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// Chapter 6: Return in Failure 
// Story: How I Became My Mother 
// by Halira 
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The rain came down in heavy waves as Haven and Argyle huddled under the tree where she had first met him. He was taking the brunt of it since he had chosen to allow her to use his blanket to cover herself while he sat exposed. The tree barely protected them at all because of the wind and angle of the rain. They were getting less rain hitting them under the tree, but soaked through was soaked through one way or another. They couldn't even successfully start a campfire under these conditions. 

"Are you sure you don't want to take turns with the blanket?!" Haven yelled over the storm, unsure if he could hear her over the intense weather. 

"You take longer to dry off than me! You stay under the blanket!" Argyle answered at the top of his lungs. 

"What?!" she called out. 

"Wings! Feathers! Hold extra water! Delicate!" he answered in a broken explanation. 

If she understood him right, he was saying that her wings could get damaged. She wasn't entirely sure if they were any more at risk than the rest of her. She had never been out in conditions like this before and didn't know anypony who didn't have the good sense to get indoors in weather like this. However, there was no better shelter anywhere near them. She decided not to argue the point. Argyle seemed the type who would refuse to back down, and they would only end up both just as soaked or worse if she tried to insist. 

Yet again, she felt it a shame that Argyle would never be welcome in Zephyr Heights and a second shame that he was already married. He was such a gentlecolt and so intelligent. He would be an ideal advisor for the court and a strong candidate to be her suitor. Her mother was already pushing crown prince candidates on her back home. She could barely stand any of them, but her mother wouldn't give her objections much mind. 'You don't have to like them, dear. You just have to let them sire a foal and maybe a backup if you can manage it. You can dismiss them once that's done if it isn't going to work out in the long run. The royal blood is yours, not theirs.' That was what her mother told her. It felt hypocritical since Haven didn't have a little brother or sister as a backup. 

She shook her head in disgust at herself for thinking that. She knew why she didn't, and she didn't blame her mother for not wanting to bed another stallion after her father. 

"The wind seems to have stopped," Argyle announced, now much easier to hear. 

She looked around and noticed that the rain was no longer coming down on them. There was still some making its way through the tree's branches, but it was very light, merely some stray droplets. It was still coming down hard outside the shelter of the tree, but without the wind, it was like an ill-defined wall had been placed between them and the storm. 

Argyle stood up and started rifling through his pack. "I'm going to see if I can start a fire. I have some dry kindling in here. It won't be much, but it will be some warmth to try to help us dry off."

She pulled the blanket entirely off and looked around. "Maybe I can help find some wood."

He shook his head. "It will all be as soaked as we are and won't burn. We'll have to make do with this, but thank you for wanting to make an effort."

Feeling rather useless, she sat and watched as Argyle worked to start a fire. It took him several minutes, and in that time, more of the storm passed, now only doing a gentle drizzle beyond the tree's branches. 

He got the fire going. It was a pathetic little fire that you had to be sitting very close to feel, but it was something. She got as close to it as she felt safe to do, and so did Argyle. 

"I'm sorry I lost your unicorn toy," she said without looking him in the eye. "Starbright something?"

"Starlight Glimmer," Argyle corrected. "She was the first student of Twilight Sparkle. She was a very powerful unicorn, the most gifted of her era. I don't know many details about her life other than that; not as much seems to have been written about her or at least preserved about her life. I recognized the mark on her flank from descriptions elsewhere."

"Bet she wouldn't have tried to con us," Haven muttered.

"Doubtful," Argyle agreed, watching the tiny fire flicker. "I'm sorry things didn't go as you hoped. It was just three unicorns. You can't assume every unicorn will be that way."

She sighed. "I know, but if I go to Bridlewood now, those three will just make trouble for me, and it is their word versus the word of an outsider from a different pony type. It's an unwinnable situation."

"I can't say much for Maretime Bay as a whole, but if you wanted to visit my lighthouse, my wife and I would welcome you," Argyle offered. "We're on the outskirts, and it is easy to avoid being seen by the rest of the town if you visit us."

Haven smiled sadly. "That is very kind of you to offer, but it falls short of what I'm hoping for. I'm assuming the rest of the town is like Phyllis?"

"Worse, probably. There's a lot of fear," Argyle answered, seeming ashamed. "I wish it wasn't so. I promise the lighthouse is safe, and we would try to help you talk to the other earth ponies. I do want to help put an end to all this fighting."

Haven considered trying for a moment but remembered Phyllis's behavior all too well. If the other earth ponies were even worse, she had little hope for progress. 

"I appreciate that, but I think I am out of my depth. I'm going to head home in the morning," she answered after a few seconds. 

He nodded in understanding. "Very well. Just remember, you always have friends in Maretime Bay, and our door is always open to you if you want to visit."

She touched a hoof to his. "I don't think that is possible, but thank you for offering, and I won't forget."





Haven woke before Argyle and decided she didn't need to draw out the goodbyes anymore. They had said their goodbyes last night, and there wasn't anything else to say. Plus, if she spent more time, she would probably do something stupid like go off to Maretime Bay. 

Now she was on the road home. If she was lucky, she could slip back into the city without causing any fuss and make up some excuse about where she had been for two days that most ponies would believe. 

"Your royal highness!"

Or maybe she would be found by the guards before she had a chance to think of anything. 





She managed to avoid saying anything to the guards, insisting she would only speak to her mother about matters of national security. It would cause rumors, but it was the best she could think of in the heat of the moment. 

As soon as she was in the palace, she had been whisked away to her mother, who had been shrewd enough to make sure their meeting was completely private. The queen sat and listened as Haven told her everything that had happened. 

"And that is when I came home, and the guards found me," Haven finished. 

Her mother sat silent for several seconds, looking her over in a strange way she had never done before. Could someone look like they were embarrassed by you and proud of you in one look? Haven had never considered such a question before today. 

Queen Prominence sighed. "Alright, this is how we'll spin the story. While flying along our borders, you discovered evidence the unicorns may have been trying to advance out of Bridlewood. You fought off a unicorn invasion with your excellent flying skills, and you also fooled the earth ponies into destroying the unicorns' best avenue to attack Zephyr Heights. I can send the guards out to take photos of the bridge."

Haven flared her wings. "That isn't even close to what happened."

Her mother flared her wings and advanced, making her step back. "Do you know what rumors are currently circulating? They are saying you had been foalnapped! There are elements in the media calling for war!"

"And how will saying the unicorns were prepping for an invasion quiet that?" Haven demanded to know. 

"We'll say we can't confirm it, but you were quick to find a solution that did not involve bloodshed," Queen Prominence answered. "We need to turn this story around from one where you were a victim to one where you were a hero. You have to appear strong, not weak. The public needs confidence in us."

"We could tell them the truth, that I was trying to befriend—"

"No!" Queen Prominence hissed. "That makes it look like our enemies were using a princess as a pawn! That only serves to fuel the hawks' fire and make us look gullible. The story I just gave makes us look strong and intelligent. Image is everything, Haven."

"But—"

"Do you know who they will target first? They'll go after your earth pony friend, that's who," the queen said in a harsh whisper. "You aren't just protecting us and putting a damper on talks of war; you're protecting him. I know it is a lie, and I feel ashamed that we must lie— don't think for a second that I don't, but our integrity is damaged more if we allow another war to break out. Which is worse, lying and maintaining peace or telling the truth and seeing the blood of our citizens and theirs spilled? Which can you better handle on your conscience?"

Haven's mouth locked open, prepped to raise another objection, but she couldn't manage one. Shame forced her to avert her eyes as they started to water. 

Her mother came beside her and wrapped a wing around her. "My dear sweet darling. Wearing this crown is a heavy burden. I never take it off because I always want the reminder that I'm carrying responsibility for far more lives than my own. One day, this crown will be yours, but your duty to your ponies has already come upon you. Stop being selfish by worrying about your integrity being damaged by dishonesty and start thinking of the big picture. Protect your ponies, protect your friend, even protect those earth ponies and unicorns that don't know the pain a wrong word from you can cause them. You won't maintain peace with the truth, and your duty is first and foremost to protect ponies."

She leaned into her mother, crying openly now. "This isn't fair."

"Foals worry about what is fair to them; adults worry about what is fair for those they're responsible for," her mother said gently as she hugged her. "You aren't a foal anymore, and you have a lot more ponies than us to be responsible for. I'm sorry you have to be in a position like this; that is the burden of the crown. On the day I pass it to you, never take it off, so you never forget all who depend on you, not until it is time for you to pass it on to your son or daughter."

Haven nodded against her mother's shoulder. "I'll remember. You win, I'll tell the lie."

The queen let off a sad laugh. "We never win, dear. We just ensure we do right by our ponies, no matter how much we lose doing it."

Haven gulped and nodded again.

"I'm tired of this burden," Queen Prominence said in a low voice. "Maybe it is time to begin the transition towards your rule. You're going to be a hero, after all, and that is the strength that we need to show."

Haven jerked back. "I'm not ready! I wouldn't know what to do!"

"I won't immediately turn over the crown, just let you take a more active role in governing, with me helping you get your footing. I said transition, not dumping it all on you at once. I would never do that to you. In a year or two, once you're better prepared to rule alone, I'll place the crown on your head and retire from the public eye. I've been so tired after your father died, and the press thinks they can push me around because of it. Our ponies need a strong queen," her mother said in a weary voice. "To be honest, I don't know how many years I have left in me. Something broke in me years ago, and the weight of rule has only made it worse. I'll probably live to see my grandfoals, but I'm confident I won't see them come of age. I don't have the strength in me."

Haven cried more. "Don't talk like that!"

Her mother looked her in the eyes and smiled. "We have to tell so many lies. Please don't ask me to tell you any more than I have to. Just promise me that you'll protect our ponies and keep us out of foolish wars."

Haven gulped. "I promise."

And so, even before it was placed on her head, she began to feel the burden of the crown.