Hearth's Warming Eveby DarkswirlChaptersThe First DayThe Second DayThe Third DayThe Fourth DayThe Fifth DayThe Sixth DayThe Eighth DayThe EndIntroductionThe Seventh DayThe First DayTHE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNSET "This damned blizzard has been going on all day! I'll have those unicorn's heads if I get the chance!" Commander Hurricane shouted in frustration. The blizzard had indeed been going on all day, and at first Commander hurricane had made her way through the snow laden clouds to their small weather factory intent of skinning everypony in their alive. However, when she learned that it was not infact her ponies that were controlling the weather, her anger was replaced with pure hatred. "How DARE those snobby unicorns think they can take over our skies like this! This is an act of war! Sergeant Thunderstorm," the commander screamed, and a dark coated pegasus quickly flew over. "Y-Yes, C-Commander..?" the sergeant stammered, partly due to the cold and partly because his leader was billowing with rage. "Ready the able troops; the unicorns will fall before dawn!" THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUNSET "Cavalry, charge!" Commander Hurricane yelled over the sounds of battle. Her pegasi had already clashed with the unicorn forces at the gate, but having wings made it easy to scale the walls into the courtyards beyond. "Sergeant Thunderstorm, on me! We're ending this battle now!" Commander hurricane said through gritted teeth as she flew off towards the castle. Sergeant Thunderstorm reluctantly followed after her, clutching his shortsword in his mouth firmly and dodging stray bolts of magic. He didn't like war, despite he and his race being bred for it. In fact, it was the only thing he hated besides Commander Hurricane herself. Alright, so he didn't really hate Commander Hurricane, he just really really really really really really really disliked her. She was a stunning leader, both physically and mentally, but her hot head and eagerness to battle would eventually lead to her downfall. He sighed and pushed his doubts out of his head, instead loyally following after his leader. "How...How DARE you invade my home and slaughter my ponies!" Princess Platinum said as he horn flared, ready to fire a deadly bolt of magic at the pair of pegasi that had fought their way to her quarters. "My father will hear about this, you filthy ruffia-" she continued, but was suddenly tackled to the ground my the pegasi commander. "He wont hear a thing since you'll be dead!" Commander Hurricane challenged as she raised her sword to strike the final blow. Before the blade fell, however, Princess Platinum let loose her magic and knocked the sword out of the mouth of her oppressor; sending it flying across the room and clattering at the hooves of a nervous pegasi sergeant. "Sergeant Thunderstorm, bring me my sword!" Commander Hurricane spat out as she wrestled with the unicorn princess, struggling to hold her down. "You will do no such thing you barbarian!" Princess Platinum shouted, gripping the sword with her magic and tossing it out the opened window. While the two leaders wrestled each other back and forth, Sergeant Thunderstorm simply stood helplessly at the door to the room. He had a leader he was loyal to and orders to follow, but at the same time all of this could have been avoided if the leaders simply talked to and trusted each other! He let out a groan and proceeded to bash his head against the door in frustration before a band of unicorn guards began noisily making their way up the stairs. "Sergeant, order the retreat!" Commander Hurricane said in frustration as she dashed out the window, leaving Sergeant Thunderstorm to follow close behind. "This isn't over, you barbaric pegasi! My father will retaliate and everything you know will crumble!" Princess Platinum screamed through the storm, her voice being drowned out as the blizzard intensified. THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNSET "Not surprising if you ask me." Smart Cookie heard another secretary say. "It was bound to happen eventually, although I am curious as to who did what to provoke them." "Who cares? If both races drive each other out then it's better for us earth ponies. More food for our already starving fillies; and this weather wont help one bit." "Do I have to remind you that the unicorns bring the sun and the moon out, and that either helps or hinders our crop growth? And need I add on that the pegasi control the weather which in turn can also affect our crops? You two better watch your mouths; we're all ponies here and it'll do nothing but harm to speak poorly about each other." Smart Cookie said as she butted herself into the conversation. "The pegasi sure seem to be doing a good job with the weather. Gee, I'm so looking forward to eating icicles for dinner tonight." the pony said as he rolled his eyes. Smart Cookie grumbled in frustration and left the two biased earth ponies to spew their hate around. Besides, she had work to do and slaking off like that could get her into trouble. "Uh, Chancellor Puddinghead, sir?" Smart Cookie asked as she tapped her hoof against the door to the Chancellor's office. There was no answer from the happy-go-lucky earth pony as his secretary pushed open the door and stepped in. "Uh, sir...?" she started confusedly. "Uh? Oh, Smart Cookie. Sorry I didn't hear you. I was too busy watching the best play I've ever seen! Come look at this!" Chancellor Puddinghead said cheerfully as he only briefly turned his head from the window. As Smart Cookie took up a space next to the Chancellor, her stomach churned in agony. Outside the window and quite a ways up the mountain lay the small kingdom of Unicornicus. Having looked out this window any other day, Smart Cookie would have seen nothing out of the ordinary. But today, she could clearly see black specks hovering in the sky above the castle as green and blue bolts of magic were hurled from the ground at them. The pegasi had attacked the unicorns! "Isn't it wonderful? With both races gone we can keep all of our food and be a thriving nation once again!" Chancellor Puddinghead said gleefully. "But Chancellor, who would raise the sun and the moon then? Or control the weather to get rid of this blizzard?" Smart Cookie said in disbelief. The Chancellor laughed quietly to himself and turned to his secretary. "Who controlled the sun and the moon before there were unicorns? And you can't honestly tell me that there are pegasi all over the world controlling every single cloud and storm, can you?" he said softly, with a slight mocking tone as he poked at her apparent inability to think as he did. Smart Cookie suppressed a glare and trotted out of the room. "My apologies, your chancellorness. I hadn't thought about that." she whispered through gritted teeth. The Second DayTHE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP "And then that awful heathen pressed her blade against my throat, but I was not going to have any of that! I blasted her sword out of her snout and flipped her off of me. The fright shook her to her bones that she and her sergeant flew out the window before I could do anything else, father." Princess Platinum said proudly. Her father stared coldly at his daughter, but it was not disappointment or dissent of her tale, in fact he wasn't even focusing on her. He was lost in though about the battles that were to come and the lives lost if he were to send ponies up into the clouds. Now, the King of Unicornicus was not a stupid pony. He knew that his daughter was bold and rather snotty, but he loved her all the same. He also knew that despite Commander Hurricane's thirst for war, she was not a stupid pony either. He figured that the blizzard must have been the cause for the attack, and she blamed the unicorns. His daughter wanted him to wage war against the pegasi because much of the kingdom thought of them as arrogant, brash and violent. But weren't all ponies like that to some degree? All ponies had their faults, this he knew, and he also knew what his daughter wanted him to do. "Ready my chariot." the king commanded his guards, who bowed respectively before rushing out the door. "Oh, father, how wonderful! Shall I alert the able soldiers?" Princess Platinum said giddily. "That will not be necessary. I am not waging war; I am going over there to negotiate peace." he said firmly as he trotted off, leaving his daughter stunned and horrified. "Peace?! With those barbaric, war loving mongrels?! Who does my father think he is, going of to negotiate peace with those ungrateful whelps? Well, I'll show him..." she whispered to herself before calling out a garbled and hard-to-pronounce name. From the shadows behind the King's throne slipped a white coated unicorn draped in black clothing. "You have need of my skills, my Princess?" he asked softly. Princess Platinum smiled wickedly and told him what needed to be done. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH "Ma'am, chariot approaching!" a pegasus called out above the blizzard. Commander Hurricane was quick to her hooves and the battlements as she strained her eyes to spot the chariot. She hadn't time to properly dress and absent mindedly tucked her flowing light gray hair back behind her blue ear and under her wings. It wasn't that she was an elderly pony, in fact she was rather young for a leader! Rather, it was the stress of the responsibilities that came with being the leader of a nation. Every pegasi in Pegasopolis looked up to her, literally, to do what was best for them all while sticking to tradition. At times, she had to push away her thoughts of negotiations and peace because her ponies demanded blood for their swords and spears. She sighed sadly to herself before snapping back to reality and spotting the golden unicorn chariot. "Fire at will!" she ordered, and the cloud cannons threw bolts of lightening towards the helpless chariot. One met its mark and the chariot exploded into a fireball, pieces of flaming metal scattering about the sky before they began their descent towards the ground below. THE LAND BEFORE, SKIES NEAR PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH The king of Unicornicus shivered and pulled his robes tighter around his body. On the ground it was far different; the ponies there were mostly spared the harshness of the cold winds by hiding in their dwellings. Out here, in the skies, the king had no such protection as his horn glowed; struggling to focus and keep the chariot aloft. He was almost at the gate to the snow laden cloud city when he realized the cannon covers had slid off. "No! Do not fire! I come in peace!" he shouted, trying desperately to make his voice heard above the wailing winds. But he realized either his voice did not reach them or they didn't care as the pegasi's thunder cannons began firing at him. Doing his best to avoid the deadly and powerful lightening bolts, he weaved and ducked; growing ever so closer to the gate. To his horror, he heard what could only be described as magic. But then his horror turned to relief as he realized his chariot had not been struck. That relief did not last, however, as he soon noticed the bright green emerald he had brought with him in hopes of at the very least bribing the pegasi was now ebbing red. "Platinum, you traitorous she devil!" he bellowed, realizing his fate just as a lightening bolt came menacingly close to his chariot, timed perfectly with the resulting gem explosion. His chariot plummeted towards the sea of trees as his life ended quickly; his chariot's even quicker. THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUNSET Giggling evilly to herself as he assassin reported the news, Princess Platinum barely even heard Clover the Clever gallop up the stairs to her room. "Princess Platinum!" she gasped, trying desperately to catch her breath. "Clover, what happened to you? Why are you out of breath, dear?" Princess Platinum asked, acting sincere and concerned. "Your father...Killed at Pegasopolis...No body..." she panted and struggled to stay on her hooves. By now, the assassin had already ducked back into the shadows and disappeared completely. The assassination had been staged perfectly and Princess Platinum was officially the sole ruler of Unicornicus; free to lead her soldiers to battle against the pegasi. Of course, she wasn't supposed to let anypony know she knew this until Clover the Clever told her. "What?! My father, dead?! Killed by those murderous brutes?!" Platinum shouted in disbelief, her eyes glowing in fake horror. "I...I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Princ-I mean,...Queen Platinum..." Clover said sincerely, comforting her heart broken ruler as she cried into her own hooves. "Oh boo hoo! My father always was quick to his hooves...How could he honestly think he would take on the entire pegasus might all by his lonesome? Oh, whatever shall we do now?" Queen Platinum wailed. Clover the Clever scrunched up her snout in an awkward gesture, unsure of how to calm the distraught Queen. Before she turned to leave the crying ruler, Clover thought she saw a flicker of movement along the wall by the opened window. But when she looked more carefully, she saw nothing. Shrugging it off, she turned and trotted down the spiraling stairs to inform the Captain of the Guards of the change. THE LAND BEFORE, FORESTED REGION OUTSIDE OF EARTH, SUNHIGH "What do you think it is?" "No idea, but look here! There's a star; the symbol of the unicorns." "You think it was a scout or something?" "Probably. Poor fellow must've burned alive though; nothing but a few bones and ash." "Should we bury it?" "Pffft. Buck no. The unicorns have been leeches to us. Let the earth retake this fellow if it wants to. Come on, it's almost dinner time." The Third DayTHE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNHIGH "Like buck I'm going to give you more food! There's a set amount we've all agreed upon and now you're asking for more?!" a voice shouted just over the hill. "Yes, I AM asking for more food. No, scratch that. I'm demanding more food! And who are you to stop us? We rule the skies, little ponies!" she heard a pegasus warrior mock as she came over the hill. "What they hay is going on here?" Smart Cookie asked concernedly as she once again butted her way into a conversation. "Stay out of this, earth pony! We're here for food and that's what we're leaving with." spat the pegasus soldier. "Why would you need more food? You just picked up your quota last week; it's not due for another two weeks!" Smart Cookie challenged. "I said stay out of this!" "No, I will not stay out of this! As a secretary to Chancellor Puddinghead of the earth ponies, I-" Smart Cookie began. "That wont be necessary, dear." Chancellor Puddinghead said as he came bouncing out from the trees. "C-Chancellor Puddinghead?" Both earth ponies stammered in disbelief. "Well well well, if it isn't the crazy earth pony who "runs" this place. No wonder they're still wearing sack bags rather than armor!" the pegasus warrior whispered to his partner, who snickered. "What seems to be the problem, lads?" the Chancellor asked the pegasi, taking in the scene to try and find any visual clues. "We need more food if we're going to wage war against the unicorns, so just give us what we want and you'll have us both out of your manes...Until of course we're hungry again." the pegasus answered with a smirk. Chancellor Puddinghead held his snout and giggled heartily before regaining his composure. "Ahem. Now, listen to me dear fellows. We are all ponies in the end, and it is our duty to take care of each other. So here's what I propose: YOU FLY YOUR MONGREL HIDES BACK TO YOUR LITTLE CLOUD ROCK, WAGE WAR AGAINST THOSE SNOBBY UNICORNS AND GET BOTH OF YOUR RACES KILLED OFF SO WE EARTH PONIES CAN LIVE IN PEACE FOR A CHANGE!" the Chancellor said, his tone quickly turning menacing and his white mustache flaring as if it were alive itself. The two pegasi's eyes lit up with fear at the sight of the fuming earth pony and quickly took off into the skies. The chancellor cleared his throat and smoothed down his mustache before turning back to the earth ponies. "Well, now that that is settled I do believe we have seen the last of them today. Come along now, Smart Cookie; we must speak." the Chancellor said, smiling gleefully and resuming his bounce. "Care to run that by me again, your Chancellorness?" Smart Cookie said in stern disbelief. Chancellor Puddinghead sighed and rubbed his snout in annoyance. "It's simple! We take all the food we grow and store it in the caves until the unicorns come to pick up their quota. Then, we give the unicorns their quota but not the pegasi. Better to live next to snobs who simply think themselves better than us rather than brutes who actually act against us, right? Eventually, either the pegasi will be too weak to fight either one of us and die off, or they'll fight the unicorns, discover food which we'll claim was stolen from us by the unicorns in an effort to starve the pegasi. In the end, the earth ponies still win!" the Chancellor explained, smacking his hooves against the ground happily, awaiting his secretary's approval. But the stern and horrified look on the young earth pony's snout did nothing to satisfy that. "This is some kind of cruel game you're playing with me, isn't it? Good one, your Chancellorness! Ahahah..." Smart Cookie said awkwardly. The Chancellor just stared at her with a serious expression. "You can't be serious." she stated. The Chancellor nodded. "You're mad! You're psychotic! How could you just plan to let a race die off like that?!" Smart Cookie shouted in disbelief. The Chancellor sighed, bowed his head and secretly signaled to something behind Smart Cookie. "I really hoped it wouldn't have come to this." he said. "You were my favorite secretary, after all.". The last thing Smart Cookie saw before feeling a blunt pain in the back of her head and falling to the ground was the Chancellor's soft, sad smile. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH "You're joking! Sergeant, through these two in the brig for lying and thievery! Have their quarters searched for any food and secure it!" Commander Hurricane ordered. "N-NO! We swear upon the clouds we didn't get any food from the earth ponies, Commander! They wouldn't give us a thing!" one of the two pegasi warriors stammered. Commander Hurricane glared at the two shivering pegasus ponies, searching their eyes for any traces of treason. "Throw them in the brig!" she ordered again, snorting angrily and trotting outside as the pair were hauled off to their cells. The cold air helped to calm her down a bit as she struggled to make sense of what she had heard. The earth ponies were with holding much needed food and their own Chancellor practically told the entire pegasus race to go buck themselves. But why? Surely the earth ponies aren't THAT stupid? Whatever their reasoning, their Chancellor will have to answer to the swarming masses of the pegasus warriors as they raid the land for food and then shower crafted snow for a week upon them. "Sergeant!" Commander Hurricane bellowed. "Y-Yes Commander...?" came a soft, male voice from behind her. "Ready the troops; Earth is our target. Secure all food and then Unicornicus at sunrise!" she ordered, shivering immensely as the blizzard picked up a noticeable amount. THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNSET "Back! Back I say!" Chancellor Puddinghead shouted as he swung what sounded like a coat hanger at the approaching pegasi. Of course, she could only guess as she was currently locked in the old, nearly unused dungeon directly underneath the town hall. Smart Cookie let out a sad sigh and huddled herself tighter into a ball to fight off the cold. Despite being underground, the cold air seemed like a sharp sword piercing through the ground just to reach her. Was there no place safe from this menacing weather? "We have no food because your snow killed all the crops, and the unicorns stole what little we had left!" the Chancellor screamed from above. Although his voice was heavily muffled, Smart Cookie could still clearly understand what he was saying. She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that he was wrong, that there was food hidden in the caves just north of Earth. But she couldn't, because she had spent the first three hours underground screaming for somepony to let her out of here and nopony seemed to be able to hear her. Shuddering and flicking her tail like a whip to fight off the cold, Smart Cookie started to cry and pulled herself to the middle of the room; away from the cold walls of her cell. "Liar!" Commander Hurricane shouted as she brought her hoof down against the Chancellor's snout. Around her stood a ring of pegasus warriors to keep the earth pony crowd at bay as they publicly interrogated him. "I'm telling you, the unicorns came by before you did and stole the rest of our food! We can't even feed our fillies tonight!" the Chancellor admitted in terror, fearing another hoofstrike from the commander on his already bloodied snout. "Sergeant, search the rest of the town hall and find out where these worms are keeping the food!" Commander Hurricane said, not believing a word from the Chancellor's snout. Two pegasus guards detached themselves from the ring and followed Sergeant Thunderstorm into the rickety town hall. Before he trotted out of ear shot, the sergeant heard Commander Hurricane's menacing growl as she started again. "Now...Let's try this one more time..." "How can anything get done in this place without any records?!" a pegasus warrior growled in frustration as he flipped over a table. They had been searching the building for well over an hour now, hoping to find something that gave them any sort of lead. But so far, the only papers they had found were in the Chancellor's office; full of doodles and self-made crosswords. The Chancellor was a strange one indeed. Sergeant Thunderstorm was just about to give up hope when he thought he heard a soft scratching from underneath the floor boards. Apparently the other two guards heard it as well, for they froze and remained hushed; trying to pinpoint the sound. "Help me move this desk!" Sergeant Thunderstorm ordered as he realized what was going on. The two pegasi groaned as they struggled to push the heavy wooden desk towards the door and away from the window. The desk suddenly gave short way, and a satisfying click from a trap door sounded as the bookcase in the office slowly creaked open. "Well I'll be damned." a pegasus sad softly. "Guess those earth ponies aren't so stupid after all." She was almost there. She could feel the cooler air blow down through the dirt as she stood on top of the dirt pile beneath her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? The walls, ceiling and floor were all made of dirt. As the light began shining through the floorboards above her, Smart Cookie grinning happily. But her happiness didn't last as she realized painfully that she didn't have the strength to break the floorboards. She weakly dragged her hoof against the sturdy wood in hopes of a miracle, but nothing happened. And then, everything happened. As she stopped scratching the floorboards, deep voices sounded from above: "Help me move this desk!" one said firmly. Hoofsteps hurried over above her and she could hear creaking and groaning as whoever was up there tried to force the desk forward. Soon, however, a satisfying click could be heard and Smart Cookie's vision was blocked by the bottom of the bookcase. Hurrying over to the cell door, she could barely make out the shadows of three ponies descending the flight of stairs to her prison. "What the hay?! Sir, there's a pony down here!" "You're kidding me! Let me through!" There were sounds of shifting hooves as Sergeant Thunderstorm pushed his way past the two pegasus warriors on the crowded stairway. Sure enough, there was a filthy looking female earth pony with an orange coat and a blonde mane pressed up against the bars; her eyes wide in wonder and pleading for help. "Earth ponies imprisoning earth ponies? Sir, something doesn't seem right here..." a guard said, looking around the dark room suspiciously. The sergeant ignored the soldier and slowly trotted towards the iron gate that separated them from the scared looking earth pony. After inspecting the lock the sergeant called for a spear, which was quickly brought to him and thrust in the lock; popping it open. "Let's get you out of here." the sergeant said to the bedraggled earth pony. "Oh good, another prisoner." Commander Hurricane sneered upon seeing the orange earth pony. "Not ours, ma'am." Sergeant Thunderstorm replied. Commander Hurricane raised an eyebrow and glared, suspecting Sergeant Thunderstorm was about to commit treason. "We found her in their dungeon, m-ma'am." he corrected, catching his superior's glare. "Hmph. Since I'm not getting any answers from this useless pile of fluff, let's try "talking some sense into you." Commander Hurricane said with an evil grin as she trotted towards the orange mare. "I'll ask you this once, little pony: Where. Is. The. Food?" the menacing pegasus commander growled. Smart Cookie glared defiantly at the pegasus leader and then at the Chancellor; her hatred burning in her chest. She realized in horror what she was doing and quickly ran through her options. Now was her time to tell the truth and keep the races from dying of starvation! But that would only lead to death by war... "Well?" the commander asked impatiently. Smart Cookie sighed and bowed her head submissively. "There is no food..." The Fourth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP "Come, Clover the Clever; we are leaving to secure the food." Queen Platinum said, her head held high as she usually had it. Clover the Clever pulled her robe tighter around her body to keep out the cold as the two set off down the mountainside towards Earth with a band of unicorn soldiers. "Now, Clover," Queen Platinum began. "It is impervious that you continue to address me as Princess when in the presence of those other than unicorns. If word got out to the other races that my father was dead the results could be disastrous. I wouldn't put it past the earth ponies to be uplifted by my fathers death and stage some sort of attack, as weak as it may be, against my kingdom. Of course, since it was the pegasi who killed my father I'm sure they already know, but let's act as if only we know." "Yes, Queen Platinum." Clover said loyally. It was nearly past sunhigh when the unicorns arrived in Earth, and the sight that befell them was shocking: the earth ponies were meandering around as if they had no purpose; their eyes dark and sullen in fear and hunger. Most of their shacks had had the doors kicked in and the cold wind blowing though them now. The very sight of these pained creatures made Clover the Clever's chest burn in sorrow and rage. "I bet it was the pegasi..." she mumbled to herself as the guards stopped to let the Queen off. "Chancellor Puddinghead!" Queen Platinum called out, not lowering her head nor opening her eyes. Her loyal guard shivered in their cold armor as their ruler was warm inside her regal robes. Queen Platinum blinked in shock as a snowball suddenly pelted her in the face. Around the corner of the townhall disappeared a white fluffy mustache; one that could only belong to Chancellor Puddinghead. Groaning furiously, Queen Platinum tromped around the corner only to see the way clear of any life and something tugging on her hoof. Looking down at the sting that had been tugged by her hoof, Queen Platinum knew what was up and stood there in annoyance; accepting her fate as the snow from the roof began sliding down towards her. Only the laughter from Chancellor Puddinghead's snout saved him from her murderous ways as she dug herself out of the snow pile. "Chancellor Puddinghead!" She screamed at the brown coated pony. "Yes, Princess Platinum?" he said, covering his snout with a hoof and suppressing a giggle. "How DARE you play "pranks" on me during this dire time! I have at my hoof a band of guards who could easily raze this town for all the food you've ever grown! Now, just hoof over my payment and we shall be out of your mane before I rip yours from your skull." Queen Platinum growled. "Oh pish posh, Princess Platinum. You're always so...Uppity. It's quite a put down. You should try smiling for once!" Chancellor Puddinghead said cheerfully. "The food, Chancellor." Queen Platinum said threateningly. Rolling his eyes and frowning, the Chancellor trotted past the unicorn. "I'm afraid you are too late. The pegasi came before you and stole everything we had. There is nothing left for us in this land, Princess. No land to cultivate, no streams to drink from. Our houses are being blown down by the fierce winds at night and three families have already passed. Go ahead and do what you will with these guards of yours, but it is nothing compared to what these ponies have already lived through. We are leaving this land tomorrow morning." Chancellor Puddinghead said firmly. "No! You can't leave! Look, Chancellor," the Queen said, acting strangely nice towards the earth pony. "I'll convince the Pegasi to meet with me tomorrow to discuss the food situation. I would very much appreciate your presence there, Chancellor." The Queen said sincerely. Chancellor Puddinghead's eyes narrowed as he pressed his face close to Princess Platinum's, searching her eyes for any trace of a lie or deceit. Suddenly, and much to Queen Platinum's surprise, the Chancellor bounced backwards and began hopping away happily. "Oki doki loki!" he called from afar, his words almost drowned out by the never ending blizzard. Queen Platinum smiled wickedly. Her plan was all coming together... THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUN-UP "I'm proud of you, Smart Cookie." The Chancellor said sincerely. "You had a chance to rat me out and you didn't take it. You stayed loyal to your kind and left the other two races in the dust. Er, snow. Regardless, I knew you wouldn't let me down in the end." "Of course your, Chancellorness." Smart Cookie said carefully, a smile plastered on her face and thoughts of treason and escape racing through her mind behind those guarded eyes. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUN-LOW "This better be important, Sergeant!" Commander Hurricane grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. Sergeant Thunderstorm hid his blush behind his dark coat as he watched his leader gracefully clamber out of bed and stand before him. It took him a few moments to realize that she was standing in front of him, glaring expectantly as he stood there like a foal while letting his fantasies play out in his mind. "U-Urgent letter from Princess Platinum, m-ma'am." he whispered in embarrassment. Taking the rolled up parchment from the hooves of her sergeant, Commander Hurricane skimmed over the message. Smiling to herself and offering a slight chuckle, she quickly rolled up the letter and tossed it out the window. "Wake me before sunrise, Sergeant." she ordered, turning her back to him as she slowly walked towards her fluffy cloud bed. "And Sergeant?" she whispered, turning her head towards him and looking at him through half closed eyes. "Y-Yes ma'am....?" Sergeant Thunderstorm stuttered, lost in those beautiful eyes as his heart fluttered around the inside of his chest like a butterfly trapped in a jar. "Keep your eyes on your sword and the unicorn or earth pony before you." she said before using her wings to blow the door closed in front of him. The Fifth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER POINT WHERE ALL THREE TERRITORIES MEET, SUNHIGH Despite the large mass of ponies gathered in the snowy clearing, it was easy to spot the three different races. It seemed as though the entire earth pony population was present, although keeping their distance from the armor clad and weapon bearing pegasi. The pegasi had brought only their soldiers as if preparing for an attack; whether from them or the other pony races. It was high noon and the unicorn Queen had still not arrived. Suspecting a trap of some sort, Commander Hurricane ordered her troops to form a defensive ring around her ponies. Bitter from the cold winds that they had no shelter from and the lack of care or respect from the pegasi prompted the earth ponies to huddle together in hopes of using each other's body heat to keep themselves alive. "This is madness!" Commander Hurricane shouted in frustration, throwing her helmet into the snow. "How long does that unicorn snob expect us to wait here? I bet she's sitting warm back at her castle eating everything she stole and waiting for us to freeze to death out here! Either that or she has troops all over these hills waiting to fire down on us! Pegasi, take to the sk-" "That will not be necessary, Commander Hurricane." Princess Platinum firmly as she trudged through the snow towards the ponies with Clover the Clever at her side. They were the only two unicorns present. "What, unicorns to high and mighty to come out in the cold with the rest of us?" Commander Hurricane shot out bitterly. Ignoring the taunting, Queen Platinum trotted towards the space between the already present races and cleared her throat. "Fillies and gentlecolts," she began. "We are gathered here today to sort out our issues concerning food-" "With all do respect, Princess Platinum, I have already informed my ponies as to why we are here." Chancellor Puddinghead remarked tiredly. "I have as well." Commander Hurricane spat. "All I want to know is why the unicorns stole what was rightfully ours!" Queen Platinum's eyes widened and she took a step back as Chancellor Puddinghead nervously crept backwards into the sea of earth ponies. "Unicorns are not thieves, unlike our winged neighbors! If anything has been stolen from anypony it is in the hooves of a flying cretin!" Queen Platinum shouted in anger and disbelief. Commander Hurricane snorted in anger, dragging her hoof towards her in the snow; a threatening gesture. Queen Platinum glared furiously and flared her horn, ready to let loose a bolt of deadly magic towards the group of pegasi. Their armor would do little to protect from the searing heat of her magic. Then suddenly, Commander Hurricane ordered her forces into a charge and Queen Platinum let loose a flurry of magic. The earth ponies squinted their eyes and tried as best they could to shield themselves, only to soon hear the clatter of armor against a solid surface and gasps from two ponies. Upon opening their eyes, the earth ponies saw the remnants of a dark blue shield fall in front of the pegasi, letting the pile waver and collapse as the pegasus forces groaned in pain. Meanwhile, a golden shield fell after absorbing Queen Platinum's magic and left the unicorn stunned. "There will be no more fighting between you three, my little ponies." a stern voice said like a mother scolding her children. All eyes turned to the source. At the edge of the clearing stood three ponies; two of which wore hooded robes while the third and shortest of the three wore a simple cape and pointed hat. His ruffled white beard spoke of many years and countless tales. "Show them, dear sister." the tallest of the ponies said, and a smaller, dark blue pony pulled her hood back to reveal an extravagant horn. The crowd gasped at its beauty, especially Queen Platinum and Clover the Clever. What appealed to the pegasi, however, was when the dark blue pony pulled the rest of her hooded robe off and flared her equally extravagant wings open for all to see. Soon, the taller one did the same, making some of the older earth ponies faint. These were the Alicorns, an ancient race of ponies with the wings of a pegasus, horns of a unicorn, and the body of an earth pony. According to legend and fable they created the heavens and earth themselves; only to disappear shortly thereafter. They were all thought to be extinct if they had even existed at all, but standing here before hundreds of witnesses they stood. The taller, brighter, alicorn nodded to the smaller one who then cleared her throat and took to the skies. "CITIZENS OF EARTH, PEGASOPOLIS, AND UNICORNICUS: WE ARE MOST DISPLEASED WITH THE ACTS OF WHICH THOUST ALL HATH PREFORMED! PONIES ARE MEANT TO LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER, NOT WAGE WAR AND FULFILL THEIR DUTIES WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING SUSTENANCE! she bellowed, her voice echoing throughout the hills and forcing every nearby creature to cover their ears. Upon landing back in the snow, the taller alicorn led her companions closer to the center. "We are most displeased indeed. Hath thou all forgotten the pact already?" she spoke. Everypony stood silent, those she was near cowering in fear. "The pact? Surely there is at least one pony who doth remember our agreement?" she continued in slight disbelief. More silent and cowering. "Starswirl the Bearded, how long hath we been away?" she asked in slight fear. The elderly unicorn pony idlely dragged his hoof against the snow. "Starswirl." the dark blue alicorn growled. "A-About two thousand years...Your majesties..." he answered nervously. The two alicorns stared at each other in disbelief as the crowd began to slowly back away. "Tis...Tis a LIE!" the smaller alicorn shouted in utter rage, causing the slowly fleeing ponies to plant their hooves in the ground. Turning back to the crowd, the smaller alicorn flew back into the air to address the fearful ponies below her. "WE ARE PRINCESS LUNARIAS, AND THIS IS OUR ELDEST SISTER, PRINCESS CELESTIAR! WE ARE RULERS OF THIS WRETCHED LAND THAT THOU HATH LEFT IN A STATE OF DISGUSTING DISREPAIR! THE PACT MADE WITH THY FOREFATHERS WAS VERY CLEAR: WORK TOGETHER OR DIE. THOU ALL HATH BROKEN THE PACT, AND SO THY ALL SHALT BE PUNISHED!" Princess Lunarias screamed at the top of her lungs, her rage only subsiding when her body began enveloping with a soft, golden glow as her eldest sister gently pulled her back down to the snow. "It is true of the pact; that thou all were meant to work together to survive. But alas, we were not here to guide you and keep you all in check. For that, we apologize. But the time hath come to once again-" Princess Celestiar began, only to be interrupted by a daring earth pony who challenged their claims as rulers and alicorns. Giving an unamused look to the brave little stallion, Celestiar nodded down to her younger sibling. At once, both of their horns began glowing brightly with their respective aura. All eyes turned to the sky as the sun slowly crept over the mountains to the west and the moon climbed into the sky from the east. "Is that all? Art thou not entertained? Art thou not satisfied with the demonstration of our powers?" Celestiar challenged. This time, however, it was the unicorn Queen who spoke up. "We unicorn have always raised the sun and moon; it is no different from our own power!" "Indeed, thou hath always had power over the sun and the moon. Granted to thou by us, and now stripped as we hath returned. Still, thou doth provest a point. Dear little sister, I do believe that is thy cue." Celestiar spoke, and a wicked grin crept onto the younger alicorn's snout. Taking to the skies once again, the dark blue alicorn princess let her wings flair out and her horn glow wildly as storm clouds began moving from each direction towards the alicorn's horn, where they swirled around madly at a point. Laughing darkly, Lunarias let forth a concert of lightening bolts that struck every tree precisely once; setting it quickly ablaze. Meanwhile, as Lunarias let it rain down upon the helpless ponies, Celestiar lt loose her magic and crops of every type suddenly sprung up in the clearing. This was enough. There was not a single pony in the clearing who any longer thought they were otherwise who they claimed to be. These were royal alicorn sisters. THE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER POINT WHERE ALL THREE TERRITORIES MEET, MIDNIGHT As soon as a hopeful earth pony reached her snout out to take a bite of glorious food, the plant along with all the others quickly turned and crumbled to ash as Lunarias's storm ended and cleared. Picking her way back through the crowd of distraught ponies towards her older sister, Lunarias smirked in grim satisfaction at the pain. "We hath control here, my little ponies. Thou shalt do as we command or perish. How many wish to follow our command to the letter, unwillingly?" Celestiar questioned. Not a single pony moved. Most growled silently to themselves at being tortured like so, while others silently cried in their hooves. "None? A fine harvest for Tarturius!" Lunarias exclaimed as her horn began to flare. Celestiar's horn crossed her younger sisters', cutting off her magic before she had time to incinerate everypony present. A glare passed between the two before Celestiar continued. "We promise food, shelter, and a land away from this cold blizzard if only thou will leave the past behind and start anew. There can be no more fighting between thou three pony races. We will ask once more; a final time: How many wish to follow us into the howling dark to a brighter future?" Celestia asked firmly. This time, nearly all of the ponies in the clearing moved towards the pair of alicorns in submission. Princess Lunarias eyed the small band of armored pegasi and shaken earth ponies hungrily. Much to her pleasure, she saw her older sister nod sadly to her youngest whose horn then lit up darkly. She giggled evilly to herself as her aura engulfed the remaining ponies, muffling their screams as they slowly melted away into nothingness. Flicking her tail in delight, Lunarias turned to her older sister just in time to see her pained, clouded eyes revert to their hard, powerful look. Turning to the three leaders, Celestiar addressed the mass again. "Thou will all head south of this point until we meet again. Thou shalt not settle permanently anywhere unless thou hath seen us. We will be your sign when you reach thy new home; a sign of peace and prosperity for your people for millenniums to come. We will speak to thou the next time we meet." Finishing their business, the three mysterious ponies simply vanished in an instant; the only indication of their existance being the hoofprints in the ground and the still burning treetops. The Sixth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUN-UP "I don't believe a word of it." Chancellor Puddinghead remarked as-a-matter-of-factly. "But Chancellor," Smart Cookie began as the Chancellor paced about his office. "They turned night into day and made crops grow!" "Crops that soon turned to ash after being touched, my dear. A simple illusion spell by a simple unicorn. I bet Princess Platinum was in cahoots with the lot! Didn't you see that wizardly unicorn who stood back? Ten bales of hay says he gave the two fake wings to top the whole thing off!" Chancellor Puddinghead explained. Smart Cookie's stomach growled at the mention of food. "So then what are we going to do? Just sit here and starve to death?" "I suggest you watch your tone with me, Smart Cookie; you sound like you're challenging your leader." the Chancellor growled. "Maybe I am! How many families have we lost due to the blizzard and lack of food because somepony is too busy planning to kill off the other races? We have food, as little as it is, and our own ponies are starving because you want to keep up the illusion that the other races stole it all from us! This has to end, Chancellor; I'm taking these ponies to a new land." Smart Cookie whispered menacingly. "Oh? Is that it? Well then why didn't you just say so? Let me pack my things and I'll be on my way with you!" Chancellor Puddinghead said happily as he bounced away. Following after him confusedly, Smart Cookie spoke up again. "Uh...Would you mind repeating that, Chancellor Puddinghead?" "Why of course! I'm not a stupid pony, Smart Cookie. I know more than any other pony that we need to get out of here and away from the other races if we are to survive. I just wont pledge my allegiance to those "alicorns". Have everypony ready to leave by sunhigh." Chancellor Puddinghead said calmly. "Yes, your Chancellorness." Smart Cookie replied simply. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUN-UP "I want everypony fully armored and prepared for battle by sunhigh!" Commander Hurricane finished, her tail flicking in anger. "It's bad enough that we had to pledge our allegiance to those murderous alicorns, but then they have the nerve to kill off those who wouldn't follow! My own soldiers!" Sergeant Thunderstorm stayed quite a bit away from his commander like he always did when she got this furious. He didn't approve of their methods, but he understood why the alicorns did what they did to those who wanted no part of it. It was a ploy to exert their power. To show the ponies there was no turning back. To show them all that death is the only reward for hatred. Shivering in his armor from the cold, he noticed a rather large pile of snow on the battlements. Pushing it aside and over the cloud city, he realized just how close the three races were to extinction. He only hoped his leader would see sense before she did something that she would later regret. THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP Yawning softly as she awoke, she expected to find Clover the Clever by her bedside as she usually did every morning. This morning, however, was drastically different. When she rolled over and opened her eyes to take in the seat where Clover the Clever usually sat, she screamed in terror upon realizing that her assassin's body was sitting slumped over in the wooden stool. His head was angled up so that Queen Platinum could see the gashing hole in his neck where clearly a very sharp horn pierced it. She shuddered and hid her snout under her blankets as she stared at his bloodstained neck and a voice sounded from the opposite side of her bed. "For one trained to kill so well, he was no match for a simple horn thrust." Princess Lunarias said coldly as Queen Platinum turned to face the demonic looking alicorn. "Truly a pity, as we were hoping for more of a fight before we introduced ourselves." "Clover the Clever! Guards! Somepony help!" Queen Platinum wailed. There was the sound of heavy hoofsteps on the stone stairs leading to the Queen's bedchambers before the alicorn forced the door shut with her magic; all the while not taking her eyes off the shivering white unicorn. "Thou art a disgusting, cruel hearted wench for the deeds thou hath committed." Princess Lunarias said in disgust, spitting on the blanket to show her distaste. "Murdering thy own father, who raised thou and taught thee while thy mother lay dead! And what such a reward for a caring heart? A gem bomb staged by his own spawn! If we had our way, thou would be a pile of ash in this moment, but we come not to end thy worthless life, oh no. We stand here before an ugly mare with a heart blacker than our own to deliver a message from our eldest." Pressing her snout close to the cowering unicorn's and glaring with those demonic eyes, the Princess delivered her message: "Do away with thy wretched ways of deceit, lies and murder. Do away with thy plans to conquer the other races as thou was planning at the meeting. Do away with thy terrors less thy ponies burn at thy hooves in agony as they curse thy name with their last breath!" As Princess Lunarias finished her message, the guard burst in and the alicorn quickly vanished from sight; leaving only the hyperventilating queen and the body of her assassin in the room. "Prepare..." Queen Platinum began, breathing quickly. "To leave...At sunhigh..." THE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER OF THE THREE TERRITORIES, SUNHIGH "Scour the area! I want those alicorns!" Commander Hurricane ordered as her forces spread outwards from the clearing. Commander Hurricane growled in frustration as she tromped off into the woods with Sergeant Thunderstorm by her side. Justice would be served this day, even if they had to stay out here in the freezing cold until sunset. "Sergeant Thunderstorm!" Commander Hurricane called out, despite her underling being a few hoofsteps away. "Yes ma'am!" he called back, standing at attention. As the commander began instructing the sergeant, neither of them noticed a rather large pile of snow shift a bit and a long, extravagant horn poke out; starting to glow softly with a golden aura. Sergeant Thunderstorm was lost once again in those deep, purple eyes. He heard the words coming out of his leader's mouth and stuffed them in the back of his head for the moment; there was time to follow orders later. Right now, those beautiful eyes... Suddenly, the sergeant lurched forward and pressed the end of his snout against Commander Hurricane's softly as she did the same. Both reeled back in shock as they regained control over their bodies, eyes darting around wildly to see if anypony had seen that and trying to find what had caused it. Only a soft, playful giggle betrayed the enemy's position and both pegasi moved quietly to flank the snow pile. As they leaped up into the air to strike down, they once again lost control of their bodies and were pulled into the pile. They struggled to lash out at the snickering face of Celestiar. "Calm down, my little ponies; we art not here to harm you." she promised, stifling her soft laughter. Once both of the pegasi had ceased their struggle, Celestia unbound the sergeant's mouth since the commander was still glaring furiously. "My my, such strong emotions coming from this one." Celestiar gently teased, causing Thunderstorm to blush. "How lucky for the both of you that that little hoof slip in the snow managed to happen, isn't it?" Sergeant Thunderstorm blushed bright red through his dark coat and looked away from Celestiar and Commander Hurricane. Giggling to herself once more before regaining her composure, Celestiar continued. "We suppose thou art both wondering why we art out here all by our lonesome, art thou not? We have come to simply tell thee that thy little ploy to attack us will not end happily in thy favor." As Celestiar's tone grew darker and serious, Commander Hurricane attempted to speak up; her voice a muffled blur beyond Celestiar's magical grip. "You killed my warriors simply because they would not pledge their allegiance to you!" As her words reached Celestiar's ears, the alicorn's eyes clouded in sincere pain. "Yes, the innocents...It is indeed a shame what our sister hath done, but a necessary point needed to be made. Thou see-eth, Commander Hurricane, that our sister and we art but two sides of the same coin." "Coin? What the hay is a coin and what does it have to do with why you murdered my ponies?!" Commander Hurricane interrupted. "Ah, yes..." Celestiar spoke softly, mostly to herself. "We had forgotten how...Sheltered thou all were. A coin is a form of currency used in other lands, as our sister and we have traveled a great many lands before returning here. What we art trying to say is that while we both art separate entities, our sister and we strive for the same goal. Our sister is the aspect of war, death, destruction and end, to name a few, while we art the aspect of peace, life, creation and prosperity. We art drastically different, but as we have said before: we art both two sides of the same coin. And we come bearing a message." Commander Hurricane's ears flicked in anger as she forced herself to listen further while Sergeant Thunderstorm listened attentively as if he were her student and she his teacher. Smiling at both acts, Celestiar continued. "The time of war and conquest has ended. Lay down thy weapons and head south to thy new home; give up thy dreams of warish victory against a goddess for thou will not win. Instead, become a legend amongst thy people as the pony who saved them from the brink of destruction. That is our message to thou, dear pegasus." "The time of peace has nearly begun, my little ponies." she whispered before she suddenly disappeared, leaving the two pegasi slumped up against each other in the cold snow. SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, MIDNIGHT "Ma'am, don't you think we should land and rest? We've been flying all day..." Sergeant Thunderstorm asked tiredly as he struggled to stay aloft next to his leader. Commander Hurricane turned her head and slowed her pace to view her half awake troops. They had indeed been flying all day, or at least for twelve hours, and they still had not seen either a horn nor wing from the alicorns. The pegasi were weary and silently begging for a chance to rest as the moon cast soft light that reflected off of their heavy armor. Sighing sadly to herself, she gave the order to land; much to her pony's relief. "We'll sleep in the trees tonight. I want everypony up by sun-up or you're being left behind, is that clear?" Commander Hurricane ordered. The only reply she received were a series of low, tired moans as the pegasi settled themselves into the branches and quickly fell asleep. Commander Hurricane, however, was wide awake and started to patrol around the area her ponies were sleeping in. It wasn't long before she heard the soft padding of hoofsteps that she could easily tell belong to her sergeant. "You should get some sleep as well, Commander..."He suggested, stifling a yawn. "We'll need a strong leader to guide us through this mess tomorrow morning." Commander Hurricane didn't answer, instead focusing her gaze out over the cliff and into the lush green valley below that marked the end of their harsh winter wasteland. "Sergeant?" She asked softly and Thunderstorm trotted closer in acknowledgement. "If you tell anypony else about this, I'll have you tried for treason and hung.". Sergeant Thunderstorm raised an eyebrow but did not back away. He knew Commander Hurricane was not one to issue idle threats, but the way she had said it seemed to him like she was attempting to make a joke. "Sergeant...I'm scared. I'm scared of those alicorns, I'm scared of this 'new land' they promised, and I'm scared of the future." she admitted quietly. Sergeant Thunderstorm pitied her but made no attempt to comfort her as she was still his superior. He found it strangely comforting that his leader, the strongest and smartest pegasi warrior in his nation, wasn't feeling her usual violent and war-loving self. She seemed like any other pony with worries and fears, and to him she was more beautiful than ever. "Sergeant...?" she began again, snapping Thunderstorm out of his thoughts. "Will you lay with me tonight?" SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUN-LOW "Faster, Clover the Clever! I want to beat those pegasi before they reach the new land." Queen Platinum ordered, her eyes focused on the tree-lined horizon. Upon realizing that thick forests surrounded their land on every side, the unicorns reluctantly left their carts full of gems and personal belongings behind. The Queen, however, would not do away with her dresses or gems and loaded as many as she could onto poor Clover the Clever's back. "I said faster, Clover! Do you want those nasty pegasi to get there before us and claim all the good spots or food?" Queen Platinum challenged. "With all do respect, your highness..." Clover the Clever started, pausing to catch her breath from the heavy weight on her back. "The pegasi prefer to keep to the skies, and I doubt the alicorn sisters would let them take all the food if they were trying to promote peace." Queen Platinum did not acknowledge Clover's remark as her eyes squinted to keep the cold winds and snow out. Hidden as a sudden gust of cold wind and snow blew in, Starswirl the Bearded popped into existence next to Clover the Clever, much to her surprise. Before she had a chance to screech, however, he quickly slapped a hoof over her snout and shook his head while pointing a hoof at her leader. Nodding her understanding, Clover stretched her snout open and close after Starswirl released it. "I am going to teach you a spell passed onto me by my teacher, who waited for the return of the alicorn sisters as did his teacher and his teacher before him for two millennium. You must speak of this spell to no one and only use it when the time is right; and you will know when the time is right. Do you understand?" he explained in a whisper. Clover the Clever nodded slowly, her eyes holding back stars of excitement and curiosity. Starswirl the Bearded leaned in close and shared his secret of harmony with the young and thoughtful unicorn. And then, he vanished in another gust of wind and snow. SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUNHIGH "It's like he's wearing the map on his face, backwards and upside down with eye-holes cut in it!" an earth pony whispered to her friend as they slowly trudged along with the rest of their race after the Chancellor. While the Chancellor was too lost in thought while staring at the crudely drawn map to hear the remarks, Smart Cookie heard them clearly enough through the storm. It was hard enough convincing the surviving members of families that had already perished to follow them into the uncertain unknown, but now remarks like these were dropping moral like it was the snow coming down from above. "I've been thinking, Smart Cookie." the Chancellor stated, not looking up from the map as he slowly trotted along the side of the mountain. "Doesn't it seem awfully strange that this bizarre and terrible weather starts out of the blue, and then these two "alicorn sisters" introduce themselves and demand we make peace and leave this land? Does it not also strike you as odd that the dark blue one conjured up an entire thunderstorm all by herself?" "If you're hinting that the alicorns started the blizzard to drive us out, I don't believe it for a second, your Chancellorness. There was something about that white one that just seemed so sincere; like she cared for us all and never wanted anything bad to happen to us. Did you see the look in her eyes when her sister...You know, to those other ponies?" Smart Cookie replied. "Don't get me started on what that blue one did. And no, I was too busy containing my rage to notice how "sincere" she was when her sister killed my ponies." the Chancellor answered, almost stumbling off the side of the mountain before catching himself. It was going to be a long day. The Eighth Day???, SUN-UP "I am surprised they made it this far." Lunarias whispered bitterly. "Dear sister, they simply kept their distance and moved forward. We must do something to force them together. Starswirl has told me he has selected his student and trained her in the short time he had left, so we will move on with the plan." Celestiar replied as they watched the three races converge in the valley below. "Call forth the Wendigos." ???, SUN-UP "Go find your own land, the pegasi were here first and you know it!" Commander Hurricane shouted as she challenged the unicorn band that had arrived. "Is all your kind know war and lies? It is quite obvious that the unicorns lay hoof here before your disgrace of a race, Commander Hothead!" Queen Platinum shot back. "Now now, let's all at least try and be civil here. We still have seen no sign of the alicorns so let's just split back up and keep heading south." Chancellor Puddinghead suggested. "Keep your snout shut before I jab a spear in there to keep it shut!" The pegasi leader shouted; her nostrils flaring as she drug a hoof against the dirt in a threatening gesture. As the three races prepared for a battle, not a single pony noticed the gentle snowfall start and the cold winds blow in. "Wassss it not enough?" the large white stallion asked, unamused as he stood before the twin sisters. "Twas not," Celestiar began. "As the three races took separate paths and hath just recently reunited thy bodies and hatred." "Then we will ssssstir up another ssssstorm. But be aware, foalishhhhh alicornsssss, thisssss marksssss the end of our ssssside of the agreement... the ghostly stallion spoke before turning and galloping back up into the sky despite the lack of wings on his body. "Liar!" Queen Platinum screeched as she dodge the flying pegasus commander. It was a fight between the two as every other pony simply watched in horror and awe. "We unicorn would never stop as low as that!" Queen Platinum continued before she was tackled to the ground by a furious pegasus. As Commander Hurricane tilted her head to the side and in turn raised her sword, a sudden explosion sounded from the skies above and all eyes turned up. "FOALISH WHELPS!" Princess Lunarias boomed as she slowly descended from the storm clouds above; her mane flicking around like some demonic dark blue fire. "HATH THOU NOT HEARD A SINGLE WORD THAT HATH COME FROM OUR MOUTH? LOOK TO THE SKIES THOU FOALISH MORTALS! LOOK TO THE SKIES AND SEE WHAT THOU HATH BROUGHT FORTH TO THIS LAND AS THOU DID THY OTHER!" The ponies below began to let their eyes wander away from the devilish princess, instead focusing on the dark grey clouds that slowly but surely were letting loose a torrent of chilling snow and wind. "THOU ALL HATH BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE, A CHANCE THOU ALL THREW SO WILLINGLY AWAY! AND NOW, FOR THY INSOLENCE, THY FAMILIES AND FRIENDS SHALL SEE NEVER ANOTHER SUNRISE!" the Princess cackled before taking refuge from the ferocious storm above the clouds and leaving the ponies to their fate. The three races of ponies stared in horror all around them as the ground became buried beneath snow that rose to the ponys' chests and all plant life was absorbed and killed by the white terror. But the leaders of the three races were more attentative than their fearful others and quickly noticed a rather large looking cave only a few gallops off. Rallying their ponies, the struggle for survival soon became a race against time and the other races as each breed of pony rushed towards the safety of the cave. "We were here first, this is our cave!" Commander Hurricane shouted, thrusting her snout in front of the unicorn Queen. "As it were, you are trespassing in unicorn territory! I demand that you leave immediately!" Queen Platinum replied coldly. "This cave is already inhabited by the earth ponies!" Chancellor Puddinghead chimed in. Smart Cookie groaned and smacked her hoof against her forehead in frustration. The cave was obviously big enough for all of them, so why couldn't they share it? Was it really a matter of space as the leaders thought, or was it simply because they were just so used to fighting? Sighing and surveying all the ponies that had sought shelter in the cave, Smart Cookie noticed a peculiar purple coated unicorn facehoofing as well. More scouting produced a black coated pegasus who seemed to be shying away from his own kind. Maybe I'm not the only one who just wants all this fighting to stop... Smart Cookie thought to herself, slowly trotting over to the unicorn side of the cave. As she approached, Smart Cookie was mildly surprised that no attempts were made to block her path. Probably because all eyes and ears were still turned to the screaming leaders. "I don't see what sense they think there is in fighting anymore. This cave is obviously big enough for all of us." Smart Cookie whispered, trying to sound friendly. A soft smile spread across her face as the unicorn turned to greet the brave earth pony. "Exactly! Ponies are dead and dying because of this fighting and nopony seems to want to want to change anything. My name is Clover the Clever, by the way." the unicorn responded warmly. "There's a scared looking pegasus over in the next group who looks like all he wants is peace as well. Care to join me in paying him a visit?" Smart Cookie asked. Once again, no attempts were made to block the two drastically different looking ponies from "invading" the other race. When they had reached the curled up and whimpering pegasus, a gentle hoof jab got him to poke his head out from under his hoof. "W-What are you two doing here? I don't think you're supposed to be on this side of the cave..." he whimpered. "My name is Clover the Clever, and this is Smart Cookie. We couldn't help noticing how scared you looked. All you want is peace between the three races too, right? the unicorn asked, offering a hoof to help the pegasus up. Thunderstorm stared at that purple hoof for a long while before looking back up to the unicorn, a weak and unsure smile on her snout. Thunderstorm took her hoof and hauled himself up. "So...What are we going to do?" Thunderstorm asked softly. "Starve to death..." Smart Cookie said, looking away from the group and focusing on the entrance. As the other two ponies turned to see what had captivated their new friend, they gasped in horror as they saw the last few inches between the thick ice and cold ground close. "We're...We're trapped in here forever?!" Thunderstorm whispered in utter terror. Neither of the ponies answered him as their eyes turned to the ceiling, watching the ice slowly descend the wall and close in on the ponies. The ponies that were busy watching the fight escalate never even took notice as their bodies became slowly trapped in ice casings. Pulling Thunderstorm by his tail to the center of the cave as the trio slowly backed away from the advancing ice, the three leaders turned to their companions and let loose their rage for interrupting; only to be quickly covered in ice. "I guess this is it..." Clover the Clever whispered sadly. "Why couldn't they just open their eyes and see?" Smart Cookie said to herself. Thunderstorm just silently cried to himself as the cold ice began to envelope the trio of new friends, slowing only when it reached Clover the Clever's horn. Suddenly, the entire cave burst into flame; slowly but surely melting away all the ice and leaving her two friends gazing in amazement up at her. The three leaders were the last to thaw, shaking their heads in pain and confusion before looking around. "What...What the hay happened? Why are we all in this cave?" some voices began wondering. Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead and Queen Platinum all exchanged a look that sent shivers up along Clover the Clever, Thunderstorm, and Smart Cookie's spines. They soon realized, however, that the hatred that burned in their hearts was not shining through their eyes as it usually did. Instead, the trio only saw pained sadness as the three leaders began slowly approaching each other. The next few steps would change the fate of every race forever. "I'm sorry." all three leaders said at once, much to everypony's surprise. As the cave fell hushed, Commander Hurricane was the first to move forward. The pegasi warriors dropped their weapons and their mouths in shock as the war thirsty pegasus wrapped her hooves around the three leaders; pulling them into a friendly hug. Both the earth pony and unicorn races eventually did the same as their respective leaders returned the gesture warmly. "Perhaps I was wrong..." Chancellor Puddinghead said heartfeltly. "Perhaps there is a future for all of us; together in peace.". That was enough for the earth ponies as they jumped onto their hind hooves and cheered. "And I apologize for declaring war on your ponies, Commander Hurricane. Perhaps we unicorn can learn that we are not better than any of the other races. We are all equal in our hearts." Queen Platinum admitted. The unicorns looked around confusedly before a single stomp of approval was heard amongst their numbers. This soon lead to every unicorn in the cave shouting their approval with their hooves. "I should be the one apologizing, Princess Platinum. I led the attack that started our whole 'war' just because I thought you created snow..." Commander Hurricane said nervously. The three let out small, nervous laughs before being interrupted by a mysterious cracking noise. As ever head and hoof turned towards the ice-blocked entrance, a small crack began jutting its way up along the center until it simply shattered and opened the way to the land outside. Despite being inside the cave for a mere few minutes, the sun seemed blinding bright in the sky before Smart Cookie realized and pointed out that the snow clouds were gone and the land was clear of the white madness that had plagued them for so long. Their resulting cheer quickly hushed itself, however, as they realized that the twin alicorns stood before them all. An awkward silence covered the clearing as the dark blue alicorn hid her face under her hood and the white alicorn smiled warmly. "Well done, all of thee. Thou hath bested thy own demons and driven off the cold, bringing the fire of friendship to everypony's hearts. Thou all hath done as we hath commanded, and for such loyalty we reward thee with this land: The land of Equestria. May thou all learn from each other the meaning of peace and friendship as a means to never return to the past. We start anew here, Equestrians! For peace, prosperity, and a future for generations to come!" Celestiar shouted happily as the crowd cheered once more. Through the chaotic yet peaceful cheer of the ponies, a single pegasus pressed herself closely to a blushing, black coated pegasi. The era of war and hatred had finally ended, and the ponies could begin anew under the protective rule and guidance of the fabled alicorn sisters. The EndAnd so ends the true tale of Hearth's Warming Eve, where ponies were killed and lied to all in the name of food and survival until two beacons of hope came into their world. Again, we are quite shocked that anypony would see how....Questionable the play was and ask us, my dear sister and I, what really happened all those years ago... But then again, I would expect nothing less from my star pupil. Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria IntroductionWe are surprised you are asking. It is indeed strange that since there was so much hatred back then that the current play does seem rather..."Happy". You must understand, however, that modern day ponies are taught very differently from the old ways as a means to avoid ever going back to our beginnings. Our war-like nature is safely tucked away inside all of our minds in the rare chance that we may need use of it. But we all hope that that day will never come again. But like those ponies of the past, those who struggled to survive in the white wasteland that was The Land Before, we can really never know what lies around the corner. We can only hope there will be a light shining from just beyond the bend. ((AUTHOR'S INTERRUPTION: Some of the people/events/etc will not coincide with the cannon retelling of Hearth's Warming Eve because it would've happened more than one thousand years ago (since Luna was banished during a time when the Alicorn sisters both ruled over EQUESTRIA) and history gets sketchier as time goes on. Some details are lost, others are missinterpretted, yadda yadda yadda. A last note is about the system of time they use. Sun-Up: 6:00 am - 12:00 pm Sunhigh: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm Sun-Low: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Sunset: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Midnight: 11:00 pm - 6:00 am (I am well aware of the fact that midnight is actually 12:00 am))) The Seventh DaySOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUN-UP Commander Hurricane murred softly as she slept, snuggling up closer to Thunderstorm who was wide awake and struggling not to burst into flames from embarrassment. Most of the pegasi race had awoken the moment the sun peeked over the treetops and quickly looked for their leader. Instead of finding their leader wide awake and shouting orders, they found her cuddling with Sergeant Thunderstorm and sound asleep. The pegasi formed a circle around the pair; most of their faces plastered with stunned expressions, stifled giggles or soft nods of approval before Commander Hurricane began to awake. Without opening her eyes yet, she tilted her head back and up against Thunderstorm's neck, nuzzling gently. A quiet "D'aww" was enough to snap the Commander out of her warm spectacle and take in her surroundings. "What the hay does this look like, a play? Get a move on all of you! Take to the skies and fan out! I want to know how close the other races are to where ever we're going!" She shouted defensively, her blush being poorly hidden against her blue coat as she leapt to her hooves. Her pegasi scattered, giggling to themselves at their commander's display of affection and then embarrassment. Sergeant Thunderstorm wanted to bury himself in the snow and hide forever. ((Authors' Interruption: I apologize for the incredible shortness of this chapter, but I honestly had no idea what to write here. I planned for them to travel for the rest of they day and fall asleep again, then wake up at the start of the scene where they started claiming territories and then got trapped in the cave yadda yadda yadda but that's in the next day/chapter. Really the only interesting thing I had to write about was that adorable piece with Commander Hurricane and Sergeant Thunderstorm. :3))
The First DayTHE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNSET "This damned blizzard has been going on all day! I'll have those unicorn's heads if I get the chance!" Commander Hurricane shouted in frustration. The blizzard had indeed been going on all day, and at first Commander hurricane had made her way through the snow laden clouds to their small weather factory intent of skinning everypony in their alive. However, when she learned that it was not infact her ponies that were controlling the weather, her anger was replaced with pure hatred. "How DARE those snobby unicorns think they can take over our skies like this! This is an act of war! Sergeant Thunderstorm," the commander screamed, and a dark coated pegasus quickly flew over. "Y-Yes, C-Commander..?" the sergeant stammered, partly due to the cold and partly because his leader was billowing with rage. "Ready the able troops; the unicorns will fall before dawn!" THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUNSET "Cavalry, charge!" Commander Hurricane yelled over the sounds of battle. Her pegasi had already clashed with the unicorn forces at the gate, but having wings made it easy to scale the walls into the courtyards beyond. "Sergeant Thunderstorm, on me! We're ending this battle now!" Commander hurricane said through gritted teeth as she flew off towards the castle. Sergeant Thunderstorm reluctantly followed after her, clutching his shortsword in his mouth firmly and dodging stray bolts of magic. He didn't like war, despite he and his race being bred for it. In fact, it was the only thing he hated besides Commander Hurricane herself. Alright, so he didn't really hate Commander Hurricane, he just really really really really really really really disliked her. She was a stunning leader, both physically and mentally, but her hot head and eagerness to battle would eventually lead to her downfall. He sighed and pushed his doubts out of his head, instead loyally following after his leader. "How...How DARE you invade my home and slaughter my ponies!" Princess Platinum said as he horn flared, ready to fire a deadly bolt of magic at the pair of pegasi that had fought their way to her quarters. "My father will hear about this, you filthy ruffia-" she continued, but was suddenly tackled to the ground my the pegasi commander. "He wont hear a thing since you'll be dead!" Commander Hurricane challenged as she raised her sword to strike the final blow. Before the blade fell, however, Princess Platinum let loose her magic and knocked the sword out of the mouth of her oppressor; sending it flying across the room and clattering at the hooves of a nervous pegasi sergeant. "Sergeant Thunderstorm, bring me my sword!" Commander Hurricane spat out as she wrestled with the unicorn princess, struggling to hold her down. "You will do no such thing you barbarian!" Princess Platinum shouted, gripping the sword with her magic and tossing it out the opened window. While the two leaders wrestled each other back and forth, Sergeant Thunderstorm simply stood helplessly at the door to the room. He had a leader he was loyal to and orders to follow, but at the same time all of this could have been avoided if the leaders simply talked to and trusted each other! He let out a groan and proceeded to bash his head against the door in frustration before a band of unicorn guards began noisily making their way up the stairs. "Sergeant, order the retreat!" Commander Hurricane said in frustration as she dashed out the window, leaving Sergeant Thunderstorm to follow close behind. "This isn't over, you barbaric pegasi! My father will retaliate and everything you know will crumble!" Princess Platinum screamed through the storm, her voice being drowned out as the blizzard intensified. THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNSET "Not surprising if you ask me." Smart Cookie heard another secretary say. "It was bound to happen eventually, although I am curious as to who did what to provoke them." "Who cares? If both races drive each other out then it's better for us earth ponies. More food for our already starving fillies; and this weather wont help one bit." "Do I have to remind you that the unicorns bring the sun and the moon out, and that either helps or hinders our crop growth? And need I add on that the pegasi control the weather which in turn can also affect our crops? You two better watch your mouths; we're all ponies here and it'll do nothing but harm to speak poorly about each other." Smart Cookie said as she butted herself into the conversation. "The pegasi sure seem to be doing a good job with the weather. Gee, I'm so looking forward to eating icicles for dinner tonight." the pony said as he rolled his eyes. Smart Cookie grumbled in frustration and left the two biased earth ponies to spew their hate around. Besides, she had work to do and slaking off like that could get her into trouble. "Uh, Chancellor Puddinghead, sir?" Smart Cookie asked as she tapped her hoof against the door to the Chancellor's office. There was no answer from the happy-go-lucky earth pony as his secretary pushed open the door and stepped in. "Uh, sir...?" she started confusedly. "Uh? Oh, Smart Cookie. Sorry I didn't hear you. I was too busy watching the best play I've ever seen! Come look at this!" Chancellor Puddinghead said cheerfully as he only briefly turned his head from the window. As Smart Cookie took up a space next to the Chancellor, her stomach churned in agony. Outside the window and quite a ways up the mountain lay the small kingdom of Unicornicus. Having looked out this window any other day, Smart Cookie would have seen nothing out of the ordinary. But today, she could clearly see black specks hovering in the sky above the castle as green and blue bolts of magic were hurled from the ground at them. The pegasi had attacked the unicorns! "Isn't it wonderful? With both races gone we can keep all of our food and be a thriving nation once again!" Chancellor Puddinghead said gleefully. "But Chancellor, who would raise the sun and the moon then? Or control the weather to get rid of this blizzard?" Smart Cookie said in disbelief. The Chancellor laughed quietly to himself and turned to his secretary. "Who controlled the sun and the moon before there were unicorns? And you can't honestly tell me that there are pegasi all over the world controlling every single cloud and storm, can you?" he said softly, with a slight mocking tone as he poked at her apparent inability to think as he did. Smart Cookie suppressed a glare and trotted out of the room. "My apologies, your chancellorness. I hadn't thought about that." she whispered through gritted teeth.
The Second DayTHE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP "And then that awful heathen pressed her blade against my throat, but I was not going to have any of that! I blasted her sword out of her snout and flipped her off of me. The fright shook her to her bones that she and her sergeant flew out the window before I could do anything else, father." Princess Platinum said proudly. Her father stared coldly at his daughter, but it was not disappointment or dissent of her tale, in fact he wasn't even focusing on her. He was lost in though about the battles that were to come and the lives lost if he were to send ponies up into the clouds. Now, the King of Unicornicus was not a stupid pony. He knew that his daughter was bold and rather snotty, but he loved her all the same. He also knew that despite Commander Hurricane's thirst for war, she was not a stupid pony either. He figured that the blizzard must have been the cause for the attack, and she blamed the unicorns. His daughter wanted him to wage war against the pegasi because much of the kingdom thought of them as arrogant, brash and violent. But weren't all ponies like that to some degree? All ponies had their faults, this he knew, and he also knew what his daughter wanted him to do. "Ready my chariot." the king commanded his guards, who bowed respectively before rushing out the door. "Oh, father, how wonderful! Shall I alert the able soldiers?" Princess Platinum said giddily. "That will not be necessary. I am not waging war; I am going over there to negotiate peace." he said firmly as he trotted off, leaving his daughter stunned and horrified. "Peace?! With those barbaric, war loving mongrels?! Who does my father think he is, going of to negotiate peace with those ungrateful whelps? Well, I'll show him..." she whispered to herself before calling out a garbled and hard-to-pronounce name. From the shadows behind the King's throne slipped a white coated unicorn draped in black clothing. "You have need of my skills, my Princess?" he asked softly. Princess Platinum smiled wickedly and told him what needed to be done. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH "Ma'am, chariot approaching!" a pegasus called out above the blizzard. Commander Hurricane was quick to her hooves and the battlements as she strained her eyes to spot the chariot. She hadn't time to properly dress and absent mindedly tucked her flowing light gray hair back behind her blue ear and under her wings. It wasn't that she was an elderly pony, in fact she was rather young for a leader! Rather, it was the stress of the responsibilities that came with being the leader of a nation. Every pegasi in Pegasopolis looked up to her, literally, to do what was best for them all while sticking to tradition. At times, she had to push away her thoughts of negotiations and peace because her ponies demanded blood for their swords and spears. She sighed sadly to herself before snapping back to reality and spotting the golden unicorn chariot. "Fire at will!" she ordered, and the cloud cannons threw bolts of lightening towards the helpless chariot. One met its mark and the chariot exploded into a fireball, pieces of flaming metal scattering about the sky before they began their descent towards the ground below. THE LAND BEFORE, SKIES NEAR PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH The king of Unicornicus shivered and pulled his robes tighter around his body. On the ground it was far different; the ponies there were mostly spared the harshness of the cold winds by hiding in their dwellings. Out here, in the skies, the king had no such protection as his horn glowed; struggling to focus and keep the chariot aloft. He was almost at the gate to the snow laden cloud city when he realized the cannon covers had slid off. "No! Do not fire! I come in peace!" he shouted, trying desperately to make his voice heard above the wailing winds. But he realized either his voice did not reach them or they didn't care as the pegasi's thunder cannons began firing at him. Doing his best to avoid the deadly and powerful lightening bolts, he weaved and ducked; growing ever so closer to the gate. To his horror, he heard what could only be described as magic. But then his horror turned to relief as he realized his chariot had not been struck. That relief did not last, however, as he soon noticed the bright green emerald he had brought with him in hopes of at the very least bribing the pegasi was now ebbing red. "Platinum, you traitorous she devil!" he bellowed, realizing his fate just as a lightening bolt came menacingly close to his chariot, timed perfectly with the resulting gem explosion. His chariot plummeted towards the sea of trees as his life ended quickly; his chariot's even quicker. THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUNSET Giggling evilly to herself as he assassin reported the news, Princess Platinum barely even heard Clover the Clever gallop up the stairs to her room. "Princess Platinum!" she gasped, trying desperately to catch her breath. "Clover, what happened to you? Why are you out of breath, dear?" Princess Platinum asked, acting sincere and concerned. "Your father...Killed at Pegasopolis...No body..." she panted and struggled to stay on her hooves. By now, the assassin had already ducked back into the shadows and disappeared completely. The assassination had been staged perfectly and Princess Platinum was officially the sole ruler of Unicornicus; free to lead her soldiers to battle against the pegasi. Of course, she wasn't supposed to let anypony know she knew this until Clover the Clever told her. "What?! My father, dead?! Killed by those murderous brutes?!" Platinum shouted in disbelief, her eyes glowing in fake horror. "I...I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Princ-I mean,...Queen Platinum..." Clover said sincerely, comforting her heart broken ruler as she cried into her own hooves. "Oh boo hoo! My father always was quick to his hooves...How could he honestly think he would take on the entire pegasus might all by his lonesome? Oh, whatever shall we do now?" Queen Platinum wailed. Clover the Clever scrunched up her snout in an awkward gesture, unsure of how to calm the distraught Queen. Before she turned to leave the crying ruler, Clover thought she saw a flicker of movement along the wall by the opened window. But when she looked more carefully, she saw nothing. Shrugging it off, she turned and trotted down the spiraling stairs to inform the Captain of the Guards of the change. THE LAND BEFORE, FORESTED REGION OUTSIDE OF EARTH, SUNHIGH "What do you think it is?" "No idea, but look here! There's a star; the symbol of the unicorns." "You think it was a scout or something?" "Probably. Poor fellow must've burned alive though; nothing but a few bones and ash." "Should we bury it?" "Pffft. Buck no. The unicorns have been leeches to us. Let the earth retake this fellow if it wants to. Come on, it's almost dinner time."
The Third DayTHE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNHIGH "Like buck I'm going to give you more food! There's a set amount we've all agreed upon and now you're asking for more?!" a voice shouted just over the hill. "Yes, I AM asking for more food. No, scratch that. I'm demanding more food! And who are you to stop us? We rule the skies, little ponies!" she heard a pegasus warrior mock as she came over the hill. "What they hay is going on here?" Smart Cookie asked concernedly as she once again butted her way into a conversation. "Stay out of this, earth pony! We're here for food and that's what we're leaving with." spat the pegasus soldier. "Why would you need more food? You just picked up your quota last week; it's not due for another two weeks!" Smart Cookie challenged. "I said stay out of this!" "No, I will not stay out of this! As a secretary to Chancellor Puddinghead of the earth ponies, I-" Smart Cookie began. "That wont be necessary, dear." Chancellor Puddinghead said as he came bouncing out from the trees. "C-Chancellor Puddinghead?" Both earth ponies stammered in disbelief. "Well well well, if it isn't the crazy earth pony who "runs" this place. No wonder they're still wearing sack bags rather than armor!" the pegasus warrior whispered to his partner, who snickered. "What seems to be the problem, lads?" the Chancellor asked the pegasi, taking in the scene to try and find any visual clues. "We need more food if we're going to wage war against the unicorns, so just give us what we want and you'll have us both out of your manes...Until of course we're hungry again." the pegasus answered with a smirk. Chancellor Puddinghead held his snout and giggled heartily before regaining his composure. "Ahem. Now, listen to me dear fellows. We are all ponies in the end, and it is our duty to take care of each other. So here's what I propose: YOU FLY YOUR MONGREL HIDES BACK TO YOUR LITTLE CLOUD ROCK, WAGE WAR AGAINST THOSE SNOBBY UNICORNS AND GET BOTH OF YOUR RACES KILLED OFF SO WE EARTH PONIES CAN LIVE IN PEACE FOR A CHANGE!" the Chancellor said, his tone quickly turning menacing and his white mustache flaring as if it were alive itself. The two pegasi's eyes lit up with fear at the sight of the fuming earth pony and quickly took off into the skies. The chancellor cleared his throat and smoothed down his mustache before turning back to the earth ponies. "Well, now that that is settled I do believe we have seen the last of them today. Come along now, Smart Cookie; we must speak." the Chancellor said, smiling gleefully and resuming his bounce. "Care to run that by me again, your Chancellorness?" Smart Cookie said in stern disbelief. Chancellor Puddinghead sighed and rubbed his snout in annoyance. "It's simple! We take all the food we grow and store it in the caves until the unicorns come to pick up their quota. Then, we give the unicorns their quota but not the pegasi. Better to live next to snobs who simply think themselves better than us rather than brutes who actually act against us, right? Eventually, either the pegasi will be too weak to fight either one of us and die off, or they'll fight the unicorns, discover food which we'll claim was stolen from us by the unicorns in an effort to starve the pegasi. In the end, the earth ponies still win!" the Chancellor explained, smacking his hooves against the ground happily, awaiting his secretary's approval. But the stern and horrified look on the young earth pony's snout did nothing to satisfy that. "This is some kind of cruel game you're playing with me, isn't it? Good one, your Chancellorness! Ahahah..." Smart Cookie said awkwardly. The Chancellor just stared at her with a serious expression. "You can't be serious." she stated. The Chancellor nodded. "You're mad! You're psychotic! How could you just plan to let a race die off like that?!" Smart Cookie shouted in disbelief. The Chancellor sighed, bowed his head and secretly signaled to something behind Smart Cookie. "I really hoped it wouldn't have come to this." he said. "You were my favorite secretary, after all.". The last thing Smart Cookie saw before feeling a blunt pain in the back of her head and falling to the ground was the Chancellor's soft, sad smile. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUNHIGH "You're joking! Sergeant, through these two in the brig for lying and thievery! Have their quarters searched for any food and secure it!" Commander Hurricane ordered. "N-NO! We swear upon the clouds we didn't get any food from the earth ponies, Commander! They wouldn't give us a thing!" one of the two pegasi warriors stammered. Commander Hurricane glared at the two shivering pegasus ponies, searching their eyes for any traces of treason. "Throw them in the brig!" she ordered again, snorting angrily and trotting outside as the pair were hauled off to their cells. The cold air helped to calm her down a bit as she struggled to make sense of what she had heard. The earth ponies were with holding much needed food and their own Chancellor practically told the entire pegasus race to go buck themselves. But why? Surely the earth ponies aren't THAT stupid? Whatever their reasoning, their Chancellor will have to answer to the swarming masses of the pegasus warriors as they raid the land for food and then shower crafted snow for a week upon them. "Sergeant!" Commander Hurricane bellowed. "Y-Yes Commander...?" came a soft, male voice from behind her. "Ready the troops; Earth is our target. Secure all food and then Unicornicus at sunrise!" she ordered, shivering immensely as the blizzard picked up a noticeable amount. THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUNSET "Back! Back I say!" Chancellor Puddinghead shouted as he swung what sounded like a coat hanger at the approaching pegasi. Of course, she could only guess as she was currently locked in the old, nearly unused dungeon directly underneath the town hall. Smart Cookie let out a sad sigh and huddled herself tighter into a ball to fight off the cold. Despite being underground, the cold air seemed like a sharp sword piercing through the ground just to reach her. Was there no place safe from this menacing weather? "We have no food because your snow killed all the crops, and the unicorns stole what little we had left!" the Chancellor screamed from above. Although his voice was heavily muffled, Smart Cookie could still clearly understand what he was saying. She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that he was wrong, that there was food hidden in the caves just north of Earth. But she couldn't, because she had spent the first three hours underground screaming for somepony to let her out of here and nopony seemed to be able to hear her. Shuddering and flicking her tail like a whip to fight off the cold, Smart Cookie started to cry and pulled herself to the middle of the room; away from the cold walls of her cell. "Liar!" Commander Hurricane shouted as she brought her hoof down against the Chancellor's snout. Around her stood a ring of pegasus warriors to keep the earth pony crowd at bay as they publicly interrogated him. "I'm telling you, the unicorns came by before you did and stole the rest of our food! We can't even feed our fillies tonight!" the Chancellor admitted in terror, fearing another hoofstrike from the commander on his already bloodied snout. "Sergeant, search the rest of the town hall and find out where these worms are keeping the food!" Commander Hurricane said, not believing a word from the Chancellor's snout. Two pegasus guards detached themselves from the ring and followed Sergeant Thunderstorm into the rickety town hall. Before he trotted out of ear shot, the sergeant heard Commander Hurricane's menacing growl as she started again. "Now...Let's try this one more time..." "How can anything get done in this place without any records?!" a pegasus warrior growled in frustration as he flipped over a table. They had been searching the building for well over an hour now, hoping to find something that gave them any sort of lead. But so far, the only papers they had found were in the Chancellor's office; full of doodles and self-made crosswords. The Chancellor was a strange one indeed. Sergeant Thunderstorm was just about to give up hope when he thought he heard a soft scratching from underneath the floor boards. Apparently the other two guards heard it as well, for they froze and remained hushed; trying to pinpoint the sound. "Help me move this desk!" Sergeant Thunderstorm ordered as he realized what was going on. The two pegasi groaned as they struggled to push the heavy wooden desk towards the door and away from the window. The desk suddenly gave short way, and a satisfying click from a trap door sounded as the bookcase in the office slowly creaked open. "Well I'll be damned." a pegasus sad softly. "Guess those earth ponies aren't so stupid after all." She was almost there. She could feel the cooler air blow down through the dirt as she stood on top of the dirt pile beneath her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? The walls, ceiling and floor were all made of dirt. As the light began shining through the floorboards above her, Smart Cookie grinning happily. But her happiness didn't last as she realized painfully that she didn't have the strength to break the floorboards. She weakly dragged her hoof against the sturdy wood in hopes of a miracle, but nothing happened. And then, everything happened. As she stopped scratching the floorboards, deep voices sounded from above: "Help me move this desk!" one said firmly. Hoofsteps hurried over above her and she could hear creaking and groaning as whoever was up there tried to force the desk forward. Soon, however, a satisfying click could be heard and Smart Cookie's vision was blocked by the bottom of the bookcase. Hurrying over to the cell door, she could barely make out the shadows of three ponies descending the flight of stairs to her prison. "What the hay?! Sir, there's a pony down here!" "You're kidding me! Let me through!" There were sounds of shifting hooves as Sergeant Thunderstorm pushed his way past the two pegasus warriors on the crowded stairway. Sure enough, there was a filthy looking female earth pony with an orange coat and a blonde mane pressed up against the bars; her eyes wide in wonder and pleading for help. "Earth ponies imprisoning earth ponies? Sir, something doesn't seem right here..." a guard said, looking around the dark room suspiciously. The sergeant ignored the soldier and slowly trotted towards the iron gate that separated them from the scared looking earth pony. After inspecting the lock the sergeant called for a spear, which was quickly brought to him and thrust in the lock; popping it open. "Let's get you out of here." the sergeant said to the bedraggled earth pony. "Oh good, another prisoner." Commander Hurricane sneered upon seeing the orange earth pony. "Not ours, ma'am." Sergeant Thunderstorm replied. Commander Hurricane raised an eyebrow and glared, suspecting Sergeant Thunderstorm was about to commit treason. "We found her in their dungeon, m-ma'am." he corrected, catching his superior's glare. "Hmph. Since I'm not getting any answers from this useless pile of fluff, let's try "talking some sense into you." Commander Hurricane said with an evil grin as she trotted towards the orange mare. "I'll ask you this once, little pony: Where. Is. The. Food?" the menacing pegasus commander growled. Smart Cookie glared defiantly at the pegasus leader and then at the Chancellor; her hatred burning in her chest. She realized in horror what she was doing and quickly ran through her options. Now was her time to tell the truth and keep the races from dying of starvation! But that would only lead to death by war... "Well?" the commander asked impatiently. Smart Cookie sighed and bowed her head submissively. "There is no food..."
The Fourth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP "Come, Clover the Clever; we are leaving to secure the food." Queen Platinum said, her head held high as she usually had it. Clover the Clever pulled her robe tighter around her body to keep out the cold as the two set off down the mountainside towards Earth with a band of unicorn soldiers. "Now, Clover," Queen Platinum began. "It is impervious that you continue to address me as Princess when in the presence of those other than unicorns. If word got out to the other races that my father was dead the results could be disastrous. I wouldn't put it past the earth ponies to be uplifted by my fathers death and stage some sort of attack, as weak as it may be, against my kingdom. Of course, since it was the pegasi who killed my father I'm sure they already know, but let's act as if only we know." "Yes, Queen Platinum." Clover said loyally. It was nearly past sunhigh when the unicorns arrived in Earth, and the sight that befell them was shocking: the earth ponies were meandering around as if they had no purpose; their eyes dark and sullen in fear and hunger. Most of their shacks had had the doors kicked in and the cold wind blowing though them now. The very sight of these pained creatures made Clover the Clever's chest burn in sorrow and rage. "I bet it was the pegasi..." she mumbled to herself as the guards stopped to let the Queen off. "Chancellor Puddinghead!" Queen Platinum called out, not lowering her head nor opening her eyes. Her loyal guard shivered in their cold armor as their ruler was warm inside her regal robes. Queen Platinum blinked in shock as a snowball suddenly pelted her in the face. Around the corner of the townhall disappeared a white fluffy mustache; one that could only belong to Chancellor Puddinghead. Groaning furiously, Queen Platinum tromped around the corner only to see the way clear of any life and something tugging on her hoof. Looking down at the sting that had been tugged by her hoof, Queen Platinum knew what was up and stood there in annoyance; accepting her fate as the snow from the roof began sliding down towards her. Only the laughter from Chancellor Puddinghead's snout saved him from her murderous ways as she dug herself out of the snow pile. "Chancellor Puddinghead!" She screamed at the brown coated pony. "Yes, Princess Platinum?" he said, covering his snout with a hoof and suppressing a giggle. "How DARE you play "pranks" on me during this dire time! I have at my hoof a band of guards who could easily raze this town for all the food you've ever grown! Now, just hoof over my payment and we shall be out of your mane before I rip yours from your skull." Queen Platinum growled. "Oh pish posh, Princess Platinum. You're always so...Uppity. It's quite a put down. You should try smiling for once!" Chancellor Puddinghead said cheerfully. "The food, Chancellor." Queen Platinum said threateningly. Rolling his eyes and frowning, the Chancellor trotted past the unicorn. "I'm afraid you are too late. The pegasi came before you and stole everything we had. There is nothing left for us in this land, Princess. No land to cultivate, no streams to drink from. Our houses are being blown down by the fierce winds at night and three families have already passed. Go ahead and do what you will with these guards of yours, but it is nothing compared to what these ponies have already lived through. We are leaving this land tomorrow morning." Chancellor Puddinghead said firmly. "No! You can't leave! Look, Chancellor," the Queen said, acting strangely nice towards the earth pony. "I'll convince the Pegasi to meet with me tomorrow to discuss the food situation. I would very much appreciate your presence there, Chancellor." The Queen said sincerely. Chancellor Puddinghead's eyes narrowed as he pressed his face close to Princess Platinum's, searching her eyes for any trace of a lie or deceit. Suddenly, and much to Queen Platinum's surprise, the Chancellor bounced backwards and began hopping away happily. "Oki doki loki!" he called from afar, his words almost drowned out by the never ending blizzard. Queen Platinum smiled wickedly. Her plan was all coming together... THE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUN-UP "I'm proud of you, Smart Cookie." The Chancellor said sincerely. "You had a chance to rat me out and you didn't take it. You stayed loyal to your kind and left the other two races in the dust. Er, snow. Regardless, I knew you wouldn't let me down in the end." "Of course your, Chancellorness." Smart Cookie said carefully, a smile plastered on her face and thoughts of treason and escape racing through her mind behind those guarded eyes. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUN-LOW "This better be important, Sergeant!" Commander Hurricane grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. Sergeant Thunderstorm hid his blush behind his dark coat as he watched his leader gracefully clamber out of bed and stand before him. It took him a few moments to realize that she was standing in front of him, glaring expectantly as he stood there like a foal while letting his fantasies play out in his mind. "U-Urgent letter from Princess Platinum, m-ma'am." he whispered in embarrassment. Taking the rolled up parchment from the hooves of her sergeant, Commander Hurricane skimmed over the message. Smiling to herself and offering a slight chuckle, she quickly rolled up the letter and tossed it out the window. "Wake me before sunrise, Sergeant." she ordered, turning her back to him as she slowly walked towards her fluffy cloud bed. "And Sergeant?" she whispered, turning her head towards him and looking at him through half closed eyes. "Y-Yes ma'am....?" Sergeant Thunderstorm stuttered, lost in those beautiful eyes as his heart fluttered around the inside of his chest like a butterfly trapped in a jar. "Keep your eyes on your sword and the unicorn or earth pony before you." she said before using her wings to blow the door closed in front of him.
The Fifth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER POINT WHERE ALL THREE TERRITORIES MEET, SUNHIGH Despite the large mass of ponies gathered in the snowy clearing, it was easy to spot the three different races. It seemed as though the entire earth pony population was present, although keeping their distance from the armor clad and weapon bearing pegasi. The pegasi had brought only their soldiers as if preparing for an attack; whether from them or the other pony races. It was high noon and the unicorn Queen had still not arrived. Suspecting a trap of some sort, Commander Hurricane ordered her troops to form a defensive ring around her ponies. Bitter from the cold winds that they had no shelter from and the lack of care or respect from the pegasi prompted the earth ponies to huddle together in hopes of using each other's body heat to keep themselves alive. "This is madness!" Commander Hurricane shouted in frustration, throwing her helmet into the snow. "How long does that unicorn snob expect us to wait here? I bet she's sitting warm back at her castle eating everything she stole and waiting for us to freeze to death out here! Either that or she has troops all over these hills waiting to fire down on us! Pegasi, take to the sk-" "That will not be necessary, Commander Hurricane." Princess Platinum firmly as she trudged through the snow towards the ponies with Clover the Clever at her side. They were the only two unicorns present. "What, unicorns to high and mighty to come out in the cold with the rest of us?" Commander Hurricane shot out bitterly. Ignoring the taunting, Queen Platinum trotted towards the space between the already present races and cleared her throat. "Fillies and gentlecolts," she began. "We are gathered here today to sort out our issues concerning food-" "With all do respect, Princess Platinum, I have already informed my ponies as to why we are here." Chancellor Puddinghead remarked tiredly. "I have as well." Commander Hurricane spat. "All I want to know is why the unicorns stole what was rightfully ours!" Queen Platinum's eyes widened and she took a step back as Chancellor Puddinghead nervously crept backwards into the sea of earth ponies. "Unicorns are not thieves, unlike our winged neighbors! If anything has been stolen from anypony it is in the hooves of a flying cretin!" Queen Platinum shouted in anger and disbelief. Commander Hurricane snorted in anger, dragging her hoof towards her in the snow; a threatening gesture. Queen Platinum glared furiously and flared her horn, ready to let loose a bolt of deadly magic towards the group of pegasi. Their armor would do little to protect from the searing heat of her magic. Then suddenly, Commander Hurricane ordered her forces into a charge and Queen Platinum let loose a flurry of magic. The earth ponies squinted their eyes and tried as best they could to shield themselves, only to soon hear the clatter of armor against a solid surface and gasps from two ponies. Upon opening their eyes, the earth ponies saw the remnants of a dark blue shield fall in front of the pegasi, letting the pile waver and collapse as the pegasus forces groaned in pain. Meanwhile, a golden shield fell after absorbing Queen Platinum's magic and left the unicorn stunned. "There will be no more fighting between you three, my little ponies." a stern voice said like a mother scolding her children. All eyes turned to the source. At the edge of the clearing stood three ponies; two of which wore hooded robes while the third and shortest of the three wore a simple cape and pointed hat. His ruffled white beard spoke of many years and countless tales. "Show them, dear sister." the tallest of the ponies said, and a smaller, dark blue pony pulled her hood back to reveal an extravagant horn. The crowd gasped at its beauty, especially Queen Platinum and Clover the Clever. What appealed to the pegasi, however, was when the dark blue pony pulled the rest of her hooded robe off and flared her equally extravagant wings open for all to see. Soon, the taller one did the same, making some of the older earth ponies faint. These were the Alicorns, an ancient race of ponies with the wings of a pegasus, horns of a unicorn, and the body of an earth pony. According to legend and fable they created the heavens and earth themselves; only to disappear shortly thereafter. They were all thought to be extinct if they had even existed at all, but standing here before hundreds of witnesses they stood. The taller, brighter, alicorn nodded to the smaller one who then cleared her throat and took to the skies. "CITIZENS OF EARTH, PEGASOPOLIS, AND UNICORNICUS: WE ARE MOST DISPLEASED WITH THE ACTS OF WHICH THOUST ALL HATH PREFORMED! PONIES ARE MEANT TO LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER, NOT WAGE WAR AND FULFILL THEIR DUTIES WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING SUSTENANCE! she bellowed, her voice echoing throughout the hills and forcing every nearby creature to cover their ears. Upon landing back in the snow, the taller alicorn led her companions closer to the center. "We are most displeased indeed. Hath thou all forgotten the pact already?" she spoke. Everypony stood silent, those she was near cowering in fear. "The pact? Surely there is at least one pony who doth remember our agreement?" she continued in slight disbelief. More silent and cowering. "Starswirl the Bearded, how long hath we been away?" she asked in slight fear. The elderly unicorn pony idlely dragged his hoof against the snow. "Starswirl." the dark blue alicorn growled. "A-About two thousand years...Your majesties..." he answered nervously. The two alicorns stared at each other in disbelief as the crowd began to slowly back away. "Tis...Tis a LIE!" the smaller alicorn shouted in utter rage, causing the slowly fleeing ponies to plant their hooves in the ground. Turning back to the crowd, the smaller alicorn flew back into the air to address the fearful ponies below her. "WE ARE PRINCESS LUNARIAS, AND THIS IS OUR ELDEST SISTER, PRINCESS CELESTIAR! WE ARE RULERS OF THIS WRETCHED LAND THAT THOU HATH LEFT IN A STATE OF DISGUSTING DISREPAIR! THE PACT MADE WITH THY FOREFATHERS WAS VERY CLEAR: WORK TOGETHER OR DIE. THOU ALL HATH BROKEN THE PACT, AND SO THY ALL SHALT BE PUNISHED!" Princess Lunarias screamed at the top of her lungs, her rage only subsiding when her body began enveloping with a soft, golden glow as her eldest sister gently pulled her back down to the snow. "It is true of the pact; that thou all were meant to work together to survive. But alas, we were not here to guide you and keep you all in check. For that, we apologize. But the time hath come to once again-" Princess Celestiar began, only to be interrupted by a daring earth pony who challenged their claims as rulers and alicorns. Giving an unamused look to the brave little stallion, Celestiar nodded down to her younger sibling. At once, both of their horns began glowing brightly with their respective aura. All eyes turned to the sky as the sun slowly crept over the mountains to the west and the moon climbed into the sky from the east. "Is that all? Art thou not entertained? Art thou not satisfied with the demonstration of our powers?" Celestiar challenged. This time, however, it was the unicorn Queen who spoke up. "We unicorn have always raised the sun and moon; it is no different from our own power!" "Indeed, thou hath always had power over the sun and the moon. Granted to thou by us, and now stripped as we hath returned. Still, thou doth provest a point. Dear little sister, I do believe that is thy cue." Celestiar spoke, and a wicked grin crept onto the younger alicorn's snout. Taking to the skies once again, the dark blue alicorn princess let her wings flair out and her horn glow wildly as storm clouds began moving from each direction towards the alicorn's horn, where they swirled around madly at a point. Laughing darkly, Lunarias let forth a concert of lightening bolts that struck every tree precisely once; setting it quickly ablaze. Meanwhile, as Lunarias let it rain down upon the helpless ponies, Celestiar lt loose her magic and crops of every type suddenly sprung up in the clearing. This was enough. There was not a single pony in the clearing who any longer thought they were otherwise who they claimed to be. These were royal alicorn sisters. THE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER POINT WHERE ALL THREE TERRITORIES MEET, MIDNIGHT As soon as a hopeful earth pony reached her snout out to take a bite of glorious food, the plant along with all the others quickly turned and crumbled to ash as Lunarias's storm ended and cleared. Picking her way back through the crowd of distraught ponies towards her older sister, Lunarias smirked in grim satisfaction at the pain. "We hath control here, my little ponies. Thou shalt do as we command or perish. How many wish to follow our command to the letter, unwillingly?" Celestiar questioned. Not a single pony moved. Most growled silently to themselves at being tortured like so, while others silently cried in their hooves. "None? A fine harvest for Tarturius!" Lunarias exclaimed as her horn began to flare. Celestiar's horn crossed her younger sisters', cutting off her magic before she had time to incinerate everypony present. A glare passed between the two before Celestiar continued. "We promise food, shelter, and a land away from this cold blizzard if only thou will leave the past behind and start anew. There can be no more fighting between thou three pony races. We will ask once more; a final time: How many wish to follow us into the howling dark to a brighter future?" Celestia asked firmly. This time, nearly all of the ponies in the clearing moved towards the pair of alicorns in submission. Princess Lunarias eyed the small band of armored pegasi and shaken earth ponies hungrily. Much to her pleasure, she saw her older sister nod sadly to her youngest whose horn then lit up darkly. She giggled evilly to herself as her aura engulfed the remaining ponies, muffling their screams as they slowly melted away into nothingness. Flicking her tail in delight, Lunarias turned to her older sister just in time to see her pained, clouded eyes revert to their hard, powerful look. Turning to the three leaders, Celestiar addressed the mass again. "Thou will all head south of this point until we meet again. Thou shalt not settle permanently anywhere unless thou hath seen us. We will be your sign when you reach thy new home; a sign of peace and prosperity for your people for millenniums to come. We will speak to thou the next time we meet." Finishing their business, the three mysterious ponies simply vanished in an instant; the only indication of their existance being the hoofprints in the ground and the still burning treetops.
The Sixth DayTHE LAND BEFORE, EARTH, SUN-UP "I don't believe a word of it." Chancellor Puddinghead remarked as-a-matter-of-factly. "But Chancellor," Smart Cookie began as the Chancellor paced about his office. "They turned night into day and made crops grow!" "Crops that soon turned to ash after being touched, my dear. A simple illusion spell by a simple unicorn. I bet Princess Platinum was in cahoots with the lot! Didn't you see that wizardly unicorn who stood back? Ten bales of hay says he gave the two fake wings to top the whole thing off!" Chancellor Puddinghead explained. Smart Cookie's stomach growled at the mention of food. "So then what are we going to do? Just sit here and starve to death?" "I suggest you watch your tone with me, Smart Cookie; you sound like you're challenging your leader." the Chancellor growled. "Maybe I am! How many families have we lost due to the blizzard and lack of food because somepony is too busy planning to kill off the other races? We have food, as little as it is, and our own ponies are starving because you want to keep up the illusion that the other races stole it all from us! This has to end, Chancellor; I'm taking these ponies to a new land." Smart Cookie whispered menacingly. "Oh? Is that it? Well then why didn't you just say so? Let me pack my things and I'll be on my way with you!" Chancellor Puddinghead said happily as he bounced away. Following after him confusedly, Smart Cookie spoke up again. "Uh...Would you mind repeating that, Chancellor Puddinghead?" "Why of course! I'm not a stupid pony, Smart Cookie. I know more than any other pony that we need to get out of here and away from the other races if we are to survive. I just wont pledge my allegiance to those "alicorns". Have everypony ready to leave by sunhigh." Chancellor Puddinghead said calmly. "Yes, your Chancellorness." Smart Cookie replied simply. THE LAND BEFORE, PEGASOPOLIS, SUN-UP "I want everypony fully armored and prepared for battle by sunhigh!" Commander Hurricane finished, her tail flicking in anger. "It's bad enough that we had to pledge our allegiance to those murderous alicorns, but then they have the nerve to kill off those who wouldn't follow! My own soldiers!" Sergeant Thunderstorm stayed quite a bit away from his commander like he always did when she got this furious. He didn't approve of their methods, but he understood why the alicorns did what they did to those who wanted no part of it. It was a ploy to exert their power. To show the ponies there was no turning back. To show them all that death is the only reward for hatred. Shivering in his armor from the cold, he noticed a rather large pile of snow on the battlements. Pushing it aside and over the cloud city, he realized just how close the three races were to extinction. He only hoped his leader would see sense before she did something that she would later regret. THE LAND BEFORE, UNICORNICUS, SUN-UP Yawning softly as she awoke, she expected to find Clover the Clever by her bedside as she usually did every morning. This morning, however, was drastically different. When she rolled over and opened her eyes to take in the seat where Clover the Clever usually sat, she screamed in terror upon realizing that her assassin's body was sitting slumped over in the wooden stool. His head was angled up so that Queen Platinum could see the gashing hole in his neck where clearly a very sharp horn pierced it. She shuddered and hid her snout under her blankets as she stared at his bloodstained neck and a voice sounded from the opposite side of her bed. "For one trained to kill so well, he was no match for a simple horn thrust." Princess Lunarias said coldly as Queen Platinum turned to face the demonic looking alicorn. "Truly a pity, as we were hoping for more of a fight before we introduced ourselves." "Clover the Clever! Guards! Somepony help!" Queen Platinum wailed. There was the sound of heavy hoofsteps on the stone stairs leading to the Queen's bedchambers before the alicorn forced the door shut with her magic; all the while not taking her eyes off the shivering white unicorn. "Thou art a disgusting, cruel hearted wench for the deeds thou hath committed." Princess Lunarias said in disgust, spitting on the blanket to show her distaste. "Murdering thy own father, who raised thou and taught thee while thy mother lay dead! And what such a reward for a caring heart? A gem bomb staged by his own spawn! If we had our way, thou would be a pile of ash in this moment, but we come not to end thy worthless life, oh no. We stand here before an ugly mare with a heart blacker than our own to deliver a message from our eldest." Pressing her snout close to the cowering unicorn's and glaring with those demonic eyes, the Princess delivered her message: "Do away with thy wretched ways of deceit, lies and murder. Do away with thy plans to conquer the other races as thou was planning at the meeting. Do away with thy terrors less thy ponies burn at thy hooves in agony as they curse thy name with their last breath!" As Princess Lunarias finished her message, the guard burst in and the alicorn quickly vanished from sight; leaving only the hyperventilating queen and the body of her assassin in the room. "Prepare..." Queen Platinum began, breathing quickly. "To leave...At sunhigh..." THE LAND BEFORE, CLEARING DESIGNATED AS THE CENTER OF THE THREE TERRITORIES, SUNHIGH "Scour the area! I want those alicorns!" Commander Hurricane ordered as her forces spread outwards from the clearing. Commander Hurricane growled in frustration as she tromped off into the woods with Sergeant Thunderstorm by her side. Justice would be served this day, even if they had to stay out here in the freezing cold until sunset. "Sergeant Thunderstorm!" Commander Hurricane called out, despite her underling being a few hoofsteps away. "Yes ma'am!" he called back, standing at attention. As the commander began instructing the sergeant, neither of them noticed a rather large pile of snow shift a bit and a long, extravagant horn poke out; starting to glow softly with a golden aura. Sergeant Thunderstorm was lost once again in those deep, purple eyes. He heard the words coming out of his leader's mouth and stuffed them in the back of his head for the moment; there was time to follow orders later. Right now, those beautiful eyes... Suddenly, the sergeant lurched forward and pressed the end of his snout against Commander Hurricane's softly as she did the same. Both reeled back in shock as they regained control over their bodies, eyes darting around wildly to see if anypony had seen that and trying to find what had caused it. Only a soft, playful giggle betrayed the enemy's position and both pegasi moved quietly to flank the snow pile. As they leaped up into the air to strike down, they once again lost control of their bodies and were pulled into the pile. They struggled to lash out at the snickering face of Celestiar. "Calm down, my little ponies; we art not here to harm you." she promised, stifling her soft laughter. Once both of the pegasi had ceased their struggle, Celestia unbound the sergeant's mouth since the commander was still glaring furiously. "My my, such strong emotions coming from this one." Celestiar gently teased, causing Thunderstorm to blush. "How lucky for the both of you that that little hoof slip in the snow managed to happen, isn't it?" Sergeant Thunderstorm blushed bright red through his dark coat and looked away from Celestiar and Commander Hurricane. Giggling to herself once more before regaining her composure, Celestiar continued. "We suppose thou art both wondering why we art out here all by our lonesome, art thou not? We have come to simply tell thee that thy little ploy to attack us will not end happily in thy favor." As Celestiar's tone grew darker and serious, Commander Hurricane attempted to speak up; her voice a muffled blur beyond Celestiar's magical grip. "You killed my warriors simply because they would not pledge their allegiance to you!" As her words reached Celestiar's ears, the alicorn's eyes clouded in sincere pain. "Yes, the innocents...It is indeed a shame what our sister hath done, but a necessary point needed to be made. Thou see-eth, Commander Hurricane, that our sister and we art but two sides of the same coin." "Coin? What the hay is a coin and what does it have to do with why you murdered my ponies?!" Commander Hurricane interrupted. "Ah, yes..." Celestiar spoke softly, mostly to herself. "We had forgotten how...Sheltered thou all were. A coin is a form of currency used in other lands, as our sister and we have traveled a great many lands before returning here. What we art trying to say is that while we both art separate entities, our sister and we strive for the same goal. Our sister is the aspect of war, death, destruction and end, to name a few, while we art the aspect of peace, life, creation and prosperity. We art drastically different, but as we have said before: we art both two sides of the same coin. And we come bearing a message." Commander Hurricane's ears flicked in anger as she forced herself to listen further while Sergeant Thunderstorm listened attentively as if he were her student and she his teacher. Smiling at both acts, Celestiar continued. "The time of war and conquest has ended. Lay down thy weapons and head south to thy new home; give up thy dreams of warish victory against a goddess for thou will not win. Instead, become a legend amongst thy people as the pony who saved them from the brink of destruction. That is our message to thou, dear pegasus." "The time of peace has nearly begun, my little ponies." she whispered before she suddenly disappeared, leaving the two pegasi slumped up against each other in the cold snow. SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, MIDNIGHT "Ma'am, don't you think we should land and rest? We've been flying all day..." Sergeant Thunderstorm asked tiredly as he struggled to stay aloft next to his leader. Commander Hurricane turned her head and slowed her pace to view her half awake troops. They had indeed been flying all day, or at least for twelve hours, and they still had not seen either a horn nor wing from the alicorns. The pegasi were weary and silently begging for a chance to rest as the moon cast soft light that reflected off of their heavy armor. Sighing sadly to herself, she gave the order to land; much to her pony's relief. "We'll sleep in the trees tonight. I want everypony up by sun-up or you're being left behind, is that clear?" Commander Hurricane ordered. The only reply she received were a series of low, tired moans as the pegasi settled themselves into the branches and quickly fell asleep. Commander Hurricane, however, was wide awake and started to patrol around the area her ponies were sleeping in. It wasn't long before she heard the soft padding of hoofsteps that she could easily tell belong to her sergeant. "You should get some sleep as well, Commander..."He suggested, stifling a yawn. "We'll need a strong leader to guide us through this mess tomorrow morning." Commander Hurricane didn't answer, instead focusing her gaze out over the cliff and into the lush green valley below that marked the end of their harsh winter wasteland. "Sergeant?" She asked softly and Thunderstorm trotted closer in acknowledgement. "If you tell anypony else about this, I'll have you tried for treason and hung.". Sergeant Thunderstorm raised an eyebrow but did not back away. He knew Commander Hurricane was not one to issue idle threats, but the way she had said it seemed to him like she was attempting to make a joke. "Sergeant...I'm scared. I'm scared of those alicorns, I'm scared of this 'new land' they promised, and I'm scared of the future." she admitted quietly. Sergeant Thunderstorm pitied her but made no attempt to comfort her as she was still his superior. He found it strangely comforting that his leader, the strongest and smartest pegasi warrior in his nation, wasn't feeling her usual violent and war-loving self. She seemed like any other pony with worries and fears, and to him she was more beautiful than ever. "Sergeant...?" she began again, snapping Thunderstorm out of his thoughts. "Will you lay with me tonight?" SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUN-LOW "Faster, Clover the Clever! I want to beat those pegasi before they reach the new land." Queen Platinum ordered, her eyes focused on the tree-lined horizon. Upon realizing that thick forests surrounded their land on every side, the unicorns reluctantly left their carts full of gems and personal belongings behind. The Queen, however, would not do away with her dresses or gems and loaded as many as she could onto poor Clover the Clever's back. "I said faster, Clover! Do you want those nasty pegasi to get there before us and claim all the good spots or food?" Queen Platinum challenged. "With all do respect, your highness..." Clover the Clever started, pausing to catch her breath from the heavy weight on her back. "The pegasi prefer to keep to the skies, and I doubt the alicorn sisters would let them take all the food if they were trying to promote peace." Queen Platinum did not acknowledge Clover's remark as her eyes squinted to keep the cold winds and snow out. Hidden as a sudden gust of cold wind and snow blew in, Starswirl the Bearded popped into existence next to Clover the Clever, much to her surprise. Before she had a chance to screech, however, he quickly slapped a hoof over her snout and shook his head while pointing a hoof at her leader. Nodding her understanding, Clover stretched her snout open and close after Starswirl released it. "I am going to teach you a spell passed onto me by my teacher, who waited for the return of the alicorn sisters as did his teacher and his teacher before him for two millennium. You must speak of this spell to no one and only use it when the time is right; and you will know when the time is right. Do you understand?" he explained in a whisper. Clover the Clever nodded slowly, her eyes holding back stars of excitement and curiosity. Starswirl the Bearded leaned in close and shared his secret of harmony with the young and thoughtful unicorn. And then, he vanished in another gust of wind and snow. SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUNHIGH "It's like he's wearing the map on his face, backwards and upside down with eye-holes cut in it!" an earth pony whispered to her friend as they slowly trudged along with the rest of their race after the Chancellor. While the Chancellor was too lost in thought while staring at the crudely drawn map to hear the remarks, Smart Cookie heard them clearly enough through the storm. It was hard enough convincing the surviving members of families that had already perished to follow them into the uncertain unknown, but now remarks like these were dropping moral like it was the snow coming down from above. "I've been thinking, Smart Cookie." the Chancellor stated, not looking up from the map as he slowly trotted along the side of the mountain. "Doesn't it seem awfully strange that this bizarre and terrible weather starts out of the blue, and then these two "alicorn sisters" introduce themselves and demand we make peace and leave this land? Does it not also strike you as odd that the dark blue one conjured up an entire thunderstorm all by herself?" "If you're hinting that the alicorns started the blizzard to drive us out, I don't believe it for a second, your Chancellorness. There was something about that white one that just seemed so sincere; like she cared for us all and never wanted anything bad to happen to us. Did you see the look in her eyes when her sister...You know, to those other ponies?" Smart Cookie replied. "Don't get me started on what that blue one did. And no, I was too busy containing my rage to notice how "sincere" she was when her sister killed my ponies." the Chancellor answered, almost stumbling off the side of the mountain before catching himself. It was going to be a long day.
The Eighth Day???, SUN-UP "I am surprised they made it this far." Lunarias whispered bitterly. "Dear sister, they simply kept their distance and moved forward. We must do something to force them together. Starswirl has told me he has selected his student and trained her in the short time he had left, so we will move on with the plan." Celestiar replied as they watched the three races converge in the valley below. "Call forth the Wendigos." ???, SUN-UP "Go find your own land, the pegasi were here first and you know it!" Commander Hurricane shouted as she challenged the unicorn band that had arrived. "Is all your kind know war and lies? It is quite obvious that the unicorns lay hoof here before your disgrace of a race, Commander Hothead!" Queen Platinum shot back. "Now now, let's all at least try and be civil here. We still have seen no sign of the alicorns so let's just split back up and keep heading south." Chancellor Puddinghead suggested. "Keep your snout shut before I jab a spear in there to keep it shut!" The pegasi leader shouted; her nostrils flaring as she drug a hoof against the dirt in a threatening gesture. As the three races prepared for a battle, not a single pony noticed the gentle snowfall start and the cold winds blow in. "Wassss it not enough?" the large white stallion asked, unamused as he stood before the twin sisters. "Twas not," Celestiar began. "As the three races took separate paths and hath just recently reunited thy bodies and hatred." "Then we will ssssstir up another ssssstorm. But be aware, foalishhhhh alicornsssss, thisssss marksssss the end of our ssssside of the agreement... the ghostly stallion spoke before turning and galloping back up into the sky despite the lack of wings on his body. "Liar!" Queen Platinum screeched as she dodge the flying pegasus commander. It was a fight between the two as every other pony simply watched in horror and awe. "We unicorn would never stop as low as that!" Queen Platinum continued before she was tackled to the ground by a furious pegasus. As Commander Hurricane tilted her head to the side and in turn raised her sword, a sudden explosion sounded from the skies above and all eyes turned up. "FOALISH WHELPS!" Princess Lunarias boomed as she slowly descended from the storm clouds above; her mane flicking around like some demonic dark blue fire. "HATH THOU NOT HEARD A SINGLE WORD THAT HATH COME FROM OUR MOUTH? LOOK TO THE SKIES THOU FOALISH MORTALS! LOOK TO THE SKIES AND SEE WHAT THOU HATH BROUGHT FORTH TO THIS LAND AS THOU DID THY OTHER!" The ponies below began to let their eyes wander away from the devilish princess, instead focusing on the dark grey clouds that slowly but surely were letting loose a torrent of chilling snow and wind. "THOU ALL HATH BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE, A CHANCE THOU ALL THREW SO WILLINGLY AWAY! AND NOW, FOR THY INSOLENCE, THY FAMILIES AND FRIENDS SHALL SEE NEVER ANOTHER SUNRISE!" the Princess cackled before taking refuge from the ferocious storm above the clouds and leaving the ponies to their fate. The three races of ponies stared in horror all around them as the ground became buried beneath snow that rose to the ponys' chests and all plant life was absorbed and killed by the white terror. But the leaders of the three races were more attentative than their fearful others and quickly noticed a rather large looking cave only a few gallops off. Rallying their ponies, the struggle for survival soon became a race against time and the other races as each breed of pony rushed towards the safety of the cave. "We were here first, this is our cave!" Commander Hurricane shouted, thrusting her snout in front of the unicorn Queen. "As it were, you are trespassing in unicorn territory! I demand that you leave immediately!" Queen Platinum replied coldly. "This cave is already inhabited by the earth ponies!" Chancellor Puddinghead chimed in. Smart Cookie groaned and smacked her hoof against her forehead in frustration. The cave was obviously big enough for all of them, so why couldn't they share it? Was it really a matter of space as the leaders thought, or was it simply because they were just so used to fighting? Sighing and surveying all the ponies that had sought shelter in the cave, Smart Cookie noticed a peculiar purple coated unicorn facehoofing as well. More scouting produced a black coated pegasus who seemed to be shying away from his own kind. Maybe I'm not the only one who just wants all this fighting to stop... Smart Cookie thought to herself, slowly trotting over to the unicorn side of the cave. As she approached, Smart Cookie was mildly surprised that no attempts were made to block her path. Probably because all eyes and ears were still turned to the screaming leaders. "I don't see what sense they think there is in fighting anymore. This cave is obviously big enough for all of us." Smart Cookie whispered, trying to sound friendly. A soft smile spread across her face as the unicorn turned to greet the brave earth pony. "Exactly! Ponies are dead and dying because of this fighting and nopony seems to want to want to change anything. My name is Clover the Clever, by the way." the unicorn responded warmly. "There's a scared looking pegasus over in the next group who looks like all he wants is peace as well. Care to join me in paying him a visit?" Smart Cookie asked. Once again, no attempts were made to block the two drastically different looking ponies from "invading" the other race. When they had reached the curled up and whimpering pegasus, a gentle hoof jab got him to poke his head out from under his hoof. "W-What are you two doing here? I don't think you're supposed to be on this side of the cave..." he whimpered. "My name is Clover the Clever, and this is Smart Cookie. We couldn't help noticing how scared you looked. All you want is peace between the three races too, right? the unicorn asked, offering a hoof to help the pegasus up. Thunderstorm stared at that purple hoof for a long while before looking back up to the unicorn, a weak and unsure smile on her snout. Thunderstorm took her hoof and hauled himself up. "So...What are we going to do?" Thunderstorm asked softly. "Starve to death..." Smart Cookie said, looking away from the group and focusing on the entrance. As the other two ponies turned to see what had captivated their new friend, they gasped in horror as they saw the last few inches between the thick ice and cold ground close. "We're...We're trapped in here forever?!" Thunderstorm whispered in utter terror. Neither of the ponies answered him as their eyes turned to the ceiling, watching the ice slowly descend the wall and close in on the ponies. The ponies that were busy watching the fight escalate never even took notice as their bodies became slowly trapped in ice casings. Pulling Thunderstorm by his tail to the center of the cave as the trio slowly backed away from the advancing ice, the three leaders turned to their companions and let loose their rage for interrupting; only to be quickly covered in ice. "I guess this is it..." Clover the Clever whispered sadly. "Why couldn't they just open their eyes and see?" Smart Cookie said to herself. Thunderstorm just silently cried to himself as the cold ice began to envelope the trio of new friends, slowing only when it reached Clover the Clever's horn. Suddenly, the entire cave burst into flame; slowly but surely melting away all the ice and leaving her two friends gazing in amazement up at her. The three leaders were the last to thaw, shaking their heads in pain and confusion before looking around. "What...What the hay happened? Why are we all in this cave?" some voices began wondering. Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead and Queen Platinum all exchanged a look that sent shivers up along Clover the Clever, Thunderstorm, and Smart Cookie's spines. They soon realized, however, that the hatred that burned in their hearts was not shining through their eyes as it usually did. Instead, the trio only saw pained sadness as the three leaders began slowly approaching each other. The next few steps would change the fate of every race forever. "I'm sorry." all three leaders said at once, much to everypony's surprise. As the cave fell hushed, Commander Hurricane was the first to move forward. The pegasi warriors dropped their weapons and their mouths in shock as the war thirsty pegasus wrapped her hooves around the three leaders; pulling them into a friendly hug. Both the earth pony and unicorn races eventually did the same as their respective leaders returned the gesture warmly. "Perhaps I was wrong..." Chancellor Puddinghead said heartfeltly. "Perhaps there is a future for all of us; together in peace.". That was enough for the earth ponies as they jumped onto their hind hooves and cheered. "And I apologize for declaring war on your ponies, Commander Hurricane. Perhaps we unicorn can learn that we are not better than any of the other races. We are all equal in our hearts." Queen Platinum admitted. The unicorns looked around confusedly before a single stomp of approval was heard amongst their numbers. This soon lead to every unicorn in the cave shouting their approval with their hooves. "I should be the one apologizing, Princess Platinum. I led the attack that started our whole 'war' just because I thought you created snow..." Commander Hurricane said nervously. The three let out small, nervous laughs before being interrupted by a mysterious cracking noise. As ever head and hoof turned towards the ice-blocked entrance, a small crack began jutting its way up along the center until it simply shattered and opened the way to the land outside. Despite being inside the cave for a mere few minutes, the sun seemed blinding bright in the sky before Smart Cookie realized and pointed out that the snow clouds were gone and the land was clear of the white madness that had plagued them for so long. Their resulting cheer quickly hushed itself, however, as they realized that the twin alicorns stood before them all. An awkward silence covered the clearing as the dark blue alicorn hid her face under her hood and the white alicorn smiled warmly. "Well done, all of thee. Thou hath bested thy own demons and driven off the cold, bringing the fire of friendship to everypony's hearts. Thou all hath done as we hath commanded, and for such loyalty we reward thee with this land: The land of Equestria. May thou all learn from each other the meaning of peace and friendship as a means to never return to the past. We start anew here, Equestrians! For peace, prosperity, and a future for generations to come!" Celestiar shouted happily as the crowd cheered once more. Through the chaotic yet peaceful cheer of the ponies, a single pegasus pressed herself closely to a blushing, black coated pegasi. The era of war and hatred had finally ended, and the ponies could begin anew under the protective rule and guidance of the fabled alicorn sisters.
The EndAnd so ends the true tale of Hearth's Warming Eve, where ponies were killed and lied to all in the name of food and survival until two beacons of hope came into their world. Again, we are quite shocked that anypony would see how....Questionable the play was and ask us, my dear sister and I, what really happened all those years ago... But then again, I would expect nothing less from my star pupil. Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria
IntroductionWe are surprised you are asking. It is indeed strange that since there was so much hatred back then that the current play does seem rather..."Happy". You must understand, however, that modern day ponies are taught very differently from the old ways as a means to avoid ever going back to our beginnings. Our war-like nature is safely tucked away inside all of our minds in the rare chance that we may need use of it. But we all hope that that day will never come again. But like those ponies of the past, those who struggled to survive in the white wasteland that was The Land Before, we can really never know what lies around the corner. We can only hope there will be a light shining from just beyond the bend. ((AUTHOR'S INTERRUPTION: Some of the people/events/etc will not coincide with the cannon retelling of Hearth's Warming Eve because it would've happened more than one thousand years ago (since Luna was banished during a time when the Alicorn sisters both ruled over EQUESTRIA) and history gets sketchier as time goes on. Some details are lost, others are missinterpretted, yadda yadda yadda. A last note is about the system of time they use. Sun-Up: 6:00 am - 12:00 pm Sunhigh: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm Sun-Low: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Sunset: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Midnight: 11:00 pm - 6:00 am (I am well aware of the fact that midnight is actually 12:00 am)))
The Seventh DaySOMEWHERE SOUTH OF THE LAND BEFORE, SUN-UP Commander Hurricane murred softly as she slept, snuggling up closer to Thunderstorm who was wide awake and struggling not to burst into flames from embarrassment. Most of the pegasi race had awoken the moment the sun peeked over the treetops and quickly looked for their leader. Instead of finding their leader wide awake and shouting orders, they found her cuddling with Sergeant Thunderstorm and sound asleep. The pegasi formed a circle around the pair; most of their faces plastered with stunned expressions, stifled giggles or soft nods of approval before Commander Hurricane began to awake. Without opening her eyes yet, she tilted her head back and up against Thunderstorm's neck, nuzzling gently. A quiet "D'aww" was enough to snap the Commander out of her warm spectacle and take in her surroundings. "What the hay does this look like, a play? Get a move on all of you! Take to the skies and fan out! I want to know how close the other races are to where ever we're going!" She shouted defensively, her blush being poorly hidden against her blue coat as she leapt to her hooves. Her pegasi scattered, giggling to themselves at their commander's display of affection and then embarrassment. Sergeant Thunderstorm wanted to bury himself in the snow and hide forever. ((Authors' Interruption: I apologize for the incredible shortness of this chapter, but I honestly had no idea what to write here. I planned for them to travel for the rest of they day and fall asleep again, then wake up at the start of the scene where they started claiming territories and then got trapped in the cave yadda yadda yadda but that's in the next day/chapter. Really the only interesting thing I had to write about was that adorable piece with Commander Hurricane and Sergeant Thunderstorm. :3))
