Tale of Seasons

by Alanox

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure
Length: 5357

In the time after Discord, seasons do not yet exist. Can Celestia and Luna save Equestria?

It is the time shortly after Discord, in ancient Equestria. Chaos has been sealed in his statue, hopefully to never return again. However, all is not well. There are no seasons yet, days are all the same, and organization is beginning to crumble. Can the Royal Sisters come up with a solution before society ceases to exist? Features none other than the four Equinodrakes (MINE)! Not to be confused with Draconequis (Discord). I address this in the story too, just in case you don't read this.

Cover Image by JohnJoseco

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-08 08:04:01 UTC

Tale of Seasons

This story takes place a long time ago, in the mystical land of Equestria. It was a time of new peace, established when Celestia and Luna had overthrown Discord and restored order. Day and Night cycles had been placed into effect, giving Ponies a time of rest at the end of each day. It was also a time of monotony. Days were all the same, each day the same general weather and temperature. The only changes were when it rained, but it never snowed except on mountains. People grew restless as each day seemed the same. Memory of events faded, and organization started to crumble. The Royal Sisters called a meeting at dawn to help deal with this issue.

“PONIES OF EQUESTRIA!” Celestia shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “WE KNOWETH THY DAYS GROW OLD, AND THOU FORGETETH MUCH OF THY DUTIES! BUT FEAR NOT! FOR WE HAVE COME UPON A SOLUTION TO THINE PROBLEMS! THY TROUBLES SHALT END WITHIN THREE MONTHS’ TIME!” The crowd dispersed sleepily, and probably wouldn’t even remember what Celestia had even said. Luna was curious as to what her sister had in mind.

“Big Sister, what is your plan? Will we make a calendar? Perhaps some holidays?”

“Neigh. We need to implement some way to divide up the year in a noticeable way.  Bring a little cycle in. Something that would change something noticeable, like temperature and weather.”

“That sounds like a great idea. But how will we do it? Put the sun at a different angle at certain parts of the year? The light would reach hit the land differently and change the temperature.”

“No, that’s too complicated. All the sundials would be useless half the year. However, I have heard of some special ponies who might be the solution.” Celestia walked towards the Royal Library with Luna following beside her. “It is an old mare’s tail, but myths always contain a sprinkle of truth.” Celestia lifted four books out of hundreds off the shelf and flipped it open. Each one was a different color with a strange icon on the front. There was a Snowflake on a blue background, a Leaf on a green background, a Flame on an orange background, and a Stone on a purple background. “This is the story of mythical creatures that were half pony, half dragon. They were called Equinodrakes.”

“Sounds a bit like Draconequis; like Discord. Are you sure we can trust them?”

“They are not like Discord, that much I can tell you. As for trusting them, I hope we can. They controlled aspects of nature, specifically Ice, Air, Fire, and Earth, but they each had a negative characteristic which will certainly hinder our progress. It’s supposedly just a myth, but these stories referenced real locations.” Celestia had also pulled up a map of Equestria. “The first place we have to go to is Chillrend Peak.” She opened the book with the Snowflake on it. It contained an old drawing of a strange Blue Pony with Dragon Eyes and Wings. It had a drawing of an icy wind blowing behind it, and the book almost seemed cold itself. “This is the location of Cobalt Storm, the Ice Equinodrake. He is notable for his apathy, which may prove difficult for us. But he is the master of Icy Winds, which could be used to lower temperatures during parts of the year. I recommend we see him first.”

“Agreed. Shall we take the chariot, or go alone? I think those guards have already forgotten we requested them to be ready since we asked them yesterday.” True enough, the Chariot was completely unattended. “Eeyup, they have. Should we bring the books and the map?”

“Oh, yes, thank you.” Celestia grabbed the map and books and placed them in special bags over her back, with her cutie mark printed on the sides. Luna noticed them as she was packing her suitcase with several pairs of socks.

“That looks very good on you, Big Sister.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m trying to set a trend.”

Luna and Celestia had flown for a few hours when they arrived at Chillrend Peak, far in Northern Equestria. The entire mountain appeared to be uninhabitable, so they stopped to consult Cobalt’s book. Luna peeked through the pages.

“It says here, ‘The Icy Wind comes from deep inside, a Voice of Silver reveals what hides.’ What does that mean?”

Celestia was baffled. “Maybe… there is some silver hidden on the mountain, and a voice is a type of vein. I just don’t know. Little Sister, maybe you could… Luna?” Luna had vanished. Celestia was concerned that it was one of her pranks, until she saw her sister flying very close to the mountain. She appeared to be getting ready for something. “Luna, you aren’t practicing your Royal Canterlot Voice again, are you? You are still too young, and this is hardly the place.”

Luna disregarded her sister and began speaking, increasing her volume. The blizzard began to pick up, drowning her out at the same time. Luna grew frustrated. “I am Luna, Princess of the Night! Hear my voice, and kneel before me!” Luna raised the volume each time, the wind growing more powerful. Luna began to lose control of her flight, but managed to stay airborne. Celestia had already landed on a cliff to better remain in place. She used her powerful magic to make an indentation to shield her from the winds.

“I am Luna, Princess of the Night! Hear my voice, and kneel before me!” Celestia was shouting for Luna to stop, but she could no longer hear her big sister. “I AM LUNA, PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! HEAR MY VOICE, AND KNEEL BEFORE ME!” Luna had activated the Royal Canterlot Voice, and the mountain began to shake. Snow and ice began to break and slide down the side of the mountain. A crack had opened up in the ice, revealing a small cave.

“Well color me pink, that’s amazing!” shouted Celestia. The wind had died down, and the sisters landed on the floor of the cave. The walls and ceiling were made of ice, and a brisk wind emanated from deep in the cave. “This must be Cobalt’s den.” Celestia and Luna arrived upon a massive chamber with a strange ice stalagmite in the center. Inside was a faintly glowing, dark blue crystal. Luna trotted close to it and inspected it.

“The only thing here is this crystal. What do we do?” Luna was going through the book again.

“I don’t have the slightest idea. I’ll try using my magic on it.” Celestia pointed her horn at the crystal, and it shimmered with her magic. The Ice shimmered too, but nothing happened. “It has some sort of anti-magic shield. I can’t break it.”

“You and your magic. You need to learn something about manual work sometimes.” Luna had walked up to the ice crystal and turned around. “Like THIS!” Luna lifted her back legs into the air and bucked hard, smashing the ice into thousands of glittering fragments. The Gem remained in place, now floating five feet in the air. It began spinning rapidly, turning blinding white. The ice around the room reflected and amplified the light, making merely opening the eye a risky endeavor. The light finally dimmed, revealing a strange blue pegasus in the place of the crystal. It had strange draconic wings and evil, reptilian eyes. It looked around in surprise, then grinned maliciously, revealing his set of spiked teeth. He spoke in a low tone, almost growling.

“Oh, what a fine honor it is to be woken up by none other than the Royal Sisters. I was having such a pleasant nap until you arrived. I’m sure you know who I am if you managed to find me, so I won’t bother introducing myself. So, what do you want that’s so important?”

“We need your help, and the help of the other Equinodrakes.” Celestia said. “Equestria needs seasons, and you are the only ponies we know of who can help.”

“So, you want to make your land colder? Why should I care? What do I get out of it?”

“You have three months entirely to yourself, where what you say goes. Plus, you can roam freely during those months around the land as much as you like.”

“I think I’ll pass. I’m an Equinodrake, what do I care if a few ponies don’t get snow?”

Luna interrupted the negotiations. “You can sleep the rest of the year.”

“Deal. But I’m not in charge of clearing out at the end of winter. All I’m doing is bringing it and maintaining it. I can’t take it away.”

“Fine. We will find some other way to clean up Winter.”

“Don’t worry. Winter will be the best season in the year.” Cobalt Storm bowed mockingly to the Sisters, before  unfurling his draconic wings. He whipped up a bitter cold wind, and literally blew the sisters out of the cave.

“He could have just asked.”

Their next stop was the Everfree Forest, in the Windhelm Grove. Luna was flipping through the green book this time, inspecting a picture of a green Equinodrake standing on a plain. “Veridian Breeze sounds like a nice Pony.” Luna commented. “It’s too bad it says Veridian is known for its Jealousy.”

“We aren’t dealing with any regular ponies, Little Sister. These Equinodrakes are very old, and smart. Cobalt was just… luck.”

“Of course he was, Big Sister. That’s why your offer failed and mine sealed the deal.” Celestia was jealous, but would never let on. Luna knew anyway. They finally arrived in the grove, which Luna suddenly thought was actually really nice. The roses and flowers and grass and trees and just… everything was so great. Celestia put her hooves on Luna’s shoulders and shook her back and forth. Luna awoke from her strange trance, realizing what happened.

“Little Sister, you caught a cloud of pollen in your face. What happened? You went all dizzy.”

“It… it’s some sort of hallucinogen… We should be careful.”

“Watch out for the purple flowers, those are the ones that got you. They occaisionally blast out a spray of pollen, and I don’t think whiffing that would help anypony.” Celestia and Luna wandered around the field, looking for anything suspicious that might lead to the home of Veridian Breeze. Luna was consulting the book and trying to avoid the purple flowers at the same time, which proved difficult.

“The book says, ‘The Breeze reveals the Misty Tree, and the True Vision is what you’ll see’. But that… makes no sense… There isn’t any mist here…”

“Maybe it means that we-” Celestia was about to finish her sentence when she was blasted with a pollen cloud. The image of the grove blew away from her eyes, revealing a dark, gloomy clearing, with a massive tree. There was a green crystal embedded in the bark. Celestia tried to walk up to it, but Luna shook her awake.

“Be careful! You literally walked on top of it!”

“Luna, those flowers are the Breeze in the book. I saw Veridian’s crystal! Quick,” Celestia picked one of the purple flowers and placed it under Luna’s nose. “Take a whiff and you’ll see it.” Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them, she and her sister were in a dark clearing in the forest. True to Celestia’s words, there was a tree with a green crystal. Celestia walked up and bucked the tree. The Crystal glowed and vanished, and suddenly a green Equinodrake was leaning against the tree. It’s teal eyes glared at them with malcontent, which the sisters couldn’t take seriously. The cause was that it had  flowers in it’s mane and tail.

Celestia spoke up again. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Miss Veridi-”

“I AM NOT A MARE!” the Equinodrake blasted at them. “KNEEL! I SHALL NOT BE CONFUSED WITH SOME FILLY! Why does everypony think that flowers and butterflies and stuff like that means I’m a filly?!”

Celestia and Luna were battered with a pelting wind, forcing them to stay low to the ground to avoid being blown away. Luna attempted to communicate with Veridian.

“Veridian! We are sorry for our misunderstanding! We simply wish to speak with you! Equestria needs seasons, and we need the help of the Equinodrakes! We have already talked to Cobalt Storm and we-”

“Cobalt Storm?” Veridian stopped at the mention of the Aspect of Winter. “Oh, you met my idiot brother. That guy has everything. The best holidays, amazing powers, everypony loves winter. What about me? I’m just as good as everypony else. All the other Equinodrakes have it better! Since when has anypony cared about spring?! It’s always Autumn this, or Winter that, or Summer this. NEVER ME! I have to do all the work. I have to make flowers grow, clean up after Colbalt’s mess, and in the end I literally have to PUSH DAISIES!”

“Veridian, we want to give you a chance to make yourself known.” said Luna. “If all we have is winter, then all of the plants will die!” Luna could tell Veridian was just going on a rant and not listening to her.

“Cobalt has never cared about anypony but himself, so why should he get power? Spring is better than all the other seasons!”

“Then prove it!” Luna and Veridian turned to Celestia. She had a competitive smirk on her face.

“What do you mean, prove it?”

“Prove it. Prove that Spring is better than the other seasons. If you work with us, then everypony in Equestria can compare Spring to the other seasons. I’m sure they will love it.”

“You make a good point. Fine then. I’ll take your offer and show everypony in Equestria that I am supreme! Now, begone, I have plans to make.” Veridian spread his wings out and blew away the image of him and the tree, leaving the sisters back in Windhelm Grove.

Luna was overjoyed. “Haha! The fun has been doubled!”

“Seriously? He lives in a desert?” Luna and Celestia were standing on the outskirts of a frontier town, which most of the residents called Appleloosa. It wasn’t even really a town, just a few houses.

“I know, Little Sister, but we have to do this for Equestria.”

“Can’t you turn the sun down a little bit? It’s so hot here!”

“You’re silly.”

“I’m being serious…” Celestia and Luna flew to the named destination, which was the Whiterun Salt Flats. It indeed was very white, and as the locals said, ‘Dryer than an apple in a dust storm’. Luna was chugging one of the ten canteens they had brought, while Celestia consulted the book for how to find the Equinodrake.

“‘With a sacrifice of liquid life, an Equinodrake comes to bring about strife’. Liquid life? It couldn’t possibly mean…”

“Big Sister, duck!” Celestia hit the dirt without question, watching as a flaming bird passed right over her head, nearly singing her ethereal mane. It screeched, and turned around for another pass. It zoomed at Luna this time, and then froze in midair as Celestia simply stopped it with her magic. She floated it to the ground and kept it from escaping. Luna asked, “Is that a Pheonix?”

“Yes, Little Sister. They are quite smart, but I didn’t think any would be here naturally. Let’s just hang on to it so it doesn’t cause trouble. So, onto the riddle. It talks about ‘Liquid Life’. I think... Luna, dump out all our water.”

“Oh, hah, that is a nice joke. I’ll have to tell the guards about that. Wow, almost thought you were…” Celestia looked drop-dead serious. “Celestia, you can’t really think we should dump out all our water! What if it doesn’t work?”

“Hopefully we can get back to town.”

“There really is no arguing with you, Big Sister.” Luna halfheartedly lifted all the canteens, unscrewed them, and dumped them onto the white rock below. The water steamed and evaporated immediately. The rock where they poured water washed away, revealing the orange crystal, which Celestia smashed. On the horizon, an orange figure appeared to be walking towards them. “Big Sister, is that Amber Ignitus?”

“I hope so. Or else we might not leave this desert.” The Pheonix still squirmed unconfortably. The figure passed through the rippling waves of mirage water, revealing an Orange Equinodrake with a mane like fire. It reached them, and grinned wickedly.

“I sure do love it when ponies endanger their lives just to see me.”

“Amber Ignitus, the Aspect of Summer. Hello.”

“Oh, I see you captured my dear Philomena.”

“The Pheonix?”

“Yes. I have grown rather tired of her. Would you mind taking her off my hooves?”

Luna spoke up. “That’s horrible! How could you just abandon her?!”

“I’m known for my Cruelty.”

Celestia tried to calm her sister. “Fine, we’ll take her in.”

“So, what is it that you want?”

“We need you to bring Summer to Equestria. We have already spoken to Cobalt and Veridian. They have agreed to bring Winter and Spring. Now we need your help. You get three months to do whatever you want.”

“I DO love watching ponies suffer in my heat. Then they have to flee to the beaches, and I can have some fun. But, I’m not that easy. I want to see you beg.”

Luna couldn’t hold back her anger. “I am not going to beg to a monster like you!”

“But you begged to my older brothers.”

“No we didn’t!”

“Of course. I believe you. Celestia believes you. And Philomena is a buffalo.”

“Big Sister, help me with this.” Celestia walked up angrily to the orange Equinodrake, who remained grinning, despite his small height compared to the older princess.

“Getting your fool of a sister to fight your battles for you? Pathetic.” Celestia lifted him off of his hooves and up to her face.

“Listen, punk. Not only have you been a nuisance to a member of the Royal Family, but you had the gall to pick on my sister, and that is something I will not stand for. Now, if you don’t give us summer, I will use our spare three months to personally hunt you down, and lock you up in our dungeon…” Amber grew worried. His grin vanished.

“We have a dungeon?” asked Luna.

“And I will keep you there with no food or water, for three whole months. And don’t think of trying to escape, because not only do we have 5 legions of guards…” Amber was terrified now. “But I can make your punishment much, much worse. So, do we have a deal?”

“D-deal. Ju-just go. I’ll make summer. Just… please…” Celestia dropped Amber to the ground, and he dissolved into sand and blew away. Luna stared at her sister.

“Remind me not to steal anything from you.”

“The last one is Violet Quake. The Aspect of Autumn, and known for her trickery.”

The sisters arrived in Ghastly Gorge, a deep and dangerous ravine. They were on a small rocky platform at one end, staring at the gauntlet of obstacles permeating the gorge.

“You know, this would be a good place for a race.”

“Save it for later, Little Sister. The book says, ‘Deceptive earth will trick the eyes, but simply makes a good disguise.’ So, some sort of false wall?”

“I would think so. Check around the canyon.” Celestia and Luna levitated piles of small stones aroung with them and flung them around at the walls, looking for ones that failed to bounce back. Nothing important happened, until Luna accidently hit a rock in the wrong place on the last leg of a natural arch, which was holding up many large rocks. They began falling in a massive rockslide, forcing Celestia and Luna to disregard their better judgement and take on the hazards of the gorge. Walls of spiked vines and incredibly large eel-type creatures lashed out at them, while rocks fell from the ridges of the canyon behind them. The rocks began to catch up to them, and soon they were forced to weave back and forth to avoid getting smashed and buried. They noticed the rocks coming at them from the front as well now, and with no options left, they swerved into a cave, which then begn to collapse. They reached what appeared to be the end of the cave, and turned to see the cave being sealed off. There was no way out now, and Luna grew desperate.

“WE’RE TRAPPED! What are we going to do?! We’ll be stuck here FOREVER!”

“Calm down, Little Sister. I’ll find a way out of this. We were put in here for a reason.” Luna didn’t listen, and starting digging frantically at the rocks. She failed, and tried again on the other side. When she reached up to start scratching at the back wall, she fell right through and onto the floor.

“Oof! Woah, Big Sister, you need to see this…” Celestia turned to the wall, and saw Luna emerge. She followed, and they entered in a large chamber. The chamber was decorated with massive, faintly glowing crystals, which Celestia resisted the temptation to try and take. Luna gave in, and as soon as she laid her hoofs on the gem, she was electrocuted.

“AGH! Who would do this?”

“Violet is the Equinodrake of Trickery.” In the center was a stalagmite with a purple gem inside it. Luna walked up angrily and bucked it, revealing Violet Quake, a Purple Equinodrake with a pink and red mane.

“I can’t begin to tell you how fun it was to watch you get electrocuted. Tom and I almost split our sides.”

“Celestia, could you… wait, who’s Tom?”

“Oh, my pet rock!” Violet stomped a hoof and a boulder fell from the ceiling. “He’s my bestest friend, and he was smart enough to get you on video so we can watch it again and again.”

“Celestia, could you pull that thing you used on Amber?”

“So, you met my little brother? He has yet to realize how to appreciate the finer things in life. That brute can’t understand that it is SO much more satisfying to watch a cleverly laid plan come to fruition then downright brutality. More patience, but MUCH more reward.”

“We aren’t here to get a lesson on pranks.” said Celestia. “We need you to bring Autumn to the land.”

“Oh, is that all? You sure you don’t want any precious gems?” Violet held out one of the glowing gems. Luna refused. “Fine then, all I need is for you to sign this contract.” Violet held out a contract with a line for Luna’s signature at the bottom. Luna was about to read it when some dust fell in her eye, blurring her vision. She could still see where she had to sign, and decided to skip reading it.

“Little Sister, no!” Celestia overpowered her sister’s magic and threw the quill onto the floor. She quickly ran up and read the contract. “Luna, this contract would have given control over all Equestrian lands to a chicken.”

Luna wiped the dust out of her eyes. “You sneaky little witch! Put Autumn in, NOW!”

“Oh, so you want to threaten an Equinodrake? What position are you in to fight with an ancient being like me?” Violet began levitating stones, and small crystal shards ruptured the ground around her hooves. “Have you even begun to hear about our power? The people who met us were lucky enough to escape and write about who we were. The people who angered us enough to witness our destructive abilities… well, they didn’t get far in life, so to speak.” Celestia stood in between the two, partly to try to break up the fight, and partly to protect Luna. Luna then realized that something was odd about Violet. The crystals at her feet almost seemed… flat? Luna snuck around while Celestia tried to talk Violet down. Luna crept around the side, coming to the observation that the crystals were nothing but cardboard, and there was a machine holding Violet up. Which was wierd, because she had wings to fly with.

“Big Sister! It’s a ruse!” Celestia looked surprised, but then used her magic to pull Violet back down onto the ground, snapping the cables that held her up. “So you thought you could trick us, eh?”

“You can’t really blame me. You two are just too innocent for me to just leave alone!” Violet was forced against the stalagmite, and Luna rearranged the contract. It now stated: “Violet Quake, the Equinodrake, is to bring about Autumn for three months a year. Compensation for this deal shall be given in the form of Luna not locking up Violet Quake for all eternity. This contract is magically binding by issue of the Equestrian Royal Petition and Treaty Committee, Binding Code 352786. I, Violet Quake, by signing, hereby agree to the terms and conditions as they have been specified: ________________”

“Sign it, NOW. And don’t use a false name, because I can and will make your life a living NightMare.” Violet fumbled with the quill in her hoof, and wrote her signature on the line. Luna rolled up the document and teleported it away. Celestia was impressed. “What I don’t get though, is why the machine? Can’t you just fly?”

“My wings don’t work. I’m actually one of the few Earth Ponies with wings. Useless ones, at that. I hate irony.” Luna turned to her sister. Celestia shrugged in the weird way Ponies do.

“That was pretty smart of you. I didn’t know you had connections in the ERPTC.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Celestia and Luna returned to Canterlot, where the Equinodrakes had agreed to have a meeting. They arrived in the Courtyard to see the Half-Pony Half-Dragons bickering next to a fountain.

“Spring is the best!” “I don’t care, they picked me first.” “Hey Amber, I heard Cobalt say you were as dumb as a mule.” “Yes, yes, fight! I want to see your rage!” Cobalt and Veridian were arguing, Amber was watching them intently, and Violet was whispering in random ponies’ ears.

Luna simply walked up quietly and camly, and said in a polite tone, “ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!” The courtyard was quiet. “Much better. Now, what is the argument about?”

Violet spoke up. “Veridian wants Spring to come first using the order of what he claims is how important you said they were. Cobalt thinks it’s the order that you picked them. Personally, I think it’s in how hard you had to work in order to convince us to work with you.”

“Hmmm…” Celestia thought deeply. “I think Cobalt is right. It’s more natural.” Veridian was furious.

“Everypony always puts their own greedy desires above me! I’M TIRED OF BEING A PUNCHING BAG!” Veridian took control of the trees and bushes and used their roots and branches to attack the other ponies. Amber conjured a massive fireball and lit the vines on fire, which Veridian tried desperately to put out. Violet unearthed massive rock spikes that nearly hit both of the fighters. Cobalt simply put up an ice wall using the fountain, and shut himself out from the fight.

“It’s a sad sight, isn’t it, your majesties?”

Celestia grabbed the Aspects of Spring and Summer with her magic and dangled them from their tails. Luna lifted Violet from the ground she loved so much. The three raging Equinodrakes flopped in the air, helpless. The garden was a mess. Tree roots had broken the grass up all over, much of which was on fire, and earth spikes jutted percariousely. Celestia was furious.

“A shame. Ponies older than the princesses of Equestria still behave like little foals. I had thought all that time to yourselves would teach you anything, but, I, Celestia, Princess of Equestria, and one of the only two Alicorns in the known world, was wrong. Who could have guessed that the ancient Harbringers of Seasons could be so foalish? The ones who will be most saddened, is not me, or our country, but all of the little fillies and colts, who can no longer hear stories of the ‘brave’ and ‘noble’ Equinodrakes, with the knowledge that they are a bunch of ignorant, jealous, cruel, and decieving little foals. I promised the nation that I would complete this within a month, because guess what? In three days is the New Year’s Celebration. What better gift then to wake up in the morning to snow and clouds, instead of the same day and night, over and over again. Rain is practically a holiday, because the people have no differences day to day; nothing to look forward to except rain. But, I guess we can forget all that. I can become a liar, you can become infamous, and Equestria’s organization and morale can crumble. All because four foals can’t work together. I almost forgot that you are a family. Brothers and Sisters. In what? It’s as if you are manifestations of Discord himself. The dividing line between Draconequis and Equinodrake dulled this day, and will be inseperable forever. Unless you decide to act. What do you say to this?”

The four Equinodrakes hung their heads in shame. Cobalt spoke first, deep regret in his voice. “We have come to an agreement. We will help you.” He turned to his siblings. “I know we have differences, but this is the only way to restore our honor. The Equinodrake name has been ruined by our actions, and by our actions alone can we fix this. I will bring winter on New Year’s Day, and we all have to contribute. I know that I am not that powerful.”  The others nodded, and swore to Celestia they would uphold the seasons.

Cobalt flew far into the northern sky, as the other Equinodrakes traveled around the increasingly cloudy landscape. They prepared the land and critters for winter, and warned all the farmers, who didn’t understand what they meant. They found out soon enough, as in three days, snow fell for the first time in Ponyville. The New Year’s festival was especially grand, and stayed that way ever since. The Equinodrakes became the stewards of the land, and two months later, they assisted Veridian in clearing the snow and brining back the plants and animals. Each season was brought beautifully. After eight months, everypony understood the cycle completely. The four Equinodrakes approached Celestia with a message. Amber spoke.

“Your Majesty, as you know, our homes are not here, in the interior of Equestria. As much as it pains us to leave, we must return to our dens, or our power will dimish, and we will no longer be able to bring the seasons. But, we have come up with a plan.” Violet had a small gem in her mouth, and she placed it at the Princesses’ feet. “Reflect sunlight into this crystal, and it shall display a recording of the spell that wraps up winter, which is the only thing we cannot do from our homes. But we are aware of how the Earth Ponies of Ponyville have no magic, so we have prepared a second one specifically for them. It should only take one day, with coordination. We call it, ‘Winter Wrap-Up Day.’ And yes, we couldn’t think of anything better. Let’s see you invent a holiday.”

“I made four.”

“Well, either way, we must leave now. We thank you for all you’ve done for us, as a family. We are glad to have met you.” And with that, the Equinodrakes left. Violet Quake tried, but some sort of magical barrier blocked her from leaving.

“Oh, dang, I should probably rip up your contract now.”

Twilight closed the book, and decided to write to the princess about it. She found it when she revisited the ruins where the Elements of Harmony were first stored, and brought it back to her library. Spike was reading it with her, as he had become interested at the mention of half-dragons. Spike had one question.

“But how are Equinodrakes made?”