Cumulus stood at the top of the hill overlooking the battlefield, gouges in the dirt were easily visible in the mud, and fallen trees hit with stray magic lay on the edges of the clearing. It was early morning, many ponies were still asleep, and still she felt like there was a tension in the air. As if the ponies below her where holding their breath.
“We really needed this truce...” she said softly to herself, imagining the chaos which had so recently ceased. The flashes of light, the screaming, the smashing of broken things, all rang in her mind, though the air was silent.
The tents covering the wide expanse of field appeared like a patchwork quilt. If she hadn’t known where the fronts had been the night before she wouldn’t be able to distinguish one faction from the others. She hoped that was a good sign. That they could use their common goals to reach an end to all of this.
A cool breeze ruffled her soft blue hair and she sighed, sitting down on the dewy grass, the wet darkening her pale blue coat. It was long, but not overly so.
What will happen to us if this truce doesn’t hold? Cumulus wasn’t sure she really wanted the answer to that. The war they’d been fighting was brutal, even worse than her great grandfather had described the first changeling war, and yet, it seemed so far away now.
In her mind she tried to justify it. This war, the fighting, all its anger, was for the greater good, that humility would finally be important to the people of this nation and that soon they would be safe. This fantasy didn’t last long though, reality knocked on the back of her mind. You couldn’t just force humility onto others, it has to be chosen.
She glanced back at the clearing and saw many of the tents below her emitted a faint glow, plumes of smoke coming from the tents whose owners controlled magic or those who desired to stay warmer than this early spring would allow.
Hoofsteps behind her commanded her gaze, and she turned to watch Reya, a white unicorn with pastel multicolored mane, appear over the hill crest.
“Greetings” she said briskly. Reya was certainly not the first person she’d have liked to see then, but by far was not the worst.
Out of the two sisters, Cumulus had certainly trusted Noct, a navy blue unicorn with curly dark blue mane, far more, however with their truce, she kept silent.
“It’s a fine morning” Reya said softly as she sat nearby. She kept far enough away to show a respect for the alicorn’s space but it wasn’t quite far enough away to please her.
“It is”
Cumulus couldn’t help but feel bad for her brisk attitude, though she felt it was the least rude of the ways she could tell Reya that she’d rather not speak to her at the moment. Why exactly she felt that way, Cumulus wasn’t sure.
“Are you ready for the meeting this afternoon?” Reya asked softly, almost gravely. That caught her attention and when she met the Unicorn sister’s gaze she saw a flash worry.
“I am”, Cumulus said with a slight pause. “Are you?”
Reya stayed silent and turned towards the blanket of tents.
Both surprised by the worry in Reya’s eyes and impressed by the humility it would’ve taken such a prideful mare like her to admit such worry, Cumulus began to feel less wary of her hilltop compatriot.
“Do you think it’ll work? The truce I mean?” She said softly. Below them both was a small circular clearing.
Reya hesitated to answer, then breathed softly. “If I’m being quite honest? I have no idea. I-, we, want everything to go smoothly, but there is no promise that we’ll come to a final agreement”
Cumulus nodded.
Around the clearing, sat 12 tents, both larger and more active than all the others. The faction heads took up those tents. She glanced at her own, a light blue tent adorned with clouds. It was the smallest of the twelve, not too much larger than the rest her faction. That was the point.
“Promise me you won’t fire first”
Cumulus shook her head and turned back to Reya bewildered. “What?”
Reya cleared her throat and looked at Cumulus with a desperation in her eyes. “Please promise me that if it comes to war, you won’t be the first to fire”
Cumulus felt anger rush through her. “What makes you think I’d ever do something like that?!” She shouted, worry and frustration boiling over. “I would never be so prideful to end this truce because of my own self interest. There are lives on the line here!”
A very bewildered Reya started in shock and despair as Cumulus stood up quickly.
“I hope you haven’t asked each leader the same question.” Cumulus said coldly, before flapping her wings, and taking flight, using the wind to cool her mind, and carry her home.