Hi Flurry. We’re going to have a ton of big Yak-Pony babies and rule YakYakistan which is even more freezing than the Crystal Empire! Doesn’t that sound nice?

Flurry shot up in her bed screaming. She rubbed her face vigorously, willing such a terrible dream to disappear. Go away, go away, go away. Her coat was glazed in a cold sweat, and her heart wouldn’t stop beating. She swallowed. It was funny really; Flurry didn’t actually know if her mother the Empress was planning an arranged marriage for her, but she couldn’t seem to shake the sick feeling in her stomach or the dreams of the eccentric Yak Prince.

It was only when in a passing glance at an official-looking letter from YakYakistan that was due for a filing cabinet that Flurry even conceived the idea that maybe there were secret negotiations going around that her parents had yet to discuss with her. It’s not that she didn’t pay attention; she really tried, and she definitely had read the words “Prince Ferdinand” and “of age to” on that frost-bitten treebark of a piece of parchment. Age to what? Age to what? Age to marry an alicorn princess in an alliance and start an imperialistic scheme?!

She didn’t know and didn’t want to know!

It’s not that she didn’t like Prince Ferdinand. She’d known him since they had been children. They had…had fun she supposed. He had surprisingly liked cooking with whatever he could find, thereby making some rather intriguing Yak meals. Flurry would have called it indecent, but the Head Maid had told off her grumbling.

He also loved playing with snow, which sort of freaked her out. While she’d always lived in snow, she could also conjure it at will and create exquisite weather patterns, while he was just playing with the left-overs. Ground snow was worthless! Flurry couldn’t imagine what he was thinking underneath those huge horns and tangled hair he called a coat. At least he could wear gold. Gold was considered wearable as ornaments and as a common luxury in YakYakistan, which was more than she could say for ponykind. Princess Flurry Heart wasn’t allowed to wear her crown and accessories unless it was a holiday!

Flurry heaved a sigh. Her nerves were stretched thin. She hoped her parents would say something soon because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could sleep like this. Flurry fell back on her pillow and stared at the lilac ceiling drapes of her four-poster bed. She closed her eyes one at a time, but visions of her supposed wedding day flooded her mind. Horrible, just horrible.