The Fate of Clover

by Kapuchu

Chapter 3 - A Link

We all experience a day in our lives where things become so absurd that we find it difficult to do anything but laugh. Times where we are told something that tickles our laughing bone without actually making us mirthful. Days when we think that everything is just ridiculous.

Twilight was having just that kind of day. She had heard many strange things in her life so far. Far more than any her age would have, in fact. She had heard stories of a mare trapped on the moon for a thousand years, of an ancient empire appearing from nothing after just as many years. While all of these had been proven true, there had been one thing in particular that made these incidents different than the current one. Celestia, ruler of Equestria and immortal alicorn, had witnessed these. She had been there, personally, as the one that banished her sister to the moon for an entire millennia. She had also been there to defeat Sombra just before he cursed the Crystal Empire.

This, however… Twilight being told that she might be a seer, a kind of pony that many claimed to be but none could prove, made her laugh nervously. Clover’s “special ability” was just a rumour. A rumour that was hardly ever mentioned save in passing, and even then it was only insinuated. If that wasn’t enough, Clover the Clever predated Celestia and Luna by a century, if not more, which meant that she could not say that she remembered it to be so. It was guess work. And Twilight didn’t like guess work.

“T-That was a nice one, Princess,” Twilight chuckled. She took a few calming breaths to quell her laughter, and then spoke again. This time with more control and not so nervously. “I knew you had a penchant for pranks, Princess, but I don’t think this is the time for jokes. I’ve had these dreams for years and they’re starting to get annoying.” Stopping her small rant, she took a breath and waited for Celestia to respond.

It was not Celestia who replied, however, but Luna. “I do not think my sister is fool of you, Twilight Sparkle. I can vouch for her in this case. I do not believe you one prone to tell lies, and, as you might know, I am a warden of dreams and what most would call a Dream Wanderer. Had you truly dreamt of these events, I would know. As it stands, I have seen none of the dreams you claim.

“You may ask yourself, ‘how?’ right now, and this is how. If what modern, or fake, seers claim is true, then a vision is much like what one experiences when using pleasure drugs: Hallucinations, things that are not real but perceived as real. I can see and wander through dreams, but I cannot see what is born partly of magic and partly of thought. Your link with magic is extraordinary as it is, which may be why you have this ability.”

Twilight had been listening attentively, saying nothing as Luna spoke with an, admittedly, slightly annoyed tone in the beginning though softening as she went on. When she finally finished Twilight was left with a single question begging to be asked.

“You said that ‘visions’ are similar to the effects drugs have on a pony, but you then mention magic. How does that work?”

A small smile teased at the corner of Luna’s lips. A hint of white showing behind the indigo fur as her mouth split into a small grin showing her teeth. She would ever admit it, but she enjoyed being able to put herself higher than others. Not in the sense that she saw herself as superior to normal ponies, but in that she couldn’t help but bask in her short moments of superiority that came with knowing something others did not, or winning a game. In short; she liked winning.

“First you must understand that this is mostly guessing, Twilight,” the unicorn nodded, prompting Luna to continue. “Magic is, as you well know, a force that permeates everything. It is everywhere from the smallest seed to the largest mountain. Without magic, the world would be a barren wasteland full of nothing. This leads me to believe that magic is not just in everything right here and right now, but also in other places normally inaccessible to us. The past or the future, for example. This theory is backed up by the Time Travel spell which you once used.”

Twilight raised a hoof and was about to say something when the alicorn waved it off with a hoof, already knowing what would be said. “Celestia was nearby and heard it all. Nevertheless, it is theorised that Magic is everywhere. Not just in physical objects such as what I mentioned earlier, but metaphysical ones as well. Time, being one. It is theorised that magic is a link through time, which is why a spell that allows one to travel through time is at all possible. Now, my guess is that you are linked to the past, to Clover the Clever in particular, through the magic that flows through time. As I mentioned; a lot of this is guesswork but some is based on research of magic.”

Already were possibilities swimming through her mind, all of them born of this new piece of information. She had never taken much time to study time magic, as it was still a difficult subject even for her. She had only ever tried it once, and was still surprised by how well it went, even with the spell matrix in front of her. She had studied almost every field of magic, having left out only a few for various reasons. Be it difficulty or her simply not being allowed by Celestia.

There are so many things we could do if this is true. If magic truly links the past and the present, we could learn so much. Herbal cures forgotten that may be of use. Ancient spells that nopony knows of today… So many-

“Twilight.”

Twilight jumped, jolting out of her own thoughts at the sudden mention of her name. She looked up at Celestia who had spoken, her eyes already asking the question about to leave her lips.

A small smile played at the corner’s of Celestia’s lips. “Twilight, I believe you might be able to use this small piece of information for your research. If you are truly linked to Clover through the magic in Time, then you might have a reliable way of finding out what happened when she disappeared.” She stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment, her gaze trailing to one of the windows for a short while. Meanwhile, Luna her resumed eating, though her ears were directed at the two of them; intently listening to what was said. “The only problem will be to prove your discoveries to others.”

“That is a problem,” Twilight conceded, idly tapping a hoof on the table as she thought it over, trying to find some way that it would be possible for her to project her own findings to others. She turned to the indigo alicorn. “Princess Luna, do you have any suggestions?”

Luna looked up from her food, fork hovering just above her half-empty plate. Her brows knit together and her nose scrunched up in a way that Twilight could only call cute. “I do not know a reliable way to do so. I could teach you how to control your dreams to some extent, unreliable as it is, which would allow you to project to me what you saw in your vision via the dream. I would witness what you dream of and then vouch for you in the real world. Thoughts, and dreams, cannot lie, so I would know if you were telling the truth. The problem would be making others believe you.”

She paused for a moment to take a bite of her salad before continuing. “While me vouching for you may convince a few, it will leave the masses as a whole unconvinced. Historians need physical evidence in the form of texts. Without those, they will take neither yours nor my own or my sister’s words as the reliable.” She shook her head. “I am afraid there is no entirely reliable way to do what you wish to do. You will have to find a way of your own. Celestia and I shall help you if you wish us to do so.”

Twilight sat silent, her brain already working full capacity to find some way to project her thoughts, or visions, to the real world and prove that she was, indeed, speaking the truth. Meanwhile, her fork and knife worked in tandem, the unicorn unconsciously guiding them as she finished her meal.

She sat like that for several minutes; just thinking and eating when, suddenly, a thought struck her and shattered her concentration, sending the cutlery previously held in her magic clattering down on the plate.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” she started, looking at the two of them, meeting their slightly surprised expressions. The sudden sound of silverware on ceramics startling them. Celestia inclined her head, signalling for Twilight to continue. “Is it true that there is a Truth Speaking spell? A spell that, when cast on a pony, forces them to speak the truth?”

The alicorn sisters shared a surprised glance, then looked back at Twilight. “How do you know of that spell, Twilight?” Celestia asked, her brow sporting a confused frown that soon melted away into a small smile. “I believe I did my best to keep that particular spell away from you.”

Now it was Celestia that was the center of attention, her sister and student looking at her, one with shock and almost hurt, the other just confused. “May I ask why you chose to keep such a spell a secret from your Student, sister?” Luna inquired, one eyebrow raised and ears pointing straight forward; awaiting an answer.

“If I knew Twilight well enough, she would have used that spell, knowing it was harmless, on just about every teacher she could come across, flooding them with questions that they were then forced to answer truthfully. I did it both for her, and the teachers’, sakes.” Her smile widened just a little. “I wouldn’t want her innocence ruined by her asking a question with an answer containing adult information. That, and I’d want the teachers to have their weekend’s off, as well.”

“Truly? I find it hard to believe that,” she glanced at Twilight, the mare sporting an embarrassed blush, “okay, I concede. If her reaction is anything to go by, then I do believe you keeping the spell from her was the right decision.”

Twilight coughed. The blush still present on her cheeks but far less so now, than before. “I can’t say I wouldn’t have… Okay, I would have abused it quite a bit in my earlier years as Princess Celestia’s student. I-I can see why you kept it from me.” Her ears tilted backwards and she veered her gaze off to the side.

Celestia reached a hoof towards Twilight. “Twilight, do not be saddened that-”

“I’m not sad,” she interrupted, turning towards Celestia. “Just a bit embarrassed to be read that easily.” And she wasn’t sad. No tears, no hurt were present in her eyes anymore. Just the hope that this new revelation could bring her one step closer to finding out what happened to Clover, and proving it. “But… Since the truth spell does exist, can I convince either of you to cast it on me when I found out what happened to Clover?”

“Are you sure, Twilight?” Celestia asked, hesitation creeping into her voice. “The Truth Spell lasts for at least an hour, and any question you are asked you will answer truthfully, regardless of what the question is.”

The unicorn smiled. A small upturn of the corners of her lips that told her mentor not to worry. “Yes, I’m sure. I know I risk embarrassment, but that’s all that’s at risk. I think the worst I could speak of is that night ten years back when you were talking in your sleep. I think you called Blueblood a-”

Finding that it was exceedingly difficult to finish her question with a golden shod hoof covering her mouth, Twilight kept quiet and looked at the almost horrified face the princess made. Or Celestia’s version of horrified which was eyes widened a little and ears pointing straight up. Nothing compared to a normal pony. “Please don’t mention that in front of Luna,” she all but pleaded, causing Twilight to blush in embarrassment yet again --she seemed to be doing that a lot lately-- and mumble a muffled “sorry.”

“You called Blueblood a what?” Luna inquired, leaning closer to Celestia with her eyes as wide as possible; the lunar princess doing her best to appear innocent.

“Nothing, Sister.” Celestia removed her hoof from Twilight’s mouth and regarded the unicorn again. “But if you’re sure, Twilight, then I will grant you your request: I will subject you to the Truth Speaking Spell when, or if, you discover the fate of Clover the Clever. Until then, I trust you have a lot of work to do, my faithful student.”

“I do, Princess… I do,” Twilight said, turning her attention back to her lunch. Right now she needed to eat, then she could go about researching a way to use her link with Clover the Clever, if she really had it, to find out what happened to her, as well as figuring out a way to project her thoughts to the real world.

But for now, the food was the most important thing.

Author's Note:

And with this, we start the final treck on the journey.

Yes, people, The Fate of Clover is drawing to a close. Only around three chapters left after this one. I know it's a short story, but it was meant to be from the very beginning.

Also, sorry for the massive info-dump, but it was necessary for the coming chapters. Anyway! I hope you like it. Please like, favourite and enjoy

P.S - This chapter is unedited. If you find mistakes of any kind, please tell me Thanks to Emerald Ray for editing this... It's been four days and I haven't gotten word from the guy/gal editing the previous chapter... wonder what happened. Anyway, here it is! And edited!

Comments

[Cherry Frosting]

Eee.. aaaa... oops? I'm the one that edited the previous chapters, and ummm... let's just say that haveing your internet crash or something, and not having the money to fix it for a while sucks... SORRY!

[Kapuchu]

3889487
So that's why you disappeared no worries

[djthomp]

That's a really neat take on the mechanics of Twilight being a seer, and a pretty decent plan regarding how to prove her discoveries. I really like the idea that Twilight's connection to Magic might express itself like that.

[Seirs]

“Truly? I find it hard to believe that,” she glanced at Twilight, the mare sporting an embarrassed blush, “okay, I concede. If her reaction is anything to go by, then I do believe you keeping the spell from her was the right decision.”

Dang it now I can't get the image of filly Twilight with that spell out of my head.