The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

Every year, representatives from the three tribes would gather together and hold a summit. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss problems that required their mutual cooperation, and that couldn't be easily resolved with letters. Usually, it was to be held in the Earth Pony lands since their territory was far more centralized than anywhere else, but that wasn't the case this time. This year, for whatever reason, the unicorns would be playing host in their home city of Elysium, even if the reasons weren't clear to everyone else.

This also caused most of the activity throughout the city to grind to a halt. Businesses closed and classes were cancelled, no one wanted to miss this rare event. In fact, the only thing that went down like it usually did was the morning sunrise, and even that was different by virtue of the fact that it wasn't just other unicorns in attendance this time.

The summit was to be held in Elysium's largest lecture hall. Raised seating and an open platform almost made it seem like some kind of performance was about to start. While a show of sorts was certainly possible when powerful ponies tabled their values, it wasn't the true purpose of these meetings.

The double doors creaked open, bringing a silence to the murmuring crowd, and three figures stepped forward.

The first was an earth pony mare that almost no one recognized. She was a good deal older than the two that followed behind her and carried herself with no small measure of dignity. Her light green coat contrasted nicely with her dark red gown, and the copper circlet around her head told a tale of her importance.

"Presenting Chancellor Thistle!" Announced Roll from behind her. Both her and her brother had swapped out their traveling cloaks, and were instead garbed in well trimmed tunics that looked like they had never seen any use.

They made their way to stand next to the lone table resting on the stage. No one applauded them as they took their place, save the few who had traveled to this distant corner of the world along with their leaders.

Next to enter were the three pegasi who had made such a scene the day before. They wore the same golden armor they had when they arrived, except it had been polished to the point it shined in the morning sun. Their armor appeared almost identical in appearance, their leader only being set aside by the crested helmet he wore.

"All stand for Commander Thunderhead!" Announced Dandelion. Without fail, the handful of pegasi that had wandered in since the day before all stood at attention. While the earth ponies didn't seem to have any problem with remaining seated, a few blushing unicorns had risen to their hooves. While it was possibly because the command had just caught them off guard, it was far more likely because of the extra large pony who had issued the command.

They made their way to stand beside the earth pony delegates, almost seeming to march as they did so. Chancellor Thistle almost looked like she wanted to sneer at the commander, but managed to maintain her composure. The elder pegasus took his seat at the table, and it wasn't until then that the others standing at attention sat down as well.

The unicorn elders were the last to enter. First to enter were Elders Dahlia and Gladiolus. They entered side by side, and once they were several paces in Gladiolus said, "rise and show deference for the oldest and wisest among us, Elder Lily."

At that word, both of them turned and bowed their head back towards the door. This also ended up being the que for every unicorn in attendance to stand up and do the same. Elder Lily slowly entered the room, limping slightly due to her bandaged leg. Her and her colleagues all wore what appeared to be brand new togas, except Lily also had the added adornment of a silver laurel resting upon her brow.

It wasn't just the wide-eyed leaders of the other tribes who took notice of her injury. A few of the less disciplined among the unicorns also began to whisper among themselves as to what could have happened to someone so revered. It wasn't until the old pony sat down that everyone finally relaxed. Everyone in the crowd sat back down, and the pegasi and earth pony leaders resumed a more reserved expression.

"As is custom of the host tribe," said a worn and tired Elder Lily. "We call the Summit to order."

As one, all three of the nation's leaders reached up and removed the adornment they wore as their symbol of office, placing them on the table before removing their forelegs to rest back on the ground.

Commander Thunderhead was the first to speak. "As the first to arrive, I would like to apologize for our untimely arrival. Our war with the griffons has not gone well. Losses are higher than they've been in many years and recent... complications have forced us to push the summit up a few days' time. Our food supplies have barely been holding, but unfortunately, that's mostly due to having fewer mouths to feed."

"Hrmph," Chancellor Thistle scoffed in response. "I see you still act like the griffon threat is the only danger our lands face. Dogs continue to tear up our farmlands looking for gems that don't exist, minotaurs still fight for dominance without caring for what's destroyed in the process, and an unexplained wildfire just scorched a third of what remained." The look of annoyance never once left her face as she talked. "At this rate, it's looking like the next winter will be lean pickings for everypony. Unless the pegasi can actually keep the weather under control like they said they would." She glared at the pegasus at the table with her last comment.

"What?!" Roared Thunderhead, clearly outraged. "My troops need that food! Even with our current rationing, we barely have the energy to keep fighting. You speak of scavengers and thrill seekers being a threat. Ha! A single squad of marauding griffons would lay waste to half the land in a week's time. As for the weather," he continued. "We can't spare anypony else at the moment. The paltry few we have working the clouds are the best we can manage for now."

"You'll manage better unless you expect us all to be living off potatoes by winter's end. Unless you think you can actually push back winter this time."

"You know we can't do that," he said. "The longer we delay it, the harder it's going to hit when it actually comes through. Surely you haven't forgotten..."

"Of course I haven't," the chancellor interrupted. "It was by far the biggest failing of the seasonal shift I've ever seen. You'd think for ponies practiced in changing the weather, you wouldn't mess up so badly."

"Are you trying to start something!?" Thunderhead jumped to his hooves, rage pasted on his face. "I've had soldiers flogged for less!"

"Commander... Chancellor..." Even though her voice remained calm, Elder Lily had a talent for cutting through the tension like a knife. In an instant, silence fell over the other as the oldest among them continued. "Every tribe has its burden to bear. Arguing over who's load is heavier will not lessen any of them."

The infuriated pegasus grit his teeth, but reluctantly sat back down, all while the earth pony leader maintained a smug grin on her face. "You're right, as always," he said once he calmed down. "But I noticed you haven't volunteered anything about the dealings of the unicorn tribe."

"I noticed that as well," said Chancellor Thistle, for once on the same page with her rival. "Unless you expect us to believe the unicorns are living in paradise."

"No, I would not," Elder Lily said in response. "The stars continue to move in ways we have a hard time reading, and the stellar beasts, while contained, continue to fight against their bindings. Both the Ursas Major and Minor almost broke free about a month past. We are fortunate to have somepony as skilled as Professor Cygnus with us, or they very well may have."

"Ah yes," said Thistle. "The dreaded stellar beasts. You bring them up at every meeting, yet nopony alive has ever seen one. I wonder if they're anywhere near as bad as you always pretend them to be."

Thunderhead, on the other hand, was listening quietly. Almost as if he was waiting for the right moment to strike. "And what of the sun rise," he said. "Quite the show of power, by the way. I always wondered what the greatest achievement of the unicorn tribe looked like in person. Although," he continued while rubbing the side of his head, "I couldn't help but notice the anxious team of medics waiting in the shadows. Like they were waiting for something to go wrong."

"It seems we were focused on different things," Chancellor Thistle added. "While I didn't see the ponies you were talking about, I did notice something about the spell itself, or more specifically, the platform used. It stone looked too new. Far too new for something that's used every day and left outside," she pointed out. "If what I learned of stonemasonry in my youth still holds true, the stone was only cut recently."

"Two weeks ago, if I wager my guess correctly," Commander Thunderhead said with a gleam in his eye. "Rumors travel faster than any pegasus, and they tell the tale of something happening here. Something that nopony wants to talk about."

Elder Lily held up a hoof, silencing any further inquiries. She took several deep breaths before speaking, her exhaustion evident for all the world to see. "I was hoping to wait a while before broaching this topic," she said at last. "Not out of a desire to deceive, but because it has become a bit of a sensitive topic among the tribe."

The other two sitting at the table waited eagerly with mixed expressions to hear what she had to say. Thistle continued to maintain her smug expression, while Thunderhead had taken on a more impatient look as he leaned to the side and tapped one hoof on the table.

"Two weeks ago, something went wrong with the sunrise," Lily recited the tragic events. "Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and it looked like everything would go like it normally did, but it did not." She took once last breath before delivering the news that everyone wished had never happened. "The sun lashed out at us," she finally said. "And the unicorns holding the sun, all of them young and in their prime, almost all of them died in the ensuing fire."

Silence reined over every pony in the room, save the few that had broken down into fresh tears from their place in the audience. As for the diplomats... Any sort of smugness or looks of impatience they had been carrying were wiped from their faces. Clearly, whatever they had been expecting to hear, it hadn't been that.

The shocked silence carried on for a whole minute longer than anyone had been expecting. During that time, both Storm Chaser and Roll stepped up to their respective charges. What passed was a heated yet hushed conversation between the diplomats and their aides. When they were finally done, and it was just the three leaders at the table again, the discussions continued.

"It's never easy," Commander Thunderhead consoled. "Having to bury the dead, especially when they're young. It's something we're all too familiar with. Rare is the pegasus that hasn't lost at least one friend or family member to the griffon scourge. Loss always hurts, even more so if it's completely unexpected."

"While I don't mean to sound unsympathetic," Chancellor Thistle maintained her stony expression. "This changes very little. Ponies still have to be fed, and if our situation doesn't improve, many will starve when winter rolls around." She turned her attention directly on Elder Lily. "I am, however, concerned about the timing of the accident. It lines up perfectly with the wildfire that tore through our crops. We barely managed to stop it, and even after we did, the land will be unusable for at least another season."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Lily. "I apologize if we were indeed responsible, but it was out of our control." She looked back to Thunderhead, who had become suddenly withdrawn during Thistle's speech. "Is everything alright?"

"Unfortunately no," he said, his voice becoming stern. "I suppose I may as well tell you the reason we showed up as early as we did. Two weeks ago, very likely the same day, a cloud bank we were using as cover fell apart due to unusually strong sunrise."

Whispers began circulating among the crowd, and mixed expressions passed over the faces of everyone present, but Elder Lily only raised an eyebrow.

"The timing couldn't have been worse. We were in the middle of a tight operation, and it allowed the enemy to completely rout us within minutes."

"I'm not sure what this has to do with the summit," Thistle chimed in. "As was already stated at this very table, we all have our own burdens to bear."

"I wasn't finished," Thunderhead shot her a sharp look. "Immediately afterwards, the pegasi on my war council wanted to send a detachment here, saying that the unicorns must've betrayed us and sided with the griffons."

This caused the room to break into disarray. The unicorns, which made up the bulk of the crowd, shouted in outrage. Curses began to fly, threats quickly started getting tossed around, and the seats closest to their pegasi visitors quickly vacated as ponies jumped to their hooves and the glow of magic started shining throughout the stands.

At least until Elder Lily raised a hoof for silence. For as disorganized the city of Elysium was outside of the sunrise itself, it still knew to respect authority. The oldest and most powerful of all the unicorns called for order, and even though there were few who'd disobey, none were about to do so openly.

"However," Thunderhead said once it was quiet again. "I know from past dealings with the unicorn tribe, or namely you, Elder Lily, that you would never stand for any loss of life. Regardless, I needed to do something to placate my tribe, hence my early arrival. I apologize for any undo distress we may have caused." The commander stood up just enough to make a show of giving a light, yet respectful bow to the elder, which seemed to go a great deal towards soothing the quickly building tension between two of the three tribes.

"It seems," Elder Lily said once the pegasus leader sat back down. "That our troubles only continue to grow the further time goes on. Ever since our ancestors formed this alliance all those centuries ago, things have continued to deteriorate."

"The recent fire hurt us greatly," Chancellor Thistle agreed. "I think it's obvious now where it started, but even so, we still need assistance from the other tribes. Without ideal conditions, there's only so much earth ponies can do about the food."

"And the distance between us almost started another war," Commander Thunderhead nodded along. "Between the griffons and the weather, we're stretched thin as it is."

"All of this started when we lost control of the sun for, even an moment," Lily concluded. "But if we had been better connected, a lot of unnecessary tension could've been avoided."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Thistle adopted a worried look.

"I am," she said. "We've explored the idea several times in the past, and we've agreed such a move would be far too premature. Conditions have never been ideal to entertain them."

"Conditions are far from ideal now," said Thunderhead.

"They are," Lily nodded. "But when will the time actually come? I fear by the time we decide what we should've done, it'll be far too late. So I want to bring it the table now."

The tension in the room had grown so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Elder Lily opened her mouth and spoke the words that would very likely change the whole course of pony history. "The time for only concerning ourselves with our affairs must come to an end. I move for the unification of the tribes."