‘What do you mean stupid? The others and I didn’t drag him all the way back for nothing, you know?’
A voice was talking. It was a high voice, a female voice. Was it Elkia’s mother? Was Elkia in the Eternal Plains? Was he finally reunited?
‘I don’t know. This chance encounter has strange written all over it. You shouldn’t have taken him here. If he is useless to us, he might even pose a danger to the whole operation.’
Slowly, Elkia drifted back to the surface. He focused on the two voices. The other voice was clearly male. He tried to find out who it was that was speaking, turning his ears around. Trying though as he did, he couldn’t pair the voice with one of his friends or relatives. He kept listening.
‘He is not a danger, Char. He is just a little lost, lonely elk. What should I have done? Should I have left him there like that?’
But the other voice, Char, was still not satisfied. ‘Your kindness is unbridled, Strawberry. Be careful, or I might send you back to the desert, where Starlight Glimmer will judge over you.’
‘You wouldn’t…’
‘I have the power, and you know that,’ said Char. He sounded content.
Opening his eyes, Elkia saw something familiar: wood. All around him, there was wood. He licked his lips, and swore he tasted some snow. Where the hay was he, and how long had he been here? Elkia tried to lift his head, but found himself too weak. He almost regretted waking up, because his stomach felt as if it had shrunken to the size of a walnut.
‘You don’t even know it was he who made the poems in the snow, the way you told me,’ said Char.
‘Who else could it be?’ said the female voice, Strawberry.
‘I don’t know. It’s still strange.’ Char paused for dramatic effect. ‘This is your choice, Strawberry. This elk is your responsibility now.’
‘Don’t you worry, Char. I’ll take care of him,’ said Strawberry. ‘And who knows? If he turns out not to be the author of the poems at all, we’ll just put him with the workforce.’
‘The workforce? Have you seen how scrawny and thin he is?’
‘Hush now!’ said Strawberry, ‘it seems our guest is awake.’
Elkia heard a door open. He managed to roll over onto his belly and got a good look at the pony who stepped inside. Instantly, even though they had never met before, Elkia recognized her. She had a creamy, light-brown coat, and a mane which wasn’t quite red and wasn’t quite blond. Once inside, she closed the door carefully, then walked over to Elkia with sure, precise steps. ‘Hello there, little elk? Had a good night’s sleep? Or, well, actually a couple of good night’s and day’s sleep? You have slept for quite some time.’
Indeed, Elkia was lying on a bed. He was wrapped in a checkered woolen blanket, and felt a soft mattress against his belly.
The pony chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hooves. ‘Haha, I always love the look on their faces when they first arrive. It’s gold.’
Elkia felt himself blushing. He must look quite ridiculous, all wrapped up like a present. Still stuck in sheer puzzlement, Elkia said, ‘H-h-hello?’
‘Hello,’ the pony said back, smiling as she talked. Once she reached the bed, she made a small jump, and landed right on top of the soft mattress. She was obviously enjoying this strange atmosphere. Once she shifted her weight a couple of times until she was comfortable, she stuck out her hoof ‘Name’s Strawberry Blonde. What’s your name?’
So that was the color of her mane, Elkia realized. Slowly, he stuck out his own hoof. As they shook, he tried to read her eyes, and kept guessing and guessing at her personality. As far as he could see, she radiated nothing but cheerfulness. He said his own name. ‘Elkia Deerling.’
Strawberry Blonde squeaked. ‘Oh, I love those Elkish names. They always sound so exotic and adorable!’
A question bubbled to the surface of Elkia’s mind. He shook his head to clear it. Nope, still in the same room with the strange pony. ‘What do you mean? Are there other elks here?’
‘Yes, sometimes we encounter one or two of them, but they are rare. You are rare, Elkia Deerling. Doesn’t that make you feel special?’
Elkia reached up, and scratched the back of his head. ‘Eh… well… maybe?’
‘That’s my favorite answer! It’s right between yes and no, so perfect for hazy situations.’ Strawberry Blonde paused for a second. She looked right into Elkia’s eyes, reading him too. There wasn’t much to read, just bafflement. ‘I guess you must feel hazy as well, don’t you?’
Elkia nodded. He was just searching for the right things to say in this hazy situation, when his stomach rumbled.
‘And hungry too,’ said Strawberry. ‘Well, there’s an easy way to fix that!’
She retreated, and just a minute or two later returned with a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread. Elkia took both, thanked Strawberry politely, and then dug in. He would forever remember that first bite of bread. If you have nothing to eat and even rocks look delicious, the taste of bread on a starving stomach is unimaginable.
Elkia felt himself growing stronger with every bite and every spoonful. Once the soup was done, Strawberry asked if he wanted more. And once they sat opposite each other on the bed again with a steaming bowl of soup, they continued their conversation.
‘Where am I?’ said Elkia. ‘What is this strange room and this strange place? Are we inside some hut?’
‘We’re inside the visitor’s center,’ said Strawberry Blonde. ‘This is where we take foundlings and potential new members of our great society and see if they can prove themselves useful to us.’
‘Visitor’s center…? Society…? Useful…?’ the strange pony’s answers only conjured up more questions in Elkia’s mind.
Strawberry Blonde reached out, and gently brushed Elkia’s fur. ‘Aw! You poor little thing. I understand that you are confused, but before I can tell you anything more, I’ll have to get my list. It’s part of the wonderful protocol we call “info-exchange.” You tell us something about yourself, and then we tell you all you want to know about ourselves and our great town.’ She reached back and grabbed a clipboard with a pencil. ‘Alright. Name…? Elkia Deerling. Race…? Elk, duh! Tag number…? I’m sorry, can I check that for a moment?’ She reached out towards Elkia’s head, and then grabbed his ear. The awkwardness went through the roof. After she threw a quick glance, she wrote down, ‘Seventy-seven E. Wow, you’re lucky number seven, Elkia. Isn’t that great?’
‘Eh…’ Now Elkia himself reached towards his ear, and felt something strange. When he bent his ear down, he saw a little yellow tag hanging from it. ‘What…?
‘I said you were lucky, because we usually only give tags to the ones that have been appointed a function,’ Strawberry said. ‘But I had such a good feeling about you that I couldn’t help myself and tagged you right away.’ She let out a chuckle. ‘I thought you lying there unconscious was the perfect, painless moment to put that lovely little tag in your ear.’
‘Eh…’ was all Elkia could say. He still had no idea how to respond to about ninety percent this strange pony uttered.
Strawberry Blonde, however, seemed perfectly in her element. ‘Alright, what’s next? Next up is… backstory!’
‘Backstory?’
‘Everyone has a backstory,’ Strawberry said. She waved her hooves around. ‘You don’t just POOF! Appear out of thin air, now do you? It is essential to know where you come from, so we can direct you to where you are going. And besides that, I am dying to know about your past. It was you who made those poems in the snow, wasn’t it?’
Despite the warmth of the blankets, the tastiness of the soup and the bread, and the cheery nature of his new friend, Elkia felt the sadness creep up to him. He barely remembered the text of the poems, but he clearly remembered why he wrote them. His ears drooped down, and his shoulders slumped.
Strawberry saw how Elkia’s demeanor changed. She reached out and lifted his chin with her hoof. ‘Hey, what is the matter, Elkia?’
The voice of that pony was so sweet and inviting, and her every gesture radiated a soft, warm light inside of him. She reminded him of his mother. Elkia knew that whatever he would tell her, she would listen to what he said, and support and comfort him as much as she could. Elkia knew Strawberry Blonde was his friend.
That’s why he told her—everything. He told her about his happy life in the herd of elks, deer, and reindeer. He told of his friends, his relatives, and his family. Elkia thought Strawberry would listen carefully. Yet, once he mentioned Aeltha the seer and his brother Alces, Strawberry let out a small gasp, which she tried to conceal. ‘I’m sorry. Please excuse me,’ she said. ‘Don’t let me interrupt you. Come on, go on with the story.’
So Elkia continued. The second part hurt him most, and he had trouble telling it. He spoke about the timber wolves, how they destroyed not just his friends, his family, but also his home and the Shimmering Eye. A few tears accompanied his tale, and he started stuttered more and more as the story progressed.
‘Awwwwww… Oh no!’ Strawberry Blonde reached out and wiped Elkia’s tears away with her hooves. ‘No wonder you were so drained when I found you. You poor little elk haven’t eaten in days, maybe even weeks. No wonder you ate your food so quickly. Would you like some more?’
A cup of soup later, Elkia finished his tale. The fight with his brother Alces, his lonely trek through the winter wilderness, and his poems made up the end. Telling everything to her actually made him feel better, something he hadn’t expected at all. He stared at the checkered pattern on the blanket.
‘So that was the person your last poem was about,’ Strawberry said. ‘At first I thought it was about a pretty hind, but it was actually about your mother.’
Elkia nodded. ‘I made her an epitaph, although no one will ever read it.’
‘No, you’re right. There has been some snowfall since you arrived here. The words are long gone by now.’ Strawberry paused, thinking something over. ‘But… I’m sure if I ask nicely enough, they might let you make a shrine or altar or whatever you elks like to make right here, in memory of your mother.’
‘R-r-really?’
‘Of course! We have stone here, so if you can remember the words, you can carve them into stone, and then the poem will last an eternity. And if you don’t know how, I’m sure we can teach you. We have some master sculptors and stonemasons here.’
After everything she offered him, Elkia couldn’t help but stutter. ‘W-w-wow. Thank you… thank you so much.’
‘It’s the least we can do, little Elkia,’ said Strawberry. She turned to her list again. ‘Alright, what’s next. Next up iiiiiiiiiiiiiis… potential asset. Well, that’s easy too. Shall I put “writing” down, or do you prefer “poetry?”’
‘I think… writing?’
‘Writing it is. Alright, the last thing is “cutie mark.” Let’s see…’ Without any warning, she grabbed the blanket and threw it off Elkia. ‘Whoopsie daisy!’ She regarded his cutie mark for a moment ‘And it is… eh… what is it?’
Elkia quickly snatched up the blanket and wrapped it around himself, blushing as he worked. It took him a few seconds to get himself to watch Strawberry again, and he felt quite weird because of that. ‘Eh… It’s my initials, E D, which together form the antlers of a stylized picture of an elk.’
Strawberry acted as normal as earth ponies can. She had perhaps looked at a thousand cutie marks before, so for her, it was all routine. ‘Stylized… elk… Got it! This is not really on the list, but I’m just dying of curiosity. What does it mean?’
This time, Elkia made sure to put his weight on the blanket. ‘It means I am part of the herd. “Ling” is Elkish for “herd.” It means that wherever I am, in this world or the next, I will always be a member of the herd.’
‘Awwww, that’s so sweet,’ Strawberry said. ‘I think your mother loved you very much, giving you that beautiful name. The way you told me about her kindness and her magical powers, I think she was an extraordinary lady.’
‘She is.’ Elkia swallowed hard. His gaze traveled to the ground. ‘She was…’
There was a silence, an uncomfortable, heavy silence. Strawberry Blonde tried to look Elkia in the eyes, but Elkia didn’t look back. He felt guilty for plunging her into this silence. She was so cheerful and nice to him, yet he had nothing to offer her but sad stories and memories of the most terrible events. He had to change the subject. Now! His gaze slowly traveled upwards, and he searched for appropriate words in his head. It was then that he noticed something odd. ‘Where is your cutie mark? Is something wrong with it?’
Strawberry Blonde took the hint, and started talking and smiling again. ‘Haha, no silly. I have been cutie unmarked.’
‘Cutie unmarked?’ Elkia repeated. ‘So those two grey bars didn’t appear when you discovered your destiny?’
‘No, no, no, no,’ Strawberry said. ‘The two bars form an equal sign. It shows, just like your cutie mark, that I am part of something bigger, something fairer, something equal. Starlight Glimmer unmarked me, a magical experience which I will never forget, and gave me a place in her dream: a society where everyone is equal.’
‘That actually sounds… beautiful.’ Having lived in a closely-knit community where everyone knew everyone, Elkia could totally imagine something like that existing for ponies too. He could only imagine what a happy little society this had to be.
‘It is, it is,’ said Strawberry. ‘But I understand that my cutie mark is not the only thing that must puzzle you. Now with the list gone, you can ask me whatever you want. So, what is your first question? Oh, I know, I know. “Where am I?”’
‘Exactly,’ said Elkia.
‘Well, I can tell you all about Scribblers’ City, about who we are and what we do, but why should I tell you if I can show you? That’s what they say in the writing world, right? Show don’t tell.’ She jumped off the bed and already headed to the door. ‘Are you coming?’
Slowly, Elkia tried to get up as well. His hooves still felt a bit wobbly, but he managed. As he walked out the door of his chamber, he saw that Strawberry Blonde was talking to a black earth pony. Elkia reckoned that was the other voice he had heard. As he approached, the conversation stopped, and Strawberry turned to Elkia. ‘Elkia, meet our mayor, Charcoal.’
‘A pleasure to meet you, Mister,’ Elkia said.
Charcoal returned the hoofshake. ‘Strawberry Blonde here was as enthusiastic about you as an elk in the water, if you pardon my pun. I sincerely hope our way of life will appeal to you, and if not… well, we will see…’
Strawberry Blonde grabbed Elkia and turned him around, pushing him towards the door. ‘Haha, you’re always a barrel of laughs, Charcoal. Now, let’s show our new asset here around, before we draw any conclusions, shall we?’
Before Charcoal could say something back, Elkia and Strawberry were already outside, and the door shut behind them. It was day, and the sun was shining. Elkia and Strawberry stood upon a small hill, which offered them a beautiful overview over the town she called “Scribblers’ City.” And my oh my, was there a lot to see.
Elkia got a brief flashback to his naming ceremony, years ago, when he had laid eye on the village that was about to be demolished by the storm. Scribblers’ City looked so much like it. There were wooden buildings everywhere, and ponies were all busy talking to each other, pulling wagons, and doing other chores around their houses. Cheerful little plumes of smoke rose over the chimneys of the cottages. There were a few other buildings which looked much bigger than the others, and a wall like a brown ribbon encircled the whole town. Silently, Elkia wondered how long it had taken the ponies to build a town like that, and how many trees they must have felled. Not enough, apparently, because the forest hugged the settlement tightly, and wherever he looked, there were pines standing tall.
‘It’s pretty from above, isn’t it?’ said Strawberry Blonde. ‘Sometimes I come to the visitor center and climb on top of the roof. I can entertain myself for hours with a piece of parchment and some pencils, drawing—or, well, at least trying—to draw everything that’s going on.’ She sighed. ‘I just wish I was as good as I used to be, before the…’ But then she caught herself. ‘I mean, yeah. It’s nice.’
Elkia looked again at the little wooden town. His attention got drawn towards a strange display of magic. It looked like a sphere cut in half, almost like the round roofs of snow huts, but sizzling with purple magical energy. He also saw a sawmill, and a lot of ponies busy working with it, at the edge of town.
‘Come, let’s go,’ Strawberry said. ‘Shall I… well… hold your hoof so you won’t get lost?’
Shaking his head, Elkia returned to the here and now. ‘Of course,’ he said, took her hoof, and followed her down the hill.
They zigzagged through the streets, where some ponies were busy shoveling the snow aside to make it safer. Cottages lined them on either side, and as Elkia looked, he saw that almost every pony was wearing the same equal sign as a cutie mark. He reckoned they must be very happy ponies.
‘This is the residential district,’ said Strawberry Blonde. ‘Here all of our cheerful community members live when they are not busy working. Many of them have families, and they all live happily together.’
‘They look quite content,’ Elkia said.
‘Of course they are.’ Strawberry Blonde waved her hoof at the houses. ‘Not everyone can say they live a comfortable, useful life in our society, and get a free house.’
Elkia paused. ‘These houses are free? You mean others actually give them these beautiful, big houses to live in?’
Nodding, Strawberry said, ‘Of course. Once someone decides to become a part of our wonderful community, the building crew is tasked with building a new house for that someone. They are so very good at their jobs. You have no idea how quickly they can put one of these lovely houses together and furnish it in style.’
‘I… wow. No, I can’t imagine,’ Elkia said. Of course all of the snow huts in the Elkish community were free, and one could build a new house wherever one wanted, but those scarcely decorated huts were impossible to compare with the big, sturdy cottages that surrounded him on all sides. And they were all free!
‘If you’re already impressed by this, then you will look in awe at what more we have built, all together,’ Strawberry Blonde said. She took Elkia’s hoof, and together they walked on.
They came at a mill. It was slowly turning in the breeze, and many ponies were working, pulling sawn logs with carts.
‘This is where we cut all the wood to make our houses and buildings,’ Strawberry Explained. ‘We only use the best and sturdiest wood to build, and the rest is grinded into pulp.’
‘Impressive,’ Elkia said, looking in awe at the tall contraption, wondering how it worked.
‘But we let nothing go to waste, of course,’ Strawberry said. ‘The pulp we can use to make parchment and paper, and you will later see what we do with that.’
Before Elkia could take a guess, Strawberry had already turned her back to the mill. Leaving the sawmill behind, they walked through a few streets again. These streets were rougher than the others, and Elkia could see heavy wagon trails snaking through it. ‘There is definitely something going on with this road,’ he said, ‘it looks heavily trodden.’
‘It seems we cannot keep a thing hidden for you, you clever little elk,’ Strawberry said. ‘Indeed you’re right. Do you see that gate over there?’
Elkia followed Strawberry’s hoof. There was indeed a wooden gate, operated by a few ponies who were walking in a treadmill. As he looked, the gate opened, and many ponies with wagons streamed inside. They gritted their teeth, and sweat was on their faces. Obviously, they were pulling a heavy load.
‘What are they pulling?’ Elkia asked.
‘They are coming from the mine, Elkia,’ said Strawberry Blonde. ‘They are pulling stone, which will come in handy creating foundations of our houses. Sometimes they also have coal, which we burn to keep ourselves warm, and graphite, which is used to make pencils.’
What could be so important about pencils? Elkia thought. He was just going to ask that, when he saw that Strawberry was already far ahead. Apparently, she didn’t want to spend too much time observing the laboring ponies. ‘Let’s go, Elkia,’ she called. Elkia followed suit.
They walked alongside the wall for a long time, so Elkia could lay eyes on it. Apparently, it was made of two rows of tree trunks, with some dirt in between to make it sturdier. There was a platform between the two parts, on which ponies were walking to and from, watching the forest on the outside, and sometimes the inside too. Elkia watched them go, and couldn’t help but feel watched himself. It was a strange feeling which he didn’t like. He plucked a bit of courage, and then asked his new friend. ‘Strawberry?’
‘Yes?’
‘Why is there a wall surrounding Scribblers’ City?’
Strawberry Blonde looked silently at Elkia for a moment. Her sparkly eyes narrowed for a second, as if she were in thought, but then quickly the sparkle reappeared, and she said, ‘Why, to keep us safe, of course. The wall is perhaps even older than Scribblers’ City itself, as it was built to keep evil eyes away. After you told me about that horrible, horrible timber wolf attack, I think you know as good as I why we have this wall. Imagine a timber wolf upon our very own city! We would be defenseless without the wall.’
Elkia nodded. ‘I understand that, of course. I was just wondering why the guards look at what’s going on inside the walls as well as outside.’
Once again there was a tiny silence, but Strawberry made sure to fill it up quickly. ‘We have to make sure everyone is where he’s supposed to be. We can’t have any bad lazy schmazy ponies in our community, now can we?’
Furrowing his brows, Elkia thought about that for a moment. ‘But to have ponies guard one another so they do their jobs seems a bit… much, doesn’t it?’
Now Strawberry was the one who paused. She waved a hoof in the air, indicating for Elkia to look. ‘Just look at the beautiful community we created, Elkia. We have literally built it from the ground up with our very own hooves. In this town, everypony should live a useful, productive, and happy life. The only way to make sure this way of life stays and expands, we’ll have to make sure that everyone plays his or her part. To us, that rule is as important as… as… breathing, and to me, talking, hihihi.’ And she accompanied her little speech with a funny little giggle.
Elkia was convinced. Now that Strawberry Blonde had clarified things, it made perfect sense to him as to why the guards were acting that way. In a community that not only thrives, but extends and expands, with new jobs and important little chores needing to be done, laziness was really the worst enemy that could house inside the walls, and fester like a disease. Still, there was one last thing he wanted to know. ‘Do you punish a lot of lazy people? Is disciplinary action common?’
Strawberry Blonde let out a loud chuckle. ‘No, of course not. We rarely ever capture ponies lazy on the job.’
‘But if you do?’
‘Oh, nothing scary, just a few words with the forecolt—or mare—and a warning. Things don’t usually get that spectacular.’
But now they were approaching something spectacular. Elkia could already hear the sizzling and tingling sound of unicorn magic before he saw it. The massive, dome-shaped bubble stood before him, radiant in the daylight. Elkia bit back the urge to touch it. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from it. It was a little bit translucent, but not translucent enough to clearly see what was going on on the other side of it. Straining his eyes, Elkia could only see vague shapes moving inside. ‘What is that thing?’
Strawberry didn’t even glance twice at it. A few steps brought her closer to Elkia. She stood between him and the glowing orb. ‘This, my dear Elkia, is how we can survive here. This is where our food comes from.’
‘The food? How?’
‘Think of it as a giant greenhouse. You’ve seen greenhouses before, right?’
‘Eh…’
‘Never mind,’ Strawberry said. ‘I will try to explain it as good as I can. You see, the unicorns have crafted this giant orb, which is stretched out over some farmlands.’
‘Farmlands? Really?’ Elkia had heard of farming before from some earth ponies he encountered who traveled to the Shimmering Eye for a divination. He knew about sowing and harvesting crops, but he had never seen the whole process of farming before. His curiosity levels spiked. ‘Can we go in?’
‘No, no, no, absolutely not,’ Strawberry said with wide-open eyes.
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s a delicate ecosystem in there.’
‘What’s an ecosystem?’
Strawberry Blonde let out a small sigh. She looked serious. ‘Listen, Elkia. The unicorns have done a tremendous and amazing job at creating this orb. Inside, the temperatures are pleasant and warm, which in turn, enables us to sow and harvest crops. It sounds impressive, but it is not for us to go to. The orb is made of very delicate magics, so only unicorns and the farmers are allowed to go in there. As the unicorns always say, we shouldn’t meddle with magic. Just make sure you don’t touch it.’
‘What will happen when I touch it?’
‘You’ll get an electric shock, and worse: set off the alarm. In a matter of seconds every guard in Scribbers’ City will be watching your embarrassing mistake. We don’t want that to happen now, do we?’
After everything she said, Elkia’s curiosity only increased. He loved a good secret, but he also didn’t want to anger anypony here, and least of all his new friend.
‘Do you promise to never go there?’ Strawberry said.
‘I promise,’ Elkia said, and he meant it.
‘Good.’ She turned around and winked at Elkia. ‘Besides, the final thing I am going to show you will boggle your mind even more, I’m sure of it.’
Such playful enthusiasm radiated from her smile, that Elkia found himself unable not to follow her. They walked between the houses again, but stopped at a large wooden building. Strawberry Blonde opened the door, but then she quickly stepped towards Elkia. ‘Eyes closed,’ she said, and covered his eyes with her hooves. Together, they stepped inside. A few steps later, Strawberry started counting down.
‘Three…
‘Two…
‘One…’
And then the great hall became revealed to Elkia, the hall of creativity.
Everywhere around him, ponies were busy making stuff. Some of them walked around, carrying sculptures made of clay, and stopped at tables to finish their masterpieces. There was a clinking sound. When Elkia looked, he saw how others were busy chipping away at large marble stones, carving out the most beautiful shapes. To the right, there were many tables behind which ponies sat, drawing with their tongues out of their mouths, completely absorbed in their work. On the walls around the working artists hung many paintings and drawings, every one more breathtakingly beautiful than the one before.
‘This is… marvelous,’ Elkia said. He had no idea how to voice his bafflement in a creative way, so that was all that escaped his mouth. ‘Just… marvelous.’
‘It’s great, right?’ said Strawberry Blonde.
‘Yes, but… why? Why this whole building dedicated to the fine arts?’
‘Why not?’ said Strawberry. ‘All the work, all the building and planning and creating this community has to lead up to something, right?’
‘It’s… wow!’
‘This,’ Strawberry said, motioning with her hooves, ‘is our creative hub. It is our goal to create the most beautiful pieces of artwork, for ourselves and others to enjoy. But it is not merely art we make here, for this all has a purpose.’
‘Like what?’ Elkia said.
‘To teach others,’ Strawberry answered. ‘We use our art to convey a message. Remember what I told you about my cutie mark and equality? We are here to pack this beautiful, ideological idea into a fine artform, and then deliver it towards listening ears or watching eyes. There are many ways with which to transfer this idea into the minds of others, and we use every artform there is, be it sculptures, music, drawings, or… books.’
‘Books!’ Elkia had only owned a hoofful of books back at the Shimmering Eye. He had got them from a few ponies who gave them to Aeltha as a thank you for the divinations she had performed. They were heavy and impractical on long journeys, yet Elkia had always kept them safe and protected them from the bad weather. They had been his most prized possessions.
Strawberry saw that that word peaked Elkia’s interest, just as she expected. ‘Follow me.’
Impolite though as it was, Elkia couldn’t resist looking over everypony’s shoulders watch the artwork they were working on. He gazed at the beautiful sculptures, with their abstract or strikingly realistic shapes, and at the drawings with their many colors. A strange, rattling sound reached his ears. When he looked up, he saw the source.
Ponies were busy pressing buttons on strange, large, metal devices. They all were seated behind tables on which the machines stood, together with some note paper and a couple of pencils. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the machines produced horseshoes and stars in black ink on white paper. A small bell resounded when someone reached the end of the page, and the next line was written after pushing against the machine. To Elkia, those writing machines were more magical than the hidden farmlands with the strange, purple orb.
And there were bookcases, bookcases everywhere. Rows upon rows of sturdy wooden bookcases held hundreds of books between the shelves. To Elkia, that sight was like gazing upon an open vault full of golden bits, priceless.
‘Looks good, huh?’ said Strawberry casually, teasing Elkia a bit, for she saw how flabbergasted he was.
At first Elkia couldn’t find a voice with which to answer. He stared transfixed at all the tables, the ponies, the typewriters, and the books. ‘It’s… beautiful. They are… they are all writing, aren’t they?’
‘They are,’ said Strawberry. She walked slowly between the bookcases and the typing ponies, and Elkia followed. ‘They are all writing special books. Literature is the finest way to spread ideas and let others be convinced of the ideology we preach and practice. We always write for a reason here, and every book counts. When I read your poems, I knew you had written them not because you could, but because you had to. There is something, an emotion, a feeling, a memory, which has taken a hold on you, and the only way to remove the burden is to write. That’s what I saw with you.’
Suddenly, Elkia bumped into Strawberry, as she stopped. They had reached an empty table, nestled between some bookcases, and with pen and paper ready for use. Strawberry Blonde shoved back the chair, and motioned for Elkia to sit down. ‘You have to feel this, Elkia.’
Shaking off the confusion, Elkia sat down. Looking at the pencil and the paper, he felt the urge again. He felt the exact same thing he felt when he decided to write those three poems as epitaphs to emotions, predator vs prey, and his mother, Aeltha the seer. That restlessness, that urge too create, to put his emotions to work and let them pour out of his soul and onto the paper, felt like a warm blanket on a cold day.
‘And this is where our tour ends,’ said Strawberry Blonde. She grabbed another chair, sat down opposite of Elkia, and looked into his eyes until he came back to Equestria, which took a good minute or two.
When he realized he had been staring into the blonde pony’s eyes, Elkia felt himself blush. ‘Eh… oops.’
‘It’s okay to feel confused,’ Strawberry Blonde said. ‘You have an important decision to make, after all.’
‘A decision?’ But when that question left Elkia’s lips, he had the feeling he knew where this was going. He looked for a moment at the pencil and the paper, and then back into Strawberry Blonde’s sparkly eyes. ‘For me?’
‘Yes, my lovely little elk,’ Strawberry said. ‘This and more.’
‘I… I don’t know what to say. It’s so… so…’
‘Big? Life changing? Important? Yes, yes, and yes.’ She bent forwards. ‘I’m not only offering you that pencil and paper, Elkia, but a place amongst us. You will be living with us, doing the thing you love most: creating, writing, poetry too if you want. You will make friends, and live that happy, carefree life in a commune which you missed so much after your tragic loss. It’s true that there are but few elks here, but also know that here you are amongst equals. Here you are amongst likeminded ponies. You’re amongst bright minds who love the same thing you love. Right here, Elkia, right here in Scribblers’ City, you are home.’
From the first moment he had entered this marvelous city, Elkia had been blown away, and now, just like that, this pony whom he didn’t even know too well was offering him not only a home, not only a job, not only friends, but also a life? It couldn’t be true. Elkia rubbed his eyes, and felt that he was crying.
‘Why are you crying, Elkia?’ Strawberry said with the sweetest voice. ‘Are you not happy?’
‘I am, of course I am,’ said Elkia with a cracked voice. ‘It’s just… It feels as if I forsake my first life to start a second.’
‘Everypony deserves a second chance.’ She reached out and wiped away his tears. ‘And so does every elk.’
‘But, everyone I used to love, everyone who’s dead. Won’t I be betraying them? Won’t I betray my mother?’
‘Of course not. Your mother and all your friends would want nothing but for you to be happy. And, to be honest, I can’t think of a happier place than Scribblers’ City.’ Strawberry moved her hoof towards Elkia’s heart. ‘And, as you said it yourself, you are not alone. You will always be a member of the herd, even if the herd is far away, it will also be as close as your heart.’
Elkia snorted, and wiped the remaining tears away himself. ‘But… there is still someone I will leave behind.’
‘Who will you leave behind?’
‘Alces, my brother,’ Elkia said. ‘He’s still out there, roaming in the wilderness, trying to find lost members of the herd. He’s out there trying to reclaim and rebuild our society, that’s what he told me. I know he shouted at me, and said such terrible things, but… but I still love him. I can’t leave him to die a frozen death while I sit here in the warmth of this hall writing stories.’
Strawberry Blonde tapped her chin with her hoof. ‘Yes, we should do something about that.’ Then she lighted up, as she apparently had an idea. ‘Why not send out search parties? As you’ve seen before, security is very important to us, and we have a very well-trained guard patrol. I’m sure that, if they search hard enough, they will be able to find your brother and bring him back here.’
Elkia’s eyes went wide. ‘Will you do that?’
‘Of course,’ said Strawberry. She reached out and grabbed Elkia’s hoof. ‘For you.’
That touch was magical. There was something more behind it. As Elkia felt Strawberry’s soft hoof upon his own, he swore he felt the same energy coursing through his body as when he touched his mother’s. Of course Elkia wanted to join the community of Scribblers’ City. Yet why didn’t he say so right away? He was still thinking about his old home, the herd, and about Alces. His memories brought him back to the past, when everything was pretty and cheerful, and no one had to die being eaten alive by vicious predators. Could this life here in Scribblers’ City truly replace his old life? Could this place and these ponies fill up the gap in his heart? Elkia actually reached for his heart, as he felt the gap had never before felt so painful.
Strawberry Blonde retreated her hoof. ‘Elkia, what’s wrong?’
‘I… I… I…’ He didn’t dare to look in Strawberry’s eyes. ‘It’s just… just…’
The big, blue eyes of Strawberry Blonde moved about, trying to read Elkia. She spoke again, her tone as soft as silk. ‘You know, Elkia. You would make all of us really happy if you stayed with us.’ She once more grabbed the doubting elk’s hoof. ‘You would make me very happy if you stayed with us.’
‘I… eh… I just think I have to… think this over.’
‘But why would you?’ said Strawberry. ‘Why not choose us now?’
This time Elkia said nothing, but plunged into his thoughts. Strawberry Blonde saw how Elkia was struggling, yet, she couldn’t find a reason why. She had offered him so much, gave him back everything he had lost, and now… he was scared to take it? Strawberry let go of Elkia, turned her gaze away briefly, and fidgeted around with her hooves. She pouted her lips, and bit back the urge to bite her hooves, something she always did when she was nervous. There must be something more she could say. Suddenly, it came to her. A tear appeared on her smooth, light brown cheeks. It rolled all the way down to her chin, when she looked straight into Elkia’s eyes. ‘Elkia…’
‘What is—oh no! Why are you crying?’
‘I just…’ Now it was Strawberry’s turn to be speechless. ‘I’m just afraid.’
‘Afraid of what?’
‘That you will go, and leave us—leave me—behind.’
Elkia couldn’t bear seeing her cry. This sweet, lovely pony with her beautiful mane and her soft, shining hide, and the loveliest eyes he had ever seen, didn’t deserve sadness of any kind. Did he make her sad? At that moment Elkia was sure that there was more going on. He had seen lots of motherly love when he was little. Yet, all these things—the sweetness of her voice, holding hooves, giving him warmth, food, listening to his tale, caring for him—meant something. And now she was crying because he might leave her? Did she really care that much about him? Yes, Elkia knew there was more behind this mare than meets the eye. Was she… in love?
Soft sobs and more tears made Strawberry Blonde flinch. Her shoulders twitched. She was really crying. Now it was Elkia’s turn to help her. He reached out, grabbed her hooves, and searched for her eyes. ‘I don’t want to make you sad, Strawberry. If me being happy means that you’re happy, and if Scribblers’ City means that I will be happy, then I’ll stay.’
Strawberry opened her eyes and looked at Elkia. ‘Do you… do you mean that?’
‘Of course.’ Elkia swiveled his ears. ‘You kind of already marked me, so…’
She looked at the tag. ‘Oh no! Was I too fast with the tag and all?’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Elkia said. ‘You read me, and you knew that I could be an asset. You said it yourself, and you know what? You’re right. This is where I belong. This is my new herd, and you are my new friend.’
Strawberry Blonde didn’t stop crying, but now Elkia saw that they were tears of joy, and not of sorrow. She stood up and opened her hooves wide. Elkia took the hint, and together they hugged, sealing the deal.