//------------------------------// // 34~Happy New Years (PT. 2) // Story: Youngblood // by Centurion Pike-Wall //------------------------------// February 20th, 3095 Imperial Calendar (1523 AD) Hayburger Twilight finally swallowed, moaning in contentment. She looked up from her tray, realizing that two pairs of eyes were watching her with a mix of revulsion and curiosity. "Eh he. Sorry." "Uh... No problem?", Gracelyn said. Despite her claim, her feathers puffed out as she shuddered. The other student there, Depressi, simply grit his teeth and maintained his calm smile. "So, uh... Headmistress Twilight, we-" "Oh, you don't need to call me that", Twilight said, idly stuffing a few horseshoe fries in her mouth. "We're not in school. Besides, I prefer Principal. Headmistress makes me sound like some sort of strict control-freak type which I'm not... Anymore." "Alright then", Depressi said. "Principal Twilight, we were wondering why you asked us to come here." "Right, right", Twilight said. "Well, you were in charge of your New Years' Eve celebration. And, I just wanted to talk to you about something." "Shoot", Gracelyn said. Twilight reached into a pouch on her wheelchair, pulling out a few booklets and folded pieces of paper. "Well, I was just doing a bit of research about the topic. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help you out with it. And, uh... I found out about the main thing." Depressi mouthed, 'ah', while Gracelyn simply nodded. "Ok. And?" "Well, I can't just allow that at the school", Twilight said. "I mean, a giant bonfire in the school grounds-It's just asking for trouble." "Well, we can't really do it anywhere else", Depressi said. "I doubt the farmers would let us do it in their fields, and we can't exactly just set it up in the middle of town." "Hell, I asked a few of the hicks", Gracelyn said, either ignoring or not noticing the half-dozen glares at the back of her head. "Whenever I mentioned the bonfire, they immediately shut me down." "Please refrain from calling anyone a 'hick'", Twilight said. "Anyway, I'm sure I can help you guys hold your celebration. I just want everything to remain safe and enjoy this aspect of your culture." "Yeah, well", Gracelyn. "I suppose that I should at least be happy we could do this." "Hey, I'm more than happy to let you do something like this", Twilight said. "This is the perfect opportunity for me to take notes." She sputtered, her eyes darting back and forth between the two small smirks on the exchange-students faces. "I-I mean, to experience this event. Yeah..." +++++~+++++ 8 days later Depressi and DJ walked out of the school as the bell was still ringing. "So, it's been moved to some empty lot from an old house?" "Yeah", Depressi said. "Apparently, it's been sitting there for about two years now. Someone recently bought the lot, but agreed to let us do it there before construction begins." DJ said, "Alright then. So, what are you burning?" "What?", a voice said off to the side. Flurry Heart, along with Sound Board and the Cake Twins, walked out of another corridor, their own school bags slung over their backs. "Burning?" "Wait, what?", Pound Cake said. Depressi smiled, replying, "We call it 'Releasing'. At the dawn of the New Year, we burn something. Something related to a bad event, something you've outgrown or stopped doing; basically anything you feel is best left behind. Burning it is symbolic of putting it behind you so you can focus on the future." "Geez, can you really get any more barbaric?", High Society said, walking behind them with Thunderhead a few steps behind her. "Must you stick your nose in the business every time you hear something you don't like?', DJ said, breathing in deeply. "What?", High Society snickered. "Merely pointing something out." "Like how you have a whole holiday about cheap candy and doing something you should be doing anyway?", DJ said, breathing out and walking away. High Society merely scoffed, walking off as well. Depressi shrugged, turning back to his friends. "Well, ignoring that. So, yeah." Pound Cake said, "Can we come?" "Sure", Depressi said. "No one's stopping you. Hell, you can even bring something to burn if you want." Pound Cake rubbed his hooves together, grinning evilly. "We are not burning your bowtie", Pumpkin said, glaring at him. Pound deflated like a puppy denied a treat, to which Sound Board chuckled. She reached into her backpack, saying, "Hey, Pound. Hold that face. I wanna take a picture." +++++~+++++ Later that day, Southern, Sound Board, Flurry, Maraschino, and the Cakes walked through the open chainlink gate into the lot. Several tables were set up, one of which was laden with a variety of food. Most of the others already there were a part of the exchange program; all of the Griffins, as well as Depressi and DJ. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were there too, though Twilight was sitting off to the side and taking notes. The most notable feature of the gathering, however, was the bonfire. It was stacked at least ten feet tall, completely engulfed in flames. Four of the six griffins were around it, three of them dancing while one banged out a beat on a small drum. Depressi walked up to them, a small plate held in his hand. To their surprise, he wore a mask, which depicted a highly stylized eagle painted in a mix of reds, blues, purples, and golds. "Salve, Amicas. I'm glad you could make it." "Hey, this seemed cool", Pound Cake said. Sound Board asked, "Uh... What's with the mask?" Depressi lifted it up, revealing his typical small smile. "It's a part of the tradition. It started as a religious thing, being a part of wording off the evil spirits of the past year. It's just a cultural thing now." "Huh", Southern Rose said, tapping her chin. "That's pretty interestin'." "So... Do we have to wear those?", Flurry asked, noticing that the griffins and DJ were also wearing them. Depressi said, "Oh, no. We all brought these, and we don't have any others. Anyway, come come." The group of friends walked back to the bonfire, just as the drumming died down. The ones that were dancing stopped, stretching and shaking their wings. Pinkie Pie said, "Aww. Why'd the music stop?" The griffin with the drum said, "Because... we're about to do the Releasing?" "This early in the night?", Twilight asked, looking up from her notebook. Gracelyn, wearing her own mask depicting some sort of reptilian creature, said, "Because we don't actually want to stay up until tomorrow officially starts." As Twilight went back to scribbling in her book, the griffins and Pryhans walked over to another one of the tables. On it were a variety of small items, with each of them picking them up. While most of the items were lost among the flurry of claws, the items Depressi and DJ picked up were able to be seen. Depressi held what appeared to be a pair of undergarments. They were made of simple white cotton, and had what appeared to be a massive hole in the back. DJ, meanwhile, held a small wooden vial, with a label on it in Pryhan. Sound Board asked, "What's with those?" Depressi said, "Well, uh..." "One of Depressi's friends hooked him with a fishing pole", DJ said, with Depressi balking next to him. "Ended up being tossed into the Strait." The others began laughing, with Depressi clearly glaring at DJ despite the mask. "Yes... that's the story. Now shut up about it." "What about you, DJ?", Maraschino asked. "What's the bottle?" DJ stopped chuckling, almost going stiff. "Uh... It's private." The awkward silence was broken by more drumming. The same griffin had apparently tossed his thing on the fire, and had returned to the drum. "Man, that is cool. Why do you guys not do that more", Pound Cake said. "That's a Griffin thing", Depressi said. "We have trumpets and other instruments. Plus, this is basically the only holiday that we share with the Griffonians, so it's never really come up." DJ had walked up to one side of the bonfire, where small pillars of rocks had been stacked up. DJ muttered something to himself, before throwing the bottle on the pile. He walked away from the bonfire, letting another griffin throw his thing onto the fire. DJ sat down next to one of the tables, a small plate of food next to him. Despite his face being concealed by a mask, this one of some two-faced creature, he seemed to be at peace.