'Tis my first short. Created for Eight Star's Art Contest (Month #2) I'm not even sure why he wants these books, he already has them all memorized. Clover the Clever huffed up the spiraling staircase with a pile of papers on his back and books levitating around him. The strain they were putting on him forced sweat upon his brow, but he couldn't waste time to wipe it off. Clover had made a promise to deliver the Pegasi's history within an hour, and his time was nearly up. There was absolutely no way the green unicorn was going to be tardy. The top step of the stair was always the hardest. Somehow, the earth ponies who built the tower didn't cut it quite right, and it was an inch higher than all the other steps. Clover stepped up on it with ease, as always. "Master Starswirl? I have your- OOF!" His back leg clipped against the stair and he toppled over, flinging papers and books in every which direction. A pink children's book landed over his face and he huffed. Clover magically lifted the book off himself and sported a blush as he got back up. "I'm sorry, It's that stupid stair again..." Clover glanced around the room. There were no signs of Starswirl at all. He picked up the remaining papers and blinked. All of his stuff had been moved too. It must be one of those days, he thought with a sigh. The only door on the right side of the room was slightly ajar, and he could see a faint green glow creeping out from the opening. Clover the Clever divided his load into neat piles against the wall and approached the door. "Master Starswirl? Are you okay?" He asked through the door. He reached out a hoof to push the door open, but it was quickly enveloped in a familiar blue glow and slammed shut. The words 'I AM NOT FINISHED' etched themselves into the wood. Clover would have felt offended, had he not seen one of these episodes before. Not one to be discouraged, he opened the door and walked in. The room was moderately sized (for a tower), and was filled to the brim with instruments and books any sane pony would find useless. Bubbling glasses and foul smelling odors filled the unused spaces. Starswirl was swishing his tail back and forth at a desk by the only window on the other side of the room. His muzzle was firmly planted inside a book that his eyes moved a million miles an hour over while six books floated over his head, pens quickly scratching down his every thought. Clover grinned and took another step toward Starswirl. To his surprise, Clover instead ended up covered in sticky blue goo and attached to the ceiling. His master seemed completely unphased by the spell and continued his work as if Clover had never entered the room. Clover the Clever chortled at his mentor's mistake. You taught me this one, old stallion, he thought. Pooling energy into the goop, he teleported right through it and landed next to Starswirl, who lifted his eyes but a moment in surprise. Clover opened his mouth to speak. "I-" He was quickly silenced when a bright light tore his mouth off and dangled it in front of him before sending it to join the other objects orbiting in the air. Clover was very surprised at the new spell he assumed Starswirl had invented just for him. Finally admitting defeat, Clover sat down and crossed his arms on the spot, staring angrily at his master, who took no more notice of him. It only took a minute for Starswirl to finish. With a loud yell of "EUREKA!", he dropped everything he was levitating and swept the book under him into the air. "I'm this much closer to decoding the mysteries!" Starswirl said as he hugged the book affectionately. Clover picked up his mouth and plopped it back onto his smooth face; a feeling that would not go unremembered. "Sorry but... what mysteries, master?" Clover said after getting used to his mouth again. Starswirl chuckled at Clover's inquisition. "Time, my student. TIME!" He dropped his quill into the ink pot on the table and floated the book into its respective place on the shelf. Clover watched for a moment, waiting for Starswirl to elaborate. They both participated in an awkward (for one side) staring contest for a moment before Clover broke the silence. "So... would you care to explain?" He asked. "I thought you would never ask, you were just sitting there!" Starswirl replied giddily. He pushed Clover into a chair and flew him to the end of the room, staring upwards. Starswirl raised his deck to block the light from then window, then conjured hundreds of brilliant white stars on the ceiling. The stars slowly aligned to form what looked like three ponies playing with a beach-ball on a grassy hill. "I have finally devised a spell to perform time travel!" The bearded genius exclaimed. "It's not quite finished, though. You see, I cannot yet transfer material objects between worlds. Light, on the other hoof..." The Alignment became clearer and clearer. Clover could have sworn that the picture was even beginning to portray color. The three fillies were of unique orange, yellow, and white coloring, while also being from all three different tribes. Their silent laughter while playing together made Clover smile. From what he was seeing, whatever had been established in the desolate cave that fateful night months ago was still in effect in this moment. "I only just finished transfer of the visible spectrum. All that you're seeing is live, a little over a thousand years from now." Starswirl narrated with a more serious tone. "Of the scenes I've seen so far, this is one of my favorites. There was a reason I chose you to be my pupil when I did, Clover. You were destined to change the world we live on at some point, I just knew it." The orange pegasus filly reached for the ball as it soared over her head, violently thrashing her wings as she did so, but her efforts went short as it passed over her and landed in the grass. The other two burst into inaudible guffawing at her failure, but she continued laughing with them. At least, she continued laughing until the ball began to expand. Her smile fell and she crept away from it, unknowing of how to react. Stretches and tears began to form on the surface of the ball, before finally exploding in an array of purple lights like fireworks. Replacing the ball was a purple unicorn who's hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in a month. She began talking with the fillies, her mouth moving in a strange fashion as if she were trying to change her dialect partway through. They shrank away from her like every word was something unknown to them. Clover the Clever frowned. "Master Starswirl," he asked. "What's going on here? Why is this unicorn terrorizing these foals like this?" Starswirl only shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's just one from the more off end of the spectrum. I bet she's related to a pegasus or something." Both of them let out small giggles and looked back to the film, entranced. "How is such a thing possible, time travel?" Clover interjected. "Time is fixed; you can't seriously think you can place two things in the same timeline at the same moment, it just doesn't work! It's not scientifically possible!" Starswirl frowned. "It's a long explanation involving magical energy, alicorn dust, and some fancy jewelry. Perhaps for another time." Clover would have objected, but his master made a move that looked like another threat to his muzzle. He threw a hoof into his mouth to plug it and watched the scene again. Joining the fillies seemed to be an entire town of ponies, all dog-piling while the unicorn frantically hopped around it, as if attempting some kind of voodoo dance. Before the scene could come to a finish, Starswirl waved and all the stars dispersed to their random assortment of before. "Spoilers," he whispered. Clover wanted desperately to know how it ended, but experience informed him that he would not be getting another shot at it without knowing the spell itself. "Now for another. This one is just for you, Clover." His horn glowed its familiar blue shade, lighting up the room for just a moment. The stars fell into uniform to display what looked like... snow? Oh no, not snow. Anything but more snow. Why was Starswirl showing him this? A pony popped in the through the side. An earth pony, to be exact. She dragged with her a plow and shovel, pushing through the snow to expose the brown dirt beneath. Another pony appeared on the screen, this time a pegasus. She was pushing a cloud and wearing a queer little uniform. Both the ponies' mouths undulated in unheard song, and they both appeared very joyful. Not before long, more ponies joined in on the work, pulling plows or wagons to transport snow. All of them were in perfect sync with their singing. Ponies of all three races were working together on a project larger than just selfishness. Clover was so happy he nearly cried. If such harmony existed in the future, surely everything he had taught about friendship had carried on as well! Clover wiped his now moist eyes and looked at Starswirl, who returned the same happy smile. "This is so perfect!" He exclaimed. Seeing no reason to continue with the spell, Starswirl let the stars disappear and let light back in from the window, which was now dimmer with the unicorn shift moving the sun down. He shook a bit and collapsed into a nearby chair. "Whoo!" He said, wiping his face. "That spell certainly takes a lot out of a unicorn. You've seen what I wanted you to see, you can leave now, Clover. Don't touch the things you brought up, either; I can handle those on my own." He yawned, stretching out his legs in every direction. "I'm going to sleep. Good night." Master Starswirl wandered over to a feather mattress he called a bed and immediately collapsed on it, snoring. Clover stepped back to the door when an idea struck him. Slowly and quietly, he magically slipped the book Starswirl had just finished off the shelf and flew it over to him. Enveloped in his lime green glow, the book flew out the door and he went soon with it. Gingerly closing the door, Clover picked up the book and hoofed through a few of the pages, grinning. "This isn't the right thing to do, Clover; You know what your master said." He whispered to himself mischievously as he trotted back down the stairs with his master's latest words of wisdom. "Spoilers."
