“Good morning,” Rosewater said to the ponies waiting for her on the bridgehead. The sun was still rising slowly to the east, the shadows cast by the trees and walls of Damme not quite fully retreated, and the cool feeling of darkness carried more of a chill with it than normal.

Cloudy waited for her with a small contingent of familiar ponies. Platinum was there, with a surprisingly pink ribbon adorning her left foreleg, a memento from the Commoner’s Gala. It looked like it had already been washed at least once. So was Poppy, the stallion looking more at ease than usual.

“Good morning,” Cloudy replied, looking her over. “No more ribbons?”

“I thought it best not to draw my mother’s ire further. My return to the garden last night would have been enough of a firepoker to the side.” Rosewater chuckled and ducked into the office, where the secretary was waiting already for her with the flag and attachment. “Thank you.”

“Of course, my lady. When you have a chance, Sir Firelight would like to have a chat with you, but he’s out at the moment.”

Rosewater nodded, then raised a brow.

“He has a… former engagement at the docks, my lady. The last ship south leaves today, and the passes south are already mud-soaked.”

“My thanks,” Rosewater said, nodding. “Tell him I’ll stop by this afternoon on my way back.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Cloudy gave her a curious look when she was back outside, glancing to the treaty flag and back to her face, the question obvious.

Rosewater borrowed briefly from Crown’s repertoire, the spell buzzing against her horn like an angry gnat as the sound around them distorted, but didn’t cut out. “I know I don’t need it today, Cloudy, but I can’t completely abandon pretense and be a guest whenever I want. For one, my mother would be complaining inside two minutes to the treaty office, and she wouldn’t be completely wrong. Guest right needs to be rare.” Especially since you formally invited me to the gala. “Not flaunted.”

She let the spell go as the buzzing descended to her skull and made her ears ring, shook her head, and wobbled, her balance affected by trying to manipulate sound the way she’d felt Crown doing it.

She’d known it wouldn’t have been as easy as Crown made it seem, but…

“You okay?” Cloudy asked.

“I am. Let’s be off.” She shook her head again, flicked her ears, and followed Cloudy.

Winter wasn’t quite yet in the air, but their first freeze was already gone, and it felt to Rosewater like remnants of it clung to the shadows this early in the morning, chasing up her legs with each touch of hoof to cold stone, and the lit crossways with growing light only slightly less chilly to the feel.

She would need to move more of her wardrobe to the Garden if she truly meant to weather the coming winter there. It would, no doubt, make Seed happy to see her making good on her promise, but it would also take away the fiction that she had anything left to keep her in the estate. It would become her bastion of last resort.

It meant no more dates with Collar in her house unless she wanted more opposition.

The waiting gang of ponies in the carter’s mill across from her house the morning after, that had followed her making jibes and drunken sallies at her bravery for hiding for the better part of two days hadn’t helped except to drive home the fact that her every action would be scrutinized, watched, questioned, and possibly retaliated against.

They had followed her all the way to the edge of the Rosewine Vineyard’s outskirts, earning glowers from the villagers that they returned with equal animosity until it was clear Rosewater was heading for the villa.

As a unit, they had turned and trotted back out of the village and over the bridge while Rosewater watched from the villa’s front gate.

“You’re not okay,” Cloudy said as they passed from an open market square back into a crowded street, breaking Rosewater out of worrying over just how far they might push things. “You’ve been quiet since we left the bridge. What happened?”

“Nothing I can talk about,” Rosewater said softly. She didn’t add ‘not in the open.’ “I’m just worrying, probably over nothing.”

Cloudy harrumphed and rolled her eyes, but didn’t try to dig further. Instead, she started talking about her ‘patrol’ to the north with Collar, how they’d spent the nights in frigid tents while Collar took samples and checked various trails, checking for the signs of how bad the upcoming winter would be.

It was a foil, and Rosewater made comments about what Bliss and the other pegasi in the garden were saying about the coming season, generally agreeing that it seemed like the coming winter would start out wet and end dry until the first thaws, with Platinum and Poppy offering commentary and worries about what they would need to do to help bolster the Guard during the wet spell.

Rosewater offered her own suggestions, couched in terms of what she should be doing to help the Rosewine bridge guards weather the cold and storms, things that Cloudy, Poppy, and Platinum added to. Despite it starting out as a play at making conversation, she started taking it more and more seriously as it became clear that the ponies walking with were being honest in their suggestions, and honestly cared about what happened to their counterparts across the river.

From Poppy, she was only mildly surprised to hear him worry about a few guards by name, but from Platinum… she knew only a little about the mare, and her first impression hadn’t been the best of her, but…

“We’ll be okay from here,” Cloudy said as they crossed the invisible line from the city proper to the courtyard of the palace. “Thank you, Platinum, Poppy.”

“It looks like we weren’t needed,” Poppy said with a tip of his head to the side.

“Yes, well,” Cloudy gave Rosewater a sour look, then sighed. “I suppose I was expecting you to take more advantage of our offered hospitality.”

“I would never take advantage,” Rosewater said, pushing a touch more exasperation into her voice than she felt. “Stars, you’ve invited me personally to the upcoming Gala.” She stepped across the invisible line, eager to see Collar again, to be with him and Cloudy and Rosemary… at last all together.

Cloudy followed her after a moment, her wings twitching, her step lighter as they began the walk to the front gate and stairway.

Collar had only two minutes of peace and tranquility with his two lovers and one future lover before a pressure against the barrier he’d set in front of the door to his office told him someone was knocking.

“I’m sorry, loves,” he said, his lips still tingling from three kisses of varying intensity. “Somepony batters at the gates.” He nodded Rosemary back to her corner, but not before she laid the flower she’d picked out from Lace’s gardens on his desk.

Rosewater followed her, taking a few papers from Collar’s desk, and covering the flower in the process, to hold rather than anything practical, looking like she was discussing something with Rosemary.

Satisfied that the scene looked suitably business-like, Collar dropped the barrier and the sound shield, opening it to let in Coat.

“Sir,” Coat said, saluting hoof to breast, his ear twitching spastically. “Er,” he glanced past Collar to the two mares in the corner of his office. “This is going to be awkward at—”

“I will not be put aside further! I have been sidelined for weeks without my concerns being heard!”

Collar sighed. “Let him up. He will shout all the louder if I keep him, and it’s best he see that Lady Rosewater is behaving and engaged in her negotiations with a heart towards completing them fairly.”

At that, Rosewater looked up, her ears nearly flat and lips pressed into a thin line. She whispered to Rosemary, then stood and placed herself between the young mare and the door, resuming her perusal of nothing, but one ear focused on the door.

Wing strutted in, his feathers bristled already, and only growing more duster-like as he opened his mouth to demand entry, when his eyes darted to Rosewater and Rosemary in the corner.

“Wing,” Collar said before his indignant guest could blurt anything unfortunate. “I’m afraid that I must have lost track of the time, and our meeting time must have snuck up on me.” He glanced at the clock in the corner opposite Rosewater’s, then at his appointment schedule for the day laying on the corner of his desk. “Oh. No, it appears that we still have an hour until our meeting, my lord.”

Wing dragged his attention from mother and daughter and stared at Collar, his ears ticking, seeming to try and decide just how much bluster he could get away with. Rosewater, after all, still wore the harness that would hold the treaty flag, and the flag itself rested against the wall, the fabric gold and white hanging limp from the whitewood pole.

Little more than a small pennant, it nonetheless stood out against the gray stone wall, and Wing could hardly have missed it.

“My…” Wing swallowed back what seemed like enough gravel to pave a street. “My apologies, my lord. But the matter I must discuss with you is of the utmost urgency.”

I’m sure it is. Collar slid the appointment schedule for the day closer to Wing. “As are most of the things on my schedule for today, my lord. Anything that reaches me, and is not handled by my subordinates is generally considered urgent.” He tipped his head towards Rosewater. “The settlement of disposition of prisoners of war is one of the utmost.”

Wing lowered his voice to a harsh whisper, “My lord,” he hissed. “Being alone with the Rose Terror—”

“I will stop you right there, Wing,” Collar said harshly. “I am not alone, not unprotected, and not going to tolerate your slighting of a guest of the Primline house by using a moniker that is an insult to the integrity she has shown this house.”

Wing stiffened and only grew stiffer as Collar went on, and his ears betrayed the anger he didn’t allow himself to show directly. “Then the rumors are true,” he hissed, his eyes sliding away from Collar to Rosewater. “You danced with her, went off alone with her. And she enchanted you.”

Collar laughed, deep and heartily. “Is that what they’re saying in the streets? That my mind is no longer my own?” He chuckled and shook his head, wiping away his mirth with an effort. “I am my own stallion still, but I have come to respect Rosewater both for her skill as a soldier and her integrity as a pony. She has dealt fairly, and not brought the burden of her cousin’s herdgild to her ponies, but chosen to shoulder it entirely herself.”

Wing scowled, half at him, and half at Rosewater, no longer pretending to read a page that had only the reports of her own movements. “If your mind were your own,” he growled, “she would be in a prison, banner or not, for her crimes against Damme and its citizens.”

“She is a soldier, Wing, and she follows her sovereign’s orders, as much as she personally finds them distasteful.”

Rosewater nodded sharply, but gave him an even more urgent look, her ears flattening for a moment only, asking him to leave off on how much she hated her mother’s orders.

He hesitated for only a moment, rewording what he had been about to say. Speaking for her with such familiarity and surety was sure to draw more questions… and he might already have given away much that Wing might not have known or suspected.

“As a soldier under her sovereign’s command, she is bound by the treaty just as I am, not to bring harm to mind or body, and not to break the treaty strictures on punishment, detention, and abuse.” Collar recited the strictures easily. He’d spent long enough poring over them, looking for loopholes to forgive Rosewater for her actions in the war. “Princess Celestia would look unkindly on our city if we were to break the bonds so blatantly.”

Rosewater, silent to this point, spoke up, adding, “And it would endanger my cousin further yet. I assure you, if any guards attempted to arrest me during my treaty-charged duties, I would argue for the harshest penalties upon those that attempted it.” She raised the flag on its whitewood pole and waved it briefly, showing the sunburst emblem of Princess Celestia. “And I would also argue for the annulment of the herdgild against my cousin. Your city would lose the boons Collar has already negotiated out of me.”

Wing, startled at her quietly strong words, stared at her.

“I would also make sure that all and sundry knew exactly whom was responsible.”

Collar tried to hide a wince, but didn’t even come close to hiding it from either Rosewater or Wing.

Rosewater only gave him a frosty look and stood, her voice crisp and cold, “If this is the treatment I can expect, my lords, then I will move to my next appointment with the Lady Lace and Lord Dapper to discuss the annuities on the debts I am incurring.” She gave Collar a chill look that he felt in his soul even though it wasn’t real. “I trust our next appointment won’t be interrupted?”

Collar rubbed at his muzzle and glowered at Wing. “It won’t be. Will you report this to the treaty office?”

“I must. It’s my duty and on my honor, I promised Sir Spark that I would report every step along the way, including any stumbles along the way.” Rosewater gave Wing a chillier look still. “If you will step aside, my lord, my cousin and I will leave you alone.”

Wing, to Collar’s surprise, stepped aside, though he didn’t look the least bit cowed by her calm, cold demeanor. Likely, she could have startled him into flight if she’d shouted or raged at him. Instead, she was as Collar would have expected her to act…

As any Dammer would have expected her to act.

He sighed as she left with Rosemary scooting along behind her, every line of her confused and upset, and he wanted to calm her, tell her it was going to be okay.

Cloudy, on the other hoof, looked like a stormcloud bursting with lightning and only waiting the faintest provocation to explode. That she hadn’t already was a testament to her iron will reigning in her temper.

“Cloudy?” Collar asked in a tired voice.

“Collar,” she said, short and sharp, seeming to already know what he was going to ask, and ready to take that as her provocation.

“Can you please convey my sincerest apologies to the Lady Rosewater and let her know I will be taking measure to ensure such an interruption doesn’t happen again?”

He didn’t look at Wing, or even act like he was in the room, but he saw the reaction, saw the calculation taking place as Wing finally considered what his actions might have cost himself and his cause. The bristling feathers flattened, and his ears slicked back, then perked again, back to a poised and stately figure of a pegasus in a second.

“Yes.” Cloudy snapped her tail and trotted out, her wings arching as soon as she was in the hallway, then snapping back to her sides.

Collar closed the door quietly, but didn’t silence it. “You have my attention, at great cost to my patience and potentially our position, my lord. Speak your piece.”

Wing swallowed and glanced at the door, then back to Collar. “I was concerned for your safety, my lord. Alone with three Roses and—” He held up a hoof when Collar’s anger nearly boiled over. “I accept that you love Cloudy Rose. But I am concerned by how friendly she is with the… the Lady Rosewater and her cousin. I worry, my lord, that she has been subtle in her wiles and her spellcasting. Ponies whisper about her powers, my lord.”

Collar settled back, forcing back his anger. This is a blessing. Take it for what it is. Intelligence. “Pray tell. What do they say about her talents, Wing? Keep in mind that I and Cloudy have witnessed her prowess more than once, and in close proximity. I am well acquainted with the depths of her talents.”

“She’s a witch, my lord,” Wing went on more quietly. “My sources tell me she dances with the Deerkin, and has taken their talent at trickery for herself. She can whisper words to keep ponies from seeing her, use a flower to trick a mind, and a petal to blind.” He glanced pointedly at the lump under a sheet of paper.

Collar had almost forgotten the flower Rosemary had chosen and enchanted for preservation. A simple spell, and one every florist and, apparently, every apothecary knew and used daily. He drew it out now and laid it bare on the desk.

“It’s from mother’s garden, Wing. I assure you it has no uses, but even I can blind with petals.” Regretting it, he plucked two petals and placed them over his eyes. “See?”

“You mock my concern, my lord,” Wing growled. “I worry for the continuity of our great city, and this is the concern you show my worries?”

“I mock your concern because there is nothing to be concerned about.” Collar pointed at the corner where Rosewater had left the flag in her haste to depart. “That is my protection, my lord. It’s a constant reminder that any wrong hoof set, any hostile action taken, will at best set her back months, and at worst see her exiled for breaking the treaty’s strictures.”

Wing seemed to consider the flag and pole, and for a moment Collar wondered if he would try and break it or steal it and try to hide it.

Instead, he nodded, sighed and ruffled his wings, resettling a few feathers that had gotten stuck at odd angles from his earlier bristle. “My concerns, my lord, are the signs you’ve given that her attempts to court your hoof are succeeding. Dancing, going off alone with her, walking…” he seemed to realize the last wouldn’t give him what he wanted.

“The dance, I can understand,” Collar said after a moment of awkward silence. “However, it was a token I was willing to give up to keep one of our own’s names secret. A distraction. You know what happened immediately before?”

Wing hesitated, then nodded. “A relief indeed that the foal… um. Dancing Rain?”

“Raindrop Dancer,” Collar corrected, mildly surprised that he cared enough to even get that much right. “And yes, a great relief. They wished to thank our Dammeguard, but considering that they left the scene rather quickly, I deemed it a safe bet that they would want to remain anonymous.” Collar shook his head, gathered up the flower, sniffed at it, and laid it back carefully atop the papers it’d been hidden under. The preservation spell kept it from smelling much, slowing the death of the fresh cut stem.

“And your dancing with, er… her was you sacrificing yourself for the safety of a Dammeguard?”

Collar laughed. “Stars, no. It was a distraction, as I said, and the Lady Rosewater, as it turns out, is quite the accomplished dancer. I won’t deny that I enjoyed our dances together, but that’s all it was.”

Once again, Wing studied him, the elderly noble watching him and turning his words over and over. “Forgive me for saying, but I’m not sure I believe you. I have information from… a close source that you went off alone with her in the middle of an intimate dance and thereafter disappeared for most of the dance.”

“To discuss the disposition of her cousin,” Collar replied in an even tone even as he wanted to shout it in Wing’s face. “Surely you noticed the ribbon she wore in her mane?”

A flick of Wing’s ear said he had. “And yet you were gone for near an hour. My lord, I only ask out of concern for your well being. An hour alone with her is more than enough to enchant your mind away from the ways of Damme and its best interests.”

More than enough and not nearly enough, Collar thought, frowning, and sighed. “Is there a point you’re trying to make, my lord? Have I suddenly fallen in and started romancing every mare I come across? Have I made to abandon my commitment to Cloudy Rosewing? Have I made any indication that I am enchanted against my will?”

“Two months ago—”

“Something changed,” Collar broke in before Wing could finish along the same line. “Her patterns changed. Her actions began to make less and less sense if she was trying to court me, Wing. And then her cousin was taken captive. I’ve no doubt that Roseate began to pressure her to push her.” Collar leaned against the desk, suddenly tired of the games. “You know why she’s running the negotiations. She’s Rosemary’s guardian, and she is an honorable mare. Rosemary’s care is her responsibility.

“She made a downpayment on the herdgild in order to gain Rosemary some measure more comfort. A partial bail, if you will.” Collar tapped the flower. “Rosewater cares for that young mare more than she cares for her own safety. Did you know that she could love so deeply? I didn’t, Wing, until she showed me how deeply her hurt ran.”

Before Wing could reply, Collar opened the door. “If that’s all you came to see me about, rest assured that I am aware that she can be subtle in her spellwork, and if you’ll excuse me, I need to see if I can repair the damage your rudeness has done.”

With that, Collar picked up the pennant flag and opened his door.

“There is one more thing, my lord,” Wing said as he ducked out of the office. “I urge you to reconsider Sablelock Mane’s offer. She is a Dammeguard as well, and she is—”

“Sablelock may be a Dammeguard, but she has a fiance already, I hear,” Collar said with a snort. “And I’ve made my choice. Cloudy is my choice, even if we have not made the future marriage formal.” He followed Wing out and locked the door with a snick. “I’ve not forgotten your attempt to push Sunrise at me when we were younger, either. Please stop. You’re starting to sound like a Merrier.”

Cloudy stalked the garden pathways, trying to understand how Rosewater could be so calm when she wanted to stomp and stamp and yell. And yet… she sat beside Lace, the two of them talking quietly while they moved spot-by-spot around the central part of the atrium, tending to the plants that needed to be cared for properly before winter.

Rosemary hummed softly to herself as she inspected another one that had a tiny little sign poked into the dirt next to it, marking it as a Frost Rose, and below that, Rosewater’s name.

Cloudy stopped her pacing, sighed, and sat next to Rosemary, extending a wing over her lovers’ back. “When is it going to bloom?”

Rosemary smiled, glanced behind her, and kissed Cloudy’s cheek. “When it’s freezing all day long and all night, the stem starts to warm up. It survives the winter through magic and the unique magic in the air that winter brings.”

Cloudy cocked her head and glanced up at the sloped roof all around that gave the atrium-like room a good slice of late morning to early evening light to the tallest plants. It would be like a forest most of the day, and the plants in the private garden were just that. Lace had made herself a forest retreat in the middle of the palace, and Dapper…

“Dapper helps bring the air down during the winter?”

“That I do,” Dapper called out from the other side of the room. “Would appreciate it if you helped this winter. The cold is harder on my bones every year.”

“Of course,” Cloudy said without hesitation. “I’d love to help, Dapper.”

“Call me Dadder, please.”

“Dapper, no,” Lace said with a sigh. “Not yet.” She turned her attention back to her quiet conversation with Rosewater while the mare laughed softly.

“Thank you,” Rosemary murmured.

“Is this new?” Cloudy asked quietly. “I haven’t been to the garden as much as I would like. Just the public gardens with you.”

“Rosewater gifted it to Lace after last week’s freeze. Or was it the week before last?” Rosemary stared up at the orange tree in the center, her ears ticking. “I lose track of time, sometimes, and it’s getting harder to keep track of it.”

“Soon,” Cloudy whispered, nuzzling her lover’s cheek and wishing she could do more.

“That’s still time,” Rosemary said with a chiding laugh. “Soon is now, and then it’s gone, and…” Her teeth clicked shut over the rest of the words Cloudy could see in her frustrated stance. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t take out my frustration on you.”

“But I am keeping you captive,” Cloudy murmured. “I’m a Dammeguard, and we’re all—”

“I’m keeping myself captive.”

Across the Garden, Rosewater’s ears were flat, but she hadn’t stopped her quiet talk with Lace. Cloudy could read in that look, I’m moving too slow. This is my fault.

Well. From what Collar had told her… That’s something I can help with.

She’d thought about it all night, the next day, and through breakfast before she’d decided she needed to bring it up if neither Rosewater nor Collar brought it up. She’d been about to just before Wing interrupted, but…

“I’m sorry Wing interrupted our morning,” Cloudy said softly, then raised her voice. “Lady Lace?”

“Lace, dear, I’ve told you.” But the older mare smiled at her and bobbed her head. “What is it?”

“May I ask you to silence our conversation?”

Lace’s ears perked up, and so did Rosewater’s. “Of course. Rosewater, if you could assist me, please, I’m afraid my magic isn’t as spry as it once was.”

“Of course.”

After a few moments, the shimmering field Cloudy knew was a sound deadening field had covered the central part of the atrium, surrounding Cloudy and Rosemary, Rosewater, Lace, and Dapper, but not extending to the entryway.

“I know,” Cloudy started, her voice creaking. She cleared her throat. “Stars, this is going to be…” Just out with it. “We need to talk about children. Our children. With Collar.”

Lace’s eyes jerked to her, then to Rosewater. “I’m not sure I should be here for this discussion. This should be between the three of you and Collar, not his parents.”

Damnit! Cloudy rubbed at her muzzle. “Stars, that came out in the wrong order. We need to talk about marriage first.”

Lace chuckled and relaxed. “Then, proceed.”

“We,” Rosewater said softly, dipping her head at Rosemary and Cloudy, “would like your blessings, Lace, Dapper. It’s traditional, isn’t it? For Dammers to ask the parents of the pony they’re proposing to for their blessing?”

Lace hesitated, her ears ticking, before she dipped her head, ears flat. “It is. It’s a formality anymore, but yes. Then you are going to ask him to marry you? All of you?”

“We are,” Cloudy said, echoed by Rosemary and Rosewater. “Some of the preparations for the formalizing of our marriage will have to be done later or in secret. The gifts…”

Rosewater nodded, her expression distant. “It’s… traditional to offer a family heirloom gift, isn’t it? To tie families together.”

“Not many still follow that tradition, my dear, but it had been a custom to share their ancestral bonding rings. I understand Merrie has nothing of the sort, yes?”

“I have… or my parents have a bangle from an ancestor of mine. A Rosewing marriage bangle, but I obviously can’t get to it.”

“I have, as well,” Rosewater added, a sour look curdling her expression. “But I know you all already know my issues with getting such a thing. I’ve not even my circlet of office, let alone Roseline’s marriage pendant.”

“If I might make a suggestion,” Dapper said from beside his wife. “You’re starting a new era of both of our cities. Lace and I have talked about what we hope you will accomplish, and… dear?”

“We were hoping you would break with tradition,” she said, her voice strengthening. “I, and Collar, will appreciate your thought to respect our traditions, but what you’re doing is breaking all traditions and opening pathways for citizens of both of our cities. I ask that you consider forging a new tradition. Especially in light of how difficult it will be for you to follow any of the traditions of either city.”

Rosewater lifted her nose briefly, nodded, and glanced at Lace. “I had had the same thought, spending time with Collar. I would still like your blessing to be a part of it, if that would be agreeable? We don’t want to throw everything out and start over, I think,” she said, glancing at her two future wives. “Right?”

Cloudy shook her head at the same time Rosemary did. “No. I’ve grown fond of some of the traditions that make Damme unique. What is here works for the ponies here. It could use some polishing here and there, and be less restrictive, but we shouldn’t let what we’re becoming feel like we’re forcing Damme or Merrie to follow us.”

“Exactly the right mindset,” Lace said, straightening. “You have my blessing, but before you spring what you want your vows to take the form of on an old mare, let me know what you want to do first.”

“To that end, I think including you in the formulation of them will help, Lace,” Rosewater said, glancing at Cloudy, then Rosemary. “I would like for us to blend the cities into a new tradition and set an example and a show that neither side is ‘winning,’ but that the cities should be one. A new entity without the chains tying us to old hatreds, old traditions, and old ways of doing things.”

“You have it. Shall we consider that a part of our negotiations, then?”

Rosewater considered for a long moment, seemed about to shake her head, then firmed her lips and nodded. “Yes. I’ve nearly exhausted my imagination on the debts I can reasonably incur to reach the price of the herdgild. Having a new avenue of negotiation would satisfy the need for the process not to stall.”

“How will that affect what you need to report to Roseate?” Cloudy asked. As much as she hated the question, it had to be asked.

And Rosewater’s grimace told her why it had to be. “I was hoping, honestly, that I could delay telling her until the cusp of the announcement. But… that’s not reasonable. Not when we don’t know when the announcement can be made without having the Primfeathers, Manes, and Coifs descend upon it like a pack of rabid squirrels.”

“They will descend upon it like rabid squirrels regardless,” Dapper said in a grave tone, despite the amused light in his eyes. “The question is how soon we can remove their chompers.”

An idea settled into Cloudy’s mind. An insane idea, and quite probably stupid, but…

“Rosetide,” Cloudy said, startling Rosewater. “Use Rosetide. Can’t he have a connection to the families that moved over to Damme’s side of the river? Encourage them? Tell them he’s heard of support from…” She rolled a shoulder. “Except that kind of shows our hoof, too, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” Lace said slowly, tipping her head to the side. “But there may be a seed of an idea there. Their main issue is raising the money to hire a solicitor familiar with the marriage laws in Damme to argue their case. I know there are ponies that would donate a small amount of coin if they knew of the issue. Especially those that live across the river.”

“Merriers donating…” Rosewater murmured. “It could work. I know Seed and Petal would, themselves, donate the entire fund needed since they’re only in this issue because they bought the land the family used to live on.”

“That also carries its own dangers, but from Roseate.”

“I doubt they would care,” Rosemary said with a huff. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“Which…” Rosewater sighed. “It is. And I’m not sure I can keep it from them. I’m not sure I have the right to do so.”

“You don’t!” Rosemary blurted.

“I know.” Rosewater nodded, her ears flattening, her eyes unfocused. “I wish I could protect them from the consequences is all. I didn’t think…”

“You can’t plan for every contingency,” Dapper said gently, “even though you want to.”

“I know the right thing to do,” Rosewater murmured, eyes closed. “I wish I knew what will happen.”

Cloudy pulled Rosemary closer with a tug of her wing. “What will happen, my love,” she said, “is we’ll come a step closer to our goal. What else happens, we’ll deal with together.”

Author's Note

Oh my stars, I almost ran out of buffer! I spent too much time editing my original fiction (3 weeks) and got the first book almost completed to at least first draft all the way through. Now I've got four 'chapters' with about 4-5 actual chapters in each ready to publish on Royal Road.

Anyway. I got the next chapter finished before this one got posted, and I'm working on the next several chapters of Primrose War - up to the end of the current book - in the coming days and weeks. We're only about 6-8 chapters until the end of the book. There's still some lead-up and tying off plot threads that are ending (or evolving) this book.

The Gala will be broken up into a four-week arc, followed by a denoument and an epilogue featuring Carnation Rose.