Hello, Icee lovers! Welcome to the second installment of The Many Adventures of Starswirl and Clover. So, if you actually started reading this, it probably seems pretty boring. But trust me, I have planned this story out chapter by chapter, and it gets better! Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 2!
Clover's POV
Teleportation was beautiful. I'd never teleported before Starswirl, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw a gorgeous mix of blues and purples sparkling and whizzing around us. It reminded me of a time when my Aunt Spades took me to the hill where she had first met my uncle. The sky there was clear at night, and all the stars were visible in an array of color.
When we finally stopped, I felt a bit nauseous from the intrusion of reality. I tried removing my hooves from Starswirl's neck, but just stumbled until I got my balance back. He laughed quietly.
"Was that your first time teleporting?" he asked. I nodded my head slowly. "That explains it. I was queasy my first time, too." I looked ahead of us and saw the immense form of Queen Celestia's castle. A minute or so passed before I could get any words out.
"Starswirl," I managed to choke out, "exactly what kind of danger did you say I'm in?" He paused for a split second, and thought about the question.
"We don't have time to discuss this. We need to get up to-" He stopped at an intimidating glare I gave him. He sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you. But you won't like it." Starswirl proceeded to tell me how Celestia had brainwashed the thousands of ponies in Canterlot and the surrounding cities, and how she planned to do the same or worse to unicorns like myself. He told me his plan to get me out using a mirror that could lead to a different world.
"Okay, wait. How can I trust you when you've just openly admitted to working for the Queen that wants to hurt me?" I asked in disbelief.
"If I intended to hurt you, don't you think I would have done it by now? Anyways, it's not like I have a choice. If I want to keep my brain and my magic, then I have to work for the Queen. That's why I'm coming with you." He turned to the massive doors of the castle. "Let's go."
"Wait!" I whispered/shouted. He turned around to look at me. "What about my friends? And my family? I haven't even said goodbye." Starswirl looked at me like I was crazy.
"Are you kidding me? Look, I've already sent a message to your family explaining everything, but I'll never understand why a few random ponies mean so much to you."
I scoffed. "They aren't a few random ponies. And I it's not their importance that makes them special to me. It's their friendship. I guess you don't know much about that, though." We glared at each other for a moment. He sighed.
"Fine. Send them a letter. But be quick; we don't have time to waste," he said. I quickly conjured up a quill and some parchment, and wrote a letter to Firefly and Scarlet explaining everything. Once I was finished, I got rid of the quill and sent the letter. I walked up to Starswirl, and he didn't look at me. "Are you ready yet?" he asked. By this time, the sun was setting, telling me that it had been a few hours at least since Scarlet fainted. I nodded my head.
Starswirl led me through a door labeled SERVICE. We walked through what looked like a boiler room with a reddish tint. A few doors lined the walls; every now and then a shadow would show up from under the cracks. At the end of the hallway was a door that led to a stairwell. As we walked up the stairs, we heard voices. Starswirl froze.
Starswirl's POV
I stopped when I heard voices from the hallway at the end of the stairs. I cast an invisibility spell on me and Clover before continuing. I heard Clover struggling to climb the stairs behind me. "Almost there," I assured her. I was slightly annoyed at her, though. We could have easily avoided everypony if she hadn't stopped to write that letter.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw a large crowd gathered around something. Once I was sure that Clover was following me, I walked up to the crowd to see what they were looking at. In the middle I saw a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. She was the newest edition to Celestia's advisors, and she had a powerful force of magic within her. Twilight adored the Queen; she didn't even get brainwashed. I thought she was the closest thing Twilight had to a mother, and Twilight was the thing Celestia cared about the most.
She was lying down, her mane ruffled slightly. Something was in her hooves, and it looked like a pile of blankets. The lump moved, and a baby unicorn was revealed to be sleeping. Its coat was midnight blue, its mane was both pink and yellow. Standing nearest to the mother and child was a proud member of Celestia's guard, Flash Sentry. He looked sadly over the scene.
I felt bad for the pegasus. He had liked Twilight ever since she'd arrived. I wasn't close friends with either one, but I didn't need to be to see the attraction between them. Flash was heartbroken when the Queen arranged for Twilight to marry the prince of the Arctic North, Frostbite. I'm pretty sure Twilight fell in love with the prince over the course of their marriage, and she ended up pregnant. The child she was holding was obviously his.
I shook my head and continued walking. When we got a safe distance away, Clover asked me about it. "What was that about?" I heard her ask.
"Celestia's prized pupil just had her first filly," I responded. I removed the invisibility, and saw Clover looking at me. I shook my head and continued walking. After a few minutes of walking, we reached the room. Slowly, I opened the door. The room looked void of anypony.
"May I help you?" asked a voice I didn't recognize. My blood ran cold, and I looked around to see who had asked the question. My eyes found a tall mare standing in the corner of the room. She had a flowing mane of the night, and her coat was as blue as Twilight's filly's. She spoke with a calm and sophisticated voice. "I know why you are here, young Starswirl. My name is Luna."
I hesitated. "As in, the Lunar Princess?" She nodded her head.
"My sister does not speak of me anymore. I see I have become a mere pony's tail," she said. "Now, which mirror would you like for me to open?" I hadn't even thought about how we were going to open one of the mirrors.
"Any mirror will do, I suppose," I replied. The princess nodded and looked at the one closest to me and Clover. Blue magic lit up her horn, and an alarm went off. Clover jumped and turned towards the door, and I followed suit. Three guards were at the door. Why didn't I lock it? I asked myself. Clover's horn lit up with swirling green magic, sparking like lightning.
"I cannot be disturbed!" Luna shouted, and Clover and I were tasked with protecting her. Clover shot a beam of electricity at the first guard, knocking him unconscious. I turned the weapons of the second guard into a couple of ropes so that I could tie him up. But the guard was skilled. He turned the ropes into snakes and sent them after me. The third guard rushed Clover, and she didn't respond quick enough.
"Star..swirl," she managed to choke out. The guard was pinning her to the ground, and she couldn't breathe. I quickly turned the snakes into chains and used them to knock out the guard attacking me. I ran over to Clover's guard and shoved him off her. He hit the ground hard and groaned. I felt Clover's pulse and was relieved to feel her heartbeat. I lifted her onto my back.
"Hurry!" Luna shouted. I ran as fast as I could and jumped through the mirror. I felt my body shifting, and bright colors flashed around me, blinding me. I tried feeling for Clover, but she had fallen off my back. Before I could think about it, I felt my body hit a hard surface. I waited a few seconds before opening my eyes. I saw a dark forest with overgrown vines all around. Up on a mountain was a cave I figured we could use to lay low for a while. I looked around and saw Clover on the ground. I carefully picked her up and placed her on my back. Using most of my energy, I teleported us to the cave. I started thinking to myself. What now?
Soooo? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know! Hope you enjoyed.
~Icee~