A Colt Named Asperby GeneralSnaveWehttamChaptersChapter One, A ColtChapter Two, HomewardChapter Three, HomeChapter One, A ColtChapter One A colt Through the little village of Ferndorf ran a number of young schoolponies as they were released from class for the day. The little town hall's bell had just begun it’s paean for the noon hour as the colts and fillies bounded down the steps of the schoolhouse and rushed passed Old Miss Wadenbaker and left the poor widow-mare in a tumble. The little ones ran their way to the little general store in town, hoping to be the first in line for their allowances worth of candy for the week. With their end goal being sugar, sweets, and other such things, these foals paid no notice to the farmers as they ambled into town for their lunch. from the south side of the village. Across the main-street from the gaggle of schoolponies were the town mares, the ones who were the seamstresses, hairdressers, and home-centric gardeners in the town. They would be off to one house or another for their luncheon and tea, along with a game of cards and a good gossip. These mares were the ones who knew what was going on, where what happened, and who was involved with whatever it was that had them excited. All the little fillies and colts knew to behave around these mares, because each of them would be quick to inform their parents. There was a loud bang down the street which got every adult to give a look, just as the kids entered Gants’ General Store. They children had no attention to spare for this anomalous noise, too focused they were on that glittering case before them. Filled with crystal apothecary jars and sugar-coated licorice and hard candies galore. Outside of their sweet and colorful world, others were watching events down the street. It was just after noon, of course, which meant that the local tavern was just opening. Many of the farmers liked to get a small glass of whiskey or hard cider before, or after, lunch. It helped take some of the stress off of their daily routine and stoked their humors a bit while wetting their whistles. However, in every town there are those who show that too much of a good thing, isn’t so good. And so it goes that, as it did almost every day, the ‘town drunk’, Lee Shoemaker, was being kicked out of the pub. As was often the course of things, she had shown up a bit too tipsy to order a round. This led to the bartender Long Draught to ask the mare to leave. And, as had happened every time he had done so, she put up a bit of a fight. When Ms. Shoemaker had a bit too much, she became a very stubborn mare. Escalating from a brief verbal altercation, their quarrel soon led to a mare sprawled out in the street and a door slamming behind her. She lay there a moment, her mind taking a few seconds to realize what had occurred, and then picked herself up. Looking around and catching prying eyes, Lee ducked her head and scurried into the little alley by the tavern, headed for her home and whatever comforts she had there. The rest of the townsfolk seemed to give a collective shake of their heads, routine as usual. The farmer folk headed for the cafe, a few of the harder ones heading right for the tavern for a round and a chat with Long. The gossip crowd huffed on their way to their luncheon and leaned in close to say their collective two cents on Lee. While these ponies headed off in their ways, Greene Fields the school teacher had just gotten Miss. Wadenbaker on her hooves again. It was around then that the energetic herd of fillies and colts launched from the General Store, now with candy anywhere they had pockets to put it. The first and fastest were the kids who had either a few more bits in their weekly allowances than the rest, or who had saved up for a few weeks to get a bigger haul. They split off between heading home, or heading to another’s home for a play date. Next came the kids who just had a decent amount to spend, but nothing spectacular. They had a half dozen pieces or so each, and headed right home to do their chores and maintain what they could already get. Lastly came the few who didn’t have much at all, and split what they did have between them. Among this group were the children of the hired stallions and mares, and a couple of orphans from the local church. The five of them got along well, between them they could afford six pieces of candy this week, and they gave the extra piece to the little pony who didn’t get one last week. A colt named Asper. Asper and his friends were quite happy with what little they had. While they didn’t have much in terms of candy, or nice, warm, clothes for Hearth’s Warming, they were rich with the fun they had, and the time they spent together. Asper, Clyde Stark, Golden Chamomile, Lee Tailor, and Radiant Candor left the General Store nearly as happy as the other kids, but with a lot less haste. These little ponies had an afternoon much their own to enjoy. Heading East toward the quarry, tucking through an alley between the tavern and a small post office. These foals had their own fun, they liked to explore and see what some of the adults were up to around their little town. They also knew the quarry had a good view of the Lake and a certain little path that led down to it. On their way by they would pick up a few stones of the skipping variety, and see just how far they could throw them across the Deepwater Lake. Maybe once they got there they could see the monster that supposedly dwelled in the depthless waters of that crystal clear lake. They wandered their way toward the edge of town, then the quarry, and finally along the steep path down to the lake, hardly noticing the beauty of the land around them. Ferndorf was nestled in a small valley between the mountains in the southern range of the Unexplored Wests of Equestria. The lowest point of the valley was the lake itself, all of the meltwater from the surrounding peaks flowed down to it throughout the year. The only time rainwater fed this fresh glacier pond was during the turbulent month of May. That is when winds blew in just the right direction to push large storms from the North Luna Ocean through the only mountain gap in their valley large enough for weather to get through. These storms lasted throughout the month, and often flooded the entire valley floor. this made passage to the rest of the world even more impossible than when the Eastern Pass, the only land route with a low enough slope to pull wagons through, would be filled with snow up to twenty ponies high. A small troop of ponies could trek through that Icy Terror, but the floods had features that made them impossible to navigate. Firstly were the brilliant and green forests. These trees were resilient enough to survive the cold of winter, and then just make it through the floods of May, and their tops were at times just over the muckish water that filled the valley. Combine this with the reason the valley wasn’t just a huge lake, and you had a trap that would sink any vessel attempting to navigate it. The floods, just like the lake, drained into a large cavern system on the North side of the Deepwater. Nopony knew where this collection of labyrinthine tunnels and passageways went, or what exactly had caused them. A large portion of the system defied traditional geology and seemed to have been carved from the mountains’ base. Though there had been no record of any previous civilization discovered in this part of Equus, and the Diamond Dogs were native to another area, further north and more centrally located in Equestria. But this cave system did not just steadily drain the flooding waters. It was much more, interesting. Some years were worse than others, but the majority featured the valley filling up nearly to the top of the ridge on which the village had been structured. Just before reaching the point of spilling into the ponies’ homes, there would be a slight rumble, and the water would start to recede. The waters would start to swirl with their decent, sucking anything caught in their terrible pull down into the caverns, never to be seen again. Of course, this was terrifying for any pony who got caught outside the city if the flooding started early. Should they have survived the start of the flooding, somehow, and perhaps found some debris to hold out on, they would be sucked into this maw of the Earth which seemed to have no greater joy than devouring what the waters brought it. Of course, in the vortex formed closest to the cave, the pony would drown in the turbulent waters before they had the luxury of being crushed by the rocks, or being swallowed into the ground and stuck somewhere, dark, with water lapping around them. After the floods receded, it was time to start for the next year. Temporary farming shacks would be thrown up around the now very wet land where the generation prior had cleared the forest to make way for tilled earth. Then the folk who could handle the plows the best, generally Earth Ponies, would work as fast as they could to plant seeds before their narrow window for a crop would close. While the farmers did their bid, the other industries started back up again as well. The mills on the southern edge of the valley would typically survive the floods, being situated higher up than any set of structures other than the village itself. These workers would process logs brought in by lumberjacks and, another mill would be quickly put to use grinding any grain left over from the long winter to make flour for trade with the merchants who would soon arrive. The townsfolk had a few goods to give these profiteers of wares, notably metals from their small mine, some harder stone from their quarry, lumber from the mills, and the frontier pony’s fashion, of course. These merchants would sell medicines, spices, cloth, and whatever else the ponies would need. The town, mostly Earth ponies, with a few Pegasi here and there, would often be awed by traveling magic acts as they worked their way to the West-most fringes of Equestrian Civilization to gather bits. All of the littlest ponies looked forward to these shows, which featured fireworks and tall tales, feats of magical strength and cunning, even strange new inventions which seemed to be more arcane than the magic used to run them. Of course though, this was out of sight and out of mind at the moment. For these little ponies, the spired, heaven-scraping mountains, tipped with snow and dotted with falls from the Summer melt; the luscious trees, green and laden with leaves and taller than any building the town had to offer, even the pristine rivers, with their rock bottoms and silty shores, didn’t mean much to the foals. They were off to skip rocks and frolic while the day was still young. And so they would, they reached the shore of the lake, Clyde, being more than a capable swimmer, lead the way into a shallow near the beach, where even little Radiant could play with the rest of the group. Lee, being the most devious and prankish of the group, was busy trying to splash anypony who looked unguarded, and on the side kept daring Asper to swim out a further, betting he couldn’t go more than twenty feet beyond their normal shallow. Golden, being slightly fearful of the water, despite her brother’s proficiency with the aquatic arts, protested this idea whenever Lee brought it around. Even more so when Lee tried to convince Clyde to go for it. While none doubted his ability, Clyde wouldn’t help distress his sister. Asper was mostly busy teaching Radiant a bit more, helping her swim in a slightly deeper spot than she was used to, and carefully keeping her within a quick step and a helping hoof’s distance. Golden had taken to lecturing Lee until he splashed her mid-breath and soaked her. Lee, giggling like a loose hyena, was suddenly dunked by the large Clyde, who had just previously been swimming around quite tranquilly. After Lee broke the surface again, and coughed up a bit of lake, he turned toward Clyde, who towered over the small Lee, and between coughs gave him a light punch in the chest. Clyde just grinned slightly lopsidedly, and the whole troop shared a laugh. Of course, their day would end before their fun was done, but they had to get home to their families. So the children headed back to town, prancing along the warm stone path in the dimming twilight. Provided they made it home before dark, no one would mind their day of some fun. As these foals headed back to town, the adults were doing much the same. Farmers returning from a hard day’s work, the seamstress’ closing their shops for the night, the barber cleaning his blades for putting away, and the home-working ponies finishing up dinner for their loved ones. The little tavern was getting ready for the late crowd, this included bachelor and bachelorettes, some of the travelers whose business’ were done for the day, perhaps looking for a room, and even a slightly strange late comer to town. Granted, the tavern did attract a stranger crowd after dark. And so each and all went into the night, heading back to where they belonged, whether they belonged there by wish, or by familial lot, or by good or bad luck. The town bell was tolling approaching darkness, and the bell ringer shivered a little, despite the warmth of the night. All the while a colt and his friends headed home. Chapter Two, HomewardChapter Two Homeward Asper, Clyde, Lee, Golden, and Radiant had reached the edge of town just as the bell stopped its last reverberating ring. The town bell did a wonderful job of reaching across most of the valley, and letting the ponies know the time. It was loud enough and at a perfect deepness of sound that rattled your ribs in a pleasant, yet urgent way. letting you know it was time to be somewhere, for someone, at least. To Asper and company, it was very close to time to be home. As they moved between the first two houses on the East end of town, Clyde spoke first. “It was fun, guys,” he said, a slight lisp of sorts to his speech, making guys more of a guizz. “But Golden and I had better head home quick. Ma’ won’t like it if we are late for grub ‘gain,” Clyde said, then smiled his crooked smile, head tilted a bit to the left. “Clyde’s right, Asper, Lee, Radiant,” Golden spoke each name looking toward the one she referred to. Asper got his smile, Lee a brief scowl for his antics, before she let up and gave him a dismissive chuckle, and Radiant got a grin and a small hug. “We have to get goin’ from here if we want to get there on time,” “Yeah, we get ya’,” Asper replied, smiling at the pair as they turned North, and took their first few steps, though still looking back at the group. “Have a safe walk you two!” “Don’ get in twoble!” Radiant tried her best to pronounce the ‘r’, but her little filly self couldn’t quite manage it yet, so she just looked up at the receding pair with a big grin and a couple missing baby teeth. “Yeah! Take care! Next time I’ll get you a bit too Clyde, you lunk!” Lee called out to the two. He meant nothing against Clyde, and the all of them knew that, just a bit of friendly jabbing. “Awe Lee, you’f got ta have a good time without cauz’in trouble once in yer life! Take care now!” Clyde hollered back at the little colt, his deeper voice telling of his admittedly advanced age compared to his friends. He really should have been out of school a few years ago. Even though his friends didn’t care about any of that, they knew as well as he why he hadn’t gone into older life. Clyde was a bit slow in speech, a bit slow in thought, and a bit slow in his growing up. Not physically, but definitely mentally. No one minded that though, so they went on. Lee and Asper took to a conversation about school that day, while Radiant chased a couple fireflies and lightning bugs in some of the tall grass stubbornly growing at the base of the tavern wall as they passed through its alley. She could disappear completely into the clumps of greenery, and seemingly from their world, only to pop out a few lengths further along the wall, a bug on her nose lighting up her face with its otherworldly glow. “So I know you are working on way harder stuff than me, Asper, but how did you do when you learned fractions?” Lee quizzed, having struggled with the lesson earlier. Being taught not by the teacher, Mr. Fields, or even by Asper, but rather by Mable Ricket, daughter of the towns lead, and only, proper carpenter. While she understood the lesson just perfectly, she was not the most patient of teachers, expecting, if not demanding, that whoever she was paired with pick up whatever lesson it was right away. She would get increasingly frustrated, eventually just giving up entirely and giving whoever it was a silent treatment. As though they were choosing not to learn what she was supposed to teach them. “Ah, I get ya’ Lee. Yeah, I understand fractions well enough. Smaller ones at least, they are the easiest without paper. Much larger than tenths and I have to write them down.” Asper sagely replied, “So what’s got you down and all?” “Well, I don’t quite get it. one over another, or three twos or something… I might not have payed the best attention either.” Lee reluctantly released, not really one to reveal many faults. “Could you try to explain them a bit before we get to my lane?” “Well, I can try. So,” Asper started, pausing just a moment to check for Radiant. They had passed the tavern and were almost off main street now, and she wasn’t hopping ahead like usual, pausing, and looking around, he felt a bump on his hindquarters. “Ooofff!” came a little voice from his left rear leg. Her little face popping out a moment later with a scrunchy nose and stuck out tongue. “So…” Lee prompted, his wings flutter a little with urgency. He had to head off at the end of the block, just past the Barber and half the general store. “So, you have, say, four apples, right?” Asper prompts, moving forward again with Radiant headbutting his leg lightly, being a little filly of rage at having had her firefly scared off by the impact with Asper. Lee, simply nodded. He has four apples back at his house actually, his mom had just gotten them the previous day. “So you have four apples, and there is one of you. How many apples do you get?” Asper starts off easy. He always found it best to build up from the simplest version he could think of. “Well, I have four.” Lee replies, not seeing it yet, but waiting. Asper had helped him understand several things before. “Well now, you still have four apples, but I am there, and you are going to give me an equal share.” “Well, that’s… two. That’s two apples each.” Asper stopped, having reached the corner. “So we each get two. Well, now you, me, Golden, and Radiant are there. We each want the same amount.” “Sounds like you get all of my apples… one each.” Lee says. This was making sense, but these weren’t fractions. “So, there’s fractions. First was four over one, you get four apples. Four over two, we get two apples. Then four over four, we each get one.” “...Oh…” Lee was putting two and two together, or maybe he was taking them apart. But the brief lesson did help. “I get it better now, I should be able to follow along in class tomorrow!” “I hope so, they all go something like that, you just gotta adjust the numbers a bit. But you better go! Your ma’ will tan your hide if you show up any later!” Asper reminded him. “OH! Right! See you Asper! And You Radiant! Have a good night guys!” Lee took off at a gallop, he had a few houses to go before his came up, and if his mom caught him late he wouldn’t sit for a week. “Bye Lee!” Radiant called, sing-songing her way around Asper to lead the way. “I am the lea-dew! I will take us to ower house!” Asper was a good sport, and joined in on the tuneless song. And together they hopped and scotched their way to the church across the square from them. “You are the lead-er! Take us to our home!” Asper broke out in a full grin, hopping around like a filly half his age and losing what cares he did have. Before them was a squat, stone building with a wood door in the middle of the front, two small round windows on either side of the door, and a peaked roof with what looked like a moon-eclipsed sun hanging from the main beam. Inside they would find Glad Lily waiting for them to open the door and ready to rib Asper a bit for being late, even if it was by just a few minutes. Radiant would be sent right along to supper, but Asper would have to sweep the entry first, like he did every day he was late. He didn’t mind that. Not when he had Golden, Clyde, Lee, and little Radiant to keep him company. He lived in a peaceful little town, removed from the dangers of the outside world, and the bustle of the bigger cities. He only knew about one of those firsthoof, but through secondary sources had heard plenty about both. As Radiant and Glad laughed their way off toward the little kitchen in the room they all used as a home, Asper picked up the rough twig broom, and gave a first sweep of the dirty floor. Thinking more about how far he had come as he swept the entry. When he opened the door to sweep out the dirt, as he had done many nights before, he had also opened the door to where he had been, letting back in memories that, for a long time, he had tried to forget and live without. Chapter Three, HomeChapter Three Home Asper couldn’t see much other than brief flashes of light, and a muffled voice. Maybe there were two voices, but they were too quiet, and it sounded like they were talking underwater. Other sounds occasionally popped through the thickness around him, a brief scream always did, right before it hit him. He had a brief falling sensation and then was enveloped, cold, and couldn’t breathe. Just as everything was losing complete focus, and he was sure the world was collapsing around him… Asper woke with a start, the feeling of water hitting his body again as a drop landed on his nose. The colt, sitting in his bed inside Ferndorf’s church across the room he could see Glad Lilly, his and Radiant’s adoptive father, slowly sitting up in his bed. The low wood frame worn smooth from years of use, worn mattress creaking and sagging as the stallion moved. Next to the stallion’s bed was an oak nightstand, top stained with watermarks and chips missing from its surface. Atop the stand was a pair of spectacles, left arm bent a bit outward, both lenses thick and heavy, with the right chipped as if some foal had thrown a stone at the unfortunate wearer. There was a drawer in the stand, which held a scant few belongings of Glad Lily, and beneath that drawer was a shelf holding a pitcher of water, and a few cups. These stoneware were as worn as the stand, chips along the rims of the glasses, and one with a crack partially down its side. The pitcher’s lid was missing, as it had been since Asper was young, as was part of its spout, having been broken last winter. As Glad sat up, swinging his hind legs over the edge of his bed, tossing the covers back against the cobble wall behind him, his eyes became near slits, squinting toward a pitter-patter on the window pane at the foot of his bed. Of course, with his aged eyes even squinting was to no avail. He proceeded to reach his foreleg out toward the nightstand, attempting to retrieve his spectacles. While Glad fumbled for his glasses, Asper experienced a few more drops from above. He took a moment to push back his own covers and sit up as well, and still a bit shaken from his dream, he rested his head on his forelegs for a moment, watching Glad and looking toward the fogged window. “Strange, we rarely get any rain outside of May. Hardly ever in the early Autumn like this…” Glad said, not really to Asper, but more to himself. Thinking aloud about what was most pressing on his mind as he was prone to do. “Mr. Lily,” Asper started, getting out of bed as he did, “What’s going on out there?” Another drop fell from the ceiling as he leaned back to stretch, landing on his muzzle and running down his cheek and dripping down to the floor beneath his hooves. “Well, young Asper, we seem just to be having an out of season storm. It doesn’t seem heavy, or threatening, but it is very strange. You know that we usually get rain early in the year, rarely in the Summer months, and nearly never this time of year.” Lily snorted a little, arching his back and stretching his shoulders. “So why are you up? You usually sleep through even the worst of the storms Mr. Lily,” “I could hear you talking in your sleep again son. It didn’t sound like a very pleasant dream either.” Lily had turned from the window to face Asper, only a little taller than the colt, his light gray coat was powdery looking in the scant candle light. “I was just having… it was just a dream. Nothing that bad.” Asper lied, averting his eyes a bit and waving the question off with a gesture of his foreleg as he set himself down onto all of his legs. Glad raised an eyebrow, seeing cleanly through Asper’s fib, but didn’t push the point.. “Hey, Asper, do you want to do the morning chores with me? I could use a helping hoof while checking the grounds.” “Yeah, I would love to.” Asper replied. Doing some chores around the church would help calm him down, and refocus his mind from the night’s not so restful sleep. “Alright, let’s go then. We have a lot to do before Radiant wakes up and wants breakfast.” Glad Lily said, leading the way to the door and into the main room of the little church. “While I light the candles, would you mind fetching the water for the public trough and sweeping the pews?” “Sure. Is the pail in the front closet?” Asper asked, already walking toward the main doors. “Yes, it is. And the broom is as well. Throw on your jacket before heading out, it isn’t raining hard but the morning is probably chilly. You don’t need to be catching a cold now,” Glad Lily told the colt as he opened the closet. Asper picked up the pail in his mouth and grabbed the broom with his front hooves, setting the rough twig broom across from the closet. He set down the pail as well and turned back around to grab his jacket from the hook on which it rested. Glad observed Asper putting on his jacket, and let out a satisfied snort. He then opened the small chest containing a small match box and a few new candles. Leaned into a little nook behind the chest was the long handled candle lighter, half an inch of wick extended beyond the end of the slim gold metal tube. Attempting to strike the match on the box, wood handle held in his teeth, Glad grumbled a bit to himself. Once he got the match going, he quickly leaned the candle lighter down to the small fire, before it could get too close to his lips and the short graying beard he sported. “This used to be so much easier,” Glad mumbled, having lit the lighter, he had spit the match into a small ceramic urn next to the chest, its flame going out as it fell through the air. He adjusted the wick a little using a slider on the lighter. Grasping the grip of the tool with his teeth, he set about lighting the forty-some candles set about the room. Just as Glad got around to his job, Asper had put his hood up and stepped into the mist with his pail. Outside the air was thick with moisture, and the misty fog was thick enough to obscure the low fence to either side of the church building. Straining, Asper could catch glimpses of the wooden ramshackle barrier through the wispy air, but anything farther than three or four yards was completely obscured. Turning and heading toward the right side of the building, Asper approached the gate, undoing the rusty latch and lifting the sagging thing over a hump in the dirt behind it. Once off the well beaten path of the street, the ground was a lot muddier and his hooves sank in a little with each step. As Asper walked toward the little pump the grounds had, the fur on his face had collected moisture and was sagging down and clinging together. Some of his mane came down and stuck to his face, he took a moment to flick it out of his eyes as he set his pail beneath the pump. Standing up on his back legs, Asper filled his pail, actuating the handle of the little pump with his forelegs. As the water gushed from the spout of the black iron contraption, Asper sighed. He had never gotten along particularly well with water, he didn’t like feeling soggy or being immersed deeply in the stuff. As long as he could remember water was something he had avoided. He didn’t even really like swimming that much, but his friends did, and so did Radiant. The pail filled quickly, and Asper stopped his pumping, picking up the bucket and heading back toward the gate, and then the front of the church. Lost in his thoughts the whole journey. Asper had been here since he was young, not as young as Radiant had been, but before he had gone to school. Now he was about sixteen, neither he nor Glad were really sure, but he had been with Glad for eleven years. In that time he had first made friends with Clyde and Golden, a few years later Lee and his family moved to town and joined their group of misfits. A year after Lee’s arrival, Radiant was left on the doorstep of a home on the outskirts of the little town, the farmer and his wife had brought her to the church having already emptied their nest of their own children. Glad Lily accepted the little filly without a second thought, Asper was old enough then to behave himself, so the good willed priest was able to take on the extra child. For Asper this was a new experience. The little Radiant took to him like sprinkles on a cupcake, and soon he had a little sister. With a little sister, Asper learned that he needed to be there for her and teach her how to do some things in life. Over the last eight or so years Asper was hardly seen without the little beam of sunshine following close behind, or even leading the way. As Asper reached the door of the little church, he was greeted with a beam of light and a small shower of dust at his hooves. Glad Lily had in his absence swept the little nave of the church and was just then ejecting the little pile of dust through the door and to the side of the entrance. “Oh, apologies Asper, I didn’t see you there,” Glad said, smiling just a bit at his adopted son’s misfortune. “You took long enough at the pump I was wondering if you had gotten lost! So, I went ahead and swept for you. The floor was fairly clean, so it wasn’t an issue. You have the water, yes?” “Mmhmm, ah gaht ‘et ‘ight ‘ere,” Asper spoke around the handle in his mouth, careful not to spill the bucket as he set it down in the entry next to glad. “But I should probably wipe my hooves pretty well before coming in, the grounds are fairly wet this morning.” “Yes, my boy, you seem to have found yourself plenty of mud to stand in. How about I take the bucket and handle that, while you head around back. Grab any sticks you see and meet me by the back door. Sound good?” Glad offered, picking up the pail. “Yeah, sure, I will see you in a bit Glad,” Asper replied. Glad gave him a nod, and turned into the church, while Asper closed the door for him and headed back toward the gated fence. Through the gate he was hoof deep in mud again, and tried to keep his eyes peeled for any tree bits that the water or any wind last night might have dropped into the grounds along the side of the building. There wasn’t much, a small branch was stuck in the soil next to the base of the old oak, and there were a couple of walnuts from their respective tree, but the low grass was clear enough. Asper collected the branch, and batted the walnuts through the fence, he had no desire to taste those soggy things. Plus they would dye his tongue and he didn’t need that. Continuing on his way toward the back of the grounds, he passed the window by Glad’s little bed, he peeked through it to see Radiant still fast asleep, the little filly having tossed her covers off a bit since he and Glad had gotten up. “Ha, you are going to be doing chores one day too, Radiant, soon enough too! You are gonna miss sleeping in!” Asper said to himself, the little filly yawning a bit and curling up some as he continued on his way, reaching the back gate and opening it. This fence was lower than the wood fence around the side yard of the church, and it was of fairly simple wrought iron construction. Both material and upkeep were better than the rest of their fence, with this one being painted with a thick layer of black paint. This kept it from rusting and made it seem a little nicer. As Asper unlatched the gate, it swung smoothly for him, being hung on greased hinges, and he closed it behind him with a soft click as the latch lifted and dropped into its slot. He found himself on a fairly familiar stone path, cobbled from the same quarry stones as the church itself. The grass in this part of the grounds was actively kept trim, and the little stones along the path marked where ponies had been laid to rest. This spot nearest to the entrance had a few of the older graves, from the first settlers of their little town. Asper read a few as he walked toward the back door of the church, which was just opening. The first Asper passed was that of Alten Horsetail, 850-975 ANM. Then came Rough Rubies, 845-950 ANM. Iben Rich had a larger stone, but it was more worn away, stating simply his name, and year of death, being 965 ANM. Jonagold Apple, 810-995 ANM was a more recent addition compared to the others, but lived a lot longer. His family were all that way, it seemed. His wife Ambrosia still lived in their home, a few trees around the back side of the house that always hosted a good crop of fruit each year. “Asper, is that all there was?” Glad asked, having just stepped through the rear door of the church. “I guess I just dreamed that wind then, i could have sworn it was real though… Anyway, let’s take that, and these kitchen scraps, back to the compost.” Nodding with the stick in his teeth, Asper followed Glad who was toting a small wooden bucket of potato peels and eggshells and other such refuse on his back. The two walked between the few rows of stones in the little cemetery and beyond the last row by twice as far as they had gone to reach a shoulder high pile of dirt and vegetable matter. Glad slid the bucket from his back and onto a forehoof, dumping it atop the pile while Asper gave the stick a good toss onto the backside of the pile. Task done, the two headed back, Asper pausing a moment to wipe his hooves in the longer grass at the rear of the cemetery. Once satisfactorily clean, he put his hooves to a slow trot along the path to catch up with Glad. The pair reached the back door, opened it, and entered the church again. This put them behind the altar area, the backside of a pair of golden idols, one of a moon, one of a sun. Between these, but on the other side of a large wooden frame inside of which hung a banner dedicated to the harmony that existed between the pony tribes. The banner was about the same as the Equestrian flag, but without the stars around the circling princesses. Asper followed Glad around the front of the banner, and across the sanctuary area of the church as they headed toward their little room in the corner of the building. Their hoofsteps echoing in the open nave, clip clopping on the cobble floor. It wasn’t a long walk by any means, and the pair entered their little room and started breakfast. Glad worked on a small fire in their wood stove, and Asper fetched some cracked oats from the cupboard and placed them in their sauce pan. Using some water from the pitcher they set the oats to boil and Glad sent Asper for their milk, which had just been dropped off at the front of the church. When Asper had returned with the little wooden crate and the quart of milk, Glad had woken Radiant and dished out their oatmeal for breakfast. Grabbing their three cups from around the water pitcher, they poured the milk and began to eat. Enjoying their porridge as well as they could. As the little family ate, the air outside cleared up a bit with the fog lifting to above the buildings, but the clouds still staying very low and thick. It was just about eight o’clock when they were done eating and had cleaned up their dishes, and Glad released the pair of foals to go out and head to school. The little ponies put on their jackets and headed into the slightly chilly day. The school bell was ringing across the courtyard from the church, its dinging audible to all of the school ponies in the town. Asper and Radiant didn’t have far to go, nor were they in any big hurry. They crossed the little courtyard at the top of the hill in town, and waited in front of the schoolhouse for Lee, Clyde, and Golden to arrive. They caught sight of their friends cresting the hill and beamed toward each other. Greeting each other and heading through the white painted door on their red school house to have another day of learning and minor shenanigans. With the cloud cover the day was a bit chilly, but not cold enough to start the little stove in their schoolhouse.
Chapter One, A ColtChapter One A colt Through the little village of Ferndorf ran a number of young schoolponies as they were released from class for the day. The little town hall's bell had just begun it’s paean for the noon hour as the colts and fillies bounded down the steps of the schoolhouse and rushed passed Old Miss Wadenbaker and left the poor widow-mare in a tumble. The little ones ran their way to the little general store in town, hoping to be the first in line for their allowances worth of candy for the week. With their end goal being sugar, sweets, and other such things, these foals paid no notice to the farmers as they ambled into town for their lunch. from the south side of the village. Across the main-street from the gaggle of schoolponies were the town mares, the ones who were the seamstresses, hairdressers, and home-centric gardeners in the town. They would be off to one house or another for their luncheon and tea, along with a game of cards and a good gossip. These mares were the ones who knew what was going on, where what happened, and who was involved with whatever it was that had them excited. All the little fillies and colts knew to behave around these mares, because each of them would be quick to inform their parents. There was a loud bang down the street which got every adult to give a look, just as the kids entered Gants’ General Store. They children had no attention to spare for this anomalous noise, too focused they were on that glittering case before them. Filled with crystal apothecary jars and sugar-coated licorice and hard candies galore. Outside of their sweet and colorful world, others were watching events down the street. It was just after noon, of course, which meant that the local tavern was just opening. Many of the farmers liked to get a small glass of whiskey or hard cider before, or after, lunch. It helped take some of the stress off of their daily routine and stoked their humors a bit while wetting their whistles. However, in every town there are those who show that too much of a good thing, isn’t so good. And so it goes that, as it did almost every day, the ‘town drunk’, Lee Shoemaker, was being kicked out of the pub. As was often the course of things, she had shown up a bit too tipsy to order a round. This led to the bartender Long Draught to ask the mare to leave. And, as had happened every time he had done so, she put up a bit of a fight. When Ms. Shoemaker had a bit too much, she became a very stubborn mare. Escalating from a brief verbal altercation, their quarrel soon led to a mare sprawled out in the street and a door slamming behind her. She lay there a moment, her mind taking a few seconds to realize what had occurred, and then picked herself up. Looking around and catching prying eyes, Lee ducked her head and scurried into the little alley by the tavern, headed for her home and whatever comforts she had there. The rest of the townsfolk seemed to give a collective shake of their heads, routine as usual. The farmer folk headed for the cafe, a few of the harder ones heading right for the tavern for a round and a chat with Long. The gossip crowd huffed on their way to their luncheon and leaned in close to say their collective two cents on Lee. While these ponies headed off in their ways, Greene Fields the school teacher had just gotten Miss. Wadenbaker on her hooves again. It was around then that the energetic herd of fillies and colts launched from the General Store, now with candy anywhere they had pockets to put it. The first and fastest were the kids who had either a few more bits in their weekly allowances than the rest, or who had saved up for a few weeks to get a bigger haul. They split off between heading home, or heading to another’s home for a play date. Next came the kids who just had a decent amount to spend, but nothing spectacular. They had a half dozen pieces or so each, and headed right home to do their chores and maintain what they could already get. Lastly came the few who didn’t have much at all, and split what they did have between them. Among this group were the children of the hired stallions and mares, and a couple of orphans from the local church. The five of them got along well, between them they could afford six pieces of candy this week, and they gave the extra piece to the little pony who didn’t get one last week. A colt named Asper. Asper and his friends were quite happy with what little they had. While they didn’t have much in terms of candy, or nice, warm, clothes for Hearth’s Warming, they were rich with the fun they had, and the time they spent together. Asper, Clyde Stark, Golden Chamomile, Lee Tailor, and Radiant Candor left the General Store nearly as happy as the other kids, but with a lot less haste. These little ponies had an afternoon much their own to enjoy. Heading East toward the quarry, tucking through an alley between the tavern and a small post office. These foals had their own fun, they liked to explore and see what some of the adults were up to around their little town. They also knew the quarry had a good view of the Lake and a certain little path that led down to it. On their way by they would pick up a few stones of the skipping variety, and see just how far they could throw them across the Deepwater Lake. Maybe once they got there they could see the monster that supposedly dwelled in the depthless waters of that crystal clear lake. They wandered their way toward the edge of town, then the quarry, and finally along the steep path down to the lake, hardly noticing the beauty of the land around them. Ferndorf was nestled in a small valley between the mountains in the southern range of the Unexplored Wests of Equestria. The lowest point of the valley was the lake itself, all of the meltwater from the surrounding peaks flowed down to it throughout the year. The only time rainwater fed this fresh glacier pond was during the turbulent month of May. That is when winds blew in just the right direction to push large storms from the North Luna Ocean through the only mountain gap in their valley large enough for weather to get through. These storms lasted throughout the month, and often flooded the entire valley floor. this made passage to the rest of the world even more impossible than when the Eastern Pass, the only land route with a low enough slope to pull wagons through, would be filled with snow up to twenty ponies high. A small troop of ponies could trek through that Icy Terror, but the floods had features that made them impossible to navigate. Firstly were the brilliant and green forests. These trees were resilient enough to survive the cold of winter, and then just make it through the floods of May, and their tops were at times just over the muckish water that filled the valley. Combine this with the reason the valley wasn’t just a huge lake, and you had a trap that would sink any vessel attempting to navigate it. The floods, just like the lake, drained into a large cavern system on the North side of the Deepwater. Nopony knew where this collection of labyrinthine tunnels and passageways went, or what exactly had caused them. A large portion of the system defied traditional geology and seemed to have been carved from the mountains’ base. Though there had been no record of any previous civilization discovered in this part of Equus, and the Diamond Dogs were native to another area, further north and more centrally located in Equestria. But this cave system did not just steadily drain the flooding waters. It was much more, interesting. Some years were worse than others, but the majority featured the valley filling up nearly to the top of the ridge on which the village had been structured. Just before reaching the point of spilling into the ponies’ homes, there would be a slight rumble, and the water would start to recede. The waters would start to swirl with their decent, sucking anything caught in their terrible pull down into the caverns, never to be seen again. Of course, this was terrifying for any pony who got caught outside the city if the flooding started early. Should they have survived the start of the flooding, somehow, and perhaps found some debris to hold out on, they would be sucked into this maw of the Earth which seemed to have no greater joy than devouring what the waters brought it. Of course, in the vortex formed closest to the cave, the pony would drown in the turbulent waters before they had the luxury of being crushed by the rocks, or being swallowed into the ground and stuck somewhere, dark, with water lapping around them. After the floods receded, it was time to start for the next year. Temporary farming shacks would be thrown up around the now very wet land where the generation prior had cleared the forest to make way for tilled earth. Then the folk who could handle the plows the best, generally Earth Ponies, would work as fast as they could to plant seeds before their narrow window for a crop would close. While the farmers did their bid, the other industries started back up again as well. The mills on the southern edge of the valley would typically survive the floods, being situated higher up than any set of structures other than the village itself. These workers would process logs brought in by lumberjacks and, another mill would be quickly put to use grinding any grain left over from the long winter to make flour for trade with the merchants who would soon arrive. The townsfolk had a few goods to give these profiteers of wares, notably metals from their small mine, some harder stone from their quarry, lumber from the mills, and the frontier pony’s fashion, of course. These merchants would sell medicines, spices, cloth, and whatever else the ponies would need. The town, mostly Earth ponies, with a few Pegasi here and there, would often be awed by traveling magic acts as they worked their way to the West-most fringes of Equestrian Civilization to gather bits. All of the littlest ponies looked forward to these shows, which featured fireworks and tall tales, feats of magical strength and cunning, even strange new inventions which seemed to be more arcane than the magic used to run them. Of course though, this was out of sight and out of mind at the moment. For these little ponies, the spired, heaven-scraping mountains, tipped with snow and dotted with falls from the Summer melt; the luscious trees, green and laden with leaves and taller than any building the town had to offer, even the pristine rivers, with their rock bottoms and silty shores, didn’t mean much to the foals. They were off to skip rocks and frolic while the day was still young. And so they would, they reached the shore of the lake, Clyde, being more than a capable swimmer, lead the way into a shallow near the beach, where even little Radiant could play with the rest of the group. Lee, being the most devious and prankish of the group, was busy trying to splash anypony who looked unguarded, and on the side kept daring Asper to swim out a further, betting he couldn’t go more than twenty feet beyond their normal shallow. Golden, being slightly fearful of the water, despite her brother’s proficiency with the aquatic arts, protested this idea whenever Lee brought it around. Even more so when Lee tried to convince Clyde to go for it. While none doubted his ability, Clyde wouldn’t help distress his sister. Asper was mostly busy teaching Radiant a bit more, helping her swim in a slightly deeper spot than she was used to, and carefully keeping her within a quick step and a helping hoof’s distance. Golden had taken to lecturing Lee until he splashed her mid-breath and soaked her. Lee, giggling like a loose hyena, was suddenly dunked by the large Clyde, who had just previously been swimming around quite tranquilly. After Lee broke the surface again, and coughed up a bit of lake, he turned toward Clyde, who towered over the small Lee, and between coughs gave him a light punch in the chest. Clyde just grinned slightly lopsidedly, and the whole troop shared a laugh. Of course, their day would end before their fun was done, but they had to get home to their families. So the children headed back to town, prancing along the warm stone path in the dimming twilight. Provided they made it home before dark, no one would mind their day of some fun. As these foals headed back to town, the adults were doing much the same. Farmers returning from a hard day’s work, the seamstress’ closing their shops for the night, the barber cleaning his blades for putting away, and the home-working ponies finishing up dinner for their loved ones. The little tavern was getting ready for the late crowd, this included bachelor and bachelorettes, some of the travelers whose business’ were done for the day, perhaps looking for a room, and even a slightly strange late comer to town. Granted, the tavern did attract a stranger crowd after dark. And so each and all went into the night, heading back to where they belonged, whether they belonged there by wish, or by familial lot, or by good or bad luck. The town bell was tolling approaching darkness, and the bell ringer shivered a little, despite the warmth of the night. All the while a colt and his friends headed home.
Chapter Two, HomewardChapter Two Homeward Asper, Clyde, Lee, Golden, and Radiant had reached the edge of town just as the bell stopped its last reverberating ring. The town bell did a wonderful job of reaching across most of the valley, and letting the ponies know the time. It was loud enough and at a perfect deepness of sound that rattled your ribs in a pleasant, yet urgent way. letting you know it was time to be somewhere, for someone, at least. To Asper and company, it was very close to time to be home. As they moved between the first two houses on the East end of town, Clyde spoke first. “It was fun, guys,” he said, a slight lisp of sorts to his speech, making guys more of a guizz. “But Golden and I had better head home quick. Ma’ won’t like it if we are late for grub ‘gain,” Clyde said, then smiled his crooked smile, head tilted a bit to the left. “Clyde’s right, Asper, Lee, Radiant,” Golden spoke each name looking toward the one she referred to. Asper got his smile, Lee a brief scowl for his antics, before she let up and gave him a dismissive chuckle, and Radiant got a grin and a small hug. “We have to get goin’ from here if we want to get there on time,” “Yeah, we get ya’,” Asper replied, smiling at the pair as they turned North, and took their first few steps, though still looking back at the group. “Have a safe walk you two!” “Don’ get in twoble!” Radiant tried her best to pronounce the ‘r’, but her little filly self couldn’t quite manage it yet, so she just looked up at the receding pair with a big grin and a couple missing baby teeth. “Yeah! Take care! Next time I’ll get you a bit too Clyde, you lunk!” Lee called out to the two. He meant nothing against Clyde, and the all of them knew that, just a bit of friendly jabbing. “Awe Lee, you’f got ta have a good time without cauz’in trouble once in yer life! Take care now!” Clyde hollered back at the little colt, his deeper voice telling of his admittedly advanced age compared to his friends. He really should have been out of school a few years ago. Even though his friends didn’t care about any of that, they knew as well as he why he hadn’t gone into older life. Clyde was a bit slow in speech, a bit slow in thought, and a bit slow in his growing up. Not physically, but definitely mentally. No one minded that though, so they went on. Lee and Asper took to a conversation about school that day, while Radiant chased a couple fireflies and lightning bugs in some of the tall grass stubbornly growing at the base of the tavern wall as they passed through its alley. She could disappear completely into the clumps of greenery, and seemingly from their world, only to pop out a few lengths further along the wall, a bug on her nose lighting up her face with its otherworldly glow. “So I know you are working on way harder stuff than me, Asper, but how did you do when you learned fractions?” Lee quizzed, having struggled with the lesson earlier. Being taught not by the teacher, Mr. Fields, or even by Asper, but rather by Mable Ricket, daughter of the towns lead, and only, proper carpenter. While she understood the lesson just perfectly, she was not the most patient of teachers, expecting, if not demanding, that whoever she was paired with pick up whatever lesson it was right away. She would get increasingly frustrated, eventually just giving up entirely and giving whoever it was a silent treatment. As though they were choosing not to learn what she was supposed to teach them. “Ah, I get ya’ Lee. Yeah, I understand fractions well enough. Smaller ones at least, they are the easiest without paper. Much larger than tenths and I have to write them down.” Asper sagely replied, “So what’s got you down and all?” “Well, I don’t quite get it. one over another, or three twos or something… I might not have payed the best attention either.” Lee reluctantly released, not really one to reveal many faults. “Could you try to explain them a bit before we get to my lane?” “Well, I can try. So,” Asper started, pausing just a moment to check for Radiant. They had passed the tavern and were almost off main street now, and she wasn’t hopping ahead like usual, pausing, and looking around, he felt a bump on his hindquarters. “Ooofff!” came a little voice from his left rear leg. Her little face popping out a moment later with a scrunchy nose and stuck out tongue. “So…” Lee prompted, his wings flutter a little with urgency. He had to head off at the end of the block, just past the Barber and half the general store. “So, you have, say, four apples, right?” Asper prompts, moving forward again with Radiant headbutting his leg lightly, being a little filly of rage at having had her firefly scared off by the impact with Asper. Lee, simply nodded. He has four apples back at his house actually, his mom had just gotten them the previous day. “So you have four apples, and there is one of you. How many apples do you get?” Asper starts off easy. He always found it best to build up from the simplest version he could think of. “Well, I have four.” Lee replies, not seeing it yet, but waiting. Asper had helped him understand several things before. “Well now, you still have four apples, but I am there, and you are going to give me an equal share.” “Well, that’s… two. That’s two apples each.” Asper stopped, having reached the corner. “So we each get two. Well, now you, me, Golden, and Radiant are there. We each want the same amount.” “Sounds like you get all of my apples… one each.” Lee says. This was making sense, but these weren’t fractions. “So, there’s fractions. First was four over one, you get four apples. Four over two, we get two apples. Then four over four, we each get one.” “...Oh…” Lee was putting two and two together, or maybe he was taking them apart. But the brief lesson did help. “I get it better now, I should be able to follow along in class tomorrow!” “I hope so, they all go something like that, you just gotta adjust the numbers a bit. But you better go! Your ma’ will tan your hide if you show up any later!” Asper reminded him. “OH! Right! See you Asper! And You Radiant! Have a good night guys!” Lee took off at a gallop, he had a few houses to go before his came up, and if his mom caught him late he wouldn’t sit for a week. “Bye Lee!” Radiant called, sing-songing her way around Asper to lead the way. “I am the lea-dew! I will take us to ower house!” Asper was a good sport, and joined in on the tuneless song. And together they hopped and scotched their way to the church across the square from them. “You are the lead-er! Take us to our home!” Asper broke out in a full grin, hopping around like a filly half his age and losing what cares he did have. Before them was a squat, stone building with a wood door in the middle of the front, two small round windows on either side of the door, and a peaked roof with what looked like a moon-eclipsed sun hanging from the main beam. Inside they would find Glad Lily waiting for them to open the door and ready to rib Asper a bit for being late, even if it was by just a few minutes. Radiant would be sent right along to supper, but Asper would have to sweep the entry first, like he did every day he was late. He didn’t mind that. Not when he had Golden, Clyde, Lee, and little Radiant to keep him company. He lived in a peaceful little town, removed from the dangers of the outside world, and the bustle of the bigger cities. He only knew about one of those firsthoof, but through secondary sources had heard plenty about both. As Radiant and Glad laughed their way off toward the little kitchen in the room they all used as a home, Asper picked up the rough twig broom, and gave a first sweep of the dirty floor. Thinking more about how far he had come as he swept the entry. When he opened the door to sweep out the dirt, as he had done many nights before, he had also opened the door to where he had been, letting back in memories that, for a long time, he had tried to forget and live without.
Chapter Three, HomeChapter Three Home Asper couldn’t see much other than brief flashes of light, and a muffled voice. Maybe there were two voices, but they were too quiet, and it sounded like they were talking underwater. Other sounds occasionally popped through the thickness around him, a brief scream always did, right before it hit him. He had a brief falling sensation and then was enveloped, cold, and couldn’t breathe. Just as everything was losing complete focus, and he was sure the world was collapsing around him… Asper woke with a start, the feeling of water hitting his body again as a drop landed on his nose. The colt, sitting in his bed inside Ferndorf’s church across the room he could see Glad Lilly, his and Radiant’s adoptive father, slowly sitting up in his bed. The low wood frame worn smooth from years of use, worn mattress creaking and sagging as the stallion moved. Next to the stallion’s bed was an oak nightstand, top stained with watermarks and chips missing from its surface. Atop the stand was a pair of spectacles, left arm bent a bit outward, both lenses thick and heavy, with the right chipped as if some foal had thrown a stone at the unfortunate wearer. There was a drawer in the stand, which held a scant few belongings of Glad Lily, and beneath that drawer was a shelf holding a pitcher of water, and a few cups. These stoneware were as worn as the stand, chips along the rims of the glasses, and one with a crack partially down its side. The pitcher’s lid was missing, as it had been since Asper was young, as was part of its spout, having been broken last winter. As Glad sat up, swinging his hind legs over the edge of his bed, tossing the covers back against the cobble wall behind him, his eyes became near slits, squinting toward a pitter-patter on the window pane at the foot of his bed. Of course, with his aged eyes even squinting was to no avail. He proceeded to reach his foreleg out toward the nightstand, attempting to retrieve his spectacles. While Glad fumbled for his glasses, Asper experienced a few more drops from above. He took a moment to push back his own covers and sit up as well, and still a bit shaken from his dream, he rested his head on his forelegs for a moment, watching Glad and looking toward the fogged window. “Strange, we rarely get any rain outside of May. Hardly ever in the early Autumn like this…” Glad said, not really to Asper, but more to himself. Thinking aloud about what was most pressing on his mind as he was prone to do. “Mr. Lily,” Asper started, getting out of bed as he did, “What’s going on out there?” Another drop fell from the ceiling as he leaned back to stretch, landing on his muzzle and running down his cheek and dripping down to the floor beneath his hooves. “Well, young Asper, we seem just to be having an out of season storm. It doesn’t seem heavy, or threatening, but it is very strange. You know that we usually get rain early in the year, rarely in the Summer months, and nearly never this time of year.” Lily snorted a little, arching his back and stretching his shoulders. “So why are you up? You usually sleep through even the worst of the storms Mr. Lily,” “I could hear you talking in your sleep again son. It didn’t sound like a very pleasant dream either.” Lily had turned from the window to face Asper, only a little taller than the colt, his light gray coat was powdery looking in the scant candle light. “I was just having… it was just a dream. Nothing that bad.” Asper lied, averting his eyes a bit and waving the question off with a gesture of his foreleg as he set himself down onto all of his legs. Glad raised an eyebrow, seeing cleanly through Asper’s fib, but didn’t push the point.. “Hey, Asper, do you want to do the morning chores with me? I could use a helping hoof while checking the grounds.” “Yeah, I would love to.” Asper replied. Doing some chores around the church would help calm him down, and refocus his mind from the night’s not so restful sleep. “Alright, let’s go then. We have a lot to do before Radiant wakes up and wants breakfast.” Glad Lily said, leading the way to the door and into the main room of the little church. “While I light the candles, would you mind fetching the water for the public trough and sweeping the pews?” “Sure. Is the pail in the front closet?” Asper asked, already walking toward the main doors. “Yes, it is. And the broom is as well. Throw on your jacket before heading out, it isn’t raining hard but the morning is probably chilly. You don’t need to be catching a cold now,” Glad Lily told the colt as he opened the closet. Asper picked up the pail in his mouth and grabbed the broom with his front hooves, setting the rough twig broom across from the closet. He set down the pail as well and turned back around to grab his jacket from the hook on which it rested. Glad observed Asper putting on his jacket, and let out a satisfied snort. He then opened the small chest containing a small match box and a few new candles. Leaned into a little nook behind the chest was the long handled candle lighter, half an inch of wick extended beyond the end of the slim gold metal tube. Attempting to strike the match on the box, wood handle held in his teeth, Glad grumbled a bit to himself. Once he got the match going, he quickly leaned the candle lighter down to the small fire, before it could get too close to his lips and the short graying beard he sported. “This used to be so much easier,” Glad mumbled, having lit the lighter, he had spit the match into a small ceramic urn next to the chest, its flame going out as it fell through the air. He adjusted the wick a little using a slider on the lighter. Grasping the grip of the tool with his teeth, he set about lighting the forty-some candles set about the room. Just as Glad got around to his job, Asper had put his hood up and stepped into the mist with his pail. Outside the air was thick with moisture, and the misty fog was thick enough to obscure the low fence to either side of the church building. Straining, Asper could catch glimpses of the wooden ramshackle barrier through the wispy air, but anything farther than three or four yards was completely obscured. Turning and heading toward the right side of the building, Asper approached the gate, undoing the rusty latch and lifting the sagging thing over a hump in the dirt behind it. Once off the well beaten path of the street, the ground was a lot muddier and his hooves sank in a little with each step. As Asper walked toward the little pump the grounds had, the fur on his face had collected moisture and was sagging down and clinging together. Some of his mane came down and stuck to his face, he took a moment to flick it out of his eyes as he set his pail beneath the pump. Standing up on his back legs, Asper filled his pail, actuating the handle of the little pump with his forelegs. As the water gushed from the spout of the black iron contraption, Asper sighed. He had never gotten along particularly well with water, he didn’t like feeling soggy or being immersed deeply in the stuff. As long as he could remember water was something he had avoided. He didn’t even really like swimming that much, but his friends did, and so did Radiant. The pail filled quickly, and Asper stopped his pumping, picking up the bucket and heading back toward the gate, and then the front of the church. Lost in his thoughts the whole journey. Asper had been here since he was young, not as young as Radiant had been, but before he had gone to school. Now he was about sixteen, neither he nor Glad were really sure, but he had been with Glad for eleven years. In that time he had first made friends with Clyde and Golden, a few years later Lee and his family moved to town and joined their group of misfits. A year after Lee’s arrival, Radiant was left on the doorstep of a home on the outskirts of the little town, the farmer and his wife had brought her to the church having already emptied their nest of their own children. Glad Lily accepted the little filly without a second thought, Asper was old enough then to behave himself, so the good willed priest was able to take on the extra child. For Asper this was a new experience. The little Radiant took to him like sprinkles on a cupcake, and soon he had a little sister. With a little sister, Asper learned that he needed to be there for her and teach her how to do some things in life. Over the last eight or so years Asper was hardly seen without the little beam of sunshine following close behind, or even leading the way. As Asper reached the door of the little church, he was greeted with a beam of light and a small shower of dust at his hooves. Glad Lily had in his absence swept the little nave of the church and was just then ejecting the little pile of dust through the door and to the side of the entrance. “Oh, apologies Asper, I didn’t see you there,” Glad said, smiling just a bit at his adopted son’s misfortune. “You took long enough at the pump I was wondering if you had gotten lost! So, I went ahead and swept for you. The floor was fairly clean, so it wasn’t an issue. You have the water, yes?” “Mmhmm, ah gaht ‘et ‘ight ‘ere,” Asper spoke around the handle in his mouth, careful not to spill the bucket as he set it down in the entry next to glad. “But I should probably wipe my hooves pretty well before coming in, the grounds are fairly wet this morning.” “Yes, my boy, you seem to have found yourself plenty of mud to stand in. How about I take the bucket and handle that, while you head around back. Grab any sticks you see and meet me by the back door. Sound good?” Glad offered, picking up the pail. “Yeah, sure, I will see you in a bit Glad,” Asper replied. Glad gave him a nod, and turned into the church, while Asper closed the door for him and headed back toward the gated fence. Through the gate he was hoof deep in mud again, and tried to keep his eyes peeled for any tree bits that the water or any wind last night might have dropped into the grounds along the side of the building. There wasn’t much, a small branch was stuck in the soil next to the base of the old oak, and there were a couple of walnuts from their respective tree, but the low grass was clear enough. Asper collected the branch, and batted the walnuts through the fence, he had no desire to taste those soggy things. Plus they would dye his tongue and he didn’t need that. Continuing on his way toward the back of the grounds, he passed the window by Glad’s little bed, he peeked through it to see Radiant still fast asleep, the little filly having tossed her covers off a bit since he and Glad had gotten up. “Ha, you are going to be doing chores one day too, Radiant, soon enough too! You are gonna miss sleeping in!” Asper said to himself, the little filly yawning a bit and curling up some as he continued on his way, reaching the back gate and opening it. This fence was lower than the wood fence around the side yard of the church, and it was of fairly simple wrought iron construction. Both material and upkeep were better than the rest of their fence, with this one being painted with a thick layer of black paint. This kept it from rusting and made it seem a little nicer. As Asper unlatched the gate, it swung smoothly for him, being hung on greased hinges, and he closed it behind him with a soft click as the latch lifted and dropped into its slot. He found himself on a fairly familiar stone path, cobbled from the same quarry stones as the church itself. The grass in this part of the grounds was actively kept trim, and the little stones along the path marked where ponies had been laid to rest. This spot nearest to the entrance had a few of the older graves, from the first settlers of their little town. Asper read a few as he walked toward the back door of the church, which was just opening. The first Asper passed was that of Alten Horsetail, 850-975 ANM. Then came Rough Rubies, 845-950 ANM. Iben Rich had a larger stone, but it was more worn away, stating simply his name, and year of death, being 965 ANM. Jonagold Apple, 810-995 ANM was a more recent addition compared to the others, but lived a lot longer. His family were all that way, it seemed. His wife Ambrosia still lived in their home, a few trees around the back side of the house that always hosted a good crop of fruit each year. “Asper, is that all there was?” Glad asked, having just stepped through the rear door of the church. “I guess I just dreamed that wind then, i could have sworn it was real though… Anyway, let’s take that, and these kitchen scraps, back to the compost.” Nodding with the stick in his teeth, Asper followed Glad who was toting a small wooden bucket of potato peels and eggshells and other such refuse on his back. The two walked between the few rows of stones in the little cemetery and beyond the last row by twice as far as they had gone to reach a shoulder high pile of dirt and vegetable matter. Glad slid the bucket from his back and onto a forehoof, dumping it atop the pile while Asper gave the stick a good toss onto the backside of the pile. Task done, the two headed back, Asper pausing a moment to wipe his hooves in the longer grass at the rear of the cemetery. Once satisfactorily clean, he put his hooves to a slow trot along the path to catch up with Glad. The pair reached the back door, opened it, and entered the church again. This put them behind the altar area, the backside of a pair of golden idols, one of a moon, one of a sun. Between these, but on the other side of a large wooden frame inside of which hung a banner dedicated to the harmony that existed between the pony tribes. The banner was about the same as the Equestrian flag, but without the stars around the circling princesses. Asper followed Glad around the front of the banner, and across the sanctuary area of the church as they headed toward their little room in the corner of the building. Their hoofsteps echoing in the open nave, clip clopping on the cobble floor. It wasn’t a long walk by any means, and the pair entered their little room and started breakfast. Glad worked on a small fire in their wood stove, and Asper fetched some cracked oats from the cupboard and placed them in their sauce pan. Using some water from the pitcher they set the oats to boil and Glad sent Asper for their milk, which had just been dropped off at the front of the church. When Asper had returned with the little wooden crate and the quart of milk, Glad had woken Radiant and dished out their oatmeal for breakfast. Grabbing their three cups from around the water pitcher, they poured the milk and began to eat. Enjoying their porridge as well as they could. As the little family ate, the air outside cleared up a bit with the fog lifting to above the buildings, but the clouds still staying very low and thick. It was just about eight o’clock when they were done eating and had cleaned up their dishes, and Glad released the pair of foals to go out and head to school. The little ponies put on their jackets and headed into the slightly chilly day. The school bell was ringing across the courtyard from the church, its dinging audible to all of the school ponies in the town. Asper and Radiant didn’t have far to go, nor were they in any big hurry. They crossed the little courtyard at the top of the hill in town, and waited in front of the schoolhouse for Lee, Clyde, and Golden to arrive. They caught sight of their friends cresting the hill and beamed toward each other. Greeting each other and heading through the white painted door on their red school house to have another day of learning and minor shenanigans. With the cloud cover the day was a bit chilly, but not cold enough to start the little stove in their schoolhouse.
