"You can't possibly expect me to sign that."
Clover met her ruler's glare without flinching. "This is our best chance at a lasting peace and a fruitful cooperation with the other two tribes, Your Majesty," she explained yet again. They'd been going at this for hours now, with Platinum going over every inch of the new Equestrian Charter and finding fault after fault with it.
Normally, Clover would be overjoyed that her liege was actually paying attention to matters of state rather than blindly delegating them, but this new alliance was far too fragile and couldn't afford her interference right now.
"It's giving up two-thirds of our coffers in exchange for a vague promise of food and good weather," Platinum retorted. "I think the cold has addled your mind."
Clover had to bite her tongue to avoid mentioning that it had been Platinum who had been frozen solid by the Windigoes. "The joint settlements in the Everfree Forest will force the Pegasi and Earth Ponies to uphold their end of the bargain. And the other exchanges between the ruling groups will ensure that everypony has enough hostages to prevent any double-crosses."
"If you think I am going to send my own retainers off to live in those squalid—"
"Your Majesty." There were only a handful of ponies in the world who could interrupt the Princess without fear of losing their heads. Fortunately, Clover was one of them. "We've been at this for hours, and you know I've already addressed every possible objection you might have. The minor details can be amended, but we need this charter to be signed now to preserve this tenuous peace."
"Well, I also don't appreciate being rushed into signing this." Platinum harrumphed. "I know Hurricane and Puddinghead don't have the keen mind to dissect a document such as this, but I, at least, have the education to be able to divine if this contract is what's truly best for us."
"Fine," Clover said. "I don't object to you reading this all, but you're clearly trying to find any excuse not to sign it." She finally decided to put down her hoof. "Why do you object to this agreement so much, Your Majesty?" Her voice was soft but firm, and Platinum knew that the time for deceptions was passed.
The princess sighed. "Do you remember the day I was crowned as princess, Clover?"
"I do, Your Majesty," Clover replied. "Despite the weather, it was a beautiful ceremony, and you looked every inch the regal princess, as you desired."
Princess Platinum gave a satisfied grunt at that. "I was, wasn't I? And do you remember the vows I made that day in front of all the kingdom?"
"I did assist in the preparations of the coronation," Clover pointed out. "So yes, I can recall each and every one of the vows you spoke that day. They were the same ones spoken by your mother, and her mother before that, and her mother before that. The records get a little muddled after that point, so it's hard to say how far back the tradition goes."
"I made a vow to love Unicornia first in my heart," Platinum continued on, ignoring Clover's aside. She glared at the document in Clover's hooves. "I swore to uphold her dignity and honour, and to protect her as if she were my own wife." She paused. "In hindsight, it is rather odd how much like a wedding ceremony the coronation is."
"One of Princess Amore's ancestors helped write the vows, as far as our scholars can discern," Clover replied dryly. "You know how that lineage is."
"Quite." Platinum's glare returned, directed at Clover this time. "And you want me to abandon my vows by signing that piece of paper. Unicornia would be dissolved in order to form this Equestria, and I will have failed to protect the nation I was wedded to. Even worse, I would be signing her own death warrant. A proper ruler would at least fight to the death for her kingdom."
"I see." And she did. Suddenly, it all made sense, while also making no sense at all. Clover put down the charter and gave her full attention to Platinum. "Your Majesty, you made another promise all those years ago, when they placed that crown upon your head. You promised to care for the ponies of Unicornia as if they were your own children, to put their needs above your own, and to be willing to sacrifice everything for them."
She gestured at a map of the kingdom that was lying on the table in front of her. "What is Unicornia, Your Majesty? Is it a name and a document declaring its existence? Is it an agreement that certain lands are under the control of your lineage?
"Or is it the ponies that call themselves yours?" At this, Clover pointed towards a painting on the wall depicting a group of mages ushering in a new day as they raised the sun and lowered the moon. "The ones who don't care what flag they fly or what the name of their kingdom is as long as those they love are safe and happy?"
Platinum shook her head. "I care for my ponies, but I also care for their dignity. Unicornia is a proud kingdom, and Equestria is not. What honour will we have in this new land?"
"We will have Harmony." Clover smiled. "Together, the three tribes can build a nation that all can be proud of, something that will surpass anything Unicornia could ever achieve. That will be the legacy you leave for your descendants, Your Majesty. The promise of a world where all ponies can have their dignity without starving or freezing to death."
There was a silence as Platinum continued to stare at the document. "Very well," she finally said, smiling nervously. "I suppose I fulfilled my promise to my ponies by saying good-bye to Unicornia."
"Unicornia will always have a place in our hearts," Clover promised. "So long as we remember our past, and learn from it, and grow from it, to become better than what we were before. That is what it means to be a ruler."
"To promises kept, then." Magic filled the air as Platinum floated a quill over and dipped it in the inkwell. With a graceful flourish, she signed her name in beautiful calligraphy.
Clover took the charter and rolled it up, ready to begin the founding of a new nation. "To a future more worthy than our past."