Rosemary's Malady

Day 2

Hello, again, my newest friend!

I know I didn’t write about much yesterday. I just wanted to introduce myself to you. Anyway, today wasn’t all that special, but it was different from the usual boring life I have, so far, endured…

I sighed as I looked up into the cloudy sky. It was mid-afternoon, but it seemed so much later. The thick layer of snow on the ground made it difficult to till the soil. Resting my forelegs, I propped them on the garden hoe I was using. My father stood on the opposite side of the field, wielding the heavier tools. Our fields were white, not green like they were supposed to be. I frowned as I watched him kick the powdery substance that blanketed the dirt. Poor Father. It must have been so hard for him to go from top farmer, to obsolete laborer. Every night I would shed a tear for him. I wasn’t sure how he managed to get me a journal for my day of birth, but it was touching.

“I’m starting to think we should give up, Father! You are aging earlier than you should be from the stress!” I called to him.

“No, my dear Rosemary. If I stop, now, I’ll surely age quicker! You may go inside with your mother and siblings. I’ll… stand here and think, I guess.” He mumbled.

I chuckled at his stubbornness. It didn’t matter what obstacles came his way, he found no reason to give up. Carrying my garden hoe in my teeth, I trudged through the snow back into our small house. We lived farther away from the others in our tribe. Other houses were barely visible in clear weather, much less the constant snow that fell. With a hopeful smile, I placed the tool with the other equipment inside the shed that was built into our home.

“Oh, how I wish you were magical.” I whispered to the tools.

My smile disappeared. If they were, my father wouldn’t have such a difficult time. I locked the shed and made my way into the house. My mother sat beside our wood stove nursing my baby sister. When she saw me, she put on a smile. I know it was forced, but she always told us to stay hopeful when things were tough. I dipped my head to greet her. My brothers galloped behind me, hugging my hind leg and tail.

“Rosie! Did you find us some food?” Grape Seed blurted.

“Yeah, we are awfully hungry!” Orange Seed added.

I almost cried, but I swallowed my pain, and hugged them both. “I’m sorry, little ones. I didn’t find-“

“Potatoes!” My father burst through the door, the sudden gust of wind blowing more snow into the house. “I’ve managed to find four potatoes!”

“Oh, how wonderful!” Mother exclaimed.

Grape and Orange cheered, running to Father in excitement. This was a feast, compared to the usual few beans that we dig up. Immediately, my mother handed my sister to me and went to work with two of the potatoes. She knew to save the other two for the following day. My father, tenderly, kissed her cheek while she sliced the vegetables. I was lucky, despite the harsh environment around us. My parents loved each other and never fought. I liked to think they gave each other hope. I decided to sit in front of the wood stove with Peach so she would be warm.

“Peachy, can you say Rosie?” I asked her.

The blonde filly giggled, producing bubbles and slobbering onto my forehooves. I kissed her forehead. She was prematurely born, so Mother said she wouldn’t learn like a normal foal. She would talk and walk later. I laid on my back, holding the filly in the air and playing with her.

“Want to fly, Peachy?” I cooed.

She let out a happy squeal and flailed her hooves.

“Okay, here we go!” I held her sides, moving her through the air as if to mimic flying. She squealed and laughed even more, earning a smile from Father, who watched us with pride. He trotted over, taking Peach and saving me from the stream of saliva that ran down her tiny chin.

“Rosemary, I want you to know just how proud I am of you.” He set Peach on his back and sat next to me.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just helping with Peach.” I waved it off.

“That’s not what I meant.” He pulled me over and hugged me. His grey stubble was prickly against my forehead. “You’re in your young adult years. You should be worried about the stallions, or trying to disobey your parents. Instead, you go out of your way to help us with chores and take care of your sister and brothers. I wish… I could give you all a better life.” I watched a tear fall from his hardened face.

I wrapped my hooves around him and smiled. “It’s okay, Father. I’m happy to assist you and Mother. As long as I have you both, it’s all I need.”

He sniffed and returned the smile. “Truly, you are a gift to us. When you were born, I knew you would bring great joy to our lives. I just realized how much joy you give.”

“It’s ready!” Mother called.

Father stood and kissed my forehead. “We’d better not keep your mother waiting. Everyone is hungry, after all.”

I nodded and followed him the few steps into the kitchen. Mother sat Orange and Grape at the table. Sitting down, I noticed the cubed potatoes on my metal plate. When my family had settled down, we began our precious meal. The salty cubes were wonderful! It had been a while since I had eaten anything so delectable!

“Yummy!” The twins simultaneously exclaimed.

“Thank you, dears.” Mother chuckled.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be going to Chancellor Puddinghead. She’s called for a meeting with the council and I must attend.” Father announced.
Mother and I looked to each other as we cleaned the table. Chancellor Puddinghead was the leader of the earth pony tribe, but a few of us knew she was a little… mental.

“Why has she sent for the council? She couldn’t possibly know what to do about the farmland.” Mother asked him.

He sighed. “That is why I’m requested to be there, Tulip. They need me to direct the meeting and arrange plans.”

“But, Father, how long will you be gone?” I spoke up.

“I should be back before dusk.” He yawned. “I must leave at dawn, however, so I need to get into bed pretty early.”

Father disappeared behind the door to their bedroom. Peach slept in the room with them for the time being. When she aged further, she would share a room with me. The twins had their own room. Well, the attic was turned into their bedroom. They complained about sharing a room with me because I wasn’t ‘tough enough’ to hang out with colts. I didn’t mind. I enjoyed my private time with my sketchbook.

I continued drying the few dishes as Mother rinsed. We conversed for a short time before the colts galloped through the door, carrying a pail. They stopped behind us, holding the pail behind their backs and holding in excited giggles.

“Mommy, we found a new pet!” Orange told her.

“Can we keep it?” Grape asked.

Mother tilted her head in curiosity. “What is it?”

The twins looked at each other, then shoved the pail to her. When she saw what was inside, she backed away, bumping into me. “Eek! Get that thing out of here!”

Her yelling must have frightened whatever was in the pail, because the colts struggled to hold it still. They fell back as the pail hit the floor and a large rat scrambled across the floor. I hurriedly climbed onto a chair, shrieking.

“Oak Tree! Get out here and kill this vermin!” Mother yelled as she danced around the kitchen, the rodent chasing after her. The large, black rat squeaked and chased her all over the room. The colts desperately tried to catch it, only to fail multiple times. Finally, she was backed into a corner. Turning her head, she kicked her hoof out in an attempt to shoo it away. Her hoof impacted the creature, earning a bite from it. She hissed in pain, still kicking at it. Mother grabbed a straw broom and hit the rat, sending it flying into a wall. It fell to the floor, unmoving.

Father stumbled in, darting his eyes back and forth. “What happened, here?”

“Your sons brought a rat inside!” Mother glared at the twins, still panting.

Grape and Orange gulped and ran to their room, slamming the door.

My father shook his head and swept the dead rat out the back door. “It’s dead, now, darling.” He held Mother’s hoof in his, inspecting the small bite. “Rinse the wound, dear. It should heal in a day or so.”

Mother smiled and kissed him. “I don’t know what we are going to do with your children, Oak.”

I carefully climbed down from the chair and trotted to the bin, wetting a piece of cloth to wash her wound. “Come over here, Mother, and I’ll help you.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Rose.” Making her way over to me, she propped her hoof on the edge of the sink. I examined it. The tiny, red tooth marks were pretty deep in her orange hide. Gently, I wiped the blood away.

“I despise rodents.” She shuddered.

I chuckled. “You can’t be mad at them. They are colts!”

She sighed. “I know. Your father was a colt once. It’s why he doesn’t like to discipline them.” A moment later, she laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I grinned.

“Oh, just reminiscing. When you were Peach’s age, you had just learned to walk. I remember one day in particular when I brought you outside to watch your father tilling. I turned my back for a second to hand him a shovel and when I saw you weren’t with me, anymore, I panicked. It took your father and me an hour to find you! Do you know where you were?” She nudged me.

I tapped my chin. “Where?”

“You were chasing a butterfly and ended up in the tool shed under a bucket!” She laughed. “The only reason we found you was because we heard you crying.

I stifled a laugh. “Sorry to worry you, then.”

She patted my foreleg. “It’s alright, love. It’s getting close to night. I think I should get Peach to sleep.” She picked up my sister and nuzzled her. Peach rubbed her eyes and yawned.

“Good night, Peachy!” I waved at her as Mother carried her into the bedroom.

I was alone. Glancing around the room, I saw that, in all the ruckus, a few things had fell from the counter. I picked up the plate, broom, and clay jar, arranging them back in their places. When I was finished, I blew out the candles and tiptoed to my room. My desk faced the window. I settled on the cushion and stared out into the night. The bright snow contradicted the darkened sky. Sighing, I got to work on the sketch I promised to draw for Mother.

It wasn’t hard to think of it. She was a beautiful mare. Her long, peach-colored mane accented her features well. Her smile made it worthwhile. With each stroke of my charcoal, the picture came to life. Lines and curves shaped the sketch. As I finished the details, I smiled down at the bouquet of tulips I had drawn. She loved tulips, not only for her name, but they were her grandmother’s favorite flower. She told me stories about her about how she was in love with a unicorn.

In one tale, my great grandmother had ran away to be with him. It turned out to be a terrible fate, as she was sentenced to death after the birth of my grandfather. She disappeared, however, before she could be executed. Mother tells me she secretly left her foal in her sister’s care. That story always made me question my heritage…

Was her foal half unicorn? If it were true, I would be part unicorn! One day, I will find out. When I’m on my own, I’ll venture the nation, searching for answers. I’ll bring you with me, diary. We can explore together! It’ll be fascinating! Maybe we can meet some interesting characters. I may even find a handsome stallion! For now, though, I can only dream. I’ll give this drawing to Mother in the morning and ask her more questions about our history. It’s like our own little family mystery! I’m terribly excited!

I’ll see you tomorrow night and tell you everything!

Rosemary