It was sometime in the late evening when Fleetscut collapsed. A combination of overwhelming fatigue, thirst and hours of strong sunlight, together with the fact that the old hare had run almost without stopping for almost two days, brought him down. Head hanging, paws dragging, he tottered about on the open flatlands like a beast gone crazy. He did not realize he had fallen at first. Fleetscut lay on the rough ground, the tongue hanging dry from his mouth, footpaws still moving in a running action, kicking up small dustclouds. In his delirium he squinted at a rock, imagining it was Lord Stonepaw gazing sternly at him.

"Sire, there ain't a hare nowhere to be found," he croaked feebly. "I tried, I did my best for you, but alas, lord, the young hares are gone from the land…"

Fleetscut's eyes glazed over and he fell back senseless.

He awoke to a stream of water dripping onto his tongue. He became aware of a pair of hooves in front of him. A white unicorn in a purple robe was standing over him.

"Most creatures of long seasons would be dead after putting themselves through such a trial. I'm called Princess Platinum."

Fleetscut pushed himself up to his knees. He saw that he was in a pine grove."Thanks for savin' my life, marm."

Princess Platinum regarded him gravely. "Your paws are badly torn. Let me heal them." She bent down and touched her unicorn horn to each of his paws. To Fleetscut's surprise, the wounds disappeared, but he still felt sore.

"Are you from the mountain south of here?" Princess Platinum asked.

The hare nodded. "Aye. My name's Fleetscut."

Platinum sat down. "You've got big trouble over there. I've been watching blue vermin marching downcoast for days, all headed for your mountain."

"Down the coast? I thought they were coming up from the south."

"They must have separated into multiple groups, to surround the mountain," the unicorn said. "It's a lucky thing you escaped in time."

Fleetscut was indignant. "Escaped? What d'ye take me for, marm? Do I look like a blinkin' deserter? For your information, I was sent out by Lord Stonepaw to scout out reinforcements."

"Well, there aren't any of your kind to be found in this area," said Platinum. "Rest now, drink some soup and sleep. We'll talk more when my friend comes back."

Rest was the last thought on Fleetscut's mind, but no sooner had he drunk half a beaker of mushroom soup than the vessel slipped from his paws and he went into a deep slumber.

A few hours later, another unicorn came. This one was purple and she had dark hare.

"What news, Clover the Clever?" said Princess Platinum.

Clover the Clever saluted her. "The mountain of Salamandastron has fallen, conquered by the Blue Ones. I could not get too near, but I saw from a distance some vermin scaling the slopes. They carried large new banners to put up there. Maybe we should've helped the badger and the hares."

"A unicorn never stoops to fighting!" Princess Platinum declared. "We'd be nothing but slain carcasses rolling in the tide shallows now, had we gone up against such a force. The Badger Lord and his hares were mad, brave, beasts, they did what they had to. But it was a foregone conclusion."

Fleetscut's voice hit her back like a whip. "Cowards! You knew what was happening and you didn't do anything!"

Platinum turned on him. "Nobeast calls Princess Platinum a coward!"

"Unicorns never fight, eh?" Fleetscut sneered. "Prob'ly cause you know you can't win! See how long you can hide out in this pine grove until Ungatt Trunn's Blue Hordes find you. Then you'll wish you'd helped to fight him an' save Salamandastron!"

The unicorn princess stood before him, her eyes blazing. "Any other beast would have been dead by now, rabbit. But I'll prove to you that unicorns aren't cowards. We'll go with you on your search- aye, and carry you if need be. I'll help you build an army- rabbits, or any creature crazy enough to go against the hordes on yonder mountains. I, Princess Platinum, do not do this out of comradeship for ye. I do it to prove that I am not a coward!"

"I think you already said that," Clover mentioned.

Fleetscut curled his lip scornfully. "Do it for whatever reason you like, Princess. But do it! And by the way, I'm a hare, not a rabbit!"

Princess Platinum was trembling all over with rage. "Oho, I'll do it, never fret about that, hare," she growled. "Once a princess gives her word, you can stake your life on it!"

Clover the Clever stepped between them, trying to defuse the situation. "Okay! Great! So I guess we'd better get him some rations together for the journey, right?"

Fleetscut's mood instantly changed. "Rations? That means scoff, right? I say, jolly good! What are we eating?"

Clover gave him a bag. "This is what all ponies take on long journeys. Dried fruit and berries stuffed into a farl of rye bread which has been well soaked in honey. A creature can march all day on just a few mouthfuls, providing there's water to drink."

The bag was awkward on Fleetscut's body; it was a saddlebag, not made for two-legged beasts. But he had to accept it because that was the only kind of bag the unicorns had.

"So we'll go and see Udara Groundslay," Princess Platinum announced. "He will know where to find more hares."

"Who in the name of seasons is Udara Groundslay?" Fleetscut asked.

"You'll find out soon enough, friend," Clover the Clever said.