//------------------------------// // Chapter 12- Greener Grass // Story: To be a Breezie // by Obsi //------------------------------// I couldn’t suppress a gasp when we first set eyes upon the Highbreeze-clan’s home. Unlike our village at the base of a tree, they’d decided to settle in a trees crown, living in numerous buildings, actual buildings in the branches, fashioned from planks of wood. Just like the clubhouse of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but a whole town of them! I wondered how they’d keep themselves warm during winter, Sizzlegrass must carry at least a chance of combustion, right? And wouldn’t strong winds make it impossible for them to leave their homes, whereas ground-dwelling breezies were much better protected? Under normal circumstance, I would have dwelled on those questions, or bombarded  the nearest breezie with an avalanche of them. Instead, my excitement took a heavy dampener as I saw Honeydew’s grim expression, while he stubbornly ignored the pleading looks of his older sister. Although Hippe had offered to help carry his stretcher, fashioned from two sticks and a portion of a leaf, he’d utterly shut down her helpful attempts. Now she was as far away as our flying formation allowed, looking as miserable as I felt helpless. What happened between those two? The question was burning in my chest, but one glare from Honeydew had told me that he was not in a mood to talk about it. I hoped he’d never look at me like that again. Our landing was accompanied by the looks of dozens of curious breezies. It struck me in an instant that the Highbreeze-clan was quite a bit larger than the one I was staying with. Their collective gaze drove a nervous smile on my lips, as I reflexively raised a hoof to wave, just like an alicorn should. “Quit staring and get out of the way.” An authoritative voice at my side shouted. I whirled around, just to see Hippe step past me, glaring at the other gatherers. “Go and bring my brother to Panacea.” Immediately, the other breezie saluted, raising up Honeydew’s stretcher with their mouths. I was about to follow suit, when Hippe’s hoof blocked the way. “Hey!” I protested. “You need to speak to the elder, right?” she asked, casting a glance at Kalypso, who gave an approving nod. “We’re here to trade, Twilight, remember?” I let out a grunt, pushing Hippe’s hoof away so I could at least see where they were taking him… but they had already vanished, whether in the crowd or one of tree-houses, I had no idea. “He’ll be safe, right?” I asked, finally turning my eyes to Hippe’s. “With Panacea he is in good hooves.” she answered, casting her eyes on her own foreleg. “It might leave him with a really nasty scar.” Or crippled, if it became infected after all, I couldn’t help but think, yet I forced my grimace into a strained smile. “Some mares have an eye for scars.” Hippe gave me  a strange look I couldn’t quite place. “You weren’t in the clan when I left.” “I-I’m a guest.” I nodded. “What is your relationship with Honeydew?” “My rela”-waitwhatnow? I stammered, struggling to find my voice as my mind tried to catch up with this sudden and baffling question. I opened my mouth to say ‘he’s a friend’, but the answer somehow got stuck in my throat. Her pointive look didn’t help much, either. Wasn’t he more of a mentor, introducing me to breezie life? But he didn’t really see me as a student. He’d kind of been my caretaker for most of my time in this world, but there wasn’t the authority I’d associate with that. And then he’d just always… been there. It was hard to explain. Thankfully, I was saved as Kalypso let out an impatient snort. “Can we go to the elder, now? It would be rude to keep him waiting.” Hippe jolted out of the conversation, startled realization on her face as she nodded and spread her wings. “Follow me, she lives all the way in the crown.” Of course she would. And that unfortunately made it a bit of a chore to reach her. Breezie wings weren’t like those of pegasi, flapping them to go up simply didn’t work, we could only ride an upstream of air. As such, our route took us to circle around the tree, each time climbing just a little in altitude. I could see why an authority figure would live this way, yet it also seemed so impractical. Nothing like Honeydew’s elder. He only had a bigger house! I glanced at Hippe’s back. She’d been with our clan, originally. What had prompted her to leave? What was the source of the hostility Honeydew showed her? I’d never seen him act like this, and then to a part of his own family? “What happened between you and Honeydew?” Her head turned in mid-flight, her eyes displaying a mixture of surprise and sadness. “He never told you about me?” “I… no.” I admitted. Even when I’d met Skylla, Charybdis and Harpie, he’d never even mentioned that there was another sister. Hippe let out a long sigh before falling into a minute-long silence. Just as I was about to repeat my question however, she met my eyes once again. “He should be the one telling, you, Twilight. Just know that what I told him, it wasn’t a lie.” With that, she suddenly angled her wings, bracing her legs against the wood as she landed. Oh. Come. On! My brain wailed with unfulfilled curiosity. What was not a lie? What. Happened? But now Kalypso was tugging on my shoulder, sternly leading me away from answers and toward what looked like a hybrid of a treehouse and a pizza-box. “Focus now, please.” Kalypso grimaced. “Just stay on the subject, do not ask any weird questions, do not answer back to the elder and-” For a moment, she stood still, judging me with a long look. “Maybe I should just do the talking.” With that, she knocked on a loose-looking plank. ------ I gawked in surprise as my hooves met soft, warm earth. I couldn’t imagine how many flight it would have taken a breezie to gather up the dirt just to cover the ground, but someone clearly went through the trouble. And, given its shape, it had about as much floor as a longhouse! Kalypso simply stepped past me, fixating her eyes on the breezie closest to a large, decorative sizzlepit. “We bring greetings, elder of the Highbreeze-clan. May the winds bless you.” She started ceremoniously. A spry-looking mare rose her head, then gently snapped a stalk of sizzlegrass between her hooves and threw it into the pit, where it quickly began to create it’s telltale crackling. “I would return said wishes, but it seems you are blessed already, Frindrì Kalypso.” She couldn’t have been given the title because of her age, she looked to be in her early thirties, and there were two older stallions surrounding her, both of which had their eyes on Kalypso. I wondered which one held the title of Frindrò. I glanced at Hippe, who silently stood beside me, but a quick glance told me it wasn’t the time to ask questions. “It is unusual for us to receive visitors from your clan unannounced.” The elder said as she gestured for all of us to take seat around the sizzlepit. I couldn’t help but let out a little sigh as I felt the pleasant warmth spread into my coat. “Apologies, elder Mormo. The clan is in need of more sizzlegrass, and with winter drawing near, we were short of time to notify you. I hope you understand.” The elder nodded, though I could see her lips for a thin line. “It is forgiven, Frindrì.” she simply declared before opening her hooves wide, as if about to embrace her. “Well, then, what have you brought to trade?” Kalypso’s expression was unreadable as she opened our supplies and drew out the small, decorated vase. “This is a part of our stored honey.” she said, and I could hear a little gasp from my side, where Hippe was covering her mouth. “I see.” The elder said, careful not to show a reaction, yet I could see the glimmer in her eyes. “How much do you need?” “As much as the three of us can carry.” “My brother accompanied them.” Hippe explained at Mormo’s questioning look. “He is with Panacea right now.” “Oooh,” Mormo nodded in understanding, before grinning at Kalypso. “I think we have a deal, Frindrì.” Now, I was not the best when it came to bargaining, just ask Pinkie about my repeated failures at Rainbow Falls, but even I knew that if your first offer was accepted without question, then you’d made a bad deal all on your own. Yet, I couldn’t say anything as Mormo reached for the vase with a satisfied grin. If I insulted her and she decided not to sell at all… I cast a help-seeking glance at Hippe, but the look in her eyes… A seething glare at her own elder! Even the two stallions behind Mormo seemed aghast, glancing at each other behind her back as the trade was concluded. Just then, Hippe got up. “I am glad we came to an agreement benefiting both sides.” she said, her voice kept perfectly even as she looked from Kalypso to Mormo, her eyes resting on the elder. “May the gods lay their eyes on you both.” Mormo frowned at that, glancing to Kalypso. Then, with narrowing eyes to Hippe. For a moment, I was sure she was going to berate her for speaking out of line, but then her expression melted into a pleasant smile. “Maybe you are right. And we wouldn’t want the gods to look at us while we’re practically asleep on our hooves.” Her smile panned over to Kalypso and me. “You must be tired from your flight. Please, stay and rest, let the Highbreeze-clan take care of your needs until your companion recovers.” “Thank you, Elder.” Kalypso formally bowed her head. “It is our honor to have you, Frindrì Kalypso.” Mormo said with a surprising amount of honesty on her voice. “Hippe, can you take care of our guests for now?” “Of course, elder.” she nodded, before gesturing for us to follow her outside. As soon as we stepped out of the house, she let out a snort. “Elder Mormo forgets her honor over her desire to prove herself.” Kalypso stared at the ground. “I’ve made a huge mistake, haven’t I?” You could say that again, my brain snarked. You’ve been buying bread while paying for cakes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have offered her the whole pot right at the start.” I suggested carefully. “I just- I didn’t think- we had nothing else to trade with. And in this harsh winter, I’d have thought she wouldn’t want to sell her supplies unless-” Hippe stopped in place. It took me an Kalypso a moment to realise and turn around. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her feelers bouncing as she rose an eyebrow. “Winter.” Kalypso explained after a moment of hesitation. “Because it’s starting early this year-” “No it’s not.” Hippe interjected. What? “Yes, it is!” Kalypso exclaimed. “The nights have been freezing, our gatherers could barely make it with the usual amounts of sizzlegrass, all the signs speak for a harsh, long winter!” “You must be reading them wrong, then.” Hippe insisted. “We’ve only seen the signs of a normal year.” “But that’s impossible!” Kalypso shouted, not realising the curious looks she was getting from the surrounding breezies “No, Kalypso, it’s not…” I muttered. Testingly, I jabbed one of my forelegs into a path of light, frowning as the sunlight warmed my coat. “It hasn’t been that cold for a couple of days.” I whispered, realization dawning on my face as I met Kalypso’s confused stare. “We haven’t noticed, because we were distracted with Honeydew, because it’s been raining the day he was hurt, but the next morning, I haven’t frozen at all. And then we’ve been able to carry Honeydew all throughout last night! Sure, it’s been cold, but not freezing like back with the clan.” As if struck by thunder, Kalypso seemed stunned, opening and closing her mouth as if testing the motion. “But- but that’s impossible.” she exclaimed. “We’re on a mountain, Twilight. They’re higher up, it’s supposed to be colder here, every breezie knows that!” “But it happened.” I said, staring at my hoof as I tried to come up with any possible explanation. Hippe only shrugged, as if to say: ‘don’t ask me.’, while Kalypso adopted a deeply distraught look. “It must be the work of spirits, then.” she whispered with widened eyes, earning a worried look from Hippe. Then my stomach grumbled, shaking us all from our gloomy thoughts. I gave Hippe a sheepish smile. She shot back a grin. “Looks like someone’s trapping a hungry mouse.” she quipped. “Let’s see if we can rectify that situation.” Although Hippe’s house looked like most others, in that it seemed to be designed by a bunch of foals with no idea what the others were doing, it immediately stood out in that it possessed a second floor, as well as a balcony. It might have fetched a decent price on an Equestrian market if it looked stable.. And wasn’t the size of a papaya. “Honey?” Hippe called after rapping her hoof on the door. “I’m home.” Wait, Honey as in- Before I could even fully form the question, it was answered as a stocky stallion opened the door, his lush beard seeming to vibrate as he embraced Hippe. Now, she was not a short mare, so I couldn’t help but grin a little as his hooves tried their best to reach around her barrel while she gently patted his head.  “We have guests, Greenfly.” She informed him as they parted from one another The stallion quickly turned his attention to us. “So I’ve heard. You’ll be staying with us?” “They will.” Hippe nodded. Meanwhile, I tried to simply smile without staring at his beard. It looked so fluffy. And silly. Okay, I thought as I felt the tugging at the corners of my lips. Add giggling to the things not to do. Thankfully, I wasn’t forced to control myself for long, as Hippe brought a bowl filled with the ever-present nuts, slices of berries, but also- my mouth watered as I stared at the small orange chunks, my nose picking up a smell I didn’t even realise I’d started to miss. “Carrots!” I couldn’t help but exclaim before burying my head in vegetable goodness. I ignored Kalypso’s raised eyebrows, Hippe’s amused chuckle as the crunchy flavor filled my mouth. I was used to a diverse diet after all! The constant nuts and berries could get a little bland after a while. I really had to catch myself not to hog all the little purple pieces after discovering it was eggplant. So this clan had a more balanced diet. It seemed that each breezie had their personal food storages too, since Hippe definitely did not leave the house for a shared supply hole. Nor had any of the breezies outside looked terribly stressed, or even busy, their chatter had been lighthearted, as if the coming winter did not concern them at all. It really seemed like they were somehow removed from the icy chokehold on the lands to the east. “Twilight?” I suddenly felt Hippe’s hoof nudging me as she held out another, slightly smaller bowl, filled with more vegetables, as well as some sort of sticky, brownish fluid. “Bring this to Honeydew, will you?” she asked, her voice kept steady while her eyes were very intent on staring at the ground. “Honeydew’s here?” I asked, turning my head as if I’d somehow missed him until now. “I thought he’s with your doctor!” “He is upstairs.” Greenfly informed me as he dragged a stalk of sizzlegrass behind himself. “The others brought him here after Panacea was done with him. Insisted on being alone.” he added darkly as Hippe winced. I nodded, giving them both an uneasy smile as I balanced the bowl on my back before climbing up  the set of stairs.. There was a talk to be had.