Princess Frosta stood atop the highest cliff in Bright Moon—at least, the highest she'd been able to find given her limited exploration of a kingdom that was far vaster than she originally guessed.

She wondered what was at the bottom. Ground, of course, but... well, maybe not? Maybe there was a huge monster down there. Or boiling lava. Or a scenic oasis—Bright Moon appeared to specialize in those, to be honest.

She reluctantly stopped herself from diving over the edge find out. Her ice never held its solidity for quite as long in warmer climates, which in turn affected personal travel and transport. Diving in alone would be too risky. Still, she considered it, for as long as personally possible, if for no other reason than that if she were back in the Kingdom of Snows right now, she'd know what was at the bottom of the cliff already.

She knew what was at the bottom of every cliff back home.

It was always more ice than anything else.

All of her short life thus far had been devoted to amassing a great deal of knowledge in a very short amount of time. Etherian history. Political studies. Proper etiquette. Maintaining an unflappable outward image. Heck, the only thing which took up even close to as much of Frosta's time as her perpetual Princess Education was figuring out—by awful trial and error—how to get society to take her seriously in spite of her young age, schooling or not.

And yet, staring over this expansive crevasse, in a single territory she'd visited a couple of times at most and therefore barely remembered, it was easy to be humbled. Easier to be humbled here, merely by witnessing the unmoving, uncaring structures of nature, than by any political figure or family member.

It was easier here, than anywhere in the Kingdom of Snows, to be reminded that her life had barely begun.

And it was easier still to be reminded that her infinite curiosity, her thirst for knowledge, real knowledge that wasn't just about ruling and protecting a kingdom, could be easily afforded to her simply by standing still, in a single tranquil place with sun, and clouds, and a breeze that didn't instantly chill to its recipients to the bone.

The one word that came to the front of Frosta's mind and heart, over and over again, was... interesting. Genuinely, unironically, interesting. It was interesting seeing blue, sunny skies, feeling grass underneath her shoes, and seeing trees to climb. It was interesting to be wearing a thin blue shirt and leggings, rather than being confined to a full-sized royal parka out of absolute necessity.

It was interesting to see less ice, and more of everything else.

And it was downright refreshing to, for once, not have to maintain an outward appearance that was as cold as ice itself. The smallest of smiles crept across Frosta's lips.

It was interesting... doing things together. With other people, who wanted the same things she did. Instead of staring at her reflection in stalactites, stalagmites, and various other cold, crystal mirrors.

Too much ice. Not enough of anything else.

Frosta sighed.

The recent Princess Prom, which was supposed to have been a huge social event for her, had instead been just more ice, literally and metaphorically. For one night, she'd had the "great honor" of presiding over the figureheads of the rest of Etheria, making sure no conflicts broke out. It was an honor she'd wasted—she hadn't been very good at it in the end, especially given that kidnappings had taken place under her very nose. Plus, more than anything, she never stopped wishing that she could have been dancing on the floor she'd been watching all night. Just like the other Princesses.

Now she'd have to wait a decade to try again.

Or would she?

Idly, Frosta wondered if any of the princesses were... open to getting to know her? Perhaps under the guise of a diplomatic visit, or really, any venue that would allow them to spend more time together?

The smile threatened to return as she took mental stock. Mermista might be a good candidate. Ice and water were practically sister elements. Perfuma was a nice person, but her balmy kingdom was off limits until they got some kind of shade mechanism or spell, going though. She could just barely hold her ice together in Bright Moon—Plumeria would be a challenge without more training.

In fact, perhaps Entrapta could help with the shade bit—oh, right. She wasn't around anymore. Frosta herself had only recently been informed recently of the rescue mission that had taken place after the prom... and its less-than-optimal outcome.

The smile left again. She sighed again. Was more and more sacrifice always necessary? The words of her mother echoed in her mind: We take the lessons of the past, and put them towards the future.

Frosta looked over the cliff again. Everyone was always telling her about the future. At least she had a lot of it to look forward to now.

Or rather, to fight for.

She would have to be ready.

"Princess Frosta! Princess Frosta, are you there?"

Frosta looked behind herself. A girl nearly her height—and, from her intelligence reports, only a few years older than her—was disappearing and reappearing along the path behind her, leaving a trail of sparkles in her wake.

Bright Moon's Princess Glimmer was someone Frosta was... neutral towards. In a good way. Through Frosta's few interactions with Glimmer, she'd found her to be straightforward, impulsive, and about as subtle as a snowman in the summer. To be fair, those traits tended to be shared to some extent among all of Etheria's Princesses. However, once again based on Frosta's few interactions, Glimmer was one of the few Princesses who knew how to keep her personal quirks somewhat in check.

Plus, she and her mother, Queen Angella, proved to be... far nicer than expected. After the Battle of Bright Moon which had taken place mere hours ago, the both of them offered temporary room and board for all who had assisted. Frosta accepted the offer, opting to make the journey back to the Kingdom of Snows the next day—partially to start fresh and rested, and partially just in case the Horde tried anything funny as opposed to licking their wounds.

In retrospect, Frosta thought, she probably should have stayed in the castle for more than half an hour, instead of dropping off her things and immediately heading out to explore. But again, personal urges. Still, she supposed she could make time for Glimmer now, out of common courtesy. Frosta turned around, raising herself on an ice pillar, so as to allow herself to be seen more easily by Glimmer's one-girl search party.

Glimmer perked up upon hearing the ice crackle, and she gasped upon seeing Frosta on her perch, hands on hips.

"There you are," Glimmer said, running up to Frosta as the latter lowered herself back onto dry land. "I couldn't find you at the castle. Have you been here this whole time? Did you even get to see your room?"

"I did. It's exquisitely furnished," Frosta replied with the slightest of bows. "Thank you again for the hospitality."

"Are you kidding?" Glimmer said, gesturing with her arms and laughing. "Without you and the others, there wouldn't be a Bright Moon for you to stay in tonight. And my mom and I are big on gratitude. Which we want to show with tonight's dinner banquet. We're letting everyone know about it now."

Frosta's eyebrows shot up. "Did... did you say banquet?"

"Yup! Featuring delicacies from all over Bright Moon and the Whispering Woods! Oh, and Perfuma's going to be bringing some home-grown veggies from her kingdom." Glimmer smiled wide, showing teeth.

Frosta did her best to hide her drool. New food. Different food. Food to explore. She technically loved seafood, but she was going to go crazy if she had one more shellfish or sushi dish this week. "I humbly accept," she said, struggling to keep her voice level.

"Awesome!" Glimmer held a sheepish hand behind her head. "Aaaaanyway, it only occurs to me now that it looked like you were doing that 'thinking by yourself' thing I do up on this cliff sometimes. I know I'd hate it if someone interrupted me while I was reflecting and stuff, so I'll go," she said, backing away. "The banquet's in three hours. Take as much time as you want."

Glimmer's backing away turned into a brisk pivot and retreat. It would be the end of the conversation right now, if Frosta wanted it that way. Back to being much like her usual thought sessions. Alone with her reflections in the ice. Reflections all around her, showing her someone she wished were more interesting.

"Glimmer?"

Glimmer stopped.

"It's okay. I mean, you can stay here. The lonely thinking bit got old pretty fast."

Glimmer teleported back to Frosta's side, her toothy grin returning. Frosta saw it, and chuckled. "Besides, unlike certain other princesses new to the role, I know I can count on you to have manners."

Glimmer's face scrunched in confusion at first, then she snapped her fingers, her eyes sparkling with clarity. "Right, I forgot! Adora... kind of made an impression at the Princess Prom, huh?"

"Her first impression, sadly," Frosta replied. To be truthful, both Adora and Glimmer's attendances had gone as well as Frosta expected them to. Adora had no tact whatsoever, and Glimmer herself had been well-intentionedly awkward at best, not to mention gotten herself kidnapped.

Which was a far cry from how Frosta had witnessed the both of them in battle earlier today, charging into battle with either staff or sword in hand, in ways that she'd only heard about in the historic tales of the previous Princess Alliance that they were all supposedly now continuing—

Frosta shook her head. No. There was no Princess Alliance. The Horde was just doing something even Frosta couldn't abide, and neutrality had to be broken. That was why she showed up to help.

Right?

"But, she made a much better impression today, if it's any consolation," Frosta continued. "You did, too."

Glimmer giggled. "Glad to hear it. Anyway, I'm sure Adora will grow on you. Believe it or not, she and I didn't get along great out the gate, either."

Frosta believed it. "Really?" she asked anyway.

Glimmer nodded. "Yep. When we first found her, she was literally a Horde soldier."

Okay, that, Frosta barely believed. "What? And you still trust her?"

Glimmer gestured vaguely towards Bright Moon Castle in the distance. "Did you see her today?"

"I-I mean, good point, but..." Frosta hesitated, searching for the question she really wanted to ask. "What got you to trust her back then?"

"Well, it definitely was a leap of faith for a lot of people at first. But now, I can't imagine life without her. Which is..." Glimmer's voice softened. "Good. 'Cause I've spent a long time imagining life without certain people."

Frosta detected the change in Glimmer's mood, but, unsure what to do about it, let Glimmer continue. Which she did.

"Hey." Glimmer turned to the side, facing Bright Moon Castle, and kicked a rock down the road. "What you said back at the Princess Prom, about having to work hard to be taken seriously... that actually really stuck with me. I might be older than you, but not by all that much, and I've had to deal with exactly that my whole life, too."

Frosta tried to resist probing into Glimmer's words, and failed utterly. She turned to face Glimmer's back. "In... in what way?"

"Well, it starts with the fact that I..." Glimmer took a deep breath. "Never really knew my dad."

Frosta tensed.

"This whole Princess Alliance thing I'm trying to bring back? He was a casualty of the last time Etheria tried it. I've had to push that to the back of my mind the entire time I've been asking everyone to join me. It hasn't been easy. But that's how much I believe in this."

Several long moments passed. Several long moments of Frosta, once again, seeing so many reflections of herself in so many ice structures. Her only true companions, her only true support, all far too familiar. Finally, she managed a weak, "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. Not your fault, though. Or my mom's, for that matter, but she blamed herself for it all the same. So, even though I'm a princess just like everybody else, she tried to keep me out of... princess stuff. No matter how much I wanted in. Even though I wanted to take it all seriously."

Once again unable to stop herself, Frosta gingerly reached out her hand, and placed her palm on Glimmer's shoulder. Glimmer looked back with wide, curious eyes.

Frosta closed her eyes, and shook her head. "This is probably overstepping my bounds, but, if it's a thing you want to talk about sometime? I could. I mean, we could." She opened her eyes again, though she still shifted her gaze back and forth.

Glimmer blinked—and the curiosity in eyes was now replaced with her previous jubilance. "What bounds? All of us princesses share the same title, right? The same station, and responsibilities?" Glimmer turned back around completely. "Even if you don't consider Adora part of that club yet. But I promise she'll get there."

Frosta mock-huffed, and rolled her eyes, smiling from one side of her mouth. "I may have given your champion a hard time, and I probably still will for a while. But one of the advantages of being, um, my age, is that you have a lifetime to learn how to adapt."

Glimmer nodded. "Well, then, I have one more question that might be able to help with that."

And before Frosta could ask what it was, she felt Glimmer take both her hands, and saw Glimmer look straight at her with innocent, hopeful eyes. She had no idea if it was some sort of Bright Moon princess magic that caused the waves of warmth, cozier than even the densest parka, to ripple through her right now. To say nothing of her face feeling the warmest of all.

It was okay, she decided. It was actually better than okay. Even though Glimmer hadn't even asked her question yet.

"That being," Glimmer continued, "I'd love to talk, and for us to get to know each other better. I know my mom made her big speech about unity and everything already, and there's even the banquet, but I wanted to thank everyone for showing up when they did, in my own way. You know. Like, personally. So I was hoping to have a big... just... get together in my room tonight? Just us princesses? And Bow, too, 'cause trust me, he'll fit right in."

The warmth redoubled. Frosta lit up inside. She did her best not to gasp audibly.

"I understand if you're tired—you have a long journey back home ahead. But I really hope you'll join us. I think having you around this time would really help with the whole solidarity thing. 'Cause, like, you specifically? You're as amazing and special as any of us. And probably the toughest out of all of us, given all you can do at eleven and three-quarters," Glimmer finished with a knowing wink.

And now Frosta could have melted into a puddle if she were actually made of ice. She'd waited literally her entire life to hear someone, anyone, say those sorts of words.

Was this was togetherness was like?

Would tonight be more?

"I'd like that a lot," Frosta said, barely having to think of the words as she said them. "Count me in."

Glimmer squealed, hopping on her toes. "Yes! My room, after dinner, do not be late." Glimmer looked out, towards at the vastness of the cliff, still holding hands. "Oh, uh, by the way, it's a very exclusive get-together. New Princess Alliance members only, no take-backs," she said with a smile.

Frosta considered a snappy retort—then decided she didn't have one. "That probably won't present a problem."

Glitter raised her eyebrows, and her mouth widened, radiating hope.

Frosta decided not to disappoint. "I thought our kingdom was strong and vast enough to stand against the Horde by itself. Today I realized it can't. Or, at least, we won't be able to hold out forever. Their power goes beyond armies now. They can mess with Runestones, and I have no idea how or why." She hesitated before adding, "And yet, to commit to conflict, when neutrality has served us so well for so long... it feels weird."

"I understand. One more question, then," Glimmer said.

Frosta nodded.

"If the Kingdom of Snows were powerful enough by itself to make the Horde surrender, and leave Etheria in peace... would you try to make it happen?"

Frosta scoffed. "Are you kidding? In two seconds! I don't get harassed by them, but I hear enough reports from other kingdoms, and something like today happens, and—" Frosta stopped. "Huh. First time I ever looked at it like that, honestly."

"That sounds like a choice to me. A pretty good one, too," Glimmer said. "If your kingdom unites with us, then..." Frosta felt Glimmer squeeze her hand. "I think we can make that happen. We can make Etheria free. For all of its people to be who they want to be. Maybe we can even do it without force. But it's important for us to try."

The two looked out one more time—this time instead of down the cliff, across it, instead, to the other kingdoms, which were specks in the distance.

Frosta nodded in determination.

Perhaps if all of her reflections worked together, they could make someone happy for once.

"At this point," she said, "I suppose anything's worth a shot."