"Master!" Clover the Clever cried, cradling a barely conscience Star Swirl in her hooves. "Please, wake up, Master!" After giving her teacher a shake, the old unicorn started to open his eyes.
"C-Clover," Star Swirl muttered, just above a whisper. "You know how I feel about being called that..."
Relieved by the fact that he responded, Clover smiled, using a hoof to wipe away some tears from her face. "I'm sorry, grandfather; force of habit."
The older unicorn looked around the shore, spotting only glassed sand and rocks smashed into pebbles by the fierce battle that just took place. "And the sirens?" he asked.
Clover swiftly surveyed the scene before answering. "You...you did it, grandfather. You banished them."
Upon hearing that, Star Swirl rested his head back onto the sand. "Oh...good," he uttered towards the cloudy sky above them.
His moment of peace, however, was interrupted when he heard Clover whimpering. After struggling to raise his head, he was perplexed by his granddaughter's saddened expression, seeing that her eyes were shut tight, yet failed to prevent tears from escaping.
"Clover my girl," Star Swirl asked in a worried tone. "What's wrong?"
"Why did you do it, grandfather?" Clover questioned, tears running freely down her cheeks. "I--I could have handled them... You have saved this land enough times and earned the right to live the rest of your life without having to face such dangers again. So...why did you do it?"
What a silly question to ask, Star Swirl thought before answering. "Clover, how do you think I would have reacted when I found your note saying, 'Worry not, grandfather. I shall stop the fearsome trio wrecking havoc across our shores; you stay here and rest.'" Cracking an exhausted grin, he raised his hoof and stroked his granddaughter's and most faithful apprentice's cheek; he was glad to see that he had gotten here in time, overjoyed to find that she had only suffered some minor injuries before he joined the fray. With a small smile, yet still weeping, his granddaughter then cupped his hoof with her own as he continued. "No, child; facing such beasts is not a job for the young and foolish--it's for the ancient and even more foolish!" That actually caused a short laugh to break through Clover's sobs.
"But, grandfather!" Clover exclaimed. "The amount of magic it took you to banish the sirens...it was...it's obvious that you've overtaxed yourself; you need to see a healer!"
With Star Swirl still wrapped in her hooves, Clover tried to get them both on their feet; if anything, she'd carry him to the closest village if she had to. However, Clover ceased her attempts when Star Swirl raised a hoof, gesturing for her to stop.
"It's no use," Star Swirl uttered. "Overuse of my magic is not the only reason I am in this state."
Clover stared at her grandfather with a bewildered expression on her face. "Grandfather, what do you--" Star Swirl cut her off.
"I'm old, child. Very...very old... This life of mine is...well...it's about to end..."
Clover grinned at her grandfather, hoping that he would as well then admit to playing a bad joke on her. "Grandfather," she said, lightly shaking her head. "Please cease with your nonsense; you're still as young as a spring chicken."
"Ha, more like the hills!" he shouted with a smile, only to give her a more serious look moments later. "Clover my child...we both knew this day would come..."
Her smile faded before she buried her face into his shoulder. "Oh, grandfather!"
Star Swirl placed a hoof over her, patting her back as he said, "There there... This is not an occasion to bring about tears of sadness, but those of joy. I have lived a long and fulfilling life; sure I've defeated many threats to this land, discovered and invented several new spells and so on, but I say, with every fiber of my being, that my greatest and proudest achievement...is you, Clover...you clever girl."
"Grandfather!" Clover shouted, her voice a bit muffled by his shoulder. "You can't leave me! You're...you're my dearest grandfather and master! You've taught me everything I know about magic! What would I do without you!?"
"What would you do?" questioned Star Swirl, confused as to why she would say that. "Clover, you're young, yet so skilled in magic; you will easily find your own way in this world without this old bag of bones slowing you down. In fact..." Star Swirl looked to his side, finding his hat within hoof's reach. Once he grabbed it, he placed it over Clover's head. "It seems that the student...has just surpassed the master."
Speechless, Clover raised her head off her grandfather's shoulder, using her hooves to feel his hat atop her head. Casting a small smile at her grandfather, Clover asked, "Does...does this mean...?"
"Yes, Clover," Star Swirl said. "You are now your own master...and I know, with absolute certainty..." It was getting harder for him to finish his sentence, as he was starting to get tired. "That...you will make me very, very proud..." He raised a hoof and wiped the tears from Clover's cheeks. "So no tears...no more."
Trying to put on her best smile, Clover nodded; it was clear that he wanted no tears shed during his passing and she was trying her hardest to respect his wishes.
Star Swirl rested his head back onto the sand and looked skywards again. "Leave me here, Clover. One cannot find a more...lovely and... scenic spot as this for such an occasion, no?"
It took Clover a while before she forced herself up, she didn't want to just leave him here, but again, his wishes; she'd have to return later, give him a proper burial. She then lowered herself and kissed him on the cheek.
"Goodbye, grandfather...heh...master Star Swirl..."
The older unicorn rolled his eyes. "You just wanted one more jab at that, didn't you?" She silently nodded before tilting the hat low enough to hide her new wave of tears. Star Swirl smiled. "Go, git...allow me to enjoy the view."
Still hiding behind the hat, she turned and began heading towards the grasslands not that far from the beach, leaving her master and grandfather, still laying face up on the sand.
After a few minutes, Star Swirl looked in the direction Clover went to and found that she was a barley noticeable speck in the horizon. Satisfied that she was far enough away, he used what little strength he had left to get up, then trudged out of the beach and headed for a grassy hill. It was a real test of endurance for the older unicorn to climb the hill, it wasn't that steep, but in his condition, he might as well been scaling a mountain.
Once he got over it, he carefully attempted to descend the other side of it, but failed and painfully rolled down the rest of the way until he reached the more leveled ground and had his momentum stopped when he slammed into something. He looked up and spotted what it was he slammed into, a blue box with words near the top of it that read 'Police Public Call Box'.
"Hello, ol' girl." Star Swirl said as he loving stroked it; it was because of this box that he got to Clover in time. "Sorry I haven't taken you out for a spin as much as I used to." He smiled. "Kinda got sidetracked: training the princesses, helping them imprison Sombra, stopping Tirek, and uh...having a family for once..." He winced; it was starting to happen, and he couldn't hold it back for much longer. "But...that life is about to be over soon...and I'd like to give the next one a fair chance of being it's own." He then caressed the box. "So what do you say, girl? Ready for that spin I owe you?" Without warning, the box's door opened on its own. "Atta girl..." He muttered before walking in and removing his battered cape.
The inside of the box was uh...bigger, much bigger. There were all sorts of highly advanced looking technology adorning the walls--whether they served any purpose of were there for decoration, even Star Swirl didn't know--and in the exact center of the room was a terminal with what appeared to be a large tube going through it that reached all the way to the ceiling. He reached the terminal and fiddled with a series of buttons, dials, and levers, setting the machine to go anywhere and anywhen. He knew it started working when noise that sounded like harsh breathing was coming from the tube in the center and the entire room itself was starting to tremble. But before he could lose himself in that noise that he hadn't had the time to enjoy in so long, his body started to feel...tingly. He raised a hoof and saw that it was starting to glow a golden color. This caused him to smile as he sat on his haunches and raised his other hoof, only to see the same happening to the other.
"Well then..." Star Swirl muttered. "This is gonna--AAAW!" Suddenly, his entire body was surrounded in the golden glow, so much so that it seemed as if he were on fire, all while he continued to yell. The room around him violently rocked as sparks and bits of wiring flew from the terminal's console.
"AAAAAAaaaAAAAWWW--AH!" And just as quick as the glow surrounded him, it disappeared, and Star Swirl, was no longer Star Swirl.
The creature that replaced Star Swirl looked around in confusion, spotting the terminal that was practically giving off a fireworks show before it looked at itself.
"Hooves!" It shouted after it looked down to see that it did indeed have hooves. However, it was shocked to hear its own voice, then placed a hoof over its throat before it spoke again. "I'm not a mare, am I!?" Realizing that the voice was too masculine to be one, it calmed down a bit. "Ok, not a mare." He said as it placed a hoof over its head. "Wait, my horn!" He kept patting his forehead, trying to find it. "My beard!" He shouted again, failing to find that either.
"I'm not a unicorn! Does this mean!?" He then turned his head and looked at his back, expecting to find a pair of wings, only to see that he had none, however, he did notice that his fur was a tan brown and that his tail was a darker brown. He also noticed his new cutie mark, an hourglass.
"Dammit, I'm still not a pegasus!" He shouted, sounding disappointed. Seconds later, he had a confused look on his face as he looked around. "Wait, where am I? What was I doing again?" A loud and large mini explosion from the terminal gave him a small reminder.
He then wrapped himself around the terminal, trying to keep himself balanced from all of the violent shaking the room was giving. "Oh right, I'M CRAAASHING"