The Tale of Lord Barleycorn
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Chapter 42: Why did you hurt my door?
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The morning sun rose and once again the farmers of Hollow Shades began to set up their produce stands. Happy, hopeful faces were everywhere as the bits had flowed like never before. Business was good, and now a few tables were set up to sell corn husk dolls, charms, and other supposedly magic trinkets meant to appease the spirits… but mostly so the non-farmers could get in on this sudden prosperity.
While the usual vendors were preparing for a long and profitable day, one table was notably late in arriving to market. The autumn sun was already high above the treeline before any of the Harvest family appeared on the main road; without any cart, table, or produce in tow.
A few worried neighbors watched as the pair trotted purposefully to the home of the local doctor. The clinic’s lights weren’t on, and when Summer tried the door and found it was locked, he rapped on it with his hoof.
Both stallions glanced at each other, fidgeting on the boardwalk as they waited for a response. When none came Summer knocked again, this time loud enough for the whole street to hear and hard enough to leave a dent in the old door.
A light came on in the back room, and before long the doctor opened the door. His white coat was wrinkled and hung cock-eyed on his back, suggesting that he’d not only slept in it but had only now crawled out of bed. His tired, bleary eyes slowly moved between the two stallions standing outside his clinic and the freshly-made mark on his door.
"Why did you hurt my door?" Cherry croaked, his voice dry and void of emotion.
Summer brushed the doctor’s flippant remark aside and locked eyes with the doctor, "Doc, I’ve never been one to get involved in what you do with yourself, but you better not be hungover. We need you at the farm, now."
Cherry stood like a statue, unmoving and unfeeling as he stared back at the brawny farm pony without any hint of concern. Instead, he met Summer Harvest’s scowling face with a yawn before he began to rub his eyes as if his only worry was if he should brush his teeth first, or floss?
"Let me guess, your little filly didn’t magically get better over night and you’re blaming me?" He said, now sounding more disappointed than tired.
"Darn right she ain’t, the medicine you gave us didn’t do nothin’. In fact she’s worse off than she was last night!" Summer snapped, nostrils flaring in obvious rage.
The absolute spectacle of Summer Harvest fuming on his doorstep only captured the doctor’s attention for a short moment before he turned to the other stallion invading his formerly tranquil morning.
Unlike his father, Leadfoot was calm. Well, perhaps not calm but trying to keep quiet. The colt was glancing back at this father again and again while he tried to remain inconspicuous. Obviously the young stallion was trying to avoid stepping into his father’s line of sight when he was this riled up. It made sense to Cherry, and to some degree he pitied Leadfoot for having to live with this cranky powder keg.
That did mark Leadfoot as the more sensible pony to converse with...
"She was at your farm all day yesterday, right?" Cherry asked Leadfoot.
Again Leadfoot glanced at his father, and instead of speaking he gave a stiff nod.
Cherry stretched his back, starting to feel the sleep slowly drain from his waking body, "Alright, give me a run down of her symptoms. The medicine-"
"Don’t ignore me you drunk." Summer stamped a hoof on the boardwalk, "You’re going to come look at my filly even if I have to drag you all the way home."
"And I can refuse and call for the sheriff. I’m sure he’d love to have something to do other than lock ponies in the drunk tank for a night for a change… like removing a violent thug from my door." A cocky smile formed on Cherry’s face, daring Summer to take a swing at him, "Of course, it’s kinda hard to sell ugly pumpkins to gullible tourists from a jail cell, huh Summer?"
The effect of Cherry’s baiting was comical only to the doctor. Summer’s teeth were clenched tight as his bronze-brown face turned a few shades redder, and Cherry noticed how Summer’s right foreleg twitched as if he was sorely tempted to act on his anger. Whatever kernel of reason he possessed was keeping him from doing so. He likely couldn’t afford a steep legal fee on top of his already fragile financial situation.
Of course, while it might have been fun to take Summer down a peg, Cherry knew there was a limit to how far he could push him. Besides, the farmer was only acting like a total mule because his baby filly was sick and therefore not thinking rationally at all.
"Now," Cherry said as he straightened his coat and once again gave Leadfoot his full attention, "Tell me about how the filly’s doing, and start from last night."
Leadfoot didn’t dare look over at his father. He knew if he did, he might lose the courage to speak, "From last night?"
After Cherry gave a curt, impatient nod, Leadfoot began, "Well, mom was watching Corn Crib last night when dad and I sold crops at our table. When Lord Barleycorn gave me a bowl of soup to take home for her I thought it might help her feel better, and she was able to keep some of it down."
Although Cherry rolled his eyes at the mention of the scarecrow, he gestured impatiently for the young stallion to continue.
"Before bed she managed to keep down some of the medicine you gave us and we all thought she might start feeling better come morning. But by breakfast she didn’t want to eat at all, she says her stomach and hooves are hurting real bad." Leadfoot tried to think if he’d left anything out, "Oh yeah, and she’s been having a bad case of the trots."
Summer grimaced at hearing his son explain the situation so crudely, and quickly spoke up to take control of the explanation, "She’s been thirsty but she says drinking anything hurts her stomach."
"Any idea what it could be doc?" Leadfoot added, frowning at his father’s attempt to push him out of the conversation.
Cherry thought for a moment, his attention drifting back to the medical textbook that still lay open on his desk, "A digestive disorder of some kind, but associative hoof pain of the kind you’re talking about is bizarre. But this could be explained by mushroom poisoning. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard of a foal getting sick from something found in the Everfree."
Summer blinked, forgetting his anger for a moment, "You don’t think-"
"Everypony in town knows you and your family likes to forage in the Everfree, and all sorts of strange things grow there." Cherry said, eyes narrowing in almost accusatory glare, "One wrong plant or mushroom on your plate and you’ll be in Pine Box’s tender care."
Leadfoot grimaced at the mention of the local undertaker’s name, "But, we all get a fair share of those meals. We’d all be sick like her if poisoning was the case."
"Hm, good point," Cherry acquiesced, "About how long have you been foraging in the woods?"
"About a year." Leadfoot said with a certain amount of disbelief, had it really been that long since they regularly ate normal meals at the kitchen table?
Summer shifted on his hooves, clearly growing uncomfortable with the direction these questions were taking. He had expected to come in, grab the doctor and hurry home like he had promised his wife back at the house, not to be questioned about the quality of life his family endured.
Cherry however seemed a little confused, "Hm, it doesn’t sound like food poisoning. The hoof pain could still be explained by a vitamin deficiency, but I’ve never heard of that causing this many symptoms all at once… wait here a minute."
The doctor turned, not bothering to close the door as he ventured back into the dimly lit clinic. Despite Cherry’s weak request for them to remain outside, Summer pushed the door open and followed the doctor back to his desk, with his son not far behind him.
Both farm ponies were drawn to the large medical book open on the doctor’s desk, which the doctor had begun to flip through using the tip of his one good wing. Leadfoot could see Cherry’s eyes darting over the words in the book, as if he was looking for something. Finally the pegasus slammed the textbook shut with a huff, but instead of speaking he then bent down beside his desk and pulled another textbook from beneath the leg that had been keeping it level.
The new book was callously dropped on top of the other, and the new slant of the desk was ignored as Cherry began to flip through this new tome’s pages.
Leadfoot was so focused on the doctor that he jumped when his father nudged him with his foreleg,
"Here I always figured doctors went to medical school to know this kinda stuff." Summer commented, "If they can just look it up in a book then maybe anypony could do this job."
Cherry’s eyes rose from the textbook to glare coldly at the farmer, then he slid the book across his desk for the farmer to inspect its contents, "By all means then, show me how your decades of experience in the fine art of pulling a plow makes you superior."
Over his father’s shoulder, Leadfoot could see a detailed anatomy chart depicting the inner workings of the equine digestive tract. Yet, he could only recognize the most elementary of words, ones he learned in his years in the same school his little sister attended. Everything else were medical jargon that he could barely follow, and in some places; not even pronounce.
One thing he was certain, his father probably understood it less than he did.
Cherry tapped on the desk, "I’m waiting, Summer. Do you want me to help with some of the big words in there?"
Summer growled and violently shoved the textbook across the table, lightly striking Cherry in the midsection.
The doctor took this as some needed victory, and smugly returned to flipping through the pages of his medical book.
Several moments of silence passed, and while the silence was preferable to Summer and Cherry Nova bickering, Leadfoot could almost sense his father’s temper rising. If somepony didn’t say something soon, his father was going to needle the doctor again and the insults would fly, and maybe a few punches.
Leadfoot rolled his eyes, why did fate always insist on having him stick his neck on the chopping block?
"Any luck finding what you’re looking for, doc?" Leadfoot croaked out.
Both of the older stallions turned their attention to him, as if they’d forgotten that Leadfoot was even there. But while his father treated his question with casual indifference, Cherry stared at the youth for a moment before his eyes trailed down to the open book.
"To be honest, kid I’m not sure." Said Cherry Nova, "I’ve been flipping through the section on hoof-related diseases and none of them seem to line up with what’s happening to your sister. It’s a weird symptom, I need a little more time to dig through these books to come to a conclusion on it."
"You’d have all the time you need if you just packed up that book and came to the farm." Summer snorted.
Cherry gestured to the shelf along the wall, and the line of medical books that sat on it. "All of them?"
"You need all of them?" Summer rolled his eyes.
"Until I find the one line I need to make a diagnosis, yes. The equine body is a very complicated beast." Cherry said, "I’ll head to the farm when I think I know what we’re dealing with. Expect me there within an hour."
An hour was not what Summer had wanted, but he had finally reached his limit. However, instead of savaging the doctor he turned and marched toward the exit muttering vengeful curses as he went. The dented door was slammed shut with such force that Leadfoot saw small clouds of dust fall from the ceiling in the waiting room.
"Sorry about that doc." Leadfoot offered, his ears splayed back in embarrassment.
"Save your breath colt, I’ve dealt with ponies with worse attitudes than him." Cherry said, "If you want to be useful, beat it. You’re distracting me."
Cherry didn’t look up from the book until he heard the young Harvest colt leave. Silence reigned yet again in his dingy little fiefdom, and there was some peace to be had. Now that there wasn’t anypony watching him he could focus on reading and not playing the role of the noble healer that everypony liked to think every doctor was.
He sighed, it wasn’t likely he’d be paid for this. The Harvests would probably sink their money into their debt, their foal will be on the rebound and he’ll be back to subsisting on scraps like the rest of the town. He might not even get so much as a ‘thanks’ for it, but at least the filly’s mystery symptoms were providing him with something to do besides drink and stare at the walls.
As he leaned against the desk to begin reading, the desk wobbled beneath him enough to startle him. Cherry coughed, glad no could had seen him jump like a little filly at something so minor.
"Now… let’s see, disorders of the digestive tract..." Cherry mumbled as he flipped page after page, "Seventy-eight pages… great."
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Mornings in this secluded town were becoming quite routine for Rarity. Ever since agreeing to aid in the preparations for the Festival of Spirits she had risen early, earlier than she normally did, anyway. But now that her role was diminished she had found herself rising early out of habit with nothing to do. On a lark, she had chosen to indulge in something she’d rarely ever done in her life; she went for a morning jog.
She was aware that jogging was more the purview of the athletic Rainbow Dash, but she needed some way to spend all the pent up energy she found herself with, and Hollow Shades didn’t exactly have any means of entertainment that spoke to Rarity’s tastes.
How the local foals seemed excited about playing in a muddy creek all day escaped her imagination.
"Just a few more days..." Rarity promised herself as she trotted along the quiet stretch of dirt road.
While she might have been eager to return to Ponyville where she could resume her work at her boutique, she found the morning to be quite pleasant. The birds were quiet, and the songs of crickets had come and gone. Even the air felt still and stiff, like the morning needed a good stretch before the day could really begin.
Rather than travel the uneven, muddy roads Rarity had opted to make a circuit around the line of shops. While this course offered less of a chance to scuff her neglected hooves, it came with its own concerns. First and foremost this meant she had to travel along the small service road that ran behind the northern line of shops, which ran no less than ten yards from the edge of the Everfree forest.
She was well versed in its dangers by now thanks to her adventures, yet she couldn’t deny one glaring feature of this bewitching town; not once had she felt like she was in danger. Despite having lived for days on the forest’s doorstep there had been no sign of monsters, no disasters, and naught a single disturbance that she would consider dangerous.
There were sightings of spirits both whimsical and foreboding, but Rarity didn’t get the impression that their attention was on her. In her view, she wasn’t sure if she’d want it or not, if the stories she heard of the ghosts’ fickleness were true. However, Rarity was certain Twilight could devote her erudite mind to correcting her little faux pas. Her delving into local traditions had yielded promising results, or so Twilight claimed.
Rarity took a breath of fresh air, relishing the clean crisp autumn air.
"All this time and not a single sign of a beast or monster, big or small. It makes one wonder why Ponyville is blessed with so many frequent unwelcome visitors from the Everfree." Rarity wondered, "Perhaps its due to the local spirits? I'll have to remember to try to introduce a few of these superstitions back in Ponyville. Maybe the weekly calamities will slow down a little? It can't hurt to try."
Mentally listing every quaint thing she had learned since coming to Hollow Shades proved to be quite the productive distraction. Soon Rarity had finished her third trip around the shops without incident and was feeling sufficiently limbered up for anything the day could throw at her.
However, what she had planned was remarkably light. First was breakfast at the only local restaurant, then a quick shower at the farmhouse she was boarding at before seeing if Cross Stitch had anything that she could preoccupy herself with until evening rolled around. Maybe she could convince him to let her place a few dresses for sale at his establishment? It wouldn’t cost him anything since they’d be made with her supplies, and the mares of this town were sorely lacking in anything new and fashionable.
Now that the jog was over, Rarity slowed to a walk as a cool-down, quickly deciding on one last circuit before filling her empty belly at Tablecloth’s. This allowed Rarity one more chance to enjoy the scenery. The vibrant autumnal leaves were bathed in the cold, golden light of the rising sun, which with the dew left over from the pre-sunrise fog created fiery glints of light high in the trees.
On the other side of the path, the backs of the shops were far less inspiring. The aging wood, the tenacious moss and lichens--all were signs of degradation that Rarity could only shake her head at. Every building in town clearly needed renovations beyond a simple coat of paint, but the activity the festival had brought was cause for hope that repairs could begin by springtime next year.
"It may be wishful thinking, but perhaps in a few years Hollow Shades would look as pristine as Ponyville." Thought Rarity, "A few more shops, some new dining options and this would be a charming little vacation town."
It was while Rarity was walking down this back alley that a familiar shade of blue caught her eye. Turning her head toward the errant color, Rarity was surprised to find Rainbow Dash hovering high off the ground with her face almost pressed against the glass of an unwashed window. A closer look at the building made Rarity wince in realization that this was the clinic of that grouchy, unpleasant doctor.
Whatever reason why Rainbow would want to spy on Dr. Nova was lost on Rarity, but that didn’t keep her from seeing the rare opportunity presented on a silver platter. A chance to prank Ponyville’s most notorious prankster.
Walking slowly to avoid making any excess noise on the dirt path, Rarity felt her grin widen as she drew closer to the spot where Rainbow hovered.
Then, with mock alarm Rarity called out; "Ah! A peeping tom!"
In her attempt to jerk her body around to see who had just accused her, Rainbow’s wings had reflexively locked in place. Gravity had just begun to reassert itself upon her when Rainbow’s honed flying instincts kicked in. With all her strength, Rainbow flared her wings, angling them until they caught the air in her rapid descent. It was only a short three yard drop, but a few more hard flaps allowed her to manage a hard but safe landing on all four hooves.
Rarity giggled despite knowing she was caught. It was so rare for her to get one over on Rainbow, and despite the slim chance of injury Rainbow was thankfully unharmed.
However, Rainbow was not so amused. No sooner than she had landed she had spun around and scowled at the unicorn.
"Apologizes, darling. Really." Rarity said, quickly trying to stifle a last few chuckles before she continued, "You’re not hurt are you?"
Rainbow let out a huff, "Pfft, heck no. It’d take a fall a million times harder than that to hurt me."
"Of course," Rarity said, "I was just on my way to get breakfast, would you care to join me?"
Rainbow lifted her head, the mention of food clearly grabbing her attention.
"You sure about that?" Rainbow asked, raised an eyebrow.
Rarity chuckled, it was true that she and Applejack had done the majority of the spending since they arrived, but comparatively speaking the food at the local restaurant was ridiculously underpriced--most likely due to its usual clientele being dirt poor.
"It’s no trouble at all, I tend to think any meal is better with company, wouldn’t you agree?" Rarity asked flashing a friendly smile, "And of course food often loosens one’s tongue. Just what were you doing up there?"
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Even if I want fish?"
Rarity grimaced at the thought of having to sit at the table and watch Rainbow eat a plate of fish, but she guessed she owed her friend something for the earlier embarrassment.
"Wh-heh… yes, then you’ll… have all the fish you like..." Said Rarity, her smile now strained to the breaking point.
Rather than reply Rainbow Dash continued to eye Rarity in silence, as if she was expecting something more out of this.
"I already promised to pay, what else can she… no." Rarity’s eyes widened, "No, nonononono… she’s not going to insist that we share a plate of fish is she!? It may be… crispy and golden brown-No Rarity, no. No upstanding unicorn would ever think about eating some slimy, flopping fish no matter how presentable it might be. "
Some errant snickering from Rainbow Dash snapped Rarity back to reality. Now it was hurt turn to scowl.
"Heh, don't worry, I'll order something else." Rainbow said, "I know you don’t like that stuff."
Rarity let out a tired sigh, it was a relief to be sure but sometimes Rainbow could be too much.
"Serves me right for scaring her, I suppose." Rarity thought, "Maybe if I just drop the whole idea of prying information out of her we can just enjoy a friendly meal and leave it at that."
"I’m most grateful. Shall we be off?" Rarity asked, ready to head in the direction of the restaurant.
"Um, if it's okay, can you hold up for a second?" Rainbow asked, suddenly sounding less confident than before.
"Hm? Is something the matter?" Rarity asked.
"Well, yeah. But, before I tell you... did Applejack mention anything about me and the doc having a chat?" Asked Rainbow.
Having spent an unprecedented amount of time in this sleepy hamlet, Rarity had been aching for the familiar gossip circles she knew back in Ponyville. It wasn’t so much a love for drama but rather that she liked to know what was going on in the lives of the ponies around her. Rarity had been very much on the outside looking in with the local mares, and now that something had hit close to home Rarity couldn’t help but feel a little resentful of Applejack leaving her out of the loop.
"I’m afraid not," Rarity said with the same social cautiousness she practiced with clients, "Should she have?"
The question seemed to unbalance Rainbow a little further, the feathers of her wings rising and falling as her wing-muscles flexed with obvious tension.
"Maybe she should have, then I might not have to explain it all again." Rainbow sighed, "But first can you promise not to spread this around? I need to deal with this on my own but… I could use a second opinion."
"My lips are sealed," Said Rarity, "But while I respect your intent to see this… whatever it is on your own, you know you don’t have to do it alone, right?"
A modicum of Rainbow’s apprehension faded, and the start of a smile returned to her face, "I know. I know you and the girls would be there to help me no matter what but this is just… a bit heavy."
Rarity gave a patient nod, "Then why don’t you start by explaining a bit so I can get a bit of context."
Rainbow thought for a moment, "Well, how much do you know about the Wonderbolts?"
Rarity wasn’t exactly sure where she was going with this, but thought back to all the times Rainbow acted like a rabid fangirl about her heroes, "Thanks to you and your frequent tangents about them, probably more than the average pony."
Rainbow frowned, obviously not liking Rarity’s answer.
"To be fair, you do talk about them a lot." Rarity said defensively, "But I do listen. For example, how Fleetfoot is often the one selected for tight Aileron rolls, and Soarin has the best out-of-the-gate acceleration of the current roster."
Rarity’s presentation of Wonderbolt factoids succeeded in calming Rainbow, but the pegasus was now back to nervously glancing at the high window.
"Alright," Said Rainbow, "I’ll try to walk you through this… but first, pinkie swear me that you won’t tell the others about this?"
Rarity would have questioned why this was necessary, but quickly decided that having Rainbow’s trust was more important than anything else at the moment. After quickly running through the gestures (including a painful bop to her eye) Rarity waited for Rainbow to continue.
"Okay, well..." Rainbow paused, taking one more quick glance around the back alley for potential eavesdroppers. When she was sure they were alone, she continued, "The doc? He’s… not just a doctor. Turns out he’s one of my old fillyhood heroes."
Rarity’s eyes widened, "He was a Wonderbolt?"
Rainbow flinched, "N-no, and I wouldn’t say that to his face. He wouldn’t like that."
Now it was Rarity’s turn to glance toward the clinic as if she could see Dr. Nova through the wood siding.
"I had wondered why a flight suit like that was sitting in an antique shop in a town like this." Rarity thought out loud, "It was too professionally made to be some homespun suit, and too flashy to be some weather team protective ensemble."
"Yeah, turned out the doc’s a former pro. Ended up in the medical field looking for a way to fix his wing, which got messed up in a stunt gone wrong." Rainbow’s ears dipped, "I tried talking to him, but he was super drunk an’ wasn’t happy to see me reminding him of the past."
"Twilight mentioned he was quite… poor mannered with you and the rag pony. I simply thought it was just another alcohol fueled tantrum." Rarity frowned, hating the idea that such a thing could be considered normal behavior for anypony.
"That was before I talked with him alone. But what’s bugging me is something he said that got me thinking." Rainbow frowned, "He kept talkin’ about how much the Wonderbolts make on sponsorships, an’ how they were getting those deals too. I remember starting to see them on cereal boxes just before their big accident."
Rarity thought back to their discussion a few nights ago, "The… explosion, right?"
Rainbow kept her eyes on the ground in front of her, "The botched Cherry Nova, yeah. The Wonderbolts were at the same arena for the Mustang Marathon and the doc and his stunt group claimed the trick was sabotaged but there wasn’t any proof. There’s no way to measure flash powder after its been burned up."
"And you think the Wonderbolts might have actually caused the explosion?" Rarity asked, surprised that Rainbow could point an accusing hoof at her idols.
Rainbow shook her head, "I don’t know! Wind Rider was the most decorated Wonderbolt leader at the time, and was ready to retire soon so why would he jeopardize that? A lot of the Wonderbolts I know were just rookies at the time and any of them they could have felt just as threatened by the Brigade’s popularity. But I can’t deny the Wonderbolts were there at the same arena on the same day, and there was plenty of bad blood between the two. Sports magazines were just beginning to favor the Brigade over the Wonderbolts, and all it would take is one little miscalculation with the flash powder and boom, back to the status quo."
Rarity had listened intently, nodding her head as Rainbow spoke. It all did sound quite suspicious and Rainbow knew more about it than her, but Rarity needed to put forward the simplest explanation; "Could the Brigade have simply made an error with the powder?"
Rainbow shook her head again, "That’s even less likely than Wind Rider getting involved. Stuntponies prepare their own gear, and stunts as dangerous as a cherry nova require a lot of meticulous planning. The Brigade were known to be reckless, but they weren’t stupid. They would have done safety checks on the powder just before taking to the air."
"But they couldn’t do checks while they were performing…" Rarity thought, "A stunt like that would have been saved for the finale, plenty of time to meddle…"
Rarity thought all of this over, using her own amateur detective skills to pour over the details Rainbow had provided. "It sounds like a lot of circumstantial evidence from a long time ago. The easiest thing would be to call it an accident, but it does seem to be a very convenient accident."
"That’s how I feel." Rainbow sighed as she flopped down onto the dirt, "I believe the doc when he said he felt betrayed when the team’s sponsors threw him under the carriage after the accident, and I can’t ignore the possibility that there could have been sabotage but… I don’t like thinking that any of the Wonderbolts could possibly do something like that."
Rarity reached over and laid a hoof on her friend’s withers, gently rubbing in between Rainbow’s wings. This succeeded in getting Rainbow to relax a little, and Rarity smiled at remembering this from her many, many times at the Ponyville Spa.
Still, Rarity pondered what she could do to actually help. Try as she might, Rarity saw that no amount of fashion was going to put a bandage on this emotional wound. Since she had committed herself to keeping this private, she couldn’t involve their friends.
That didn’t leave her completely without options. As Shadow Spade of Rarity’s favorite detective novels would say, ‘When you’re all out of options, do something unexpected.’
"I know you must be feeling all torn up inside, but may I make a suggestion?" Asked Rarity.
"What’s that?" Rainbow said from her spot on the ground.
"I think you should go home to Ponyville." Said Rarity.
Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she pushed herself to her hooves, wings flaring out in indignation, "Wha- why would I do that!? I can’t just leave you all here in a haunted town!"
"Just hear me out," Rarity said calmly, "First, darling, I’m not saying you should go home and stay there while we carry on without you. What I’m saying is maybe what you need is to get away from this drama so you can clear your head."
Rainbow snorted, "But-"
"No buts." Rarity interrupted, "You’re just going to make yourself sick if you keep yourself coiled in knots while you lurk around the doctor’s back door."
Rainbow’s wings folded tightly against her sides, her mouth was clamped shut but the indignant glint in her eye told Rarity she was trying to formulate some counter argument.
"And let’s face it, you’re bored silly." Rarity said, "Once the decorations were done you haven’t had anything to accomplish. And I saw you try to nap the day away on one of these wild clouds."
Rainbow flinched, "You… saw that huh?"
"Thankfully Ms. Melon Seed’s clothesline only needed to be tightened, but I did just Pinkie promise not to tell anyone about this conversation." Rarity chuckled, "But you don’t have to worry, we’ll be fine for a few hours. Maybe being at home, in your room will help you think a little more clearly about what you should do next. You can always fly back here to enjoy the festival."
Rainbow let out a frustrated grumble as she rubbed her forehead, but instead of arguing further she sank onto her plot in defeat, "Maybe you’re right. Can’t hurt to try."
Rarity smiled, "Very well darling, but first I insist on buying you a proper meal, or at least the best Hollow Shades can provide."
That got Rainbow on her hooves, and she took the lead toward the restaurant.
"If that’s the case, I’m ordering the fish after all. That stuff was tasty." Rainbow grinned, pleased to get one little jab in before leaving for home
Rarity merely gagged as she followed after her.
---
Thistle Bloom idly chewed on her cheek as she stared into space. Even though she understood it kept her and her family fed, she never liked getting up early to help get her family's produce stand ready. Part of her displeasure rose from waking up at such an early hour, but the other was the sheer boredom that came with the morning.
Once the table was set up there was little to do but sit on her stool with the rest of the family while they chatted about 'adult stuff' that to her was wholly uninteresting. She would have opted to go and visit her friends but several things held her in her seat.
The first being her family. In these early hours they preferred to keep her on a short leash just in case they needed her help, or so they claimed. She however knew it was because of the one time she tried sneaking a slice of cake off the counter at Tablecloth’s. Consequently, it was also why she was banned from the restaurant until she was sixteen.
The other reason was more simple, she hadn’t seen either of her friends. It was still early, and they were probably as groggy as her, but she couldn’t see Corn Crib at either of her family’s table, and Wedge… well, his dad wasn’t a farmer so why would he be here early?
There was a cup of coffee in front of her, of which she reluctantly sipped. She hated the bitter taste, but it helped warm her on this chilly morning. She couldn't quite understand how adults could stand drinking it every morning, and doubted she'd ever pick up the habit. Chocolate milk would be her drink forever, or so she liked to say.
She began to fidget on her stool, extremely bored as she listened to her father repeat his favorite harvest season joke for the umpteenth time. Of course the listener politely pretended that decrepit mummy of a joke was still fresh. Thistle Bloom’s chin slowly lowered a she began to lose herself in her thoughts, her eyelids slowly closed only for her to jerk herself back from the edge of sleep.
She glanced back at her father, who hadn’t noticed her nodding off. Considering that she’d just keep doing it if she sat there, Thistle Bloom hopped off her stool. Her mother was quietly knitting, hoping to make something more to sell and her father was still jabbering away, they wouldn’t notice her stretch her legs.
Even if they did, a paddling behind the woodshed would be more entertaining than sitting on that stool like some invalid.
Now free to explore, Thistle Bloom walked along the boardwalk looking at all the strange new faces that had come to visit her town. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it, having never seen Hollow Shades so populated in all her life. Her parents liked the money they were making, so she guessed it wasn’t a bad thing, even if it meant the streets were busy.
Hoping to find some generous out-of-towner she could ‘convince’ to buy a poor filly like her some sweets, Thistle Bloom chose to test her luck at Tablecloth’s. With some luck, everypony would be too busy with customers to shoo her away before she got a cookie or something. This less than reputable plan was dropped entirely when she saw Wedge sitting at the outdoor tables with a half-finished breakfast before him, and most importantly, a large chocolate chip cookie sitting for desert.
Thistle Bloom almost pranced her way over to her friend, a wide smile on her face as her frizzy violet mane bounced with each step.
"Hey Wedge!" Thistle Bloom called out, plonking her way across the boardwalk.
The colt looked up from his breakfast, a mouthful of toast quickly disappearing upon seeing Thistle Bloom.
"Hey Thistle." The colt said with a slight croak of drowsiness in his voice, "What’s up?"
"Oh just walking around, seeing all the new ponies… the usual." Thistle Bloom said, trying to not make it obvious that she was eyeing the cookie beside his plate.
"I’m nearly done with breakfast, dad wanted to splurge and eat with a lot of ponies like he used to when he went to Ponyville that one time." Wedge smiled, "If you want we can go play near the creek when I’m done. There might be some city ponies there we can play with."
Thistle Bloom rolled her eyes, "You’re still eating and I gotta head back to my family’s table when they remember to check and see if I’m sitting still."
Wedge’s smile dropped, "You’re still grounded?"
"It is what it is." Thistle Bloom shrugged, "Could be worse, I guess."
"You mean like having parents like Corn Crib’s?" Wedge cut himself another bite of egg, "You hear her dad banging on the doc’s door earlier?"
Thistle Bloom frowned, "Yeah, couldn’t hear what he was saying though. Looked like he was cursing the doc out somethin’ fierce."
Wedge hesitated, pausing to chew his breakfast before swallowing, "Nah. Well, kinda. I didn’t hear everything since mom and dad were just dragging me out to the market at the time to buy some stuff."
Thistle didn’t like the way Wedge was dancing around the issue, and gave him a quick but light jab in the side, "Well out with it, what had that old crank up in a tizzy about?"
"He said Corn Crib wasn’t gettin’ better." Wedge said bluntly, "I tried to get Corn Crib’s brother to talk but he wasn’t up for it. Poor guy looked pretty worried."
Thistle Bloom quickly seated herself across from Wedge, all concern for the cookie was tossed aside, at least for now.
"What did he tell you?" Thistle asked, looking squarely across the table at the colt.
"Not much." Wedge said with a casual shrug, "He said the doc’s workin’ on how to make her feel better, but not much else. I said he looked worried, but that might have just been Corn Crib’s dad actin’ like a jerk again."
Thistle frowned, "Think maybe we should go visit her?"
Wedge shook his head, "And risk gettin’ sick and missing out on all the candy? Nah. But we can work together and make a nice haul so she can have some."
It wasn’t a terrible idea. There were only a few days of the festival left and Trick or Treating was fast approaching. Still, Thistle Bloom wasn’t comfortable without at least trying to visit.
"Later I’ll see if I can get some paper and we can both make a Get Well Soon card for her." Thistle Bloom said, "Uh, by the way, where are your folks?"
"The market." Wedge said as he polished off his toast and jam, "They’re lovin’ all the new faces around town, apparently Ponyville’s got a lot of wackiness happening on nearly a weekly basis."
Now it was Thistle Bloom’s turn to shrug, "Sounds like a bunch of big city talk to me. Ain’t no way they could top what we’ve been seeing."
"No argument there." Wedge replied, "We can play later, since we’re all gonna be hanging around town again. I heard a few of the older colts are going to go to the old stones and see if the spook that scared the princess is still lurking about."
Thistle Bloom’s eyes widened in shock, "Ain’t that dangerous?"
"Maybe, but isn’t Nightmare Night and Halloween all about scares?" Asked Wedge, "If they get run off, then it’s their own fault."
"What if the spirits decide that’s going too far an’ decide to start hauntin’ Hollow Shades?" Thistle asked.
"Lord Barleycorn will talk them down, or he’ll make them wear a dress and dance like the princess has to do." Replied Wedge with a confident smile, "Everything’s gonna be better."
Thistle Bloom cocked her head to the side. Since the festival began she had seen many ponies change their behavior. Some like their teacher and the Sprouts had become increasingly superstitious. Wind Row had said his dad had dragged his older brothers out to the field to start restoring the old shrine they had in the middle of their field. His dad had gone on and on about how they needed to clean it up or the spirits they saw last night might get riled up and curse the next year’s harvest.
But while some ponies were fretting about upsetting the spirits, Thistle Bloom had seen just as many walking around with their heads held high. Those ponies were saying that Lord Barleycorn and the laughing spirits were a sign of good fortune, and the lean years were about to end at last.
She hadn’t expected the timid little colt she teased on a regular basis to be one of them. In ways her young mind couldn’t articulate, she found herself believing him when he said everything was going to be fine.
There was also this weird fluttering in her chest that made her feel a little sick. She hoped she wasn’t catching what Corn Crib had.
A comfortable silence grew between the pair as Wedge continued eating, but Thistle Bloom found herself growing listless… and that cookie was still there, mocking her with its sweetness.
Licking her lips, Thistle Bloom was already thinking of a way to snag it without Wedge noticing. But again, Wedge managed to do something that surprised her. He pushed his dessert over to her with a smile.
Again ThistleBloom felt like she might be coming down with something, as her cheeks felt like they were burning. She smiled back at him, not sure what to say but eager to savor a rare treat of sugary goodness.
The two ate quietly with Thistle taking slow bites, trying to make her cookie last. A gasp from a nearby table had the two foals look away from each other. The whole restaurant was looking up from their meals, with several ponies standing to look up the street.
Thistle had a good idea of what it could be, and leapt onto the table to peer over the heads of the adults, a thing she wouldn’t have dared to do without the commotion distracting the waitresses.
Just as she thought, it was the scarecrow himself, walking casually up the road in their direction. No rag pony trotted by his side today, nor did he arrive by cart. He tipped his hat to a few mares he passed, but by Thistle Bloom’s reckoning he seemed to be coming toward the restaurant.
Quickly settling on an idea to make anypony jealous, she excitedly waved her forelegs in the air, gesturing to the spot where she had been sitting. He must have seen her, as Lord Barleycorn gave her a slight nod. The filly quickly pulled herself off the table to sit beside Wedge, taking her cookie with her and leaving the other side of the table vacant and open for invitation.
Just like she hoped, Lord Barleycorn came and sat with them, his long legs unable to fit under the short table. The ponies around them whispered, excited that the King of Autumn was sitting with them, but were clearly not sure about walking up and bothering him.
"Good morning you two." Lord Barleycorn said, totally ignoring the whispers around them.
Wedge looked a little star struck but still managed to speak first, "Uh-huh! Are you here for breakfast?"
"That’s the idea," The scarecrow turned toward the nearest waitress, "If I could get a menu, miss?"
The poor waitress scrambled toward the nearest table, pulling a laminated sheet from the hooves of a stallion who had thankfully just finished ordering and shakily presented it to Lord Barleycorn.
Lord Barleycorn casually brushed off the mare’s nervousness and patted her head with his long sleeve, causing her to squeak at his touch. A kind smile from under the mask helped to dispel her fears somewhat, but she quickly backed away from the scarecrow--repeatedly crossing her forelegs until she disappeared inside the restaurant.
Thistle Bloom was a little surprised, she wouldn’t have counted anypony but the farmers among the superstitious types.
"And how are two of my favorite little stage hooves?" Lord Barleycorn said, still finding the term ‘stage hooves’ to be chucklesome.
"I’m okay, are you here to tell us another story?" Thistle asked excitedly.
The scarecrow shook his head, "I’m only here to get some breakfast like everypony else. But maybe tonight I’ll tell one, or maybe I’ll start with a song instead. Who’s to say?"
Thistle Bloom frowned, she’d have to wait all day to hear another story?
"I’m fine, are you done with your pumpkin court?" Wedge asked.
"Court schmort, autumn’s nearly over so there’s very little to oversee." Lord Barleycorn let out a bored sigh, "And the few who come to the Court of Pumpkins are just noble spirits who just wish to complain or ask for something, so I closed my court entirely for a change."
The scarecrow leaned forward to speak in a low whisper, to which nearly everypony around them leaned in so they could hear as well.
"You should have seen them huff and puff at me put their whining off for tomorrow." Snickered Lord Barleycorn.
Thistle Bloom smiled, if she was a spirit queen she’d probably do that all the time.
The waitresses and some of the clientele had all gathered at the door, watching as the poor waitress who had given Lord Barleycorn his menu took his order. The mare was rigid as a board, and would not relax no matter how often the scarecrow joked or complimented her. Finally he told her his order; hash browns extra crispy, coffee, two eggs medium with toast.
It wasn’t exactly a healthy breakfast, but the man under the mask would have eaten the condiments on the table over pears and oatmeal.
The chef took the order as a top priority, and a plate and mug was set before Lord Barleycorn in what had to be record time.
"Ah, delightful." Said Lord Barleycorn to the waitress, "I’ve heard nothing but good things about the food here."
Thistle Bloom watched the waitress’s strained smile tremble a little as she shakily croaked out a; "Thank you, your majesty."
Lord Barleycorn reached out and booped the waitress on the nose, "No, thank you."
The waitress backed away, again crossing her legs over and over as she left Lord Barleycorn to his meal.
"Excellent service, though… a bit wooden." Lord Barleycorn broke his egg with a fork and dipped his toast in the yolk, "But the food is every bit as good as promised."
Again, Thistle was enjoying this whole show. It may have just been somepony ordering breakfast, but never in all her life had she seen the waitresses here move so fast and so lively.
"And what are you two planning on doing after breakfast?" Lord Barleycorn asked.
"Well, playing near the creek mostly," Wedge said, "But we were going to get some paper and make a get-well card for Corn Crib."
"Oh you are?" Lord Barleycorn paused to savor a bite, "That’s awfully nice of you two, but I doubt it’s serious."
"We dunno, I heard Summer Harvest yellin’ at the doctor about something." Said Wedge, "And Corn Crib’s brother said she wasn’t gettin’ better."
Thistle Bloom’s eyes widened as she was struck with an idea, "Could you make her better?"
The scarecrow looked at the filly, "I’m afraid healing magic like that’s beyond me. I deal with the seasons, not flashy stuff like that."
Thistle slumped down in her seat.
"But that doesn’t mean I can’t look into it for you." Lord Barleycorn said, "She’s my friend too, you know."
"Um, what about the play? Corn Crib was our Witch Hazel." Wedge asked, "One of the other fillies could take her place if they start memorizing her lines now."
"Tonight’s play is canceled." Lord Barleycorn said, "Instead I’ll think of some other entertainment."
"And once I’m done here, I think I’ll have a short chat with the doctor." Jack thought, looking across the street at the clinic.
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To be continued...
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