Author's Note
This happened. I don't know why.
But it was fun, despite the dark circumstances in it.
I hope you guys enjoy it.
The Feud
Losing a child. Could anything provoke more emotion in somepony than that? I don’t think there could be anything else that manifests such a degree of pain, of grief, of guilt, of blame, of anger, of self-loathing. But is it possible to simply grow used to it? Can one simply numb themselves to it after so many losses?
In a word, yes.
Ponies feud with one another over the strangest things. Power, money, fame- forsaking the most important things in the process, the pinnacle of which is family. But this feud, made into the stuff of legend by this point, did make it into a few ancient history books. However, I noted in all of this that the supposed feud took place during Starswirl The Bearded and the rest of the ancient pillars’ times. So, I went to get the story from a primary source.
Being a noted historian has it’s perks. When you go to any of the Pillars they immediately wave you in. Starswirl greeted me with a smile.
“Past Ledger. What a pleasure to see you. Come for a rousing tale of my spell creations?”
“Actually,” I say, “I was hoping to gain your first pony insight on a historical event.”
“Nightmare Moon’s banishment? The war of the Griffons? The plague of Swamp Fever Mage Meadowbrook drew out?”
“No.” I said. “It’s about the feud between the Neighberries.”
Starswirl drew in a sharp breath. This was obviously not something he had been expecting. When the surprise wore off of his face, his expression hardened, eyes steely. He got a mug in his magic and dispensed hard cider into it. To my surprise he downed half of it in one go before speaking, his face set into a hard grimace.
“That feud… In all the time I’ve been back no pony has ever mentioned it. I had hoped it had faded into some old ponies’ tale.” He said, his voice was gruff with many emotions.
“You don’t have to speak on it if you don’t want to. I can go and do research in the history books if you aren’t comfortable with it.”
Starswirl sighed. “You could, but then I would miss a chance to get this weight from my shoulders. I’ve been carrying that around for far too long.”
“So…”
Starswirl watched the cider in his mug as he swirled it around in his glass. Then, with a sigh, he began.
“It was over a thousand years ago, before the time of Nightmare Moon. I was a sorcerer in Canterlot, mainly, but I did some travel in my time. Near a forest in more rural parts of Maretania, there lived a family. The Neighberries. The patriarch of the family, Elder Neighberry, passed away during the time I was in Canterlot. The Neighberries had made their fortune in farming, so when their father died from a farming accident- falling into a pitchfork that had been buried in a hay pile when he fell from a beam on a roof- his inheritance was to be kept among his remaining children- his son Blackberry Tart, and his daughter Tayberry. Their father promised to pass on the fortune to the family with the greatest need for it, rather than dividing it equally. Elderberry always was an odd old bird.”
“So… The one with the most children?” I asked.
“Correct.” Starswirl said. “Once the children came of age, the parents would inherit the fortune.”
“So they had to be eighteen?”
“No, my friend. Being of age was calculated differently back then. Twelve was the magic number. When you hit the age of twelve you were considered of sound enough mind to make adult decisions. It was a very different time, mind you.”
I nod. “Alright. So the children had to come of age. Was it all of them or just one?”
“Elderberry stipulated two of the children had to reach that age before a decision was made. Blackberry still ran the farm, but Tayberry left to pursue an education- at lest one further than what she already had. Tayberry met a stallion named Savvy Stables, who was a rather poor teacher in the school, and they fell in love and married. Blackberry found a mare during that time, Poppyseed, who’s family sometimes did business with the Neighberries and were fairly well to do. The two of them had a foal together- Lemon Berry. From the moment Tayberry and Savvy Saddles were wed, they went back to the farm, and it was quite literally a race for Tayberry to conceive. She hoped to have twins so that she could outdo Poppyseed and get closer to the goal. She, in fact, did have twins. Bright Burst and Strawberry Sugar. The lot of them all lived on the property which really was a mistake. The families were so focused on being there to prove that they were the rightful heirs that they caused the events to happen.”
Starswirl took a long draught of his cider before he continued. “The feuding between them was absolutely horrific. The husbands and the wives fought each other like there was no tomorrow. Any small transgression was snapped at and criticized. The stallions, however, tended to focus on the work around the farm when they fought- pointing out un raked leaves, berries left unpicked, grass not trimmed. But the mares focused on the children. They would critique each other’s parenting styles, the amount of chores the children had to do in relation to the others, and at the worst point, the children themselves.”
Starswirl downed the rest of his cider before grabbing another mug and drinking some of that. “When I traveled to Maretania I was there for perhaps two months. I was trying to find a quiet place to practice my magic. But the fighting between those families lasted twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. I heard so many of the slurs, the critiques, the insults, but I never interfered. Maybe that was my mistake.” He took another long drink, and I began to worry he would get so drunk he would not be able to finish the story. “I never thought it would get to the point it did. But I was very wrong.”
Starswirl breathed in shakily as he spoke. “There were suspicions that Tayberry was the one to murder Lemon Berry because of one of Poppyseed’s comments to her. Lemon Berry was maybe two or three. Very curious little girl, from what I’m told. She got into the barn, and was playing around near a wood chipper. Wasn’t tall enough or able to jump high enough to reach the top of it anyhow so no pony worried too much. Poppyseed had been inside getting lunch ready when she heard the wood chipper running. She didn’t think much of it since her husband and Savvy Saddles often used it. But when she went to get Lemon Berry, she saw the blood all over the walls and knew. She blamed Tayberry for it. Her grief for her daughter twisted her anger into revenge. She vowed her revenge on Tayberry for what she’d done. And she had it. Bright Burst and Strawberry Sugar were playing on a hill not far from the house and supposedly fell into the river below. Neither of them knew how to swim and they drowned.” Starswirl’s eyes were clouded and sad as he reflected on that while nursing his cider. “They asked me to resuscitate those kids with my magic because medicine had failed. I tried everything I could but it was too late for them.” He wiped his eyes before continuing.
“The two mares had no children anymore, and thus no claim to the fortune. They tried conceiving again, but every time the plans were foiled by the other. The husbands grew tired of the constant sabotage, and Savvy Saddles wanted to move away to Trottingham if the tale is correct. Tayberry wouldn’t have it. The need to have that fortune outweighed everything else. Savvy Saddles threw up his hooves in defeat and left her from what I understand. And Blackberry… After he lost his daughter he went crazy. A thousand years ago, we didn’t have asylums, but he needed one. He talked to himself, stared off into space in the midst of any conversation, had severe nightmares, and brandished farming equipment at anyone who trespassed there. Tayberry couldn’t stand him. So, when she got close to him and he brandished a hoe at her, She used a rake to get underneath him and get the tines in his chest. He was dead, and that was that. Poppyseed always thought Tayberry did it, but that was the one case where she wasn’t sure if it had been an accident or not. With Blackberry being how he was… It wouldn’t have surprised Poppyseed if it had been on purpose.” He took a long drink.
“The two mares were left there. Savvy Stables never came back for Tayberry, but every day she looked out that window for him. She tried to find somepony after that but after talk of what happened to her children no stallion would go near her. Poppyseed never married again. They argued and bickered until it came to an end. During one of their fights a lantern fell over and the barn caught fire. They escaped without a burn, but the seeds, the tools, the watering cans, the mulch, all of it was in that barn and was up in smoke. It would set back the farming schedule months, and with no stallions on hoof to do the heavy work, they couldn’t recover. Poppyseed’s miserly brother had inherited their family’s money and wouldn’t give her a dime. And with no children to claim the fortune, the Neighberries’ money was as good as gone.”
He paused, taking a smaller sip of his cider now. “The mares stayed in that house until the end of their days. Some thought it was because they both wanted to be close to their children, but I think they were just too stubborn to leave. They forsook everything they ever had for some blood bits. No pony was ever spared with them. Husbands, children, no pony was safe. When Tayberry and Poppyseed died, I thought that feud would die with them. But, here we are.”
I was quiet for a few moments, letting him compose himself, before I spoke. “Thank you, Starswirl.”
He nodded, and downed the rest of the second mug. I left abruptly after that, feeling that I had overstayed my welcome. I wrote down all of Starswirl’s story, but I never published it in any book or article.
Like the two mares, this story was one better left buried.
