The Search For The Everglade

by Colt_Flick

The Quest

Chapter 3: The Quest

North Star's hoof-steps against the stone floor echoed through the castle as he entered, despite his attempts to be as quiet as possible. It hadn't been five minutes and he had already forgotten his mentor's advice, he was panicking about his first time meeting the Princess, especially under the pretenses that had been set. Every guard he walked past seemed to glare at him, but then they seemed to glare at everyone, perhaps it was just part of being a guard.

Eventually he made his way towards the closed door of the throne room, he reached out a shaking hoof to push it open, getting closer and closer to opening the door as his heart started to beat rapidly.

"Can I help you?"

He nearly jumped out of his tunic, letting out a yell as he turned around to face the stranger, a unicorn with a brown cloak covering her body while the hood of the cloak covered her head.

"Oh! Mr. Star, we've been expecting you." the hooded unicorn smiled, bringing down her hood to reveal a friendly smile, "My name is Clover the Clever, I'm Princess' Platinum's advisor."

"O-oh, of course." North replied quickly, bowing his head, "It's so wonderful to meet you, Miss Clover. I've heard all about your work, your thesis on advanced star control made my job so much easier-"

"I'm flattered, really..." Clover cut him off, "But you really don't have to try to win me over, North Star. You're not here because you're going to be punished... you're here because of your deeds mapping out the stars. There is a task that only you have the skills to achieve."

North Star breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, easing up almost instantly as the situation was explained to him, though Clover didn't look so relieved. "The Princess has reason to believe that the pegasi have found a new land, and plan to leave us here in the snow to die... I don't want to believe it, but the evidence is all there."

An anguished cry came from the throne room, Clover looked over her shoulder at the door and closed it with her magic before turning her attention back to North Star, "The princess isn't taking it very well."

North Star cringed at the scream, cowering a little before standing up tall again, trying to keep his head high as Moonshine had instructed, "Let's not waste any more time talking then... I want to help the princess."

"Thank you, North. I'm sure the princess will be thrilled you've taken up her quest." Clover replied with a smile, opening the door just in time for a plant pot to come flying out of it and whizz over North Star's head, though Clover managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

"Stupid, Brutish, Arrogant, Traitorous Pegasi! How DARE they plan to leave me behind, I am the Princess of this city!" Princess Platinum stormed around her bedroom, stamping her hooves loudly against the ground. North Star watched her in silence, unsure of whether to speak or not, but before too long Clover decided to make the presence known.

"Your Highness? North Star is here about your request." Clover began.

"Command, my dear. When I ask a pony to do something, it's a command." she replied patronisingly to Clover, who just rolled her eyes and grumbled incoherently. Her attention shifted to North Star, who immediately bowed, keeping his head low. "Your highness!" he blurted out.

"You may Rise, Noble Stallion," Princess Platinum said, raising her nose and looking down it at North Star as he got back up, "I have heard of your work for my ponies, and your expert navigation skills... and thus, you are perfect for the task... are you ready for the briefing? "

"Yes, your majesty." North Star gulped nervously, "May I ask what I will be doing?"

"But of course! ...That's why I'm such a wonderful Princess." Princess Platinum smiled enthusiastically, "You see.... those pesky pegasi have sent out scouts to the south-west recently... at first I wondered why, but then we managed to capture one of them and he told our interrogator some interesting things," her face dropped, her smile instantly fading, "...this blizzard does not span the world... and the Pegasi have found a perfect place to build a new settlement..." North star opened his mouth to get a word in, but Princess Platinum instantly cut him off, continuing the briefing, "...I want you to find this... 'Everglade', map it out and return to the castle to show us where it is so we can seize it and build our kingdom.."

"Yes, Princess! I won't let you down!" North Star's horn glimmered as he stood up proudly, not only was he not being punished, he was being given a mission that would no doubt secure his name in history.

" Excellent! ...Clover the Clever will give you the supplies you need. If you do not return in two weeks, we will assume the worst." The Princess gave a friendly smile, glad to see that the unicorn was as enthusiastic as she was, "Oh and... make sure to get a cloak before you go... it's chilly outside" she giggled at her own joke, though before long her giggling turned into a roar of laughter from herself, and the nearby guards trying to win her favour.

"Ha-ha... yes, well, I have prepared a bag of supplies with the basics you'll need out there... Everything the Pegasus scout we found had on him, as well as a few extra items." Clover spoke up, levitating a bag over to North Star.

"Two weeks?" North Star asked with a forlorn expression on his face, taking the pack and putting it on his bag, strapping it to himself to make sure he wouldn't lose it.

"Hmm.. I suppose I am being rather generous with how much time I'm giving you, aren't I?" Princess Platinum teased smugly, tapping her hoof against her chin as if reconsidering the amount of time she would give North Star.

"Wh-what I meant to say was that Two weeks was the perfect amount of time, thank you... your highness." North Star explained quickly, backing towards the door.

"It is perfect, isn't it?" Princess Platinum asked with a dry smile, her ego fed by the compliment, "Clover, show him to the door, would you? ...all my fuming over the pegasi has me in need of a bubble bath."

"Of course, your highness..." Clover replied lethargically, moving out of the door with North Star and closing it behind him. North Star gave her a worried glance, but she returned it with a warm smile, "I have faith in you, North Star. You're very good at what you do, and you've also got a good heart... I know you'll succeed in your task." she told him, walking along with him towards the castle gates.

"Thanks, Clover." he replied, lowering his gaze to his hooves as he walked. He hated that he had to leave so suddenly, he didn't have a family to say goodbye to, but he did want to let Moonshine know that he was alright.

"Head South-West," Clover told him, breaking him from his thinking as they arrived at the castle gates, "You should be able to find something to tell you where the scout was going after that." North Star nodded in response and moved to the other side of the gate, Clover watched him step out into the city, "Good luck, North Star."

As North Star made his way towards the city gates, he noticed Moonshine looking down at him from the Watcher's Tower, they stared at each other in silence for a while, neither speaking but both knowing what the other was thinking. Moonshine knew that North Star was okay, and North Star knew that Moonshine wished him well. With a silent salute, North Star stepped out of the gate and into the cold blizzard that raged over the snowy wasteland.

It was his first step outside of the city, and it felt like it would be the last time he saw his home.

But he didn't look back. He kept his head up, and he smiled.

Comments

[Gem]

Seems interesting, let's see where this goes...