//------------------------------// // The Second Day // Story: Hearth's Warming Eve // by Darkswirl //------------------------------// THE 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."