A mare with a pale coat and mane lay on a small couch on a balcony overlooking Canterlot. She gazed up at a darkened sky, her face absent of emotion. She drew in a deep breath of cool air, and immediately began coughing violently. As she drew her hoof away from her mouth, she noticed blood covering it. Dismayed, she slowly rubbed the hoof against the couch, trying and failing to wipe the blood away. As she did this, she heard the creaking of the door leading to the manor opening.
“Mother? Mother, what are you doing out here?” A young unicorn stallion traipsed out onto the balcony. As he moved from the harsh interior lighting to the nighttime, the light of the moon caused his light yellow mane to shimmer slightly, accenting against his blue coat. After a second, he spoke up again in a concerned voice.
“Mother, the doctors said you’re to remain resting. You’re the head of this house, so it’s important you-” He was cut off as the mare started coughing again. He quickly moved to her side, giving her a sip from a glass of water. He glanced down at the large bloodstain along the side of the couch and shook his head slightly. His voice remained soft and caring as he spoke to her, “Mother, you’re getting worse, aren’t you?”
The mare gave a weak chuckle. “Summer Glare, my son. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Of course I’m here. I would never abandon you.”
The mare shook her head. “That isn’t what I meant. You’ll be taking over this family soon. It’s not an ideal situation to leave you in, I admit, but you’ll make everypony proud.”
Even as Summer maintained his calm smile and caring expression, his eyes quickly dilated. As he spoke, the trembling in his voice betrayed his true feelings. “What do you mean? You’ll be around for a while. You’ll see.”
Summer’s mother looked at him sternly and said, “You and I both know that isn’t true. I’ve been getting worse, and the time is fast approaching when I must depart.”
Desperation exploded into Summer’s voice as he replied. “What? No. No, I can’t. I’m not ready! I’m too young! You’ve always looked after us. You can’t leave us behind now!”
“Oh, Summer. You’re a stallion now. I’m sure you’ll be a great leader. Leading a noble household isn’t easy, especially as we’re one of the most prominent in Canterlot, so no matter how much I taught you, you’d never be truly ready. You’ll have to learn as you go and figure out what kind of leader you are.” After a few more coughs, she weakly gestured to Summer’s cutie mark, a single seven-pointed star. “Seven. Truly a magical number, and you’re the most powerful unicorn I know. So please, look after the others.”
“No. No! I won’t! You can’t leave us. You can’t leave me! It isn’t fair!”
Summer’s mother raised a shaky hoof to brush his mane away from his face. “Chin up, darling. I could never have been here forever, and we’ve reached the last page of my story. You need to close the book.”
She lowered her hoof, and her breaths slowly ceased, leaving her with a pleasant smile on her face. As he looked down at his mother’s motionless body, Summer could no longer fight back his tears. As they rolled down his face, he lifted his eyes to the midnight sky. Through his body’s violent shaking, he screamed to the Mare in the Moon, who simply looked down with her indifferent gaze.
***
A few weeks later, Summer was pacing anxiously around his room nestled deep within the manor. He shut his eyes and muttered to himself as he moved back and forth. Eventually, he stopped in front of an elegant vest made for him by the finest boutique in Canterlot. Fashioned to its breast was a medallion with a lotus symbol, the insignia of House Starswirl and a representation of his status of leader. The silver of the medallion reflected the light of the room, a harsh reminder of the responsibilities Summer would now have to see through. Upon considering this, Summer resumed his pacing.
After what felt like hours but could only have been a few minutes, Summer examined himself in the mirror. His mane had been styled in a tame, orderly style. While this was appropriate for his first public appearance, Summer couldn’t help but feel unease at his reflection. He felt as though something were missing. If he were to represent House Starswirl, he would have to ensure he commanded respect. He had to do what he could for the good of his family, just like his mother always had. He sighed and closed his eyes, mustering all the concentration he could. He could feel magical energy form in his horn, and he forced that energy back through his own body. He could feel his spell begin working, but the light tugging he felt on his sides erupted into a searing pain. Without fail, Summer continued the spell, ignoring the growing agony until it was completed. Once he finished casting the spell, he stumbled forward, but managed to catch himself on his desk. As he waited for his vision to return, he cast a small series of simpler and less painful enchantments upon himself. His vision returned as he finished the last spell, and he trotted over to his mirror.
He looked at himself in the mirror, first inspecting his mane and tail for fear of having to listen to another of his stylist’s lectures about proper mane maintenance. Once he ensured they were in order, he moved on to what he really needed to check. A pair of wings had grown from his sides and were hanging limply, just barely touching the ground. He marveled at his reflection. Now he could have respect. After all, the only alicorn in Equestria was the princess herself. Even if some ponies knew that he couldn’t possibly be a true alicorn, his new experiment was sure to draw attention to House Starswirl. He took a few minutes to figure out how to fit and hold the wings against his sides, then donned the vest and walked out of his room and to the main lobby.
As he entered the lobby, a pegasus mare with a green coat and blue mane looked at Summer. Her long mane was braided to one side, perfectly complimenting her beautiful, sophisticated dress.
“Hey! Summer! You’re already late, and now you’re staring at me? What gives?”
“Sorry, Iris. I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so…elegant.”
“Did you just insult me?”
“What? No, that’s not what I mean, I-”
Luckily for Summer, Iris had become distracted by his new wings. “Oh, is this the results of a new spell? I know you’ve been studying enchantments since we were foals, but still. Impressive.” He grimaced as she prodded at them. “What happens when the enchantment wears off?”
Summer stopped for a moment, realizing that he had never actually considered that bit. He shook his head and began walking towards the exit of the manor. His voice carried only a hint of dread when he said, “Look, can we just go? We might be late as it is.”
The carriage ride to the Canterlot Royal Ballroom was quiet and tense. Summer stared out of the window and nervously tapped his hoof against the side of the carriage. Iris simply sat and fiddled with her dress, shooting concerned glances at Summer every few minutes. Once the carriage rolled to a stop, Summer stepped out in front of the Royal Ballroom, an incredibly regal and unimaginably expensive venue. The noble houses had split the cost of renting it for this event, although one house could have easily paid for it with bits to spare. After closing the carriage door after Iris and paying the stallion in charge of the carriage, Summer finally stood in front of the doors he had been dreading for weeks. He straightened his posture, lifted his chin, and strode in.
The crowd inside the ballroom was fairly small, considering that every major noble house was in attendance. Each house had selected a small group of ponies to go to the ball as representatives, and unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were all represented. A small ensemble from the Canterlot Orchestra had been tasked with playing the music, and the center of the room contained both pair and solo dancers.
Summer finally noticed the curious looks he was getting, and proudly ruffled his feathers before he looked over at Iris and asked, “You ready?”
“Even if I weren’t, I’d be out of time,” Iris said playfully as she trotted into the crowd.
Summer shook his head and continued into the room, mostly keeping to the edge and away from the dancing. He watched the ponies dancing for a while, still uncertain of his role. He heard a voice from behind him, interrupting his musing.
“Summer Glare, right?” The mare looking at him had a light blue coat and black mane. He saw a gold medallion pinned to her dress, much like the silver one he wore, bearing the thunderbolt insignia of House Sombra. “It’s good to finally meet the new head of House Starswirl.”
Summer smiled and replied, “And I finally meet Bluebird, head of House Sombra.”
“You haven’t danced to one song since you got here, and I don’t see you socializing.”
Summer gave a small smile and said, “Yes, well, I’ve never been to one of these before. I kept being invited, but I was too busy studying magic, politics, or economics to pay much attention.” He dropped his gaze to his hooves before he finished. “I guess I always assumed there would be plenty of time to learn.”
“No time like the present.” Summer looked up, and Bluebird extended her hoof, offering him a dance. Summer’s expression changed from somber to grateful as he took her hoof and followed her to the dance floor. As a new song began playing, they began carefully stepping in a formal dance pattern. Soon, they had raised to two legs and Bluebird was leading Summer in a dance with spins and sweeping footwork. She led him through a series of increasingly flashy and complex moves, until they ended the song with Summer in a low dip, his wings spread out for dramatic effect. As they settled back down onto four hooves, they noticed that most of the other ponies had been watching them. A few even began stomping their hooves quietly on the ground in approval.
“See? That wasn’t so bad.”
“Yeah,” Summer said with a sheepish grin, “I know how to dance, I just didn’t know how exactly these formal dances work.”
Bluebird chuckled. “No issue. You may not know everything, but you’ll have to learn fast.” She levitated a small letter to Summer before continuing, “For instance, a week after every year’s summer ball, the most powerful houses always host a meeting, and we’ve always included House Starswirl. It will be much more business-oriented than this, however.”
Summer took the letter with his own magic and stowed it inside his vest. “If my mother always made a point to attend, I have no intention of breaking tradition.” He smiled and bowed. “I will see you then. In the meantime, I wish to enjoy the rest of the ball.”
He trotted off and looked for Iris for a short while, finding her talking to another mare. The other mare was a unicorn with a slender face and gentle red eyes. Summer stood a little ways away, waiting for them to finish talking and watching the interaction. Iris gave a small laugh, which drew an embarrassed smile from the unicorn. After a small bout of what appeared to be playful banter, Iris moved and stood next to the unicorn, allowing her feathers to brush the unicorn’s side. The unicorn jumped slightly, blushing. She stammered something before making her way into the crowd, and Summer took this opportunity to approach Iris.
“No luck?” Summer’s voice was fairly unemotional. He'd seen this plenty of times.
Iris scowled and ruffled her feathers. With disappointment evident in her voice, she said, “Of course not. If you saw me talking, you saw how it ended.”
“Maybe it’s because you come on too strong?”
Iris thought for a moment before responding, “What if they miss my signals?”
Summer gave her an incredulous look and said, “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Be honest,” Iris asked, “do you think I have a chance with anypony?”
"Well, like I said, you come on too strong. However, I do think that if somepony were to fall for you, they’d be very lucky.”
Iris smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right! Let's see if your 'subtle' method works.”
Summer smiled as she trotted away, “Remember that you’re as subtle as a cannon!”
Summer shook his head after she had vanished into the crowd, but jerked his head around when he heard a voice directly behind him.
“Now I see.”
He turned to face Bluebird, who was giving him a knowing look. Summer tilted his head in confusion and said, “See what?”
“I see why you hadn’t danced with anypony,” Bluebird replied as she nodded to where Iris had disappeared into the crowd.
Summer blinked and thought for a moment. Suddenly, he blushed. “What? No. We’re not together.”
“I didn’t necessarily say you were together.”
Summer’s ear flicked and his feathers ruffled as he fought his growing frustration. “Well,” he said, “it’s not like anything else, either. We’ve known each other since we were foals, that’s all.”
Bluebird simply smiled in response. “Well, I’ll see you at the meeting.” Before Summer could say anything else, she turned and melted into the crowd.
After a while of short dances and awkward small talk, Summer noticed ponies starting to leave. As he walked to the door, Iris walked up and fell in step beside him. She was silent, and Summer decided to obey the sense of unease and remain silent as well. The silence grew unbearable as they entered their carriage and began to ride back to House Starwrirl. In an effort to take his mind off the present, Summer took mental notes of everything he needed to do. First of all, he needed to go to that meeting with the other houses. A show of goodwill seemed to be in order, especially since he just took over. Additionally, he had to review the organization of the House treasury. He seemed to remember something about a drop in income. Lastly, he had to…
Summer paused. What did he have to do? It was something important, that much was certain. He felt something in the back of his mind when trying to think about it. Something like fear. After Summer puzzled over this for a while, he felt a searing pain in his sides. It was in the same spots as when he cast his enchantment on himself, but the intensity was so great that the previous pain could be likened to the bite of a flea. The moment the pain began, Summer’s vision went black. He knew he must have screamed, but he couldn’t hear himself over the pounding of blood through his head. As every cloud has its silver lining, this made Summer remember what he had to do. He gathered the whole of his concentration and began casting his spells on himself again. He felt his spells falter several times, but desperation finally allowed him to finish the last spell. He slowly opened his eyes and found that he was standing in the middle of the carriage, panting heavily. Iris was looking at him with fear in her eyes.
“What happened?” Her voice was shaky.
Summer collapsed onto his seat. “I don’t know. I think… Yes, I think that the enchantments wore off.”
Iris took several deep breaths to steady herself. “Don’t scare me like that,” she said. “You screamed, your wings were contorting…” She shuddered.
After a few seconds’ pause, Iris looked Summer dead in the eyes and asked, “Will this happen again?”
Summer looked back, unwilling to answer.