Oh Deer

The visitor...

"did you trim the grass today?" The raspy tone of Reed-Tail's grandmother's voice rang from across the hut.

"Yes, grandma. I trimmed it," he replied in an irritated tone. I sat at his dining table, and he joined me. Reed's fur is quite scruffy. He has long, brown wavy hair, though that hair is beginning to develop a few gray strands. His eyes are a deep hazelnut brown, and they feel deeply connected to me whenever they pass me a glance,

"So, Cinnamon. any plans lately?" He asked me in a rather flat tone. I shook my head.

"My grandma wants to go berry picking later. Wanna come?" he asked quickly.

I felt... sore. I slowly shook my head.

"That's okay..." he sighed, twiddling his front hooves on the table,

"Say, uh, I've been reading this good book lately. It's pretty cool--- it's about ponies."

I swallowed a sudden onslaught of anger that rushed through my being upon that word. "pony". I nodded,

"What's it about?" I asked calmly.

"How their industrialization led to the demise of Equestria. I-It's called 'Equestria's Demise'."

"Fitting," I said. I nodded, slightly intrigued.

"A few centuries ago, we were the dominant race, y'know," Reed raised his eyebrow as he made his point,

"But a few centuries later and splat! And guess what, I even heard some rumors that Whitetail Woods might be taken down for lumber, and for a new pony establishment..." he spoke in quick succession.

"The ponies are power-hungry. They want all of these trees for their buildings. Oh- Also, I heard that there were some Timbers nearby."

"Really?" I asked, feeling slightly apprehensive. He nodded.

"These ponies, lemme tell ya," Reed started, almost seeming to brush off what he had just said about timberwolves not too long ago,

"They just wanna impose their dominance. It's ridiculous! I mean, all these trains a-and buildings-"

Reed leaned closer to me, lowering the volume of his voice, but not all all his passion for the topic,

"I heard they might even be starting to build right here! A-As soon as next year even- it's crazy. Also, I heard that there was a pony nearby who's studying the area."

"Was he... with anyone?" I asked quietly. I was admittedly curious.

"Nope. But I'll tell you what," Reed leaned in even closer, speaking by my ear,

"If any of those dang horses come near my hut, They'll deeply regret it, I'll tell you that."

"Do... you know what he looks like?" I asked softly.

"Well, a local deer told me that they're a yellow color... a bit skinny, pink mane- kinda small for a pony," Reed said.

I nodded as I buried the vague description in the back of my head. Reed turned the pages of his book. I was hesitant to tell him that books were quite a pony-thing and were often written by the hooves of ponies. Of course, I didn't want to cause him any disappointment at the moment.

"This page talks about the ruler of Equestria... Celestia is it?"

"what about her?" I asked.

"Well," he started, pausing for a moment as he gathered the words from the page,

"She used to preach harmony. All equids and ungulates lived in harmony at some point. But then wars broke out- that's what it says here."

"Reed, I know this stuff already," I muttered. He simply nodded without passing a glance,

"Kirin and Deer suffered especially. Kirin exed themselves from pony contact, and... welll... we know of our situation."

I heard about all of these things already, I just wanted to be polite and let Reed speak. He always likes to repeat himself. I don't know if it's because he forgets quickly or if he simply wants to establish his point one too many times. I nodded silently.

"What about the other ones?" I asked. falsely trying to engage in the conversation.

"What other ones?" Reed looked up at me.

"You know, other ungulates..." I specified.

"oh, oh yeah! Like cattle?"

"Oh, don't get me started with cattle..." I croaked. I suppressed a chuckle.

"Heh, they managed to brainwash their entire society. Th-they basically submitted themselves to ponies for slavery..." Reed protested. I could sense him getting frustrated as his words gained haste. I nodded,

"It's not slavery. It's... more like hard labor. After the great cattle-pony war, cattle simply surrendered and swore to work for ponies for about five centuries. It was part of their treaty. Also, they reduced their vocabulary, only saying "moo", which is "yes" in cattle-ish."

"Well, look who's been studying," Reed huffed.

"Hey, you brought it up..." I chuckled. Reed said nothing. Reed's grandmother waltzed quietly into the dining room, despite pushing one hundred and two, she still seemed as crystal clear as ever. Even when she walked, she expressed no signs of aging or wilt,

"Come on, Reed. Let's go berry picking. It's getting late," she said softly. Reed nodded back, shutting the book and laying it carefully on the table. I got a brief look at the cover. It was a crude drawing of Princess Celestia holding a sword with beams of light coming out of her, as a few deer and cattle bowed down to her.

"Well, that's my call," Reed smiled at me. His beaming expression caught my attention. His sharp, hazelnut eyes peered into my soul. I smiled back,

"Sorry for keeping you," I said, blushing.

"No no, please. Thanks for stopping by."

_____________________________

A few moments passed as I zoned out in front of the tranquil brook. Night was approaching, the orange sun was disappearing behind the orange, changing trees. The sun rays shot between the tree branches like flaming swords. I still thought about that pony Reed mentioned. Was he still around? Surely he'd be back home by now.

I simply watched my reflection ripple on the brook with the orange hue of the setting sun. This brook was here for as long as I can remember. It's our water supply, our bath, it was our escape from our deep sorrows. The brook is not only a reflection on ourselves, but also on how to carry ourselves, to "keep on flowing no matter how many rocks get in the way", a motto my mother taught me, for which her mother taught her, and so on.

I sighed as I lifted my fatigued body onto my hooves. I slowly pranced back to my hut, feeling the slightly chilly dusk breeze along my brown fur, the slightly moist, dry yet soft leafy ground underneath my hooves. I smelled the fresh, aromatic scent of the juicy autumn leaves.

The night train was about to ride soon, I could hear its whistle in the distance. I pity ponies. They're always rushing everywhere. They're always galloping everywhere, without taking time to slow their gait and take in the beauty of nature. Us deer believe in nature more than anything else, we even put our fate into it. Ponies? They revolve their life around industrialization, hence why our woods are suffering.

Suddenly, I heard something stir in the bush to the right of me. I stopped. at first I thought it was a squirrel, but then it stirred again, proving to be something much larger. I stood absolutely still.

I jumped, it vocalized, "Angel..?"

I felt myself paralyzed as I stared at the bush. I inched closer, and a long, flowy pink tail now poked out from the bush.

"Who's there?" I appeared to have startled it, as it squealed and disappeared within the bush.

"Sap-Joy?" I called, thinking it was my peculiar doe neighbor. No response.

"Listen, I won't hurt you, I just wanna know-" A head suddenly poked out of the bush. It was a pony. Staring down at me with a face of mortified fear.