This fic is the ceremony itself and was rather fun to write too. Enjoy, and a happy Spring to all!
Springtime Ceremony
Spring had come and was currently in full swing in Rainbow Land, and elsewhere too. As always, it had been a busy start. The switch between Stormy and Rainbow had been easily made, but getting Spring going was a tough start. Plenty of color crystals had to be mined and processed and there was much monitoring of the Color Console while Rainbow, Twink, and Starlite had dashed off to Earth to work on awakening Spring into its fullness. It took a lot of work, and a lot of coaxing from the star sprinkles, but Spring had come easily, the humans never knowing the work that went into it. Each day had been exhausting, but fulfilling, and every morning, the Color Kids were sitting at their places, the same time as always.
Now though, it was mid-Spring, and the work was still busy, but not so much as the first week of Spring. Everything ran like clock-work, including Murky Dismal’s crazy plots to try and take over Rainbow Land. Like clock-work, Rainbow and the Color Kids had foiled his ideas before they got intense. Yes, things in Rainbow Land were business as usual. Now the Kids could begin looking forward to all the festivals that would happen, but none was so special as the one that took place today, for today was the sprite naming ceremony.
It had no official name, though sprites tended to dub it “Naming of the Sprites”. It was always held mid-Spring, as a way to commemorate fresh beginnings. Baby sprites born during the previous Spring were presented to Rainbow, who would give them their official name to carry with them for life. It was a special ceremony, as very few baby sprites were born each year. The most anyone could ever remember was five. Most years though, one or two sprites were presented for naming. Some may wonder why it was a year before the baby sprite received its name, but one look at any baby sprite would give away the reason- every sprite born was bicolored, a random collection of colors. Over the first year of life, the less dominant color would be shed, and the sprite would become one pure color. Color played a part in naming, and in the personality.
Sprites considered it an honor to have Rainbow Brite name their child, and so the day of the ceremony, a platform was erected in Green Grange, where there was plenty of room for everyone. Sprites made a day of it. Plenty of good food was brought to be shared, and no one worked that day. It was considered most important to take part in the true beginning of a baby sprite’s life. Each baby sprite was special and well taken care of by the sprite community.
On this particular year, Twink was rushing about, making sure all the preparations were taken care of. He’d gotten to Green Grange that morning to speak with the sprites who were finishing building everything. They’d finished the platform the day before, and were working on setting up tables and open air tents for eating in later. “Faster, faster!” cried Twink. “We’ve only got a few more hours to go!”
“Calm down, Twink,” called Starlite, who’d brought Twink and who had been asked by Rainbow to keep Twink from getting too overexcited. “Everything will be ready then.”
“But if it isn’t…” began Twink, “there won’t be a ceremony!”
Starlite gently nudged Twink. “Everything will be just fine. It is every year.” Twink didn’t hear him though. He’d dashed off to a set of blue sprites, who had been working to put up one of the open-air tents. Starlite could overhear him giving orders and instructions. Even though Twink could be bossy and controlling, everyone knew his heart was in the right place. He just wanted things to be good when Rainbow showed up. Sighing, Starlite moved closer to Twink, making sure that he didn’t get too out of hand.
Meanwhile, back at the Color Castle, the Color Kids were finishing up preparations. They’d each made special dishes to share with the sprites, and were packing them onto a large cart that Skydancer would pull to Green Grange. Everyone enjoyed preparing the food as much as they did eating it. Stormy didn’t help with the preparations, having declared a dislike for cooking and baking years ago. Instead, Rainbow gave her a special job at the ceremony. Stormy kept an eye out for Murky and Lurky and took care of them if necessary. They’d not come near the ceremony for years though, having been scorched before by one of Stormy’s well placed lightning bolts. Still, Stormy kept an eye out, just in case. She enjoyed a good chase. Moonglo too had a special task. She rested right up until the ceremony before going sleepily with one of the Color Kids. When the day was done and the sun began to set, she’d put on a spectacular shooting star show, a sign of good luck for the newly named sprites.
“Is that everything?” called Red Butler as he came back inside the Color Castle from loading up the last bits of food. Or so he hoped.
Patty O’Green raced to meet him. “That’s everything! We’re ready to go!” The rest of the Color Kids joined her.
“Great! Stormy’s outside waiting with Skydancer. Did someone wake up Moonglo?”
“Canary went to do that,” spoke up Lala Orange.
“She’ll be out soon. We should go out and wait for them,” suggested Buddy Blue.
All of the Color Kids nodded in agreement. Red Butler led them outside of the Color Castle and across the bridge, where a large wooden cart stood waiting, already hitched to Skydancer. It was piled with food, which left no room for the Color Kids to ride. They would walk alongside the cart, talking happily and sharing stories and jokes. Within minutes, Canary Yellow emerged from the Color Castle, a sleepy Moonglo in tow. Canary directed her to Stormy, who pulled her up behind her.
“Thanks,” murmured Moonglo in a soft tone as she held onto Stormy’s waist. Stormy only nodded in reply before nudging Skydancer off toward Green Grange. Moonglo always rode with her because not only was she not fully awake, but because each of the Color Kids felt that she should save her energy for the evening.
Soon, the Color Kids had arrived at Green Grange, where Twink was not in such a frenzy as he had been before. He’d settled down, as everything was set up, just as Starlite had said it would be. Sprites were talking amongst themselves, and more were arriving as the minutes passed. The Color Kids quickly got to work, unloading all the food and setting it up in the tents amongst all the food brought by the sprites. While they were working, Stormy began doing a perimeter patrol, having a pretty good hunch that Murky wouldn’t try anything. She smirked as she remembered the scorching she’d given him a few years back and knew she’d have fun doing it again if he tried anything. She could still hear his yelping and hollering as though it were yesterday.
Finally, everything was in place. The tents were in place, food piled on tables underneath them. Sprites could be seen as far as the eye could see, and the chatter was quite loud, noisy, and friendly. In the center of it all stood a raised wooden platform, with stairs on either side. Colorful ribbons created a border along the side. In the midst of it all, Starlite had dashed off to meet Rainbow, who’d stayed behind at the Color Castle. They would enter on cue as they did every year.
Anticipation was quite evident as everyone waited for that very special moment. Eyes raised toward the sky, each Sprite hoping to be the first to spot it. Sprites had mixed amongst themselves and the Color Kids had split up to join their special colors. Tickled Pink and Moonglo stood together amongst the pink sprites. At first, a lone shout, but then a roar. Hands pointed toward the sky, where a rainbow could be seen swooping from the clouds. It came ever closer and landed just before the platform. Down the rainbow rode Rainbow Brite on Starlite, tossing star sprinkles in the air as though they were flowers. Starlite played the role of a very gallant steed for all it was worth, not having to try very hard to do so.
A loud cheer went up from the sprites as Rainbow leapt from Starlite’s back and climbed up the stairs to the platform. She took a handful of star sprinkles from Twink, who met her from the other side of the platform. Facing the crowd, she tossed them into the air, which activated her Color Belt. Two rainbows shot forth, each one veering to the left or right. Spreading out over the crowd, tiny star sprinkles fell from each rainbow, adding a splash of color and dazzle for the finishing touches of the opening of the ceremony.
“Good afternoon everyone!” called Rainbow loudly so that she’d be heard by the crowd. A hush spread over the crowd as they listened to her words. “Thank you all for coming. It’s been a beautiful spring this year, and I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. From mining color crystals to spreading color on Earth, everyone played their part.” She paused as everyone cheered and clapped, waiting until it had died down before continuing. “As you know, each spring a ceremony is held to name the baby sprites that were born the past spring. This year, two baby sprites will be given their new names. Would their families please bring them up here?”
More cheering was heard as two sprite families made their way through the crowd and toward the platform. One was a family of green sprites, and the other was a family of a red father sprite, a blue mother sprite, and a red baby sprite. Each mother proudly carried her baby as the father grinned from antenna to antenna. The green sprite family was first, and stood in front of Rainbow. Again, the crowd grew silent, waiting for what would come next.
Rainbow picked the green baby sprite up, kissing its forehead as the baby giggled. “Aren’t you cute?” she cooed. She placed the baby sprite on the platform, and it stood before her, watching her wide eyed as it sucked its thumb. Rainbow Brite studied the sprite, which she noticed was a boy sprite from its tiny yellow star antennae. “I give you the name of Leef,” she called triumphantly. Twink handed her a green star sprinkle and she pressed it to her Color Belt. A rainbow shot out, lifting the newly named Leef up for everyone to see. The baby sprite clapped his hands at the delightful fun. The rainbow deposited him back into his parents’ arms and they exited the stage amongst cheering and happy sprite chatter.
The mixed sprite family walked across the stage next, their baby hiding shyly against its mother’s soft fur. Rainbow noticed that this sprite was a girl who would aid Tickled Pink with her many tasks. She carefully took the baby from its mother and cradled it gently in her arms. At first, the baby began to whimper, but Rainbow hummed a wordless tune that soon calmed her. “You’re a shy sprite, aren’t you?” she whispered to the baby, kissing its forehead gently. She thought for a moment, thinking of a name that would at once promote the sprite’s personality and also hint to its strong nature. “Zephyr,” she called out. “I give you the name of Zephyr!”
At first, the crowd didn’t know what to think. They’d never heard of such a name before, but it was a brief thought before much cheering took place. Twink handed Rainbow a red star sprinkle, and again she pressed it to her Color Belt, shooting forth a rainbow that took Zephyr from her arms and cradled her while showing her to the crowd. Zephyr peeked over the edges of the rainbow nervously, but was soon given right back to her proud, beaming parents.
Rainbow waited until the family had left the platform and until the cheering had quieted down. “It was my pleasure to take part in the naming of two of our sprites. Each new baby sprite has a role to play in the future, and we all make sure to take care of everyone we see. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon!”
With that final call, the naming part of the ceremony was complete, and now the festivities of the rest of the day could commence! Sprites moved toward the tents and food, as did the Color Kids. “Well done, Rainbow,” called Starlite. “Excellent as always.”
“Rainbow? What’s a zephyr?” asked a confused Twink.
“It’s a nice, gentle breeze, Twink. The kind you feel on a nice Spring day. It was the perfect name for that baby sprite.”
“Oooh.”
Rainbow climbed aboard Starlite, and offered a hand to Twink, pulling him up behind her. They rode off, away from the crowd and toward a group of trees where Stormy and Skydancer stood, watching. Stormy waved to Rainbow as she approached. “Any trouble from Murky?” asked Rainbow.
“Nope! It would have been more fun if he would have tried something. It’s so boring to watch.”
Rainbow stifled a giggle. Of course Stormy would have rather had Murky to chase after than a ceremony that went as planned. “Come join us for food, Stormy,” she replied. “Nothing like a good feast.”
“I’ll be over in a bit,” answered Stormy nonchalantly. She looked off to the horizon as though watching for Murky still.
“If you wait too long,” called Rainbow as Starlite headed back to the gathering, “All of those cookies of Moonglo’s that you like will be gone!”
Stormy didn’t look at Rainbow, for fear of giving away the look on her face. She waited a few minutes before turning Skydancer toward the gathering. “Let’s go check things out,” she said as she patted his mane gently.
The afternoon passed lazily, with plenty of good food, chatter, and dancing. One of the sprites had gathered a group together and they’d gone back home to get their instruments. Buddy Blue was asked to be the conductor, and a lively tune had been struck up as soon as the band had tuned up their instruments. The two proud families showed off their babies, and some sprites predicted the future for each baby sprite.
As the sun’s final rays set below the horizon, Moonglo slipped away from the crowd where moments ago she’d been talking with Tickled Pink and Patty O’Green. The two girls said nothing and continued their conversation as though Moonglo had never been there in the first place. Within minutes, a long star shot across the dark night sky, the signal of the start of the sky show that was about to take place. Eyes again turned skyward for the second time that day, watching for the stars that would follow. Again, it was silent, with only the whistling of a gentle breeze and the call of springtime peepers being heard.
Suddenly, a multitude of stars began shooting across the sky. Some flew lazily, while others were quite quick. The crowd pointed and chattered amongst themselves. Soon, colored stars began to fly past, a special trick Moonglo had perfected with a few star sprinkles. These stars twinkled brightly as they flew, many of them green and red to represent the newly named baby sprites. The showed lasted for what seemed like an hour, but was really only twenty minutes. At the very end, one large star appeared in the sky and from it burst a shower of smaller stars, which scattered to their places in the sky as the moon began to glow brightly in the center. Its appearance was the silent ending to day’s festivities.
Just as they had come, sprites began dispersing to their homes for the night. The next day, everything would be taken down and packed away. The Color Kids hitched the cart to Skydancer again, but this time, they were able to ride in it. They climbed aboard for the lazy ride, enough room for each of them. Moonglo took her place behind Stormy, as adding her to the cart would have created a very tight squeeze. Rainbow rode Starlite alongside Stormy, and they all headed back toward the Color Castle where they’d part ways. They all rode in silence, with soft nickering from Skydancer or Starlite every now and then. They all watched the sky and remembered the day’s events. In the cart, Lala Orange had fallen asleep against Red Butler’s shoulder, while Tickled Pink and Canary’s heads rested against each other’s; they too had fallen asleep. Patty O’Green’s eyes were closed, but she was merely listening to the sounds around her. Buddy Blue and Shy Violet were yawning, and Indigo was wondering how she could write all of this into the next big play she’d perform. Stormy concentrated on the road in front of her, while Moonglo eyed the sky and wondered what she could do to make it look better. Rainbow smiled to herself, glad that the day had been such a success, and a very memorable one at that. There was certainly nothing like Spring in Rainbow Land.