained him to think how much the future would be lacking with her loss. She had shown so much promise in her life. How much could she have given to the world if she'd been allowed more time? "No," Star Swirl said aloud. He turned and reopened the compartment. Looking around, he found the notebook. In it was his unfinished masterpiece. This spell was one he had worked on for months. It would allow him to experience magic in ways known to only a few in pony history. And it would allow him to save Clover as well. If I can become an alicorn, then I won't need to keep fiddling with that time spell. It will just work and I can finally fix the past. Leaving the library, Star Swirl thought about what his spell could be missing. It would probably take him weeks of work, maybe even months, be he would do it. He would do it for Clover! He thought about what his friend would say. He imagined Clover standing there in her brown cloak and talking with him. She would probably encourage him; tell him that anything he wanted to do was possible. Star Swirl paused at the door of the library, leaning on the frame. No, that wasn't her. More likely than not, Clover would scold him for ignoring Celestia. He looked down at the book in his hoof. Could he really pursue alicornship for the sake of a spell that Celestia had told him was not worth his time? She was one of the first alicorns after all. If anypony in all the world understood the true magic involved in alicornship, it was Celestia. The time he had spent with her had demonstrated that beyond any shadow of a doubt. That pony is far wiser than I... If Star Swirl ever wanted to move forward with the alicorn spell, he would need to stop looking back. But that would mean abandoning his time spell. And his friend. Pain shot through Star Swirl's chest. It was like he was losing Clover all over again. He fell to his knees. His notebook dropped to the floor. The tears burned his eyes. He couldn't let her go. He wouldn't! And he began to weep. His body shook. "Why did it have to be you, Clover?" he asked aloud. His tears dropped to the ground and wet the cover of his master work. "Because it couldn't be you," said the voice of Clover from above him. Star Swirl's head swung up and he looked into the ethereal form of his lost student. She hovered several feet above the floor, her brown cloak's hood resting gently on her back. "Clover?!" he gasped. The mare gave him a light smile. "This isn't really me. It's only an imprint." Clover's smile faded and she looked to the floor. "I had a feeling that I would not survive the final battle with Tirek. So I came to this library and I performed the imprinting spell on your notebook. You said my name, so here I am." The stallion gaped. He had attempted to teach this spell to many of his students, but even Clover hadn't been able to succeed. "When did you learn how to do this?" Clover giggled gently. "Let's just say that, when you need to do something for a friend, you find a way." "That's what I'm trying to do," Star Swirl explained. "I have a time spell. It will let me change history to save you. But I need alicorn magic for it to work." "Are you bringing it to Celestia?" asked Clover. "No," Star Swirl grumbled. "That mare would never cast such a spell." "Why do you say that?" "Because she values the preservation of history more than saving the lives of those who fought Tirek..." Clover frowned. "Is preserving history not important to you?" Star Swirl smirked and let out a short laugh. That pony was always forcing him to question himself. It was one of the reasons he liked her as a pupil so much. Most of his students simply followed his instructions, but Clover thought about them. "Of course preserving history matters." He looked up at Clover. "But you matter more to me." "Am I really so much more important than any of the other ponies who lost their lives that day?" Clover asked her question in such a plain way that it made Star Swirl feel foalish. Yet he told her the truth, "To me," he said. "You are more important than any of those. Yes." "I'm really not," said Clover. "And I'm also not more important than your work." Star Swirl shook his head. "You are so much more important than that! You were my favorite pupil. I had such hopes and dreams for you." "And yet you spent my last birthday in this library and only remembered about it a week later." Clover smiled. Star Swirl frowned. "If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't miss a single one of your birthdays. I would spend as much time with you as possible." "I'm not trying to guilt you," she explained. "I'm trying to help you. You used to be a pony full of life and laughter. You need to find that again." "I don't understand." "Star, we didn't stop the tyranny of Tirek so that you could live under the tyranny of your guilt," Clover said. "I don't want you spending the rest of your life stuck in this library. Not when there are plenty of living ponies who would love to spend their birthdays with you." Star Swirl looked at Clover. "But should I really forget about you?" "You don't have to forget about me," said Clover. "But don't spend the rest of your life living on my memory." Clover lifted her hoof and pointed to one of the high windows in the castle library. "I want you to go out there. I want you to live your life. I want you to make new memories and new friends." Then Clover walked forward. Her form moved to the floor and toward his body. "If you really care about me, then please, take care of yourself." She smiled. Her body had begun to fade away. "Now that I'm not around, I don't know anypony else who will." The mare waved as the rest of her form dissolved. Star Swirl waved back to her. And she was gone. The bearded stallion shuddered in his loneliness. For a moment, all was silent. He then looked back to the floor and lifted up his notebook with his magic. Could she really want me to give up on this? he thought. Then he looked out the window that Clover's imprint had pointed to. "No," Star Swirl said, confidently and picking up his notebook. Placing the book inside his cloak, Star Swirl made his way out of the library and into the main halls of the castle. "But she certainly didn't want me to sit in this library for the next year trying to figure it out." Perhaps he would take the time to show some of these spells to Celestia. That could wait, though. He had some friends to go and visit. * ~ * ~ * In his final years, Star Swirl the Bearded explored much of the world of magic and much of the world of Equestria. From unlocking the secrets of the Crystal Mirror to exploring the Caverns of Maretania. And all of these things he did for the sake of knowledge, and for the sake of his friends. He did eventually confide in Celestia about his alicorn spell, even leaving his notebook to her in his will. Yet he never told her about the second time spell. He was not hiding this spell from her. Nor was he afraid of her finding it. Star Swirl simply never got around to bringing it up. This was not because he didn't think Celestia could help. On the contrary, Star Swirl knew she was amazing with magic. It was just that, as time went on, he saw less of a need for going back. And more of a need for moving forward. Even as other spells entered his hidden store, that one remained untouched. It was a complete spell, sure. But also a completely unnecessary one. A pony would only wish to travel to the past if they had forgotten about the hope promised by the future.