//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Spring Festival // Story: The Peryton // by Midnight Lore //------------------------------// The Peryton Chapter 1: Spring Festival “Mom!” I whined, as she tried to make my coat look presentable. “Hold still, darling,” she said as she adjusted to my squirming, her talons “fixing” my mane. “This will only take a minute.” “Do I have to go?” I saw her lavender eyes as she gave me a look. I let out a sigh of resignation, “Okay.” She turned, her elegant coat shimmered green, and her purple feathers fluttered in a breeze that only noticed her. “Sometimes, you’re just like your father,” I heard her whisper, almost to herself. “Father?” My ears perked, “What was he like?” She looked back, met my eyes, but only for an instant, “He was courageous, and kind, and good,” she said matter of fact. *sigh* Same thing as always, then, “Do you really want to know?” I looked up, surprised, hope surging, and nodded. She looked me over; “I’ll tell you after, come, we’ll be late.” She turned and took flight. Finally! I looked in the reflective mirror pool, taking in my auburn coat, emerald green mane with velvet antlers sticking out, and pale grey eyes. Maybe I get my look from dad? I’ve always known I was different. There are others with physical traits like mine, but none that help me understand what makes me so different. I don’t have many friends, but not because of that, I’m just not very good making them. Mother says I should be more social, but it’s just not my thing. I’m content with the ones I have. ~~~~~~~~~ This time of year is always the busiest. It’s also everypony’s favorite. Preparations for the Spring Festival began a while ago. The weeklong celebrations start today. Ponies from all over come to take part in the festivities that bring spring. I was on my way to the festival when I heard someone call out, “Hey, Xerneas!” I slowed, and turned to see who was behind me. It was a light-pink pegasus, with a curly light-blue mane. My closest friend. “Hiya, Cotton Fluff,” I replied, “Hey, guess what?” She thought for a moment, “You finally decided to take school seriously? Or, or, did you have a sudden revelation and now you want to make lots of friends? Oh! Maybe you discovered what you want to do with your super powers.” “Pfft, no. And my ability isn’t ‘super powers’. Mother said she’d tell me about father.” “Really?” I gave her a blank look. “Right, sorry,” she looked away a moment, “When?” “After today’s Festival.” I watched her expression change to worry. “Why the face? Anything she’s said about him, which hasn’t been much, has been positive. I can’t wait!” “But what if she only wanted you to know the good?” Cotton said quietly, unsure. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to think about that if it happens. You worry too much, you know?” I tried to reassure her; she wasn’t convinced. “Come on, Mother might just change her mind if I’m any later.” I gave her a smile and headed to the main event, turning my head to make sure she was following. We landed at the entrance, the giant arch leading the way to the festivities. Mother was waiting, a disapproving look on her face, but she kept quiet. I smiled at her. She gave a smile back, and we headed towards the center of the town. This was going to be a good day; I could feel it. As we walked down the path, I glanced at all the stands lined up along sides. Some had games, others had things like balloons and bubbles for the kids, and of course, there were the ones with food. Each and every stand had a pot with a seed planted in the middle. Ponies trading, talking, and having a good time crowded the area. When they noticed mother they gave respectful nods, which she returned. I watched her, feeling pride for being her son. As I followed her, Cotton Fluff trotting next to me in a comfortable silence, I waved to some of the ponies; they waved back, happy smiles on their faces. I enjoyed seeing everypony together like this. It’s not like they keep to themselves all the time, there’s just something about festivals. As we approached the stage, I turned to see Cotton Fluff looking at me. “I’ll meet up with you after the ceremony, aright?” “Sounds good. I’ll be watching, so don’t mess up.” “Cotton, I’ll be fine. It’s not like I have to give a speech or anything; just using my ‘super powers’.” “Alright, alright.” She waved a hoof at me, “But I want mine to be the best, no holding back.” I smirked, “I’ll see what I can do.” “Let’s go, Xerneas.” “Coming,” I replied over my shoulder. I waved to Cotton then followed Mother onto the stage for the opening ceremony. Everypony knows about my ability, but nopony else seems to share it. That’s what makes the ceremony so special. I’ve always been able to do it, but I don’t want ponies to rely on me, so I keep it to myself for the most part; today’s one of the exceptions. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” Everypony shifted their attention to the stage. “Welcome. As most of you know, the Spring Festival occurs as the transition from winter to spring. During the week the weather becomes warmer, animals come out of hibernation, and plants start growing again.” She looked out over the crowd, observing the coats and scarves still being worn amongst many. “Let us greet spring with happiness and cheer, and it will be a good year!” The area grew loud with the sound of hooves stomping. Mother turned her head to look at me, “Xerneas.” “Right.” I bowed my head nervously, concentrating on the area of the festival, specifically the pots on all the stands. My antlers tingled. I felt for each seed, and felt the life burning within and around each. I adjusted to the different types of plants giving each what they needed. I gave the life within a push, that little extra, to change from being a seed, to being a seedling. As the stems appeared, sprouting into their forms, exclamations of “ooh,” and, “ahh,” could be heard throughout the crowd. I continued to push, to try and make each seedling perfect. Once they reached maturity, I released the magic and looked up, I saw looks of wonder among ponies everywhere. I looked to Mother. She gave a nod, knowing how much I disliked being the focus of others’ attention. I quickly left the stage, tension leaving my body as everypony turned their attention away from me, and went to meet up with Cotton Fluff. She had set up her own stand for the festival, deciding to sell, or trade, her hoof-made pillows and blankets; so that’s where I headed. As I passed all the stands, I glanced at the pots, looking to see what was planted, checking to see if they turned out right. Some were crops that would give an early start for the season. Others were the more common, colorful flowers. If any were trees or large bushes, they only grew to around a foot tall; they would have to grow naturally after today. Then there were the flowers that only bloomed during one of the other seasons, just to be seen more than once. These would last all day, even if the wild ones only remained in bloom for a short amount of time. As I neared Cotton Fluff’s stand, I saw a group of ponies crowding around. They all wanted one of her creations. I didn’t blame them; her pillows were so soft and fluffy, and all kinds of wonderful. Her blankets, just one of them, could keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. “Cotton!” I called out. Her head swiveled in my direction, relief on her face and happiness in her dark-coral eyes at having spotted me. She gave a quick wave then went back to her customers. I trotted to the back of her stand to wait for a break or for her to ask for help, which knowing her wasn’t likely. I watched her. She handled things with ease, going from one customer to the next. Her smile never left her face, genuinely happy to be helping everypony. If somepony wanted to trade, Cotton always found a way to accept something. Soon enough the crowd had dispersed, every customer leaving with something special. Cotton let out a sigh, and turned to me, “I never get tired of seeing what you can do, it’s fascinating.” She glanced at the Swaddled Babies Orchid on the edge of her stand. I gave her an awkward smile. “So, I can take a break, you want to go do something?” I got up. “Sure. Let’s get something to eat, then we can settle our feud.” I gave her a mischievous grin. She just rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. “You’re on. But don’t think you can win this time.” ~~~~~~~~~ At the training grounds we got our gear; a slingshot for me and a bow an arrow for Cotton Fluff. Mother made me take a class when I was younger, to learn how to protect myself; just in case. I’m still not sure why she wanted me to though, but that’s how I met Cotton Fluff, so it turned out okay. Ever since we learned and trained with weapons, Cotton and I have been competing to see who can be more accurate mid-flight, and from the farthest away, with projectiles. So far she’s beaten me every time. But this time we’re using our specialized weapons and I’m ready. I trained hard, and even discovered a new way of using my slingshot. “Ready?” Cotton asked, seeing my eagerness, wondering what I’ve got under my wing. “Yep, and I’m going to win this time.” We took off, heading for the first target. I barely had to think about where I was going, having done this too many times to count. I switched my slingshot to my back legs, holding it in my talons, and took aim. There were three rings, the bullseye in the middle. I let the bottle cap fly; it hit the outer edge of the middle ring. Dang. I moved to the next target. This time it hit the inner ring. Not close enough. I got to the last target, still needing a bullseye. This time for sure. I took my time, concentrating. Holding my breath, I let it fly. *thunk* It hit the center. YES! I pumped my hoof, and then looked to find Cotton Fluff. She was slightly behind and below me. “Wow,” she gave a nod of approval, “You have been practicing.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “So, that was an interesting way to use your slingshot. Where’d you come up with that?” “Uh, well,” I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof and thought about how to put it, “You’ve always been a stronger flier than me, so I thought I would try not to use my wings and I can grip things better with my talons, so I tried it.” “I see, well it worked.” She looked out over the course, tallying up the scores. “We tied.” “What? I thought for sure I’d beat you.” I hung my head, disappointed. I looked to the course. Sure enough, Cotton’s shots were more precise than mine. “Hey, it’s alright, maybe next time.” “For sure.” I was just going to have to train harder. “I thought I’d find you here.” I turned to see Mother flying towards us. With a start, I looked around. It had gotten late, without me even realizing. “The Festival’s almost over.” “Oh no!” Cotton exclaimed, “I can’t believe I forgot. My stand!” She started to fly off. “Hold on Cotton Fluff.” Mother called out to her. Cotton Fluff slowed and turned to face Mother. “I saw your older brother, he was taking care of it.” “Candle Flame?” She put a hoof to her chin, “That was nice of him, still I should get back and help clean up. See you tomorrow, Xerneas.” She waved and took off. “See ya,” I called after her. I turned to Mother, “So, heading home?” She gave a nod, “I finished everything at the Festival, and didn’t see you, so I figured you might be here, and have forgotten the time.” I guiltily scratched my head and averted my eyes, “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to.” “No harm, no foul. Come on, let’s go.” ~~~~~~~~~ After getting some hot chocolate, we sat in the living room, “Sooo, you said you would tell me about father.” I quickly got to the topic I’d been waiting for all day. “You remembered,” Mother observed. “Before you say anything, listen, don’t interrupt.” She paused and looked long and hard at me, making sure I understood. When finally she was satisfied, “Your father…” she took a long pause, then looked me in the eyes, “Xerneas, he’s alive.”