Winter Wings, Summer Heart

"Come on, come on!" The little pegasus squealed with excitement as she pulled her sister into the hall, the older filly trying to calm her little sister down.

"Alright, alright, Glacie, but you have to shush!" said Winter, her braid swinging wildly with as she tried to quiet Glacier's squeals. Glacier, however, ignored her sister's warning.

"Do the magic, do the magic!" giggled Glacier as she bounced around her sister, her tiny wings fluttering madly. Her older sister laughed softly as she plopped down on the cloud floor, waving her hooves together while Glacie watched with complete awe as a snowball formed in between, blue light emanating from the snowball as it glimmered. They grinned and the younger of the two gasped in delight as Winter threw the snowball in the air, giggling as it burst into a giant flurry. The 'flakes glittered in the early morning sunlight and Glacier spun around, squealing as she caught snowflakes on her tongue.

"This is amazing!" she yelled, jumping up and down, her tongue still hanging out of her mouth.

"Watch this," said Winter, standing up, a great big grin plastered upon her face. Glacier watched as the older pegasus stomped her hoof upon the floor, a thin layer of bright ice radiating  out from the point of impact. Glacier giggled as she slipped and slid about.

~~~

The regal pegasus mare smiled faintly at the happy memory, her light blue eyes soft and unfocused as she recalled a better time. Turning her gaze to the mirror before her, though, her happiness faded and was replaced by fear, worry, and uncertainty.

The mare staring back at her trembled with her fear, so unlike the mask she put on when she was at her cloud house back in her true home, in Ponyville with her friends. She quietly sighed as she gazed upon her real face, starting with her near white hair that was pulled back in a bun, the hair to short to reach it twisted and smoothed with water. Next was her light cyan coat and pale sapphire blue eyes that had once shone with joy and confidence. Now, only fear filled that empty space. Lastly were her indigo cloak, fastened with a simple turquoise gem, her darker collar standing halfway up her slender neck, and her icy cyan wings that were hugging her sides, tense from her emotions that swirled within her like a blizzard.

She flipped her charm so that the lighter side of it faced outwards and watched as her appearance changed, much faster than if she had taken off the necklace and set herself free. In a matter of seconds, she had become the rainbow maned speedster she was known as outside these walls, but the confidence she felt when she was Rainbow was missing, her now rose eyes still filled with fear.

She flipped the charm back over and turned away from the mirror, tucking the necklace away as she did so. She looked out the room's large windows. She watched the happy ponies trotting around the crowded square below, talking and laughing as they waited for the gates to open, the bright summer sun beating down on them and the rest of the cloud city as it waited for its ruler to step forth.

~~~

The two sisters grunted as they pushed around a large snowball, creating a squat snowpony. The large hall was covered in a thin layer of glistening snow. It was almost like being outside on a cloudy day in the middle of winter, but the pair didn't mind the cold, especially the older filly.

Winter grabbed some sticks sticks and stuck them into the small snowpony as wings. Glacier sat down in front of the figure, bleaming. Her older sister started flapping the sticks as if they were proper wings.

"Hi! I'm Sliver Wings and I like warm hugs," said Winter in a goofy voice, giggling as her little sister jumped up, hugging the snowpony.

"I love you, Sliver!" she squealed, giggling as the older pegasus joined in on the hug, squishing the smaller one and the snowpony against her chest. The two happy siblings laughed together as they hugged the figure, warm with their shared love despite the almost arctic temperature of the room.

~~~

Princess Winter turned away from the window and moved towards a small table placed beneath a large portrait of  a stallion staring ahead with pure confidence and dedication as he held the Sceptre and Orb of the Skies. Her dear father at his coronation.

"Don't lose control, don't let them see. Keep being the good girl you've been all these years," she murmured in an effort to calm herself down. Winter took a deep breath as she shakily picked up a small, round blue pot and and a candlestick. She let the breath out heavily and turned around, facing the same direction as her father did in the painting. Fear flooded her mind.

"Conceal it, put on a show," croaked the princess, standing confidently while inside, she quaked in fear. Her eyes widened as frost began to cover the items in her shaking hooves.

"Make one small mistake and they'll all know."

She silently begged herself to calm down as she threw the pot and candlestick back down on the table. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't she be normal, and not have to worry about hurting somepony close...again...

~~~

Glacier squealed wildly as she skidded around on the icy floor, clinging to Silver. They were propelled by Winter who was standing up on her back legs as she sent them flying around with an icy blast from her forehooves, both of them laughing as they did their best to stay on their hooves. Their laughter rang around the hall, proving their joy as they played together in the morning sunlight that streamed through the high windows.

~~~

A soft knocking on the door shook the pegasus from her daydream. She blinked as she remembered where she was.

"Yes?" she called softly.

"You have guests, your highness. One of them is the new princess."

Winter tensed. She should have known Twilight would come to meet her as soon as she'd heard. She glanced at herself once more in the mirror, her mind in a turmoil. What if she accidently hurt somepony? The strength of her snowflake charm seemed to be wavering, her powers slipping out at random or when she was terrified, like now. She turned away with a sigh, "Let them in."

The door clicked as her five friends walked in, bowing respectfully before Twi placed a hoof on her chest, eyes closed and began to introduce herself.

"Greetings, your highness. I am Princess Twili-"

"I know who you are," Winter said quietly, cutting the alicorn off. "I am the one with introductions to make. I am Princess Winter."

"It's an honor to meet you in person, princess," whispered Fluttershy.

"And you too, Miss...?" It would only make them suspicious if she knew all their names.

The yellow pegasus blushed, hiding her face in her pink mane and mumbling out her name.

"Miss Fluttershy. I am honored to know two of my pegasi became the embodiments of two of the Elements of Harmony. Though, where is  the other pegasus?" Winter feigned confusion, her blue gaze sweeping across her friends' faces as if searching for someone.

"Oooo, you mean Dashie? 'Cause we haven't seen her since yesterday when she went zooming off during a luncheon with Twilight and Rarity and Applejack!" said Pinkie, pointing out each of her friends as she named them.

"Quite right, Pinkie Pie, dear." Rarity interjected before the hyper pink pony could go on and possibly get herself into trouble. Turning to Winter, she added, "She was extremely nervous towards the end of get-together, telling us she had forgotten about something and taking off to take care of it without so much as a backwards glance." Winter had to resist the urge to wince. Had her anxiety really been that obvious?

"I see. Well, I hope she is alright and can rejoin your company soon." Winter glanced at Applejack, who had been silent for the whole meeting. She was watching the princess with her eyes narrowed. The farm pony opened her mouth to speak. Uh-oh.

"Sorry to interrupt, Princesses," said a servant who had just trotted in, bowing to pegasus and alicorn. Saved!

"Yes, what is it?" Winter asked, gesturing for the young mare to rise.

"The time for your coronation is soon, ma'm. The high Princesses have arrived and are expecting you to open the gates."

"Very well. Let them know that the ceremony will begin soon."

"Yes ma'm," answered the servant, turning to leave. Winter stopped her, a thought occurring to her.

"And tell the guards to open the gates, too."

"Yes ma'm." And with that, the young pegasus left to deliver her messages.

Winter turned back to her friends. "I am sorry, but we must cut this meeting short. Perhaps we could talk more after the ceremony? It has been a while since I've had somepony to talk to and this old place can get a bit lonely at times." Winter glanced away, ashamed with herself for lying to her best friends.

"Well, I guess we could."

Winter smiled wholeheartedly at those words, her eyes watering slightly. "Thank you. I shall see you later then."

She turned away, opening the doors to reveal a long hallway and two lines of pegasi servants, standing proudly, quietly to attention. Outside, two stallions pulled open the enormous, creaking cloud gates, letting in the flood of ponies, joy, and laughter. The six mares left the room, the others trotting on ahead with Winter walked slowly through the corridor, the maids bowing as she past by, her long, indigo cloak dragging across the cloud floor behind her, her head held high as she continued on to the large balcony at the end of the hallway.

Stay calm, don't lose control, she told herself, wishing the butterflies in her stomach would just disappear. She placed her hooves upon the handles of the large doors that separated the balcony from the rest of the castle. Be a good girl, and it'll all work out. She took a deep breath and pulled the doors open, stepping out into the bright sunlight. She walked to the rail, the pegasi in the courtyard below looking up to see their new leader for the first time. Conceal it, don't let them know. She gulped, gazing down at the ponies below her. She was scared and worried, and she hoped it would all be okay, that it would go off with out a hitch and then she could close the gates again when it was all over. After all, it just for today.

The ponies below gazed up, the two princesses walking among them seeing the uncertainty and fear on her face no matter how hard she tried to hide it. They both exchanged a glance and wondered why.