Astra (Story 1/9)

by Spikey_Wikey

Chapter 2: A New Land

Chapter 2: A New Land

Clover woke slowly from her sleep as the morning sun shined through the window. Today was the day she was supposed to meet with Princess Platinum. As she sat up, she began remembering what had happened over the past few days of her life. The first memory was of the funeral. It had been a small one, and very informal, but it was all Clover could manage. She didn’t really know anypony else. Her parents had died when she was young, and somepony had taken her in to look after her, and that was how she had met Starswirl. One day, Clover had been playing in the forest and had gotten lost. For hours she had tried finding her way out, but when she couldn’t she got really upset. In a panic, she began firing a bunch of spells in all directions, until she was suddenly standing in front of her door. She had no idea how she had gotten there, but noted that a strange mark had appeared on her flank. Not sure what to think, she went inside her house to find her guardian talking to a pony, who called himself Starswirl. He noticed the mark she had and almost immediately offered to teach her any magic he knew. She accepted of course, and over the years the two became very close friends. Now only she attended the funeral, and after a short eulogy and many wordless tears, he had been properly buried next to his house, and Clover vowed to fulfill every last one of his wishes.

The few days after that had been spent planning for her meeting with Princess Platinum. Apparently, the Princess’s father had died a few years ago, but she loved her title so much she had decided to keep it. Clover had done as much research as she could, and during breaks she would work on moving all her books to Starswirl’s house. She had taken a liking to it ever since his passing and found it to be very cozy and comforting. The next thing she did was remove the books on time travel from the closet. These she shrunk down to a smaller size and placed in a glass jar, which always sat on the counter. It was much easier to keep track of them there since she spent most of her time reading in the kitchen.

Clover stood up and stretched as she remembered the letter she had found. Something about it had been bothering her. It was almost as if Starswirl knew exactly what was going to happen that night, even though he hadn’t used a spell to find out, but what concerned Clover the most was a particular sentence in the letter. She recalled it now and said it out loud to herself.

'I can’t remember all the details as to why, so I’ll explain later.'

She had thought about it over and over, but could not make sense of this statement. He had written that letter before she went to see him, but the letter was meant to be read after he had died. How could he explain anything now that he was dead? She even tried looking through his books for some answers, but came up with nothing, though the book with the Windigoes in it did hold some mystery as well. There was hardly any writing in it, and a majority of the pages that were sticking out were notes, as though they were supposed to go into the book, but never made it. Some of the pages, however, had some interesting drawings.

Clover began to remember these as well, and she wondered even more just what Starswirl had seen when he went forward in time. The creatures depicted were very strange. One was a large-looking animal with wings and very sharp teeth. It had claws and its skin was made up of scales. Its mouth was open wide, and it seemed as though fire was coming out of it. Another drawing depicted a pony with holes in its legs and paper thin wings. It had small fangs and its tail was short and mangled. Clover couldn’t imagine all the horrors that Starswirl had seen, but perhaps these awful looking creatures were the reason Clover had to do all these tasks, aside from the Windigoes.

Clover made her way out of her room and went down the stairs. Normally, she would have started making breakfast, but she was a little nervous this morning. After all, this was where it all had to start. Everything Starswirl had told her about began with her becoming Princess Platinum’s assistant. She wasn’t sure how everything would turn out, or if her life would be the same, but that didn’t matter. She had made a promise, and she was going to keep it.

Deciding that it would be best to just leave, she carefully placed the jar containing the time travel books inside her saddle bag and put it over her back. She glanced out the window. It had begun to snow. Clover was used to these sudden changes in weather. They had begun happening two days after the funeral. Clover put her cloak on, making sure her hood was secure before walking outside and closing the door behind her.

The fact that it was snowing in the middle of summer did little to lessen the tensions between the three pony tribes. If anything, it only made it worse. The earth ponies blamed the pegasi for the weather, the pegasi blamed the earth ponies for taking all the food, and the unicorns blamed both of them for the weather and the lack of food.

As Clover began walking up the road that would eventually lead to the castle, a light layer of snow began to cover the ground, and there was a slight breeze blowing toward her.

‘Why is it that no matter which direction I’m facing, the cold wind has to blow in my face,’ she complained to herself bitterly. She wished she knew how to teleport, but after that time in the forest, she simply couldn’t make herself do the spell again. Once or twice she had come close, but she never actually moved anywhere and felt very dizzy afterward if she tried too hard.

Clover could see the castle in the distance now as she drew nearer. It was perched on a cliff overlooking the ground where the earth ponies lived. She began wondering how she could keep the peace between the leaders without telling them any of the information Starswirl had told her. It was like she had to act as though she didn’t know what was going to happen, but could she really do that? Just pretend she was clueless like the rest of them and forget about the world-shattering event that was going to take place? Frustrated, Clover kicked a rock that was in the path to the side. It flew through the air and went into the nearby forest. She expected to hear a light thud when the rock landed, but instead heard a firm “Ouch!” She stopped for a moment, wondering if she had heard correctly and walked over to the edge of the path, ready to apologize to whoever she had hit, but to her surprise, there was nopony there. Shrugging, she quickly turned around.

Clover simply wasn’t ready for it. At first she thought she was hallucinating. How could he possibly be here, standing in front of her like that? She rubbed her eyes with her forehoof to make sure they were working properly. There was no way this was happening. Starswirl had died five days ago.

Cautiously, Clover walked toward him, unsure if he was real or not. He had been watching her this whole time, waiting for her to say something but finally couldn’t wait anymore.

“My dear, I was hoping for a different reaction than this. Surely you must have something to say. Questions, at least.”

“I…” she tried to respond, but couldn’t find the words. “How…”

Starswirl chuckled, and it slowly turned into a series of coughs. They were light coughs, but it told Clover that he was still sick.

“I did tell you, didn’t I, that I did a fair amount of time traveling? Or perhaps I should say, I will tell you. It depends on whose perspective you’re looking at.”

At this point, Clover had accepted the fact that her dead mentor was standing in front of her, alive and well, and finally formed a question. “How are you here? You…you…” her voice trailed off. She simply couldn’t finish her sentence.

Starswirl began to explain. “Clover, my time is not up yet. At least, not for me. I know that for you I’ve probably been dead for a few days, but this is a younger me, not the same one you unfortunately had to see pass away.”

“How do you know that?”

“Clover, I know what is going to happen to me, and I do have a plan for it. It’s unavoidable that you see me on my dying day.

“But I’m seeing you now! How long do you have exactly?”

Starswirl thought for a moment. “I honestly have no idea. In my time period, you’ve been away from the village for three days conducting some research.”

“Right, I remember. I came back after seven days because you sent me a letter asking me to. It sounded pretty important so I went to see you. It took me two days to get back.”

“I’ve got six days left then. Clover, I know that this must be strange to run into me like this, but you see, I need your help.”

Clover was in disbelief. Her voice began to rise as all her apprehensions and anxieties came out at once. “You need my help? I’m on my way right now to meet Princess Platinum so I can accompany her to a new land that’s going to be attacked by Windigoes because somehow if I’m there I’ll just know what to do to stop it, not to mention the countless other things you’ve told me about that I now need to ensure happen, and you’re asking for my help?!”

Starswirl gazed down, and Clover noticed the sad look in his eyes. “I’m…I’m sorry, my dear, " he said. "I am so, so sorry…for everything that has happened and will happen. I wish it all could have turned out differently because it isn’t fair that you have to do all this, but…yes, I need your help.”

Clover looked right at Starswirl. He still looked old. Not as old as he did on that rainy night, but still a little bit old. His eyes still had some shine to them, as did his fur, and he didn’t look particularly tired, but there was sadness in his voice, not just from knowing what he was putting his student through, but something else as well. Clover took a step back as she realized what he must be going through. He knew he was going to die. He was probably taking care of any last minute preparations to ensure his plans were put into action, and talking to her right now was one of them. A surge of guilt shot through her as she immediately regretted yelling at him. She tried to form some sort of apology, but couldn’t find the right words.

“I…I’m sorry…I didn’t realize…I…whatever you need, I’ll help you.” She almost felt like crying again at the thought of what she had just done.

Starswirl looked back at her. He had wiped his eyes. “It’s alright, my student, I understand what this must be like for you. Would you like to know what I was even doing here in the first place?”

Clover thought for a moment. “I think you just went to see Princess Platinum. It’s pretty close to the day I’m supposed to meet her, for you anyway, so maybe it was a last minute confirmation meeting to make sure she understood I was becoming her second in command? Oh! Then you time traveled to now right after you were finished! Was it easier because it was in the same area?”

Starswirl stared at her, wide-eyed. “Do you have a title yet, Clover?”

“Yes. You gave it to me actually, but I don’t think I should tell you what it is.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you sort of…thought of it on the spot. Don’t worry. You did it once, I’m sure you can do it again.”
Starswirl smiled at her. “Sound reasoning. If I came up with it randomly as you said, I shouldn’t find out what it is until that moment. That’s very clever.”

Clover did her best not to react to this. “Thank you.” She smiled back. “What was it you needed help with?”

“Oh, of course! Yes, well, I need some sort of…backup plan, just in case I don’t finish telling you everything before I…” he stopped talking suddenly, and the sad look returned to his face.

Clover walked over to him and put a hoof around his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said quietly. “You actually did leave something. I found a letter inside your hat.”

Starswirl let out a weak laugh as Clover removed her hoof. “That sounds like something I would do. So, what exactly couldn’t I finish telling you?”

Clover quickly explained to him everything he had said to her that night, as well as what was in the letter, and told him to leave his hat on the counter.

“I’m not going to remember what was important about your son?”

Clover shook her head. “No. I’m afraid I can’t help you there. I wish I knew myself, but…I guess you’ll tell me later, or is it earlier?”

“As I said it depends how you look at it, though I really wish I could remember…”Starswirl said quietly. “Every time I use this spell, some notes always wind up getting lost. Anyway, thank you, my student. You’ve been an immense help to me today.” His expression was bittersweet at the moment, like something else was on his mind now as well.

“As clarification, my past self can never find out that she’s going to meet you at this moment, right?”

“That is correct. She must believe that that night is the last time she will see me.”

Clover sighed. “Alright, and I suppose this won’t be the last time I see you?”

Starswirl smiled. “Of course not. There will be a few more visits from me throughout your journey, but for now, I think you should get to the castle as soon as you can.”

Clover nodded. “Yes, I probably should.”

They said a brief goodbye to each other and went their own separate ways, Clover toward the castle, Starswirl…well, he simply disappeared. Clover continued on the path for a few more minutes before finally reaching the doors. She knocked loudly several times before a guard pony came to the door.

“Clover?”

“Yes, sir, I’m here to see Princess Platinum.”

“Right this way.”

‘Here we go,’ Clover thought to herself as she was led inside the stone castle. It wasn’t very big, but then it didn’t really have to be. Nopony lived there except the Princess and a few guards. The castle was made entirely out of stone, and the entrance hall had almost nothing in it, except for a few cushions lined up by the windows and a rather large wooden table. If anything, it was rather depressing. The rugs and tapestries that decorated the room only seemed to be a desperate attempt to make the castle more visually appealing.

Clover was led up some stairs going to the left side of the castle and down a hallway. At the end of it was a set of large brown doors. She and the guard entered and there, sitting on a throne was Princess Platinum. Her fur was white, but she had a curly purple mane and tail. What Clover noticed, however, was her clothing. Even the things she wore were purple and white, from her crown to her neck plate to her robe. Surrounding her were jewels of all shape, size, and color, all in a gigantic pile surrounding her throne and taking up about half the room.

The guard bowed to her. “Your majesty, this is Clover. She’s the one Starswirl has sent to help you with-”

“I know who she is.” She cut the guard off, her tone sharp and cold. “You can go now.”

Clover did her best not to look shocked. This was Princess Platinum? Leader of the unicorns? She certainly didn’t expect her to be so…rude.

The guard had left, and the Princess now focused her gaze on Clover. “So,” she said. “You are going to be my assistant. Do you have a title?”

“Clover the Clever, ma’am.”

“Clover the Clever? Well, then, if that’s true, I think you’ll do just fine with helping me. You’ll certainly be better than any earth pony or pegasus.”

‘Great, I have those conversations to look forward to now,’ Clover thought. ‘I wasn’t expecting it to be brought up this soon, but I guess it was going to happen eventually.’ She groaned silently to herself. She was not going to enjoy this.

***

Two months had gone by since Clover had met Princess Platinum. In that time she had grown accustomed to calling her things like “Princess,” "your majesty,” and things like that. It hadn’t been easy getting along with her at first. Clover had tried her best to keep their separate views on the earth ponies and pegasi out of conversation, but sometimes it was simply unavoidable.

The weather had grown worse as well as more and more snowstorms occurred, eventually turning into a never ending blizzard. There was ice and snow everywhere, and as a result the earth ponies weren’t able to grow any food. Clover woke one morning to find that a patch of ice had sealed her door shut. Luckily, within those two months, she had actually learned how to teleport, and so this wasn’t too big a problem for her. She wasn’t very good at it yet, and going too far would often leave her dizzy, but she practiced what she could whenever she could. This one particular morning, she was running a bit late, so she teleported as quickly and often as she could up the path to the castle.

She had insisted on not living there. Starswirl simply had too many books and other precious items she would have had to take with her. As she walked up to the castle, she began to wonder how she would bring it all with her when the time came to leave, and that’s when she remembered. Today was the day that Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead would be meeting with each other to try and come to some sort of agreement.

Clover had played her part well, pretending to be the clueless, yet supportive assistant Starswirl clearly had wanted her to be. Princess Platinum now trusted her completely, and had asked her to wait for her at the castle until the meeting was over so they could discuss it. Good thing she had brought a book with her. She didn’t know much about the other two leaders, so she wasn’t sure how long the arguing would go on for.

It was early in the evening when the Princess finally returned. She walked up to the castle doors and opened them, shivering from the cold as the snow blew around outside. She leaned against the door, tired. “Clover the Clever! I need you!”

Clover was there in an instant with a blanket for her, as she slumped to the floor. She always was very dramatic. “Yes, your majesty,” she said. “Did the other pony tribes see reason as I predicted?” How she hated the fact that she couldn’t simply tell the Princess everything and just get it over with, end the façade she was being forced to play.

“Those other tribes are impossible!” exclaimed the princess as Clover shut the door behind her. “I, for one, can no longer bear to be anywhere near those lowly creatures.” She slumped down on a nearby cushioned seat, and Clover brought her some water, an unimpressed look on her face. “The unicorns are noble and majestic. We’ll no longer consort with the likes of them!” She put her hoof down to emphasize this, but instead wound up splashing Clover with some water.

Clover simply wiped her face. “So, what are we going to do then?” she asked, knowing exactly what the answer was going to be.

“The unicorns are leaving! We must find a new land!”

Clover sighed. This was it. This was where things got really complicated, at least, according to what Starswirl had told her.

“Alright, Princess, I’ll go with you. I’ll just need to pack a few things tonight.” It was a good thing she knew the shrinking spell. She had a lot of books to bring with her.

“Very well,” Platinum responded. “You may go home for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow morning outside the castle doors.”

Clover nodded. She said goodbye and headed home.

***

“This is simply taking forever!” whined Princess Platinum as she pushed through a tree branch. “My hooves are killing me! How long have we been walking for?” she asked, turning to Clover.

“About five minutes, your highness,” she replied, lowering the branch so that the Princess could see the castle, which was not that far away from them.

Platinum sighed as she turned around and continued walking. “I never imagined finding a new land would be so hard, but it’ll all be worth it. Don’t you agree?”

Clover knew she had to keep up the act, as she had been for weeks, but this one time she slipped up. “I actually think that the three tribes could have tried harder,” she replied, and immediately, she regretted saying it.

“Stop!” Platinum yelled as she suddenly stopped walking, and Clover was sure this was it. Princess Platinum would fire her and return to the castle, and none of the other ponies would ever find another place to live. Her heart sank as she thought about the lack of food and the eventual starvation that would come with it.

Even now, though, she couldn’t break character. It was almost like acting, and she had to keep going no matter what the circumstance.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, running over to the Princess.

“That is what’s wrong,” she replied, gesturing to a small stream running in front of them.

“Your highness, it’s just a stream,” said Clover as she began to walk over it. “We can cross it easily.”

“I refuse to get my gown wet,” insisted Platinum, turning her head away. “I have no intention of arriving at my new land looking like a bedraggled earth pony.”

‘Oh, here we go again,’ thought Clover. ‘I am so sick of hearing about this. So what if they don’t have horns? Our kind would be dead if it weren’t for them!’

“On the other hand, I have no trouble watching you stoop down.”

“Ughh,” groaned Clover, as she came out of her thoughts. ‘What the hay is a hand, anyway?’ No doubt Platinum had just made some sort of remark about how pegasi and earth ponies were below her.

The next thing she knew, there was a rope around her muzzle, and Platinum was sitting on her back. Clover couldn’t wait for this to be finished. She unwillingly began to walk across the stream.

“And do watch the gown, darling. It’s worth more than all the books in your library.”

***

A few days had gone by since their journey had begun. Clover had brought what little food she could find with her (as well as every single book in her house). They had made their way through a large forest, passed by many rivers and lakes, watching the snow thin and actually feeling the temperature rise as they moved away from their dying home. Today, they found themselves on a path winding around the peak of a large mountain, and it was positively filled with gems. Platinum had plucked some out of the dirt as they walked down the other side of the mountain, and when she couldn’t carry any more with her magic, she stopped and put them into a small pile.

“I’ve never seen such jewels!” she exclaimed, crouching down in front of them. She picked up a purple one with magic.
“This ruby is dazzling! This whole land is dazzling! I’m double dazzled!”

Clover just looked at her with slight concern. ‘I wish I knew what to say to hurry this up. I can’t stand much more of this!’

“…Unicornia!” Platinum produced a flag from inside her robe and stuck it into the ground.

Clover did her best to hold back her laughter as a small smile came to her face. That must have been the only item Platinum had brought with her. Unicornia? Really? Uninspired a name as it was, they were at least making some progress. All they had to do now was find the other tribes. That’s what Starswirl said would happen.

“Very nice name, your majesty, but I think it would be best if we kept moving, don’t you?”

Platinum nodded. “I’m simply overjoyed with the looks of this place. We found our new home!”

Both ponies paused. There was something strange about the way she had said that last part. Clover looked around anxiously, and found that they were actually very close to the bottom of the mountain, but that’s not all she saw.

Four other ponies were very close by. One of them was sitting on a mound of dirt. She was entirely pink, her mane and tail all puffed up and curly, and she had a ridiculous looking hat on her head. That had to be Chancellor Puddinghead. Only someone with a name as silly as that would wear that on their head. The orange earth pony standing next to her was still a mystery, but Clover could only assume that she was the Chancellor’s assistant.

She turned her gaze upward and saw a blue pony with a rainbow mane and tail sitting in a low hanging cloud. The official armor she wore, as well as the proud way she-

“I planted my flag first!” yelled the blue pony, rudely interrupting the narrator during his description.

‘That must be her,’ thought Clover. Commander Hurricane. Hovering next to her was a nervous looking yellow pegasus, also with a pink mane, but one that was more…neat.

“Did not!” retorted Platinum.

“Did to!”

“I planted mine earlier than first!” said the Chancellor.

‘That doesn’t even make sense!’ Clover thought to herself. How was she going to make these ponies see reason if one of them couldn’t even use basic argumentative logic?

“….riffraff are trespassing in Unicornia!”

‘Again with that ridiculous name!’

“The name is Pegasopolis!”

Even though she knew the situation was serious, Clover was using every ounce of her being to control her laughter. Pegasopolis? No name could sound more ridiculous than-

“Earth!”

Clover walked away for a few moments to let out a few quiet giggles. These names were the worst names she had ever heard.

“Pegasopolis!”

As Clover returned, she couldn’t help but notice that the only ponies not arguing were the assistants, her included. Could it be that they were like her, that they had no hatred for other kinds of ponies? Or were they simply letting their superiors argue and keeping their place?

“Unicornia!”

Commander Hurricane had clearly had enough. She flew right over to Princess Platinum.

“I say we fight for the land! May the best pony win!”

As she said this, a chilling wind began to blow.

“That’s barbaric,” Clover heard Platinum say, right before feeling her hooves leave the ground as she was levitated over to stand between the Commander and the Princess.

“Clover the Clever, throw that brute into the dungeon!”

‘Okay, this just has to stop.’

“What dungeon?” she asked as she began walking away. “Look, perhaps if we all calm down…”

“I agree. Let’s all calm down,” the orange earth pony suddenly said. Clover noted her strange sounding accent, but what she really cared about was the fact that this pony seemed to support her. Maybe this was how their differences could be worked out.

“I vote for calm.”

Now the yellow pegasus spoke up, though just barely. Her voice was very soft and quiet, and Clover could barely hear it from where she was standing, especially with the wind picking up. It hardly mattered, however. Both assistants seemed to be on her side, and that had to mean something.

Commander Hurricane turned around, shocked. "I’ll have you court marshaled for insubordination, Private!” she yelled.
The wind was blowing even harder now, and it had begun to snow. Clover did not like where this was going. The unclarified agreement between herself, the orange pony, and the yellow pegasus wasn’t enough to compensate for the hatred between the three tribe leaders.

“We settle this on the battlefield!” the Commander continued, but immediately stopped talking as she was hit in the face with a snowball, presumably thrown by Chancellor Puddinghead.

Clover had no idea what to say about this. ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ she thought as Princess Platinum began laughing at the Commander, but soon stopped as she, too, was hit with a snowball.

“Who dares throw a snowball at royalty?!” she yelled, as the Commander’s laughter died down.

“Wait a minute!” Clover looked down at Chancellor Puddinghead as she dropped a snowball onto the ground. “Where did all this snow come from anyway?”

Dark clouds were now forming over the six ponies, and the snowstorm turned into a blizzard.

“Oh, no, not again,” said Commander Hurricane.

“We have to get out of here!” the orange earth pony yelled. “There must be some sort of shelter we can find!”

As much as Clover hated the idea, she knew she couldn’t do anything but agree. She would have preferred to stay there and perhaps finally get a chance to defeat the Windigoes and stop the leaders’ arguments, but she couldn’t simply disagree. It would look too suspicious. Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement with the others and they all began moving away from the mountain. Each leader stayed with her assistant, never venturing too close to one another. After a few minutes of traversing through the cold, they found a cave, and quickly took shelter inside.

‘Finally!’ Clover thought as she looked around. ‘It was getting really bad out there.’

All six ponies were now standing inside the cave, and Clover knew what was about to happen.

‘Oh, no. We’re going to have to share the cave now. They’ll probably start arguing over that as well.’

The cave itself was quite roomy, but sure enough, it didn’t take very long for the leaders to begin their quarrel.

It was Princess Platinum who started it. “Please, Commander Hothead-”

“It’s Commander Hurricane.”

Platinum cleared her throat. “Please, Commander, could you just stand back and give me my royal space?” she asked, waving a hoof in the Commander’s face.

“You mean like this, your highness?” she replied, deliberately stomping her hoof down even closer to where the Princess was standing.

“Indeed not.” Platinum shoved her hoof away from her and leaned close to the ground, pointing with her hoof. “You see this invisible line?”

‘Are you actually serious right now?’ Clover was beside herself with frustration. She felt slightly bad for asking for it, but those Windigoes couldn’t come soon enough. This was a huge waste of time.

“Private, outline our territory for everypony to see.”

The pegasus looked as though that was the last thing she wanted to do, but what choice did she have? She placed her hoof on the ground, and the Commander picked her up and dragged her hoof across the floor.

“See this real, non-invisible line? No unicorns or earth ponies are allowed to cross it. This is the sovereign territory of Pegasopolis.”

“Clover the Clever!” Platinum yelled.

As much as she hated to, she knew she had no choice, either. She had to play her part until the Windigoes showed up. She was just worried that she wouldn’t know what to do when that happened.

“Uh, Smart Cookie!” Chancellor Puddinghead yelled.

‘So that’s her name,’ thought Clover. ‘I just wish I knew the Private’s as well.’

“I know, I know,” Smart Cookie said tiredly.

Grimacing, the three ponies began making lines in the dirt, separating the cave into three sections. Once, Clover accidentally ran into Smart Cookie. She wished she could have said something to her, but she couldn’t risk making a mistake. Starswirl had told her not to tell anypony until the time was right, and now was certainly not it. The two exchanged an awkward glance before backing away from each other.

“What are you doing?! Don’t go around the rock! Go over it!”

Clover looked up in time to see Commander Hurricane yelling at the Private as she had tried to draw her line around a rock lying on the floor.

“I’m not giving up an inch of territory to the enemy!”

Princess Platinum was quick to retaliate as she ran over to the two pegasi.

“That rock is clearly on the Unicornia side of the cave, and it belongs to us.”

She whispered to Clover, who had walked back over, having finished drawing her line. “Who knows, there could be jewels inside.”

‘How much more of this do I have to endure? This entire trip has been nothing but a headache.’

She looked over at the Commander in time to see her kicking the rock across the line, onto the Pegasopolis side of the cave.

“I claim this rock for Pegasopolis!”

The yellow pegasus looked really apologetic, and Clover felt sorry for her. Commander Hurricane seemed a lot more demanding than Princess Platinum.

“Unhand that rock this instant, you scoundrel!” replied the Princess.

Chancellor Puddinghead had decided that that was the right time to quickly rush over to the rock and steal it for herself.

“Oh look, you found my rock!” she said. “I’ve been looking for it everywhere.” She picked it up in her mouth and darted away.

‘How does she move so quickly?’ thought Clover, who was abruptly shaken out of her thoughts by the Commander’s voice.

“Hey! You invaded our territory!”

The Chancellor had just finished reaching her section of the cave, which was the closest to the entrance. “Finders keepers, losers weepers!” she practically sang.

‘Alright, that is not a normal pony.’

“That’s the last straw!” yelled Commander Hurricane as she began walking over the line toward the Chancellor.

Princess Platinum chimed in. “Give me my rock!”

Before Clover could even think of what to do, the three tribe leaders had begun chasing each other around the cave, shouting at one another. She put a hoof to her face in exasperation and looked up just in time to see Chancellor Puddinghead standing in front of her, making a ridiculous expression in an attempt to further antagonize the other two. The chasing soon died down, and the leaders finally stood still in different sections of the cave. They were still yelling at each other, and Clover couldn’t begin to try and figure out what they were saying.

Just then, the wind began to blow hard again and clouds filled the air. Clover looked around and saw that ice had begun forming over the cave walls. This was it. The Windigoes must have found them. She glanced over at the entrance, which was slowly freezing shut and decided that enough was enough.

“Look, everypony! The entrance!”

The three leaders had been standing in the middle of the cave and abruptly stopped arguing when they saw this.

“Great, now there’s no way out!” said Commander Hurricane as she walked back over to the Private.

“You two deserve this horrible fate! You’ve done nothing but argue and fight with each other!” replied the Princess as she trotted over to Clover. Ice was now slowly spreading across the cave floor.

“You’ve been fighting, too, your highness,” argued the Commander.

“Yeah, worse!” Now the Chancellor spoke up. “I haven’t been fighting nearly as much as you!”

Clover watched in horror as ice slowly began to form over the Chancellor’s body. She didn’t even seem to notice, and if she did then she certainly didn’t care. Clover looked over to her left now and backed away from the Princess as the ice began covering her as well. This wasn’t enough to stop her from arguing, however, as she retorted back at the Chancellor.

“How ridiculous! A unicorn never stoops to fighting!”

“That’s just ‘cause you wimpy unicorns know you’d never win!” Commander Hurricane interjected, the ice slowly encasing her, too. Her assistant moved away from her, horrified.

“Earth ponies are numb skulls!” was the last thing she yelled before she was completely covered.

“Pegasi are brutes!”

“Unicorns are snobs!”

The three leaders were now completely enclosed in ice, unable to move or speak. Clover, Smart Cookie, and the Private now backed away from them, toward the center of the cave. They wound up walking into each other and turned around, terrified. Clover had no honest clue what to do now. Starswirl had told her he was sure she would know, but she couldn’t think of anything. Now she was regretting wishing the Windigoes would come. She didn’t want to end up like the other three!

The ponies hugged each other as a low roar echoed throughout the cave. They looked up. Amidst the swirling snow clouds were strange creatures. They looked like ponies, but they were a transparent blue and seemed to gallop through the clouds. Clover knew instantly what they were.

“What is that…thing?” the Private asked.

Clover had to think fast. She knew she had to keep playing her part right up until the very end. Choosing her words carefully, she responded.

“They must be…Windigoes!”

“W-windigoes?”

The other two looked really frightened now. Clover stepped out of their embrace, having decided that now was the time to explain. She wouldn’t tell them everything, just what they needed to know.

“My mentor, Starswirl the Bearded taught me about them. They’re Winter spirits that feed off fighting and hatred. The more hate the spirit feels, the colder things become.”

Clover looked up at the Windigoes, who were swirling the clouds ominously over the ponies’ heads.

“Then…this is our fault,” said Smart Cookie. “We three tribes…we brought this blizzard to our home by fighting and not trusting each other.” She glanced back at Chancellor Puddinghead. “Now it’s destroying this land, too.”

Clover stepped closer to the center of the cave as more ice covered the floor. Even now, she had to keep acting, somehow get all three of them to rid their hearts of hatred, not that she thought they had that much to begin with. Again, she thought carefully about her words before speaking.

“And now our bodies will become as cold as our hearts…all because we were foolish enough to hate.”

That had to be it. She couldn’t think of anything else that could spur the other two to outright agree with her. The three ponies huddled together in the center of the cave, which was growing colder by the second.

“Well, I don’t hate you.”

It was the Private that had said it. Clover could have hugged her right then, for this surely had to be the start to the conversation that would save them all.

"I…actually hate Commander Hurricane a lot more than I hate you guys.”

Clover hadn’t been expecting that, and found some humor in it. She gave a light laugh and was joined by Smart Cookie, who apparently also thought it was funny.

“Actually,” the pegasus continued. “I don’t really hate her. I just really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really dislike her.” Ice was beginning to form around her.

‘Now that was funny,’ thought Clover as she and Smart Cookie began laughing even more. It was just the way she had said it.

“Well, I don’t hate you guys, either,” said Smart Cookie. They were facing each other now as the ice slowly covered their bodies.

“Nor do I,” said Clover, and she really meant it. She had only spoken to these ponies for a few mere moments, but she already felt like they were really close friends.

From above, the Windigoes began crying out.

“No matter what our differences,” Smart Cookie added. “We’re all ponies.”

Clover closed her eyes as the ice almost completely encased the three of them. ‘That’s exactly how I feel,’ she thought. All preoccupation about what Starswirl had said was gone. She couldn’t explain why, but she didn’t want to, either. All that mattered was that for the first time in a very long while, she was completely happy. She had made two really great friends.

The ice had reached her horn now, and as it moved its way to the top, Clover felt something stir within her. Some kind of magic she had never experienced before. Her horn began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter until suddenly the ice surrounding the three ponies split apart. Clover’s eyes were a bright white now as her horn expelled a huge amount of magic that shot upwards toward the Windigoes and engulfed them like flames. She had no idea what was happening to her, nor could she control her actions. She just…knew what to do.

The Windigoes cried out as the spell weakened them, and dissipated one by one, defeated. The clouds had disappeared, and as the last of the spell was cast, it formed itself in the shape of a heart that hovered inside the cave over the ponies’ heads. Clover sat down on the ground and looked around, unsure of what had just happened.

The Private and Smart Cookie both ran over to her.

“What was that?” asked the Private.

“I didn’t know unicorns could do that.”

“I didn’t, either,” replied Clover as she stood up, and it was the honest truth. “Nothing like this has ever happened before, but I know it couldn’t have been just me. It came from all three of us, joined together, in friendship.” She was sure that that was it. It had to be. It fit perfectly with what Starswirl had told her.

“What do we do now?” asked Smart Cookie.

“Well, I guess we have to wait for our leaders to thaw out,” Clover giggled. She had done it. Unsure as she was, she somehow managed to drive away the Windigoes with the help of her friends.

“Oh, um, I don’t think I ever told you. My name is Private Pansy,” said the yellow pegasus.

Clover laughed again. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m-”

She had been about to properly introduce herself, but at that moment, some other strange event began to take place. The magical heart Clover had conjured had been floating above them, but now it began to expand and contract. Bits of magic flew off of it as it grew and shrunk.

“What’s happening?” asked Private Pansy.

“I…I have no idea!” said Clover, and she didn’t. She could only watch as the heart began to shrink and expand erratically, until finally there was a loud cracking sound followed by a thud.

The heart had changed its form completely and fallen to the ground. Clover cautiously walked over to it and picked it up. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The magical heart had turned into a crystal. It still held the same shape, but it was smaller and much heavier now.

“Oh, wow,” she whispered as she ran a hoof over it. “Look!”

She turned around and brought it over to her new friends. “It’s a crystal heart! It must have formed as a symbol of our friendship! I can’t believe this!”

The two others were just as excited, but unfortunately, they couldn’t do much of anything at the moment, and it was Smart Cookie who pointed this out.

“Uh, I hate to be a downer, but our superiors are still frozen, and the exit is sealed shut. What are we going to do?”

Private Pansy responded, “I guess, um…we’ll have to wait until the ice thaws. It’s still pretty cold, though. Does anypony have any fire wood?”

“I’ve got some,” said Clover as she pulled some sticks out of her saddle bag. “I started a collection during this trip with Princess Platinum just in case we ever needed it.”

A fire was quickly built and the three ponies gathered around it. Enveloped by the warmth of the fire, they told stories to each other, some about themselves, others about their leaders. Clover was always careful to never mention anything Starswirl had said, and after a few hours, they all felt pretty tired and decided to go to sleep.

***

Clover awoke the next morning to find that the ice had completely melted and the cave entrance was clear. She stood up and stretched as she yawned loudly.

“Good morning everypony,” she said.

“Good morning,” replied Chancellor Puddinghead.

Clover then remembered that with the ice melted, the tribe leaders were now free. There was a brief feeling of anxiety in her stomach as she looked around, and saw…

Commander Hurricane having a normal conversation with Princess Platinum and Smart Cookie. The Chancellor was going over to Private Pansy to help her pack up.

“Wh-what’s going on? What are you all doing?”

“Well, darling, we three leaders have all had a long talk, and…we really do regret all the fighting we’ve done,” said Princess Platinum.

“So now we’re friends!” finished Commander Hurricane.

Clover was relieved. Finally, the leaders were getting along with each other, and that meant she had definitely succeeded. Merely defeating the Windigoes was only half the battle, but she was happy that the other half had taken care of itself.

The six ponies walked outside and savored the warm, summer air.

“What now, everypony?” asked Clover. This was an entirely new land for them to explore and live in, and it was absolutely beautiful. There were lush, green trees and animals of all kinds everywhere, beautiful rivers and lakes, and the landscape itself seemed to stretch on forever. “What should we name this new place?”

“Well, we’ve all decided on a name,” said Smart Cookie. “Two, actually. One we came up with on our own, but we think you’ll like it. And the other is in honor of you.”

“This entire land will be called Equestria,” said Chancellor Puddinghead.

‘Now that’s a good name.’

Princess Platinum then produced the crystal heart from inside her robe and gave it to Clover.

“And at the center will be the capital, which we have all agreed to call the Crystal Empire!”

Author's Note:

Well, good lord, this chapter was long, and I've got a couple of things to talk about.

First, the term "alicorn." Yeah, I looked it up. The alicorn is actually the name for the appendage that comes out of a unicorn's head. Ponies that have wings and an alicorn are called pegacorns.

Second, the length of this chapter. Yeah, it's over double what the previous one was, and there's a reason for that. If you're the type that reads the author's notes first, then...um...read the chapter. I don't want to spoil anything.

Third, the overall tone and mood. It's a lot lighter than the previous chapter for a few reasons. One is because in my opinion Chapter 1 was a little sad, and I figured the story needed a break from that. The second reason is also the same reason that the chapter is as long as it is.

Last, I really did enjoy writing this one. It was an absolute blast to figure out how to squeeze in all the little story twists along the way, and believe me, it was longer before I edited it.

In any case, I hope you're enjoying Book 1 so far and that you stick with me the whole way. I've got a long story to tell, and it's going to take a long time.

Fun fact: This chapter was originally about 16,000 words in length.

Edit: I've changed all occurrences of the word "alicorn" (meaning horn) to just horn, now that alicorn means "a pony with wings and a horn."