- - - ch 7 - - - day 2 part 3
“Another wonderful meal, Merry Hearth. Thank you.” Celestia said, standing from the table.
Luna poked one last bite of kimchi into her mouth before standing herself. “Indeed. I will be flying an extra lap around the city tonight.” Leaning over, she helped Clover down from his stool; her muzzle wrinkling as she sat him back on the ground. “I think he is a bit overdue for a shower.”
“I suppose you are right,” Celestia said, looking at the colt’s oily coat. “I also need to pick which room will be his.”
Luna paused. “You have decided to speak for him, should nopony claim him tomorrow?”
Running a hoof through Clover’s mane, Celestia watched him in silence for a moment. “If you would do me the honor of volunteering me, I would like to accept the responsibility.”
Luna met her sister’s eyes with a stoic expression. “You are sure of this? You wish to give this foal a special place in our home and your heart?”
Celestia’s expression flickered as she looked down at Clover. She wanted to set things right for him. She wanted to see him flourish. “I want to call him my son.”
A soft smile spread across Luna’s muzzle. Her sister had said it of her own free will. Luna could finally voice her own opinions without fear of influencing her. “I could think of no pony better. We will need Twilight or Cadence there too.”
“Thank you,” Celestia said with a little nod. “I will send Twilight a letter, after I get Clover washed.”
Luna let out a mischievous chuckle. “Thank me when he’s old enough to move out.”
Bidding her sister a good night, Celestia lead Clover to one of the guest bathrooms. He seemed familiar with the shower’s workings, and once she had shown him where the soap was, he made signs that he wished to shower in private.
Leaving Clover to himself, Celestia wandered into the reading room. Picking up a fresh scroll, she sat down at the writing desk.
---
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
There is a minor function of state I need you to perform the day after tomorrow. Please ask Rarity to also come, as I need a winter coat made for a foal that is in my care. All of your friends are welcome of course. I look forward to seeing you.
Your friend,
Celestia.
---
Rolling the letter up, she let her magic consume it. Celestia sighed, Twilight had grown so much under her wings. One of Twilight’s old letters caught her eye, picking it up, she reread the old memory.
Finishing another letter, the hiss of the shower nagged at Celestia’s mind. ‘How long have I been reading?’
Making her way back to the bathroom, Celestia eased into the steamy room. More steam billowed into the room as she slid open the shower door. She could barely see the motionless Clover, sitting between the two shower streams, his head pressed against the wall as scalding water ran down his head and back. Reaching out with her magic, she shut the water off.
One ear swiveled towards her, but the rest of him held still. Old healing spells ran through her mind: burns were tricky. She touched him lightly with her magic, shedding the water from his coat in sheets, feeling for damage. He ignored her for a moment, before curiosity made him watch the spell’s work. The usual wonder was gone though, only a grunt and a sad smile. Beneath his coat, his hide was cherry pink, but he was fine, no burns.
He mumbled something as he stood up: she could only guess it was a half-hearted thank you. Trudging over to the sink, he looked up at her with dull eyes. Baring his teeth, he made a brushing motion with his hoof.
Opening a drawer, Celestia pulled out a fresh toothbrush and unwrapped it. She went ahead and added a dollop of toothpaste to it before floating it to him. He took the offered brush in hoof with little effort: he’d obviously been practicing. It wasn’t enough to let him use the brush though. His grip just wasn’t strong enough for the scrubbing motion. After a few failed attempts, he gave up and used his fetlock to hold the toothbrush. It looked awkward to her, but Clover seemed comfortable with the method.
Hoofing the brush back to her, Clover used the shower faucet to rinse his mouth before she could offer him help getting up to the sink. She would need to get a step stool in here for him as well as a scald-guard for the shower.
Drying his face again, she pondered his sudden melancholy. She needed something to distract him. The thought of a late-night flight again came to mind, but she brushed it away. It was too cold for him to enjoy it, even if she could get him to let her take him up.
Standing, she motioned for him to follow her into her bedroom. Walking over to her dressing mirror, she sat down facing it, and motioned for Clover to sit between her and the mirror. With a little adjusting, Celestia and Clover sat looking at themselves in a mirror just a hoof’s reach away. Clover seemed uncomfortable with the arrangement, but held still. The details of his face distracting him from the moment.
Celestia cleared her throat; getting Clover’s attention as she lit her horn with unpurposed magic. Looking back at him through the mirror, she motioned for him to try the same. Shrugging his shoulders, he grumbled something at her.
‘Not going to be that easy,’ she thought.
An idea came to mind, she hoped it would end with the colt discovering something special about himself, and not just scaring him witless. She formed a simple spell, then let it leap out and attach to Clover.
Golden sparks of magic crackled around his horn, making motes of Clover’s emerald magic jump out in response. He yelped at the sensation, backing into her legs as he stared at her in the mirror. Feeling the colt’s magic clashing against her own, she tuned her aura to echo Clover’s; letting the green sparks mellow into a dull glow.
It was an old trick; offer a mild threat to the unicorn’s magic, and it would respond with its own will. A simple way to see what color a foal’s magic would be, and to get a feel for a young pony’s natural ability.
Clover let out a nervous giggle. She watched him reach up and touch his horn, staring intently at his reflection. He relaxed by degrees, but his ears stayed pinned back. She knew even with her skilled touch, the involuntary magic would be itchy. He seemed more interested than bothered at the moment, so she let the spell linger a bit longer.
Her curiosity piqued when Clover settled into a meditative pose and took a deep breath. His eyes took on a glassy look as they focused on the light of his horn. The emerald light flickered, faded, then redoubled. There was no pattern or form to the magic, but there was will. Letting her spell drop, she watched to see what Clover would do.
With her spell’s antagonistic force gone, his horn flared with raw magic. It was nothing compared to what Twilight had done—only the reflexive flare of magic, but still impressive for his young age. More impressive was his concentration. The light and sound did little to break his meditation. His horn relighting with an unsteady crackle as soon as the flare faded.
She felt the colt’s magic even out, shift, then fluctuate. There was a pattern to it. He was doing exactly what she had hoped he would: use the mirror as a feedback tool.
It occurred to her that he had been formally trained in meditation and mind-body awareness. Whoever had kept him these years, had neglected so much, yet taught him how to focus and meditate. It was a riddle she wanted to know the answer to.
Homophone error and a missing period.
I can guess what is going on, but a part of me hopes to be surprised. Either way this is a pretty interesting mystery tale.
One thing I really like about this story is how Luna is trying to sure sure Celestia is not going to end up hurting herself, but I have the feeling that Celestia is in for a ride when they find out more about the colt's past.
I'm just glad this doesn't have a "sad" tag.
Who is this colt? My money's on Buddha Boy
5420510 my money is on teenage or older human now pony foal
My dear Author,
I confess myself terribly intrigued by your fascinating tale. Your story is tagged, tracked and followed.
~ARTL
Do Celestia and Luna know that contractions exist?
I really love how the story isn't focused upon Clover but Tia instead. So much has been written about... situations like this from the other perspective so this is really a breath of fresh air.
Im taking a wild guess... maybe ranma saotome? Or another kid
Keep writing.
In the wise words of Fluttershy "Yea!". Keep up the good work, the story is turning out nicely!
Oh and look even more evidence that he was a human adult... but now I just think you are making it obvious so that when it turns out that he is not a human adult turned pony but actually was a neglected foal or something of the sort we will be even more surprised. Mabey.
Wondering if this should have the "Human" tag...
5421107 cause that would be a spoiler, but only the author can tell us and I would rather not know.
5421107
Riddle me this... if there was a human tag, would there be a mystery? And if there was no mystery do you think that this story would be half as captivating as it is? I am sure that if he was a human the author would just add the tag when it was revealed... if it ever is revealed I mean that would be an awkward conversation. And he might be afraid of someone thinking he was insane.
It seems to me that the author has good reason not to add the tag IF Clover is a human. But then again lets not jump to conclusions we never know if the author is a troll. Curse you Alex Hirsch for ruining my trust in story writers...
This has sparked my interest even though the chapters are far shorter than I prefer. I wish to see more and look forward to more chapters eagerly.
Clover gas to be a human or at the very least maybe a changeling but what ever he is I'm curious to see where this is going you my friend have git me hooked and badly. Till the next chapter I await thy gilded words.
This is adorable. Want more. More like this.
"Minor affair of state". Twilight is in for a surprise. She's gonna freak out somehow, as she always does when unprepared for something, Rarity is going to go all "d'aww!", so will Cadence. I'm calling it!
Merry xmas!
im enjoying this, looking forward to more
stay classy
Twily is gonna freak!
Minor my butt!
5421051
Well. we don't know if he is a human yet.
5422761
Yeah. I agree. To be fair, the reason I would be disappointed is that this is not what the synopsis led me to believe.
But if I say anymore, I'll be saying too much.
5420375 Darn, beat me to it
what an adorable story yet quite depressive
also wtf is a kimchi?
5424163
It's a Korean delicacy in which they cook cabbage and then ferment it by sticking it into the ground.
Very nice so far - although it will be less interesting if the compassion for a mistreated child turns out to be misdirected. Still, I am an incurable speculator...
The recognition of bathrooms, medical procedures, books, and the need to build a vocabulary (albeit not with pony-specific features) indicates experience with some form of civilization or some equivalent (artificially induced memories, a limited ability to pick up general material in some fashion, or other plot device of choice).
The apparent unfamiliarity with walking indicates either being new to his current form or lack of opportunity to practice earlier.
The apparent unfamiliarity with magic - especially the minor magic that allows a pony to pick things up with a hoof - likely indicates not having access to pony-style magic earlier.
So, the popular hypothesis: Transformed Human, likely older than four. This fits most of the data, although the panic level is a bit odd. Second most popular seems to be a Changeling. This is a poorer fit though; why would a changeling have trouble walking?
Still, how about the result of an attempt to raise a unicorn colt as a black-box magic battery in some distant land? No known language, check. Likely a confined place (presuming that the magic-absorbing effect would be easier in a more limited area), check. No earlier use of magic, check. Terrified to be cold and hungry and outside of a controlled environment and/or "his" space (such as the bed), check. Used to medical checkups, check. Does not recognize his tribe or other ponies, check. Taught meditation, which Celestia apparently expects to cause him to radiate magic (very useful for a battery), check. Waits to be fed, check. This could even fit in with a fondness for coffee; an easy way to keep your "battery" energized... How would he have gotten to Canterlot? Perhaps stolen and dropped off by someone sympathetic who then left to lay a false trail?
Alternatively, how about a bio-engineered alien probe based on a pony DNA sample? A technological civilization stumbling across a rift or gate to a world of magic would doubtless be fascinated - and very, VERY, wary of a species that can blatantly violate major laws of nature at whim. This would work very nicely with how fast "Clover" is picking up the language and how good his memory seems to be - but is hard to test since "alien" can "explain" pretty much anything.
Alternatively, I could make a case for a (very) ruthless or desperate publicity stunt, some sort of mental fusion, an attempt at age-regression (or other magical experiment) gone terribly wrong, or lots of other scenarios. Sure, those are blatantly unlikely, but that is the general basis for literary twists and mysteries; have some scenario that any sensible person would have discarded as being terribly weird or unlikely be the truth in the end.
Well, I'm glad I decided to jump in here as well! I thought it looked sad from the description but it's turning out pretty well. And honestly a bit less forcibly hectic an unnamed fic turned into because of stupid authorial decisions. Good job, hope to see more of this!
I love it! I'm hoping for some chapters of him after he's all grown up towards the end!
5424707
eew
tis nice and new at lest for me. like and fav for you
5425983 Heh, I've been thinking about unnamed fic all along as I've been reading this.
... Formerly lived in a monastery?
5424707
I'll never understand how people can enjoy eating rotten food. They say it's an 'acquired taste' and all that, but why would you even want to acquire it in the first place? Instead of eating something that tastes bad at first and maybe tastes good once you've been eating it for a few weeks, why not just eat something that tastes good from the start?
5441267 usually that means it grows on you if you don't like it but some people will like it right away. alternatively, you might hate it the first time and never want to try it again, so you don't, until one day you suddenly get a craving for it. though to answer your question on why, it most of these acquired taste foods that involve expired or seemingly inedible foods were invented in times of famine or just shortages of one normal food item or another typically when its a staple food of that location that is going through a shortage. its why not many of these item are new inventions, with the newest i know being head cheese and that was first made and/or became popular in the 1930's and/or great depression. i wish i could be more definite but i never thought id need or use this knowledge so i did not put much effort into memorizing the details about it
p.s. if anyone sees something wrong with this message please correct it and let me know
p.p.s. to the author fantastic story!
I think Clover is Human. Or has been raised by Humans.
The meditation makes me think of zebras
5426426 I assume you're swedish due to you name, do you know that surströmming is fermented fish?
Hi diddle diddle it's time for a riddle!
derpicdn.net/img/2013/3/14/270540/full.jpeg
I do not own this picture.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the things like Celestia's memory of Princess Platinum's foals and the fact that Twilight exists as a Princess here, I could have sworn this took place in the years before Nightmare Moon, just because of some of the old-fashioned language used here and there. Like yearling in the previous chapter. I'd have thought Celestia would have given that word up long ago as the times changed.