Spring and Spanner

Chapters

1 - Spring Blossom
2 - Spanner Wrench
3 - The First Day
4 - Bits Today for a Promise Tomorrow
5 - Whole
6 - A Guiding Hoof
7 - After-School Schooling
8 - The Ghost
9 - Shadows of Hate
10 - Sorrow
11 - The Rainbow at the End
12 - The Lonely Road of Yesterday
Epilogue
Prologue

1 - Spring Blossom

Act I

Eine kleine blume

Chapter One

Spring Blossom

The quiet rustling of leaves was all that gave away her presence, but thankfully the sound was lost to the gentle breeze. Her target had no idea she was right behind him, and she intended to keep it that way until the last moment. She kept her body low to the ground, and carefully minded where she was putting her hooves. One mistake and it was all over.

She creeped ever closer to her target, still blissfully unaware of her presence. He was looking out into the open field beyond the forest the two of them were in, crouched low behind a bush. It was a sound choice; he'd be able to see anypony coming long before they'd see him, and the nearby trees provided ample cover.

The filly withdrew her weapon, cleaned and polished just that morning. It was just the perfect length and weight, inspiring confidence in the user. She edged forward, now just feet from the target, and she chose that moment to strike. With her body coiled she leaped forward, the sudden sound alerting her target, but he was too slow. It was too late. She struck him with the baton, and he fell to the ground with a cry of surprise.

"I got you! You're it!" the filly shouted, and quickly scurried off.

"Argh! Get back here, Spring Blossom!!" the colt she'd targeted yelled, but Spring Blossom ignored him. She heard him take off after her, but she knew that she was too fast for him to catch her. Her target now was the safezone, a tetherball post at the other end of the open field, and she raced headlong across the field toward.

"Get back here, you're gonna get it!" Patchouli Rest shouted, and still did Spring Blossom ignore him. It sounded like he was way behind her, too. She effortlessly skirted past all the obstacles along the way, leaping nimbly over the numerous swingsets, tunnels, and seesaws scattered across the field, until at last she was at the tetherball post. She put a hoof up to it and watched Patchouli Rest slow down from his gallop to a canter, an annoyed smiled on his face.

"I can't believe how fast you are" he said, breathlessly, and Spring Blossom just smiled. He was a year older than her, taller too, but he could still never hope to catch her. Whenever they played Tag it always ended the same way.

"Sneaky, too!" Spring chirped. "I came up behind you like a ninja pony, and you never knew I was there!"

Patchouli scoffed and looked away. "Yeah, well, whatever. What do you want to play now? I guess we could play some tetherball, since we're already here" he said, but before Spring could answer the bell rang.

"Lunch time!" Spring said, and took off past Patchouli. All across the playground behind Small Steps Home for Orphaned Ponies young colts and fillies abandoned their games and ran towards the house they all called home. Their caretaker, Miss Ginger, stood upon the step of the back door, beckoning them to come to her.

As Spring neared the open door she slowed down, and filed into the building along with all the other kids. There were other caretakers there in the halls, to guide them to the lunch room, but Spring already knew where to go. From the backdoor to the playground one went left, down the hall for the rooms the colts, and then right towards the front door. Instead of going all the way to the front door, though, they'd take another left through a set of double doors into a room lined with half-a-dozen tables.

Spring Blossom was ready to eat, that was for sure, but there was somepony there in the lunch room who caught her eye. She noticed him because she'd never seen him before, and that meant he was there to adopt somepony. Spring always hoped it was her, but she knew she'd be happy for whoever the stallion picked. He had a silver coat with a short golden mane and tail, a cutie mark of a wrench latched onto a bolt on his flanks. He looked at Spring, but didn't really notice her, his eyes scanning across all the foals coming into the lunch room.

It was like this every so often. A mare or stallion would come to the home, spend a few days or weeks getting to know the foals there, and before Spring knew it another one of her friends would be leaving with their new parents. They all promised to write letters, and some even did, too. Every other week Spring would get a letter from her friend Morning Glisten, all the way in Ponyville.

Spring quickly found a seat at one of the tables and it wasn't long before Patchouli Rest joined her. "Did you see the new visitor, Patchouli?" Spring asked, and her friend nodded. "I wonder what he's like. I bet he's real nice."

"I dunno, he looks kinda...mean" Patchouli said, and Spring frowned. She took another look at the visitor, all the way at the end of the room, his face without a smile. He didn't look mean to Spring, but she thought he should at least smile.

It wasn't long before some of the caretakers came out of the kitchen bearing the day's lunch, tomato soup, and began setting tables. As they ate, there wasn't much to talk about, the room filled only with the sounds of spoons hitting ceramic. Spring ate in silence, along with everyone else, but after a few minutes she felt like someone was standing behind her.

Spring looked over her shoulder and saw the visitor standing there, his face turned away from her as he looked at the foals at the other table. After a moment his head turned back and he saw Spring looking at him, and she smiled gleefully. The visitor simply nodded and trotted away, headed for another table. Spring's smile died and she watched him as he went from table to table, looking over the colts and fillies seated at each.

"So creepy..." Patchouli commented, and although Spring frowned at that she didn't disagree. She decided to be nice to him, if he talked to her, since if Miss Ginger had let him in he couldn't be bad, right?

The visitor came back towards the table Spring was at, this time on the other side of it. Again he stopped between Spring's table and the table on the other side, and looked at the one table before looking at Spring's. Again did the two of them lock eyes, and again did Spring smile. This time less boisterously, but still brightly.

The visitor simply turned and trotted away.

Spring frowned again, and wondered just who he was and where he'd come from. She and all the other kids went to school in town, and she didn't recognize the visitor, but that didn't mean anything, really. Still, all the other adults that had come to visit and adopt had always smiled at everypony. This visitor hadn't even smiled once, yet!

A short time later Spring had finished her lunch, along with everypony else, and Miss Ginger and the others came to gather up all their dishes. One of the caretakers led them all away from the cafeteria towards the sitting room, where they'd all gather to hear Miss Ginger or somepony else read them a story. Spring, at age 9, didn't like story time quite as much as she used to, but didn't mind it so much. Very quickly the foals had all found their spots and it wasn't long before Miss Ginger arrived as well.

Spring was ready to hear the story that Ginger had picked when she heard the door behind her open. She turned, as did everypony else, and watched as the visitor trotted in. He quietly scanned the crowd of foals and didn't say anything, and Spring turned back to see Ginger.

"Everypony, this is Spanner Wrench. You all saw him in the cafeteria earlier. He's here because he'd like to get to know you all better, alright?" Ginger said.

"Yes, Miss Ginger" the kids all collectively said at once. They all turned their attention to Ginger as she began to read aloud. It was a story that Spring had heard before, so she wasn't very interested. Unfortunately, the visitor was behind her, so she couldn't really look at him without him noticing.

Maybe he's just shy Spring Blossom thought suddenly, and smiled. That had to be it! She hadn't heard of shy adults before, but they had to be out there. Maybe if he visited again Spring would try talking to him.

With her mind made up Spring focused her attention on Miss Ginger and listened to the story, her mind preoccupied with what she'd say to the visitor, Spanner Wrench, next time she saw him. She supposed she could talk to him today, but wasn't sure she was up to it. She also wasn't sure if he'd be up for it, being his first time at the home, so she figured it was best to hold off.

He's not a bad pony, I just know it.

After twenty minutes or so the story was finished, and the foals were free to spend the rest of their days as they saw fit. It was Sunday, so they'd all be back in school tomorrow, but for now the day was theirs.

Spring had just finished using the bathroom and was ready to go back outside to play when she saw Miss Ginger at the end of the hall, near the backdoor. Spring smiled at her and cantered down the hall towards her. "Hi, Miss Ginger!" Spring said as she got closer.

"Hello, Spring Blossom. There's somepony who'd like to meet you here" Ginger said, and Spanner Wrench stepped out from around the corner. He looked down at Spring, and she smiled at him.

"Hello there, Spring Blossom. I'm Spanner Wrench. Would you like to talk?" the visitor said, the first time Spring had heard him speak. His voice was deep, nothing like that of the other colts that Spring knew, or even as deep as some of the stallion teachers she had at school.

"Sure, Mr. Wrench! Do you wanna see my room?" she asked, and Spanner nodded. She led him and Ginger down the hall, and to the door that was her room. She opened it up, and the two adults followed her inside. The rooms at Small Steps weren't very big, with enough space for a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a bookshelf, but Spring had made the most of her limited space, finding little places to put the stuffed animals she got at school.

She turned and watched as Spanner scanned the room. She knew that all her decorations wouldn't really interest the stallion, but she was just glad to see that maybe he wasn't as shy as she thought.

"Fitting décor, I should think. Tastefully done, as well" Spanner said, and seemed to take notice of something. He nodded at the window at the other end of the room, and Spring turned to it. "I see you have a flower planter outside your window. Do you tend to those flowers yourself?"

Spring nodded vigorously. "Mm-hm! I really taking care of them, they're so pretty! They're peh-- Puh-too-nyuhs" Spring said, proud of herself for pronouncing it right.

"How lovely. I see you have some flowers on your desk as well, and... A letter?" Spanner said, and Spring trotted over. She reared up on her hind legs and plucked the letter off the desk, and looked at Ginger.

"It's from Morning, dear. It came earlier today, and I left it here for you" Ginger said, and Spring looked the envelope over. "Morning Glisten was her friend, before she was adopted three years ago. I'm happy to see they still write to each other."

Spring set the unopened letter on her bed, intending on reading it later. "Morning was adopted by Princess Sunset, Princess Twilight, and Princess Fluttershy! I was so happy for her, and thought it was so cool! I think I still have a newspaper that Miss Ginger gave me; it has Morning's picture in it, from when she attended a Princess Summit in the Crystal Empire!" Spring excitedly explained.

Spanner nodded. "I have heard of Princess Morning Glisten and her mothers. How kind of you two to maintain correspondence."

Spring looked at Miss Ginger, who smiled. "When two ponies maintain correspondence, it means they write letters to each other" she explained, and Spring nodded.

"Morning really liked to read books, so we didn't play together a whole lot, but I really missed her when she left. I was still happy she got adopted, though!" Spring said, quickly adding that last part.

"It still hurts to see them go, though, doesn't it?" Spanner asked, and Spring nodded glumly.

"I still have friends here, though, and we all play together and go to the same school. I really like it here, but...I still hope I get adopted some day" Spring said, though she felt a little ashamed to admit that in front of Miss Ginger.

"I understand. Would you like to go play with your friends now? I'm sure they've been waiting for you" Spanner said, and Spring nodded. She followed the two adults out into the hallway, and closed the door to her room.

"Bye Mr. Wrench, it was nice meeting you!" Spring said.

"Goodbye, Spring Blossom" he replied, and Spring took off for the backdoor to find Patchouli Rest. She just had to tell him that the visitor had talked to her, and that he wasn't a bad pony like he had thought.

Spring Blossom was good at that sort of thing. At figuring out if others were good or bad. In her experience, though, everypony was good. The caretakers were nice, all the visitors were nice, and even all the foals were nice to each other. Even if they did get into fights sometimes they still made up afterwards. Everypony she'd ever known at Small Steps Home for Orphaned Ponies was good, and all the townsponies and teachers she had in nearby Hollow Shade were good too. She had no trouble at all believing that Spanner Wrench was a good pony too, he was just a bit shy, and Spring hoped that he would come back.

If he did, Spring Blossom was sure that she'd have no trouble at all getting the stallion to open up to her.

2 - Spanner Wrench

Chapter Two

Spanner Wrench

"Hey Spanner, almost done there?"

Spanner looked up and set down the screwdriver he'd been holding. One of his fellow shopworkers had come by, a stallion by the name of Socket Driver, a coat of red and a mane of salt-and-pepper. Spanner stood and used a towel to wipe his hooves off. As clean as the shop was, little bits of grime built up here and there over the day. He always made sure to wipe them off anyway. Just one of those habits, he supposed.

"The screws are rusted into place. I'll likely need to use a sander to get the bolts off, and then a punch to drive the old screws out. Won't take very long, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow" Spanner said, and Socket nodded.

"Yeah, shop's closing up. Better go clock out and then... Go back into your box, I guess" Socket joked, but Spanner just rolled his eyes.

"It might seem like I'm a robot, but I assure you I am equine" Spanner said, the two of them trotting together as they headed for the front of the shop. The few other workers present had already left, so it was just the two of them.

"Are you?"

Spanner ignored Socket and slid his timecard into the slot. He punched the button and returned the card to his pocket. He continued to ignore Socket and headed for the front door, but Socket was nothing if not persistent. He joined Spanner by the door and quickly locked it once they were outside. The warm spring air was a pleasant change from the staleness of the shop, and a welcome one at that.

"See you tomorrow, Socket" Spanner said, and turned to leave.

"Wait, hold on. The boss asked me to talk to you" Socket said as he came up beside Spanner, and Spanner frowned. He really didn't need to hear it; he was an adult, he could take care of himself.

"I'd like to think it's about work, but I'm quite sure it's about me. I'm also quite sure I don't want to hear it, so save yourself the trouble and go home" Spanner said. Socket frowned, but nodded all the same.

"You've been working here five years, and the only thing I know about you is your name. You know all about my wife, my two foals, my hobbies, my dog, shoot, even that fish I had in middle school. You gotta open up more, friend" Socket said.

"I'll take it into consideration. Goodbye" Spanner said, and trotted away. Thankfully, Socket didn't press the issue, and so Spanner was free to enjoy his trot home in silence. It wasn't far, maybe ten minutes, and before he knew it he was unlocking and pushing open the front door of his home. It was a modest cottage, perfectly suited to his needs. A little sparse, he knew, but comfortable. He shed his work jumpsuit and placed it in the washing machine in the bathroom. He reached for the shirts on the rack but stopped himself. He reminded himself that wearing clothes outside of work was a habit he needed to drop.

After a moment Spanner headed back for the door to his home and stepped back out into the day. It wasn't a far trot to the orphanage, so Spanner headed straight there. That young filly from the day before, Spring Blossom, had piqued his interest. It was clear the other foals hadn't been very interested in him, which was impressive considering they were all orphans and likely keen to be adopted. It wasn't like he meant to be so surly, and it was something he'd tried to work on, but so far he hadn't had much success.

Changing one's self tended to be the hardest thing to change, though, in Spanner's experience.

Spanner Wrench stepped into the lobby of Small Steps Home for Orphaned Ponies, and the receptionist smiled at him. He nodded, and stepped up to the desk. "Good day, I'm here for another visit."

"Of course, sir, I'll notify Miss Ginger Snap" the receptionist said, and trotted away. After a moment the old mare in question appeared, a smile on her face as well.

"Hello there, Mr. Spanner Wrench. Come to see the foals again? They've all just come back from school, so they're all out back playing" Ginger said. "Follow me, please."

Spanner did as asked and after a short trot the two of them were at the back door, and stepped back outside. True to her word the foals were all running around, enjoying themselves, their screams of joy filling the air all around the backyard of the orphanage. Spanner scanned the yard, hoping to see Spring Blossom there, but couldn't find her.

"I know you're interested in adopting, Mr. Wrench. I won't try to steer you in a particular direction, but I imagine that Spring Blossom will be the one happiest to see you" Ginger Snap said, and Spanner nodded.

"What can you tell me about her?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. They're orphans, Mr. Wrench. They come to us from unhappy backgrounds. Sudden deaths, no aunts or uncles to take them in, so they come here. Spring came to us at age four. Her mother died during birth, and her father died in a tragic accident. She had no known family, so she was sent here. She's grown up very happy here, and is the picture of good health, but it's still sad. I can tell she yearns to be adopted, but regrettably she's been passed up by every visitor that's come here" Ginger explained.

"Maybe I'll change that. She was certainly very excited to speak with me and show me her room. It's nice to know she's so sociable and friendly, despite what she's been through" Spanner said, and Ginger nodded.

Just then Spanner caught sight of a young filly running towards them, and realized it was Spring Blossom, her yellow coat and mauve mane a blur. She came to a stop in front of them, the stop so sudden that it looked like she was vibrating, and yelled "hi mister Wrench!"

"Hello Spring Blossom. Enjoying your day?" Spanner asked, and Spring nodded.

"Yeah! School was fun today, we got to learn about animals and a zoo pony even brought in some animals for us to see! He had them in cages and he brought some of them out for us to pet!" Spring said, clearly very excited. She bounced up and down in place, and Spanner had a vague thought that her exuberance could be hazardous to one's health.

"Nature is always a delight to learn about. Could you tell me about the animals you saw?" Spanner said, and Spring nodded.

"He had a glass case with some frogs in it, and a few cages that had bats in them! He wouldn't let the bats come out, but we heard them chirping! And then, he brought out a HUGE SNAKE!! He called it a golden python and it was like as long as three ponies! He let us touch it and it crawled over me while we were all on the floor!!*" Spring explained. "I thought it'd be slimy, but it wasn't!"

"Sounds like it was exciting. I'm glad to hear you enjoy your schoolwork; most foals your age can't stand it, I imagine" Spanner said.

"Nah, we all like it! Our teachers are so nice and we learn about so much cool stuff together! Even Patchouli Rest likes it" Spring said, and Spanner nodded. One of her friends, he guessed.

"I'm glad to hear that. Could you please run along now, Spring? I'd like to talk with Miss Ginger some more."

"OK... Bye, mister Wrench!" Spring said, and ran off. Spanner watched her until she disappeared amid a crowd of foals and turned back to Ginger.

"Could you describe the adoption process to me? I'm sure it's a complicated affair, by necessity" Spanner said, and Ginger nodded.

"Yes, it is. If a pony is interested in adoption, there's a fostering period where the foal, or foals, they wish to adopt spend some time at their home. An inspection of your home would take place first, and there are a number of forms for you to fill out, but since it's Monday I'm sure everything would be in order by this weekend" Ginger said.

"I work each day until fifteen-- Forgive me. Until three PM. I'm a repairpony at Hammer Strike's shop in town."

Ginger smiled. "Come with me, then, we'll get you the forms."

After close to an hour, Spanner was finished filling out all the required paperwork, and was told by Ginger Snap that she'd be by on Wednesday to inspect his house. He felt that Ginger had appreciated that he lived in Hollow Shade, as she likely thought it'd make the transition for Spring a lot easier on her. She'd still go to the same school, and would still see all her friends, so Spanner had every confidence that he would pass Ginger's inspection. He even considered it likely that he'd be spending the weekend with Spring, and wondered what it would be like.

Spanner set down a glass of water on an end table and stood, alone, in his living room. There was no sound beyond his breathing. No clocks, no pets, nothing. It was in these moments that Spanner found himself lapsing, his thoughts wandering. Sometimes he'd catch himself spacing out, staring blindly at nothing, only to suddenly snap out of it with a shake of the head. He was glad that he was going to have a chance to foster Spring for the weekend; it gave him something else to look forward to besides work.

With nothing else to do Spanner looked over the bookshelf in his living room and picked out something to read. With book in hoof he climbed onto the couch and opened it up, that pleasant smell of paper filling his senses. With his thoughts lingering on Spring Blossom he settled in to read, a small smile on his face.

Author's Note

Moving forward, new chapters will post on Wednesdays and Saturdays! Cutie mark header art is again courtesy of ApplejackOfAllTrades on Twitter!

*This is based off of something I experienced in 2nd grade. The species in question was a Burmese python, a very docile and timid species. The handler draped the snake around the back of my neck as I sat at my desk, and I recall being amazed by how smooth it was. I still have my 2nd grade notebook in which I wrote about the experience.

By the way, in Acts of Love, Spring Blossom is described as light green in chapter 10. I missed that the first time I read it, and when I asked Krick she apparently forgot and told me I could make SB whatever, so I made her yellow. Oops :rainbowlaugh: I guess that means the story isn't canon!

3 - The First Day

Chapter Three

The First Day

The week had passed in a blur, much like every week did for Spanner Wrench. He would wake, shower, go to work, come home, busy himself until bedtime, and then repeat. As much as he had assured Socket Driver that he wasn't a robot, there was some small part of Spanner that told himself he certainly lived like an automaton.

Spanner was in the kitchen, washing the dishes, when the doorbell was rung. He set down the cup he'd been washing, dried off his hooves with a towel, and headed for the door. As expected, Ginger Snap and Spring Blossom stood on the other side, smiles on their faces. Spanner responded with a smile of his own, though more of a courtesy than anything else.

"Hi mister Wrench! Miss Ginger said I was gonna stay at your house for the weekend!" Spring said, and Spanner nodded. He stepped aside, and the two of them trotted in. There had been some concern earlier in the week when Ginger had come by to inspect Spanner's home and found it completely devoid of décor, but thankfully she still decided to let Spring come by for the weekend. Spanner was sure that if he lived in another town, and his home there was in such a state, that she would've declined.

"I'll leave you two be now. Bye, Spring, have fun with Mr. Wrench, and be a good filly, OK?" Ginger said, and Spring nodded.

"I will, Miss Ginger! Bye, see you Sunday!"

Ginger smiled, waved, and left, leaving Spanner alone with Spring. For once in his life, Spanner was presented with a situation that he wasn't particularly prepared to deal with. He'd planned for the weekend all week, had ideas in mind, but now that it was time to implement these plans he didn't know where to start.

Spring did, though. Or at least seemed to. She began trotting and looking around the house, taking it in. "You don't have any decorations, mister Wrench?" Spring asked, and Spanner shook his head.

"Just call me Spanner, please, and no. I've never been one for decorating" Spanner said. He wondered if that would change if he did end up adopting Spring. She seemed confused that there were no decorations anywhere.

"There's decorations everywhere at the home. Miss Ginger and the other adults put up most of them, but there's also drawings and stuff from us all" Spring said.

"Do you enjoy drawing, Spring?" Spanner asked.

"Nah. I'm not very good at it. I like taking care of my flowers!" the young filly exclaimed, and Spanner nodded.

"Well, is there anything you'd like to do? There's not much to do here in the house, besides read, but there's also not much for us to do outside" Spanner said, and sat down on his haunches. He wondered if the house would feel smaller with Spring's presence.

"Books are cool! My friend Morning Glisten in Ponyville likes to read all the time, but... I was reading all day at school today, so could we play outside?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded.

"Let's go out the back door" Spanner said, and led her along. The backdoor was plainly visible as soon as somepony walked in the front, as the backdoor was directly opposite the front, just thirty feet across the hall in the kitchen. Spanner held it open for Spring, who thanked him, and together they trotted out into the backyard.

"Uhm, mister-- Spanner, do you live by yourself?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded.

"I've lived here in Hollow Shades for many years. I work in town, as a repairpony. Ponies come to us with broken machines and it's my job to fix them all" Spanner explained, and Spring smiled.

"That's so cool! Could you show me?" Spring asked.

Spanner shook his head. "I'm afraid not. There's nothing broken here, and the repair shop is closed for the day. Another time, perhaps."

"OK. Uhm, did you live somewhere else before you lived here?" Spring asked, and Spanner froze. That wasn't something he could tell her. It'd be too complicated, and she didn't need to know. It was something that he himself would like to forget.

"Somewhere else."

Spring tilted her head to the side. "What was it called? Why did you move?"

"Let's talk about something else, alright? It can be rude to ask questions that somepony doesn't want to answer, alright?" Spanner said.

"I'm sorry, Spanner! Uhm, when you're not fixing stuff, do you just read books all day?" Spring asked.

"Yes. Reading has always been a passion of mine, although I do own a projector. Have you ever seen one? Thanks to Princess Sunset, they've really become true marvels of technology" Spanner said.

"I've never seen one! Can I see it?"

"Of course. It's back inside, though. I keep it in my room" Spanner said, and pulled the door open again. Spring ran inside, and Spanner followed her close behind. Spanner's bedroom was on the left as one exited the kitchen and entered the hallway, and he opened the door for Spring.

"I'm afraid I don't own any films, but maybe one day I will. Most projectors are still used for official matters, like newsreels" Spanner explained, and pulled the case the projector and its tripod was in out from under his bed. He popped the case open and held it open for Spring to marvel at it. It looked exactly as Spring expected: a metal box with two pegs on it, for mounting the film reel to, and a lens sticking out from the front. Its legs were a smooth wood and the metal a bright silver. On its side was a golden emblem, gleaming as brilliantly as the rest of the projector. An eagle perched upon a rod, wings spread.

"It looks cool!"

"I thought you might like it. Truth be told I'm not sure why I own it. It's just...something I've owned for a long time. Projectors used to be something of an oddity, but Princess Sunset really made them mainstream. Uh, mainstream means popular" Spanner explained, and Spring nodded. "I received it as a gift and at the time I was quite fascinated by it. Even though I've never used it I just...never thought to get rid of it."

"Well, I hope you get to use it one day! Can we go back outside to play now, Spanner?" Spring asked.

Spanner nodded. "Of course. Lead the way, please."

The target was out there, somewhere. It was a wide forest, filled with the chirping of birds, but thankfully there was very little undergrowth. The way was clear for him to sneak along, trying to keep as much of him concealed as possible.

He found himself wishing that he had taken the time to put on camouflage, for his colors weren't exactly inconspicuous in the forest, but he told himself he could make do. He was safe for now, he knew, and he had plenty of time to plan out his moves.

There was a threat of rain on the horizon, but for now the skies were sunny and clear. Rain would complicate the mission, but it could also be a benefit. In all likelihood the mission would be over before the storm made it over to him, so it wouldn't factor in at all.

He paused, and felt it in his gut that the target wasn't far. There was a building not far from him, maybe forty yards ahead, but he knew the target wasn't inside. There was a trio of large rocks ahead to his right, also about forty yards away, and he figured that was where the target was. He shifted right, intending to catch the target unaware. There was a tree with a thick branch extending out directly over the rocks, and he snuck up towards the tree.

For most ponies, climbing a tree would be a challenge. For him, he was just out of practice. At one time in his life, he'd have scaled the tree and been on the branch in seconds. Today, it took him a few minutes, but once he was in position, he knew the time was right. He crept along the tree branch, keeping himself centered and keeping sure not to rustle the branch too much.

About halfway across the branch he was over the rock trio, and he looked down to find the target in place, just like expected. The target was actually turning in place every few seconds, to keep an eye on all the different approaches to the rocks, but the target never once looked up. The time was right, he had remained hidden, and there would be no escape.

His limbs tense, he leapt off the branch and into the sky, and yelled "SURPRISE!!" as he came down. There was a shriek of terror from below, and he landed directly on top of the target, the two of them rolling together along the dirt until they bumped together against one of the rocks.

"HOLY COW, you came flying out of the sky! I didn't know you'd do that!" Spring Blossom yelled happily, and Spanner smiled as he stood up off of her. They were both a little dirty now, but Spanner had been careful not to harm her as he came down.

Hide and seek wasn't exactly his game, but a game like Tag was a bit of a challenge for a stallion was 31-years-old. Spring hadn't minded at all, thankfully, likely just happy to spend time with someone she was doubtlessly hoping would adopt her. Spanner had pretty much made his mind up already, but he wasn't going to tell her just yet.

"Did you have fun, Spring?" Spanner asked, and the little filly nodded.

"That was so cool how you came out of the sky! How did you do that, you're an earth pony like me!" Spring asked.

Spanner pointed to the tree branch. "I climbed along that. I saw you turning in place, watching the forest. You never saw me coming."

"Oh wow, you can climb trees? Miss Ginger doesn't like us climbing trees, she says it's too dangerous."

"Well, it can be, if you're not good at it. Maybe I'll teach you someday. It's pretty challenging for earth ponies. Unicorns, too, I would imagine."

Spring paid such rapt attention, a smile on her face the entire time. Spanner enjoyed just having someone to talk to who wasn't always prying into his business. Spring just listened to what he had to say, and offered a comment every so often, and Spanner appreciated that. His coworkers were always trying to goad him into being a pony he wasn't, but Spring seemed to accept him as he was.

"Well, Spring, would you like to go back in? I'll show you to your room, and make dinner for the two of us" Spanner said, and Spring nodded.

"OK, Spanner!" Spring said, and took off for the house. She waited patiently by the backdoor, unable to reach the handle herself, and Spanner pulled it open for her. She scurried through the kitchen and into the hallway, and poked her head into one of the open doors. "I found the bathroom!"

Spanner smiled. "Your room is just next to it, Spring." He pulled the door open, and Spring trotted inside. He stood in the doorway, letting her take in the room. It was set up similar to her room at the orphanage, just bigger. Spanner figured she'd appreciate having a familiar layout, and that it would help her adjust better.

"I've left some books for you. Dinner won't take very long, I was just going to make ramen, so I'll let you know when it's done, alright?" Spanner asked, and Spring nodded. He was about to trot away when he noticed that Spring was just looking at him, as if she wanted to say something more. "Spring?"

Spring opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead she rushed forward and hugged Spanner's leg, and Spanner put a hoof on her back. "Thank you for fostering me, Spanner. I... I don't know if you'll end up adopting me, but... I hope you will. If not, though, I'm happy you at least thought about it."

"You're welcome, Spring" Spanner said with a smile. He hadn't been expecting the sudden embrace, and it filled him with a kind of euphoria he never thought he'd experience. "Now, I'm going to go get dinner started, alright?"

Spring looked up at him, nodded, and released his leg. He tousled her mane, and she giggled. Spanner trotted away and headed back into the kitchen, and reached for one of his pots. It was an interesting feeling, having someone else with him in the house. It felt more...whole. Like one of those things one never knew they needed until they had it.

It was a pleasant feeling. One that Spanner decided he liked very much.

Author's Note

Here's an image of Spanner Wrench's house, to get a better idea of where everything is.

4 - Bits Today for a Promise Tomorrow

Chapter Four

Bits Today for a Promise Tomorrow

Saturday had come, but as Spring Blossom quickly discovered when she woke up, it had brought rain with it. She listened to the pattering of the rain on her bedroom window for a few minutes before she rolled out of bed and onto her hooves. She rubbed her face and quickly made her bed.

With no hope of playing outside today Spring wondered what her and Spanner would end up doing. She pushed open her door and looked left towards the kitchen. There was no sign of Spanner, and she wondered if it'd be alright if she helped herself to breakfast. There was a refrigerator to the left as Spring entered the kitchen, placed at the end of a continuous countertop, and she trotted over to it.

Inside was a large glass bottle of milk, like Spring expected, but there were also a few cartons of orange juice, apple juice, and grape juice. They looked new, so Spring thought that Spanner had bought them for her. She happened to like all three, plus milk, so she hoped that Spanner would be happy with her for not being picky.

Slowly and carefully Spring pulled the bottle of milk out of the fridge and set it onto the counter. She reared up onto her hindlegs and pried at the steel fastener. It was tight, so Spring pried harder. She really had to squeeze hard, her hoof straining against it. Suddenly the fastener popped open, and the bottle tipped over. Spring's heart froze as it hit the countertop, but mercifully it didn't shatter. Frantically she picked the bottle back up and pushed it away. A sizable amount of milk had spilled onto the countertop, so Spring quickly grabbed a towel and wiped it all up.

The crisis resolved, Spring turned her attention back to the milk bottle. She wiped off the milk that had ended up on the bottle itself and looked around to see if she could reach a drinking glass. It looked like they were all up in cupboards, and Spring didn't trust her climbing abilities enough to get up there, so she figured it was time to see if Spanner was awake.

She dropped down onto all fours, turned toward the hall, and froze when she saw Spanner standing in the hall, watching her. She wasn't sure what to say, or what his reaction would be, or even if he had seen her spill the milk, so she decided not to say anything.

Spanner smiled and trotted forward. "Don't worry, Spring, you're not in trouble."

"I'm...not?" Spring asked hesitantly. She trusted Spanner, she knew he wasn't a liar, but if he had seen her spill the milk then why wasn't he upset?

"No. You made a mistake, and then you corrected it. Even I make mistakes, but so long as we do our best to make it right afterwards then there's nothing to be afraid of" Spanner said, using the towel that Spring had used to wipe up the countertop a bit more.

Spring nodded, still a little sheepish with herself. She watched as Spanner pulled down a small drinking glass, filled it, and gave it over to Spring. "Thank you, Spanner" she said, and Spanner nodded.

"You're welcome, Spring. You're up early; it's only seven in the morning."

"Yeah. I kinda woke up 'cuz of the rain. I guess we can't play outside today, huh?" she asked, already aware of the answer.

"Afraid not, but there are other things we can do together. Would you like to see my coin collection?" Spanner asked, and Spring paused mid-sip. Collecting bits was called saving money, wasn't it? Unless there was something special about these bits, but Spring couldn't imagine what. Bits were bits, weren't they?

"OK!" Spring said, and was about to trot off to Spanner's room when he stopped her. She looked up at him, and he nodded toward the milk glass in her hoof. She smiled sheepishly and put it back on the countertop, and followed Spanner to his room.

It was interesting how Spanner's room was set up. As she walked in, she took note of his bed pressed against the center of the wall to the left, a nightstand on one side. At the far end of the room was a long dresser that ran the whole length of the wall, the top of it level with Spring's eyes. At each end of the dresser were two big metal stands, each of them filled from top to bottom with coins. As she entered the room proper, Spring noticed a bookshelf to her right, lined end to end with books.

"The ones I have on display are just a small amount of what I have, but they're my favorites. Here, let me show you" Spanner said. He stopped by the nightstand next to his bed, and pulled out a little metal box. From inside it he brought out a bit, like all the ones Spring had seen, and gave it to her.

"This is the current, modern bit. The one that everypony knows about and uses every day. The obverse, or front, depicts Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, standing side by side in a V-shape, a combined sun and moon hanging above them. Along the rim of the obverse are rays, like a sun. On the reverse, or backside, is a winged horseshoe, a horn coming up between the shoe. Above the horseshoe are four symbols: a star, a butterfly, a sun, and a heart.* Do you know who those represent?" Spanner asked.

"Yeah! Princess Twilight, Princess Fluttershy, Princess Sunset, and Princess Cadence."

Spanner nodded. "The Equestrian bit didn't always look like this, though. It's undergone many redesigns in the thousand years the kingdom has existed" Spanner said, trotting past Spring and heading towards the coin displays. He gestured to the one on the right end of the dresser, and motioned for Spring to come closer. "Over the centuries, the design has changed, and certain elements have been removed, added back, changed, or used just once or twice."

Spring reared up on her hinds and looked at all the coins on the rack, her forelegs on the edge of the dresser. True to Spanner's word there were a whole bunch of different designs on each of the coins. He pulled one down and showed it to her. "This one is from before Nightmare Moon, the last year this particular design was minted. The obverse depicts Princess Celestia, her wings spread and horn lit. Rays of sunlight spread out from her horn, all the way to the end of the coin. The reverse depicts Princess Luna, her wings spread and horn lit as well. The rim of Luna's side of the coin is lined with stars, to symbolize her heavens."

"What does symbolize mean?"

"It means to show, Spring. After Nightmare Moon's rise and banishment, these coins were pulled from circulation and a new design minted. The obverse of that one depicts the sun, and the reverse, the moon. Most say that Celestia herself told the mint to introduce a bit with no ponies on it, but nopony knows for sure."

"The mint is who makes the coins, right?"

Spanner nodded. "Yes, that's right. The royal mint is responsible for managing the production and circulation of gold bits in Equestria. Bits are made by feeding a large sheet of gold of the correct thickness into a blanking machine, which punches blank discs out from the sheet. The blank coins are then fed through a stamping machine that has the designs on it. The machine strikes the round, and the design is imprinted on the round. This happens twice for each round, once for the obverse and once for the reverse. The edges are scored to give them a ridged texture, and the coin is finished."

"Wow. Are coins always made of gold?" Spring asked, and Spanner smiled.

"Good question. Not always, no. When gold can't be used, or can't be found, then silver can be used" Spanner said. He pulled a silver coin down from the rack, and gave it to Spring. The design was kind of funny, Spring thought. The obverse had Celestia and Luna on it, facing each other, but Luna was upside down, so they were both looking at each other's necks. The reverse had Canterlot on it, and the words 'magia, vento, tarrae' around the edge of the coin. "Silver isn't as valuable as gold, so more silver coins are needed to pay for something that would only require a few gold coins."

"This is so cool!" Spanner said. She had thought that bits had always been the same, and had always been made of gold. Now she couldn't wait to see Patchouli on Monday and tell him all about what she learned.

"I'm glad you like it. There's more I have, squirreled away in a safe under my bed, but the things in there are more valuable. Silver bars and bullion coins and the like. These coins here on display are just personally appealing" Spanner said with a smile. He took the two old bits back from Spring, but paused as she prepared to give the third one back. "That's the modern bit, right? The one with the winged horseshoe on the back?"

Spring nodded.

"Keep it. You could keep it as a good luck charm, or use it to buy something at school if you want."

Spring smiled. "Thank you, Spanner!' she said, and looked the coin over. It was a really pretty design, and she liked it. She wondered if Spanner would give her more in the future, if he adopted her.

"Well, that's about all I had to say on the coin collection. I might have a board game around here we could play, if you'd like" Spanner said, and Spring nodded. "Alright. Go put your bit away, and I'll go see what I can dig up."

"OK, Spanner!" Spring said, and took off for her room. She put the bit on her desk and was about to run back out when Spanner trotted by, heading for the living room. She followed him out and watched him head for an end table by his couch. He pulled open a drawer, and out came a box depicting a game that Spring hadn't seen before.

"What's that?"

Spanner set the box down on the short table in front of the couch and pulled the lid up. "This is Assemble Five. There's a metal stand with 25 holes in it, and slots at the top and bottom. There's 30 metal discs, fifteen blue and fifteen green. The goal is to get five of one color in a row. What color would you like, Spring?"

"Green!"

"Alright." Spanner pulled the pieces of the game out, set it up, and pushed the green tokens over to Spring, who trotted around to the opposite side of the table. "You understand how to play?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, here we go!"

An hour or so later the two of them had played a dozen or so rounds of Assemble Five, with the two of them tied for wins. Spanner slid a tab out at the bottom of the game and all the tokens dropped out, opening it back up for another round. "How about this, Spring" he said. "If you win this next round, I'll give you a reward."

Spring was pretty excited about this. "A reward? Like what?" she asked, and Spanner seemed to think about it for a moment. Spring hadn't ever played a game where the winner would get a prize for winning, so she was wondering what Spanner would think up.

"How about I let you pick the reward?" Spanner asked, and Spring nodded.

The trouble was, what to pick as her reward? She thought about asking for more bits, but truth be told she wasn't sure if she was even going to spend the one that Spanner had already given her. Candy was another appealing choice, but Spring wanted something that would last a long time. Books were cool, but flowers excited her more. Except even the flowers didn't last forever. No matter how careful she was about making sure they got plenty of sunlight and water, eventually her flowers always withered away, which made her sad. If she was going to get a reward, she wanted it to be something she could never lose or forget.

"I... I want... Maybe you could..." Spring started, unsure of how to say what she wanted to say. She wanted it more than anything, had wanted it for a very long time, but she was afraid Spanner wouldn't do it. Still, she couldn't help but want to ask him for it, and she felt bad for having such a selfish desire.

Suddenly, Spanner stood up, and Spring looked up at him. She watched as he trotted around the table and sat down next to her. He smiled, and reached down to grab one of Spring's hooves. "I know what you want, Spring, and whether you win or lose, the answer is yes."

Spring was at a loss for words, tears welling up in her eyes, and she turned to throw her forelegs around Spanner, who gently returned the hug. "Th-- Thank you, Spanner" Spring said, doing her best to keep her tears at bay. For years she had thought about, wished for it, and now that it was about to be true, she could hardly believe it at all.

At that moment Spring Blossom knew, and promised herself, that she would do her best. She wanted to make Spanner Wrench proud and happy, and to make him know that no matter what, she would be the best daughter a filly could be.

Author's Note

Act I down! In true Who We Become style, I'm going to leave a song at the end of each act.

*I based the general design of the Equestrian bit off of a design I saw in a storyboard, just modernized and altered.

My father is a coin collector, and has a modest collection with a little bit of everything in it. I used what I've learned from him and his coin catalogs, plus a Youtube video I watched of the U.S Mint producing quarters, to describe how Equestrian bits are made.

5 - Whole

Act II

Der Sturm

Chapter Five

Whole

Sunday had come and gone, the day spent in play and fun, and at the end of the day Spanner had returned Spring to Small Steps. Fostering was a temporary process, to help the adopter and adoptee see if they'll be good fits for each other, but it was clear to Spanner that Spring Blossom enjoyed living with him, and he of course appreciated her presence. She was a kind, well-behaved, and cheery young filly. Spanner was sure that her presence brightened any room she was in.

Now that it was Monday, though, his mind had to be on work. A townspony had brought in a grill that was having trouble igniting, and while Spanner suspected it was just a dirty pilot he still needed to check the gas lines. He lied on his side, head craned up to inspect the underside of the grill, flashlight in mouth. Worst case scenario there was something wrong with the valves, which wouldn't be hard to fix or replace.

"Hey, Spanner, gettin' dirty?" he heard Socket Driver call, and he scooted out from under the grill. His coworker was standing by him, grinning down at him. Spanner rolled his eyes and turned back to his work.

"We wear the jumpsuits for a reason. Do you need something?" Spanner said, and Socket laughed.

"Isn't that true. But no, I don't need anything. I came by because I couldn't help but notice you've been smiling all day" Socket said, and Spanner stopped what he was doing. He was certain that Socket was messing with him, the way he always did, but he couldn't help himself.

"I'm sure you're mistaken" Spanner said.

"Ah, I see what's going on here. You met a cute young mare to spend your weekends with. What's she like? What's her name? Earth, Unicorn, or Pegasus?" Socket said, and crouched down to look Spanner in the eyes. "She good in bed?"

Spanner glared at him. He meant well, but Spanner had little patience for such foolishness. "Her name is Spring Blossom, and she's nine" Spanner said, and Socket nodded.

"Mmm, I see. I don't think that's entirely legal, but I guess at your age you've gotta find some way to get going."

Spanner stood so fast he knocked the grill over, the machine loudly clattering across the cement floor of the shop, along with some tools. He grabbed Socket by the collar of his jumpsuit and shoved him to the ground, holding onto him the whole way, his face inches from Socket's and his gaze boring into the other stallion's wide eyes. "Say something like that ever again and you'll be eating your meals through a straw for the rest of your life, you little asshole."

"Alright, alright, holy crap, friend, relax!" Socket shouted, and Spanner roughly released him. Socket stood, dusted himself off, and blew out a breath. "Geez, didn't know you could move that fast. Or be so damned scary. I'm sorry."

"Just go back to work."

Socket quickly scurried off and now Spanner could focus on his job again. He lifted the grill up and looked it over. It was undamaged, so he crawled back under it and went back to work. The valves and hoses all looked alright, so Spanner was pretty convinced it was just the pilot light. He got to his hooves and pulled the grill's cover off and took a look inside, finding it pretty dirty. Strangely enough, the light actually was clean, so now Spanner was pretty well stumped. The pilot light was just a valve that expelled gas from the propane tank, and had to be lit by hoof using a match or lighter, so if it was anything the hose was probably blocked on the inside.

Spanner retrieved a thin brush from his jumpsuit and pushed it through the nozzle. It was hooked on something, so he pushed a little harder. Suddenly a blackened crumb clattered out the other end and onto the floor. Spanner hooked up a tank and tested the light, and it ignited without effort.

Amazing what one bore snake can do Spanner thought, and wiped his hooves off. He'd get this one tagged and ready to send back to the customer, which would likely be his last task for the day. The tags were usually kept near the office, so as to avoid getting them dirty, and he plucked one off the ring. He filled out his name, what the problem was, and how long it took him to fix it, and slapped the tag on the grill with a piece of tape.

With work done for the day Spanner headed for the lobby, eager to get back out in the fresh air. As he neared the door to the lobby he could hear Socket Driver talking with somepony, likely their boss, Hammer Strike.

"So I asked him if she was good in bed, and he told me she's nine. Then I said something about how some ponies are into that, and he nearly turned me inside out, he was so pissed."

"Pfft, I probably woulda done the same thing, you moron. Socket Driver: good worker, bad thinker."

"How was I supposed to know!?"

Spanner pushed the door to the lobby open, and both Socket and Hammer turned to look at him. "You didn't hurt this nimrod, did you?" Hammer Strike said.

"Not permanently. I imagine his ego is the most bruised."

"Good," Hammer Strike said. "Clueless as he is, I still need him to work."

"Hey!"

Spanner rolled his eyes and turned towards the clock. "Make sure you don't put him in charge of anything that requires critical thinking." He clocked out, nodded to each of them, and headed for the door.

"Hey listen listen" Socket said as Spanner stepped outside, his coworker right behind him. "I was thinking that once your daughter gets settled in that she could meet my foals. Drill Bit's ten, and Belt Sander is eight. Could be fun for the three of them."

Spanner thought about blowing him off, but he wasn't really that pissed anymore. Socket was actually a decent stallion, but despite being 29 he still acted like he was in high school sometimes, and Spanner had little patience for it. "I haven't officially adopted her yet, Socket, but the orphanage let me foster her for the weekend and she had a lot of fun. I think she's happy that somepony in town is considering adopting her; she won't have to transfer schools, she'll get to stay with all her friends, and she won't have to stress about moving. Not that a filly her age has much in the way of belongings" Spanner said.

Socket grinned. "I'm sure you'll change that. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Later, Spanner."

"Goodbye."

The two stallions went their separate ways. Spanner made a quick stop at home to change to ditch his jumpsuit and wash his hooves proper, before heading back out for the orphanage. After making the short trek, he looked up at the sign above the door and put on a smile.

Spanner pushed the door open and the receptionist smiled at him. "Hello, Spanner Wrench. Come to see Spring Blossom, or Miss Ginger?"

"Miss Ginger. I've made up my mind" Spanner said, and the receptionist nodded. He disappeared into another room, and a moment later Ginger Snap opened the door to her office. She motioned for Spanner to come in, which he did. He suspected this would be the last time he'd set hoof in her office, but he was sure he would see her again. He had an idea to let Spring go to the orphanage to play with her friends after school and on weekends, whenever she wanted, and was sure that Ginger would like it.

"Hello, Mr. Wrench. Keeping well, I hope?" Ginger asked, and Spanner nodded. "I'm very happy to hear that. I'm told that you've made up your mind, so let's hear it. I don't think I'll hear anything new, though; Spring was very excited when she came back Sunday evening, so I suspect that everything went quite well."

"Yes, indeed. I'd like to make it official" Spanner said.

Ginger Snap smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that. Spring will be even happier, I know that. The paperwork's a bit of a process, but I'm sure there'll be no troubles at all."

Ginger produced the various forms that Spanner would have to fill out, with details like his medical history, his income and tax rates, his education level, and a whole litany of other details about himself. Both he and Ginger signed each form, as her signature was required to prove that an official caretaker was signing off on him and approving the adoption.

When it was all said and done it had taken nearly an hour, and Ginger organized the forms into a neat stack. "I'll get these mailed off to Canterlot, and when it comes time for you to take Spring Blossom into your custody I'll have all of her important records like birth certificate, medical history, all that, prepared for you" Ginger said. "Will there be anything else?"

"May I see her?"

Ginger's smile turned toothy. "Of course, Mr. Wrench." Together the two of them left the office and headed down the halls to the fillies' wing of the orphanage, and a short time later were standing in front of Spring's door. Ginger knocked gently on it and called out "Spring? You have a visitor."

A few moments later the door opened, and Spanner Wrench was quite convinced that the hall had gotten much brighter in that instant. "Hi Spanner!" Spring exclaimed, and rushed forward to hug his leg. He placed a hoof on her back and smiled down at her.

"Hello, Spring. Did you enjoy school today?" Spanner asked, and the young filly nodded.

"Yeah! I told Patchouli all about your coin collection, and he couldn't believe it! I even showed him the bit you gave me!" Spring said, and quickly grabbed it off of her desk. "I decided I'm gonna keep it forever! You're just so nice to me, I couldn't spend it."

Spanner smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. Looks like you're busy with homework right now" he said, and nodded towards the papers and book on her desk. Spring looked over her shoulder at them, but her smile never went away.

"Yeah, that's my history homework! We learned all about the countries across the Sea of Harmony today, and how they were all created" Spring explained.

Spanner felt his smile falter a little, but kept it up. "History is a wonderful subject, full of things to learn. It will take your whole life to learn it all, if you're so interested" Spanner said.

"I like it! It's so cool to learn about other countries and the ponies that live in them" Spring said.

It won't be long, she's getting old enough. I'd like to think they won't teach her about it, but I know better.

"Indeed it is. Well, I'll let you get back to your homework now. Goodbye, Spring."

"Bye, Spanner!"

Spring went back to her desk and Ginger gently shut the door. "She's such a nice filly" Spanner commented, and Ginger nodded. "For a long time I wondered what was missing from my life. It was her. I've done things I'm not very proud of, and things I outright regret, but here's a chance to finally do something meaningful. To change a young pony's life. It's a true privilege to behold such joy and innocence... We don't deserve it."

Ginger Snap smirked. "It's not all sunshine and rainbows, Mr. Wrench."

"I know, but there are things harder than raising a foal." I would know.

"Mmm, is that so?" Ginger said with a grin. "Well, if there's nothing else then I won't keep you, Mr. Wrench, but I'm afraid I must get back to work."

Spanner nodded. "I'll be going now, as well. I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll be seeing each other, though. Spring will likely want to come by the orphanage every so often to play with her friends, if that will be alright with you" Spanner said as the two of them trotted back the way they'd come.

"Certainly, Mr. Wrench. We let foals stay over at friends' houses for sleepovers and such, and any adopted ponies are always welcome to return no matter how old they are. The bonds made here between the kids, they go deeper than just friendship. They could all be old and gray like I am, and they'd still stick up for each other."

"I'm glad to hear that" Spanner said as the two of them neared the lobby. "Goodbye, Miss Ginger. Don't work too hard."

Ginger Snap laughed at hearing another adult call her 'miss.' "Have a good evening, Mr. Wrench."

Spanner nodded, trotted through the lobby, and stepped back outside. Faintly, from behind the orphanage, he could hear the foals who had already finished their homework playing, chasing each other and screaming excitedly. Laughing, enjoying life. He envied them, in a way.

It would be a hard wait, but in a few weeks the paperwork would go through and be finalized, and Spring Blossom would be released into his custody. Despite what he'd told Ginger Snap he knew it would be hard. There would be difficult times, there would be mistakes, and there would be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

But Spanner Wrench knew he was making the right choice. Whatever it would cost, it would be worth it. A short time later he was home, and he locked the door behind him. He stood in the entry hall, the house as silent as a grave. The dishes were all clean, just needed to be put away, but Spanner couldn't find the energy to do it. Instead, he trotted back to his living and sat on the couch.

Alone again.

6 - A Guiding Hoof

Chapter Six

A Guiding Hoof

It had been six weeks, and Spring Blossom had settled in to living with Spanner very well. It had been a little alien to Spanner at first, knowing that each day he went home that his now-daughter would soon be home as well. His schedule always worked out that he was home an hour before Spring, and he used that time to keep the house tidy. Spring was a well-mannered filly, and had no trouble at all following Spanner's few rules. Really, Spanner was amazed by how little guidance and direction she actually needed.

She was changing his life in more ways than one, too. Here and there, decorations began to crop up in the house. It started with her flower planter from the orphanage, mounted outside her bedroom window, and slowly spread to other things. A flower on the coffee table in the living room, on the ledge of the indoor window that looked out on the living room, on the kitchen table, and so on. She would pick them from outside, mostly, or get them from school.

She was adding other things to the house as well. Despite admitting to not being good at drawing, she tried her hoof at creating a few paintings of quaint landscapes or of the two of them playing together, using the brushes and paint at school. They were messy and amateurish, but Spanner found them endearing and taped them to the fridge.

Spanner was in the living room, dusting, when the front door opened and Spring Blossom came in from school. She shrugged her saddlebags off and locked the door, a habit that Spanner had encouraged her to develop. She didn't fully understand why, and to be honest Spanner only did it out of habit as well. It was just one of those things that he couldn't shed.

"Hi Springy, did you have fun at school today?" Spanner asked as his daughter came into the living room. She nodded, but Spanner could tell she was a little uneasy. He wasn't going to press, but he was sure it was a case of nerves.

"Yeah, it was alright. I, uhm, got my report card today" Spring said, keeping her eyes on anything but Spanner. He trotted over to her and sat down by her. She pulled her saddlebags over, but didn't open them.

"Let's see it."

She brought it out and gave it to Spanner, who read it over. She had an A- in Equestrian language arts and science, a B in history, and a C+ in math. There was a note from her homeroom teacher at the bottom, reading Spring Blossom is a bright and hardworking filly, and she gets along very well with her classmates and teachers. I've spoken with her math teacher and he's told me that she struggles with some of the harder numbers of multiplication(like 3's, 7's, and 8's). A week or two of some extra guidance on this and she could easily be in the B range.

Spanner nodded. Multiplication and division was easiest when put into practice, as opposed to thinking about it in the abstract, so he made a note to go over it with Spring. "Are you happy with these grades, Spring?" he asked.

"No..." Spring said. She was clearly very disappointed with herself. "I'm sorry, I took notes and paid real good attention, but it's hard."

Spanner smiled. "Spring, I want to tell you something. In life, there will be times when you're very proud of what you've accomplished, while others won't feel the same. There are times when you'll have to perform something to somepony else's desires, and do your best to satisfy their wishes, but first and foremost if you're happy with what you've done, that's what matters most. And if you're not happy, then it's important to try again until you are."

"But...isn't it important to get good grades?" Spring asked, and looked up at Spanner, who nodded.

"Yes, indeed. But as much as I want you to do well in school, I also want you to want to do well in school, do you understand? A pony is best motivated when they enjoy what they're doing, and proud of what they accomplish. If you do things only because they make other ponies happy, then it'll be hard to have confidence doing your own things. It's OK to be a little selfish, so long as you always take others into consideration as well, got it?" Spring explained.

Spring nodded. "OK, I understand... Uhm, can you help me?" she asked.

"Of course. Multiplication isn't quite as hard as you might think, it's just a matter of practice. The more you do something, the quicker and easier it becomes to do" Spanner said, and guided her to the kitchen table. "Your homeroom teacher wrote that you're only struggling with a few multiplication tables."

"Yeah, I can do twos, fours, and fives real easy. Sixes I can do, but it gets a little hard the higher I go. The other ones are hard, too..." she said, and Spanner smiled at her.

"Think of multiplication not as a number becoming more, but rather as another form of addition. You're just taking a number, and adding that number to it, and then adding the same number to that number, and so on. So take threes for example. You start with three, and add three, and you get six. Count up in your head, and you'll notice that every third number is what three goes into evenly. One, two, three, four, five, six, and so on. Do you understand?"

"I think so... So the next number would be nine, and then twelve, and then fifteen, and then...eighteen, and then 21, and then 24... Then 27... 30... Huh, it is easier if I just add them up" Spring said, and Spanner nodded.

"Like I said, you'll get faster at it the more you do it. There's also little tricks you can employ, like with nines. Every number in nine's multiplication table, if you separate them into two separate numbers, then add them, you'll get nine. So the table goes nine, eighteen, 27, 36, 45, and so on. Well one plus eight is nine, three plus six is nine, two plus seven is nine. See?"

Spring's eyes widened. "Oh wow, that's cool, I didn't know that! Thanks, Spanner!"

"You're welcome, dear. When you go back to school tomorrow take a look at your multiplication tables again, and ask your math teacher if there's any tricks he can teach you. I'm sure you can improve that grade if you just put a little more time into it."

"OK! Thank you, Spanner! I'm glad you're not mad at me" she said, and Spanner smiled.

"Of course not, sweetheart, I can't be mad at you for trying your best. I've told you before that we all have shortcomings, things that we struggle with, and there's always more to learn, but if you make sure to always do your best then that's all anypony can ask of you" Spanner explained, and Spring nodded.

"OK! I'll do better next time, I promise! I really have fun with my Equestrian language and science class! Today we learned about photosyn-- Photosynphuh--"

"Photosynthesis."

"Yeah! It was all about how plants make oxygen, it was really cool! Trees and bushes take in sunlight, and water, and then release oxygen. The teacher even had a big setup with a paper plant and roots to show us! He said that the energy from sunlight is converted into chemical energy and then..." Spring trailed off, apparently thinking back on the lesson. "And then stored in sugars the plant makes by soaking up water using its roots."

"I'm sure you were quite enthusiastic about the lesson, given your enjoyment of flower gardening" Spanner said, and Spring brightened up even more.

"I was! Last week we learned about poluh-- Pollination! Bugs like bees are drawn to flowers because of their pretty colors and smells, and the flower's nectar. They'll crawl around on the flower petals and suck up the nectar, and then pollen gets stuck to their legs and carried to other flowers!" Spring explained. Spanner was happy to see her so giddy now, her nervous mood from earlier completely wiped away.

He smiled. "You're going to keep learning all sorts of amazing and fascinating things, Spring. I'm glad you like telling me about your lessons. I imagine that you should go water your flowers, though, before you forget."

Spring perked up, her smile fading a bit. "You're right! I'm gonna go do that!" she said, and took off for her room. She stopped at her door, though, and looked back. "Uhm, Spanner? Is it OK if I call you 'dad'...?"

"Of course it is, dear heart" Spanner said, and trotted over to her. He put a hoof on her shoulder, and she beamed. "Take care of your flowers, and if you're hungry I can make you a snack. Otherwise we can spend the day how you'd like if you don't have homework."

Spring nodded. "I do have some homework, but I'm not hungry. I can wait until dinner!"

"OK, Spring, just call for me if you need any help." Spring rushed into her room and grabbed her watering can, and went to the bathroom. Spanner trotted into his room and sat down in the chair by his bookshelf. It felt good to be off his hooves for a moment, and he reached for the book he'd been reading the previous evening.

In the six weeks since he'd taken custody of Spring, life had become idyllic. There had been a few days here and there marred by some mishap or another. Spring falling down and hurting herself, Spring getting a cold for a few days, and Spring getting stung by a bee, but otherwise it had been everything Spanner Wrench had ever dreamed of. Every day brought something new. A story about her schooling, a story about a joke a friend had told her, or the two of them having fun together. His coworkers had noticed him smiling more and looking brighter each day, and though he would always be a quiet and reserved stallion, it was not an unwelcome change.

Spanner couldn't ask for anything more.

Author's Note

I've read that telling kids "good job", "you did good", "I'm proud of you", and conversely, "I'm disappointed in you", "you could've done better", "why didn't you get a good grade", etc., can negatively impact their development and self-esteem. It creates feelings of poor self-worth, and a desire to seek validation. It makes kids, and eventually when they become adults, more reliant on others to judge their work, instead of giving them the confidence to look at their work and judge it themselves, and decide for themselves whether it came out good or bad. Instead of saying "good job", "I'm proud of you", a parent should instead say "are you satisfied with your grades?", "are you happy with how the project came out?", "is there something you wish you'd improved or done different?", etc., as it empowers children and gives them a better sense of self-agency. Effort should be encouraged and fostered, not results.

7 - After-School Schooling

Chapter Seven

After-School Schooling

Another day had come, the day's schooling already over, and Spring Blossom had quickly gone home. It was a cloudy day, but thankfully there hadn't been any rain yet. Spring hoped it would stay that way; she wanted to play outside later in the day.

She trotted into her home and called "dad, I'm home!" before shrugging off her saddlebags. She looked up at the wall to her right, still amazed that her dad had a window inside his house. There was no glass in the window, and all it did was open up on the living room, but it was still cool to her. "Dad?"

"In my room, Springy" she heard her dad say, and she headed for his room. He'd taken to calling her 'Springy', a rather cute nickname that Spring really liked. The door to her dad's room was open, so she just trotted in. Her dad was sitting in his chair, reading a book. "Hello, Spring, did you have a good day at school?"

"Yup! What are you reading?" Spring asked, and sat on the floor in front of Spanner.

"A history book. Here" he said, and gave it to Spring. The title was 'A History of the Lineage of the House of Alicorns', and it was rather thick. "It's a chronicle of Alicorns from the first two, all the way down to Princess Twilight. There's 1,500 years of history in that book, going back to when Celestia and Luna defeated Discord, to Nightmare Moon's rise, to the millennia that Celestia spent alone. I believe it goes all the way up to Princess Twilight's marriages."

Spring looked the book over. She knew all the Princesses names, but not all of them were Alicorns. "It doesn't mention Princess Sunset or Princess Fluttershy?" Spring asked.

"No, because they're not Alicorns. Well, the book does mention them, but only when necessary. You're welcome to read it, but it might be a bit much for you, with how long the book is" Spanner said.

"I like to read, but, I only really like story books. I didn't know there were ponies that liked to read real stories when they're not in school" Spring said.

"The term you were looking for was non-fiction, dear. Fiction means fabricated, made up, like Prancey Drew and The Hardy Bucks. Non-fiction is what I like to read. As you'll learn, truth is more interesting than fiction, and usually a lot stranger" Spanner said.

"Are all the books on your bookshelf non-fiction?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded. She looked it over, from top to bottom, every shelf packed end to end.

"There's books in here that encompass everything. History, philosophy, literature, culture, a few on coins and economics, et cetera. You'll learn all about all the things in those books in school, I'm sure" Spanner said. "Speaking of, did you learn anything interesting today in school?"

Spring shook her head. "Nah. I paid attention and everything, but it was kinda boring" Spring said.

"I understand."

"I'm kinda hungry, though, can I have a snack?" she asked, and Spanner nodded. She trotted out to the kitchen, thinking about what she wanted. She was in the mood for a banana, so she trotted up to the fruit bowl on the counter. There was a little of everything in it; two apples, two banana, a bunch of grapes, a pear, etc. She heard Spanner open the fridge as she grabbed the bananas, and pulled them apart.

There was something crawling on her!! She screamed and dropped the bananas, and brushed at her hoof. A spider fell off, and scurried back to the bananas! She looked at Spanner, surprised and a little afraid. Spiders were so gross! "What happened?" Spanner asked, by her side in an instant.

"There was a spider on the banana!" she yelled, and Spanner picked the bananas up. The spider crawled slowly around the banana, and a shiver ran through Spring. Spanner gently set the bananas down on the counter, and the spider stopped moving.

"That's a Nephila, Spring. Or gold weaver, as some ponies call them. They're harmless, but they tend to spend a lot of time on bananas. A lot of insects make their homes on or near fruit and vegetables, so usually it's a good idea to inspect your food before you eat it" Spanner said. "Do you want a closer look? I promise it won't hurt you."

"No way! They're so gross and weird looking!" Spring said, keeping her eyes on the spider. It hadn't moved since her dad set the bananas on the counter, but she wasn't taking any chances.

"Are they? I happen to find gold weavers to be quite pretty. Beauty comes in many different forms, Spring. For example, you're very cute, while gold weavers have an array of golden-yellow spots all along their abdomen that creates a rather dazzling effect" Spanner explained.

Spring blushed at the off-hoof compliment, and looked at the spider again. She guessed it was kinda cool looking. "It can't hurt me?"

"That's right" Spanner said. "Gold weavers are harmless to ponies. They might bite if they're afraid, but their venom is harmless to ponies, and usually they'll run away if threatened."

Spring scoffed. "Why would a spider be afraid? They're the scary ones."

"Spring, you're hundreds of times bigger than it. A spider like the gold weaver has much to be afraid of."

"What about other spiders?"

Spanner seemed to think about it for a moment. "There are a lot of spider species out there that aren't afraid of ponies. In fact, there are many species that are very aggressive and dangerous, so if you don't know any better, then it's probably a good idea to keep your distance."

So she was right to be afraid of the gold weaver! Except, if it isn't harmless, then...should she have been so afraid? She guessed that if she saw a bug she didn't recognize, then it was OK to be afraid of it, but maybe she'd be OK if she didn't go near it. "How do you know so much, dad?"

Spanner just smiled. "Every day's a school day, even at my age. Since you don't want the spider around, I'll take it outside." Spanner picked up a towel and covered his hoof with it, and gently coaxed the spider onto his hoof. He pushed the backdoor open, and slowly tipped his hoof until the spider scurried off and into the grass, quickly disappearing from sight. "Many ponies are deeply terrified by bugs like spiders, centipedes, and bees, and will kill them without hesitation, but usually it's not necessary. Insects, like everything, are just looking for shelter and food most of the time. If I know an insect won't be a nuisance or a threat, then usually I leave them be and eventually they go on their way. Flying insects are what drive me insane."

Spring frowned, thinking. She hadn't wanted to kill the spider, but mostly because she hadn't wanted to touch it at all, especially since it had crawled on her! She just didn't want it around, but the spider probably hadn't understood what was happening. It had just been sitting on the bananas, and when Spring had suddenly picked the bananas up it had probably been scared and started running.

"I don't hate spiders" Spring said. "I just don't want them near me. Is that OK?"

Spanner laughed. "Yes, that's OK, dear heart. It's OK to not like something you still respect, but you'll understand that more when you're older" he said. "Now, still want a snack, or do you want to play a game together?"

"I still want a snack, but I think I'll have something else. Uhm, I also want to write a letter to Morning."

"Alright, pick what you want and then I'll let you write to your friend."

Spring quickly grabbed an apple and cantered to her room, keeping the door open. She set it on her desk and pulled out a quill and parchment, and got to writing.

Later in the day it was getting near dinner time, and Spring couldn't wait. She was so hungry! The apple she'd eaten earlier had kept her sated for most of the afternoon, but now that dinner was nearing food was all she could think of. She'd spent most of the afternoon just reading, though she thought that maybe her appetite had gotten so worked up over that game of catch she'd played with Spanner.

Her clock said it was just about 7:00pm, so she figured that dinner was almost done. She set down her book and trotted out in the hall, a faint sound of boiling water now audible. She entered the kitchen and Spanner was standing upright by the stove, pasta spoon in his hoof, looking to the side. "Is it almost done?" Spring asked.

He didn't respond.

Spring turned her head to the side and trotted up to Spanner. He was rooted in place, eyes wide, staring at...a pot? Spring looked at the pot, afraid there was some huge spider on it like earlier, but there was nothing there. "Dad?" she asked, and still there was no response, and he was beginning to scare her. With a quivering lip she again said "...dad?" and poked him, and he flinched. His eyes snapped to hers and after a brief second her dad's expression warmed, and he smiled.

"Springy! Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Come to check on dinner? It should be just about done" he said, and stirred the pot. Spring was confused and a little scared, but she was more hungry than anything. Over the past six weeks something like this had happened once or twice, but Spanner had always snapped out of it when she called his name before. She figured it was just some adult stuff, but it did make her a little nervous.

A few minutes later dinner was done, and despite herself Spring grinned. Spanner had made spaghetti, which Spring had long ago determined was one of her favorites, from living at Small Steps. It was always hot and moist, and Spanner always sprinkled on just the right amount of parmesan cheese. Spring was a little picky about sauce, though; sometimes she wanted it, sometimes she didn't. Tonight she went without it, but every bite was sure to be a delight. Her dad set the table, and they each took a seat across from each other. She had thought about asking him if he was alright, but he was acting like his usual self still, so she let it slide.

There was something on Spring's mind that she did want to ask, though. "Dad? Why did you adopt me?"

Spanner paused just as he was about to take a bite of his spaghetti. "I wondered if you might ask me this question. I suppose you're wondering why I picked you over all the other foals there at the orphanage?"

Spring nodded.

"I told you that first day that you weren't afraid, or shy. Each time I saw you, you looked right at me and smiled. Some of the other foals looked at me, some even waved, but... I think a lot of ponies are wary of me. I talk to very few in town, and I have few friends."

No friends? Spring found that very sad.

"When I fostered you for that weekend, I wasn't sure if I was up to being a dad. I didn't know if you'd get along with me, or if I'd get along with you. I was lonely, but I couldn't connect with any of the adults I knew, so I started going to the orphanage. You see, some ponies have trouble accepting other ponies for what they are, and try to convince them to be something they're not, and I find it so tiring. When that Friday came around, and we played all day, and I showed you my coin collection on the subsequent Saturday, I knew. You've never wanted me to be anything but what I already am, and that's so much more important than you realize. It's why I made that promise to you then. You are such a bright and cheery young filly, Spring Blossom. Don't ever let anything change that."

Spring felt like she was about to cry, but she managed to keep her tears at bay. She hopped down off her chair and gave her dad a hug, which he returned. "I'm glad you adopted me."

"I'm glad, too, Spring. More than you realize. I'm so very happy I have you in my life."

There was something else Spring felt she should say, but she found that she couldn't. It was three simple words, but she couldn't manage to get them out, and as the moment passed she began to think it would be awkward if she said them, so instead she decided to hold onto her dad just a little while longer.

And that was OK, too.

8 - The Ghost

Chapter Eight

The Ghost

There was just thirty minutes left in the day, and Spring Blossom couldn't wait to go home. She sat on the floor next to Patchouli Rest, but found she couldn't focus on the project they were supposed to be working on together.

"Come on, Spring! You can't even remember the main character's name?" Patchouli asked.

"I remember! I just can't remember what she did or why she did any of it" Spring said.

"Alright, look, the main character's name was Ishmare, and she was helping the captain of the boat she was on catch a whale" Patchouli explained.

"So the book was about catching whales?" Spring asked.

"No! The book was about how obsessed the captain pony was, and how she died because she couldn't let the whale go. It's supposed to be like...symbolic, or something."

"So it was about catching whales."

Patchouli facehoofed, which made Spring giggle. She was starting to remember the book a little better, and was remembering why she hadn't liked it so much: it was weird. It was long, and written weirdly, and plus Spring didn't like that the zebra character in the book was dumb and couldn't speak Equestrian. Spring felt that was mean because she knew from reading Morning Glisten's letters that zebras lived in Equestria and could speak Equestrian just fine.

"I didn't like the book. I'm gonna write down how mean it was that the zebra couldn't speak Equestrian" Spring said, and scribbled that on her part of the book report. It was a dumb book about a pony who died because they were greedy and mean, that's all there was to it in Spring's mind.

Before she knew it the final bell rang and Spring scrambled to put all of her things away in her desk. She was careful to keep everything organized the way she liked, and quickly got in line to leave the classroom. As all the colts and fillies got out into the hall the foals from the orphanage separated into their own line near the caretaker. Patchouli waved to Spring, who waved back. A few minutes later everypony was outside, and Spring couldn't wait to rush home. It was Friday and she didn't have any homework, so she was free to spend the weekend with her dad.

The weather in spring was so pretty, and Spring loved it. She couldn't wait to get home and water her flowers, and was hoping that there was a letter from Morning waiting for her. She ran through the town, a few adults she recognized waving at her as she sped by. Very shortly she was outside her home and rushed up to the mailbox. There was a single envelope inside, and she carried it in.

"Dad, I'm home!" Spring called, but there was no response. She looked over the envelope she'd pulled out from the mailbox and discovered it was from Morning. She rushed into her room, door already open, and hopped up onto her bed. She was just about to open it up when she was hit with a sudden urge.

She quickly cantered out of her room and down the hall to the bathroom. The door was open, so she knew there was nopony inside. She rushed in and locked the door.

As she did her business she heard the backdoor open, and was excited to tell Spanner all about her day. She heard a knock on the front door a few moments later, and wondered who it could be. She heard the door open, and Spanner say something to the pony who had knocked.

Spring carefully washed her hooves in the sink and was about to go back out when she heard her dad talking to somepony, but he was talking really loud. She eased up to the door and gently cracked it open, peeking out through the gap. She saw Spanner standing in front of a stallion she didn't recognize, the two of them standing in the living room. Trouble was, she couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Die kühnheit..." Spanner said. "Sie haben nerven hierher zu kommen."

The stallion Spanner was talking to was big, taller than Spanner by a few inches, and more muscular. His coat was gray, his mane and tail black. He had a cutie mark of a spear jutting out from behind a shield, and he looked mean.

"Ihre hilfe wird zu hause benötigt" the other stallion said. "Dass sie ein solches leben Ihrer pflicht gegenüber dem Vaterland vorziehen würden ist traurig."

"Ich bin jetzt viel glücklicher als jemals zuvor zu hause" Spanner said, and Spring scrunched up her face. What were they saying, and who was this stallion?!

The mysterious stallion scoffed. "Du lebst alleine und arbeitest einen schrecklichen job. Komm nach hause, zurück ins Vaterland. Wir brauchen deine hilfe, Spanner Wrench."

Spanner took a step towards the stallion. "Nein. Ich werde nie zurückkehren. Du und alle anderen können in der Hölle brennen."

The stallion nodded. "Ich verstehen. Ich habe etwas für dich. Vielleicht wird dich das interessieren" he said, and reached into a saddlebag on his left side that Spring hadn't noticed. He took out a large tin disc with an opening on it, and Spring recognized it as a film reel. He was giving her dad a movie? Maybe it was a gift, and he was friends with her dad!

Suddenly Spanner smacked the film reel out of the stallion's hooves, and it clattered across the carpet, part of it breaking open and the film reel spilling out across the carpet. Spring gasped, unable to believe what she'd just seen. She'd never seen her dad hit another pony, or do anything violent at all.

"Get. Out. Now." Spanner said, and the stallion trotted towards the front door. Spring held her breath and scooted back from the bathroom door, and listened as the stallion calmly left. She stayed in the bathroom, though, and peeked back out at her dad. He looked down at the film on the floor, and looked angry. Really angry, and Spring didn't know why. She was afraid, too. She'd never seen her dad like this before.

Spanner just stood there for a few moments, breathing really hard, staring at the film. After several minutes he took a deep breath and blew it out, and looked calmer. He picked the reel back up, rolled the film back into the can, and carried it to his bedroom. Spring watched him calmly trot outside, and she gently pushed the door open.

She slowly trotted out of the bathroom, and quickly locked the front door before she trotted to the kitchen. She looked out through one of the windows and saw her dad go into the shed. She watched as he brought out a ponyquin kind of thing, with a large burlap sack in the shape of a pony filled with straw and mounted on a stand. He set it up in the backyard, went back into the shed, and came back out holding a wood baton. Spanner stood in front of the ponyquin for a few moments before he started hitting it.

Spring gasped, and put a hoof up to her mouth. What is happening... she wondered, and watched in horror as her father wailed on the straw pony. There was a sharp crack each time the baton hit the wood insides of the straw pony, audible even in the house. She watched, shaking, as Spanner relentlessly beat the straw pony. He hit it, and hit it, and hit it, and hit it, and hit it, and just wouldn't stop. Soon he started grunting each time he swung the baton, and the straw pony swayed on each hit.

With tears in her eyes and butterflies in her stomach Spring got down and trotted to her room. She looked at Morning's letter, sitting on her desk, but decided not to read it. She crawled on to her bed and looked at the door, afraid and alone and confused.

The rest of the day had been uncomfortable for Spring. She hadn't said anything about the stallion or the straw pony beating, and Spanner hadn't said anything about it to her either. Quite the opposite, he had spent the day being his usual self around her. Spring hadn't really wanted to play with him, so she spent most of the day in her room, reading. Only coming out to get a snack, eat dinner, and use the bathroom. The day was at its end, and Spring still had no idea what had happened or if she should ask Spanner about it.

She had brushed her teeth and gone to bed almost an hour ago, and still hadn't managed to fall asleep. She was just so confused. She had never seen that stallion before, never heard that language before, and then her dad got angry and violent. None of it had been directed at her, but it was still alarming and scary.

She still hadn't even read Morning's letter to her. She looked over at it on her desk, bathed in the glow of Luna's moon, and got out of bed. She flicked on the lamp on her desk, opened the envelope, and pulled the letter out.

Dear Spring Blossom,

I hope you are doing well! Me, Mom, Mama, and Ma are all doing real good. I finaly got my cutie mark, I was so happy! If you want I can send you a photo of it, if you wanna see it. School is goin good, i got an A- in my equestrian language class, and a B+ in all the other ones. I was worried that Mom would realy get on me about my grades, but she said she doesnt want to preshure me too hard. I heard Ma say that it was weerd that Mom wasn't being 'noorotic', but she wont tell me what that means, so i gues i'll ask miss Cheerily. My friends Pound and Pumpkin are doing good, too. I hope you are having fun with your new dad. I miss you Spring.

Love,

Mo Glow.

Spring smiled, happy for her friend. She put the letter down and looked at her door, and opened it up. She snuck over to the door of her dad's room, and gently pushed it open. There was a flickering light in his room, and Spring pushed the door open further. Her dad was sitting on the floor, his back to the door, and the window in his room was covered by a big white tarp. The projector was set up, a film reel mounted in it.

The movie was strange, and in black-and-white. There were ponies in dark uniforms marching together, a pony making a speech, and random footage of a bunch of craters in a field. The movie went back to the pony giving the speech, and she heard him say "Vor fünf Jahren wurden wir bedroht. Heute sind wir wieder bedroht! Diesmal von innen! Stell dich gegen die Verräter!!" The film then showed a rope being tied around a pony's neck, but it wasn't a normal pony. Their coat was a dark color and they had holes in their legs, and then the film showed a humongous crowd of ponies all clapping and cheering and saluting. "Wir lassen uns nicht von ihnen kontrollieren! Wir werden nicht zulassen, dass sie uns manipulieren! Das Vaterland hält, das Vaterland SCHÜTZT." A picture of a flag with an eagle on it came up, perched upon a bar and its wings spread, and then the movie ended.

Spring watched her dad continue to just sit on the floor, staring at the blank screen. After a few minutes he got up, switched off the projector, and took the film off of it. He looked at it, set it down on his dresser, and started to disassemble the projector. Spring crept back from the door and went back into her room.

She looked at the letter Morning had sent her and frowned. It was too late to write a reply, but she knew she had to ask somepony for help. She wanted to ask Spanner if he was OK, but she was still a little afraid of him. She knew he'd never hurt her, but it was still scary the way he'd acted. She'd just have to wait until tomorrow, and go ask Miss Ginger for help. Otherwise she'd have to wait until Monday when she went back to school to ask one of the teachers.

Spring switched off her lamp, crawled back into bed, and closed her eyes. It took a long time to find her, but eventually sleep came, her dreams filled with images of Spanner in a dark uniform, beating ponies.

Author's Note

End of Act II!

9 - Shadows of Hate

Act III

Ich verspreche

Chapter Nine

Shadows of Hate

Saturday came, and Spring Blossom awoke, groggy. She rubbed her head, still feeling tired. She got out of bed, and just as she was about to make her bed she heard a thud, and the sound of Spanner trotting out the backdoor. She pushed her door open, and headed into the kitchen. She heard the shed door open, and she looked out the window into the backyard. She watched as Spanner dragged out a big metal drum, and tossed it onto the lawn. He went back into the shed, and came out carrying some firewood. He up righted the drum, tossed the firewood in, and went back into the shed.

When he came back out, he was carrying a red metal can, which he sat down on the lawn. Spring watched him pick up the film reel that the mystery pony had given him and toss it into the drum, and he picked the metal can up again. He pulled off a lid, and tipped the can over. A thick stream of fluid came pouring out into the drum. He poured and poured until the can was empty, and then he threw the can in. He lit a match, and tossed it into the drum.

Spring gasped as a massive WOOOSH of fire erupted from inside the metal drum, and Spanner Wrench stood in front of it, staring into the flames. She dropped down and trotted uneasily away.

There was something very weird going on, and Spring badly wanted to know what it was. She knew now that her dad didn't like that pony that had come to visit, and now that he was burning the film reel he'd been given, she also guessed he didn't like the pony who'd given the speech in the video. But why?

She poked her head into her dad's room, wondering if she could find something that would answer her questions. Nothing was really out of place in her dad's room, though his bed was unmade. The white screen was still over the window, though the projector had been put back away in its box, tucked partially under the bed. Spring got down low, and looked under the bed. There was a safe built into the floor, which she knew about already, and nothing else. Spanner had said that only more coins and silver bars were in the safe, and she didn't have the key anyway.

Spring stood up and frowned. The stallion that had come to visit had a cutie mark of a spear sticking out from behind a shield, and the movie her dad had been watching had ponies in uniform marching together. Was her dad a soldier? That couldn't be it, she figured, since he had a normal job in town, but maybe he used to be a soldier?

Spring felt like she had a few of the pieces, but the puzzle itself didn't make sense. Her dad, the mystery visitor, and the pony giving the speech in the video all spoke that same language, and if Spanner had been a soldier before, then was the visitor his leader? Had her dad fought in a war?

Deciding that only one pony could help her she decided to go back to the orphanage. She trotted back out into the hall, quickly checked that her dad was still standing by the fire, and headed for the front door. Only Miss Ginger could answer her questions.

Miss Ginger wasn't at the orphanage. According to the pony at the front desk, Ginger had gone into town to run errands. The pony at the front desk offered to take a message for Ginger, or go find one of the other caretakers, but Spring decided she couldn't wait. She thought about running into town and tracking Ginger down, but decided instead to go home.

It just didn't make any sense to her, and she felt like crying. She hoped that things would go back to normal, but she didn't really know if she could do anything to make that so.

She trotted into the house, feeling down and dejected. "Dad....?" she called, and there was no response. She checked each of the rooms, and there was no sign of Spanner. She looked out the kitchen window and Spanner wasn't out back, either. The fire had gone out, the drum completely blackened. She slowly trotted outside and noticed the straw pony on the ground, its wooden skeleton cracked and smashed in several places, and fresh tears welled up. The baton that her dad had been using to beat the straw pony was on the ground next to it, the wood chipped and scratched in many places.

Spring lied down on the grass and began to cry softly. She lied there like that for a long time, the stress of it all too much to bear. She was alone, with nopony to help her, and she felt lost. There had been days like this for her before, many years ago. When she lost her birth father, when Morning had been adopted, when she'd been feeling sad and afraid of living in the orphanage forever.

Eventually, however, she'd learned to handle it all. When Spanner had adopted her, she'd been the happiest she'd ever been in her life. She loved Spanner, he was such a nice and caring pony, Spring knew it. She wouldn't want anypony else in the world to be her dad, no matter what happened, so she had to help Spanner.

Sniffling and getting to her hooves Spring trotted back into the house and into her room. If Miss Ginger wasn't around to help her, then she'd just have to help herself! She wasn't sure how she was going to do it just yet, but she knew she was going to do something.

She looked around her room, trying to find something that would give her an idea. She looked at her books, but they wouldn't be very useful. Prancey Drew was all about solving puzzles or mysteries about lost treasures. The Hardy Bucks books were all about camping and doing stuff that only colts would want to do, and Spring wasn't sure why she even had any of them. They probably all belonged to Patchouli anyway.

She pulled open one of her desk drawers and began pawing through the newspapers she'd saved that had pictures of Morning Glisten on the front page. She'd never actually read the articles in them, so maybe there was something there that could help.

She pulled out the newspaper from when Morning had just been adopted by the three Princesses, and it said the story was on page three, so Spring turned to it.

***

'Homo Princesses adopt helpless filly'

'We here at the Virtuous Equestrian Society newspaper company are very sad to announce that the many rumors surrounding sightings of Sunset Shimmer, the captain of the Twilit Guard, being spotted in the village of Hollow Shades apparently have merit. From the halls of Small Steps Home for Orphaned Ponies the degenerate Princesses have taken custody of a young filly.'

'As one would expect, too, Miss Shimmer and her 'partners' aren't very good at being parents, either, as just today when they brought the young filly home she was quickly lost. When she was eventually found by a local reporter, instead of thanking him, Princess Twilight verbally berated and insulted him. Very poor conduct for the princess of friendship, but given her lifestyle changes of late it's hardly a surprise.'

***

Spring frowned. She didn't recognize some of the words, but it was clear that this article was being mean to Morning's mothers, so Spring set it aside. The second newspaper was from the Princess Summit that Morning had attended, and actually had an interview with Morning in it. She turned to the article and began to read.

***

'Exciting tales from the Equestrian Princess Summit, including interview with Princess Morning Glisten!'

'Our correspondent in the Crystal Empire has finished his story on the Princess Summit held this year in the Crystal Empire, and we're excited to bring the story to you! Here at the Equestrian Herald we have a great deal of respect for the Princesses and their work to extinguish bigotry in our country, and our correspondent, Pewter Inkwell, was all too happy to conduct an interview with the Princesses' adopted daughter, Morning Glisten!'

'Inkwell: Let’s start with today. What did you think of being part of the Princess Summit?'

'Morning Glisten: It was strange. There were a lot of ponies there, and uhm, I kept expecting them to ask me to do something.'

'Inkwell: Was it a little scary having all those eyes on you?'

'Morning Glisten: A little… but I told Flurry that I would look out for her, so I had to be brave.'

***

Brave. She had to be brave. She was brave, Spring Blossom knew that. Morning Glisten was a brave filly, so Spring would have to be as well! She put the newspapers back in her desk and looked out her window. She took a moment to water her flowers before she closed her windows and got on her bed and began to think about what she'd do. She still wanted to ask an adult like Miss Ginger for help, but if she couldn't then she still had to be brave to help her dad.

Spring set her chin down on her pillow and closed her eyes. It had been a tough day, and she needed a moment to rest after it all. She kept trying to think of ways to help Spanner, but found herself slipping away, and before she knew it she'd drifted off to sleep.

10 - Sorrow

Chapter Ten

Sorrow

Spanner Wrench was in a dark place. For years he had run from the truth of his past, had buried it, had ignored it. But when it had reared its ugly head again unexpectedly he had been unable to confront it.

'The audacity... You have some nerve coming here.'

In the days since Stalwart Shield's visit he'd found himself spiraling further and further down into a demented prison of rage and scorn. He'd smashed the training dummy into pieces, he'd scorched the film that Stalwart had given him until not a single ash of it had remained, and yet still he was slipping away. Spring hadn't said much to him all weekend, and when he'd come home from his walk in the woods the day before yesterday she'd already been asleep.

She knew something. Spanner didn't know what, but he couldn't help but feel that Spring Blossom had learned the truth. That she had seen the way he'd been acting, and it had scared her. It scared him more, because it was a reminder of what he could lose. In the years since he had left home Spanner Wrench had silently contended with the demons that had followed him to his new life in Equestria, but bringing Spring into his life had changed him. He was opening up more, smiling more, looking forward to each day more and more. And in just five minutes, Stalwart Shield had taken all that away from him.

Except that wasn't true. Spanner knew it wasn't true. Spring was still here, he still had his life with her, but it had reminded Spanner that he couldn't escape. He wasn't hiding from his old country, but he had gone years believing that it had very much forgotten him.

'I have something for you. Here. Maybe this will make you care.'

And then there had been the film. For years, Spanner had avoided all news from his homeland. After he'd left, he hadn't cared what happened. Whether it crashed and burned or prospered, he didn't give a damn. Now, his old friend was forcing him to care. After he'd watched the film he'd been given Spanner had tracked down a few newspapers that covered foreign news, and had learned what was happening in the fatherland. An enemy masquerading as a neighbor was lurking in the shadows. An enemy that could be a friend and a coworker and a spouse and a foalsitter. An enemy that looked as equine as him and Spring, but beneath the surface was something far sinister.

It was all lies, he told himself. He knew it. He knew what the leadership back home was like, and whatever they were saying, whatever they were drumming up to get their citizens to believe, it was all damned lies.

False or not, as far as Spanner was concerned there was no choice to make. The fatherland could burn in Tartarus for all he cared. Spring Blossom was all that mattered to him now, and he would be damned if he left her behind to fight some fool war against an enemy that could so effortlessly manipulate him, twist him, before draining him dry.

It was Monday, and Spanner Wrench had elected not to go into work. He knew there was no chance he'd be able to focus on his work today. Instead he found himself deep in the woods behind his home, trotting aimlessly, lost in thought.

He would never go back. He swore it to himself. His life in Hollow Shades was everything he had ever wanted, he had just never known it until he had it. If Stalwart Shield thought he get Spanner to leave it all behind by appealing to some arbitrary sense of honor or duty he was sorely mistaken.

Spanner stopped and sat down by a tree, and looked it over. There was a group of rocks nearby, and Spanner trotted over, intrigued. It dawned on him that they were the rocks that Spring had hidden among that first day he had fostered her, almost two months ago. He smiled sadly, looking at the patch of grass in the middle of the rocks. He lied down amid the rocks and his thoughts drifted to Spring.

'HOLY COW! You came flying out of the sky!'

He had learned a lot from Spring. A lot about himself, mostly, in ways that Spring would never know or understand. She completed him, and he hoped that she understood what she meant to him. The news in the fatherland seemed to think the threat was real, and that it would soon threaten Equestria and the rest of the world. It was hogwash. Just the usual trumped-up scaremongering they used to rile everypony up.

'I don't know if you'll end up adopting me, but...I hope you will!'

He expected that Spring felt that he had changed her life more than she had changed his. In her eyes, life was perfect. She got to go to the same school, with all her friends, and live in the one town she'd known all her life. But now, things were changing, and that was what pissed off Spanner the most. A filly Spring's age didn't need to know what her dad had been through, she didn't need to know that bad things were happening in another country.

'The Fatherland endures! The Fatherland PROTECTS!!'

Spanner sighed, curled up in the grass, and closed his eyes. Spring was his priority. He would shield her, protect her, from everything. That included the truth about his past. It was just the way it had to be, to keep her safe.

Spring Blossom was glad that it was lunchtime. It wasn't just that she was hungry, even though she was, but also that she badly wanted to talk to Patchouli Rest. He was ten, and once Morning Glisten had been adopted he'd basically become her best friend in Hollow Shades. She knew that he could help her.

Spring quickly collected her lunch, a salad with grated cheese, and headed for one of the empty tables near the corner of the cafeteria. Usually she liked sit with a crowd and just talk with ponies, but she wanted to be alone with Patchouli for this. She sat at the empty table and a few moments later Patchouli joined her. "You don't look so good, Spring. Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" he asked.

"No. I didn't sleep very well last night. Something weird is going on with dad" she said.

"Like what?"

"This weird stallion came to visit us on Friday, but he spoke this weird language that I didn't understand. Him and dad talked for a while, and the stallion tried to give my dad a movie, but he smacked it out of his hooves! He kept it, though, and I saw him watching it that night. The film was weird, and there was a pony giving a speech that spoke that same language. Ever since then dad's been acting real scary..." Spring said.

"Scary? Is he...hurting you?" Patchouli asked.

"No! He's never hurt me at all, but there was this wooden pony he was hitting real hard, and then he burned the movie, and then... I don't know what's happening, Patchouli" Spring said, and put her chin on the table. "I think that visitor was a bad pony, and he made dad angry. I wish I knew what they'd said."

"Have you talked to one of our teachers about it? Or Miss Ginger?" he asked.

"No. I wanted to ask Miss Ginger on Saturday, but she wasn't at Small Steps when I went" Spring explained. "And then yesterday I didn't feel like going outside. I told dad I haven't been feeling well. I thought about writing to Morning, but that'll take too long. My dad needs help right now!"

"I wanna help, Spring, but...what can we do?" Patchouli asked. "What if you just talked to him? Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

Spring didn't think that's what was happening. Her dad had known the visitor well enough to let him inside the house, but clearly didn't like him very much. "I guess you're right, I should just talk to him. I have to be brave, I know that, but will it really be that easy?"

"Um... Maybe?" Patchouli asked. "Miss Ginger always says that if we have a problem with somepony, then we should just talk it out with them. I know you don't have a problem with your dad, but if he has a problem then maybe if you talk to him about it he'll realize a way to deal with it, or something."

Spring nodded, and started eating her salad. It was worth a shot, at least. Maybe once she got home she'd talk to Spanner and tell him what Patchouli had told her, or tell him that maybe he could ask one of the ponies he worked with for help. Spring hadn't met any of the ponies he worked with, but dad had told her that one of his coworkers had two colts around her age. Spring thought it'd be nice to meet them, but first she had to help Spanner.

She'd just have to get through the rest of the day.

The rest of the day had passed slowly. Really slowly. She tried to pay attention to her lessons, but kept getting distracted by thinking about how she was gonna talk to Spanner. Eventually the school day ended and Spring trotted home, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering again.

She pushed open the door to her house and stepped in. "...Dad?" she called, and there was no response. She closed the door behind her and trotted into the house proper. "Dad?"

"In the kitchen, Springy."

Spring trotted back into the kitchen and found her dad sitting at the table, drinking something out of a coffee cup and looking at some pictures. Spring climbed into the chair across from him, unsure of where to start. "What are those pictures of, dad?"

"Some old friends. Did you have a good day at school, Spring?" he asked, and Spring nodded. She was going to ask him the question that had been on her mind all weekend, but... She had to be brave! Her dad needed her help, she couldn't afford to hold back.

"Uhm, dad... Who was that stallion who came by on Friday?"

Spanner paused just as he was about to take another sip of his drink, and set the cup down. He looked down at the photos in his hoof and set them aside. He didn't seem surprised that Spring had seen him, but rather he looked...sad.

"A stallion I once knew. There was once a time when I would've done anything he asked. Now?" Spanner said, and took another sip of his drink. "Now he's a relic, reliving something that ended years ago."

Spring didn't understand. "I don't get it... Dad, why did you...hit that wooden pony?"

Spanner looked at her weirdly, like he was afraid. He put a hoof to his head, and put down the photos. He pushed his drink away, his eyes on the table. After a few minutes, he began to speak.

"Five years ago..."

11 - The Rainbow at the End

Chapter Eleven

The Rainbow at the End

"I was a mercenary, a soldier, in another country, far across the sea. My home country went to war with a united tribe of zebras, and mercenaries like me were hired all across the fatherland to fight. For three long years. It was a war of conquest, for resources. Gold. Silver. Diamonds. We all believed in it. We wanted it. It was going to be a simple war, and life would be easy forever. Instead, it dragged on" Spanner said.

"The zebras, they fought in two different ways. On the one hoof, they would fight from the shadows. They would strike at patrols, or shipments, and then quickly slink away. On the other hoof, they would meet us in open battle, on wide fields where hundreds of our side and theirs would clash in frantic, confusing battles. We were better equipped, better trained, better organized, but the zebras were tenacious."

He showed Spring a few of the photos. He was in most of them, posing together with other ponies. All stallions. His uniform was just like the one she'd seen in the film: darkly colored, a helmet with a spike on it on his head. "The zebras had foreign help, too. We never found out from who. In several battles, they would use catapults, given to them by their ally. They would light bombs and fling them across the horizon at us." He showed her a photo of a wide field, marked with dozens of craters.

"Did you win?" she asked.

"No. We didn't lose, but we didn't win. One day, after three long years of fighting, the war just...ended. Our leaders ordered us to lay down our swords, and the zebras put theirs down as well. It was all for nothing, and we realized it had only ended because our country was about to collapse. Money quickly became worthless, and food was hard to find. Our leaders had spent all the country's money on the war, with the hope that if we won the resources we were going to steal would pay it all off."

"So...your leaders were bad ponies? They wanted to steal the zebras' stuff?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded.

"When I went home from the battlefields, my home town had become one. A civil war was brewing. Ponies were starving, ponies couldn't find jobs, it was chaos. Police ponies tried to keep the peace, but it quickly got out of control. Ponies would attack the police, and then the police would attack back. Our leaders shifted the blame, claiming our country had been betrayed by its own citizens. Harsher and harsher laws were handed down, and the civil war exploded. That's when I left."

"You came to Equestria?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded.

"For the past five years I've tried to put it behind me. I did, and then my old commander came to visit. Stalwart Shield. He asked me to go back, to help my old country. The newspapers that talk about other countries claim my homeland is under siege by ponies hiding in the shadows. Changelings. It isn't true. If our leaders lied to us about why we lost the war, then they're lying now. I know it" Spanner said.

Spring wasn't sure what to say, but she still had a few more questions. "The film, I saw you watching it. You hit that wood pony, and then you burned the movie. Why?"

Spanner nodded, looking ashamed. "When Stalwart left, I was just so angry, Springy. I couldn't stop. I hit the training dummy because I needed some way to burn off all that anger. It was better than just bottling it all up, but if you saw it, then... I'm sorry. I told myself I would protect you from this. From my past. You shouldn't know about this, you should enjoy your life. What I went through... No child should know about it. What you've been through is also something no child should go through, but I knew the good I could do in adopting you. I did it to change a life for the better, as opposed to the other way I used to change lives. As for the film, I burned it because I'm never going back. No matter who asks, this is my home now, and I won't leave it or you for anything."

"...You promise?" Spring asked.

Spanner nodded. "I'm sure you were afraid of me."

She wanted to tell her dad that she hadn't, but she also didn't want to lie. "I'm not afraid anymore. I just..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. Five years ago, her dad had left his home to come to Equestria, to get away from bad ponies who lied and wanted to take things from zebras. "You're not a bad pony, I know that. Bad ponies don't do good things."

"Sometimes good ponies do bad things, though" Spanner countered, and Spring frowned.

"Only when bad ponies lie to them!" she said, and Spanner smiled.

"Only when bad ponies lie to them. Still, one's actions are one's own, but you'll learn more about that when you're older."

Five years ago, Spring's original dad died in the accident, and her mother had died giving birth to her. Sad things had happened to her, too, but she was happy now. Even at the orphanage, she had been happy, she had just wanted to be adopted really badly. If sad things had happened to her and she was happy now, then she knew that her dad could be happy again too. despite what he did and what happened to him.

"What if... What if they make you go back? What if that stallion comes back, and says you have to go back?" Spring asked, and Spanner lifted his head up, keeping his eyes firmly on Spring's.

"I won't let them."

Spring looked down and nodded, but she didn't like the way that sounded. Spanner stood and trotted over to her. He leaned down and hugged her, and Spring hugged him back. "I'm sorry, Spring, I... I didn't mean to scare you. You've made me so much happier, brought so much joy to my life, I never want to lose you. I won't ever lose you, I promise you that" her dad said, his voice sounding like he was about to cry.

Spring just hugged him tighter. "I never want to lose you either, dad. I..." she paused and mustered the courage to finally say what she had wanted to for so long. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Springy. Daddy loves you..."

They sat like that for a while, the two of them just hugging. Spring felt so bad for her dad, and she knew that she'd have to be there for him. To help make him happy again. She reminded herself to make sure that she write a letter to Morning Glisten, and maybe ask her if she could ask her mothers for help.

After a time her dad released her and he wiped his face. "Could you come with me to the backyard, Spring? There's something I need to do."

She nodded and got out of her chair, and followed her dad to the back door. The two of them stepped outside into the afternoon sun, and he trotted into the shed. He came back out carrying a shovel, and trotted over towards the woods. He stopped by a small stone near the edge of the forest, and stuck the shovel into the ground.

Twenty minutes later Spanner had stopped digging, a big pile of dirt next to him, and he crouched down next to the hole. Spring watched him set the shovel down and he gestured for her to come over, and she approached the hole. There was a chest inside the hole, the lid had the symbol of the eagle on it, and it was made out of a beautiful red wood. Her dad opened the lid, and Spring looked inside.

Inside she saw the uniform she'd seen her dad wearing in the pictures, a tunic of gray wool lined with red. It had brass buttons and a bunch of medals on it. On the right side of the chest were a bunch of things, like a compass and a few cans. Her dad stepped aside and let Spring continue to look.

"This is all your old army stuff?" she asked, and he nodded.

"These are things I held onto, even when I left home for Equestria. Things I should've left behind. Things I never wanted to see again, but couldn't let go of. This will be the last time, though" Spanner said.

"What's in the cans?"

"Dirt. Weird, I know, but each new place I went to I took a few hooffuls of dirt and put them in an empty food can. At the time I thought it'd be nice to one day, when the war was over, think back on what I accomplished and all the places I'd been to. Once I left, though, I realized I wanted to forget it all" Spanner said. Spring looked for a bit before she backed away from the chest. She hadn't even realized Spanner had trotted away until she heard him come back over, carrying a red can.

He reached into the chest and pulled out a stick with two metal orbs, one on each end. Spring thought they looked like little green pineapples. "I won't burn this" he said. He put the stick aside and poured the fluid in the can into the chest. He only poured about half of it out before he set the can aside and pulled out a match. "The only way to move on is to let it all go. Ready?"

Spring nodded, excited and nervous. Morning had told her that meant she was 'nervouscited.' She said it was a Pinkie thing, whatever that meant. Spanner tossed the match into the chest and it erupted into a massive ball of fire, and he sat down on the lawn next to her, close enough for their bodies to be touching.

"What happened to your sword?" Spring asked, and Spanner nodded.

"Tossed it, long before I left home. I never wanted to see it again" he said.

"Did you ever...use it?" she asked, afraid of the answer. Spanner fixed her with a look. One that looked as though she had caught him doing something he shouldn't have been.

"Yes."

Spring looked down, a little afraid. "What about the photos?"

Spanner looked down at the pile of them, and seemed to think about it for a moment. "They were all good ponies, just misguided, like I once was. They were friends, brothers... Some of them I saved. Some of them saved me." He picked the photos up and tossed them into the fire, and he lied down on the grass. Spring lied down next to him and together they watched the flames lick at the air. "I'll never forget their faces."

An hour later the fire had burned out, leaving the chest nothing but smoldering ashes. Her dad poured out a can of water into the hole to put out the last of the embers, and then he tossed the stick with the metal balls on it back into the hole. He buried the ashes and the stick with it, and put the shovel away.

"There's a bookstore in town, and it's started to carry films. Let's say we go over there and try to find something to watch on the projector together?" Spanner said.

Spring grinned and nodded, and she rushed back into the house. She waited by the door for Spanner to catch up, and they went back outside. Spring knew that it wasn't over yet. Not really. But she hoped that her dad felt better now. She knew she had been right when she'd first seen him; he was a good pony, and she wouldn't give him up for anything in the world.

She knew he felt the same way, too.

12 - The Lonely Road of Yesterday

Chapter Twelve

The Lonely Road of Yesterday

The following day Spanner again took off from work, and Spring asked him if she could stay home from school. It had been an easy request to grant, though of course he'd make sure to get any schoolwork she'd need from her teacher.

After a quick breakfast Spanner took Spring out into the village, and to a nearby park. Being close enough to a forest meant the ponies of Hollow Shades weren't particularly keen on nature themes, but there was a modest park with beautiful cherry blossom trees in it. Gifts from another country, Spanner had learned.

In better circumstances, the park would be a great place for the two of them to play together. As it was, Spanner just wanted to spend some time with his daughter. He led her over to a picnic table and the two of them sat down together. She'd been pretty quiet since yesterday, but her smile had returned.

"When I left home, I never thought any of this would happen to me. When I left, I wanted to be happy. I thought, if I moved to another place, it'd be easier. In some ways it was" Spanner said with a smile. "It was easy to forget about home. I avoided foreign news, nopony from the old country lived here, and I was as far away from the old country as I could be. What wasn't easy to forget, however, was what I went through."

"Was it hard to leave?"

Spanner nodded. "At first, I thought about where I'd go, and what it'd be like to leave behind the only home I'd ever known. Leaving behind the ponies I knew was the hardest part, I thought. Then I realized actually leaving would be much harder. The country was in such chaos, no boats or airships were allowed to come in or leave. Our leaders were looking for those who had served in the war, to force them to fight in the civil war and keep the peace. I snuck away from home without saying goodbye to anypony. I fell in with a group of ponies fleeing to the country side, and after nine days we arrived in a small village, near another country. I crossed the border that same night, but the police there caught me pretty quick."

"The ponies there didn't send you back?"

"It was a nation of Griffons, actually, and they knew what it was like. The police there let me go the next day, and a few days later I found a Griffon merchant navy ship that was leaving for Equestria. They wanted to know why a deserter was still carrying his uniforms and souvenirs, but I couldn't speak Equestrian, and only one of them barely spoke my language. I couldn't pay them, so they worked me pretty hard on the trip over, and that was enough to keep them from asking questions. I was so happy to leave that I was glad to do whatever jobs they wanted me to."

Spring scrunched up her face. "You couldn't speak Equestrian?"

Spanner shook his head. "The languages are similar, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to keep track of contractions. And synonyms. I struggled with words like 'the' and 'this', because the sound doesn't exist in my native language. Imagine going your whole life without making that 'thhh' sound. It's harder than you might think."

Spring wasn't sure what to say about that, but as she thought about it she thought it'd be kinda weird if she couldn't say 'the', 'this', 'there', and so on. "But you can speak Equestrian great now."

"I can speak Equestrian well now, yes" Spanner said. "After a month the ship arrived in Equestria, and I lived in the port town for about a year before I decided to move farther inland. I drifted until I found Hollow Shades, and after a few years, I had settled in...and nothing had changed. I was miserable. That's when I went to Small Steps, and you changed my life."

Spring smiled, and Spanner smiled back. She was so happy to hear that she had helped her dad, even if he hadn't been her dad when she first met him. "When I saw you, I knew you were a good pony, Spanner! Patchouli said you looked mean, but I just knew if I did my best I could make you smile. I really like making ponies smile!"

"I know you do, my little flower, and I love that about you."

She beamed at the compliment, but there was another question still on her mind that had been bothering her for a while. "Dad...? Was that stallion who came to see you a bad pony?"

"Stalwart Shield? ...No. He's not a bad pony. There are bad ponies out there, Springy, and sometimes it can be hard to tell who's good or bad, but you seem to have a good eye for figuring out who's which" Spanner said. "But it's like I said, he's just a relic, stuck in the past. He's doing what he thinks is right, doing the only thing he's good at."

"I thought if you had let him in, then he must be good. But then he tried to give you that film, and..." Spring trailed off, not wanting to bring it up again. Thankfully, Spanner understood what she was getting at.

"Again, I'm sorry that you saw that. I'm sorry for everything you've been through the past few days, Springy, but I promise you that everything will be alright. It's going to be a while, I won't lie to you, but I promise that we will be happy. Life will soon go back to the way it should be: fun, happy, and peaceful."

Spring nodded. "OK. I understand."

They were quiet for a few moments before Spanner spoke. "C'mon, let's go find something fun to do. I just...felt like I needed to come out here, and talk with you. I know it was a very stressful and scary weekend, but I just wanted to make sure you understood what happened, and to make sure you still... Still trust me."

"I do, dad!" she said. "I still trust you, and I'm not scared anymore! You're not a scary pony, you just had bad things done to you by bad ponies, but that wasn't your fault. I guess I'd be kinda upset if bad ponies lied to me and made me do bad things for them."

Spanner smiled. "Yes, I imagine you would be. But, you're a forgiving type, Spring, and that is a virtue itself." He stood up and Spring did so as well, and waited for Spanner to join her. Together they headed back towards Hollow Shades, a gentle breeze blowing some leaves by them as they went. "Springy?"

Spring looked up at her dad. "What is it?"

Suddenly he hugged her. A tender, gentle hug, that Spring eagerly returned. "Thank you, Spring. For everything."

Spring wasn't sure what she did that he would thank her for. She did what anypony would do for somepony who needed help. But she'd never turn down an opportunity to hug her dad, so she just nuzzled into him. "You're welcome, daddy."

Later, at home, Spanner had made some lunch for the two of them and Spring went to her room. She was looking to read some books, but first she had to tend to her flowers. They were starting to wilt a little bit, so she made sure to pour a little extra water into the planter for them. She set aside her watering pot and climbed onto the chair in front of her desk. She looked at the bit that Spanner had given her, all those weeks ago, nestled upright in a small wooden stand, and smiled. She pulled out her quill and parchment, and began to write.

Dear Morning Glisten,

How are you? Every thing is going good heer back at hollow shades. A wierd pony came by on friday to see dad, and over the weekend dad told me he used to be a soldier in another contry! He showed me all his old army stuff, and then he burned it all. He said that his leaders were bad ponies, and they did a bunch of bad stuff that messed every thing up in dad's old contry. Wen he found out he left for Equestria, and has lived here ever since. I felt real bad for what hapened to dad, but I told him that I trust him, and he thanked me. I dont really know why, but I am glad every thing is okay now. I gues he was realy mad about his leaders lying to everypony and making them do bad things.

I hope every thing is going good in Ponyville. I hope I get to see you one day, and I hope every thing is okay with your Mom, Mama, and Ma. I am happy that you got your cutie mark, and I want you to mail me a pictur of it!

Your friend,

Spring Blossom.

She dated the letter, sealed it up in an envelope, and set it aside for her dad to address it. She hopped down, trotted over to her bookshelf, and picked out a short history book. She still liked to read story books, but as she learned more and more in school and from Spanner she was starting to read non-fiction more and more. She crawled onto her bed, facing the door, and opened the book up. The warm sun streamed into the open window of her bedroom, the distant singing of birds serene and calming.

Just as she was about to start reading Spring looked up at her open door. She could hear Spanner in the kitchen, washing dishes, and there was one more thing she had to do before she started reading. "Dad!" she called out, and the faucet in the kitchen was shut off.

A moment later Spanner trotted into the threshold of the open door, and he looked at Spring with a concerned smile. "What is it, Springy?"

"I love you, dad."

Spanner's concern vanished and his smile, now warm and gentle, widened. He trotted into Spring's room proper, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. She giggled, and Spanner put a hoof on her shoulder. "I love you too, Springy."

He left her alone again and she turned her attention back to her book, a permanent smile on her face. She started to read, but she took a moment to think about what Spanner had told her earlier in the park. He had explained a lot to her since yesterday, and she had learned a lot, but there was one thing that she knew was true. Not only because her dad had told her so, but because she believed it herself.

Everything would be alright.

Author's Note

Trivia: when I first posted this story on 5/28, this chapter did not exist. The story ended with chapter 11, plus the epilogue, and I was very dissatisfied because I felt the resolution had come too fast. With the addition of this chapter, I'm finally comfortable with where the story is, and how it ended. I hope you are, as well!

Epilogue

"Happy tenth birthday, Springy!"

Spring Blossom blew out the candles of her cake, and Spanner Wrench quickly and carefully set about cutting it for her. It was the prettiest cake she had ever seen, with the rim of the cake's crown decorated to look like a wreath and a big flower pattern on the top of it. Her dad gave her a slice and she dug in.

"MMMMM! It's so good!" She said after she had swallowed. Spanner sat down next to her at the kitchen table and helped himself, albeit to a much smaller piece. He took a bite and nodded.

"Very good, indeed. We'll go over to the bakery sometime and thank the mare who made this for you, alright?" he asked, and Spring nodded. A lot had changed in four months, the biggest of which was Spring getting her cutie mark and hitting her tenth birthday. Her mark was a beautiful white flower with a cluster of gold at the center, and although she had asked her dad what it was, he had held off on telling her until today.

"I have a gift for you, of course. Can you wait here while I go get it?" he asked, and Spring nodded. He went to his room and soon came back holding a tall, thin box. She pulled the wrapping off and found the box had no bottom, so she just pulled it up. Inside was a glass vase holding a flower. White, with a gold center. She looked up at Spanner, and he smiled at her.

"It, and your cutie mark, is an edelweiss. It means 'noble white', and symbolizes purity and perseverance" Spanner said. "While there's no doubt it's there to symbolize your skill as a florist, It's also a sign of your kind-hearted nature and big heart, Springy. It tells others that you're a kind and trusting pony." He sat down on the floor next to her, eye-level with her, and hugged her.

She smiled and hugged him back. She promised herself she would keep it alive as long as possible. She had learned more about flower tending, and was learning more every day, and her flowers were living longer and longer. It and the bit that he had given her were such precious gifts, and she would treasure both forever.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Spring broke the hug. "Patchouli Rest is here" she said, and hopped off of her chair. She was about to rush to the front door when she looked back at Spanner and smiled. "Thank you, dad. For everything. I love you."

Spanner smiled. "You're welcome, Springy. I love you, too."

He watched her scurry to the front door, smiling the whole time. Spring opened the front door and Spanner saw Spring's friend standing outside. Spanner had been concerned it'd take some convincing, but Ginger had readily agreed to let Patchouli come by for Spring's tenth birthday. It had been a little over six months since he'd adopted her, and Spanner was confident that things were getting back to the way they should be. Spring Blossom was happy as could be, as was he.

Ginger Snap had been right; it wasn't always so easy. Sometimes, someone could be doing their best, only for something completely out of their control to happen. But, Spanner Wrench had learned, so long as that someone had loved ones around them that they could count on, then they could get through anything at all.

That help could come from all different types. Even someone as unassuming as a bright and cheery young filly. Especially if that someone was a young filly, in Spanner's opinion. He smiled at Spring and her friend, and soon enough the house was filled with the vibrant sounds of fun and laughter. It was the sound of joy, a sound that Spanner Wrench had never thought he'd hear in his house.

I love that sound he thought.

Author's Note

And we're done! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story! Writing something like this was a bit outside my comfort zone, given my other stories, but I really enjoyed it. Who We Become is a very compelling and gripping saga, and I must congratulate and thank Krickis for letting me try my hand at writing for their series. I strongly recommend that you go properly check out Who We Become, because her writing is much better than mine! They're some of the best stories I've ever read, and can't wait to see what she has in store for the future.

Prologue

He stood, staring down at the open chest before him. The contents were all neatly organized, but clearly hadn't been touched in years. He wasn't sure why he even still had the chest. Folded cleanly on the left side, with its medals still boldly displayed, was the shirt of his dress uniform, its dull gray color starkly contrasted with the bold crimson of the lining, and the brilliant gleam of the brass buttons. Under it were other dress shirts, but the red-and-gray was the last one he'd worn, all those years ago.

On the right were things that were more personal. Photos. Souvenirs. His friends, his comrades, himself, all in the photos. There were other photos, too. Photos of landmarks. Of breathtaking landscapes. Beautiful trees, rolling hills.

The craters.

Spanner Wrench reached down and gathered up the photos of the ponies he once knew, and slipped them into the pocket of the plain dress shirt he was wearing. For years he'd been trying to get out of the habit of wearing clothes, but found it was rather difficult to do. There were other habits, too, he'd like to shed. Stronger habits.

With the photos safely tucked away Spanner looked down again at the open chest, and briefly wondered if there was anything else he should take out. Beyond the uniforms and the photos, there were just the souvenirs. Tins of foreign soil, a few compact tools, a particular souvenir that he really shouldn't have taken, a compass, but not much else.

Satisfied with just the photos Spanner eased shut the lid of the chest and locked it back up. Part of him told him to leave it all behind, photos included, but he couldn't help himself. It was his punishment. But maybe, he hoped, there would one day come an end to this punishment.

He smiled and picked up the shovel. As the first heap of soil dropped onto the chest, covering the bold golden eagle on its surface, Spanner hummed an old tune he'd first heard half-a-decade ago, on the last day. Its lively tone a stark contrast with that day's events.

Tomorrow would be a new beginning. He promised himself that.