Chapters *Date: @%?*
With the new union between the three pony tribes, the trials I had foreseen in living in this new land shall all but disappear. With Earth ponies growing food once more, and Pegasi with full control of the weather again, this land of Equestria shall become prosperous within a matter of years, as opposed to the decade that it would have taken had we Unicorns been on our own. I have had some unsettling-
Bang! Bang! Bang!
-had some unsettling feelings of the lands around us. Having planned only for mild wildlife, I can only hope-
Bang! Bang! Bang!
-I can only hope-
Bang! Bang! Bang!
-I can only-
BANGBANGBANG!
"Spike, could you get the door please?" Twilight Sparkle shouted into the air of the library as she tried to continue reading the journal set on the table in front of her. Sure that the interruption would be taken care of, the purple unicorn shifted in her seat a bit before looking down at her reading material again. She had almost made it back to where she had left off before another round of knocking started again.
BANGBANGBANG!
"Spike!" Twilight looked around the library, looking for any trace of the baby dragon. Seeing nothing but the books and tables that she's known for the last two years, Twilight stands from her cushion and says to herself, "Now where could he have gone?" Her musing was stopped as the pounding continued at the door.
"Coming," she yelled out as the lilac pony trotted around her table to the door. As the knocking continued, her brows furled as she shouted again, "I'm coming!" As Twilight opened the door, she had to duck away as a blurred blue hoof flew through the air in front of her, almost knocking on her skull.
"About time, Twilight!"
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight stared up at the prismatic-maned pegasus hovering over her doorstep. Rainbow barely waited for Twilight to step to the side before flapping herself inside, turning and crossing her forelegs as the unicorn closed the door.
"What took you so long? I swear, it took you forever to answer the door!" Twilight frowned slightly as she looked around again, wondering once more where spike was.
"I'm sorry, Dash. I got caught up reading and old journal and I thought Spike would answer the door." As she explained, the purple unicorn trotted back to her cushion, keeping an eye on her friend. "This is strange, he usually comes when I call him."
"Isn't Spike helping Rarity today?" Rainbow landed beside Twilight, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Of course not," Twilight laughed out. "If he was, I would know. He would have told me."
"Unless he did tell you and you were too busy reading to hear it." Rainbow watched as Twilights eyes widened for a moment before her hoof came up to her face. It was a few moments before Twilight responded to the smirking Pegasus.
"Rainbow, why are you here? Besides reminding me to pay more attention around me, I mean."
"Oh, right. I came to return this." Dash turned her head behind her as she pulled a book from being tucked neatly behind her wing and placed it on the desk in front of the unicorn. Twilight didn't even have to look to know that it was the latest Daring Do book that the prismatic-maned pegasus had checked out three days ago.
"Already?" Twilight asked as she levitated the book in her magic. "That was pretty fast, Dash. Probably the fastest you've read a book yet." Rainbow stood tall, basking in the compliment as Twilight went about checking the book back in.
"Yeah, I know I'm awesome." In almost an instant, the sky-blue mare flew over to one of the libraries bookcases, one that she had come to know quite well. "So let's get the next one and see if I can read it even faster."
Twilight turned to look at her athletic friend with a raised eyebrow. "The next one? Rainbow, the next Daring Do book doesn't come out for another two months." As her friend floated down to her hooves, Twilight trotted over to slide the book back into its rightful place in the bookshelf.
"WHAT?!" Dash screamed almost on a trigger as the book slid into place. "Two months? I can't wait that long. I'll die!" As the unicorn opened her mouth, Rainbow grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her back and forth. "Twilight, you have to help me."
Twilights eyes are spinning as Dash's hooves leave her shoulders. Shaking her head, the unicorns eyes snap back into place before looking over at her friends waiting eyes. "I'm sorry, Rainbow, but there's nothing that I can do about it. If you like, you could find something else to read until the next Daring Do comes out."
"But all you have up here are boring science stuff and, blegh , history." Rainbow stuck out her tongue as she turned to the side away from Twilight. The purple mare's eyebrow raised again as she cocked her head to the side.
"History and Science aren't boring. They tell us about how pony civilization has come to be, and where it's still going."
Dash pointed her hoof at the unicorn with a triumphant grin on her face. "See? Boring." Twilight let out a groan before she trotted back to her cushion, obviously finished with the conversation. Floating over next to her friend, the pegasus looked over her shoulder to see a ratty, old book laying open on her desk. "What'cha reading, anyways?"
Twilight huffed before answering, "You wouldn't like it. It's History." Catching Rainbows furrow-browed stare, the straight-maned mare explained, "It's an old journal that Clover the Clever made when she set out to find Equestria. I found it in an old box in the basement while I was cleaning a couple days ago, and I haven't had time to read it until today."
"Clover the Clever? Isn't that the unicorn that you played in the Hearths Warming play?" At the librarian's nod, Rainbow continued, "Didn't you already read all about her when we were practicing for the play?"
"I read what I could find, but they were all stories about stories. The only useful things I could find from the time Equestria was founded was about farming techniques and the story about how they drove off the Windigos, and even that seemed exaggerated a bit. This, however, is the first hand tale from Clover herself, including things that happened after the Windigos were gone."
The prismatic pegasus took a second to look from the book to her friend, then back at the book. "It sounds kind of boring to me."
"It's not boring!" Twilight shouted while turning an annoyed glare at her friend. Not one to back down, Rainbow raised a hoof to point at her friend before snapping back.
"Oh yeah? Then prove it." Keeping her annoyed glare, the librarian's eyebrow raised as she wondered what the pegasus meant by her words. Her confusion only doubled as her friend grabbed a cushion from around the center table and dragged it across from her desk, settling herself into the seat and staring at her.
"Rainbow, what are you doing?" The question sounded more tired than the curious to her own ears as she watched the mare that now sat right in front of her. The stunt-flier crossed her hooves as she sat looking at her friend.
"I'm sitting here waiting for you to start reading." Watching the purple unicorns head cock to the side, Rainbow elaborated, "Look, if history isn't as boring as it is, then you'll have to show me. Since your little time spell only lets you go back a week, the only way for you to show me is for you to read it to me. So get reading." The pegasus held one leg sideways in front of her before hitting her other leg against it twice.
"What? But then I'll have to start all over." Twilight said, looking down at the 1/3rd finished journal in front of her like it had just hurt her. "And besides, don't you have flying practice to do?"
"C'mon Twi, even you should know that athletes have at least one rest day in the week." Twilights cheeks tinged red as she filed the new information away in her mind. "And are YOU really complaining about having to re-read a book?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" The unicorn bit back, her eyes narrowing as she channeled her embarrassed anger towards her friend. Rainbow merely looked at her before speaking.
"Uh, hello? You live in a library? And I swear, Spike himself said you've read every book in here at least once." Twilight looked down and sighed before she looked back at her friends waiting eyes.
"You want to listen? Fine, then get comfortable. Going through this whole book may take a couple of days." Grinning from ear to ear, Dash laid herself down across the cushion she had grabbed as Twilight closed the book and turned to the first page.
Clearing her throat, the librarian read the words out loud as her eyes glanced over them. "Date: /<*@. The days have been harsh lately among the three tribes. Never have I ever seen a winter so long and far reaching-"
As the pegasus listened, she let her eyes slide closed. While she had seen a picture of a painting of the founders of Equestria, it was only once while she was in school. While it was hard to try and remember what they looked like, it was harder for her to try not to imagine Clover looking like Twilight in the Hearths Warming play.
The days have been harsh lately among the three tribes. Never have I seen a winter so long and far reaching as this years, and it troubles everypony. With the continuing snow, the Earth-pony farmers bring less food, and messages to explain have fallen on deaf ears. I fear that we ponies may starve to death before this problem will be able to be fixed.
Attempts to convince the Pegasi to stop the snow have been met with confusion and pointed hooves. They say that this long winter is not caused by their hooves, and that it is beyond them to stop it. In truth, the Pegasi blame the Unicorns for the winter that they claim is beyond their control. As though continuing this mess and starving us all is something that the royal line would plan.
I have proposed my last effort to our leader, the insufferable regal Princess Platinum. I can only hope that ponies are able to listen to each other and see reason out of this madness. We are all in this together.
Clover the Clever watched as snow fell outside the castle walls. Snow had been falling continuously for the past seven months, and even in the Unicorn kingdoms heated castle, the chill was starting to reach ponies. Maybe the cold was why relations with other tribes of ponies had soured over the last few years.
The green maned unicorn shook the thought from her head. Of course it wasn't the cold. Relations had been going bad for years, and while this winter was the worst since, the weather is hardly to blame for ponies not agreeing with each other. It is nothing more than madness to blame nature for ponies anger.
She remembers the words of her teacher from many years ago. The tribes will never truly see eye to eye. Where Unicorns see knowledge, Earth-ponies see only tools and Pegasi only weapons. It is only to be understood that the three will never truly be at peace.
She wishes that his words were untrue. At one point, she truly believed that the three tribes could become one, had they merely been kind to one another. Every so often, she still dreamed of a land where they could all be one, though this was a rarity in recent months.
Her thoughts changed when she became an advisor to the royal family, however. Being called on to settle disputes, the mare was brought face to face with all the hatred and anger that ran between ponies. Despite this anger, the tribes knew that the others relied on their abilities, and to lose one would probably destroy them all.
The thought had only just left Clovers mind when the door to her chambers slammed open, revealing an irate white unicorn sporting a short, platinum-blonde mane with a crown topping her head. Almost as soon as the door had opened, the unicorn shouted out, "Clover! Come at once, lest your Princess goes mad with fury."
The cream coated unicorn rolled her eyes at the words. At times, she wishes that the Princess would go mad, if only to save her from her insufferable needs. Of course, she would never tell anypony that these thoughts were in her head. That would be treason against the royal line, and what kind, loyal advisor would think treasonous thoughts? Such was why she could only write such thoughts in the journal she kept stashed away.
Trotting over to her guest, Clover bowed her head to the mare as she spoke. "Princess Platinum, to what honor am I deserving of your company on this day?" The Princess strode into her servants room, looking around as though she hadn't seen it just a few days before when she visited to complain about the earth-pony farmers bringing less produce to the palace.
"Those brutish Pegasi continue to blame us for this horrid weather that they have brought upon us. I swear, If they do not stop this snowfall soon, we unicorns shall freeze to death before winters end." The Princess laid herself upon one of the cushions in Clovers room, staring at the scholar as she waited.
Sighing, Clover levitated a basin of hot water she had kept for when her hooves were dirty or cold in front of the Princess. "We do not know for sure that the Pegasi are the ones to blame for this winter, your Highness. Maybe if we talked with the other tribes we could find what the true problems are, rather than guess as we continue to starve."
"What do you think we have been doing for the last month?" The Princess cried out as she shoved a hoof into the basin, causing the water inside to splash onto Clover. "We have tried talking to the tribes, and they refuse to give us answers as to why they continue to refuse aiding us. Talking is certainly not assisting us."
Clover wiped her face off with her hoof as she thought on these words. While it was true that the tribes were communicating, it was all through messengers. There had been no face to face communicating in the months leading to the winter truly becoming harsh. With idea in mind, Clover spoke her plan to the Princess.
"Maybe if we gathered the tribes leaders together, we might be able to learn why-"
"Me? In the same room as those boorish pegasi and filthy earth-ponies? What foolish thought is this?" Princess Platinum shouted, interrupting Clovers explination.
"Please, Princess. Should we reason with the others, surely they would understand our plight and assist us once more. I only ask for you to talk with them, that reason win out over their hatred."
"And what makes you think that they will listen now, opposed to the many times before? You yourself have heard some of the messages sent back by those philistines."
"It is easier to send a messenger with no message than to give no explanation to a pony sitting right before you. Should we gather the leaders in one place, it shall be an easy task to hear everyone's side of the story. Once we understand what is happening, we can attempt to fix this."
Princess Platinum turned her nose up before opening an eye to look upon her advisor. Clover's advice had helped the unicorn kingdom quite a few times in the past, and even she knew it would be foolish to ignore her idea. "If I must, then."
Clover grinned from ear to ear at the confirmation before running over to a nearby letter desk. "I shall make the preparations at once then, your Highness." In a moment the desk was covered with writing implements as the green maned mare wrote two letters to be sent out.
The white coated mare watched as her servant went to work on the letters before she sighed. "Should this plan not work, I fear drastic measures may need to be taken."
I fear I may have taken the Princess' claim of drastic measures too lightly. While I am sure she means nothing by it, the words continue to pound in the back of my head over the last days. What could she possibly mean by them?
Today is the day of the grand meeting. The day when, despite our differences, Ponykind will join together to ensure our survival. Pegasi, Earth-ponies, and Unicorn will hear from all sides and take care of the problems we face. I am sure that peace will reign in the tribes again, even if friendship is beyond our reach.
I can only hope that things do not get any worse for Ponykind as it is.
Clover paced across the floor of her visiting room, constantly looking out the window as she passed one by. In the two weeks that had passed, the news of the meeting had gotten out, and Unicorns across the land were hoping that it was a prelude to the end of this perilous winter. All the cream colored mare could hope for was that she hadn't started total war among the tribes.
The unicorn quickly shook the thought out of her head before speaking to herself, "No, Clover. You cannot let yourself think that way. Things will be just fine, we will work with the Pegasi to help stop the snow, the Earth-ponies will be able to grow food again, and everything will be back to what it once was."
The mare wished for the thousandth time that she had gone with Princess Platinum. She had wanted to go, to help moderate when the three leaders would obviously get hot-headed. The Princess, however, insisted she stay.
Levitating what little food she had left in her pantry, a mere two slices of bread, Clover flapped them together as she mocked her leaders voice. "What kind of leader would take another to a meeting between only them? I will not show weakness to these brutes, and I will not be embarrassed by them."
The cream colored mare nearly flew into the rafters as the doors slammed open behind her. She turned woodenly towards her new guest, already knowing it was the only unicorn who comes to see her that makes her want to check the hinges on her doors for damage. "Your highness, please, come in. You absolutely must tell me how the meeting went."
The Princess paid no mind to her subject as she stomped across the room, heading for the cushions that lay behind Clover. Straining her ears, the scholar could swear that Platinum was muttering things like "Brutes" and "Savages" under her breath. The unicorns leader paused for a moment as she came to the floating slices of bread before devouring them in one bite and moving to sit on one of the cushions.
"I... guess things didn't quite go to plan?" Clover asked as she silently mourned her last slices of bread. She was hoping to sneak one of the few tomatoes from the rations brought by the Earth-ponies the other day and give them a proper send-off. The end of the day looks to be full of disappointments on this occasion.
"Go to plan?" The Princess scoffed, "Not only did things not go right, but that filthy Earth-pony Chancellor had the gall to say that she would be cutting off all food supplies being sent to the other kingdoms. And I won't even mention what that brutish Commander Hurricane implied by his words."
"What did he say?" Clover asked wide eyed, barely listening as she took in the statement. No more food meant that the previous drop would be the last. From what she had seen of the delivery, it would last maybe a month if rationed properly. That definitely was not enough to get through the winter.
"That- that MULE of a pony had the impudence to call me- ME- a nag." The Princess swooned, as though even uttering the word made her faint. The cream mare rolled her eyes before she spoke again.
"This makes no sense, your Highness. The three of you were supposed to make peace at this conference, not break further apart. We were all supposed to listen to reason today." Clover breathed deeply as she spoke, not sure why her heart was beating so fast. Was this what some Unicorns called a panic attack? She sure felt like she was panicking.
"Some ponies just won't listen to reason."
Clover knelt down in front of the Princess' cushion and grabbed onto her hoof with her own. "Please, think Princess. Was there anything you said, anything anyone said, that could explain where things went wrong?"
Princess Platinum pulled her hoof out of her advisors grip and brought it up to her chin. Thinking back, she tried to remember the conference as best as she could.
After leaving her advisor, the white coated mare gracefully walked her way to building that was set aside for this day. As she trotted along the cobbled path to the building, birds flew down to the sides of her path and began to sing songs about her beauty. Their loving lilts on her short-but-luscious golden mane had almost made the carriage breaking it's axel the other day worth it.
When she arrived at the building, though it was more of a shack really, the doors flung open to her presence and the room inside grew brighter from her magnificence. Both of the ponies who were waiting inside were awed by her stunning form and her elegance as she walked. Her gem-encrusted crown cutie mark shined and she was sure that there was no beauty that could compare to hers.
As she set herself down at her designated spot at the table, her dainty muzzle wrinkled ever so slightly at the stench that surrounded her. There truly were no words that could define such an odor as what filled the room. Looking at the other two sitting at the table, her heart filled with pity at what she saw.
Sitting at her side, and with the most permeating smell, sat a light pink pony with a brown mane. The mare was wearing what could only be described as a potato sack covering her body with holes cut out of it for her legs. When she spoke, it had the effect of shattering glass around her buck-teeth. "Well, shoot, ain't ye a purty pony."
Across from her sat what she swore could be a pony pulled from time about five hundred years ago. The muscled creature featured a grey coat, his black mane sticking up in a Mohawk with a single white streak reaching from the front to the back. His cutiemark of a couple of clouds twisting together was bisected by the loincloth that fit around his flank as the only clothes he wore. At the other ponies comment, he merely fluffed up his wings a few times and grunted.
Platinum struggled for a second, but was able to keep a straight face. It would truly be improper for a lady to seem put off by her guests. Though it would be difficult, she was Princess Platinum, and no task could be too great for her. The white mare painted a smile on her face before nodding to the two in front of her. "Why thank you darlings, but I am hardly the reason why we all are here."
The two ponies nodded in agreement before she spoke again, "Now, the three of us may all have our differences, but we must put those aside for the greater need. Our people are suffering and need our help. This may be the only chance we have to find what the problem is, so we absolutely must think clearly on what needs to be done."
The two nodded once again before the pegasus grunted once. "Pegasi need food. Earth-pony no give food. Snow no stop if no food."
"Now hold a kernel on th' korn there, fella." The pink mare stomped her hooves on the table as she spoke. "Ah can't just gib ya'll food jus' ta' stop tha snow. It's not like it jus' grows outta da ground now, is it?"
The brute of a neanderpony stomped his hooves against the table. "Small pony no give food. Me crush small pony." With that said, the Commander shot himself at the country pony. Dust started getting kicked up, and some almost fell on the Princess' royal coat before she decided to intervene.
To stop the two from fighting, the Princess dove in to the mix and pulled them apart. Holding them apart with her great strength, the royal Unicorn tried to talk some sense into her fellow ponies. "Both of you, please stop! Fighting is getting us nowhere, and our people do not have much more time."
The Earth-pony and Pegasus stopped struggling at her words and merely stared at her. She had thought they were overcome with joy that someone had thought of their people before Commander Hurricane spoke.
"Pretty pony no want fight? Me blame pretty pony for mess! Me call pretty pony bad names like Nag!"
The Princess could only gasp at such accusations being thrown her way. When Chancellor Puddinghead spoke, things only became worse.
"Well butter my biscuit. If he's blamin' ya, then ah guess ah will two. An if you don' stop the snow all yerself by tomorrow, we isn't given ya no more food."
Platinum nearly fainted out of fear that the Earth-pony was serious. "But my people are starving! Please, if we do not work together to end this snow, I am not sure any of us will make it to the spring."
"Well, ya shoulda though' of that before gettin blamed for stuff."
With those final words, the two ruffians left the room before getting into a loud fight outside the building. Left to herself, the beautiful, radiant Unicorn Princess lamented on her poor fate. "Oh what have I done to deserve such-"
"Okay, that is enough. I understand what happened now." Clover gave her boss a sideways glance as the white mare repositioned herself from her dramatic pose.
"Aww, but I wasn't finished yet." The Princess pouted as her advisor brought a leg up to rest over her eyes. She knew that it would be difficult to have the tribes agree to anything, but she hadn't realized it would be this impossible. There must be something that could be done to make them help each other. Short of dying, that is.
"Maybe if we tried talking to them again-"
"Impossible!" Platinum stood from her cushion and looked Clover directly in the eye. "I am a Princess. I refuse to be humiliated by such despicable ponies a second time." She stomped her hoof once against the ground.
"But Princess, we cannot just-"
"That is enough, Clover!" Her declaration was shouted along with another stomp of her hoof. "As you are my friend, I value your advice, but associating with such rabble will get us nowhere. I have tried it your way, and as it has failed, it is now time to do it mine."
With the words still ringing in the hall, the blonde manned mare stomped out of the room. Clover sighed with relief before the Princess' head poked back in past the door. "You should probably pack." The head then disappeared again, leaving only confusion in its wake.
"What?" Clover asked aloud before trotting up to the door. "Wait! Princess! What do you mean by that?"
I do not know what I am doing anymore. The Princess refuses to try to speak reason into the leaders again, and I fear unicorns will suffer for it. While I try to think of another way to stop the anger and hatred long enough to fix this mess, I continue to pack for something I do not know.
I wish Princess Platinum had told me why I was packing. As it stands, the most prepared I can pack is a couple of my traveling cowls, some books for keeping animals away, and a good length of rope. If there's anything I have learned in all my years, it's that you never travel anywhere without a good length of rope.
I just hope I won't have to use it to bring the Princess back to her senses.
A commotion like none ever heard before clamored out from Clover the Clevers home and down the hill she lived on. If there were more than three Unicorns living nearby, a crowd would probably have marched up to her home to find out what in the world was going on. This would have been a bad idea.
The fact of the matter is that, while most Unicorns have their fancies for learning new things, Clover the Clever was a scholar. Being the scholarly pony that she is, the cream coated mare also tended to perform multiple experiments and tests, which had every chance to turn out quite painfully. These factors, when taken into consideration, meant that, no matter the noises, no matter the sounds of elder-things escaping, and no matter the explosions, it is better to shield your home against everything and stay inside when living near a scholar.
With these things in mind, no Unicorns living near Clover's home left the safety of their houses. This became slightly more a problem when the racket continued through the night and into the morning. With no end in sight, a blue stallion who could take no more threw open his front door. As he stomped outside, he saw a small mare wearing a simple yellow coat with the royal symbol walking in the direction of his aggression. Satisfied that the state would handle the noise, the stallion promptly rushed into the closest outhouse and latched the door.
Hilltop Sprint trundled on past the houses, fearless of what may happen. To her, it was just another normal day on the job working for the Royal Unicorn Messenger Services. No job was too great, no danger too perilous, and no angry uncle too cranky that could make the R.U.M.S. turn away. Arriving at the house at the top of the hill, the messenger pony knocked at the door. When no response came, she gently pushed the door open and walked in, revealing the chaos inside.
Inside the front room alone, the mess towered halfway to the ceiling with clothes, books, and various devices. It had looked like a hurricane had swept through the room, leaving no reason as to why it had come in the first place. The messenger was almost curious to see what it was like in the rest of the house. Before she could settle such curiosity, though, the owner of the house ran into the front room.
Clover the Clever was obviously not having a good day. Where, most days, the royal advisor looked calm and composed, even when talking to the Princess, today she appeared an escapee from the local mental facility. Her mane, which normally curled around to frame her face, was wild, with some ends sticking up in odd places. Her eyes were wide though her irises were strangely narrowed. This was a mare that needed to be treated delicately.
"Good morning miss-" Was all Hilltop got out of her mouth before Clover ran over to one of the piles and started digging through it. She swore she could hear her mumbling something about 'packing' while the royal advisor dug through a pile of clothes. None the less, she had to carry on with her task. Clearing her throat, she spoke louder this time, "Miss Clover the Clever?"
Receiving no response from the other mare, she continued, "I am Hilltop Sprinter, official runner for the RUMS. I was sent by the Princess-" The magenta mare was unable to continue as Clover rushed over and grabbed her by her coat.
"The Princess sent you? What did she say? What is happening? I know not what to do!" After shaking the messenger briskly for a few seconds, Clover fell to the ground near crying. Hilltop took a moment to reorient herself before responding.
"Have you never heard of 'Don't shake the messenger'?" Hilltop took a breath and continued, "Yes, I am a RUMS runner. I was sent by the Princess to bring you and your bags to the castle's courtyard as soon as possible. So, if you would, please show me to your bags so that I may lead you there."
Clover blushed deeply. A grin seemed to form on her mouth as she looked up at the unicorn tapping her hoof against her floorboards. "Um... I-I do not really... What I mean is... I have only packed one bag." The unicorn gave a pitiful chuckle as her guest leveled her eyebrows at her.
"Well then, go get it." In almost a flash, or what possibly was a flash of magic, Clover had disappeared from the front room. Hilltop waited by the front door while the scholar quickly retrieved her bag and ran back to the front door. "Well, come on then. I was told to have you to the castle by eight, and it's seven forty-five."
Nodding Clover followed the other mare out of her house and, after locking her door, down the hill. The walk was silent, save for a single question posed halfway down the hill by the runner.
"So, what was all that commotion about, anyways?"
Clover turned her eyes towards the sky as the blush returned to her face.
"I was wondering what I needed to pack."
As eight o'clock came, Hilltop opened the door to the castle courtyard with Clover shivering under her cowl in tow. In the courtyard, the Princess paced back and forth in the middle of the building snow. For some reason, with every turn, the snow seemed to fall even heavier than before.
When the two approached her, the Princess seemed to huff indignantly before she spoke, "Well, it is about time you arrived. Honestly, the least you could do is try to be a bit early for the day that we travel." The white mare stomped her hoof down, crunching some snow beneath it.
Clover looked at her incredulously as the messenger mare cantered back into the castle. "Uh, Princess? You did not really say that we were going to be traveling anywhere. All you really said was that I might need to pack-"
"Yes, you needed to pack for traveling." The royal unicorn interrupted.
"Uh-huh. Maybe I might understand more of what is happening if you told me of what is happening. Why are we leaving the kingdom? And is this really the best time for some flight of fancy?"
"Fancy?" Princess Platinum stood aghast, holding a hoof to her chest as though she had been burned. "I assure you, this is no flight of fancy. As a matter of fact, it is crucial to the survival of this kingdom."
Clover watched as the Princess readied for her dramatic speech of love and duty. She, however, had been kept in the dark of the royals plans, and would have no more of it. "Maybe if you told me your plan first, I would not be having to ask of it now."
The sentence seemed to bring the alabaster mare back from her dramatics. "Oh, right. It is quite simple, my royal advisor. Since the lands here are cold and unable to produce food, we shall go and find a new land to settle in. One that is far away from those neanderpony Pegasi and crude Earth-ponies."
"We are going to WHAT?!" The cream coated pony shouted. She took a few breaths before responding at a normal level. "Your highness, are you sure it is a good idea to move the kingdom to a new land after all that has happened this winter?"
"Please, tell me a reason why it is not a good idea!"
"How about the fact that we do not have enough food to move everyone in the castle, much less the kingdom? Or possibly the fact that there are wild and dangerous animals out there that would eat ponies whole?" Clover the Clever lifted her whole fore-body into the air as she held her hooves up. "It is the worst idea I have ever heard of."
The Princess lifted her nose up into the air as she looked down on her advisor. "Well, it is the only thing that is left to do. You yourself have said that we would not be able to survive the winter with what food we have. As such, I have performed my royal duty to ensure the continued prosperity of our kingdom by deciding it shall be relocated. Such is my royal decree!"
Clover put a hoof to her forehead and rubbed at the forming headache that was there. It the golden manned unicorn went so far as to say it was royal decree, then there was nothing that she could do to change her mind. Sometimes it just didn't pay to work for royalty.
"Very well, then." She sighed out as she brought her hoof back down to the ground. "I guess it would be good to find a place to move my things to before packing them. So, where is this land that we will be moving to?"
"Oh, I don't know yet." With the amount of times her hoof has met her head in the last few days, Clover really started to think that her head should start charging for the tourism. With teeth clenched, The green manned pony spoke slowly.
"Then how, exactly, are we going to move the kingdom?"
"Well, of course, we are going to go find a new land for us to stay." Princess Platinum said as though she was pointing out the most simple thing in the world to the other mare.
With a sigh, Clover could only comment, "So you are sending me out, alone, into the wilderness to find a new land at who-knows-where."
The Princess could only gasp at her. "Why, of course not!"
A small smile graced Clovers face. "Oh, good. For a second there, I thought-"
"You shall not be alone on this trip." Princess Platinum interrupted as she levitated what looked like twenty bags into the courtyard. "I shall be going with you."
"You shall what?!" Clover shouted again. She quickly dropped to her knees before putting her hooves together and pleading to the Princess, "Oh, please Princess. Please tell me this is some sort of joke?"
"I never joke about such serious matters. You should know that by now, Clover. And besides, if I am not there, how will you know what lands are truly worthy of regal ponies such as myself?"
"Oh, I have an idea." Clover mumbled under her breath. Princess Platinum didn't seem to hear it as she trotted around her advisor and toward the gate, leaving her bags behind her. The cream mare almost felt lucky before the Princess called out behind her.
"Do come along now, Clover. And do not forget my luggage."