The mood at the funeral of Star Swirl the Bearded had been one of great sorrow on a massive scale, coupled with confusion and, for a few, a desire to avenge their great hero, who they were certain had been murdered. A rumor spread through the kingdom that earth ponies or pegasi had committed the terrible deed and were seen fleeing the castle a couple days prior, but King Silver actively quashed this thought, insisting that Star Swirl had battled against a dragon that had since been driven off by a group of pegasi. This only raised more questions, as nopony seemed clear on whether the dragon itself had killed Star Swirl or what the role of the pegasi had been, and now nopony could ask the pegasi for clarification because they had abruptly cut off communication and isolated themselves due to some internal political matter involving their leader. In all the confusion and vagueness, any thirst for vengeance quickly died when there was no clear murderer and the supposed murderer had apparently been seen to. Some unicorns even began to speculate that Star Swirl was not actually dead but a master of disguise who had now gone into hiding, though this was likely just the result of wishful thinking.

In the midst of all this speculation, King Silver quietly made Star Swirl’s apprentice Clover the new advisor to the throne in a private ceremony after the funeral. Though distraught from the death of her mentor, the pressures and duties of her new position didn’t give her much time to grieve over his passing. Her sharpness and quick thinking soon won her favor by the royalty and she was granted the title that she would eventually become famous by: Clover the Clever.

However, King Silver’s age soon began to catch up with him and the death of his old friend did nothing to help his emotional state. As the winter became the coldest anypony could remember, the king was bedridden with illness. Princess Platinum began taking on the active duties of the king while he recovered, but as his illness lingered the question arose of whether he would ever be fit for duty again and Platinum was increasingly accepted by the populace as the de-facto ruler, even if King Silver remained alive.

Initially the princess promised to carry on her father’s respect for the great magicians of the kingdom, with Clover the Clever by her side as her advisor. But the nobility were suspicious of a pony so closely tied to a radical like Star Swirl the Bearded and began to curry Princess Platinum’s favor with gifts of wealth and treasure, which she found irresistible. Her rule quickly became one of unrestrained glamor and opulence while the academics of Unicornia lost influence. In the midst of this, Clover the Clever found herself being pushed to the side, an advisor to the throne only in name.

***

The news of Tempest’s death was met with grief and horror in Pegasopolis, as she had been a widely beloved figure by her soldiers and generally well-liked by the populace. Her absence the past few weeks had gone mostly unnoticed as it was common for commanders to engage in long missions to the far-flung reaches of the Pegasi Empire. Upon her return to Pegasopolis, Commander Hurricane was immediately rushed into the position of running an empire and quickly asserted her authority, pledging to continue the legacy of her mother and sending a clear message that nothing was to change in the near future and that the power of the empire had not faded.

After the initial chaos of having a new leader finally died down there was a day of mourning in Pegasopolis to honor Tempest, the brave commander who had given all to bring glory to her people. Commander Hurricane stood as the figure who had avenged her own mother in one swift blow and, as her story spread throughout the empire, many soldiers hailed her as the bravest commander they had ever known even as Tempest was martyred alongside the dragon slayer.

Commander Hurricane watched the funeral procession from atop the grand staircase in front of their largest temple, standing alone between two towering columns as she gazed solemnly down at the coffin of her mother being carried behind the soldiers who marched in perfect synchronization. The streets were lined with pegasi who came to give their final respects and glimpse Tempest’s coffin, which was covered in a rainbow-stained cloth, symbolizing the end of the storm; the passing of troubles as one looked forward to a brighter future.

As Hurricane watched the procession, dark, gloomy clouds moved overhead and snowflakes began to drift from the sky.

***

Humble Pie went back to his farm, now joined by Swift Cloud as he tried to resettle into life in the Mane Valley, which now proved to be familiar yet very different with the presence of the pegasus. They decided to hold off plans to return to Fortune’s Peak given the return of winter, and with all that they had gone through they were in no hurry to go back.

Humble Pie felt joy being back amongst farmers and to his enormous relief, they were far more accepting of Swift Cloud than he had expected, though he suspected that her lack of armor aided her in this regard; though physically strong, she simply didn’t look like a soldier without the helmet. The fact that the farmers showed no interest in talking about soldiers helped keep Swift Cloud’s mind off the depression she felt whenever she thought of the life she had lost, and the farmers seemed to enjoy her curiosity in their way of life.

However, almost nopony seemed to grasp the extent of Humble Pie’s and Swift Cloud’s relationship and those very few that did seem to have suspicions, all of whom were in Humble Pie’s close family, apparently remained willfully ignorant. Despite his love for Swift Cloud, the earth pony feared the repercussions of anypony else finding out. On one evening during a family dinner, Swift Cloud casually mentioned that she was thinking of settling in the Mane Valley for a long time to come, which raised a couple of eyebrows before Humble Pie quickly changed the subject, hoping to quash any further suspicions.

Autumn did not last long as winter came early and strong, bringing snows earlier than any farmer could recall in living memory and sowing anger amongst the earth ponies towards the pegasi as the harvest season was cut short. At the same time, Humble Pie thought over what Star Swirl had asked him to do and realized he couldn’t spread a message of unity between the pony tribes if he moved back to Fortune’s Peak, far from civilization. Eventually he decided that there would be plenty of time later to re-establish the rock farm. So when he heard of the impending retirement of Chancellor Breadcircus, Humble Pie saw the perfect opportunity to preach his message.

Entering the race for chancellor early in the winter, Humble Pie gained a quick lead based on the connections he had with many ponies in the towns and hamlets nearby, asking friends who owed him favors and family members to spread word and help his campaign. While by no means a gifted speaker, his humility won him a sizeable audience who liked his simple message. The idea of uniting with pegasi and unicorns was off-putting to many, but Humble Pie was able to convince plenty of his fellow farmers that closer ties with the pegasi could mean a stronger relationship between farmers and weather teams, which would ultimately be beneficial. For a while, it looked like he could win the election.

Then the snows worsened. The winter quickly became the worst in anypony’s memory as harsh blizzards covered the valley in snow and began to threaten the food supply. Now the thoughts of friendlier relations with the pegasi sounded like the mad ramblings of a naive fool to most farmers, and Humble Pie quickly lost favor. An upstart candidate named Puddinghead, who nopony had taken seriously before, suddenly emerged and promptly took the lead. In her campaign she promised ‘outside the box’ solutions to the farmer’s problems, which ironically didn’t include the radical solution of uniting with the Pegasi Empire to find common ground. While Puddinghead herself didn’t attack anypony else, a few of her supporters were not above such negativity and soon vicious rumors swept through the valley that Humble Pie was actually a traitor who had spent considerable time with pegasi soldiers and was currently harboring one in his house. Humble Pie couldn’t entirely deny these rumors given the nuggets of truth they contained, and in the midst of this scandal all he could be thankful for was that they hadn’t caught on to the true nature of his relationship with Swift Cloud. With Humble Pie unable to overcome the rumors and in the middle of a worsening winter, Puddinghead ran away with the election.

However, there was one glimmer of hope for Humble Pie even after all this. A couple of days after the election results were announced, his cousin Smart Cookie stopped by his house. During the campaign she had seen the writing on the wall and publicly endorsed Puddinghead and had now been rewarded with a secretary position. But there in Humble Pie’s house, Smart Cookie told him that she had found his message of unity compelling and would do all she could to fulfill it from within the new government. Humble Pie nearly wept with joy at her news; since his campaign went downhill he had been severely distressed, dreading that he had failed to live up to Star Swirl’s request and fearing for Swift Cloud’s safety. Now there was hope.

***

Spring eventually came but the summer that followed was cool and short-lived before the winter came back, even fiercer than the one before. If tensions had run high the previous winter, it was nothing to what they were now. The food supply was running dangerously low, given that an entire growing season’s worth of crops had been denied the farmers due to the poor weather. Now the winter was becoming a perpetual blizzard with no end in sight, and as it went on it swiftly toppled the tribes’ precarious peace.

A grand summit was called for the leaders of the three tribes to meet and find a common solution to the problem. Humble Pie and Swift Cloud traveled to the summit, only to be dismayed that it ended in disaster. There they met with Silver Lining, whose wings had recovered but still had much feather growth left to do before they were capable of flight again. Though their reuniting was joyful, both Humble Pie and Swift Cloud were taken aback by how much older Silver Lining looked; there were dark circles under his eyes, many more wrinkles on his face, his mane had started to go from silver to white and he seemed worn. Hunger amongst the pegasi likely hadn’t helped, but the past year had been a terrible one to be an advisor.

After the rather violent conclusion of the summit, the three friends found themselves back together in a small pub in the village surrounding the summit building, trying to figure out their next move. The summit had been their last decent chance of peace between the tribes and with its failure there seemed to be no hope left. They sat together at a table inside the crowded pub, which was filled with groups of other ponies who were trying to make something of the gathering even after their leaders had turned it into a disaster. Even in this cozy setting they were unable to fully escape the cold that raged outside. Everypony was discussing what they had heard. Already there was talk among each of the tribes of moving to a new land and Silver Lining confirmed to Humble Pie and Swift Cloud that Commander Hurricane had been considering emergency contingency plans and examining what little info existed about lands beyond the known realm.

“And Commander Hurricane is fine with you sharing this info with us?” Swift Cloud inquired, raising an eyebrow at Silver Lining.

“I doubt it, but I do not care anymore,” he grumbled, and both Humble Pie and Swift Cloud were surprised by his negativity; the optimistic pony they had known seemed to be lost. “I resigned after that brutal display of hers during the summit.”

“You what?!” the other two exclaimed.

“But...what about your duty to the empire?” Swift Cloud asked. Even after being thrown out of military service, that loyalty to her old nation still lived within the pegasus mare.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Silver Lining mumbled, burying his face in his forehooves and looking like he was on the verge of tears. “The stress of this past year has corrupted me, Commander Hurricane barely respects my advice and I want - no, need to see my family again. If starvation wasn’t going to take my life, the duties of my post would have done it instead.”

It was decided that night that the three of them would travel to the west, following the route the griffons had taken into the lands beyond the known realm. For Swift Cloud and Silver Lining this was an easy decision, seeing as they lacked a home to return to, but for Humble Pie it took much convincing. Just one year ago he had taken part in a long and dangerous quest to reclaim his family’s heritage, and now he was being asked to not only give that up but also the home they had made for themselves in the Mane Valley; to abandon everything they had worked for in the faint hope of something better.

But in the end, Humble Pie couldn’t deny the stark reality of their situation. There was nothing for them here but death. Spring was nowhere in sight and if they stayed here they would almost certainly starve. Though it pained him to say goodbye to the home he had known for so many years, he saw no other choice.

***

The Great Migration had begun. Shortly after Humble Pie, Swift Cloud and Silver Lining returned to the earth pony’s house to gather what little supplies they could, reports came back from Chancellor Puddinghead’s company of good lands to the west, in some place they had dubbed ‘Equestria’. Details were fuzzy, but the name had a nice, hopeful ring to it and sounded oddly welcoming. Humble Pie wondered if it had been Smart Cookie who had come up with such a good name; he couldn’t imagine Puddinghead being so original. With a destination now firmly in mind, the three ponies made their way west, joining the stream of ponies who abandoned the houses and farms they had known their whole life for the promise of a new life.

Along the way the three ponies made a detour, traveling north to the land of Unicornia to visit Star Swirl the Bearded one last time before they left this land forever. After asking around with a few of the villagers, who also seemed to be packing their things and migrating westward, they found the cemetery. The snows were so high they had buried the headstones at the bottom of the slope, but the ones at the top of the hill remained visible, sticking out just above the drifts. It didn’t take long for Humble Pie to find the intricate carving of Star Swirl atop his tombstone, despite the statue bearing a layer of snow atop it. The earth pony lifted a hoof to brush the snow off, revealing the statue’s features: the carved bells, the sweeping cloak, the tall hat and the solemn expression.

“Hello, old friend,” Humble Pie greeted the statue, sitting down and looking up at it with a mixture of sadness and humility. “I thought I should come here to say farewell. ...And to offer my apologies.”

The earth pony fidgeted with the snow beneath his hooves, thinking about the pony that lay buried below them. “I failed you, Star Swirl. The tribes are at each other’s throats and now everypony is leaving. Some of us tried to foster peace, but nopony else would listen.”

He looked back up at the statue. “I wish you were still here. You...knew. You just knew what was right. What had to be done. We could really use your wisdom now.”

Humble Pie stared at the likeness of the unicorn for a while, as if expecting a response, before sighing and lowering his head. “But it’s not coming, because I’m talking to a dead pony.” He heard the crunch of snow underhoof coming from behind him as somepony approached.

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Swift Cloud offered, nuzzling Humble Pie gently. The earth pony smiled and gave Star Swirl’s statue a last glance before rising to his hooves and making his way back down the slope to rejoin with Silver Lining.

Humble Pie attached the harnesses of the small cart that carried their meager possessions to himself and started making his way out of Unicornia, Swift Cloud walking at his side while Silver Lining trotted some distance ahead, eager to know that each step brought him closer to the one he loved. Together they left behind the land they had called home and joined the multitudes of ponies traveling west; the groups of pegasi that battled the winds as they flew through the air, the unicorns that trekked down from their mountain castle fighting through the blizzard and the earth ponies that lugged what little they had with them through the massive drifts of snow, all venturing out into the unknown that lay before them.