//------------------------------// // 34 - The Thriving People // Story: Bushkeeper // by Odd_Sarge //------------------------------// “Mrrh?” Andrew smiled weakly. “It’s cute, but it’s not practical.” Mint spat the Bushkeeper’s latest project out onto the ground, then shook her head rapidly. “Bad!” The teenager did a double take. “I didn’t teach you that word!” Snorting, the irritated unicorn delivered a kick to the wood handle of the stone hatchet, then stormed off. Andrew stood his ground with mixed emotions. Before he could do anything, a scream tore across the landscape of the camp. “Help!” The high-pitched squeal terrified the human down to his core. He had only just begun teaching the adults further English. For a foal to scream for help? Andrew spun a full one-eighty. “Hold on, Sparky!” As the teenager sprinted over the blades of fresh morning dew, further ponies fell into step behind him. He ultimately beat them in reaching the colt. Instead of finding the pegasus alone, he found Sparky nuzzling weakly at one of the most important ponies in the colt’s life. “Storm!” Andrew crashed down to the mare’s side. Her chest heaved weakly as she struggled to breathe. The teenager placed the back of his hand on the mare’s forehead; she was burning up. He went to work pulling his hoodie off while the ponies behind him caught up. The mixture of the three pony species crowded around the pegasus herd leader as Andrew slunk down to the river beside him. Soaking his undershirt with cool water, he brought the cool rag back over to the mare and pressed it to her head. The mare neighed quietly in her native tongue as Andrew eased the rag across her head. The human left the rag on the mare. “Let’s get her inside the den.” Ponies packed themselves tightly around the human as he carried the mare, forming a protective cocoon of flesh. A fierce storm of fear was surging through the crowd, but they rallied themselves all the same. The teenager, for his part, was busy looking over the mare cradled in his arms, looking for any further signs of illness or causes of infection. The ponies had taken to covering the den floor with a set of fresh leaves every day, leaving Andrew with a perfect way to make a semi-comfortable bed of leaves to set Storm on. As he sat down next to the mare again, he checked on the shirt. He handed the warm rag off to a pony, and before he could say anything, the earth pony had rushed out of the cave and down to the river. His awe at the ponies’ abilities to pick up on the things he did was set aside in order to check on the strange growth he’d noticed on Storm’s hooves. An inflammation of the frog was taking place on one of the hooves. The inflammation had also caused the frog to grow an almost soft pink. Horrified, Andrew stood up and stepped back to allow Blackie, Sparky, and the other pegasi their own time to look over the mare. Feeling sick, the teenager stumbled out of the den. As he leaned on one side of the hill, Andrew successfully resisted the urge to hurl; just the sight of the boil-esque growth had been enough to make him want to vomit. He spat a huge glob of saliva to the side. The earth pony came running back up the hill with a soaking wet shirt, and the crowd within was quick to separate to allow the pony forth. Groaning, Andrew slid down the hill, the grass tickling his flesh. He drew a hand across his heated face in spite of the warm sun above. “God help me…” Andrew hadn’t thought about the idea that diseases were still present, even in this world. In fact, it was surprising to have only been hit by diseases at now of all times. He figured that such a thing may have happened earlier. Yet again, the human noted that time seemed to pass all the more slowly in this new land. Andrew stood and peeked back inside the den. The den was filled with distraught cries, the pegasus in major pain. Thinking back to his time on the mountain top, the Bushkeeper ran back into the den and began searching frantically through his bag. He found the teal grasses immediately. The teen threw his head back as he rippled through the crowd. “Move!” Blackie and Sparky obliged after a moment of hesitation. Andrew carefully lifted Storm’s affected foreleg, then gently began wrapping her hoof. After an agonizing minute, the mare’s cries died down to whimpers. The healing properties were in effect now, and all Andrew could do was step back and let the natural phenomena take place. But the human wanted to do more than that. The Bushkeeper had to take care of his little ponies, each and every single one. Andrew retrieved his walking stick and bag from the corner of the den. He went to grab Mint and Greeny for his trip, but Greeny was far too occupied with Storm. Motioning for the azure unicorn mare to follow him, the teenager left the cave. Mint made a worried whinny as she trotted after him, but her curious pony eyes provided Andrew with enough material to understand her message. “We’re going to go see our neighbors.” He slowed his gait to match the mare’s nervous trot. “And you—” he gently slid his hand through his friend’s mane “—will be the first pony to see them.” Mint pulled close to Andrew. The human was glad for his companion’s comfort. Together, the pair walked in amiable silence. The pony and human were pleasantly surprised to find a welcoming party already awaiting them. Andrew went forward first, his hand upheld in greeting. He could tell that not all of the cervine neighbors were out to meet them, but the stag leader and the doe with the mesmerizing gaze were the most remarkable characters in the party. Some of the deer seemed caught mid-stride, hinting that they had been about to leave… leave in the direction of the pony camp. Sensing something amiss, Andrew put his hand down. The stag leader made a strange chuffing noise. From the crowd of creatures emerged a young buck with a grassy knapsack tied around his neck. The Bushkeeper froze up at the sight of a such a wonderous tech, and he couldn’t help but stare at the bag as the buck approached. A strong scent assaulted the teenager’s senses as the buck drew to a stop. It felt oddly familiar, slightly homey, and a little rotten… When the buck nosed the bag open, the scent increased tenfold. After a quick look for permission, Andrew slowly reached into the bag and withdrew the white onion. A bulb of field garlic, strong-tasting, but mouth-watering. A variety of strange green herbs had been sprinkled on top of the garlic, as well as the numerous other pieces within the bag. The pony below him, curious as ever, leaned up on her hind legs and withdrew a piece of garlic from the buck’s bag. Then, without hesitation, she guzzled it down. Shuddering at the carnivorous display, Andrew took a bite of his own. His mouth was bland one moment, and an explosion of bitter medicine the next. It quickly faded, however, and a pleasant aftertaste filled his mouth. Andrew wiped at his mouth with his bare arm, still naked from the waist up. The buck stepped back with a bow, and then the great stag came forward. As if history was truly repeating itself, the stag began moving past Andrew and Mint, the rest of his flock following. Mouth agape, the human checked on his unicorn friend. “You good, Mint?” The mare stared up at him, distaste for the onion evident in her loud-smacking maw. With a soft laugh, Andrew began to follow after the fast-moving cervines. Mint hesitated a moment behind him, her eyes drawn to the forest where the rest of the deer stood hiding behind the trees, then followed after her best friend. As soon as the pair had caught back up with the squadron of deer, the group noticeable began to speed up. In fact, they sped up to such an extent that Andrew had to pick up the azure unicorn and carry her. Urgency was evident in every hoof-fall of the deer, as if they already knew the agony of Storm. Worry overtook Andrew again, his thoughts growing grim. ‘This could be a crippling disease.’ The teenager shuddered at the thought. Sure, the mare was a pegasus, but a lame pony was a lame pony all the same. How could one go on without a fourth of their limbs? Like a horse, the risk of lameness meant the risk of having to put a pony down. A nuzzle from Mint along Andrew’s neck shook him out of his bad funk. “No bad,” the mare whispered softly. Resisting the urge to cry at the mare’s care, the teenager placed a soft kiss below the mare’s horn, making her wiggle under the ticklish vice. A tear dripped down onto the mare’s fur anyway. “Thank you, Mint. I don’t know where I would be… be without you.” “No…” Mint placed a hoof against the side of his neck. “Andrew… no bad. Help Storm.” The human choked up at that. “Y-yeah.” Sniffing, Andrew wiped away his tears and hurried forward to the front of the group. “We’ll help her out.” He looked at the deer around him. “They’ll…” he smiled “...they’ll help us.” The camp was a blur of worry. There were a few ponies out and about committing themselves to some of their everyday chores, but most of them seemed to still be with Storm. It made Andrew very proud to know that all three of the tribes were showing care for the previously tribalist pegasus. A sense of progression was there, and it made Andrew all the more hopeful to continue his work at improving the society one piece at a time. The buck with the garlic went in with Andrew and Mint, leaving the other deer outside. The cervines became a sudden attraction for all of the ponies outside, and the great stag pulled his own weight in being apart of the attention. Andrew spared the stag one last glance before he disappeared into the den with Mint and the garlic-holder. Ponies parted as the new creature before them approached. They all brightened up with hope as the scent of garlic wafted over them. It was a natural medicine that they all knew well, and Andrew had just now realized the point of the healing herbs and bulbous payload. Mint hopped down from his arms and curled up beside Greeny, the stallion gingerly padding Andrew’s shirt around Storm’s infected frog. The pegasus herself was in a state of delirium, but as the scent of garlic grew closer, her muzzle twitched with life. She raised her head painfully as the buck knelt down. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the cervine. With a shaky foreleg, she brought her good hoof out and pressed it gently to the young deer’s muzzle. He grunted softly and flipped open the knapsack. Andrew studied the buck’s movements with rapt attention as he went about preparing an antidote for the inflamed frog. A bulb of garlic was crushed into a fine paste by the hoof instantly, and set aside on a leaf. Another piece of garlic was given to Greeny to feed to the mare, a short burst of foreign language enough to communicate the need. Carefully, the buck lifted the leaf up and spit onto it. A few rolls of the leaf was enough to make the garlic stick together, and very warily, the leaf was brought to the frog. A few delicate swabs of the mix saw an instant reaction. Storm swallowed the garlic that Greeny had chewed up for her and laid her head back, tired, but feeling better all the same. Glad that the nightmare appeared to be reaching its merciful conclusion, Andrew left the den with reprieve. The great stag was in the midst of an extreme display of patience, his brows furrowed sharply. The Bushkeeper smiled broadly at the pony foals that were attempting a climb of the towering behemoth, then turned to the rest of the deer, all huddled nearby and chattering excitedly over some manner of enchanting conversation. There was much for the ponies to learn, and the deer would be the perfect neighbors for the ponies to look up to and learn from. Andrew noted that one of the deer also had a grassy sack around his neck. With the intent to learn, the human strode forward to finish his initial examination of the weaving. As the ponies and deer settled down for the night to discuss a wide range of ideas, kinds that equines and cervines would convene for, the black smog of the south slipped rearward and beneath the mountains, sealed behind the walls of the deers' medical botany.