"Hold on just a second, Chrysalis.”
Giving an extremely apparent roll of her eyes, the changeling paused in her storytelling to turn towards Twilight “Let me guess...you have some questions.”
“...You don't really need to be so snippy about it.” Twilight groused.
“Uh-huh.” Chrysalis blandly replied, clearly not paying attention to the young princess.
She was paying far more attention to the unicorn mare that was passing her a steaming cup of hot chocolate “And here you go, your Queenship. Hot and extra chocolate-y, as requested!”
“Thank you.” Chrysalis quietly said, before immediately taking a sip of the still very hot beverage. Twilight found herself staring a bit, wondering if the changeling simply didn't care about burning her tongue when it came to chocolate.
“Now, was there anything else I could get for anyone here?” The servant asked, still in her impressively chipper voice.
“Nope, this is great!” Spike happily replied, sipping away at Hard Note's hot chocolate, the colt having followed through on letting the young dragon have his drink.
The servant smiled down at that, clearly pleased “Oh, are we sure about that, Mr. Spike? I was thinking I might pay a visit down to the treasury and scrounge up a few tasty gems...”
“Wha- Really?” The little dragon asked with big hopeful eyes.
The mare gave a quick nod “I'm sure I could convince the accountants to part with a few gems for the sake of a visit from our favorite dragon.”
“I'm really your favorite dragon?”
“So, should I see if we can't spare a few gems for old's time sake?” The mare asked with a smile.
“Sure!”
“Spike...” Twilight quietly tried to discourage, not wanting him to spoil his appetite for later.
“And what about Ms. Twilight? It's been so long since I've last seen you here, is there anything I can get for you?” The servant asked of the alicorn, unwittingly putting her on the spot, as Twilight realized that she couldn't quite place the servant's name.
“Oh, uhm, I'm not really- I didn't really think to-” Twilight tried to stall, as she wracked her panicked mind to attach this mare's face to a name. It had been quite some time since she'd interacted with anyone from the palace and there were so many names.
It had something to do with lemons...
Twilight found herself giving an awkward smile, as the serving mare gave a confused tilt of her head at her apparently uncomfortable silence.
“Uhm...”
“Lemony Fresh, what was that tea you served Celestia the other day?” Chrysalis calmly interjected, as she floated her cup down to rest on a nearby table.
Lemony blinked at that, before visibly recalling what it was the changeling was referring to with a smile and an upraised hoof “Oh! With the lemon tarts? I believe that was...Rosemary tea?”
“Sure. She'll have that.” Chrysalis added a bit dismissively.
The mare gave a nod, before turning towards Twilight “Well, if Ms. Twilight would like to try some? Perhaps with some lemon tarts?”
“I-...that would be lovely, Lemony.” Twilight quickly replied, shaking herself from her surprise over Chrysalis' intervention.
“Excellent! And is there anything else I can pick up for young Mr. Hard Note?” Lemony asked of the colt.
“Nope.” Hard Note easily replied, even as he clomped over the pile of blankets to sit down by the bemused Spike. Openly scrutinizing the little purple dragon, as Spike returned the favor, the colt glanced back towards Chrysalis “Can we get back to the story now?”
Lemony gave a laugh at the colt's blunt response before making her way back towards the exit “Well, I'll be back in short order then.”
“Thank you, Lemony.” Twilight added as she left, giving a big smile for the servant as she left. Chrysalis merely gave a nod to the mare as she took her leave of the library.
Twilight gave a relieved sigh as Lemony exited the library, before glancing towards the Changeling Queen “...Thanks.”
“For what?” Chrysalis easily replied, too casually examining her own hoof in favor of paying any attention to Twilight's show of gratitude.
The young princess had to roll her eyes a bit at that, unsure whether the changeling was being difficult or just refusing to acknowledge that she had performed an act of unsolicited kindness for Twilight “Thank you for covering for the fact that I'd forgotten about Lemony's name.”
Before Chrysalis could give any sort of response, everyone's attention was drawn to a choking, sputtering noise coming from a certain dragonling. Giving a shocked look towards Twilight, Spike gave voice to his surprise “How could you have forgotten Lemony? She used to make the best lemon tarts for us!”
“Well, it wasn't exactly intentional, Spike. It has been a while since we've seen her and a lot of ponies worked in the palace when we were here.” Twilight pointed out, even as her ears dropped a bit in shame. She really felt terribly embarrassed about letting the mare's name slip from her memory. Even more so, as she recalled the small acts of kindness Lemony, among others, had done for herself and Spike in past years.
“I guess. But-” Spike began again.
He was cut-off by a loud huff from the colt at his side.
“Can we please get back to the story?” Hard Note petulantly demanded of the room.
“...I, uh-” Twilight started, a bit taken aback.
Before anyone could add anything Chrysalis quietly cleared her throat, quickly garnering the colt's attention. As Hard Note stared up at the Changeling Queen, the expected reprimand never came, as she instead calmly looked down her nose and met his gaze.
The colt soon started fidgeting before glancing off to the side “I mean, I was just-...”
Hard Note glanced back up towards Chrysalis as he faltered, only to find that she hadn't moved and seemed to have no intention of saying anything. She just kept watching him expectantly. With an impressive amount of sternness, given her current wardrobe.
'Does Princess Celestia just think it's funny having her dress-up to look like me?'
Another ten or so seconds of this silence passed with Hard Note becoming more and more visibly uncomfortable and ashamed, before the colt eventually muttered “I'm sorry.”
Both Twilight and Hard Note glanced towards Chrysalis, who merely gave a slow rise of her eyebrow towards the foal.
After a few more moments and quietly swallowing down his anxiety, the colt turned back towards Twilight and Spike “I-...I'm sorry for interrupting.”
Giving an encouraging smile for the now rather contrite colt, Twilight gave a nod at that “It's alright, Hard Note. I can understand getting a bit impatient to find out the end of a story too.”
“Even so...I believe you had some questions, Twilight?” Chrysalis finally spoke-up, turning her gaze towards the young princess and setting the puffball hanging from her nightcap swinging.
Refocusing her attention now, Twilight took a moment to recollect the points she wanted to raise concerning Chrysalis' story “Right... Just a second...”
Her horn lit up in its usual glow, as she retrieved an unfurled scroll from amid the blanket pile and brought it up for her perusal “Let's see what's first h-hey!”
Briefly reaching a hoof towards her list, as it floated away in the green glowing grasp of Chrysalis' magic, Twilight found herself settling for sending an annoyed look towards the Changeling Queen.
“You made an actual list?” Chrysalis inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight's horn flared a bit with magical light, as she retrieved her list from the changeling's grasp “Yes...you didn't want me interrupting with my questions, so I wrote them down.”
“Isn't that kind of like giving yourself homework?” Hard Note asked with a curious look for the young princess.
Before anyone could reply, Spike cut-in with a loud sip of his hot chocolate. Using his forearm to wipe his mouth clean, the little drake volunteered his own thoughts “Yeah, but Twilight really loves homework anyway, so-”
“Spike, I don't-”
“But, I guess it's not really homework, since we're-”
“Stop.” Chrysalis rose a hoof to forestall anymore of this exchange, before pointing said hoof towards Twilight “Questions.”
“Oh, right...” Twilight quickly replied with a nod, before scanning over her list once more. Clearing her throat for a moment, briefly glancing up towards Chrysalis the princess soon focused back on the list, not wanting to pay too much attention to the changeling's pajamas “Okay...So, I don't recall ever reading about this Ever Valiant in any history books, but it seems like he's pretty relevant to the story.”
“That doesn't sound like a question.” Hard Note innocently pointed out from the side, earning a tilt of acknowledgment from Chrysalis followed by a pointed look for the young alicorn.
Briefly closing her eyes as she realized her mistake, Twilight had to resist the urge to sigh “My question is, why haven't I heard about this stallion?”
“Why would you have heard of him?” Chrysalis easily countered.
Blinking in momentary confusion, Twilight had to give a shake of her head “I- because he's clearly an important associate of Princess Platinum's? And you wouldn't have mentioned him if he didn't have some impact on things?”
“You're going to find that most individuals go unremembered by history, regardless of the impact they have on the lives of others.” Chrysalis calmly replied.
Twilight frowned at that response “But-”
“Or perhaps you thought that future ponies are going to be reading about Lemony Fresh's lovingly prepared lemon tarts in some history text?” Chrysalis added a moment later.
Noticing how Twilight seemed notably taken aback by this pointed question, Chrysalis gave a heavy roll of her eyes “You do know that I don't have the patience to deal with you becoming terribly introspective right now?”
Glancing away for a moment, as she brought her thoughts under control, Twilight couldn't help but give voice to her concerns “Sorry. It's just-”
Chrysalis held her hoof up again “Stop. I'm going to save you some time here. Everyone dies. Most of them will go unremembered. Take comfort in the fact that their memories can live on through you...Next question.”
A bit stunned by the forceful, though surprisingly valid, advice from the changeling, Twilight shared a brief look with Spike. The little purple dragon gave a shrug, prompting the Pony Princess to swallow down her worries and turn her attention back towards her list “Uhm, okay then. Thank you...”
“Do you think Ms. Twilight's gonna remember me too?” Hard Note asked, completely oblivious to the impact the question had on the nearby Twilight.
“Probably.” Chrysalis answered with a shrug.
To which the colt simply nodded “Okay. That's cool.”
Turning back towards the mildly disturbed princess, the Changeling Queen gestured a hoof towards her “Next question.”
“Uh, right. Next up...there's this FitzChivalry pony-” Twilight began.
“Hey, yeah! It sure seemed like Princess SourPuss had some sort of problem with her. What was up with that?” Spike noted before taking another sip from his hot chocolate.
“It's cause she's a bastard.” Hard Note helpfully supplied.
In that moment, Twilight was very relieved that she was not sipping upon some hot beverage, as she surely would have done a spit-take at that casually delivered sentence. Even so, she found herself sputtering in shock at the colt's language “Hard Note! That is not a polite word to be using!”
“But that's what Ms. Chrysalis said!” The colt countered defensively with a hoof pointed towards the Changeling Queen.
“That's true. I did say that.” Chrysalis casually admitted.
“Chrysalis! You can't use that kind of language around a child.” Twilight exclaimed, sending a goggle-eyed look towards the changeling as she did so.
“And yet FitzChivalry was a bastard, a child born outside of wedlock, to one Graceful Chivalry and a lower-class mare.” Chrysalis calmly countered.
“That's not the point! Without the proper context-” The young princess tried to press on, as Spike and Hard Note watched on from the sidelines.
Chrysalis gave an impatient huff at this, before interrupting “The proper context is that FitzChivalry was ostracized and put down because of the circumstances of her birth. So much so, that becoming a knight would have been a goal beyond her wildest dreams without the support of her sire.”
Chrysalis turned back towards Hard Note as to explain further, putting Twilight's objections to the side “Because ponies of different families used to settle agreements by marrying their members to one another, having a child with someone other than your spouse was both embarrassing and insulting. Because ponies are sometimes very stupid, they felt it made sense to blame and punish the child for something that they had no control over.”
Taking a short breath after delivering this explanation to the attentive colt, Chrysalis abruptly turned back towards Twilight “There. Context.”
“Uhm, Ms. Chrysalis? I think you explained all of that before.” Hard Note helpfully pointed out from the side.
“Yes, but Twilight wasn't here to hear it, so we had to do it all over.” The Changeling Queen pointedly replied, more for the young princess' benefit that anyone.
“Alright, alright. I get the point, Chrysalis.” Twilight groused, sparing a brief glance for the bemused colt before continuing “He still needs to understand, that it could make some ponies very upset if he used that sort of language.”
“Fair enough.” Chrysalis said after a moment. Turning towards the curious Hard Note, she added “Hard Note. Don't use that word until you're older.”
“Okay.” The colt replied breezily.
“...Okay.” Twilight added shortly thereafter, a bit surprised by how simple that turned out to be.
“Now, was there anything else you needed to know about FitzChivalry or can we move on to the next question?” Chrysalis prompted.
“I hope she doesn't have too many questions left.” Hard Note said aloud.
“She probably does. Twilight almost always has more questions.” Spike helpfully explained.
Sending a bland look the dragon's way, Twilight cleared her throat before turning back towards her list “I'll try to keep it quick...Anyway, I take it FitzChivalry thought rather highly of Ever Valiant?”
“Correct” Chrysalis said with a nod.
“And Princess Platinum and Ever Valiant were an item?” Twilight added.
This time the Changeling Queen made a gesture of her hoof, as if to say 'kinda'.
Twilight rose an eyebrow at that and swiveled an ear towards Chrysalis, as if to prompt her to continue.
Considering it for a moment, Chrysalis gave a shrug “They kept their relationship fairly private, but very nearly everypony at the time knew about the two of them. King Bullion rather approved of the match, as well, and probably expected a proper courting to come.”
Considering it for a few moments, Twilight looked back up towards Chrysalis “So, was FitzChivalry, uhm, pining after Ever Valiant as well?”
“Perhaps or perhaps not. It's hard to say for certain.” Chrysalis replied with a shrug “FitzChivalry plays her part, but her perspective is not so...well-represented in this story.”
The purple alicorn nodded to that, displaying her understanding behind that answer. That is until she was visibly struck by a thought and raised a hoof up in a gesture “Wait...I can understand that it's hard to know the innermost feelings of a somepony from over a thousand years ago. But how is it anypony would know about all of these private conversations? Is it just speculation or creative license?”
“There were changelings around back then.” Chrysalis pointed out.
“I know that much, but-...wait, are you saying there were changelings spying on all of these ponies?” Twilight asked, as she started to grasp the implication of the changeling's remark.
Hard Note stood up from his spot amongst the blankets visibly excited “Hey, yeah! There were lots of changelings back then. Right, Ms. Chrysalis?”
The Changeling Queen gave a nod at that “Indeed there were. And those changelings would have had good reason to keep tabs on ponies like Princess Platinum and Ever Valiant.”
“Yeah! Like with Chancellor Puddinghead!” The colt added with a grin.
“Puddinghead? Puddinghead wasn't a changeling.” Twilight pointed out with no small amount of bemusement.
“No. It was Smart Cookie that was the changeling.” Chrysalis easily corrected.
“Wait. So, the changelings from back then went and replaced Smart Cookie with a changeling to spy on Chancellor Puddinghead?” Spike demanded, having been paying attention in between sips of cocoa.
The large changeling gave a small shake of her head at that “There was no abduction. Smart Cookie was always a changeling. And as far as any changeling knows, he only ended up at the Chancellor's side by accident.”
Twilight seemed to be having some difficulty wrapping her mind around that, and in fact had actually reeled back a bit from that information “Smart Cookie is one of the most famous Earth pony's in Equestrian history. How could she have possibly been a changeling without anypony-...wait, did you say he?”
“It was a male changeling that was behind the identity of Smart Cookie, yes.” Chrysalis easily affirmed.
“But...how? I mean, surely somepony would have noticed.” Twilight exclaimed, seemingly more to herself than anyone else. Even now she was putting her mind to the task of sifting through any stray factoids or remembrances about that time period that could have hinted at such a thing.
Chrysalis shrugged at that “It's what changelings do. Though some changelings put forward the notion that Chancellor Puddinghead had known the truth about Smart Cookie, that her chosen adviser was actually a changeling, perhaps even from the very beginning. It would explain a bit.”
“And are there any other famous ponies that actually happened to be changelings?” The alicorn demanded.
The Changeling Queen took a few seconds to grasp her cup of cocoa with her magic and bring it over to herself, before responding “No, not really. Smart Cookie was a bit of an outlier, as compared to other changelings. We usually try to avoid attention and becoming a national hero is a bit at odds with that goal.”
Twilight actually found herself conceding that it would explain a bit about the pony known as Smart Cookie. By most accounts, the mare was known for being rather down-to-earth and humble, avoiding the public eye and serving as the mare behind the Chancellor. Or rather, the changeling behind the Chancellor.
It certainly wasn't proof of anything, but the princess couldn't help but connect those bits of information.
“Generally speaking, most changelings that were intent on blending among ponies tended to favor menial positions and modest identities. Which, incidentally, made it rather easy to spy upon the those in the Unicorn Kingdom. Or so I've been told.” Chrysalis added, not concerned with the thoughts buzzing about Twilight's head.
Even so, this caught the Pony Princess' attention “How so? Why would it be any easier to spy on unicorns?”
“As a rule, unicorns from that time weren't given over to acknowledging those that they considered their lessers.” Chrysalis explained, before taking a sip of her somewhat cooler beverage.
“O-oh...”
Seeming to enjoy the mild discomfort her response garnered from the young alicorn, Chrysalis continued on “It makes it rather easy to hide from somepony, when they refuse to even let their gaze linger upon those they consider below their station.”
“Well, that sounds kind of rude.” Spike observed, giving a frown at that notion.
The large changeling gave a shrug at that “Not so much. It was actually considered more rude to draw attention that somepony was a servant or otherwise below you. It was considered a kindness by many of these high-class unicorns to not go about damaging the pride of the lower-classes by reminding them of their station.”
“I suppose it was a different time, with different notions about what was considered polite.” Twilight conceded, before Spike could add anything else.
“Ponies have changed quite a bit since then, though not as much as some might think.”
The princess nodded at that “I guess you would know better than most. But, I'm still curious as to why the changelings were so intent on spying on ponies back then.”
“Apart from the ever present concern that the ponies might discover our hiding places and try to attack us? Apparently, the changelings of the day could sense something was wrong, realizing that the cold weather was unnatural much sooner than most. And if there was something that was endangering ponies, then it endangered changelings, as well.”
Twilight could see the sense in that; changelings derived their sustenance from ponies, so any threat to ponykind was a threat to the changelings too. But that was not really the most interesting part of that explanation for the alicorn “What was it they sensed? How was it that the changelings could tell something was wrong before anyone else?”
Chrysalis gave a shake of her head “I couldn't tell you. It seemed there was just a wrongness to the air that changelings could pick up on. Beyond that, there's only one changeling still alive that could offer a personal accounting...and I rather doubt you want to speak to my mother about anything ever again.”
Twilight quickly shook her head at that notion, any curiosity she might have had being instantly quelled by the idea of having to pay Manti another visit. Chrysalis' mother, while old and infirm, was easily one of the most frightening individuals she had ever encountered. In fact, the elderly changeling hadn't given a second thought against the notion of psychically assaulting Twilight in their first encounter, in a misguided bid to drive the young princess mad with terror.
Even without the ancient changeling's attempts at brainwashing, Twilight still harbored some justifiable fear for Chrysalis' mother.
“Why wouldn't you want to speak to Ms. Chrysalis' mom?” Hard Note innocently asked.
It was Chrysalis that answered for her, sparing Twilight from having to find some sort of polite response “She gets very cranky and doesn't particularly like ponies.”
Swallowing down a bit, Twilight found herself nodding in agreement “Yes, very cranky.”
“Now, was there anything else? Or shall I continue with the story?” The Changeling Queen asked of everyone present. Not receiving any objections, she cleared her throat before resuming with the telling of the story “As I was saying...”
Fifteen hundred years ago...
“Your Highness?”
Princess Platinum barely spared a glance for the guardpony at her side, her attention far more focused upon the heavy oaken door that stood in front of her. Having ascertained the state of Clover's health and having few other means of delaying the inevitable, it was now time for her to attend to her king. The same king that also happened to be her incredibly stern and stubborn father, whose direct orders she had just flaunted.
She rather needed a few moments to sort out how she was going to approach this.
“His Majesty is, uh, eagerly awaiting your presence, Your Highness.” The mare standing watch once again tried to prod the princess only to, once again, largely go ignored.
What was truly the worst that could happen when she went through those doors?
A scolding? A stern talking-to? Being completely stricken from the line-of-succession, publicly castigated, ostracized, and ultimately banished?
'Perhaps not that last part...'
Princess Platinum just needed to formulate an approach for dealing with this, some way of framing her actions in the correct light. If she just thought this through, she was-
“Hang on a second.”
“Spike?”
“I can kinda see how changelings might end up spying on Princess Platinum and everything. But how exactly would they have known what she was thinking?”
“I thought we were done with questions?”
“...Actually, Spike does raise a good point, Chrysalis.”
“Yeah, I mean were they like reading her mind or something?”
“Not as far as I know.”
“Then how is it-”
“Because I said so.
“Chrysalis, you can't just-”
“Because I said so.
“If you would-”
“Because. I. Said so.”
“...Please continue.”
Looking around the study, as she slowly pushed the door closed behind her, Princess Platinum was momentarily taken aback by just how warm the chamber was. Taking a breath, she let her gaze briefly wander over the large, roaring fireplace, packed to capacity with merrily burning logs; she rather hoped that her own chambers hadn't been forgotten when it came to the allocation of firewood.
One could easily describe the room as being uncomfortably toasty, but that was hardly unusual for her father. He liked to keep himself warm and those around him uncomfortable, and Princess Platinum was fairly sure this policy would extend even to her.
Given how anxious she was already feeling, the mare was rather glad that she had left her trademark cape behind in Clover's tower. It wouldn't do for her to breakout into a sweat in front of her own father, lest it seem she was cowering and fretting like some neonate of the Court.
The princess had to forcibly keep herself from starting, as the relative quiet was interrupted by the sound of a stallion clearing his throat “Is it too much to expect, that mine own daughter not spend her time cringing by the door for too long?”
And just like that, the princess found her anxieties overcome by a not inconsiderable amount of irritation.
Closing her eyes briefly to bring her thoughts under control, Princess Platinum began a slow walk towards the voice “My apologies, Father. I was a bit caught up ruminating over the issue of our Court Mage's rather drafty tower. It is in a rather sad state and terribly chilly.”
There, sitting at a nearly too-large desk of dark wood, was the Unicorn King and her Father, King Bullion. Princess Platinum was admittedly disappointed when he failed to even glance up at her remark from the piles of scrolls and missives he had his hooves buried in. Though, as a rule, very few ponies were inclined to use the word 'disappointed' when describing the stallion, for even as he passed well into his fifties he cut an imposing figure.
Far from the decadent, soft, and political ruler that many outsiders expected of the Unicorn Kingdom, King Bullion was a powerfully built stallion and possessed an even more powerfully built mien.
Indeed, some could be forgiven for thinking that he ever showed anything other than stoicism or stern anger for those that crossed him.
Even the militant leaders of the individual Pegasi City-States had maintained a wary respect for him, after the forceful Unicorn King had started a march upon their lands. Over a relatively minor issue of some stolen foodstuffs and goods, he had threatened to conquer them one-by-one and very convincingly at that.
Perhaps it was a bit much, though this did occur several decades ago, at a time when one could be excused for thinking him a too-young ruler floundering in too deep waters.
It had sent a message.
One so effective, that some might point towards it as one of the issues that drove the normally competitive and isolated Pegasi City-States to close ranks and become a more unified force...
“Ah. So is that the reason my daughter decided to tarry so long when it came to seeing me? Was she too busy touring our esteemed mage's quarters?” Her father inquired with a tilt of his chin, breaking her from her thoughts. She couldn't help but note that he had yet to turn his attention fully towards herself.
Giving a small sniff at that remark, Princess Platinum turned her nose up a bit “Not at all, Father. It merely took me a little while to make my way all the way here, so tucked away from the world as this chamber is.”
This remark elicited little more than a grunt from the king.
Rolling her eyes a bit at this mild reaction, Princess Platinum turned her gaze to the blazing fireplace, watching as one of the burning logs prepared to crumble. If he couldn't be bothered to give her his attention, she was all too happy to-
The thought was cut short at the sound of a stallion rising to his hooves, his paperwork pushed to the side, as King Bullion finally looked her way.
She had her father's eyes.
That was something that she had always been told, and now she found herself feeling some small sympathy for those ponies that had earned her condescension or anger in the past.
Apart from that, she otherwise clearly took the rest of her features from her since passed mother. She lacked her father's large build and his icy-blue coat, though she could not for sure say how closely her mane and tail matched. At his age, they had both started slipping towards a steely-grey color that she might find in her own mane and tail at that age.
He was a classically handsome unicorn stallion, with a countenance as cool and unyielding as this interminable Winter.
All of this was only slightly hampered by the comfortable looking robe he was sporting at the moment.
He did like to keep himself warm.
Regardless, Princess Platinum found herself watching as he deliberately made his way around his overly-laden desk to approach her wondering how things were about to proceed. Watching with an upraised eyebrow, the younger mare started putting her not-inconsiderable intellect to the process of figuring out how she was going to respond to anything that her father might-
He was hugging her.
...Yep, he was holding her in his forelegs and she didn't really know how to respond to that.
After about a minute of this, he eventually set his hooves back to the floor and took a step back. A moment later, an unfurled scroll floated through the air held in his magic, before being casually cast into the fireplace to be consumed.
Turning back towards his desk and starting his way back towards his seat, King Bullion briefly cleared his throat before speaking “This was a damnably foolish little pursuit for you to go traipsing off upon, especially during such a time of concern and fretfulness.”
Blinking in bemusement at this casually delivered rebuke, Princess Platinum struggled to sort herself out to provide a proper response to these words. Granted, she was altogether more comfortable exchanging in such verbal sniping than...the thing that had just happened “I-...I can assure-...”
Princess Platinum had to stop herself for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep, calming breath as a means of bringing herself back in order. This was her father, and as such it was a perfectly normal thing for him to embrace her upon her return from a potentially risky journey. That was a thing that family members did. She distinctly remembered that from her childhood.
Opening her eyes, Princess Platinum found herself meeting the gaze of her King once more “My apologies for any inconvenience or misunderstanding, Father. It was hardly my intention, but I suppose I can understand how one could mistake taking action for simple recklessness.”
King Bullion merely gave a quiet, unimpressed hum at that remark, before once more taking his seat behind his desk. Using a hoof to edge a goblet closer to himself, he grasped a pitcher in his magic before pouring what she suspected was wine into the waiting vessel “I don't suppose you've managed to take the time to grace Ever Valiant with your presence yet? As needful as Ms. Clover is of your patronage, I'm sure the Knight-Captain would be relieved to know that you are whole and hearty.”
Princess Platinum found her lips pursing a bit, at his apparent disregard for her own remarks “...Ever Valiant was kind enough to meet me on my approach to the castle and escort myself inside.”
The stallion gave a nod at that without looking up from his desk “Good lad. The two of you should take what time you can for courting one another. I'm sure it seems a pointless formality at this point for you both, but it does pay to keep up appearances.”
“Appearances? You're suggesting that how others perceive myself should be my greatest concern right now?” The princess found herself demanding, her incredulity growing with each word.
Taking hold of a quill pen in his magic, her father deliberately dunked it into a nearby inkwell before bringing it against the surface of one of the many missives littering his work space “That might be overstating things a bit, but-”
“It is snowing outside, father.”
Leaning back a bit at the interruption, King Bullion turned his gaze to the side to take in what lie beyond his study's window. And indeed a light flurry could be seen dancing just on the other side, having been brought down by the dropping temperatures of the day's end.
“Summer should nearly be upon us and we are still finding frosty ground come morning, ice to be chipped from our windows, and regular flurries.” Princess Platinum pressed her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
He didn't respond beyond turning his attention back to the paper he was signing.
Taken aback by his apparent lack of concern, the mare found herself letting loose an unladylike snort and a sour look to her side “....Somehow, I find myself doubting that the smallfolk will be overly concerned about my future marriage, when they find themselves starving in the streets.”
Pushing a scroll to one side with a hoof, he moved onto the task of breaking the wax seal on another before perusing it “They are not starving yet. And there remains no small amount of time to address the-”
Princess Platinum clicked her tongue against her teeth before interjecting “And yet, I'm quite sure they are already sharpening their pitchforks for when they are. They can sow no crops, graze no animals. We are sending out ponies just to dig up semi-edible roots to boil down and you-”
“I have already sent out a number of knights, at your repeated request, to seek out answers.” King Bullion reminded, his tone a bit more forceful now.
“Oh yes! And they have done such a wonderful job of providing us a solution thus far. Meanwhile, you've imprisoned one of the few ponies that is actually offering any-”
Slamming his quill down in a burst of magic, King Bullion once more took to his hooves “That girl is not Starswirl the Bearded and has only thus far offered up pointless flights-of-fancy for you to to chase down. I will not have the actions of this kingdom dictated by the musings of a half-wit soothsayer, nor will I have my daughter giving undue weight to her visions out of misguided compassion!”
“Is that why you threatened her with the Headsman's axe? Because I decided to spare an ear to the one pony that-”
“She would have lost her head if it was by her counsel that mine own daughter delivered herself into the hooves of those that hold us in contempt! Disappearing in the middle of the night and flaunting my explicit orders to the contrary?” King Bullion demanded his anger no longer hidden and his voice nearly a roar that surely carryied through the doors of the chamber “I might have welcomed the notion of some assailant spiriting you away, if I had known this was of your own design! That could at least be explained to the court!”
“There is hardly a member among the Silver Knights that can match my skill, save perhaps Valiant. I am not some delicate filly waiting to be snatched away by some hooded flunkies.” Princess Platinum dismissively reminded.
“No. You are my daughter and heir, the key to the throne of Unicorn Kingdom, and the pony that is to stand against our foes here and abroad when I am gone.” The stallion countered, as he took his heavy steps back to the fireplace with his gaze fixed upon her “Or do you perhaps think the Pegasi would turn down the opportunity to use you against me? Or that the superstitious Earth ponies might not choose to vent their anger at their own mediocrity upon you?”
Turning away at those remarks, her lip twitching as she suppressed the urge to blurt out the first thing that came to mind “...We have tried to bring an end to this Winter on our own. Clover is not wrong in suggesting that if we turned to the other tribes-”
“And what came of this attempt of yours? This outstretched hoof that you offered to them in goodwill? Have you perhaps waited till now to tell me of some grand new agreement between ourselves and them that you have brokered?” King Bullion pressed, his contempt for these other nations apparent.
Princess Platinum spent several moments not meeting her father's gaze, knowing that she had nothing to refute his thoughts on the matter.
“Nothing?” He pressed once more.
Finally letting loose a sigh, she turned back and met his gaze once more, unwilling to let her dignity falter “...Nothing.”
The silence weighed over the two of them heavily, with King Bullion's anger visibly draining away, leaving behind a stallion that was visibly sagging under the weight of too many issues “Neither the Pegasi or Earth ponies have any desire to work alongside us, nor do they wish to entertain the possibility that this long Winter is not our fault. In that light, do you find it that strange that I would not trust them when it came to my daughter?”
All at once, Princess Platinum felt exhausted and unwilling to pretend any longer that she thought much more highly of their kingdom's neighbors. She had already suffered a long and fruitless day and she couldn't bring herself to defend Clover's notion of working alongside them. Or at the least, she could at least recognize that such an alliance was impossible as things stood.
“...I do have an obligation to mention that at no point was I ever accosted by the other representatives, father.” The mare quietly pointed out.
“How fortunate we are for that.”
She gave another sigh and a shake of her head at that “Yes, well...it can hardly be said that Clover has lead our House into ruin. We might count few beyond our borders as allies, but-”
“Star Swirl's little apprentice will be allowed out of her tower. You can pass that along to the guards yourself, if you must.” King Bullion conceded, sparing her the effort of arguing her case.
“Clover is possessed of no small talent, father. And I have no doubts about her intentions.” Princess Platinum added with a tilt of her head.
The older stallion gave a derisive snort at that “Her intentions be damned, I will not have her braying about her visions in court again. If you cannot keep her reins, then this clever little mare can go crawling back to her master.”
“...I will speak to her about discretion.” Princess Platinum agreed, too tired to take exception to what he was saying. Taking a moment to rub the bridge between her eyes, she started to turn towards the doors to the study “If that is all, my King?”
“No.”
That brought her to a surprised stop, her hoof hovering in the air and her ears swiveling his way “I'm sorry?”
Once more her father was far more intent on the crackling of his fireplace “Come tomorrow, I expect you to call upon the other families of the city. You will set aside time to speak to all that can be considered worthy of your presence.”
“To what end?”
“You will take the time to, and in a very proper manner, explain how it is that you became so misguided as to disregard my wishes and run off into the night.” He calmly elaborated.
Staring wide-eyed at this, Princess Platinum struggled to respond for a moment “But, I-”
“You will explain how our very well-intentioned Court Mage became so carried away, that she mistakenly filled your head with all manner of prattle about prophecies and dreams. That you only moved against my will due to unwarranted fears brought about by Clover's ill-conceived counsel. And how you now understand how wrong you were in your course.”
“You expect me to make a-” The mare tried to argue, knowing that she would be casting aside no small amount of her reputation by following such an order.
“You will disavow Clover and all of the nonsense she has brought into this castle. You will explain that you have come to grasp the wisdom in following my will. And you will convince as many as you can, that if we are to address this crisis it will only be accomplished through unity behind the crown.” Pausing for a moment to take a breath, he turned back towards her before finishing “Is that understood?”
Standing rigid for several moments, Princess Platinum had to struggle against the urge to refuse, knowing all too well that this was in no way a request. And that he wasn't asking this of her as a father, but as her king “Yes...I understand.”
Frowning a bit at this, King Bullion's own gaze wandered a bit and his voice softened “To rule is to make sacrifices. And to, at times, demand sacrifices of others. Therein lies the true weight of the crown you will one day wear.”
“...Yes, my King.”
“And so, while you see to this task I have laid out before you, you shall be at all times escorted when moving beyond the grounds of the keep.” The stallion added, as he turned his gaze back to the fires. Behind him the young princess found herself grinding her teeth together all too ready to dispute everything, but he still had something left to add “And if it is found that you cannot adhere to this edict, I shall have no recourse but to lay the blame at the hooves of our too-controversial Court Mage.”
“Fine.”
The Unicorn King found himself leaning his head to the side, as a bejeweled crown careened past his head before ricocheting off of the sturdy wooden mantle of the fireplace. A rather loud clanging sound filled the study, as the heavy crown bounced off of the far wall to eventually land upon the stone floor. The ringing metallic sound was only overcome by the noise of heavy doors suddenly slamming shut, as his daughter stormed off.
Deciding to let the matter lie for the moment, he lent his tired eyes to taking in the rather unsightly gouge left behind in the hardwood of his fireplace's mantle, the result of the flung headwear.
As a relative calm returned to his sanctuary, the stallion let out a quiet grunt.
“Almost as bad as her mother...”