//------------------------------//
// Growth 
// Story: Warm Hearts 
// by Twisted Gears 
//------------------------------//

"Here." Stated the colt-sized Stallion, standing besides a wooden stake nailed into the soil. "This is the spot that the Captain designated for the first farm." He said, gesturing towards three other stakes, fairly far away. They made up a square in the ground, covering an area similar to that of four blocks of tents.

This area was inside the Aura of Warmth that came from the Obelisk, though just by the edge. It was close-by to the rows of tents, though there was still some space to install another row around the ones we already had. If we found the fabric for them, of course. Propper housing would be better, but we had to work with what limited materials we had avaliable.

Taking in a deep breath of relatively warm air, I followed the other eight Earth Ponies that were cherry-picked for this task. The majority were mares -Some in worse condition than me-, with some stallions here and there. Though they were very young, perhaps just fresh out from colthood. "Divide the space in ten, collect some seeds from that bag, and start growin'. We've got a whole camp to feed today. On the double, ponies!" The Stallion commanded, as he too, went on to grab some seeds from a twine pouch  in a corner of the farming area.

The rest of us followed without question. The others seemed to be used to being barked orders at, perhaps for working in farms, or manufactories before the Frost hit. I was used to a leading voice during classes and tutelage, this wasn't so different.

I dug my hoof into the bag, and pulled an assortment of seeds from different plants, like wheat and hay. Though there were some that I didn't recognize. They were cold to the touch, even though we were inside the range of the obelisk. That worried me a little, but they still felt... Alive, in a way.

Holding them close to my chest, I walked away and into the farm, letting the mare behind me grab her own seeds. I went to the left top-side corner, from where I could see the gathering crews come and go from the stockpile and back to the edges of the crater.

Once we all were in position, the stallion shouted from the middle of the farm. "Ponies, spread the seeds out! Give them enough space for their roots to grow! Listen to their needs, give them all the love you can muster!", then he started to sow the seeds onto the untended soil. Usually, we would've used hoes or shovels to organize the space and stirr the soil and gather its nutrients, but we were in a rush. And hungry.

We followed on his steps, spreading the seeds we had on hoof around our little space, giving them a fair spacing so they could grow. I went an extra step and digged little holes by hoof to put the hay seeds in, as I saw many ponies do back in the day. 

"Now, listen to them. Coax them into growing. Fast." He said next, taking off his boots, and digging his forehooves into the moist dirt. His eyes closed and his ears swayed, and the seeds around him germinated and grew... At an alarmingly quick pace. It felt unnatural, but those plants looked strong, edible even. Around him grew large patches of hay, some corn plants, lettuces, carrots, and some plants that I hadn't seen before. One looked like an exposed brain, purely white. I hoped that it tasted better than what it looked.

The stallion then rose his hooves, and huffed. He looked tired, like if he had spent three hours running around. "Now... Once you've made them grow, harvest them and put them in sacks. Then carry them to the stockpile. Don't let anypony take the bags. We live and die by them. Understood?" He shouted next, to wich we all nodded in unison. "Good. Now, get to work!"

With a sigh, I did the same. Taking off my boots and placing them aside, I laid my hooves down onto the soil, feeling its cold brush. The air around my hooves was warmer than the ground, but it wasn't freezing cold. It was possible to grow plants on it, and that's what I attempted to do.

I tried to conmute with the seeds. I heard nothing. I closed my eyes, and kindly asked them to germinate for me. For the camp.

I felt some of them twitch, under my hooves. A feeling I wasn't used to, but that seemed so natural and familiar at the same time. "Please?" I said out loud, to wich the plants responded by shilily peeking out from the dirt.

"You're doing well. A little bit more? Please?" I beckoned to the plants, that started to grow at a steady, fairly quick pace. With a smile, I dug my hooves further into the soil, feeling each root across the dirt.

But something felt off. The dirt felt cold, colder than the seeds that I once held. And it was getting colder every second. The plants fought against the coldness that froze the water they needed so much, growing strong upon our command. Or at least the others did. Their crops grew fast and strong, shining an unique green.

My crops looked brittle, glowing in a weak yellow. They didn't felt as strong as the others, but they taxed the soil less. At least they grew enough to be edible and looked nutritious enough...





After a couple of hours of focusing in our plants, we were done growing the first batch. We turned the little plot we were givrn into a booming assorted farm. Potatoes, carrots, wheat, hay... And plenty of other plants that I hadn't seen before littered the exposed dirt, coating it in a powerfull green colour.

All of it but my corner, wich had a more yellowy colour to it.

With another bark from the Colt-sized stallion, we started to collect seeds from the new plants, then their edible parts, and later we started trimming the overgrown sides. We got to fill the sacs we were told to fill, alongside an addition of spare plant matter. I didn't knew why, but we would need it for later.

"Okay ponies," stated our temporal Forestallion, "Haul up and to the stockpile. On the double!" He shouted, hauling not two, but three sacks fiĺled to the brim with the food that we really needed.

I picked up the two that I managed to grow, hauling them onto my back. Then I marched along the other nine, towards the stockpile.

When we arrived, we were cheered by some of the gathering crews that walked by, as they knew that we were carrying their lunch on our backs. That brought a little smile to my face.

After placing the bags alongside the others, I took a look at the rest of the camp. The first ring of tents was now surrounded by a second line of them, built through the morning and afternoon. One of the larger tents was marked with the red symbol of the Caduceus staff, telling that it was the medical post that the Unicorn mentioned yesterday. I saw some movement coming and going from it, wich meant that it was staffed and being utilized.

Behind it, a makeshift cabin of sorts waited, made out of wood scraps. It had a chimney emmiting a constant stream of steam, like if they were preparing a massive soup in there.

Hope was high among the ponies I saw. We could survive this winter.