The Land After

by Fat1thatyoulove

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Introductions

The trot from the tower has come to its end as the maid that led Preston and Clover gets closer to the open doors of the castle. A plain looking off white coated unicorn stands in the threshold of the castle as he continues to magically sweep the ground with the broom that hovers beside him.

As the mare gets closer the stallion holds the broom to one side as he speaks up with a little smile, "Hello Plumero."

To the comment the mare brings up a cheerful smile as she speaks up, "Good day to you too Sweeps, is that new guest still in the dining hall?"

Sweeps taps his hoof to his mouth as he thinks for a moment, "Why yes, I do believe he is."

"Oh good." The mare turns her head back to Clover and Preston as she trots inside the castle, "Will you be wanting to eat breakfast?"

Her comment brings a little rumble to Preston's stomach as he nods, "I could eat."

Clover just rolls her eyes to the comment as they continue to follow the mare further into the castle's hallways. They quickly pass by the lavish bedroom fitted and furnished for a Princess that they neglected to use yesterday.

However, before anyone can speak up the mare leading them takes a step aside as she holds her hoof to the inward open doors of the dining hall, "Here you go..."

Clover gives a little nod to the comment as she turns her trot into the room with Preston following behind them.

Despite the fact that the castle is no longer open to the public and it has started to be decommissioned, the dining hall continues to hold its luster with colorful Unicorn banners around the room and the same regal chairs, table and other items of the castle's ambiance.

But, for the moment the only thing that holds Preston and Clover's eyes is the stallion that sits across the table by himself. The unicorn stallion has a light taupe grey coloring to his coat, with greying white mane that pokes out from the maroon hood that comes down into the same colored cloak that has a few stitching that look like leaves of some kind.

As Clover's eyes finally take their fill of the unfamiliar pony she brings her voice up, "Sagitta Duscle?"

The hot drink the stallion had in his hoof comes from his mouth as he nods, "You should have some of this tea, it is quite delicious."

Preston's eyes widen a little as a laugh comes up from him as he rubs his neck a little, "Holy shit Sean Connery is a pony..."

Clover quickly jabs a hoof to the man's side as the stallion across the large table comes up with a slightly confused smile, "Princess Celestia's letter did say I would be meeting a few strangers here..." He squints his crimson eyes to the man as he continues, "...But she did not say I would be meeting a...What are you exactly?"

Before Preston can speak up the mare beside him chimes in, "Oh i'm sorry but we do not really have the time for that. We really should get you acclimated with Star Swirl...He, has been acting a little strange to this."

The older stallion across the table nods as he stands from his chair, "I suppose you are right, after all I have nothing else to occupy my time until my assistant arrives with some of my equipment."

As the hooded stallion comes towards the door Clover and Preston move from the doorway. It only takes a moment for Sagitta to come into the hall, however as he does that Clover turns her eyes towards the table as she floats over two large breakfast pastries.

One goes to Preston as he takes it quickly into hand with a nod to the mare, "Thanks Clover." He puts the pastry to his mouth as he takes a bite and talks with his mouth a little full, "...I should probably eat something seeing as how we keep walking all over the city."

A faint laugh comes up from Preston as he turns his walk into the hall. Clover brings a faint smirk to the comment but she ignores that as she trots after him.

- - -
(A quick trot later)

The pace at which the two ponies lead have brought the small group with in seconds of the tall dark sun bleached tower.
However, by the way Clover and Sagitta have been talking it seems almost that neither one has realized how close they really are. Luckily though as the mare's last comment rings out she halts her trot to the door she now stands in front of, "...Yes, well Star Swirl was expecting us, so the door should be opened."

Her hoof comes to the door as she pushes it open, "Ah there we go." She holds a warming smile as she steps in front of the doorway, "I am sure Star Swirl is looking forward to meeting you Sagitta."

"As am I." Sagitta nods as he patiently waits for the mare to trot inside.

Clover holds her warm smile as she turns back into the room, however it does not hold as she looks over the cluttered scrolls, papers, books, bags and various alchemy equipment that lay scattered around the small bottom room of the tower.

The mare blinks in shocked horror to how the stallion that taught her everything she knew would actually leave his house in this disarray.

Sagitta and Preston poke their heads in as they both take in an eye full of the house in front of them. But Preston is the first to speak up as he looks around the house, "Whoa...What happened?"

Before an answer can ring up the sound of something with claws dragging to the floor chimes to the room. Preston's body tenses up at the sound, but his slight fear and confusion is brought to an end as he stares to a small crystal colored lizard scurrying through the clutter towards Clover.

"Wispy?" Clover's voice only brings the lizard's pace into a quicker motion as it latches its claws into the mare's leg.

"OW!" The mare is taken back by the pinch of the lizard's claws but the slight pain ends fast as the lizard climbs to her back and stops with a slight shake.

Clover turns her head a little to the lizard as she lifted a hoof towards him, "What has gotten into Wispy?"

The lizard just shrinks its body as it curls up in the mare's fur with a slight shiver. Clover stares to the lizard for a moment before she turns her head towards the staircase that loops the tower's cover all the way up, "Master Star Swirl, are you up their?"

No response comes from the three floors above them as Clover turns her head back to Preston and the stallion at the door, "Um...Just wait here for a moment. Preston could you take Wispy and clean up a little?"

Preston just gives a simple nod to distracted by the mess in the room for a smart-ass comment, however taking the lizard from the mare's back does halt him for a moment. "Um...Ya just hold on."

He slowly reaches his hands to the lizard as he gives a little smile, "Okay...Don't bite me you dumb lizard."

A low animal like grumble comes up from the lizard but it comes to the man's hand as Clover starts up the stairs.

Sagitta's horn sparks up in a dark blue almost purple magic as he speak up, "Allow me to lend a hoof. I may be lucky enough to have my area of researching out of my house...But that doesn't make it any more clean." His magic wraps around to just about everything in the room as a pop of magic chimes up. Most of the books and scrolls have stacked to one pile, leaving just the bigger things left to be put away.

"I made that spell just the other day...And have actually been hoping to try it." A faint smile comes up from the stallion as his magic wraps to the maroon hood, his magic pulls it from his mane as he takes an extra hoof inside.

By now, Clover has reached Star Swirl's study as she pokes her head into the room, "Star Swirl?" Her eyes lock to the older stallion who sits quietly in the wooden chair in front of a small table. The light of the window in front of it shines bright into the study as it reveals the cluttered floor of papers. But, for the moment Clover's eyes are just locked to the unmoved stallion who continues to hang his mouth open a little.

"Star Swirl?" Clover's voice is a little loud and it now breaks the daze the older stallone was in as he closes his mouth and turns his head from his blank stare out of the window.

A smile comes to the old stallion's face as he turns to the mare at the door, "Ah Clover. How nice of you to stop by."

Clover just blinks to the stallion's joy filled words as he continues with a slight cough.

"I had just sat down to..." Star Swirl's words stop as his mouth quivers, "To...Hmm..I seem to have forgotten. No matter." He wiggles the hoof he holds a quill to towards the window as he turns back to it with a fascinated tone, "I was looking out of this window here at the castle, and noticed that the forest seems to have grown I should go and check it out before the sun goes-.."

"Master?!" The mare takes a step inside the room as she watches her footing to the papers that may or may not be important on the floor, "Do you not remember? You did that yesterday?"

"Bha!" A faint laugh comes up from the stallion as he sets the quill in his hoof to the table, "If I had gone into the forest I would have remembered Clover."

His laugh holds as he turns around a little in his chair, "Besides if I had I would have collected samples from the forest-...Oh my..."

From the stallion's turn towards the wall behind him his eyes and now Clover's rest to a large stack of rocks, twigs and branches that poke out from three or four bags on the ground.

The sight of the bags send Clover's voice up as she takes the last step to the stallion's side, "Master? How many times have you gone into the forest?" As her words ring to the stallion's ear she takes a closer look to the dirtied cloak she saw him in last night that he still wears.

Star Swirl brings his shaking hoof to his head as he shakes a little, "No no...I-I would have remembered that...C-correct?"

Clover rubs the stallion's back for a moment as she speaks up, "P-perhaps you need to stand up and get out of this room for a minute hmm?" As she takes a step back the sound of her hoof coming to a piece of paper flicks her ear, Clover turns her sight to the paper as she floats it up to her. But as she looks over Celestia's seal she speaks up, "Master? How many letters from Celestia have your received??"

As she waits for an answer she looks around the room to all of the letters that have been opened that all have Celestia's seal on them. Even the letter on the table in front of the stallion is the same.

"Letter? Bha, I would know how many letters I have received." He swipes the paper from Clover's hoof as he looks it over with his continued rant, "T-this is nothing more then a note I must have wrote-...Oh..."

The older stallion's tensed up muscles in his extended front leg is brought down as he reads the paper for a moment. But he quickly brings his eyes to Clover as he speaks up, "Y-you do not want to be my successor?"

Clover just shakes her head to the question as she speaks up a little more annoyed to the stallion's sad gaze, "Master Star Swirl I insist you stop with this-this game. We have had this conversation last night!"

The mare's raised tone blinks the stallion as he jerks a little in his seat, almost as if he has just woken up from a sleep or something. "Y-yes, yes we did." He quickly set the paper to the table in front of him as he rubs his hooves to his mane, "I-I am sorry Clover, b-but I for some reason forgot for a moment I-.."

"It's alright Master..." Clover rubs her hoof to the older stallion's back as she nods her head, "It's alright."

Star Swirl sits for a moment as he just rubs his hooves to his head, but the moment is quick to pass as he turns his head a little to the mare beside him, "I-is he here?"

"Y-yes, Sagitta Duscle has arrived and is waiting downstairs." Clover's slow motions on the stallion back hold their pace as Star Swirl nods his head.
"You may send him up Clover..."

The mare shakes her head to the comment as she takes her hoof from his back, "I will bring him up here so that-.."

"No." Star Swirl turns from the table as he shakes his head with a little smile, "I wish to meet him alone."

Clover hesitates for the moment but she obeys the stallion's wish as she nods, "Yes Master-.."

"And Clover..." The stallion rest his hoof to the mare's shoulder right at the base of her neck as he smiles, "Please...I have not been your master for a long time. Do not make an old pony blush."

A faint laugh comes to the mare as she nods, "Okay Star Swirl." The mare holds her gaze to the old pony for a moment before she turns her sight to the door as she quickly comes out of it.

Preston and Sagitta have cleaned up a walkway in the room, but the majority of larger objects still lay in the room.

But, Clover breaks their work as she nears the bottom of the stairs with a comment, "Sagitta, he wishes to see you...Alone. Will that be okay?"

The stallion turns his head from the items in front of him as he nods, "I see no problem with this."

Clover studies the stallion's face for a moment as she nods, "Me and Preston will be at the castle if you need us."

Her words turn Preston's head as he tosses a pot to one of the stacks of books, but he does not question it as Clover's trot comes towards the door. However, as the mare passes by the man the lizard on his shoulder jumps to the mare's back as she continues out of the door.

As the door comes to close Sagitta turns his gaze towards the stairs he stands a little in front of him.

End of chapter 8