Nothing But Memories - Junicorn 2022
A bunch of short little stories from Sonnet's foalhood. Somewhat in chronological order, and only loosely connected with each other (minus them all taking place in Candentia, when matters were simpler and times were happier)
10 - Butterfly
The moment they stepped foot into the newly completed garden, Minuet paused, stopping in her hoofsteps. Beside her, Sonnet also paused, glancing over to watch his sister.
Minuet's head turned, as she slowly took in the entirety of the garden. Sonnet took a few more steps towards the center of the garden, before turning to take in the entire garden around him.
Crystalline statues were placed between a myriad of different plants, some flowering and some not. If he had to take a guess, he'd say the garden was arranged in a manner that seemed to tell a story. The crystalline statues seemed to represent characters of different story, with some placed high above perfectly grown grasses, while others were hidden amongst blue flowers from the furthest reaches of the Icy Region. Smaller statues were also positioned around the larger main pieces of the garden, adding on to the visual story.
Martine stepped in behind them, with Sonnet's Grandmother Radiance following close behind them. Despite Martine walking in front of Sonnet's grandmother, Regent Radiance still seemed to be fully in charge, with it somehow seeming natural for her second-in-command to be in front of her.
"Sonnet, Minuet," Martine began. "As you know, this garden is to be unveiled to the Quirlicorns of Candentia in a few days. The unveiling will incorporate a ceremony, which you two will participate in."
Martine swept a tail around the gardens, "Familiarize yourselves with the garden, first. Then afterwards, I'll give you a rundown of how the ceremony will proceed."
Sonnet and Minuet both nodded, before stepping away from Martine to explore the rest of the gardens.
He first looked towards a section of the garden that had flowers blooming in bright reds and oranges, with some yellow petals interspersed in between the reds and oranges. A large statue, of a Quirlicorn stood in the middle, with shimmering flowers growing from where the mane and tail would have been, reminding Sonnet of a mane and tail of fire. Sonnet stepped closer, eyes scanning over the description provided.
'Anevay of the Deserts' it read. Sonnet thought back to the paragraphs he had read about the Greater Deity of the Deserts, realizing why Parav had him and Minuet read that book. A quick scan around the rest of the gardens confirmed his suspicions, that the garden had been split into seven sections, each one appearing to be dedicated to a different region of the Quirlicorn lands.
He pulled his attention from the fiery flowers that made up the Desert Region section, and made his way to the rest of the gardens.
Wandering through the ornamental plants, Sonnet's attention was grabbed by another statue of a similar size and detail to the one of Anevay. This time, he realized whose resemblance the statue had captured, even without needing to read the label and description etched in a shimmering blue stone. The statue had a pair of butterfly wings, made from green crystal, and accented with brown gems. And the flora around this statue brought to mind the descriptions of the Windy Region, and the way Caerulus' magic always felt to Sonnet.
As Sonnet stood, mesmerized by the statue, a small butterfly fluttered its way over, circling in the air for a few brief moments, before landing on the statue of Frysil.
He didn't know what about the scene was different, but for some reason, it had drawn his attention, in a way that even the Desert section had not.