Sparklers

Pixie ran off, the box clenched in his mouth. The moon herself was bright tonight, shining on his white coat, she was gentle, like she always was. He could smell sugared bread and fruit sponge pies in the air. It had an added aroma of sweetness that only fed into the colt's excitement. Most ponies his age had a clique, somepony to share laughs with, to talk to. But for Pixie, all he had was a box of unlit sparklers. Every time he considered working his way into their circles, his heart hurt. The picture was appealing. Yet there was fear that was overwhelming to his small body. It made his throat dry, and his nerves felt like they were fried. It drowned out any hope that may have sparked, from that. Of course, there was one option. One foal his age that wasn't prancing with any friends, helping carry some strange-looking bags with his parents. He was the only foal with cloth around his back; it almost made him stick out more than his parents. Pixie felt a bit like a cat eyeing him from the sidelines.

Walking out to the road, Pixie fumbled around with one of the sticks. Nearly dropping the box as he tripped over himself, he made his way towards the brown colt. Sitting, he outstretched his hooves as if he was praying. The makeshift table of his arms worked well as he placed the box on top.. The family was stacking things into a wagon. It wasn't a wagon from the village. This one was made from wood, and it didn't have a horse pulling it. No, it had a wheel where the driver would be. Pixie stared at it, still outstretching the stick towards the other foal.

“Can I help you?” the brown foal asked,

“I- um,” Pixie felt his heart race, gulping down his cowardness he continued, “Do you want one?”

“Yeah,”

“Do- Do you want more?” Pixie's eyes lit up, “What's your name?”

Pixie immediately got up, knocking the box off his arms, littering the floor with unlit sparklers. Grimacing, he recollected the sticks. Shoving them harshly into the box trying to get rid of his mess.

“Jack Daniels,”

“...Mmf-ong -ame,”

“Huh?”

Pixe took the box out of his mouth, “that's a long name! I'm Pixie Dust, do you like tag?”

“Yeah!”

“Want to play with me? We can- play tag or- something like tag!”

“Uhh,”

“We don't have to play tag- we can play something like eye spy, or hopscotch!”

“Well,”

“We don't gotta play either, we can talk… with words!

Jack began to laugh, “I gotta help my parents, but after, yeah!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

Pixie gasped, he turned around spinning, hoping gently in place, before turning to face Jack again.

“When?” Pixie quietly asked,

“Uhh,” Jack looked back, “stay here, I'll let you know,”

The unicorn colt sat down immediately, taking the job very seriously. Jack gave him a look that simply said, “weirdo,” before continuing to help his parents load the wagon. He fumbled with the box, then took out the stick again, rolling it around in his hooves. He sniffed it, it smelled like a match box or a small fireplace. It smelled better than a cigarette. Looking around he saw children use an already lit up stick to light their own, or let a unicorn start the sparkler. Pixie looked down at his own, how does one start a fire. The candles were too high, the stars too far away to even think of.

Ponies moved out of the road, a common practice when the smell of incense carried closer. Two ponies were in front of the small parade, swirling lanterns emitting scents of lavender and borneol camphor. Four ponies carried a palanquin that was covered in silks, and transparent fabrics bunched onto each other so you couldn't make out what was behind it. Crystals, and pearls, were thrown on it as if their value were trivial. A sense of urgency came from the sight, importance as the full council walked behind, chatting to one another about the joyous occasion. Even Picpuck was there. The foal waved hello but his dear sister couldn't hear him over the commotion of the night.

Jack made his way back, he smelled like sweat and charcoal. Pixie got up, his back leg kicked at the sand as he tried to play it cool, but his smile kept creeping up to force its way out. His heart fluttered like the bells in a tambourine, skipping forward, to greet him.

“Ready?”

“More than ready!”

Pixie could feel Jack’s hoof gently press into his own shoulder.

“Tag,” said Jack,

Pixie gasped, giving up, he beamed brightly, letting out a flurry of giggles. As Jack ran off, Pixie took the box back into his mouth, muffling him but never stopping him, as he chased after his new friend.

Their game only paused when they ran out of energy. Pixie wandered over to a neighbor’s house. Slumping against its stone, the cold was a welcome guest against his sweaty body. His chest felt like it was twisting, and his stomach churn from being shaken. Yet, his mood felt like it would reach the stars. Jack turned to see why there weren't any hoof steps chasing him, his concerned look was swept away by the muffled giggles Pixie still tried to contain. Walking up to the house Pixie set up camp by, Jack weezed. Pixie saw the other foal approached, continuing to lay his body on the dirt he rolled onto his back, so his eyes would connect the constellations above.

“You're good at running,” Pixie motioned with an hoof,

“I know,” Jack sat down, “I'm really fast,”

“Maybe your job will be running,”

“Huh?” Jack doubled back on that statement,

“Like, every pony has a… part? I think,” Pixie recited trying to show his point, “You are fast, so I think you'll have something that'll be fast ya know?”

“Thanks?” Jack said, “My job will be what my parents are doing,”

“Is it run?”

“No, it's business,”

“...”

“...”

“What's-”

“Selling stuff, trading stuff, uh- going everywhere,” Jack stretched, “What about you? What are you going to do?”

“Well my mom's a teacher,”

“And your dad?”

“Mom says he's gone,”

“Oh,”

“Sorry for your loss,”

“Oh he's not dead, just not at home,”

“Pixie I'm confused,”

“That's what I said!”

Pixie's hooves flew in the air. Falling back to his sides before he turned around to sit up beside Jack. He dragged the box around against the sand. Most of the sticks were bent, a reminder of how harshly he barreled-stuffed them, but he compared and contrasted, before pulling out a pretty straight one, offering it to Jack. Jack saw the soft smile Pixie gave him, taking a moment before he seized the sparkler into his hooves.

“I can't light it-” Pixie began to speak, before Jack placed his hoof onto his muzzle.

Taking out a lighter, he stumbled with it, trying to take control of it. There was a bit of confusion from him, his brows furrowing, as he tried to figure the mechanism out. A moment more passed before Jack ignited a gentle flame from the lighter. Pixie knew the assignment, taking out another sparkler, this one bent slightly, the boys lit the sparkler up. The two took a moment to appreciate the gentle fire. This one was green and it made a gentle popping sound. Complete Silence fell on both of them. Pixie's mouth slightly agape, he refused to blink, trying to catch every detail of the stars falling towards the ground, disappearing in the air before it could burn the dirt. As quick as it came, it was snuffed. The two boys made eye contact, as Pixie slowly pulled out another one.

They went through the entire box. The pretty straight sparkler was left behind, only because they forgot it wasn't in the box. A drum began to echo, a beat that was hyper, and familiar. Pixie pushed himself onto his hooves, offering to help his friend up.

“C’mon Jack! It's starting,” Pixie encouraged,

Jack tended to look confused, but willing he let the other Colt help him up. They ran over to the crescent square. Memory was up there, his bow at the ready, his wife hitting that drum with all of her might. It was hard to see, bigger ponies covered most of their view. The music stopped, suddenly.

Then there she was. Selene. The last alicorn princess. Pulling back the curtain, she walked onto the stage. Her wings stretched out, feathers, a midnight blue, fanning out to a near white. Her mane. Long, light blue, its magic flowed to the floor, fading lighter with length. Her white dress was layered, bell sleeves on top of bell sleeves, trimmed with gold, the bottom never ending. She was covered in pearls, and pretty stones. Her own mask was different from the last time she made her appearance. An intricate picture of the sky is all Pixie could make out from here. It looked like she was glowing, stars fell from her, she sparkled in the moonlight. You could hear a pin drop, as she walked further to the edge of the stage.

“Let us begin,”

She said,

And she was beautiful.

Author's Note

I'm like way ahead than I thought I would be, also if I posted every full moon that's like a few chapters every month and I will not let this take longer than it has to be, that isn't fair to the people who want to read this. So... How about once a week?

plus full moons cuz im a sucker for those