//------------------------------// // A funny thing happened on the way to the Friendship Castle // Story: House of the Rising Sunflower // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Today was the day. After what felt like forever, after enduring a long, sleepless night, Sundance would journey to Ponyville to meet with Princess Twilight Sparkle. How did he feel about this? He didn’t know. Nary a useful idea floated between his ears and his brain felt very much like a thunderhead—full of energy with a desire to make a scene. Oh, a very well-behaved scene, but he definitely wanted to impress the princess when he met her. And how did one impress a princess? He didn’t know.  He paced—no, he pranced back and forth in the space between the infirmary, the kitchen, and the dining hall. It was a nice space, somepony had planted flowers along the edge of the buildings. His every step was remarkably bouncy, as if he were a creature made of clouds, fluff, and fuzz. His mane was longer now, it hadn’t been trimmed in quite some time, and his tail was nothing at all like its former self, unrecognisable in every way.  “Who?”  “The princess, that’s who, Owlister,” he said to the owl perched on the metal support strut of the water tower above the infirmary. Sundance paused mid-prance to look up at his own companion. He—no, she, he needed to remember that—had preened herself to perfection, which left her slick and somehow oily in appearance. Owl oil. He admired her glossy feathers and wondered if perhaps his own could be a little more presentable.  “You’ve changed, Owlister. When I first met you, you looked more like a pincushion. Or a mutant hedgehog.” He watched as she puffed out, offended, and her head turned completely around to face away from him. “You’ve grown. Now you’re pretty and perfect.” There was a hoot, but she did not turn around to face him. “I need you and your fellow owls to help Paradox keep watch at night. These spiders are becoming a real concern.”  Owlister offered a non-committal hoot as she turned her head back around to face Sundance. Her feathered horns rose, became visible, and there was now something aggressive about her demeanour, something that might even be described as demonic. Some of the older, wiser owls could transform themselves into something quite terrifying, and Owlister was still figuring out her neat transformation trick.  He felt a gentle tug on his tail and then a sad, growly feminine voice asked, “Are you coming back?”  When he turned around, his tail was let go of and he found himself more or less eye to eye with Bonk. Her face—in very much the same way that Corduroy’s could be—was wrinkled and sagging with worry. So much more expressive than an equine face, though more difficult for him to read at times. In one paw, she held her firefly jar, and the other paw was still raised from when she’d tugged his tail.  “Of course I’m coming back,” he said to her. “Just think… I left this place so that I could come and pick up both you and Runt. And I came back. I brought you home.” Sensing distress, he wondered what was wrong with the anxious girl-pup. “What has you so worried? Why are you upset?”  “Who?” Owlister asked.  “Uh, not sure that applies here, Owlister.” Sundance kept his attention focused on the fretful pup, but a half-grin did spread across his muzzle.  “Amber Dawn says you’re my daddy,” Bonk said plainly. “Are you?”  Sundance’s half-grin decided that now was the perfect time to scram, so it did. He became painfully aware of Hollyhock’s burning stare upon him—it seared him, threatened to burn a hole right through him—and he didn’t even have to look at her to know that he was the target of her irascible ire. It was a physical, palpable sensation, very much like standing for too long in the hot sun. Bonk was squirming now, waiting for an answer—which was a problem because Sundance wasn’t sure how to respond.  “Uh… yeah… about that. That’s… that is… well, that is a tough thing to sort out.” Sundance’s mouth went dry and his tongue took on a sandy, pebbly texture. He could feel every taste bud, all of which felt too large, too bulbous.  “Who,” Owlister hooted.  “No, Owlister, that’s more of a why question. I think.” Distracted, Sundance returned his attention to Bonk, who clutched her jar of illusory fireflies.  Nearby, Runt seemed quite invested in the outcome of this conversation. Amber Dawn stood beside him, and Lemongrass dutifully stood beside his big sister. Tarantula was almost hidden from view behind Amber, and the little burro yawned while Sundance stood there, uncertain of what to say. Bonk waited for an answer and Sundance reached up with one wing to rub his temple, that tender spot between eye and ear that needed attention during moments just like this one.  Others too, had gathered, and that made everything somehow worse.  “Bonk, if you want to call me that—” “He’s not your father,” Hollyhock said before Sundance could finish. “He’s in charge. In control. He owns you. The sooner you figure that out, the better.”  A sour taste nestled on the back of Sundance’s tongue as he leveled his hardened gaze on Hollyhock. Bonk was frozen with confusion, and hurt made her eyes shimmer on the verge of tears, but Sundance didn’t see her. His eyes rested squarely upon Hollyhock, and they narrowed as his anger simmered into a low boil. Every muscle along his spine tensed, tightened, and his hackles rose while his lip curled back into a near-feral snarl.  “I’m sorry”—Sundance did not recognise the sound of his own voice—“but just what is your problem?”  “I don’t like them calling you ‘Daddy’, because it makes it sound as though we’re together. And we’re not.”  Sundance gently pushed Bonk aside with his wing, and then advanced.  “No… I think you misunderstand. What is your problem with me, and why should the little ones suffer from your attitude? Why do this? Right now of all times? This just seems so harmful. What have you got against me and why do the little ones have to suffer because of it?”  “I don’t like that you’re in charge,” Hollyhock barked out. “You’re a bumbling idiot that just allows things to happen. Just some dumb guy from the city. What makes you so special? You and I, we’re not that different. There is absolutely nothing special about you for you to be in charge. You… you’re a nopony, just like me. Poor and stupid. By sheer dumb luck, you’re in charge, and that’s… that’s… galling! I hate how my life turned out while ponies like you catch all the lucky breaks! And I hate you!”  “Look here, you dumb cunt, let’s sort out a few facts, shall we?” He saw her eyes widen with hurt, shock, and surprise, but it didn’t slow him down in the slightest. The worst parts of him wanted to see her suffer, and the sudden rush of adrenaline left him lightheaded. “What brought us here? Shall we discuss that? What brought us here?  “I know what brought me here. Years of hard work and sacrifice. A project that I poured my life into. Hard work. Discipline. Dedication. Sacrifice. I took a paying job just so I could pursue my passion. I gave up everything to follow a dream, and that led me here, to this place. When I started, I had no idea that this was the end result. I wasn’t doing it for the reward, I did it so I would be a better pony, with a better understanding of history, who I was, and where I came from.  “You on the other hoof… how did you get here?” She backed away now, her ears back, her tail low, and he advanced while looking down upon her. It was hard to speak now because of how his lips quivered. “You ended up here because you fronked—fucked anything that walked. You probably sat on every dick waved in your face and you whored yourself out. You had three foals from three different fathers. You didn’t make a living, you mooched. And rather than take responsibility for your life, you stole. By sheer dumb luck, you didn’t end up in prison, so I’d say that your luck is pretty damn good. It might just be luck that brought us both here, but one of us is here as a reward, while the other is here as punishment, you insufferable cunt!”  When one tear fell, it wasn’t enough; he wanted more to fall, a flood.  “Even worse, you fucked deadbeats, ponies just as irresponsible as you. Ponies that you knew would leave you. You played yourself as the victim and made excuses for the failures that you brought upon yourself. You fucked deadbeats and dragged your foals into your sad, sorry life. Amber just wanted a daddy, and she had a whole parade of them, didn’t she? How many times was her heart broken? How many one night stands did she see? How might all of that have messed her up? She just wanted a father… something you couldn’t steal. And now you’re resentful and bitter when she’s finally getting something that you can’t provide!”  “Stop!” Hollyhock’s cracked voice was pleading.  “You started it,” Sundance spat out. “The whole time you’ve been here, you’ve had this attitude towards me. All I’ve ever done is try to be nice to you. I’ve never tried to take advantage of you. Twilight Velvet wanted you here, instead of prison, and she wanted you to keep your foals. I accommodated this. I defended you and your behaviour from my mother of all ponies, because she thought you belonged in jail too. I had to disagree with my mother, and I didn’t much care for that. At all! It was awful! I don’t like disagreements, or confrontation, or fighting!”  “Sundance, I think you’ve made your point. Ease off.” “No, Corduroy, I don’t think he has,” Earwig said to Corduroy, who now stood in the doorway of the infirmary. “Milord, do you remember when Cucumber and I told you to go a-raiding? To find a midwife? Somepony to help this ungrateful wench?”  “I do.” Sundance drew in a shuddering breath.  “Well, right now, she’s smelling the smoke from the red hot poker. She does nothing but badmouth you and tear you down behind your back. I don’t know how many times my sister and I have told her to shut up. I’m sick of her lip, and so is everypony else. Always whining. Never working. Lazy little whore is what she is. Maybe the smoke isn’t enough, Milord… perhaps it’s time to brand her!”  This snapped Sundance to his senses. “What?”  “Brand that lazy cow!”  Earwax looked every bit as surprised by her sister’s outburst as Sundance felt.  “What? No. No! Nopony is getting branded. There will be no peasant abuse under my watch! No way. There will be no cruel punishments.” Sundance’s anger transitioned into confusion. “We have standards here and they will be upheld.”  “See, you daft, lazy wench?” Earwig pushed her way forwards, her face calm, but her eyes furious. “His protection is more than you deserve. Right now, he had a perfectly good reason to punish you, and he won’t! You could be whipped… flogged… branded… all manner of awful things could happen, but he won’t do it. All he’s ever done is be nice to ya. He worried and fretted himself when you were sick. Went off and got help for you. He’s done right by you and you ain’t done a thing to be worthy of it.” Earwax, having recovered herself, began to herd the little ones together and said, “Come along, you lot. We’ll go get breakfast. Come along. Don’t fuss. Don’t say no, either. Don’t give me trouble.”  As Earwax led the little ones away, Earwig got her second wind. “You played with fire and got burned, you stupid girl. Got so accustomed to the Milord’s kindness that you forgot yer place. You poked and you prodded and you tested his patience. What’d it get ya? I know what it could have got ya. You dumb little bint, you mistook kindness for softness. Bet you won’t do that again, ye daft tart.”  “You brought out the worst in him,” said Pinto Bean. “For shame.”  Perhaps a little too late, Sundance remembered that it was his job to keep order. Hollyhock was cowering now, fearful, and even worse, she did so near him as the circle of angry peasants closed in around her. Every face was angry, and accusation seen in every eye. He didn’t feel proud of himself, not at all, and he was ashamed by his own anger. How had he let it come to this? The adrenaline made him jittery and he could both hear and feel the blood that pounded inside his ears.  More in control of himself, but still hot with fury, Sundance turned to face Hollyhock once more. “You live here because I allow it. I’d rather you have a second chance. But if you cause another scene like this one… if you keep saying stuff behind my back… then I’ll go have a talk with Twilight Velvet and you… you will be leaving. I think you know where you’ll end up, so I won’t bother going into those details. The only comfort you’ll have is knowing that your foals will be looked after. I won’t make them pay for your mistakes.”  Where but a moment before he took pleasure in her distress, he felt bad now. Awful, in fact. He’d failed in some awful way that he didn’t fully comprehend or understand. The metaphorical branding iron was held a little too close. All traces of defiance were gone now, replaced by terror. Sundance decided that he rather liked her defiance, because the cowering,  cringing mare before him did not suit him.  “There’ll be no fighting about this,” Sundance said to the ponies around him. “Hollyhock is one of us—for now, at least. Give her a fair chance to do right and make right.” After blinking a few times, and collecting his thoughts, he looked down at Hollyhock but made no effort to dominate her as he’d done a few moments before.  “Carefully count all of your second chances.” A long pause allowed his words to sink in. “Don’t force my hoof, Hollyhock. I won’t allow a repeat of today. I’ll not lose my head again. You will be sent away. I’d feel real bad for doing it, but make no mistake, I will do it. I have to do what is best for all who live here… including you.”  He backed away, turned his head in his nurse’s direction, and said, “Corduroy, you’re in charge while I’m gone. See that the peace is kept. Don’t let anypony bully Holly, and see that she is given plenty of safe space to think about her actions. If I come home, and find there’s been trouble while I am away… I’m going to be in a piss-poor mood. Got me?”  Stern-eyed, he glanced around and tried to read a few faces so that he could gauge their reaction. As far as he could tell, nopony was afraid of him—other than Hollyhock, of course—but there was a fair bit of anger. Not at him, near as he could tell. But the problem, it seemed, was worse than he knew. How long had it stewed in the background?  “I must be going,” he said. “I have a meeting with the Princess of Friendship.”