Building Ponies

True Blue’s hut had seen some renovations as well. There was the new cellar, of course. There was also a window, and two poles in front of the door to give a pony room to sit under an awning during rain. The vegetable patch beside the hut was healthy and thriving. Bluebell was laying in front of the patch when Thistle walked up, staring at the fresh shoots of growth. The onions were coming up fast this year.

“Hello, Bluebell.” Thistle smiled at the filly.

“Distle! Distle!” The cheerful filly shrieked in joy and rushed up to hug her. “Hi! Hi!”

“Thistle Burr, good to see you, as always.” True Blue poked her head through the window. “Come inside. Bluebell, you can stay outside so long as you stay in front of the window.”

“Stay at ‘indow!” Bluebell nodded seriously, going back to the vegetable patch to stare at the onions some more.

“Hard to believe she’s only three.” Thistle commented as she walked inside.

“I’d have to tie her to a stake to get her to stay in one place.” True Blue sighed. “Luckily she’s easily fascinated by plants and she’s passed the stage of sticking everything into her mouth.”

“So what brings you here today, Thistle Burr?” She asked.

“I wanted your advice on something.” Thistle started. “You see, Woodpecker stopped me earlier today in the fields and…” She faltered, mortified by the blush springing back to her cheeks.

“And he finally asked to be your Lead Stallion.” True Blue finished for her. “Honestly, he’s the best prospect right now, unless you genuinely prefer Pucker Thorn. And then your sister will have to find someone else to Follow, given siblings are forbidden from Following the same pony.”

“We’re not related by blood.” Thistle blinked in confusion.

“I don’t think anypony would protest, given it’s you, but it sets a precedent.” True Blue allowed. “Later on there would inevitably be a pony who tries to argue that she should be allowed to follow her sister’s stallion, just because you did it. And to most ponies declaring yourselves sisters is good enough in their books.”

That…would make things complicated if Thistle had to rework her family trees. If the laws didn’t only take blood into account that made things a touch more difficult.

“But back to the matter at hoof, while Woodpecker does have all the qualifications for Lead Stallion, that doesn’t mean he’d be a good one. Almost every stallion has those qualifications, but none of them could perform all of Rockslide’s duties.” True Blue told her. “My advice to you is follow each other until your next heat, work together. If he proves incompetent, move on to the next stallion but don’t let him mount you. It would be much harder to secure another stallion as your Lead if you’re carrying Woodpecker’s foal.”

“I didn’t think of that.” She hardly wanted to think of carrying a foal at all. “But how can we work together? I normally spend my days making or gathering medicine, not on patrol or guard shifts. How do you and Rockslide work together when you’re doing different things?”

“Though we don’t sleep in the same hut, we do meet up every morning and every evening to discuss the herd’s wellbeing. He tells me his plans for the day or week and I tell him mine.” True hummed thoughtfully, looking out the window to check on Bluebell. The filly must have been behaving for she soon turned back to Thistle.

“This will be the first transition since the village was founded, perhaps we should set a precedent.” She suggested.

“I thought precedents were bad?” Thistle questioned.

“That depends entirely on how they’re used. You are not altogether against Woodpecker being your Lead Stallion?” She checked. “Then tell him that during this testing phase he must work with Rockslide, learning everything a Lead Stallion must do every day. I’ll talk to Rockslide about it later. Have I satisfied all your concerns, Thistle Burr?”

Thistle meant to nod, but she hesitated. While the decision of who would be her Lead Stallion was important, it did raise another question to her.

“True Blue, aren’t you upset by any of this? The whole herd is just waiting for when I take your place.” She asked nervously.

True Blue sighed, deep and heartfelt. She looked out the window again then sat down in the straw.

“I have been Lead Mare since I was fifteen. I am thirty two now. That’s more than half my life as Lead Mare.” She revealed. Thistle blinked. She hadn’t realized how old True Blue really was. Thirty two was almost past foal bearing years. “In the normal run of things, I likely would have been challenged for leadership at least twice in the past three years, but my reign has been peaceful.”

“Leading a settlement is much different from leading travelers, I find it harder.” She continued. “I am ready to stand down, Thistle Burr. I will hold on until you are ready, but I do expect you to be ready soon.”

“As soon as I raise a foal past one year.” Thistle nodded. “Do you really think I’ll make a good Lead Mare?”

“You’ve been working beside me at it for the past three years.” True Blue rolled her eyes. “Do not doubt yourself, Thistle Burr. You are already a good Lead.”

The graveyard had expanded too. Twenty two ponies were buried there, including foals who’d died before they ever breathed. The most recent additions had large rocks with carved marks on them, the deceased’s magic mark.

Enduring had never gained a mark before she died, though she’d deserved one. She’d more than deserved one.

Enduring was in the Endless Pastures now. She was beyond earthly troubles.

“Come to visit again, Healer?” Thistle turned to see Rose Bud walking between the graves again. She was probably the oddest mare in the herd. Her fur was rose red and she had a two-toned green mane. She visited the graves more than anypony, leaving flowers on them, sometimes talking to them even if she hadn’t known them in life. She was also the one who’d started the practice of carving the magic mark into their grave stone and even gained a mark that way.

“This place is peaceful, isn’t it?” She asked, gently setting some wildflowers on the grave of a young colt. A timberwolf had gotten his leg and he’d bled out before they could reach her.

“It is.” Thistle agreed quietly. It never felt right to speak up here. Rose Bud didn’t say anything more, merely passing over a small bouquet for Thistle to lay on Enduring’s grave. Thistle watched from the corner of her eye as Rose Bud moved from grave to grave, depositing flowers and whispering to each stone like an old friend.

Thistle only half understood laying flowers out for the dead. The Endless Pastures provided all a pony needed, including bountiful food, but the flowers weren’t for the dead, not really. They were for the living. I still remember you. I still miss you. I still love you.

Someday she’d be buried here and ponies might visit her grave on occasion. Maybe they would lay flowers and talk about their problems the way she did for Enduring.

“I’m a mare now, Enduring.” Thistle spoke softly. “My first heat was a little over a week ago. Everypony says its time for me to choose a stallion, and I guess they’re right. I’m not going to put this off and cause trouble for everypony, I just wish I could have a little more time.”

She closed her eyes and remembered the old nag’s voice, her stories and lessons. Legends and unicorns and Pegasus and herbal remedies. There were a few things Thistle knew now that she wished she could tell Enduring about.

But she’d already spent enough time here. She had one more place to check before she went home for the day.

Hope Spring’s hut was empty, as it so often was. But it was fuller than it had been three years ago. There was a necklace of chimera teeth hanging on the wall, a single hydra tooth stuck into the ground, and baskets of rocks, shells, and other little treasures Hope had brought back from her travels. She returned twice a year on average, and always brought word of some foreign herd or great monster.

It wasn’t as though she thought Hope Springs might be here. It was just habit to come to this hut that was even now so much more secluded than the rest of the village. While all her other haunts were public places that anypony could find her at, only her family knew she spent time here and they all gave her space to do her thinking in peace.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like helping ponies, it was just that sometimes she was one of the ponies Thistle needed to help.

She spent a few minutes in quiet contemplation before carefully closing the door behind her. It was almost dinner time.

Morning Dew was facing the door when Thistle came in. She looked good, quiet and thoughtful as ever. Always thinking of this or that thing to help somepony.

“Mama, mama!” Busy Bee buzzed at her side, headbutting her to try to get to her teat. He’d picked up Cam’s name for her and refused to call her anything else. He also called Mountain Mama too, which got a little confusing. Hornet lucked out and was Daddy more often than not.

“Why are colts always hungry?” She snorted as she rolled over enough for him to eat. He was almost weaned now, but he liked milk before dinner. It got him to eat his radishes so she didn’t complain, much.

“Fillies too.” Mountain groaned, looking down at her own little bundle of joy. Where Busy Bee was his sire in miniature with a yellow coat and orange mane, Shaded Brook reminded her of Mountain’s dam. She had a dark blue coat and a silver mane.

“How was your day, Thistle?” Hornet welcomed her home.

“Hmm, I got a lot of thinking done.” Thistle said vaguely, looking over the foals and then carefully stepping to her usual place in the circle.

“Ow! Mama, Busy kicked me again!” Cam complained, trying to scoot herself closer to Hornet to get away from her brother’s hooves.

“Busy Bee, no kicking.” Morning frowned at her colt. “No more milk.”

“Nnooo!” He whined. It would’ve become a full blown tantrum if Cam hadn’t poked him then and pointed to the fruit slices in his eating basket. Mixed in with diced veggies, even the pickiest foal would eat everything down to the basket. And sometimes the basket too.

“Ugh, remind me why we wanted foals?” Mountain flinched. Brook had probably bitten too hard.

“They’re cute and cuddly?” Morning shrugged.

“So are you, and you don’t bite me.” Mountain argued.

“There are marks under your fur that say otherwise.” She waggled her eyebrows at Mountain. Since Mountain was normally the more forward of the two it was always effective in getting out a giggle or snort. Sure enough, Morning was soon congratulating herself on teasing her mate into a better mood.

“Yuck! Stop being gross!” Cam commanded them, now of that lofty age where colts were icky and her Mama and Mom were even ickier.

“Well, if you think that’s gross,” Mountain got a wicked look in her eye.

“No teasing indoors please,” Light requested. “I still have bruises from last time.”

Last time had gotten the foals so riled up they’d ran around the room, running over everypony else.

“We have got to do something about the lack of space here.” Mountain grumbled.

They’d found ways to secure most of Thistle’s medicines to the ceiling. Baskets were set in careful ways and nothing was allowed to clutter the floor. With the new cellar they could keep their food underground and out of the way, which did help create enough room for somepony to stand up and walk to the door, but not much else. And everypony had to walk backwards to get out of the hut because there wasn’t enough room to turn around anymore.

The only thing left to do was for some ponies to move out.

No one suggested it.

“Woodpecker asked to be my Lead Stallion today.” Thistle changed the subject.

“…What did you say?” Mountain asked.

“I told him I’d give him my answer tomorrow, but I think it will be yes, provided he can prove we work well together until my next heat and he learn under Lead Rockslide.” She informed them, picking at her dinner.

“On that note,” Thistle sighed and looked around the room. “We really do need to consider our living situation.”

“Ugh, yeah.” Mountain winced. “The foals ain’t exactly getting smaller.”

“I still plan to follow Pucker when I have my first heat.” Light confirmed for them. “But that might take up to a year. Perhaps it is time to ask Pink to build a new hut for us? She showed us that design earlier.”

“I don’t think she’ll have what she needs for it soon enough though.” Thistle frowned.

“A new design? For a new kind of hut?” Morning leaned forward curiously.

“Apparently she got the idea from Clay Hooves.” Thistle shrugged. “But that would take some time, she’s only got an idea right now.”

“It would have to be us moving to the new hut, wouldn’t it?” Hornet asked. “I mean, as the Healer you should probably stay in the middle of the village where anypony can find you quickly, and all the new huts are being built spread out around the valley.”

“We have to leave?” Cam whimpered.

“It’s not like we’re leaving the village, Cam.” Mountain reassured her. “But this hut is too small for all of us. You’re tired of being kicked all the time, right?”

“Yeah…” She still didn’t look happy.

Fair enough, Morning wasn’t happy either. Busy Bee and Brook had picked up on the atmosphere of the hut, but neither of them were old enough to understand what was being said. Everypony looked around the hut at the life they’d built together.

“Man, I’m gonna miss getting kicked in the face.” Mountain sighed.

Thistle stretched fully in the light of dawn. Close quarters made for cramped sleeping space. Once her legs felt strong and limber again she ducked her head back inside to look at everypony. The foals were laying next to their dams and Cam was lying on the inside of the wall while Hornet was pushed perilously close to the firepit. Light had already shifted to take advantage of the space Thistle had freed up.

Spreading out to a new hut was well and truly overdue, but she’d miss having them all there. She’d miss falling asleep to one of Light’s stories. She’d miss listening to Cam make up little songs. She’d even miss Morning, Mountain, and Hornet flirting with each other and acting like the rest of them couldn’t hear it.

Baskets at her sides, Thistle began walking to the fields with the rest of the early risers.

“Good morning, Healer.” Marsh Steps and Holly Berry walked up to her.

“Good morning, Marsh, Holly.” Thistle smiled at them. “Not bringing Lily Pad today?”

“I had a rough time keeping her from trampling the sprouts yesterday so she’s with Summer for now.” Marsh nodded. “Besides, I need to start weaning her so now’s as good a time as any to start.”

“And you, Holly? Going into the forest today?” She was wearing baskets too and carrying a spear and shield.

“There are these vines with lovely blooms I saw last season, and I want to see if they grew back yet.” Holly nodded, though she looked at the forest with distaste. Thistle was just about the only pony in the herd who would walk beneath the trees unarmed, but even she had been forbidden from going alone.

“Good luck then.” It was too early in the season for timberwolves, but you could never be too careful.

They reached the spot where Thistle usually stood to watch the farmers. Ponies scattered about the fields to weed and water. Every pony came out once or twice a week to do this, sometimes more. Thistle herself almost never got onto the fields proper unless it was planting or harvesting season. Everypony seemed to think she had more important things to do, even when all she did was sit and watch them.

“Thistle Burr, I hope I did not keep you waiting.” Woodpecker trotted up beside her.

“I’ve only been here for a moment.” She eyed the spear strapped to his side and stood.

“Do you have an answer for me?” Was he nervous? He stood stiffly but she couldn’t tell his true feelings.

“After asking Lead True for advice, I’ve decided to give you a test to see if you can do all the things Lead Rockslide does.” She explained. “From now until my next heat, we’ll be working together and you’ll be learning under him, as I have been learning under Lead True.”

“I look forward to working with you then.” He looked self-assured. “Do you know where I might find Lead Rockslide right now?”

“That’s what we’re going to see Lead True about.” She answered.

Bluebell wasn’t playing outside this time. Thistle knocked her hoof against the wall to announce their arrival.

“Come in,” True Blue called.

“Good morning, Lead True.” Thistle led the way inside. Rockslide, Shiny, and Pink were inside too. Bluebell wasn’t anywhere to be seen, so likely she was being watched by one of Shiny’s groupmates.

“Lead Mare, Lead Stallion, please pardon the intrusion.” Woodpecker nodded politely to both.

Rockslide eyed the young stallion and stood to his full height. Thistle stood aside as he committed some inspection.

“…At sunrise, you will meet by the storehouse with the other stallions. Whatever I am doing, you are doing. For now, sit.” Rockslide turned to retake his seat. “Welcome to your first Leadership meeting.”

“If we could begin?” Shiny cleared her throat. “Pink, this week’s report?”

“Field attendance has gone down recently. Most ponies don’t like digging through dirt for weeds when they could be frolicking like foals.” Pink began professionally. “Nopony’s wandered off and gotten lost. A couple of colts trampled Soft Touch’s garden and she threatened to shove their heads under water until they stopped kicking. A few ponies have complained about Rose Bud leaving flowers on the gravestones, and then getting mad when somepony walks by and eats them. Clay Hooves has requested a hut to himself so he can focus on making more pots and other things. He volunteered to help me with a project so I’m inclined to grant it.”

“The planting went well and everything seems to be coming up on time. Pucker made this sling that lets him throw rocks harder and faster than he could on his own, he told me he’s going to the fields today to aim at birds and rabbits.” She finished, scratching her chin as she checked to see if she missed anything. “That’s about it for this week.”

“Clay Hooves is a year off from being a stallion.” Shiny flicked her ears. “Keep an eye on him, he’s been caught going into the forest unarmed twice already.”

“I walk there unarmed.” Thistle blinked in confusion.

“We’ve been encouraging ponies to carry spears to remind them that the forest is not always safe.” Rockslide huffed. “If one pony sees another without a spear, they think its alright for them to leave theirs behind as well.”

“Precedents.” Thistle tucked her ears back. “Alright, so why haven’t any of you told me to carry a spear? I wouldn’t have refused.”

“You are the herd’s healer, and they still call you Blessed.” True reminded her. “They believe you don’t need to carry a weapon.”

“Besides, you can barely stand watching the Stallion Fights, everypony knows you don’t like fighting.” Pink pointed out.

Thistle remembered slamming into Cliff Face’s side. She remembers rage boiling in her veins and a strong new mare sitting quiet and still.

“Moving along,” True Blue directed them to the next subject. “Has everypony given thought to the information Hope Springs brought to us last time?”

“We’ve only been going around in circles about it all winter.” Pink rolled her eyes. “We didn’t even come to a decision before she left again.”

“Pardon me, but what information do you mean?” Woodpecker asked. He held up under their combined attention rather well. “I know she goes around studying monsters and brings back information about them, but I don’t understand why that would cause this council such trouble.”

“Not all monsters have fangs and claws.” Rockslide huffed.

“Some walk on hooves.” Thistle grit her teeth.

“Hope Springs moves between herds, acting as an informant on their own progress after the Light Event.” True informed him. “So far she hasn’t found a herd that has settled in one place like us, nor any herds with magic marks, but they do have their own innovations.”

“And dangers.” Shiny grumbled. “When she returned last fall, she brought word of a herd of ponies unlike any we have ever seen. Ponies with wings on their backs, capable of soaring through the skies and alighting on clouds.”

“My teacher told me about them. They are called Pegasus.” Thistle explained. “Though, when she ran with them they were unable to do more than glide. It seems the Light-That-Wasn’t has granted them full flight now.”

“Flight they will be using to pass over this valley in late summer or early fall.” She finished.

“They really exist? Ponies with wings?” He gaped.

“Apparently, yes. And we still haven’t figured out how we’re going to plan for their arrival.” True Blue sighed, rubbing her temple. “By then the fields will be filled with food and while we likely could survive giving as much as a quarter away to another herd, I fear they would not be satisfied by that.”

“Worse, they would. And then they’d come back next year for more.” Shiny suggested. “But we couldn’t exactly leave the fields farrow. So what can we do?”

“Perhaps we could entice a number to stay with us?” Woodpecker suggested uncertainly. “Our herd would grow larger and they might not come back this way for fear of losing yet more herdmates to us.”

“But those that go on will spread word of the bounty we have here.” True reminded them. “Which would only draw more herds towards us. Perhaps even larger ones.”

“So let them come? We have spears and shields to protect us. Even if they outnumbered us I have a hard time believing they could out fight us.” He argued.

“Did you not hear when we said other herds have their own inventions?” Rockslide narrowed his eyes. “They don’t have marks but they do have wooden spears. Some have learned to face monsters with ropes. Some have harnessed fire and use it fend off predators. And these Pegasus ponies will be able to attack us from above.”

“How good are you at striking straight up?” He challenged.

“All winter we have been trying to come up with some solution.” True Blue placed a gentle hoof on Rockslide’s shoulder. “All winter we have failed.”

“Hope Springs said they’re able to control the weather, at least over small areas.” Pink pointed out. “I still say our best bet is to convince as many of them to join us as possible. The ones that leave will spread word of us, true, but we could never hope to stay secret forever. It’s a miracle no herd has found us yet.”

“I’m sorry but control the weather?” Woodpecker was beginning to look slightly ill.

“They can touch and move clouds. Somehow they are able to make rain fall, and make thunder and lightning.” Thistle explained. “They might’ve just been showing off to Hope Springs, but the fact that they did it before her very eyes is definitely worrying.”

He rallied himself quickly. She could almost see the thoughts flitting behind his eyes as he tried to come up with something to suggest.

“What about…” He paused, marshalling his words. “Alright, my sister’s idea, what if we did that and then planned for what happened after? The remaining other ponies, they fly off and tell others of our village. But even if they’re flying that should still take time, and winter will come on quickly after harvest.”

“We could construct walls first, for the ponies like us who must gallop along the ground. From there,” He paused again before his eyes lit up. “From there we could weave rope into a net over the village using the wall as anchor points! They can’t dive upon us from the sky if our net stops them, and as I recall, dear sister, your stallion has invented a weapon that can strike something from a distance. We train ponies in its use, and those Pegasus won’t be able to get in to steal from us.”

“Build a wall, you say?” Pink blinked. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that’s a brilliant idea, Woodpecker!”

“There would be ponies out beyond the wall. They’re always are these days.” Shiny frowned. “It isn’t like the old days when ponies were too afraid to go far beyond the main herd.”

“Then we need some way of alerting our own herd.” Woodpecker nodded thoughtfully. “Something for the patrols as well. We’d need to see the danger before it arrived.”

“Look-Out Hill,” Rockslide said. “Pink Peach, you spoke of a tall structure to save ground space as one of your ideas. Could you construct such a thing?”

“I can!” Pink stood up in excitement. “I’ll need to work with Clay Hooves, and I’ll need some time to test a few things out first, but I could have one built before the end of spring!”

“Constructing these defenses means we’d have to tell ponies what we’re defending them from.” Thistle realized. “They’ll want to know why we’re building a wall.”

“The timberwolves make an excellent excuse.” Shiny shrugged. “They’ve come out of the forest before, but they’re not climbers, a wall would stop them.”

“Why not simply tell the herd the truth?” Woodpecker’s ears flicked back.

“Ponies panic, young stallion.” She glared. “And panicked ponies aren’t organized ponies. They’ll run in whatever direction they happen to be facing, or they’ll launch attacks that will only succeed in getting them killed. The purpose of this council is to secure against danger before it happens. Then we give our ponies opportunities to practice against fake danger until they are able to cope with the real thing.”

“Do you remember the phoenix when we first settled here?” Thistle brushed the feather in her mane. It didn’t degrade like a normal bird’s feather, and it carried a hint of heat even years later. “Some ponies hid, some ran, and a few fought. But we killed it without losing anypony to it. So when a new monster made itself known,” She prompted him.

“They knew it could be fought.” He realized. Two ponies had come across the first timberwolf. Two stallions. Stallions who had fought wolves before and seen one monster die already. They hadn’t come out of it unscathed, one almost hadn’t come out of it at all, but they’d managed to lead it into a trap and kill it because they knew it could be killed.

“Woodpecker,” True Blue addressed him. “Remember that your attendance in this council is dependent on ThistleBurr’s decision. If she decides you would not make a good Lead Stallion, then you will be barred from this meeting. This also means we are trusting you to hold this in confidence.”

“What she’s saying is, breathe a word of this to our dam and we’ll make you wish you’d been banished.” Pink smirked. “I usually just tell her the boring gossipy stuff.”

“Well, I’m certainly not going to be ruining my own chances.” He sighed. “I’ve been waiting for this for too long.”

“Here’s hoping we can work together then.” Thistle really hoped they could. She was starting to see that Woodpecker really could be a good Lead.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pink looked ahead to her house and stopped. Morning, Mountain, Hornet, and their foals, were all sitting by her door, apparently waiting for her.

With a feeling that she knew what this was about, Pink picked up her trot.

“Well, hello there! Fancy seeing you here, at my humble hut.” She pranced up to them. “How are the foals? Cam? No mark yet?”

“No.” The filly stuck her lip out.

“Ah well, keep at it. Took me a dozen tries before I figured out where my talents lied.” She flipped her mane out of her eyes. “So what’s up? Did Busy Bee finally kick a hole in the wall?”

“No, but not for lack of trying.” Morning chuckled. “We just think it’s high time we gave Thistle her space.”

“Yup, little Thistle Burr ain’t so little anymore.” Mountain nodded sagely. “Now she’s a big mare who kicks like a stallion when she has to get up in the middle of the night. My sides need breathing room, Pink.”

“Thistle’s hut was one of the first ones I ever made.” Pink thought back with pride. “I’ve improved a lot since then, so I don’t need to make them as small or drafty. I can get you a nice sized hut in about two, three days? Two if I can convince a couple ponies to help me. Sun and Moon know I wish somepony else would get a building mark already, I used to have all sorts of volunteers but now nopony wants to help lug heavy rocks from the gully.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about that.” Morning grabbed Bee before he could make a break for it. She settled the grumpy colt on her back before continuing. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to make sledges easier to pull and for heavier loads. I’ll let you know when I’ve got something that works.”

“That would be a life saver, especially considering my next big project.” She could recruit other ponies for the wall, but the tower. That would be more complicated and she wasn’t looking forward to pushing rocks up a hill. Especially since there was no way the gully had enough rocks for both projects.

“Project?” Hornet asked politely.

“A stone wall, all around the village, for if timberwolves ever chase ponies all the way back here.” She explained.

“Won’t they just break through the door? Timberwolves are strong, right?” Cam frowned, looking over her shoulder at Pink’s door as if judging it against how big she thought a timberwolf might be.

“I’m honestly not sure how I’ll handle that yet.” She admitted. “Wall first, big door later. Point is, I’m going to be one busy little bee this season.”

“I’m Bee!” Busy Bee chimed in.

“Yes, you are.” She agreed with the colt. “And following that, are the three of you busy for the next week? It seems I’m going to need some volunteers.”

“Patrol shifts, but we always get those in cycles so at least one of us is minding the foals.” Mountain shrugged. “I’m on afternoon shift so I’ve got to be going soon.”

“I have morning shift tomorrow, but I can help afterwards.” Hornet offered.

“I’m off completely tomorrow, I’ll ask Light if she can mind the foals.” Morning decided.

“Great!” Pink cheered, moving towards her sledge. “Any idea where you want your new hut?”

“We want a big place but we don’t really care where it is.” Mountain shrugged. “Well, maybe not near the forest.”

“I can’t really put you near the fields either.” Pink shrugged apologetically. “Marsh Steps might want to expand more before spring lets up.” Especially if Thistle thought of a way to suggest that without letting on that a whole herd would be wandering in their direction.

Then again, Marsh Steps was in charge of planting. All Thistle had to say was that Marsh Steps should plant a bit more and Marsh would drown them all in oceans of oats.

Pink hitched herself to the sledge and turned a speculative eye towards Gem Mountain. It was a longer haul, but there was a lot more stone to be had there. The gem-eating monster had never come back so the mountain had never been declared forbidden.

But lugging stones down a mountain was a fast way to break her back. Pink started marching for the gully.