On a hill overlooking Tall Tale, an earth pony remembers their wingpony. · 4:06pm Sep 21st, 2023
The tables of Tall Tale had born bread for as long as ponykind had been around.
After all, it was where the first tables had been hewn, and the first loaves baked.
For a brief moment, Tether stood at the crest of the orchard overlooking the Tall Tale Guard Academy. To say ‘the’ orchard... it didn’t narrow things down a whole lot: ancient trees stretched tall around the city. These particular ones by him were soon to bear apples; he flexed his hooves to be sure, and the roots of the trees told him softly in kind, “Yes, and we hope to have as good a harvest as we have these past thousand years.”
Tether remarked that the trees were not quite that old. Their ancestors had long since moved to other corners of Equestria. Even then, Tall Tale had briefly been abandoned before the time of Equestria, and the return of earth ponies meant almost all of the unruly orchards had needed to be replanted.
The trees did not like those facts.
With their feelings successfully jostled, Tether breathed in and looked toward the proper interior of Tall Tale. The orchards stretched down the hill and along the dirt and cobble roads. They crossed all over the landscape, funneling themselves into the modest skyline. It wasn’t Manehattan, not by a long-shot, but then again, it had only been a few years since the first skyscrapers had pierced into the sky. In time, the impact of the towers might rival that of the Tall Tale waterfront.
Tether wasn’t opposed to such changes. He hadn’t always. But pegasi had opened his eyes to the wonders of winged slalom.
Particularly, she had.
A branch cast itself low, prickling across Tether’s withers, just between the pauldrons of his armor. He sighed, quietly thanked the tree for their distraction, and looked west.
The simultaneously organized and chaotic waterfront properties of the Tall Tale Port peered back at Tether. The buildings varied in age and density, as if trawling nets of eras and ages past had decided who would live where. They were much more modest than the few opulent skyscrapers that marred the more modern inlet of Tall Tale, but the buildings were certainly grand for their time. Past the buildings, though, the true value of the coast could be found in the squawk of gulls and whistle of great sails: out on the harbor, a ceaseless flow of ships came and went.
For as long as the place had stood—a very long time, indeed—the waters had always churned.
The churning waters had brought curious ponies to the coastline, and those curious ponies had turned to productive ponies. Productive ponies harvested close coastal bounties for the hard-working farm folk of Tall Tale. In turn, prospective ponies had come, and soon enough, the Luna Sea, untold gallops of unexplored coastline, and even ice floes from the Frozen North became the focus of adventurers all around. The adventurous doubled the need for the productive and the basket-bearing, but they also carried the dangerous out and back with them. So in turn, for as long as Tall Tale had sat in Equestria’s borders, the Royal Guard had held a vested interest in the city.
It may have had something to do with the grain and apples grown here, too. But the humble farmers couldn’t take all the credit, even if it was duly owed.
Tether continued his survey with a slow pan; his hooves remained rooted among the trees. He hustled past the busy western port, through the tree-filled corridors of the ever-heightening city, and barely spent a moment on the grand sprawl of the eastern guard academy.
The rural exterior of Tall Tale had its own appeal, and for an earth pony like Tether, this was his real home and hearth in the city, even if his time here over the years was sparse.
He trudged a little in the damp, misty soil, turning to give the endless orchards and fields a better look. Basking in the glow of golden grain and shining fruit always lifted him up. Huddled amid the bounty of Tall Tale’s legendary earth ponies, the family homes of the farmers themselves and the miniature down-towns held fast. There was a steady beat of life to the place, even with many of its residents out to the city and port for the time being. Figures moved in more apparent crowds and working bands; with the distance from Tether’s point, they were hardly more than scarce specks.
Finally, past the southernmost fields, Tall Tale petered out into the southern treeline.
Tether didn’t know when he’d begun smile, but now, it began to dwindle.
A breeze coasted through the orchard. It carried a faint pinch of sea salt, and the homely scent dribbled shivers of delight down and across Tether’s withers. He eyed the pegasus beside him, who twitched from the tips of his feathers to the base of his wingbone.
“You’ll probably get thrown in with the next class here in a week. Just a heads up.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.” Strike stretched his neck. Settling, he drawled slow. “And I know you’re a couple months out from full rites, but when you do set out on patrol, I’d be more than happy to be your wingpony. I’m not sure how it’d work, but...”
“I’ve worked with pegasi on patrols before.”
“Really?”
Tether corrected himself. “Just one time.” And only one.
“...Was it a good experience?”
The greens of the trees bobbed in the breeze, their leaves like waves on a slow rising ocean. Spiderwebs became seafoam, and nestled bugs like sailships resting in the harbor.
Further out, the depths of the forbidden forest loomed.
“She was my wingmare. For life.”
There was a clear moment for the words to sink in.
“Then she still is, boss. Flockmates are forever.”
Tether glanced at the cocky pegasus, but Strike’s eyes were also honed south.
“I didn’t want to say much, but I do know a bit of the story.”
Tether didn’t respond; he turned back to the forest as well.
“What’s her name?”
“Cloudy. Cloudy Anchorage.”
“S’good.” He nodded slow, appreciatively. His feathers flexed, and he pulled his eyes shut; it was as if he was feeling the name through his body. “Pretty name. Tall Tale kind of name.”
“We grew up here together.”
“Close, huh?”
“I named her, and she named me.”
“...For what it’s worth, corporal, I’m sorry.”
A deep, shuddering breath rolled through Tether at that moment.
“I’ll... leave you to it, boss. Sorry for intrudin’.”
“You’re fine, private.” Tether blinked. “You’re fine,” he repeated, moreso for his own ears to hear.
Strike’s wings rustled as he folded them back up. He looked between Tether and the southern woods. “You’re a stallion with a plan. I’m a good wingpony. Honest. The realest you’ll get out here.” He shuffled in place. “Forest might be prohibited territory for now, but it won’t last.”
There was a nigh invisible change: Tether’s eyes hardened. “I’m going to find her.”
“I’m all ears.”
Your words have such a beautiful lilt and cadence to them.
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You’re too kind. Thank you.
My he find her...with a good ending...I hope.
I second about the writing. It is truly beautiful
This was so beautiful. The descriptions are so vibrant that I really felt I was there. Everything just flowed so wonderfully. I could feel Tethers’ longing and the resolve in his voice.
Just amazing!
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Will this be made into a story or is it just a small piece. Either way enjoyed it, small places and connection people have in them is what gives them charm. Reminds me of Dalmatia and its scattered villages among hills.
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It’s part of a greater story that I felt like sharing. I’m looking to build up a nice catalog of Royal Guard works before I start publishing them.
Love that you brought this up. Thank you!
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Is there some time table for release or what would you say the progress of it is?
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Preferably, when it’s ready. This is most of what’s been written for it, but the whole work is blocked out. I just need to make time. Thanks for your interest.