Fire-Flower Festival [ Open to All ]

[wishmadeinfire]

Who: Ashura & The Castle Residents
What: A mini, last minute festival
When: Saturday Night
Where: Castle Gardens
Rating: PG/PG-13 (for possible language)

Two days might not have been long, but with Cheese's help the little festival had turned into something quite lovely in the Castle gardens. It made Ashura think of home, which for a moment made his heart ache, for even having spent so many years away from his people he still worried for them and their fate. It felt good to bring a touch of it to this place, to let people see some of it, if not all. Cheese had done a marvelous job helping him capture it, and he reminded himself he would need to thank the pony profoundly when all was said and done.

They had placed out food and drink a plenty for any who wished to attend. There was some common faire for the less adventurous, but there was also offering from Ashura's own kingdom. Meats and vegetables cooked with spices that turned the items bright, their aroma a lovely blend - such things as saffron and chile. There were freshly cut fruit offerings, and some that had been sugared and even some that had been spiced themselves, though hardly so much as the meat. Water came readily available and sweet breads for those in need of cool mouths. Several wines were offered as well, ranging from thick and sweet to dark and as spiced as the meats.

Sitting areas were adorned with plush pillows and bright silks wound through the area to provide covering and color, the lanterns taking on the glow of the cloth. A small area nearby had been made to look like a performance area, and indeed a lute-like instrument of white and gold with purple and green flowers stood upon a stand to the side, as if waiting to be played. A sign invited anyone who wished to show off a talent or provide their own entertainment.

The center piece were the fire-flowers, though. Bright red buds with centers that glowed a soothing, enchanting yellow. When a breeze fluttered through, the centers waved and looked like tiny candle flames inside each blossom. Hence their name, and legend said they had formed from the tears of the guardian phoenix of Ashura's people. Later they would sever greater purpose than mere decoration, but for now the blossoms provided a center of beauty for the party.

It was no May Day, but it would do.

Food & Drink | Sitting Area | Stage | The Fire-Flowers

( ooc: Use one of the areas already set up or make your own thread! Enjoy! )

Comments

[rose_of_battle]

"Well, not exactly. It's something the Castle did shortly after I arrived, and well...the name and feelings stuck."

She scratches her head sheepishly. "Does that make any sense?"

She looks around at the decorations again, smiling as she sees everyone having a good time. "Well, it looks great. Both of you did a fantastic job!"

[preformthisneigh]

Cheese tilts his head to one side, confused. He struggles with emotional ties at the best of times, so this makes little sense to him.

"Noooot exactly, but I'm sure he means a lot to you?" then, beaming at her compliment. "Hey, I know what I do, and I'm good at it. Ashura, too."

[rose_of_battle]

Hmmm. It is a bit strange, but maybe if she explains it? "Shortly after I arrived, the Castle turned us into a huge family, and we believed it."

She had even been married, and from what she understands, to the natives, she still is. But, she's not going into that right now.

"Ashura had been my Uncle then, and we had formed a bond during that time, that when it was over, it didn't seem right not to call him that."

She returns his smile with a large one of her own. "You certainly do, and you really are. Both of you." She looks over at Ashura, her smile becoming fond. "I wonder if he gets to do this a lot back home? Plan it, I mean."

[preformthisneigh]

That, quite frankly, sounds terrifying to Cheese. Enforced friendship is bad enough, but enforced familial bonds? That could mess up a pony for life. Still, she seems happy about it, so he manages to mask his discomfort with an easy smile.

"Well, that sure is different," he says, then, glad for moving the conversation on, nods. "He didn't talk much about it, but he sure could make a living for himself in the trade."

[rose_of_battle]

Sheena's happy about it for several reasons, but mainly because she had been abandoned as a baby and never knew her real family. Now, what the Castle had done could have screwed her up--and if the bond hadn't formed, it might have--but she knew people were adopted every day, so why couldn't she adopt her very own Uncle?

"Yeah, it was," she agrees, her attention wavering a bit thanks to the rest of what Cheese is saying. "He probably could... Hey, uhhh... Do you ever get the urge to work with someone in planning parties?"

[preformthisneigh]

"Of course I do," he beams. "Sometimes, working with somepony else makes the party even better than it could be with just one planner. Two or more heads are better than one."

There was supposed to be a "back home" in that question up there. *///*

[rose_of_battle]

She turns to him, smiling. "Let me guess: Because the more people you have, the more ideas you get, right?" Still grinning, she gives him a knowing look before adding, "Or is it because the planning can become a party itself?"

lol

[preformthisneigh]

"Well, if you got two party planners it can be the BEST party in the planning," he says. "I had a blast when I planned one with Pinkie."

:P

[rose_of_battle]

She had a feeling that was the case. How could it not be? A lot of things are better with someone else. At the name, her brows knit together as she tries to place it. "Pinkie?" She's pretty sure there's no one by that name at the Castle, so... "Is that a pony back home?"

[preformthisneigh]

He beams and nods, always happy to talk about the pink goddess who did so much for his life.

"She sure is! She's the inspiration for me doing what I do."

[rose_of_battle]

His happiness is contagious, and Sheena can't help grinning widely in return. Besides, there's just something about someone named "Pinkie" that makes a person smile.

"She inspired you? So, she must be a party pony, too, right? Did she plan one for you? Is that how you met?"

[preformthisneigh]

It's the special kind of magic he and Pinkie share, making others smile. He's glad to see it in her.

"Ohhhhh that's a long story," meaning, one he doesn't want to tell. "Buuuuut let's just say I happened on one of her parties and BAM, I just knew what my destiny was."

He'll leave out the terrible foalhood part of the story.

[rose_of_battle]

Ah, Cheese where were you when Sheena was younger? At least she's making up for it now.

"That's okay, you don't have to go into de--" Her jaw drops and she stares at him in wonder. "You just 'happened on' one of the parties she was throwing?" She pauses for a long moment. "Do you think it might have been Fate?"

It's okay to skip it; you see where her mind is going.

[preformthisneigh]

He, of course, does not, and nods enthusiastically.

"Well, of course it was! Without her, I wouldn't have found my destiny, I was supposed to meet her, so I knew who I was supposed to be."

[rose_of_battle]

The smile Sheena gives the pony is a fond one as she thinks about the people she had met at home. Not too many people feel that they meet certain people for a reason, but how else can some meetings be explained?

"And you had no idea until then, right?" she asks with a knowing smile. "I mean, if someone had said to you before you met her that you'd be a party Pony, would you have believed them?"

Her question isn't an insult, but one of those that say she's had the same experience.

[preformthisneigh]

Ah, and this is treading on the very delicate ground of his past, which he absolutely does not want to talk about. At all. Ever.

"Welllll, I probably wouldn't have thought it would be exactly like that."

[rose_of_battle]

Seeing his expression, Sheena immediately becomes concerned and places a hand where she's always called it a shoulder on herself when a pony. His past is his to keep; she's more concerned about him in the here and now.

"Hey. Are you okay? I didn't mean to upset you."

[preformthisneigh]

And just like that, the smile is back on, as if nothing happened at all.

"You didn't, I'm super duper a-ok."