//------------------------------// // Dancing in the Moonlight // Story: Clastic Glow // by Rocinante //------------------------------// The girls sat inside their clubhouse, huddled around a small pile of open books. The midsummer night air was warm and thick. Their sleeping bags laid unfurled besides them in a makeshift camp for the night. It wasn’t the first time they had spent the night here, it had become a bit of a treat when the weather allowed. Tonight was a little different though, it was official Crusader business. Twilight had been rather concerned when they had each checked out a book of ancient ritual magic. They had gotten a very long speech on being responsible with magic, even outright banning them from attempting several things mentioned in the books. The ‘pegasus war rite’ being the first on that list, much to Scootaloo’s disappointment. After each had read their book, they compared what they had learned and picked something to try; it was to be an earth pony dance of life. The ritual was said to breathe youth back into plants great and small. It also so happened that they had the required elements of the dance, that being a full moon and three mares. The images showed a carnival atmosphere. It was a revelry more so than just a dance, a celebration of life with song, dance, and elaborate decorations. The song was in old Equestrian. Twilight had deemed it harmless enough and helped them translate the words. Though in the end they had decided to memorize the old sounds and sing it that way; mostly at Sweetie Belle’s insistence. She felt that something was lost in the translation, the old words just held more intent to her. Sweetie Belle already knew a few songs in the old tongue, those folk songs that were passed down for mirth around the seasonal festivals. A little help from Twilight, and she had the phonetics memorized in just a few read-throughs. With a few hours coaching, she had the other two singing with passable diction. As for the dance, Scootaloo found it to be simple enough, a circle dance that repeated the same twelve steps. The large expressive moves seemed silly, but fun. It wasn’t hard for her to feel the purpose of the moves. Each step chronicled either a season, its passing, or a phase of the moon. She had the pattern down in just a few minutes, showing the others how to move was just as easy. Applebloom had the perfect place for the ritual. Not far from the clubhouse were some of the oldest trees on the property. The family didn’t even tend them any more, they no longer bore enough fruit to make it worth the effort. As long as they didn’t set the orchard on fire, any accidental damage would go unnoticed. Among the old grove, one tree stood out to her, she knew it was over a hundred year old, strong, and full of personality; she couldn’t think of a better target for the spell. Imitating the pictures as best she could, Applebloom readied the site. The tall grass was cut low and twisted into decorative ropes that she hung with care around the old trunk. Fallen branches were gathered and placed end to end in a circle around the apple tree, errant stoned moved and mingled into the pattern. What had been a twisted old tree in a fallow field, was now a bride awaiting her groom. Applebloom found the whole thing silly, but a bit familiar. ‘Granny’s Zap apple jam. All her silliness for the Zap apples; it’s a ritual, just like this.’ “Alright, It almost midnight,” Sweetie Belle announced. “Lets get started before it’s too late.” The three girls exchanged smiling nods as they filed out of the tree house and made their way to the prepared site. - - - Three voices rang out from the orchard. The song was first sung before the tribes had unified, and there danced a filly from each. Their voices seemed to echo off the moon, as if Luna herself had joined the choir. Spaced evenly apart, they circled the tree again and again. Mechanical at first, but grins replaced looks of concentration and stiff movements became a fluid dance as the celebration of life took hold of them. Even the tree seemed enticed to join the merriment. They were having far too much fun to see what Twilight was now watching. The she had decided to surveille them that evening. They were trying to wield serious magic and she wanted to be there if something bad happened. They would have been insulted if they knew she was babysitting them, so she just camped out in the bushes a short distance away and observe quietly.  Colors effervesced from the dancing fillies, the chromatic mist swirling around the dancing circle. Twilight found herself breathless as the old tree started to move; not much, but it had taken to life. The tree drank greedily of the vapor, green leaves and red apples manifested; cracked branches found their youthful form again. She had read about this, but it was a magic lost to an older time. ‘How had those three rekindled it so casually?’ The three stopped suddenly when the tree’s transformation had become too great to not notice. Hoops and hugs were exchanged as they marveled at their work. Twilight took it as a good cue that it was time for her to head back home. She would come back tomorrow and see what she could learn. For now she would leave them alone, they had a lot to celebrate. Still winded from their revelry, the girls group hugged in celebration of their success, Whatever they had done, it had transfigured the half-dead relic into a verdant fruit tree. Catching their breath, the Crusaders traded eye contact and turned to examine their flanks, as was their ritual. Stark silence filled the orchard as nervous stares passed between the girls. They were all rendered speechless while they tried to understand what had happened. A haggard black branch bearing a single apple bloom of brilliant color and exquisite detail. A silver bell, filigreed so intricately one could get lost in the pattern and bound with a crimson bow. A golden ring, bearing to white wings. The image blurred in some strange way that made you want to believe it forever turned and the wings trapped in mid-motion. “OK, so, what does this mean?” Applebloom asked. It was a question with many sides and they all knew it. “We did it.” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked. “But yea, I don’t get it.” Scootaloo pondered her own mark, while listening to the others. Wings... She always knew it would have wings, that’s just natural. Flight is a constant dream, but what does the ring mean to her? She had expected this moment to bring answers, not questions. “Alright, think.” she mused aloud. “What does it remind you of, that we just did? Don’t think... Feel.” Applebloom closed her eyes and searched the past few moments. A content smile spread across her face as she started to speak, “The old tree, I made it young again; I fixed it. “When I was singing, I was really happy and I felt like I made the tree happy too” Sweetie Belle added. Scootaloo looked to the tree and reflected on her friends epiphanies, “Some part of me connected with the tree when we danced. It danced with me.” she thought aloud. Still the ring didn’t fit. ‘What does it mean?’ She twiddled her wings in a nervous fidget, chiming her bangles absentmindedly. Her eyes shot open as she knew what the ring meant to her, motion and magic.   - - - Luna sat on the balcony of her room, gazing at her moon; gleefully humming an ancient tune as she recited the words in her mind. She never looked away from her moon, even as Celestia unceremoniously plopped down beside her. “What was that?” the elder sister grumbled. Her lack of regalia and gruff appearance betrayed that she had been roused from her bed. “I felt an old magic.” “The fates my sister. They have placed three new threads into the loom. Our heroes for the next generation have found their mantles. And they did it while singing to me,” Luna recited. “Mm,” Celestia nodded. “Then it’s safe to go back to bed?” “Yes Tia. All is well this night” “Uh,” the goddess of day replied as arrhythmic hoof beats sounded through the room behind her, fading as she went back to her own chambers. “Love you too, sister.” Luna cheered.