Wings of Fire

“Lunaris, could you give me a hand?” Luna asked. The mystic blue pony with a starry mane, straight wings, and simple horn was standing in the doorway, a few bags on her back. She was almost trembling from the weight, but patient enough to stand there till her niece took a few.

“Certainly, Aunt Luna.” A small filly replied. She was about half the size of Luna, had a straight blue and cobalt mane, simple wings, and a cracked horn. She trotted over to Luna and picked a few bags off of her back, then followed her aunt farther into the room. "I cannot believe Christmas is almost upon us!" she chirped, putting the bags where Luna placed hers and flitting around the wide space.

"I hope I can manage to steal a kiss or two from Cocoa! Or maybe even Snapshot, even though he likes Moon Drop..." She lighted down next to a young colt who was a bright pale yellow with a golden and orange mane, his wings folded neatly and his horn freshly sharpened. "What are you going to do, Solaris?" Lunaris asked, looking at her brother with bright eyes. Her question hung with a sense of expectancy, as if she wanted him to have a certain answer.

“The same thing I do every Christmas, sis. Practice my aerial combat moves. Lots of them involve fire, and if I don't aim correctly, at least I'll just be melting some snow." He replied, spreading his wings and flapping them, as if to shake off water droplets. He looked a bit tired and flustered, but his attitude chased away any doubt another pony would have about his appearance. His hazel eyes did their best to take in his surroundings, but it was apparent that without energy, they would need rest. It was possible he might even collapse right in front her, but he remained standing somehow.

"Well, okay I guess." Lunaris said, her voice falling to a murmur. She seemed a bit disappointed about her brother's decision, but made no voice of it.

"Axis Dementio Solaris. I restrict you from doing such a thing." A stern voice called from above. Solaris seemed startled, but then annoyed as a large white Alicorn flew from a balcony in the upper part of the room. She had long hair, in pink, green, and blue. Her wings seemed almost too big for her, and her horn pointed proudly upwards. Her cutie mark, a flaring sun, seemed to shine.

"But why, mother?" Solaris moaned. "You let me do it every other year..." He lowered his head, prepared for the lecture his mother, Celestia, was about to give him. She looked him over, as if finding a reason for his response. Finding none except his fatigue, she continued.

"Because this year, you're actually going to spend time with your family. This will be the last we see of you before the end of Winter." At this, Solaris looked up.

"What do you mean?" He asked, unnerved by this information. He didn't really want to separate from his family, especially when his sister was still going through flight school. She still needed support, Solaris thought.

"You'll see soon. Until then, I don't want to see a single hoof of yours outside Canterlot." Celestia said, trying to end her words lightly. Though stern when trying to get points across, she was kind at heart and didn't feel right when a pony was upset because of her words. "Now, why don't you see if any of your friends are about. I'm sure you wouldn't want to look for them in a crowd. The Winter Eve celebration starts in an hour, so you can get them here before I open the halls to the public." With that, she turned to Luna and began to help her sort the decorations.

Solaris thought for a few moments. The only friends he was sure would be in Canterlot at this time would be his half sister Tormented Spirits, who would be along with her mother Pinkie Pie.

He quickly made his way to the castle entrance, not noticing a small pink cloud floating just above the door. Within a split second of stepping under it, chocolate fell down like a waterfall, making his mane and coat a swampy brown. Snorting, he looked around for a pony who could help him clean up the mess. He could tend to his coat later, he just had to make somebody else knew of the mess. He quickly spotted Feather Duster and Moth Wing. They agreed to clean the giant puddle while he handled the source, and went to work.

Solaris flew up to the cloud, hearing loud giggles. As soon as he arrived at the top, his suspicions were confirmed. There on the cloud was a small tan filly with a purple bat wing, a blue Pegasus wing, a notched blue horn, and a silver mane. She had no tail, but that was more than enough evidence to confirm it was his half sister. "Spirits!" He snapped, trying to get the filly's attention.

After a moment, Tormented Spirits realized he had called her and stopped. She sat up quickly, but then Solaris realized there was still a bit of room on the cloud. "No point in hiding her, I know she put you up to it." He muttered, looking straight at the empty space. Spirits whinnied an apology and her horn shone for a moment. After a good few seconds, a bubblegum pink Earth Pony mare with a bright magenta and very poofy mane appeared, imitating the glare Solaris was giving her.

"Pinkie, I know you like to prank people, but in the castle?" He grunted, gliding down as the cloud lowered itself. Once it hit the floor, Pinkie stepped off, Spirits climbing up on her back.

"Yeah! It's the perfect place, because nobody would expect it!" She giggled, the cloud vanishing. Solaris snorted a second time, but then changed his attitude.

"Anyway, I was just about to go look for you. Celestia said I could let my friends in before she opened the halls to the public for the celebration. I'm sure Lunaris is getting some of hers as well. Mother and Luna are setting up in the main hall. You can go help them if you wish." With this offer, Pinkie Pie nodded, then bounded off to the main hall, Spirits doing her best to keep herself on.

Solaris looked after them for a moment, then decided to head out and see if any of his other friends were in Canterlot. He quickly donned a small coat and scarf, then headed out.

Walking down the streets of Canterlot, he saw that many of the ponies (A majority being Unicorns) were setting up their Winter Eve decorations. Some using their magic to hang the ornaments, some Pegasi putting stars on top of trees, and Earth Ponies setting presents underneath. Solaris stopped for a moment and stared, smiling at the unification of all three Pony types. It was only when two sharp voices called his name did he snap out of his trance.

"Sol! Hey! It's us!" They cried. Turning, Solaris realized who was speaking to him. It was Powder Snow, an icy blue deer, and Marigold, a flame colored teen dragon. The other ponies seemed unnerved by the fact that Marigold was twice as tall as them, and continued with their decorations. The young buck and the winged lizard hurried up to their friend.

"Oh! Hey guys. I was just looking for you. Mom says you're welcome to come in before the rest of the pony public is. She'd like some assistance in setting up the decorations." Solaris told them, gaining a bit of energy seeing his two best friends. The two nodded, then followed their Alicorn friend to the castle.

Upon reaching the door, Solaris stopped. He looked around, a sense of caution filling him. He shone his horn, eyes closed. A second later, he told Marigold. "Don't touch the door. It's been turned to rubber." Marigold ignored this, taking the knob in her claws and giving a sharp tug. She soon found herself backing up, the knob as well as part of the door coming with her. After a second, she stopped pulling, then quickly was slammed into the doorway as the rubber snapped back into place.

Solaris rolled his eyes, then cast a reversal spell on it. Marigold pulled on the doorknob cautiously, relieved it worked properly. Solaris let his friends head inside, but stopped a few hooves from the door. "That wasn't funny, you know." He scoffed to the air. Like before with his half sister, a pink cloud settled down, this time with just a single occupant.

The creature was long, had the head of a pony, one notched blue horn and one deer antler, two wings, a purple bat wing and a dark blue Pegasus wing. From the legs down, its body was scaly like a bright red serpent, and its legs were regular hooves. Its right hand was a griffin talon and its left was a lion paw.

"Ah, but it was to me. That's the point, son." It said, hopping down and standing next to Solaris. His yellow and red eyes wore a smile as he chuckled. "I wanted to see how you and your sister were doing. I'm sure Spirits is fine as well." Solaris nodded, turning back to the door.

"You can come in if you wish, but you're expected to help with decorations, not cause chaos." He grunted. The Draconequus scoffed and gave a sly grin.

"But of course. After all, it IS almost Christmas." With that, Discord strode into the hall, chest puffed up as if he was proud of something.

Solaris knickered something about a stuck up Draconequus then followed him, closing the door. After walking a few steps, he realized he forgot to clean his coat. After getting a chance to dry on his mane and tail, the chocolate now made him look a sickly mustard,and there was a small crackle with each step he took. He hurried off to the wash room so he could look nice before Winter's Eve.

About ten minutes later, Solaris took a step back into the hallway, his bright hue back, and his mane soggy and drooping close to his eyes. Looking around, he didn't realize a group of fillies were about to ambush him. He was instantly entangled in a giggling group, obviously some of Lunaris' friends.

"Lun!" He shouted, trying to get some air into his lungs. "Get them off me!" The young ponies tugged at his mane and tail, and Solaris felt something wet being applied to his coat. After a moment his sister managed to get their attention and get them off. Looking over himself, he found they had partially painted his hair bright pink and tried to dye his mane red. Other then that, there were various bows in his tail.

"Great! Now I have to wash all over again!" He screeched, ignoring the giggling of the younger ponies. Lunaris gave them all scolding looks and they quickly fell silent, walking to the main hall. Only two stayed behind, a salmon pink filly with a crimson mane, and a bright purple mare with a long brown mane, streaks of the colors of the rainbow in it. The oldest adjusted her maroon glasses, then spoke.

"I apologize. Those girls don't know the proper way to behave in the castle. They think just because you're a school friend they can do whatever they want." The smaller pink one nodded.

"My name's Tickle-Me-Pink. But I'm usually called Tickle. And she's Moon Drop." The filly turned her head towards the mare. Solaris nodded and muttered a thank you, then went back into the wash room. Quite soon, he was back out and fully clean.

Solaris trotted into the main hall, and couldn't help gasping. Discord and Spirits were making cotton candy clouds, hanging decorations on them and using them to hold not yet placed ones. Pinkie and Luna were placing the refreshments, even though Pinkie kept snatching the candy canes. Mr. and Mrs.Cake were also there, with their two foals Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. Pumpkin, being a nibbler, had a carrot-shaped teething toy in her mouth, while Pound was flying around, safely tethered to the wall so he couldn't get too far. Cup Cake was making sure that Pinkie didn't get anything too important from the refreshment table, and Carrot Cake was talking to the group of fillies that had ambushed Solaris earlier, telling them about basic social rules and what they were expected to do. Solaris looked around for his sister and mother, but found no sign of them. It was only a few moments before he saw why they weren't there.

Almost everyone (save for the baby Cakes and a few of the fillies) suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked down the hall. Celestia and Lunaris were walking up, each in a lovely gown. Celestia's was a pale yellow with white streaks and tassels. Lunaris had a cornflower blue one with dark blue stripes. Solaris muttered to himself about forgetting about his clothes, and would go change just before the public was let in. Luna was already in her gown, a simple deep blue (almost black), with a paler fringe. A few of the fillies swooned at the sight of the dresses, while others simply stared in shock. Solaris saw one, whom he recognized as Diamond Tiara, gain a look of utter jealousy and turned away.

Celestia waited until most of the murmuring had stopped, then spoke. "We shall open our doors in half an hour, everyone. I trust that we're almost ready?" She asked, looking around. There was a wave of nods, and a bit of squealing from a few of the fillies. Celestia lowered her head for a moment, then looked up again. "Good. I have a feeling this will be the best Winter Eve so far. Pinkie, you did notify your friends, correct?"

To this, Pinkie seemed a bit confused, but then nodded. "They should be here any minute." She assured. As if to prove that, five mares made their way through the doors. One was a pale purple, one pure white, another orange, another a soft yellow, and the last one a sky blue.

"Ah! Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash." Celestia said, stating their names in turn. "Glad you could arrive. You can help us finish up the decorations. The five nodded in unison then got to work.

"Solaris." Celestia said firmly, once everyone had gotten back to work. "Why aren't you in your clothes?" She seemed annoyed, but willing to listen to an explanation. "Well-" He started, but then got cut off.

"It's my fault mother. My friends tried to dye his coat right after he cleaned up, so he had to wash a second time." Lunaris looked down to the groun in guilt.

Celestia took this into thought, then nodded simply. "Alright. Well, they should be up in your room. I suggest you hurry before others come." Solaris nodded, then hurried off to find a set of stairs. He quickly made his way up to his bedroom and saw the clothes his mother mentioned. It was a bright orange tuxedo with crimson trim. He carefully put it on, not wanting to rip or wrinkle it. When he was finished, he went back down and continued to help others.

He saw that Pinkie and the other five had changed to their dresses. He figured they were probably going to make a few speeches, because the White Knights were also there, each dressed up as well. Solaris pondered this, wondering what could be so important that everyone dressed up. Shrugging this off, he walked up to his mother and sister, who was just about to announce the opening of the halls.

"I now announce the Winter Ever celebration open!" Celestia called. Two standard knights pulled open the double doors, and a neat line of ponies walked in. Each had their mane neat and straightened, the mares wore eyeshadow, and they all greeted Celestia and Luna with utmost respect. A couple nodded to Solaris and Lunaris, who returned the gesture.

After about an hour of conversation and shouts of joy from Pinkie Pie, Celestia called for silence. The whole room swiftly turned their attention to the end of the hall, where most of the royal family had gathered.

"We are here to celebrate a wonderful Winter Eve. But I would like to announce something. He has been looking forward to something like this ever since I founded the White Knights, and looks up to each of them. Solaris, would you please come here?" Solaris, startled, cut off his conversation with Moon Drop. He quickly made his way to the center of the room, feeling all the ponies follow him with their gazes. Once he made his way up, he looked at his mother curiously.

"Solaris. Since you are a responsible colt, I have decided to let you learn to become a knight." She said plainly, looking down at him. Solaris simply stood there, a dumbfounded look on his face. After a moment, he finally got his voice back.

"Really?" Was all he could say. His mother nodded, continuing. She began to pace slightly, walking forwards and stopping.

"You will go with Twilight and her friends to Ponyville and learn the basic skills. When you are done with the basics, you shall come back here. I have decided to let Lightblade assist in your training." She turned to the eight knights. Lightblade, the white Pegasus with a blue and silver mane, raised his head and nodded. "Knights. May you accept this young one as one of your own." After the eight lowered their heads and bowed, the crowd went into applause. Solaris simply stared out into the ocean of ponies, still fazed by this news.