Nova, or Glimmer as she is known within her homelands, resides in the Land of the Midnight Suns. It is the one area within this realm where darkness never settles. For half the solar cycle the two suns will skirt the edges of the land and the air will cool slightly, but never have they been known to set, nor shall they.

​

She was dubbed Glimmer for the purple-silver flakes which reach down her neck to glint like so much moon dust against her brilliant, sunflair patterned coat, yet the word which best describes her is engima. She has a rich, mellifluous voice that sighs with a sweet femininity even while it rings with layers of strength. It is often a shock the first time someone hears her speak, for with her horns and fierce wings such an unquestionably high female voice seems out of place.

​

In truth, it could be said that she herself always seems out of place whenever she leaves these homelands. Her ways are not the ways of others - she is exotic and foreign in all that she does. Here, the land is just as alien and so it suits her as few other things can. The trees do not grow in height, merely thicken along the trunk as the low branches grow ever outward a mere two feet from the ground. The blossoms are often as large as her head whenever a flower blooms, bending the stem in half and creating small shelters for odd, rodent-like insects even as the petals drip a sweet nector to entice pollenation. The sky is not blue, but white, and there is a purple tinted haze of silver seen on the horizen at all times.

​

The grasses are ever an odd shade of green, much akin to the tufts of mane gathered along her neck, and grows in similar tight clumps above bits of bark which seem to exist solely for acting as the base of the plants. The ground is bone dry and plumes of dust flicker with each step, yet these elevated pieces of wood replace the stability and nutrients lacking in the ground and allow for the tender growth of more than the low, tough trees. For Nova, it is a land she is perfectly suited for. She is delicate enough to work her way through the tangling trees and climb atop the boulders-of-bark without trouble, as well as far from helpless in the event that another should intrude.

​

She's been known to spend much of her time studying the passage of the suns. They lead her to food and pockets of water, revealing secrets that only she can decipher. Fierce as she is in battle, she's all mare in every other aspect of her life. Special trinkets made to match the glimmering gems marking her coat have been woven in her tail, and the bands used to keep her mane off her neck so she can keep cool perfectly match the shade of her horns and spikes.

​

For many it can be difficult to see this tenderness she holds. Nova is a very cautious creature, known to apply the first rule of hunting to everything in life: do not stalk your prey until you are sure they are prey. Though she is small framed and lithe, many have been taught the importance of respect whence caught stealing her food without permission. This caution makes her reserved, and her reservations are great enough to betray the odd way in which she lives. Unlike others, there is nothing light or natural about her interactions; she watches, always, as if learning a new custom.

​

It is clear, however, that whence she does relax it is to be treasured. The giant blossoms which tickle her stomach as she walks have elicted a laugh from her, and a more glorious sound is rare to find. Her high, feminine voice rings with such unbridled joy in this laugh that it sizzles with the energy of a thousand suns.

​

Perhaps she shall eventually relax outside of this homeland as well, should her caution fade and allow her to feel as if she honestly belongs.

​

---

​

​

Nova has taken a surprising fondness towards Breeze, apparently finding his constant good cheer refreshing when he lowers the protective barrier of being the fool to reveal a well-balanced head to accompany the laughter. She finds simple pleasure in the things that please him, and revels in sharing her own world with him. Their love is as of yet young, and still there can be seen a sincere fondness for the stallion. She appreciates him for his differences as well as for what they can provide one another. It is a calm, practical love, and it is a good love for it allows her to take him for who he is.

​

She can see him, as few others have ever managed, and she has fallen for what she has seen. It brings a new light to her eyes, and a new confidence to her mannerisms, allowing her to be comfortable in who she is. Nova has found that she no longer feels quite so alone or foreign; she is no longer the outsider. Not as long as she has Breeze beside her.

​

---

​

The quiet mare that had been ever the misfit is no more. Nova has finally found her proper community and, most importantly, no longer has a lingering sense of doubt. There were merely two things needed for this change, and yet each has brought such drastic results it is as if a new Glimmer has been found under the layers of dust that swirl in her home.

​

First, her love with Breeze, the famous Horsefeathers, has grown and evolved into something new. Having been the oddity she felt as if the only one she might truly rely on was herself or her bonded; she was not a true part of this society. In truth, she had been comparable to an Elf princess attempting to live with Fae; while the similarities are vast, and while she was kind and regal she was not by any means a Fae herself.

​

They were so wild and varied, these bondmates she found herself with. Most distinctly lacked any sense of royalty about them, yet she has ever stood with the stance of nobility. Near-silent in her movements and content to live in harsh, strange lands, she would find little to speak of in this culture she didn't quite understand. Her view of life was just different enough that it was as the sun reflecting off her rivers; a mirror for the shine, yet not a match.

​

And then, she met Breeze.

​

Upon first meeting she thought little to nothing of the stallion; he was clearly a fool, an oaf that had nothing under his laughter upon which a mare or any proper creature might depend. She had neither a need nor a patience for any that were little more than fluff; she wanted to surround herself with those she knew she could rely on. She had already lost enough in her life. She wanted to know that there would be stability.

​

Snubbed, his pride had been wounded enough to strike a rivalry; and so he set about attempting to make her look the fool, to prove her assessment wrong, that she might desire him and admit her mistake. That was the driving force behind their interactions, one which she tolerated in mild amusement. Let him prance and make more of a fool of himself in his attempts to bring her this bit of shame. It made no difference to her.

​

In time, however, she began to see changes. It grew to be more than prancing, more than posing that he had allowed more than fluff; mimicking an effort to grow beyond what he had been became sincere growth. At some point she wasn't aware of there began a true bond, one where they began to properly see and know one another. She saw the fear he hid; he saw how alone she was.

​

And in seeing this in one another, they found the support they needed in the other. After spending enough time with him she saw when his humor was sincere; and after enough time passed of being able to rely on him for any aid she might seek, it came to pass that such was the natural arrangement. He grew used to having her call upon him, and she grew used to being able of doing so. By then, the actions that had been an attempt to reveal her as a snob became a fact of reality; it had morphed into being a true aspect of their relationship. Neither seemed aware of when it was it became sincere, yet it didn't seem to matter. He wasn't playing a part now and this was a fact she could appreciate.

​

In the growth of this relationship, she found her sense of not quite belonging fading drastically. Comfortable and both fully understood and accepted by her mate, her habits and thoughts began to seem less strange. She had a way to fit, a place she felt she could belong, and slowly these bondmates didn't seem to have such a strange culture any more. There was more that she could relate to; her mate helped her to understand the rest.

​

As she grew in this way, finally feeling as if she were truly at home, so grew her friendships. First was the frequent vists her mate paid to Hybrid, our Soldier; soon, it was discovered that they shared many thoughts that few others would properly understand. They had both gone through a period of growing their self confidence as they accepted the differences they held with the others; and came to realize that the others accepted them as well. What's more, the Soldier loved to learn, using any new knowledge to help ensure he knew how to survive and keep others going as well. The strange, beautiful, alien land that Nova called home fascinated him; he began spending quite a bit of time there. His name of Soldier is well given, for once his trust is gained he heeds instruction with full faith, obeying without question. Because of this, he quickly learned the ways of making it through this Land of the Midnight Suns until it was as if he were as much a native as our Glimmer.

​

Likewise, she built her self-assurance as she firmly took to the role of being in charge of him while he visited, tasking herself to his wellbeing. His faith in her touched her deeply, sealing the affection that had begun by simply discovering a fellow misfit and strengthened by the deep love Breeze held for him.

​

It wasn't possible to become close to the Soldier without getting to know Flint, our Sarge. The encounters proved to be brief, yet it was enough; while she was regal, he was a commander. More, he treated her just as he did Hybrid, his closest friend; to his eyes, she was no outsider. She was merely someone he would care for and tasked himself responcible for, and someone he expected to listen because of it. It wan't long before she grew to trust him, for he proved himself a wise leader. While he had a strong presence and bearing, he was subtle in his tactics and chose his decisions with the wisdom of experience; more, he fully accepted her as one of those he was to keep safe. It gave her a sense of security she had hitherto lacked; more than love of mate accepted and vowed to protect her.

​

And, through these encounters, she came to know his mate, Shiro, the Lover among her bondmates. He proved so worthy of that nickname that she soon felt as fiercly protective over him as if he were a younger brother; so readily did he accept her, so welcoming his love for her, that she grew to fulfill her own potential as a regal leader. She treasured him, and so she would defend him at every turn.

​

And so the last layer of uncertainty was peeled away. She was one that fully belonged, a mare that was a true part of this society.

​

These friendships soon sealed into a deeper bond as they formed their Circle together, that of the Cycle's Echo; none would foresake the other. None felt closer to any creature, save their bonded, than they did to one another. They would always be united.

​

Finalizing these changes, Nova is once again a mother. Having had a mate, Circle and foals before in life, and having had all such ties severed when she was abandoned, this filly has become the symbol of her future. Her life is moving forward once again; and now, finally, all that she had lost has been returned to her.

​

Our Glimmer has once again built herself a life, the Elf that grew to be a queen when she went to live with the Fae.