The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

As the shadow finished descending, it turned out it not to belong to any one creature, but instead to some contraption Smokey had never seen before. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a small cart painted white, but on closer inspection, it didn't seem to be made of wood or any sort of material he was familiar with. He might have spent longer puzzling out the oddity, but that was when he saw what was pulling it.

Pegasi. Harnessed to the front of the strange cart were actual pegasi.

He had, of course, heard of them, but having gone his whole life without ever seeing one, they may as well have been some sort of rare mythical creature. He didn't know much about them, aside from the stories he'd been told growing up. Supposedly, they were a proud warrior race that could manipulate the weather at will. They fought against griffons, rocs, and sometimes even dragons. Despite the fact that ponies weren't supposed to be a match for any of these creatures, the pegasi still managed to come out on top. All thanks to their strength, unity, and straight up daring when the odds were stacked against them.

However, the pegasi before him didn't inspire any of that. These poor creatures were small, not small like they were short, but neither of them looked like they had eaten a proper meal in many moons. It also looked like they also hadn't had a proper bath in just as long. Their coats were matted from untold amounts of neglect. Dirt and mud caked everything else to the point you couldn't even be sure what their natural color was, forget being able to make out their cutie marks. And their manes were destroyed to the point it would probably be easier just to cut it all off and start over.

Despite their disheveled state, neither of them seemed to be even remotely bothered. Far from it, they just stood there motionless with blank stares on their faces. Neither of them seeming to notice or care about anything.

Smokey's attention was once again drawn back to the strange cart just as one of the occupants stepped down. He'd seen unicorns before, but never had he seen one with a coat so white or so clean. It was almost as clean as the light blue armor he wore, which looked as if it had never seen use. The visitor flicked his blonde mane, it almost seemed to come out looking more luxurious from the simple action, and looked out at the gathered crowd. The look of contempt he had on his face was palpable, the sort of look one had when they really didn't want to be there. Which begged the question, why was he here?

"So these are... earth ponies," the stallion said with a slight sneer to his voice. "I'm not sure why, but I expected something more."

Smokey wasn't quite sure what the unicorn meant by that, but he felt insulted by his attitude. He looked over to his neighbors, the looks on their faces mirroring how he felt. Who was this pony, and where was this attitude even coming from?

"Listen up, peasants!" He shouted loud enough to be heard over the rising sound of disgruntled voices. "It has come to attention of your betters that the food output of this particular village is far too low for what is expected. Therefore, by order of the Grand City of Elysium, the tax on food shall be doubled."

The outrage was immediate. Voices, that had only sounded slightly annoyed before, burst forth like water gushing from a broken dam. Shouts of "that's not fair" and "you take enough as it is" could barely be heard through the cacophony of insults that were hurled at the newcomer. Someone else jumped off the cart in a hurry, another unicorn, and began arguing vehemently with the first one. Smokey immediately recognized this one as the one in charge of the nearby fort. She was a fairly relaxed mare who got along with the townsfolk quite well and didn't ask too much of them. Unfortunately, Smokey couldn't really hear what she was saying over the sounds of the outraged farmers.

That was when Powder rejoined him, likely drawn in by the commotion. "I finished my rounds," she said, looking slightly uncomfortable once she'd had a chance to analyze the situation. "What's this all about?"

"Somepony new showed up from the capital, if I had to guess," he said. "Probably used to having friends in high places. I don't see them lasting if this is how they plan to start their first day. Anyway," he said, turning his attention back to more important things, "did we find everyone on our list?"

"Almost," she said, still looking a bit uneasy at the local situation. "I still have Carrot Top's weed killer, and Daisy's moisturizer. She looked over her bags for a moment, sure she had forgotten something. "Oh, and I still have that tonic for old Sunspot. I kind of expected to see him by now. Any sign of him?"

Smokey shook his head. "No," he said, a bit concerned. "Usually he's the first one I see. I hope everything's alright." He looked to Daisy, currently at the forefront of getting the crowd worked up, leaving the poor sergeant to try and get things back under control. "I don't think she going to be available, either," he said. "I do feel a bit bad for Sergeant Gleam, though. But this isn't our problem. Anyway, ready to head home?" He only took a cursory glance at the crowd before leaning close enough that his breath would assuredly tickle the fur on the inside of her ear. "That potion should've had more than enough time to take full effect by now. Ready to see if it worked?"

Powder's ears perked up and a crimson blush washed over her face. She looked back at her mate and was rewarded by the warm smile he saved just for her. She excitedly threw her hooves around him and began snuggling into him. That was all the assurance he needed to start guiding her towards the path that would take them both home.

They didn't make it far before a voice cut through the noise, halting their tracks.

"Hold it right there!" They shouted. "Who gave you permission to leave?"

Smokey turned back to find the new unicorn looking right at them. If it had been possible for him to come across as any more abrasive than he already had, then he found a way. At first, he wondered at first how he had even made it this far, what with the crowd looking like it wanted to paint his alabaster coat a few new colors. However, when he spotted the blue glow of the unicorn's horn connecting him to the frozen bodies of his neighbors, he had his answer.

"Whatever's happening here," Smokey called back, more annoyed than anything else, "it doesn't seem like it involves me. So if you'll excuse me, I still have a lot of work to do." He turned his back to leave, but was halted when his legs refused to move. Upon further inspection, he found that same blue glow wrapped around his own hooves.

"It does involves you," the unicorn said, the amount of pomp in his voice could easily be used to start a fire, and already had in the case of the rest of the village. "All you earth ponies are good for is growing food, and everypony in the village has a quota they're expected to meet, or disciplinary action will be necessary. You and your slothen minx are not exempt from this."

There was a lot Smokey could put up with, and he had been called a lot of distasteful things early in his career, but the one thing he wouldn't put up with was any of that being directed at Powder. He could feel his blood starting to boil as he tried to remember what the zebras had taught him about unicorn magic, and teach this pony a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.

However, before he had the chance, Powder quickly caught on to what he was about to do, and threw herself between them. "Please sir," she said while trying to sound as meek as possible. "We're nothing more than simple physicians. We don't care for any farmland and many of the townsfolk would fall ill without us."

"Ha!" He burst out laughing, not even trying to hide his mirth. "Earth pony doctors?! Now I've heard everything. What could you simple lot possibly know about medicine. Although..."

What followed was an uncomfortable silence, not only had the unicorn momentarily stopped talking, but a few gasps escaped the villagers. Smokey craned his next to look back, a difficult task with magic holding him in place, and a sharp chill ran down his spine with what he saw.

This unicorn was very clearly, and very obviously looking Powder over. He wasn't even attempting to hide it as what he was thinking could plainly be seen on his face. Sure, it wasn't completely unheard of for someone to steal a glance at someone else's mate, but at least most had the common decency to not be practically drooling over themselves. This unicorn was doing none of that. Between the look in his eyes and his flared nostrils, he was straight up lusting after her. As shocking as all that was, none of it compared to what came out of his mouth next.

"I suppose I could be convinced to be a bit more lenient," he brought a hoof up under Powder's chin, slightly lifting it as a vile smile played out on his face, "if certain conditions could be met."

Smokey's body moved on its own. He only barely saw her recoil from the unwelcome touch before finding himself between the two of them and shoving the intruder away. Forget boiling over, at this point he may as well have had a raging inferno burning inside him. The only thing that kept him from immediately pounding the predatory unicorn into mush, and even then just barely, was the effort it was taking to push the halting magic into the ground. He'd have to thank those zebras if he ever saw them again. Now, if only he had his pipe on him...

"What is going on here?!" The voice rang clear and true over the clearing, bringing a sudden stop to the building conflict. At the same time, the resistance Smokey felt on his body disappeared, and he was about to proceed with breaking someone's face, but then he noticed his assailant was already several feet away from him and with a red glow of magic wrapped around his horn.

"Who did that?!" The unicorn shouted, immediately looking to the small entourage he brought with him. "Which of you dares to interfere with the magic of the Noble Star Bright?!" However, none of them seemed eager to either come to his defense, or admit to their interference. So when the owner of the red aura made himself known, Star Bright wore a look of complete bafflement.

Sunspot, the sole unicorn that resided within the village, stepped forward. The elderly unicorn had lived among them for as long as Smokey could remember. Even though the black coat and orange mane that peeked out from beneath the hempen cloak had both faded with time, it seemed that his magic had not.

There had been more than enough time for Star Bright to take in the old pony's appearance, no doubt he was still shaken by whatever Sunspot had done to knock him back on his flank. "Who are you supposed to be?!" He demanded. "What makes you think you can get away with assaulting a noble?"

"Be quiet," Sunspot said in a calm, yet firm, voice. This was a side of the old pony Smokey had never seen before. The elder pony was usually very soft-spoken, and got along well with most of the village. You'd rarely ever see him use his unicorn magic, making it pretty easy to forget that he was one. He usually just seemed to content himself with sitting in the sun and watching the world pass by. However, right now, with the way he looked down his nose at the newcomer, he carried a tone of authority Smokey hadn't known the old pony possessed.

"Are the two of you all right?" Sunspot was addressing him now, his face reverting to caring old pony Smokey knew well. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"He... Powder..." Smokey heaved between large gulps of air. He hadn't completely calmed down, and was still ready to beat the pony within an inch of his life. He only stopped when he met the old pony's eye, and when Sunspot placed an patient hoof on his shoulder.

"I understand," he said softly. "I've never known you to lose your temper without good reason, but you must understand, it won't go well for either of you if you strike out against an Elysian noble."

"But," Smokey lowered his voice, "didn't you just... I mean... Won't you..."

"I'll be alright," Sunspot said. "It may have been a long while, but I still remember how best to deal with his type."

Smokey paused and considered the old pony's words. Very little was known about Sunspot's life before coming to the village. He never talked about his past, and anything he might have shared with anyone else, he had kept it to himself.

He looked back to the noble, having been quiet for some time now. Currently he was listening to the sergeant as she whispered in his ear. He nodded along, his eyes going wide with shock.

"That's Sunspot?!" Star exclaimed. "Wasn't his son the one who..."

"I would prefer," Sunspot interrupted, his stern face returning, "not to listen to somepony with bad manners tarnish my son's memory with their vile tongue. Next time I may do more than knock some entitled brat on his flank."

Star stood there for a moment, completely incensed. He clearly couldn't believe anyone would dare talk to him that way. "You..." He spat, even as the sergeant began desperately herding him away. He fought them at first, but eventually the sergeant succeeded in loading him back onto the carriage.

"I won't stand by this humiliation!" He shouted back as the pegasi began lifting the carriage off the ground. "You'll rue the day you decided to make a fool of me!"

And with that, he was gone. The villagers stayed and watched as the obstinate pony faded into the distance. They milled about, discussing everything that had happened, but eventually everyone started to wander back to their daily lives. Smokey found the old unicorn, Sunspot, sunning nearby as he watched the sky. The old pony seemed to be lost in thought, like he tended to get sometimes.

"Should we be worried about him?" Smokey asked.

"Huh?" Sunspot looked momentarily startled, like he just noticed he was there. "Sorry, I didn't see you. No," he pondered, "I think we'll be alright. Ponies like him tend to just be full of hot air. Still..."

"Still what?" Asked Smokey, not liking the look of concern on his face.

The old pony shook his head. "It's not the average unicorn that owns their own sky chariot," he said. "There's no telling what he might be capable of. If I were you, I'd go straight home and stay there until this whole thing blows over."

Smokey was worn out by the time they finally made it home, not physically mind you, he found himself getting more than enough exercise while collecting difficult and dangerous herbs. He was worn out emotionally. If he had known the day was going to go like this, he might've just stayed home.

No, he reminded himself. That's a foolish way of thinking. There was no way he could've known a new unicorn would show up, and even if he had, all the ones that frequented the village were far better behaved than what he had seen tonight. Even so, other ponies still counted on him and the services he provided. While those desperate enough for his medicines would make the trek out to his home, sometimes even in the middle of the night, it wouldn't do for him and Powder to squirrel themselves away from the rest of the world.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked her for at least the third time since they left.

"For the third time, yes," she said, her mane a bit of a mess from getting caught on a stray branch on the way home. "I'm fine. I'm just glad nopony got hurt."

"What was that all about, anyway?" Smokey pondered aloud. Who was Sunspot, really? Whoever he was, it seemed like it hadn't taken anything more than the noble recognizing him before backing down. It made him wonder more than ever who old Sunspot had been before coming to the village. Right now though, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"And where do you think you're going?" Powder said with no small amount of sass.

Smokey looked back at her, confused at first. "To bed. I'm a bit worn out after..." He started to say, but then he caught the look she was giving him. The very needy look that any pony, especially those had spent as much time together as they had, would recognize.

The potion! He realized, his brain finally catching up with the rest of him. With everything else that had happened that day, he had completely forgotten about the fertility potion he had brewed for her. It should be in full effect by now.

"I see you finally remembered," she said, her face completely aglow with feelings of amusement and desire. She took a hold of his leg and Smokey could feel how irresistibly warm she felt at that moment. "I trust you still remember what to do with a mare in heat?" She teased as she led him back to their room.

It hadn't been the first time he'd heard Powder use that line. Like every other time she used it, he did indeed remember what to do with a mare in heat. Hopefully, this time their efforts would finally bear fruit.