//------------------------------// // Chapter 95- Heated Show // Story: Good Morning Equestria // by Quoterific //------------------------------// “We are outside today, for obvious safety reasons, because we are going to see a special performance by Autumn Blaze herself!” Pinkie bounced in her place, “This is so exciting! Are you excited, ‘cause I’m super-duper excited to what Autumn has planned for us today. They were on the outskirts of Ponyville, on an open field. Wanting it to be spectacular, Pinkie had placed posters around the town and up on the Town Hall notice board. Everypony and creature who haven’t seen Autumn or a kirin, were intrigued by Pinkie’s invitation, and all of Ponyville were practically out with them, waiting to see what Autumn has in store for them. “Before you start with the show,” Gabby stepped in next, “Why don’t you tell us, our audience, as well as our listeners, what you are performing for us?” “On the Peaks of Peril we have a special festival called the Festival of Fire. Fire is a symbol, not only for heat and power, but courage and love. Literally a burning desire,” Autumn explained, “However, fire can have a more dangerous meaning. I mean, our anger is what caused our village to lay in ruins after all. We respect it yet fear it, which is the point and meaning of the festival,” Autumn explained passionately. “Sounds like a lot of fun,” Silverstream complimented, “What does this Festival of Fire involve?” “We start with a big bonfire at the bottom of the peaks,” Autumn told them “We roast and bake food on their, as fire is a symbol of needs and is essential is some basic cooking. Then we grab a partner and do some traditional kirin dancing, symbolising the fire of love and the warmth of coming together.” “Kind of like the Heart of Fire during Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Pinkie thought out loud. “Yes, sort of like that,” Autumn continued, “We then light our torches when the evening comes, back to the village. We do this because fire symbolises a guiding light and way of comfort. Then we perform a special kirin-nirik dance, using the fire from our nirik forms to create shapes and patterns as they dance around.” “Sounds like a great festival!” Pinkie exploded in joy, “And I’m guessing that you are going to perform the kirin-nirik dance for us and the crowd.” “The dance takes a lot of willpower and control,” Autumn explained, “Focus is key to control the fire. It’s all about finding that balance of emotions, between calm and anger. A calm emotion will let the fires settle, be cool and give a light glow. However, an angry fire will be ferocious and large, wild and frantic. Like any dance, it requires technique and finesse.” “So without further ado, every creature great and small, please put your claws, hooves and talons together, for Autumn Blaze!” Gabby introduced every creature and pony who were watching and waiting for the show to start. Every creature clapped as Autumn took to the stage, or the middle of the field. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the emotions she wanted to portray in the dance and fire. Then she burst into flames and showed every creature her nirik form. Every creature gave a sound of awe. She then ran, creating a circle of fire around her and stepped into the middle of it. The fires were a mixture of blues, reds and purples, dancing with intensity, clearly showing an angry nirik at work. She then reverted back to her normal kirin form, jumping out of the fire, unharmed by its heat and gave a dramatic pose. Almost immediately, the fires cooled down to a more subtle blue. Autumn had two flames in her forelegs, which she danced on her hindlegs, waving them around her. The crowd and hosts were transfixed, like some fire spirit hypnotising the audience. Autumn moved with an elegant and gentle pace. Like a flickering fire itself, she moved with a slithering motion, from one side of the circle of fire to the other. She changed between her nirik and kirin form, adjusting the flames to show either calm or rage. The crescendo of the dance was something different. She breathed a tower of fire upwards, then with her magic, she began to manipulate it to form shapes. Fire fish swam through the air, bunnies and deer hopped and ran around. Autumn even created the mane six’s cutie marks, symbolising the Elements of Harmony, which earned an extra loud applause from the crowd. Eventually, the dance died down, as did the flames. Autumn finished by breathing on huff of fire, using her magic again to make it explode into fire works of different colours. She then controlled the embers downwards to land on some sparkling sticks. Using her magic, she gave the lit sparklers to the excited foals. Every pony and creature gave a big round of applause. “That was amazing!” Gabby flew into the air, doing somersaults with enthusiasm, “I’ve never seen anything like it!” “Certainly beats the glowing creatures of the deep in Seaquestria,” Silverstream continued to clap her claws. “That was the most heated fun I ever saw!” Pinkie jumped up and down. Marble just gave a hum of acknowledgement, holding a sparkling stick and waved it around. “Thank you every creature for enjoying the show,” Autumn finished with a bow, earning another round of applause. “You would be great in Las Pegasus or a rodeo,” Pinkie complimented, “Well that is all, every creature. Thank you to Autumn for a marvellous kirin traditional dance display and sharing some things about kirin culture. I hope you had found it interesting and fun too and we will see you all again soon!”