//------------------------------// // Part II – The Prodigal Son Returns — Ch. 13 — The Sap is Running // Story: If Wishes were Ponies . . . . // by tkepner //------------------------------// The four of them were lying down, with three made a rough triangle. Apple Bloom had dropped down onto her left side. Harry was nestled between her legs on his left side with his head facing hers and using her barrel as a pillow. Scootaloo, in turn, was lying on her left side with her legs curled up and her head pillowed on Harry facing his head. Apple Bloom was using Scootaloo as a pillow, and, naturally, facing her head. Sweetie Belle, not to be left out, was behind Apple Bloom with her head between Harry’s and Apple Bloom’s. It was a comfortable position for them, keeping their heads close together for talking while still letting each use another as a pillow. Settling into a square arrangement didn’t work nearly as well. They had discovered this arrangement during an overnight sleepover at the clubhouse the previous summer. With a careful placement of blankets, it was actually quite comfortable. Unfortunately, they didn’t have blankets this morning, either over them or under. Not that they needed blankets. The grass was soft, if a bit damp. It was a late mid-summer day and already the temperature was climbing into the uncomfortable range. Which was why they were lying down in the shade. The bugs were buzzing over the field and the smell of green grass, apples, and rich fertile soil permeated the air. They had already snuck a few snacks off the flowers dotting the orchard. They had just finished with their morning exercises — they were in training for the Fall Running of the Leaves to try to get their Cutie Marks in running races. Scootaloo had convinced them to start training now, in the middle of summer, because Rainbow Dash had told her, “Ya gotta train months in advance for something like that if you wanna really win it! Starting out training just a few weeks ahead, like most ponies do, simply isn’t enough time to build the stamina or speed you need.” Hence, their recent every-other-day training schedule. At the moment, they were rather quiet, except for heavy breathing, as they recovered from their wind sprints around the orchard. Harry sighed contentedly. He’d been here in this strange land for over a year now. A year, two months, and six days, to be precise, if he were inclined to keep count. And next week would mark his eleventh birthday. He closed his eyes and drowsed. He felt safe. And he was with friends. Friends he couldn’t imagine being without. He had been a stranger. He had talked weird. He hadn’t known anything that they considered normal. Yet, they had accepted him. And made him their friend, when he hadn’t been sure what that word meant. They meant everything to him. Oh, they argued. They fought. They had disagreements and didn’t speak to each other for days at a time. But they always forgave each other. And fought for each other. For the girls, the old slogan “One for all, and all for one!” had been their motto. And it was his, now. The fillies had even declared him a part of their herd! He still wasn’t sure what that meant, except that they seemed to stay together no matter what happened, and that they stuck up for one another without fail. He had asked Twilight what it meant to be in a herd and she had blushed and started to stutter before telling him, “It’s nothing you need to worry about, Harry. I’ll explain it all later when you’re older.” He had decided it must not be important and dropped the matter. All he knew is that the girls were very happy when he had agreed. Apple Bloom felt a faint plip as something tiny hit her head. She looked around but didn’t see anything. A few minutes later there was another little plip near her tail. A second glance revealed nothing. She frowned. “Is anypony else getting dive-bombed by bugs?” “Hmm?” “What?” and “Bugs?” where the answers she got. As in any orchard or pasture, there were bugs aplenty flying around — butterflies, grasshoppers, ants bumble bees, lady bugs, and so forth. Usually centred on the flowers and trees. Considering that, her comment was a bit puzzling. “Well,” she said, “it feels like Ah’m being hit by bugs.” They all looked around and up. Harry was the first to see the drop falling and hitting Sweetie Belle’s mane. “It’s probably just dew from overnight dripping down,” he suggested. “See,” he said, pointing with his right hoof. “It’s too late in the morning for that, Harry,” Apple Bloom said. “All the dew has dried up.” He stared and noticed that the branch the drop came from seemed to be broken. He glanced around at the other branches and quickly noticed that there seemed to be a fair number of broken ones in sight, making the tree appear a bit lopsided. He could see where a large branch had snapped off, its jagged end shining in the light. He looked around at the other trees. “Hey, Apple Bloom,” he said casually, “doesn’t this tree look like the one that lost that big branch last week in the thunderstorm?” “What? You mean that biggun’ that we spent most of Saturday morning gathering the downed sticks and branches for the kitchen wood stove?” “Yeah, remember, there was that one tree with the big branch down that we both had to work at dragging? And that it broke off a bunch of other branches when it fell?” She looked around and narrowed her eyes in thought. “Yeah, Ah think yer right. This is that tree.” Harry looked up just in time for drop to hit him right on the nose. He went cross-eyed trying to look at it before rubbing his muzzle with a hoof. It was rather sticky, he discovered. “Uh, oh,” he said quietly. He studied the branches overhead and after several minutes he could see a myriad of broken branches, each of which seemed to have a little gleam at the tip. “Hey, Apple Bloom? How long does it take a tree to stop sending sap to a broken branch?” “Ah dunno, a season or two, maybe a year.” She jolted slightly as drop of sap hit her ear. Her eyes widened, then shrunk to pin points. “No!” she half-whispered, as she began to realize what he was suggesting. She looked up at the branches overhead and quickly noted just how many broken branches there were, and that each one had a drop of sap about to fall. She looked down at the grass around them and noted how it was a slightly darker colour than the grass on the other side of the tree. “NO!” she said, louder, and started to get to her hooves. “Hey!” “What’s going on?” came from the other two fillies as they were forced to get up as well. Harry was silent getting up, already suspecting what Apple Bloom had discovered. “No! No! NO!” Apple Bloom shouted, stomping a hoof as she looked at her left side, now liberally decorated with grass glued in place on her fur by the sap that had been falling and coating the grass ever since last Friday. “It’s not fair!” she shouted. The other fillies were only just now realizing what had happened as they, too, surveyed their grassy sides. “We weren’t even doing nothing with trees and now we’re covered in tree sap. It’s not fair!” She stomped her hoof in frustration. “Ah, ponyfeathers!” Scootaloo shouted as she scrambled out from under the apple tree. “I hate tree sap!” The others were right beside her doing their own complaining. They had had far, far too much experience with just how difficult it was to get tree sap out of their fur. “I got the last traces of sap outta my fur just the day before yesterday!” Sweetie Belle complained. Harry nodded, they had not had a good ending to their attempt to get a Survivalist Cutie Mark in the Whitetail Woods over by the lake. Sap everywhere! Harry was sure that there was sap still stuck in his right ear. Or was it his left ear? At least it wasn’t under his tail! And now, here they were, not even on one of their Cutie Mark adventures — they were preparing for a Cutie Mark adventure, true, but nothing to do with trees, yet — and already liberally coated in tree sap. Harry sighed, looking at his left side, now green with grass glued in place by the tree sap he had unknowingly laid down in under the tree. He looked over at where they had been resting and it was clear to see the giant damp spot that was the area the tree sap had soaked since last Friday. And the now relatively grassless blobby area where they had been lying down. The fillies were in not better condition. It was going to take at least a couple of hours of shampooing to get all the sap out of their fur. Not the most fun way to spend the rest of the morning. He was about to suggest that they might as well get started when Scootaloo said, “Hey, look at that bird.” He looked at her and then looked over towards the Everfree forest where she was pointing. She was right, there was a bird flying along the edge of the woods. And it had to be a big bird considering how far they were from the Everfree. No, he decided, it wasn’t really flying along the edge, it was headed for them. He stared for a moment and then started to get tense. That was an awfully big bird. As it got closer he saw that it was very big. It was at least half again as big as Owlowiscious, if not bigger. And he had seen Owlowiscious pick up the Twilight’s assistant dragon, Spike, who was just a bit bigger than he was. And it was headed for them. “Uh, girls,” he said nervously, “Why is it heading for us?” “Maybe it has a nest in this tree?” hazarded a guess from Apple Bloom. “Perhaps,” said Sweetie Belle staring at the bird as she started walking away from the tree. The other three were getting just as uneasy and they all quickly followed her. Looking to the side as he followed the fillies, Harry noted that the bird was a medium brown with white spots, and white upperparts. “But I didn’t see a nest when we were picking up branches last Saturday,” she finished. The bird angled towards them. “Ah don’t think she has nest here,” Apple Bloom said unsteadily. They started trotting away. The bird changed its flight again to head towards them. They started running. The bird started flapping its wings and changing its direction to catch them. Harry looked back and saw the bird looking right at him. The bird was definitely interested in them. They’d never be able to outrun the bird and eventually one of them would get hurt. He couldn’t let them get hurt, not after what they had done for him. He yelled, “AHHHHHH . . . ,” as loud as he could and suddenly cut to his right away from the fillies and galloped for a nearby tree. The bird sharply changed direction and flew towards him. Harry began galloping faster, still yelling, “. . . AHHHHHHHHHHHH . . .” The three fillies slowed down, then stopped and watched. Harry now was running figure-eights around two trees trying to evade the bird. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Wow. For such a little bugger, he’s fast!” Scootaloo said admiringly, “Wonder why he’s always so slow when we’re practicing for the Running of the Leaves?” “. . . aaaaahhhhhHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhHHHHHH . . .” “And quick, did ya see that switch-back he jes did?” said Apple Bloom. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “I never knew he could scream that loud,” said Sweetie Belle. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “He sure sounds funny the way his voice gets louder and fainter as he runs around those trees.” “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Powerful lungs he’s got there — has he even taken a breath yet?” “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” Sweetie Belle frowned. “You know, I don’t think he could do a better job of keeping that bird’s attention if he tried, yelling and running like that,” she said thoughtfully. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Do ya think he’s doing it on purpose?” “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Don’t know. And I don’t think that bird’s actually trying to attack him, either. It’s just sorta following him.” They watched as the bird alternately flapped its wings and glided elegantly in Harry’s wake. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “I think that’s an owl,” said Sweetie Belle. “Owls don’t eat things bigger than they are. They won’t even attack unless they’re defending their nest. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Hmm, Ah think yer right Sweetie Belle.” “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” Harry was now running in circles around one tree, trying to keep the tree between him and the owl. “. . . AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh . . .” “Ya know, it’s kinda hard to tell if the owl’s chasing him or he’s chasing the owl, now.” “Yep,” agreed Apple Bloom. “Any moment now he’s gonna realize he’s about to catch up to the owl rather than the owl catching up to him.” The owl heard Harry behind it and did a quick U-turn to fly at the running colt. “. . . AHHHHHH . . . .” Harry saw the owl headed straight at him, slid to a halt, spun around, and started galloping straight down the orchard, weaving in and around the trees, his voice fading the farther away he went, “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” Just as they lost sight of him behind a distant tree there came the faint POP came of his teleporting away. The owl circled the tree for a minute hooting madly in the distance. “I was wondering when he would remember he could do that,” Sweetie Belle said. “Ah’ve never heard an owl curse before,” says Apple Bloom, “but Ah swear that thar owl is cussing up a storm right now.” The hooting began to fade away as the owl headed in the direction of Apple Bloom’s home. Apple Bloom sighed, “Come on, fillies, we’d better hurry. Who knows what trouble Harry is going to get into if we’re not there.” She then took off running after the owl with the other two rapidly following her lead. ۸-_-۸ Harry arrived at the Apple farmhouse midway between the house and barn. He immediately started yelling, “AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, there’s a giant bird after me!” He ran in circles as he couldn’t decide whether to run to the barn or the house first. “AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, there’s a giant bird after me!” Applejack came hurrying out of the barn, “What in tarnation are you yammering about?” “Oh, thank god,” said Harry, charging towards her. “I was worried that you might be off in the orchards somewhere.” Applejack sighed, “So what’s this about a big bird?” “Oh, oh, oh!” Harry exclaimed, hopping in place. “The girls and I were over in the West Orchard resting,” Harry stood on his back legs and started hopping up and down while he pointed toward where he had just been, “. . . after practicing our wind sprints so we can be ready to get our Cutie Marks in racing at the Running of the Leaves this fall when we discovered the tree we were lying under had dripped sap all over the grass and we were covered in sap and grass . . . .” He pointed at his grassless side, getting a puzzled look from Applejack, “. . . when Scootaloo saw this big bird flying along the path between the orchard and the Everfree, and then it started flying towards us so we started running and the bird started following us so I ran away from the girls towards a tree and the bird followed me and wouldn’t stop so I started running here and then I remembered I could teleport so I teleported here to tell you about the bird!” Harry was starting to turn blue. Applejack sighed, shaking her head, “Breathe, Harry, breathe!” She put a hoof on his head to stop his hopping. As he did so, though, he looked off towards the West Orchard where he was pointing and saw the distant bird flying towards them. He took a deep breath. “AHHHHHH, there it is now,” he yelled. He spun on the spot, dropped to all fours, and dashed into the house. As soon as he was inside he slammed the door shut and latched it. Then he ran into the sitting room. He ran to the couch and pushed it into the short entryway to block the door. That accomplished, he ran into the kitchen. He dodged around a surprised Granny Smith, and made sure the kitchen door was shut. He darted back to the table and, straining, pushed the huge dinner table — it was big enough to seat half a dozen adult ponies, after all — to block that door as well. He stepped back, panting, and surveyed his work. He saw Applejack walk up onto the back porch. She stick her head into the kitchen through the open window to the right of the kitchen door. “Harry,” she said, calmly, “What are yeh doing?” “Making sure that that big bird can’t get to me in the house.” A large brown bird with white spots flew in the open window on the other side of the kitchen door and landed on the kitchen counter. Applejack sighed. “That bird?” she said with a raised eyebrow. Granny Smith was looking around confused, “What in tarnation is going on here?” Harry peeked out from under the seating-cushion he was hiding under — he was nothing if not quick — and up at the bird. The bird was staring right back at him, with the air of someone who is very exasperated. Harry frequently saw that same look on Applejack’s face when she was talking about or to any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If the bird could have managed it, it would have been face-palming, Harry somehow knew. Now that it was closer he could see details he had missed earlier. The face was pale with yellow eyes. It looked like it had short ears, but those were probably just feathers sticking out. He realized it was a giant tufted owl — Cheerilee had had a whole lesson on the owls native to Equestria, but none were this big. “Yep,” he said decisively, “That’s the bird.” He ducked back under the seating cushion. If its eyes could have moved, the owl would have rolled them. Instead, the owl merely huffed and clacked his beak in annoyance. In the quiet moment that followed Harry could hear the hoofbeats of his three friends dashing into the barnyard and up onto the front porch. Almost instantly there followed three loud thuds as the hurrying fillies tried and failed to open the barricaded front door. Three “Ow’s” came around the side of the house. Applejack hung her head down, shaking it, and sighed. She pulled her head outside and bellowed, “We’re around here by the kitchen door!” She poked her head back through the window to look at the owl. Harry could hear the pounding of their hooves as the fillies rushed around the house. There was a thud, and an “Ow,” as the first one to the back door bounced off it as it refused to open. Shortly, his three best friends were propped up on the ledge of the window the bird had used to enter the kitchen. “There’s Harry,” said Apple Bloom, pointing with a hoof. “There’s the bird,” said Sweetie Belle, pointing with a hoof. “Hi, Granny Smith,” said Scootaloo, waving a hoof energetically. The aged Granny Smith shakily walked over to the bird and examined it. “My, my, this here bird is quite friendly. Ah’d wager he’s no wild owl.” She grinned at him as he stared back at her. “Are you, boy?” She tilted her head slightly and looked at the owl’s feet. “And looky here,” she pointed with one hoof, nearly tipping over, “there’s some sort of paper tied to his leg!” The small paper looked somewhat like an envelope. It was held to the owl’s leg by a ribbon tied in a bow. She moved her hoof closer to that leg. The owl hopped a short distance farther away, hooted sharply, and turned so that the leg with the paper was away from the old mare. The letter was not for her. He glared at the old mare. “Well!” the old pony said, “There’s no reason to be rude!” The owl hooted again. “Well, still, manners!” she replied, scolding the owl. The owl hooted softly. “Very well,” she said, “I accept your apology.” The others stared at the two for a moment. “It’s not wild?” said Harry. “He’s someone’s pet?” said Sweetie Belle. “Yeh kin understand him?” said Apple Bloom. “That is soo cool, Granny Smith!” Scootaloo said admiringly. “Thar’s a paper tied to his leg?” said Applejack. She frowned. “Harry, yeh get over here and push this table back where it belongs.” Harry sighed, and climbed out from underneath his sanctuary cushion. Keeping a wary eye on the owl, he walked over to the table. Pushing it back in place when he wasn’t jazzed up on running away was much more difficult. He also couldn’t get properly behind the table to push. He had to push one of the legs instead. “Hey!” said Scootaloo, “What’re you doin’?” “It’ll take Harry forever to move that thar table, Ah’m gonna help him. So help me climb in this here window!” ordered Apple Bloom. A moment later, Harry heard a thud as she fell into the kitchen. He looked over at the filly on the floor beside him. She let out a heartfelt, “Ow!” Then, “I said help me climb through the window, not throw me through the window like a brick, you brats!” He saw Applejack, meanwhile, face-hoofing. The other two girls were on the porch giggling. It was a concerted effort but soon the table was back where it belonged and the kitchen door opened. Almost immediately the other two fillies trotted in, followed more sedately by Applejack, still shaking her head at the fillies and colt. “Sit!” Applejack ordered Harry, pointing at his seating-cushion. She glanced at the other three, “You, too.” Harry had no sooner sat on the oversized cushion he had been hiding under than the owl flapped its wings a few times and flew from the counter to the table-top. It balanced on one leg while holding the other out to Harry. Harry glared at the owl. Applejack chuckled, “Ah guess that means that paper is for you. And maybe that was why the owl was chasing yeh!” She shook her head at the silliness of young colts and fillies. Hesitantly, with many a cautious look at the owl’s sharp beak, Harry reached out with his hooves and pulled one of the loose ends of the bow securing whatever it was to the owl’s leg. The paper dropped to the table-top and immediately started growing larger. They all sat back in surprise to see a large envelope now lying on the table. Harry was even more surprised to see that the envelope had very fancy writing on it, and it had his full name. He had never mentioned to anypony what his middle name was, that he could remember. Written on the envelope was: . “Harry James Potter, Sweet Apple Acres, The Fifth Bedroom on the Second Floor, Ponyville, Equestria, Equus.” ۸- ̰ -۸