The Seasons of Equestria

by Lucaro

Chapter 1: The Romantics of Suicide

I have a collection of masks. One for my parents, one for the rest of my family, one for my friends and everyone else I know. I have worn them for so long, that I have forgotten who I truly am. Though I do remember what their original purpose was. To hide what was inside, to conceal the bitterness, the grief, the paranoia raging inside. Those masks served to protect, to silence the words that would break the glass hearts of loved ones around me. Not only were they for the protection of others, but for my own sake; for my survival, as to prevent the monster inside from cutting all my personal ties, the tethers keeping me anchored to reality.

Each mask was a set of lies I told myself about who I really was and those around me. Somewhere along the line, I prayed that those masks would become truth, that I could cover the festering wounds within, and actually be what I projected to those around me. But I know that is a delusion. I am empty inside. At first I thought I was selectively emotionally detaching myself from the situation to preserve my mental wellbeing, but I realized how comforting the calm void was, and for the time I was within, I felt safe. It was my armor, and it soon became part of my flesh. And I realized all along that this was truly me. There’s no one behind the mask. My face is just a mirror, it reflects whatever is necessary to preserve social harmony. I become invisible, or whatever is required to survive. My personality, my character is constantly evolving to adapt and overcome the trials of my environment.

My name is Starlight Mirror. Some might consider me a victim of fate, the luckless stallion who would always get the short end of the stick, others might say that I am a survivor and my strength should be commended. I am neither. I don’t want people’s sympathy or admiration. What I did, or attempted at least, was selfish and for the most part foolish. I was so caught up with the romantics of the noose before me, so wrapped up in self pity, so lost in my own psychological constructs that I forgot the purpose of my life. I live to serve my queen and goddess, Luna. She is my adopted mother, as all the stallions and mares of the night are.

After years of dancing with my demons, and repeatedly shunning the noose hanging above my bed, I became strong. Born a stallion of the night, I turned to the military to build upon the strength I had found after defeating my demons. To think I even considered suicide all those years ago, it almost made him want to laugh. It was simply an irrational, illogical action. It is the result of an obsession of the self, and an ill-based and persistent pessimism.

Here I stand now, the High General of Luna’s wing of the military. Success is the sweetest revenge. Starlight was perfectly aware of the stigma of being a Nightborn among the denizens of the Day. Our eyes were different, our pupils were slightly elongated compared to that of a Dayborn, and they glowed in the dark to provide us with night vision. There were many other slight variations in the anatomy and physiology of our species, compared to that of the rest of ponykind. Those slight differences made his soldiers, and all members of his species subject to discrimination, and at one point it almost led him to take his own life. Ignorant bastards.

Whatever.Starlight no longer cared of what the ‘common’ folk thought of him. Of course, not all were like that, perhaps it wasn’t their fault at all, but it is what it is.

Starlight spread his wings and stretched out like a cat, making a show of his fangs and muscles. His dark gray pelt shone in the moonlight as he yawned, the gentle autumn breeze chilling his insides as he took it in. He straightened himself when he heard the approach of footsteps. He turned away from the view of the lake and saw one of his underlings walking out from underneath the evergreens which encircled the body of water.

The young mare soldier, Silent Dawnstrider, approached him and following her were the rest of the escort. Lady Amberleaf drew near, surrounded by his soldiers. The Keeper of Autumn had presented herself beautifully in a dress weaved by the bright orange, yellow and red colored leaves of the trees kissed by the cold and cast to the ground. She would be dancing with the Lord of Winter tonight, and the morning would bring the first day of winter.

Dawnstrider dipped her head in respect to him, and Starlight acknowledged her. All the other guards fell into line behind her and Lady Amberleaf tread past them, her brown eyes fixed on Starlight. She gave him a small smile. “We meet again, Starlight.”

He returned her smile. “Yes, and are you ready for our expedition into winter’s domain?” She smiled again, but he could tell that she was nervous. “Don’t worry. Queen Luna will be there as well. She has decided the transition ritual will take place at the traditional location, Iceheart Citadel.”

Amberleaf sighed, looking up at the full moon. “It’s been a thousand years since I last saw Snowhoof. I heard Celestia did terrible things to him before she locked him up in the arctic.”

Starlight nodded. “Yes, that’s why Luna herself went to liberate the Keeper of Winter. They stripped him of his wings and broke his horn before they put him in chains, but thankfully Luna has restored him.”

“Those were dark times.” Amberleaf said, “And I wonder how things will work out now that Luna has returned from banishment. This will be the first winter since then, and Luna will be at the height of her power. Everybody is frightened at what might happen this winter, the Keepers of Spring and Summer actually wanted Snowhoof to remain in prison for the rest of eternity.”

Starlight rolled his eyes at the mention of the other two seasons. “Summer and Spring are only thinking of themselves and their queen, but they have raised quite an uproar in their domains.” Starlight sighed, irritated. “Summer actually threatened to go to war over Luna’s return. In his eyes, Luna is a treasonous wench, and would like nothing more than to send her and all her children back to the moon. He was actually considering the genocide of the Nightborn people, but Celestia reprimanded him and it was the end of that.”

Amberleaf sighed. “There’s a lot of fear out there. Fear of Snowhoof and Luna’s revenge, everyone is expecting a brutal winter. They are right though, it would be the perfect opportunity for Luna to seize the throne.” The Keeper of Autumn looked down at her hooves. “Do you think Snowhoof will be angry with us? We punished him even though he was innocent.”

Starlight Mirror shrugged. “Do you really think that he and Luna didn’t plan their seizure of the throne together? Many people, including Summer and Spring, certainly think so.”

“I don’t think so at all. I spent many nights with Snowhoof, and he understood the balance of things. He would never try to hurt Celestia. Though that’s the least of our worries, Luna’s return has upset the power structure of Equestria.”

She was right. Even though Luna and Celestia had seemed to make amends with one another, he had hoped there would be stability as a result, but Celestia’s followers were still very discontent. “This will be a very momentous season. Things were already tense even before Luna returned, and now the return of Snowhoof could be the catalyst or inhibitor of global conflict. These elemental power struggles affect everyone, and intensify normal political conflicts as well.”

“To say we are at the brink of a new world war would be no exaggeration. I will fully submit myself to Snowhoof, and ease his anger if he has any. He’s very intelligent, he’ll see reason.”

“Well said, Amberleaf.” Starlight spread his wings and prepared to take flight, and all his guards in his pegasi unit did as well. “We must make it to Iceheart Citadel while the night is still young. Luna and Snowhoof are scheduled to arrive there at midnight.”

They took off in the night, his guard forming a protective escort around Amberleaf as they gained altitude. Soon they left the moonlit lake behind, and flew over a landscape of rolling hills covered with evergreens. Apparently a thousand years ago, this whole forest used to be part of winter’s domain and had once been covered with snow year round. Snowhoof’s domain had shrunk significantly in his absence, and tonight with his return, he would reclaim all of this.

He checked his map of the old seasonal boundaries and compared it with a modern political map. They were at the southern region of the Gryphon Kingdom. It was the nation of proud gryphons, one of the many races which resided in Amberleaf’s territory. They had extended the southern boundaries of their kingdom to encompass this evergreen forest over the centuries, finding the climate increasingly favorable. That would all change when Snowhoof returned.

Hopefully Autumn wouldn’t mind losing territory as Winter returned to his former strength. Amberleaf shouldn’t be the one he was worry about. The Keeper of Spring, Lilyheart Alandra, would not react as sensibly. Spring’s territory was more densely populated, so the climate shift would affect her far more than Autumn. That territory loss would surely earn Snowhoof her hate. Starlight felt a twinge of pity for the Keeper of Winter. The poor stallion would have to serve her bed when winter transitioned to spring.

The edge of the evergreen forest came into view, and the tall trees gave way to smaller foliage and eventually giving way to the flat taiga where the current seasonal boundaries stood. The air was much colder here than the evergreen forest they had flown across, providing more evidence that they were very close to Iceheart Citadel.

Starlight lowered his altitude towards the ground and the escort followed his lead. His front hooves brushed the frosted, pale green grass of the taiga. The winding dirt road came into view and they followed it closely until the citadel came into view.

Eight massive towers extended into the sky, all connected by frostbitten stone ramparts thirty meters high. Past the wall, they could see the fearsome spires of Iceheart Citadel itself. They landed on the dirt road before the massive gates, and Starlight called out to guards on the rampart.

A moment later there was the grinding noise of the parting mechanism and the gates slowly drew apart to reveal the city enclosed within. They stepped onto the cobblestone road choked with weeds, and looked at the quaint storefronts and abandoned residences made from dark spruce wood. This once used to be the most populous city in Winter’s solitary realm. The Nightborn ponies who once lived here had moved away when their protector, Snowhoof, had been banished. This city was almost entirely abandoned until recently.

They walked forward and the gates closed behind them. Starlight was quickly met by a small platoon of crossbowmen and their Nightborn captain. “Welcome, Starlight. Tonight our queen shall reach her season of power, and the Nightborn can finally come out of hiding. Come, we have made preparations for this joyous occasion.”

Starlight nodded and they all followed the captain to the citadel itself in the heart of the city. Things began to look more lively as they drew near the citadel. Nightborn from all over Equestria had come to see Snowhoof, Amberleaf, and Luna, restoring some life to the city which had been dead for a thousand years. Young mares hung laundry on their balconies, guard patrols walked by, and a gang of fillies and colts rushed down the street to see Amberleaf. They cheered and Starlight saw Amberleaf give the slightest of smiles.

They arrived at the citadel, and it was buzzing with activity. A group of attendants immediately led Amberleaf away, complimenting her on her choice of dress and fussing over her mane. She glanced back nervously at Starlight one more time before she disappeared around the corner. She would do well with Snowhoof, he knew she would.

Starlight sighed with relief. His mission had been successful. He had delivered the Keeper here in one piece. He drew away from the commotion of the main hallway and his pegasi soldiers went to their separate rooms. They had to prep themselves for the feast tonight. Starlight could not relax despite the merry atmosphere. He would remain in his armor, for he could not be comfortable until his queen arrived.

He climbed up the staircase all the way up to the top of the citadel where his queen would be received and would be residing the night. The bedroom where Snowhoof and Amberleaf would be staying was also up here. He wandered down the stone corridor to his own room adjacent to Luna’s guest room, and opened the wooden door. The bedroom was decorated with icy blue and azure finery and white frills, too much for his taste, but he stood next to the window and awaited his queen’s arrival.

Comments

[NobleValor]

Promising start, however I must ask: Why are the first five paragraphs done in the first person and the following done in the third? Maybe it's just me, but, unless it's describe that is what he is thinking at the time, it might come off as a tad confusing.