//------------------------------// // On the Horizon // Story: Frozen Love // by Workable Goblin //------------------------------// "Well, thank you Princess, that's sure to make my wife's day!" The stallion petitioning me turns and trots--skips, really--out of the throne room, positively bubbling with joy. Even without my powers, his happiness at being able to help his wife is almost palpable, while with them being around such an intense and pure love is utterly overwhelming. I feel giddily light-headed, almost irrationally pleased to have been able to help such a committed couple. Beside me, my assistant checks off another item on her list, just as a messenger trots up and whispers something to her. Before I can say anything, she leans into me and whispers "Princess, Cirrus Clouds is here to talk to you." "Let her in, then," I softly reply. She nods and turns, whispering my instructions back to the messenger, who salutes and leaves for the door. Moments later, an elderly crystal pony mare walks in, her dark blue coat and white mane alternately standing out from and blending in to the pale blue crystal of the palace. As she nears the throne she drops into a bow, one knee and her head touching the ground. "Your Majesty, Mi Amor--" "Please Cirrus, you know by now that it's just Cadance," I interrupt her. "And there's no need to bow." "--Cadance," she corrects herself, rising. "I am afraid I bring bad news. There is a blizzard approaching--" Before I can stop myself, I interrupt, voice rising shrilly "Another one? But winter is weeks away!" "Indeed, You--Cadance," she nods. "It's not unknown to have wild blizzards blow in from the north near the beginning of winter, but three in a month is almost unheard of, especially weeks before winter even starts. Could...do you think the South could spare some of its pegasi weather teams?" I shrug noncommittally. "Perhaps, and I will certainly ask my aunts if they can spare any, but winter is approaching in Equestria as well, and there are few trained in operations around wild lands." "Of course, Y--Cadance. Perhaps...I almost daren't say this...but the Heart? Might it...?" In the back of my head the Heart throbs, reassuring me that it is well. "No," I say a moment later. "No, the Heart is fine." "Then..." She raises her hooves helplessly. "I don't know what it could be. The North has always been wild and unpredictable...perhaps this year is just unlucky." "Perhaps," I agree, but even as I say it the word turns to ash in my mouth. Something isn't right here. Cirrus doesn't notice how much my mood has turned as she bows again and walks out. I don't bother to inform her. Instead, I turn to the crystal pony standing beside me. With a white coat and brown mane, Quick Quill looks remarkably like Auntie's assistant, Raven, if she were a crystal pony instead of a unicorn. I didn't notice until one of my trips home, when the two met, but since then I've wondered whether some unconscious memory of growing up in Auntie's court spurred me to pick her. Regardless, she's been an excellent aide. "Quick Quill," I tell her, "take a note. 'Write letters to the other princesses about the blizzards. Remember to post them tomorrow morning before the train leaves.'" "Of course, Princess," she mumbles around her quill as she drags it across the page, making sure I don't forget. As he finishes, she looks up and out one of the windows lining the throne room, facing towards the south. Before my gaze can follow, she announces, "Celestia's sun is setting. Court is over for the day." She turns toward me. "Shall I find your husband for dinner?" I smile at her. "I can do that myself, Quick. You're my assistant, not my slave." She blushes and lowers her eyes. "Of course, Princess." "Why don't you go have dinner yourself? I think that guard you keep looking at when you think he isn't looking, ah, Iron Spear? Yes, I think he's going off-duty now..." I suggest, lidding my eyes and ever so slightly shaking my rump as I trail off. Her face practically ignites. "P-Princess!" she splutters for a moment before assuming a more studied expression. "...off-duty, you say?" "I'm sure he'll love you," I reassure her. Still blushing, she nods and trots away. I rise from the throne, stretching as I move from the seat I've been occupying for most of the day before trotting towards the throne room's doors myself. As I approach, the guards salute, which I quickly return before exiting. Behind me, they push the doors shut. I spare a moment to revel in the end of another day, mindlessly wrapping myself in a feeling of satisfaction and freedom. All good things must pass, though, and...ah. Shining Armor. Now, if I know my husband at all, at this hour he's going to be out on the practice fields, along with at least half the guards. That cheers me up even more, and as I step off for the fields, I can hardly remember how unhappy I felt after Cirrus told me her news. In fact, as I trot along the hallways I can hardly keep myself from bursting into song. "Love i~s in bloom," I half-sing, half-whisper to myself. "A be-au-ti-ful bride, a hand~some groom. Two hearts be-coming one..." Before I even realize it, I'm stepping out onto the fields. My husband is standing on a stage in front of me, demonstrating some arcane point of spear combat to a field full of recruits. I grin mischievously and fire up my horn. I can hardly claim to have the magical skills of my sister-in-law, but you don't spend as long as I have around Twilight Sparkle without picking up a few tricks here and there. Once, I taught her a spell for making herself irresistible to any stallion...or, as it turned out after a few tweaks for increased efficiency from Twilight, mare...or foal...or animal...or...yes, that was not our proudest hour, and Auntie certainly did not leave me unpunished for that. However, until Luna came back Twilight never really found much use for an attraction spell, however much I tried to sell her on the values of love and friendship. A 'minor tweak' (by her standards), however, and she could make herself repulsive, more specifically unnoticeable. That got us almost in more trouble, after she went missing for a week when she used it to hole up in the Royal Library. She called it 'Wallflower'. And she taught me! I slowly walk up to the stage under its protection, careful to avoid doing anything that would draw too much attention as I approach Shining Armor. Just as he lowers his spear, I lean forward and press my lips against his, reaching up to embrace him as he stands there. I might have even put a little tongue into it. ...okay, a lot of tongue. An improbable amount of time later, we break the kiss. Shining looks at me, blush clearly visible under that white coat of his even as his eyes narrow in anger and he paws the ground. "Cady!" he finally splutters a moment later. "Don't--" "Make you a hero to your ponies?" I suggest as I sweep my hoof out, revealing a field full of whooping, hollering, and cheering recruits. More than a few of them have started beating their hooves against the ground, creating a racket that, I'm sure, can be heard all over the city. He blushes even more. "Even so--" I kiss him again, briefly this time. "Besides, it's dinner. Celestia's going to lower the sun soon," I tell him after pulling back. "Oh," he says, blush constant. "I didn't--" "Of course you didn't," I agree, pecking his cheek. "What would you do without me?" He rolls his eyes, but only a little. "Probably be a slave to some bug-queen," he says, subdued. I kiss him yet again, a bit harder this time. "Come on, that was your sister. And Chrysalis isn't going to threaten anypony else again, thanks to her." He nods, still subdued. "Anyways, it's still dinner. That muscle isn't going to take care of itself, soldier!" I tease, poking him in the chest. "Ah, but I prefer this meal," he tells me, reaching in to kiss me. I accept, and feel a warmth starting to spread through me, like a hot drink on a cold day, lingering after he pulls away. "You goof," I smile and hug him. "Never change." "Of course not," he assures me. "Now, I think the recruits have had enough of a show." He deliberately looks away from me and towards the field, which hasn't calmed down in the slightest. He breathes deeply, and I fold my ears back. "SOLDIERS, TEN-HUT!" Instantly, the entire field is transformed, the crystal ponies locking into attention in a moment. "Today's been a long day, but for you it isn't over yet! Each of you will report back to your barracks sergeant for night duty, is that clear!?" "YES COMMANDER!" they respond together, voices blending together into a uniform shout. "DISMISSED!" Immediately, the formation dissolves as the recruits begin to make way for the barracks on the other edge of the fields. I smile and spread one wing over my husband's withers. "Their discipline is a credit to their commander," I tell him before pecking him on the cheek again. "Let's go have dinner," I add before he can respond. Dinner is unremarkable. It's excellent, but given that I am one of the four sovereign princesses of Equestria and ruler of a semi-independent city-state, that's only to be expected. In fact, the cooks are so uniformly excellent that, well, they're hardly worth mentioning. It makes me feel a little bad, because I can feel the care they put into every meal. Afterwards, we withdraw to the royal suite. Normally Quick Quill would have joined us, to help me go over the last items on my daily checklist, but today she's absent, and I can hardly suppress a grin as Shiny and I walk up to our rooms. I knew she and Iron would be just perfect together! As we walk in, I peck Shining on the cheek and dart into my study. Even without Quick, I can remember enough of the day to attend to at least the most important of my tasks, starting with writing to my fellow Princesses. It is the work of a moment to perch before my desk, and only briefly longer to withdraw my tools. Sheets of writing paper, a pack of envelopes, a block of sealing wax, a roll of blotting paper, my inkwell, my seal, and my quill, made from one of my own flight feathers, flash out in a haze of magic, setting themselves neatly on the writing surface. I take up the pen, dip it in the ink, and begin to quickly scratch it across the paper. Dear Auntie, I regret that I am writing not because of good news, but because of bad. My weather advisor, Cirrus Clouds, has informed me that another blizzard is approaching the Empire, the third this month! Such bad weather, with winter still weeks away, is unprecedented, and both she and I are worried that it could herald worse to come. Already, the late crystal berry crop has been ruined, and we will need to tap into your granaries over the winter; if the rail line is cut, we may have to go onto rations, or worse. She asked whether you could spare any of the weather teams from the south. I was unsure whether any would be free at this time, with the approach of winter, but I could hardly keep from passing on her request and adding my own plea. Auntie, with almost no pegasi, and none qualified for bad-weather work, we are completely at the mercy of random chance when it comes to the weather. I know we have been talking about establishing a resettlement program to attract southern ponies to the Empire, but I fear we may need to accelerate at least the pegasus unit. And, Auntie, I didn't tell her, but I can feel something malevolent in these storms. Something unnatural lingers around them, and it almost reminds me of...Are you sure the Heart completely dissipated Sombra? Your loving niece, Cadance I grip the paper in my magic and fold it in three, then tuck it into an envelope. A drop of molten wax followed by the press of my seal closes it tight; I wait a moment before turning it over and writing Princess Celestia of Equestria Canterlot Castle, Canterlot on its front, then slotting it away to one side as I write to Luna. With her memories a millennia fresher than Auntie's, I ask whether she remembers anything of the sort from the era of Sombra, besides pleading for pegasi. I take little longer to finish her letter than to write Auntie's, and another envelope lands on top of Auntie's almost before the wax on the first has finished cooling. For Twilight, who commands no weather teams, I request only that she search the ancient archives I know she's been exploring, both at Canterlot and in Ponyville, to find out if there are any records of something similar happening previously. If we just know why this is happening we might have a chance at cutting it off at its source, rather than merely enduring these winds. After I finish writing the letters I move on to more mundane paperwork, checking over requests for official assistance, reviewing the list of ponies who wish to have an audience Quick Quill left this morning, and otherwise clearing up the merely administrative work left to me as Princess. Luna's moon is high in the sky by the time I finish, and when I go to check on Shining Armor, I find him in his study, gently snoring on top of his own paperwork. I smile down at him and pick him up in my magic, carrying him to and then tucking him into bed. I lie down beside him and close my eyes. It has been a long day...