The meeting hall was dark. It was not much of a hall, really, but perhaps an oversized hut. It was made specifically for The Three and their Seconds to meet.
A fire burned heartily in the fireplace at the southern end of the hall. Three tall glasses of wine sat on the table in the center of the hall, waiting to be drunk. The wooden doors were large and ornate, carved from the best maple wood available. One Unicorn and one Pegasus guard stood on either side of the doors.
Tonight's meeting could very well change the fate of this newly-formed country.
The Earth Pony representative, Chancellor Puddinghead, was the first to arrive. Her Second, Smart Cookie, was with her. The Chancellor's usually gleeful face was grim and stoic.
Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, the Pegasus representative and her Second, arrived shortly after. Private Pansy looked more timid than ever.
The Unicorns were the last to enter the hall. Princess Platinum had taken over as representative after her father, King Sterling, passed away. Platinum's second, Clover the Clever, was the pupil of Starswirl the Bearded himself.
The Three raised their wine glasses in a silent toast, and the Seconds bowed to each other.
Commander Hurricane spoke first. "We are all in agreement, then?"
Princess Platinum nodded. "Yes, Commander. We are much too biased to rule this country peacefully."
"Yeah, you Unicorns and Pegasi think you're sooooo special!" Chancellor Puddinghead scoffed.
"Chancellor, please," Smart Cookie cut in.
"Of course the Unicorns are special, darling!" Platinum boasted. "We have magic!"
"Princess, don't," Clover groaned.
"Whoa whoa whoa, Pegasi can fly!" Hurricane shouted.
"Oh goodness..." Private Pansy cowered. All at once, a war of words broke out. A distant wail brought the noise of the argument to an abrupt halt. Clover the Clever slammed her hooves on the table.
"Enough! The Windigos would be only too happy to ruin our lives again! The arguing must stop!"
"You are, of course, correct, Clover," Platinum said, laying her ears back. "The three of us are not strong enough to rule together." A stony silence fell over the hall.
"I have an idea!" The Chancellor suddenly sang out. "One pony to rule all of us!"
"We've been through this, Puddinghead," Hurricane muttered.
"I know! We've talked about a pony of one race ruling. What if we had a pony of all three races?" Puddinghead suggested.
"Now, Chancellor, you know that's impossible," Platinum said quietly.
"Maybe not," Clover said, deep in thought. "My mentor said that it's possible to fuse the magic of all three races into the body of one pony, but no pony has ever attempted it."
The other five ponies stared at Clover in awe.
"That... Just might work," Hurricane said slowly. "But.. How exactly does it work?"
"Well.. I believe that a pony -most likely a Unicorn- removes a sample of magic from one pony of each race. The magic is fused together, and then a spell is cast," Clover explained. Blank faces stared back at her. "Not much is known about that type of magic."
"It won't hurt the ponies from whom the magic is taken?" Platinum asked.
"No, not at all. I'm sure of that. Each will retain their own abilities and personalities," Clover answered.
"What do personalities have to do with it?" Smart Cookie asked.
"A pony's magic reflects their personality," Clover told her. "If a piece of your magic goes into this pony, so will a piece of your personality."
"All in favor?" Puddinghead yelled.
All three representatives shouted "Aye!"
"It's settled then," Hurricane said, stomping her hoof. "However, now we have to choose which ponies to use."
"The obvious choice would be the three of us," Platinum said haughtily, but then her tone quickly became more modest. "The logical choice would be our Seconds."
Clover, Pansy, and Smart Cookie blanched.
"Yeah, if it weren't for you guys, we'd all be frozen in a cave!" Puddinghead said.
Hurricane nodded. "It should be them. All in favor?"
Three ayes.
Private Pansy trembled fearfully. "B-b-but..."
"It's okay, Pansy," Clover murmured. "When are we doing this?"
"We should do it now," Smart Cookie said. "If it's possible."
"It is. The spell is in the book Starswirl gave me. I, uh, have it in my saddlebags," Clover said sheepishly.
"Can you take magic from yourself?" Hurricane asked her.
"I think so," Clover answered. "It may be taxing on my strength, so I'll go last. Who's first?"
"I will be," Smart Cookie said. Clover nodded and opened her book. She read through the spell quickly, then screwed her eyes shut and pointed her horn at the Earth Pony Second. Smart Cookie's chest glowed, and a small green orb floated out.
"Didn't feel a thing. Go ahead, Pansy," Smart Cookie encouraged. Pansy's orb was blue.
Clover turned her magic on herself, and a purple orb floated from her chest. Slowly, the orbs floated towards each other. As soon as they met, they merged into a single bright yellow orb. Platinum oohed as the orb began to glow brighter and brighter. Yellow light filled the dark hall, forcing everypony to shield their eyes.
Pansy squeaked and covered her head with her hooves. The orb continued to increase in intensity, until it finally simply went out. No explosion. It just disappeared.
There were no new ponies in the room.
"Did it... Did it work?" Platinum asked shakily.
"I don't know," Clover answered. "But I don't see any other pony in this room, so I guess it didn't."
"Well.. We tried," Hurricane said dejectedly.
"Come on, Smart Cookie. Let's go home," Chancellor Puddinghead said.
All six ponies went their separate ways; Platinum and Clover to a large mansion on a hill, Hurricane and Pansy to a fortress in the clouds, and Puddinghead and Smart Cookie to a modest hut.
In a field not far from the meeting hall, a single beam of sunlight broke through an overcast sky.
