//------------------------------// // The end doesn't justify the means // Story: The Birth of a New Kingdom // by Dranz_89 //------------------------------// After speaking with Captain Raystorm, Clover walked down the main street towards the marketplace, the most populated part of the city. She covered her face with her brown hood and took off the token from her chest and put it inside her saddle bag, no one knew it was Starswirl’s newest student walking among them. Upon dodging a group of unicorns, she turned to an alleyway and walked deep into it to an old wooden door. Making sure that no one was near her, she cast a spell on the door which glowed with a green light and it magically opened revealing a portal. Clover went inside in a hop, and the door immediately closed, going back to its original state. She walked through a luminous red tunel, there was another glowing portal on the other side. Clover went through with another hop, and appeared in a hall inside a building in the city. Upon her arrival, she was welcomed by a group of seventeen unicorns, Laurel among them, greeted her with a big smile as usual. Then, a pink unicorn stood in front of Clover with a concerned look in her face. “Jewel? What are you doing here? How did you find us?” asked Clover. “Oh, it’s my fault…” Laurel intervened, “I didn’t notice she was following me, she asked me if she could come. She knows what we do… for several days apparently.” “Clover I… I wanted to ask you about the princess,” said Jewel, “rumors have been circulating in town. They all say she is dead. And the king does nothing… nothing at all. He doesn’t speak, he doesn’t eat, it’s like he doesn’t care anymore! Captain Raystorm and the other generals try their best, but they’re all embark to fruitless expeditions. But you, you speak against the king. You try to convince the masses to stop the war just like she always did. You believe in her, don’t you? You haven’t given up hope! So I thought… maybe you know where she is, right? Please, for the sake of the kingdom, you have to tell me!” “I don’t know where she is, ok!?” Clover yelled at Jewel, “Princess Platinum might be dead! Pretty dead! Maybe they’ll never find her because her corpse is probably buried somewhere under the snow!” All unicorns changed their moods to a depressed state. After a short pause to calm her frustration, Clover talked again. “But you’re right. The reason of why I’m doing this is because I haven’t given up hope. I am honoring her ideals. Look at us, we’re just seventeen unicorns. Seventeen unicorns that understand the sacrifice of our princess. That’s why we carry on with what she started, we learned from her that we can’t stop violence with more violence. Thus, I created the ‘War Ender Team’, even if she never comes back, we’ll stay adamant and see her wishes come true.” “Ender…?” “Yeah! Clover came up with the name! We are a team that’s going to ‘end’ the war, pretty clever, right?” Laurel explained and gave a soft palm on Clover’s back. “Have you come to join us, Jewel? ” Clover stepped forward and offered a hoof to Jewel, “as one of the castle’s mages, your help might come handy. I was thinking on having someone from inside the castle to support us, and you would be perfect, you could do unsuspected. And if you do join us, I might share with you how awesome it is to be Starswirl’s student.” Jewel seemed slightly annoyed by the last comment, a reaction that drew a smile of satisfaction on Clover’s face. After snorting away her annoyance, she clapped her hoof with Clover’s, “very well, I’m in. What do you need?” “Spy work,” Clover smiled, “just stay in the castle and inform me of any suspicious activity you find out. You know, any intel about the earth ponies, and keep an eye that the king doesn’t do anything dumb. Anything that can worsen the current situation with the earth ponies.” “Why don’t you do it? You’re Starswirl’s student, you can get in the castle anytime you want. You would also go unsuspected.” “Yeah, the king and I… we’re not really in good terms. Let’s just say that last time we met…  I gave him a ‘flashy’ impression, and he wasn’t very pleased.” The next day, first thing in the morning, Jewel visited the castle, and just as Clover predicted no one suspected her. She walked straight to the throne room and the guards greeted her and opened the door for her. There was the king, sitting down on his fancy golden throne. The same way he’s been since the princess was taken away, with the same sleepy eyes, the same messy beard and the same heavy crown on his head. Her heart ached to see her king in this state. “How are you feeling your highness?” she asked, but the king didn’t move. He turned his eyes to her with indifference and sighed. A small gulp passed through Jewel’s throat, then she insisted, “what is your strategy to counter the earth ponies?” “It doesn’t matter,” said the king, the voice barely made its way to Jewel’s ears, “She’s gone… they’re both gone forever. Nothing I do will bring them back.” “But your Majesty...” Jewel stopped to find the right words, “think of all the families that live in this kingdom, their lives depend on you. They believe in their great king. Please, don’t give up hope just yet.” One day later, Jewel kept her eyes on the king and her ears on the gossips in the castle. Early in the morning, the maids brought the king a cabbage salad, but no matter how much they begged, not a single meal they served was consumed. “I think he’s sick,” Jewel heard the maids speak from the corridor. “I don’t blame him, if my daughter gets kidnapped by those monsters I’d get sick too.” Later, a group of unicorns arrived to report the sights of the vicinity around the city. But it looked like they were talking to a wall, the king gave no comments and just dismissed them back to their posts. Jewel could hear them whisper something while they left. “I swear it, I saw a giant cloud moving really fast,” claimed one of the unicorns as he walked away. The others were skeptical. “Clouds move at different speeds depending on how far they are, moron,” the other unicorn said, “you’re just being paranoid.” Later that night, Jewel approached the king again, the bowl of cabbage salad still served on a small wooden table to his right, “your Majesty, you haven’t eaten yet...” she said, the king turned his eyes at her, but said nothing. “A unicorn put her heart and love into this salad!” she yelled, “cooking for the king must be her greatest achievement in life, and this is how you repay her!? Did you ever stopped to think how she would feel about it!? You’re gonna get that bowl, you’re gonna eat every single piece of cabbage and you’re gonna love it!” The king widened his eyes, and very slowly, he grabbed the bowl and ate the first cabbage leaf which made a crunch noise inside his mouth. “this cabbage is hard and dry,” complained the king. “It wouldn’t be, if you had eaten it when it was served!” After realising that she was scolding the unicorn that pays her bills, she bowed her head to floor level and her voice changed to a humble tone, “I’m so terribly sorry, your Majesty, it was not my place, I’ll leave right away.” Jewel’s face turned red, she left very ashamed of herself, and the king just watched her leave the throne room, still eating the cabbage salad. He felt as if a void inside his chest was filled, cabbage had never tasted more sweet. Next morning, Jewel nervously returned to the throne room, her face was still red, before opening the door, she gulped to untie a knot in her throat. But upon laying her eyes on the throne, she spotted her king munching the salad the maid brought him this morning. Still not the once proud unicorn he used to be, but a lot better than the decrepit old unicorn he was the night before. He turned to glare at Jewel and spoke regally, “you are the mage from last night, come closer,” he said, and her knees began to shake. The king waved his hoof at his maid, she bowed and continued to leave Jewel and the king alone. The king ate another leaf of cabbage and began to talk, “you have some nerve talking to me as you did last night. Only two mares before you dared to yell at me. What do you have to say for yourself?” Jewel’s red face turned into to a pale color in an instant, her pupils shrinked and she felt like her heart stopped beating, she tried to speak but her tongue felt like clay inside her mouth couldn’t say a single word. The king raised his brow and his voice, “Speak! what is your name?” “My… my name is J-J-Jewel, sire” she said, and bowed down and raised her trembling face back at him, “m-m-mage number twenty s-s-six!” “Thank you, Jewel. I needed that, I would still be weeping on this throne and being miserable if it weren’t for you,” the king slowly nodded his head with with a subtle smile drawn in his face. “Oh… you’re welcome, your Majesty,” responded Jewel, letting go a sigh of relief, “I was just doing what any unicorn would have… I didn’t mean to disrespect you.” “Now, regarding the question you did yesterday,” the king sat back on his throne, “the safety of my daughter shall be our top priority. If I’m not mistaken, Captain Raystorm is leading a quest for her. I trust he will find my daughter.” Yet another day passed, and Jewel visited the throne room again to gather more info, and now the king was yelling all sorts of commands to his soldiers, she feared that the king might do something ‘dumb’, as Clover suspected. Few hours passed before the throne room’s front door was opened, and two royal guards came inside escorting the cinnamon pegasus. Jewel found herself breathless upon gazing at her wings, and the king’s reaction was no different. “First of all, I know what you’re gonna say. And yes, I have wings, and yes, I can fly.” stated the the pegasus, spreading her wings for all to see, “I am a pegasus, my name is Commander Cotton Cloud. Don’t you dare laughing. You must be King Lancer, am I correct?” “A pegasus!? Flying ponies!?” the king stood from his throne to take a closer look, Jewel was excited to see her king on action again. King lancer walked around the pegasus to inspect her from all angles. Once his surprise was over, he stood in front of her, “what do we owe your visit?” “News travel fast, ‘your Majesty’, specially when they travel by air,” said Cotton Cloud, exposing her wings again, “we’ve heard of your current war, and we’ve been watching for the last few years. However, due to certain circumstances, we can no longer simply ‘watch’.” “And what circumstances are those?” Asked the king, frowning to the pegasus. “Two of our scouts have found a secret village of earth ponies where the unicorn princess is held prisoner, along with other unicorns.” The king’s face lit up, he couldn’t contain the joy and relief, and his frown turned upside down in an instant while Commander Cotton Cloud continued. But such good news from a stranger only filled Jewel with suspicion. “My boss, the magnificent, beautiful and intelligent General Spades Ace can’t tolerate such injustice. And so, she has sent me to offer you an alliance to defeat the earth ponies and rescue the princess. In exchange, we ask that you let us pegasi to take the land of the earth ponies, once is conquered.” “Serving justice in exchange of conquest, huh? Not very chivalrous,” laughed the king. “Those hornless come in great numbers and are scattered in hidden villages, just like the rats they are. What exactly is the strategy you have in mind.” “First we need you to authorize us free entrance to your city. Our army will arrive here to prepare for the attack. Then, our best pegasi will be sent to rescue the princess. As soon as she is safe, our forces together will be free to strike the earth ponies before they can prepare a counter attack. Our armies together will be unstoppable for them, as long as you don’t forget your part of the deal, that is.”  “An all-out assault with combined armies, you say?” the king stopped to think, while using his hoof to play with his beard. “Wait, sire, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Jewel interrupted, knowing that it was not her place to get involved, the king lifted a brow and his ears perked up. She spoke, turning to Commander Cotton Cloud, “I mean no offense, lady. But what proof do we have that you do know the location of our princess?” “That’s a very smart question you’ve done,” frowned Cotton Cloud, “I’m afraid I don’t have any proof, but I completely believe in what my scouts have informed. They may be lazy and impulsive, but they are not liars.” Having detected a soft spot on the Commander’s argument, Jewel pressed onward with her interrogation, “you believe them? Meaning you haven’t even seen her? So there’s no guarantee that the unicorn that your scouts found was actually the princess? As far as I’m concerned it could be a trap set by the earth ponies.” “Well… I haven’t seen her, but...” the pegasus flinched. “Enough!” The king raised his voice, and when he does that, everyone listens despite their race, “my mage has made a very valid point. I will not agree with your terms until I have total certainty of what you say it’s true. This is what we are going to do: Your two scouts will take some of my unicorns to confirm that this ‘prisoner’ is, in fact, my daughter, Princess Platinum. If what you say it’s true, I will trust your scouts with her rescue, I’ll agree with your terms, and your army will be welcome in our kingdom. But if something happens to my daughter, the price to pay will be so high, that you won’t be able to fly above it, is that clear?” The pegasus found herself gulping when King Lancer pierced through her soul with his sight, somewhat of an unfamiliar feeling to her, she replied with a trembling voice, “clear enough. But which unicorn will be sent?” Jewel hopped forward, “your Majesty, Starswirl’s student is a very good friend of the princess, she would recognize her from miles away.” “You are right, Jewel. But even though I trust Starswirl with my life, I don’t trust his student. She’s just as rebel as my daughter, arrogant and with enough nerve to defy me.” “But, she’s Princess Platinum’s most trusted friend,” responded Jewel, a bit nervous, “Princess Platinum would be more cooperative if Clover is the one sent to her rescue.” King Lancer, glared at Jewel directly at her eyes, Jewel gulped yet again while staring back, until the king finally spoke again, “another good point, Jewel. Starswirl’s student is the better option, but I trust you more than her, Jewel, I want you to go with them. Is there any objection, Commander Cotton Cloud?” “Not at all, your Majesty,” said the pegasus with a short bow, “I will inform my scouts, they will be more than happy to take part in this mission. I’ll make them be.” Finally, the pegasus bowed to the king and was escorted outside the throne room, she was accompanied by Jewel. As the king watched them leave, he asked one of the guards to stay, “go and tell Starswirl that I want to see him,” he commanded. The unicorn guard saluted the king and also left. Commander Cotton Cloud seemed pleased with the company, she smiled at her with respect, “I must say I’m very impressed, lady. It seems that the mares in the unicorn culture are not to be underestimated.” “Umm, thanks? I guess?” responded Jewel, flushing a little. “Honestly, if you had a ‘pair’ I would totally recruit you for our intel unit! And by ‘pair’ I mean wings, of course, it’s a pegasus thing. I’m telling you, just a bit of training in your muscles and a bit more courage and you would be climbing up the ranks like nobody’s business!” Immediately after leaving the castle, Commander Cotton Cloud lifted off to who knows where, and Jewel rushed to the old alley in the marketplace to inform everything to Clover. But the reaction she got was not exactly what she expected. “I’m not going,” said Clover, she turned the page of a small brown book, she was holding and took a sip from a cup which was resting on a small table in front of her, leaving a fragrance of hot cocoa across the room. “What do you mean you’re not going?” Jewel stomped, “didn’t you hear what I said? The princess is...” “I heard!” Clover slammed her cup against the table, then she raised the book to keep reading, hiding her face in the process, “She told me to not go to her rescue, no matter what happens to her. And I’m planning to keep my word. Look, the king doesn’t trust me, anyway. You heard it from himself, he would be glad if I don’t show up. Take Laurel or someone else.” Jewel cast her magic to snatch the book away from her and threw it away. Clover just raised her face to see her, she smiled, then picked the book again and said, “Well, that explains why your magic never improved since fillyhood.” “Why you...” Jewel clenched her teeth and growled, “Clover, this is bigger than just the princess! I’m not talking about a few pegasi! That pegasus mare talked about a huge army and a full scale attack! Millions of earth ponies are gonna die!” “What!? Are you absolutely sure about this!?” Clover grabbed Jewel by her shoulders, “You should have started from there!” “Oh… I just thought that the princess’ safety was more important to you,” Jewel perked her ears down. “It’s never been about the princess! It’s been about stopping the war! It’s the ‘War Ender Team’, for goodness sake! Ok… I’ll tell Laurel to stay here and keep an eye on the pegasi. If we find Platinum, we find the earth ponies, right? We have to warn them, Platinum will know what to do!” “She will?” Jewel tilted her head.         “Of course not!” Clover shook her head, picking up her saddle bag, “most likely she will come up with something crazy and risk her life to save as many as she can. I’ll talk to the other unicorns, see if they can make friends with some pegasi once they arrive, Laurel is good for that too. Maybe some of them will join us. See you tomorrow, Jewel, I have stuff to do!”         Clover left and slammed the door behind her. Jewel was left alone with an unfinished cup of hot cocoa and a feeling that she might have triggered something awful. First hour in the morning, Commander Cotton Cloud and the green pegasus scout were waiting on the outskirts of town. King Lancer was also there with a nervous looking Jewel, and an awkwardly silent Clover. After another forty seven minutes of awkward waiting, Hurricane, the pegasus, appeared up in the distance taking her sweet time to arrive at the meeting place. She landed softly a few meters away, yawned and stretched her rear legs, then the front legs, she smiled and waved at her friends, and took the slowest step to reach to the group. “Hey there, commander,” she saluted, and scratched the back of her head as she yawned again, “are we all ready to go?” she asked. Commander Cotton Cloud’s patience at the verge of its limit, snorted, and as calmly as she could she asked, “are you trying to make me look bad!? You sad excuse of a pegasus!” The king glanced upon the pegasi with an unimpressed look, disappointed even. “These are your scouts, commander?” Cotton Cloud commanded her soldiers to line up as she spoke, “They don’t look that strong, but they are completely reliable. Private Hurricane is the rising star in our unit, great flyer, great fighter, great soldier overall. And Private Pansy… well, she’s not the best out there, but she is always giving her all, what she lacks in talent she’s got in spirit. These two always, and I do mean always, get the job done.” Both pegasus stood firm in front of Commander Cotton Cloud, Hurricane’s seemed relaxed and her sight looked lost in the clouds, while Pansy puffed out her chest, looking adamant to her commander with a serious expression, almost angry. A few indications from Commander Cotton Cloud, and the team was ready to go, but not before King Lancer gave to Jewel a golden necklace with a small ruby attached to it. “I want to see my daughter with my own eyes. Use this necklace to cast a hologram spell so I can see her. From this day on, Jewel, you will be working as my personal emissary, and this necklace is a proof of that.” Jewel proudly put the necklace on, and the gem decorating the necklace glowed like a small bright candle. Both unicorns bowed to their king before joining the pegasi to depart on their quest. Hurricane leaded the team, Pansy waited for the unicorns to follow her, she snorted annoyingly and walked behind them. The trip was long, they walked through a valley that snaked its way among the mountains, a frozen river in the middle of the valley showed them the path. Hurricane was taking her sweet time, and often stopping to rest and eat, and to tell jokes and break the ice. Pansy, however, seemed anxious, she ate by herself, away from the group, just listening to Hurricane’s ramblings. “... and I said: ‘That’s not a griffin, that’s my husband!’ Hahaha!” Hurricane laughed out loud, until she realised she was the only one laughing and the unicorns just looked at her with a raised brow, “ahem...  you’ve never seen a griffin before?”  she asked, “well, when you see one you’ll get the joke. I swear, it’s hilarious.” “Arrgh! This is stupid! We’ll never complete this mission at this pace!” Pansy yelled from the riverside where she was eating. “She’s right, we need to keep going,” Clover stood up, and put her saddle bag on. “Not only that!” said Pansy, “on this route we’ll take forever to get there! Hurricane, we should go over the mountain! It will take us less than half the time than if we follow the valley.” Hurricane finished eating a piece of bread, and she calmly stood up, “I appreciate your suggestion, but as the leader of the party, I say we better take the valley, it’s safer.” “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you!  I’ll never get out of the Private rank!” Pansy ran in front of Hurricane took a stance spreading her wings, “Why Commander Cotton Cloud always puts you so high in her list!? You’re a terrible leader! Look at you! You’re just a lazy bum, I’m sure you chose this path because it means more naptime for you! I bet I can do a better job than you!” “Watch that stance you’re doing. It’s no joke, let’s not do anything we both might regret,” said Hurricane as calm as always. Pansy looked at both her wings and hesitated for a second before she brought her wings back to her body. “Good, now you said something about a bet, huh?” Hurricane’s ears perked up and the corners of her mouth raised a bit, “how much money you wanna put down?” “One hundred,” said Pansy. “So, you’re not really that confident, huh?” Hurricane taunted. “Fine! One thousand! Is it on?” Pansy stomped on the snow. “It is on!” Hurricane took off a badge stuck on her chest plate and gave it to Pansy, and Pansy gave hers to Hurricane. “Now then, O mighty leader… lead.” Pansy, as the new leader, guided the group away from the valley into a forest. What ages ago seemed to be a sanctuary of all kinds of living beings was now reduced to withered trees, stumps and snow, all fauna had either abandoned the woods or died during the eternal winter. The path was more and more steep as the woods slowly climbed its way over the mountain, and the higher they were the hardest it was to breath for Clover and Jewel. “I’m feeling a bit tired,” Jewel felt as if her head and her hooves weighed a ton, and no matter how much she breathed, the air she drew was not enough. Clover looked a little stronger, but compared to the pegasi, she was also exhausted and weak. “No rest until we reach the top,” informed Pansy, she was walking considerably faster than the unicorns. As for Hurricane, she said nothing, just huffed and walked behind the unicorns. On the mountaintop, Jewel and Clover both laid on the snow face down, Hurricane took off her helmet and cleaned some sweat gathered in her forehead. Pansy turned around and buffed her chest in pride, “hah! How do you like that, Hurricane? I made more progress in one hour than you in the whole day! We’re almost there!” Pansy pointed at the three earth pony villages that could be seen from the summit. “It seems that way. Congrats,” yawned Hurricane, she turned her attention to the unicorns and gave one of her rations to each, “here, it’s a canned carrot soup, it’s still a little hot, my saddle bag can keep the warmth for a while.” “One minute break,” said Pansy, she pulled off her map and turned inspected the way down the mountain, “this would be a lot easier if you could fly, you know? Can you just use your magic to sprout wings?” “That would be useful,” said Jewel with a mouthful, “But creating a new spell takes time, it requires study, experimentation and practice. Once you master a new spell, you can cast it anytime you want.” “Sheesh, what is her problem?” Jewel whispered to Hurricane. “Heh, most of the time, I AM her problem. But she’s just the result of a very tough life,” Hurricane whispered back, her smile weakened, “Her flight talent has always been below average, so she has to practice each move extra hard to keep up with the unit. She is what among the pegasi is known as: a ‘failed pegasus’. She wants to prove that she’s not a failure, that she’s capable of doing what any other pegasus can, and earn some respect. But sadly, she doesn’t know the proper way to get it.” “Alright! Time’s up! Let’s go!” Pansy interrupted, she guided the party to a rocky slope that descended like a group of stairs. Hurricane jumped on a rock and softened her landing by fluttering, but even still, it broke a small part of the rock’s edge that rolled all the way to the mountain’s foot. At this point, Hurricane’s smile disappeared completely. Hesitatingly, unicorns descended following the same rocks that Pansy was using. It was a long fall, so they moved slowly and carefully. Pansy stepped several times on several rocks to determine which was the safest, once she moved to the next rock, signaled Clover and Jewel to follow her every move. All of a sudden, the sound of rolling pebbles started to echo from the summit, Pansy’s ears twitched and she feared the worst, she turned around and hoped that her fear was misplaced, but the rocks that were slowly sliding from the mountain confirmed her fear. The rocks under the ponies hooves began to crumble down the mountain, Pansy and Hurricane both lifted off, but Clover and Jewel didn’t share the gift of flight, they rolled down the mountain alongside the rocks. Hurricane swiftly glided to save the unicorns, she used her body to push Jewel closer to Clover, and with a quick turn she stood in front of them and held them both with her front hooves, wings, chest, and maybe even her soul to stop them from falling. She nailed her hind hooves to the ground to work as brakes, Jewel and Clover also used their four hooves to help her, until they reached to a flat side of the mountain. Their fall stopped completely, but the rocks falling behind them were about to crush them. Jewel and Clover both joined their horns and together they cast a barrier spell to protect themselves. Pansy’s lowered and her eyes dropped a few tears after watching the three ponies being buried under the rocks. She quickly approached and desperately started digging rocks out, The three ponies were all scratched and beaten inside a light blue sphere. Pansy took out a small white box with a red cross from her saddlebag. “Are you alright!?” “Nothing’s broken,” said Jewel, trying to stand up, but a small pain in her left hind leg stopped her and made her sit again, “Ouch... I hope so.” “Thanks, Hurricane,” Clover cleaned some dust from her body, mane and tale, “Judging from your lazy nature, I never thought you could actually move that fast.” “Meh, not my smoothest landing,” Hurricane flushed and scratched her nape, then she frowned at Pansy and sighed, “well, at least we got past the mountain and are a few steps away from our goal, right?  And it almost costs us two unicorns, you know? The ones we were meant to keep safe! A good leader would have been aware of the condition of the party, the potential dangers and the best course of action! But you did none of this, your only interest was the goal and probably just wanted to rank up!” The raise in Hurricane’s voice caught off guard everyone else, Clover and Jewel shared a nervous smile, “I’ll… I’ll tend Jewel’s leg over there… so you can uhh… settle your bet in peace, alright...? ok...” Clover said even though neither of the pegasi seemed to care, she carried Jewel away and pretended to tend her wound. “I understand, I messed up, I just thought I could impress the commander. Sometimes we lost comrades during battle, but...” Pansy stepped back and avoided eye contact. “It’s not the same! They died in combat! By their own mistakes and under their own responsibility! In this plight YOU chose where to go and what to do! They would have died because of YOUR negligence!” A short silence calmed the tension, Pansy looked down while Hurricane sighed and regained her breath and her cool, the wind felt even colder as both unicorns pretended to not being listening, “she’s kind of scary,” whispered Jewel. “I’m sorry… miss Clover, miss Jewel, ” Pansy approached them, her right front hoof rubbing her opposite leg, she grabbed a bandage and started fixing the mess that Clover was doing, “I was blinded by my own glory that I put everyone at risk, and when everything got ugly, I did nothing but watch. I’m sorry I got you involved.” “Yeah, well… I guess that’s why Hurricane is the leader and you’re not,” Clover stepped back to not hinder Pansy’s aid, “you know what? I think Princess Platinum would get along with you two, she’s a bit air headed and clumsy like Hurricane, and she also has a lot to learn on how to be a leader. Think of King Lancer, but the complete opposite, that’s our princess.” “Heh, she sounds like a lot of fun, I want to meet her already,” said Hurricane, she yawned and smiled again, her calm relaxed to the rest of the group and the tension disappeared, “we’re just a few steps away from the Earth Pony Villages. They’re somewhere beyond that hill over there.”