//------------------------------// // 10. Summertime // Story: My Farrier Lady, Sunspot // by Georg //------------------------------// My Farrier Lady, Sunspot Summertime Golden Hammer and Silver Nails had quit going out on the evening of the Summer Sun Festival, because the crowds always made it such a pain. This evening, they were determined to make an exception. The festival was being held in Ponyville, and the heat was draping over Canterlot like a stifling blanket, so they really did not want to stay at home or particularly at the forge. They were a little drunk. It was excusable. The year had been busy and profitable, Brass Studs and Coal Scuttle had their shop set up next door which seemed to double business again, Nails had paid off his last personal loan, and Stout Flagon was having a sale at the bar in honor of his engagement to his new serving mare. It might have also been the bartender’s attempt to bring in more business since so many ponies were out of town, but that was beside the point. The beer was cold, the kabobs hot, and the two of them were in a talkative mood. “If I never see another fleck of popcorn ceiling, I’ll be a happy stallion.” Nails picked one last puffy bit of white fluff out of his mane and examined it. “As long as we’re done remodeling your house. We are done, right?” “For now.” Hammer took a limited sip of his beer and considered the empty doorway of the bar for the uncounted time this evening. “I thought you might want to decorate it with foal stuff now that we’re done,” said Nails, sounding ever so coy. “You and Spot are—” “Not,” said Hammer quickly. “We’re not having foals. She’s not moving in.” “She’s been a good help with the remodeling,” admitted Nails. “Enthusiastic, if nothing else. I thought it might be nesting. Or she’s been working herself to a frazzle over at the palace lately, and she’s taking it out in plaster. Too bad she wasn’t here tonight to help with the last bits.” “She’s been gone more lately,” admitted Hammer. “Stress.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought back then about Lady Iolite,” said Nails with a slight hint of ire. “Spot’s been back and forth like an emotional rubber band lately. It worries me. You worry me. You’ve never kept secrets from me before, and I can’t help but think you’re hiding something now. If you’re not going to tell me… No, I’m not going to ask Spot,” he added. “She’s her own mare. I just wish you’d both trust me with whatever’s bothering you. I’ll live with it if you don’t. Just…” “Yeah,” said Hammer under his breath. “About that. You’re probably right. She’s…” After another long look at the bar’s empty doorway, Hammer lowered his voice. “You gotta keep this a secret, Nails. Probably not for long, but until she admits it, you need to keep it under your hat. Particularly to anypony working on the reconstruction crew at the school, and certainly you can’t admit it to Spot.” “My lips are sealed,” said Nails, making an X in front of his face with one hoof. “Did you buy her a ring?” “No, that’s not it. She’s… got a sister. They had a big fight back before she moved here, I think, and they haven’t spoken in years. And by big, I mean it’s been tearing her up inside ever since. I guess she’s been in contact with her by mail, because she’s been so upset lately. And she’s coming for a visit soon.” “She’s afraid they’ll fight again?” Nails looked terribly serious for his normal casual demeanor, and did not even seem to be ready to crack a joke. “I mean I sure wouldn’t want to get crosswise with Spot, and if her sister is anything like her…” “I thought… her sister could stay at my place. That way they could work out their differences. Neutral territory and all that.” Hammer drew tiny circles in the mug’s condensation on the bar table. “And if they tore anything of mine up, they wouldn't get in trouble with the palace.” It took a few moments before Nails took a deep drink out of his beer and placed it to one side. “Never change, Hammer. You see a fight, even one between two mares—danger squared—and you put yourself between them.” “I don’t want either of them getting hurt.” Hammer squirmed a bit, still drawing circles on the damp table. “Spot loves her sister so much. That bunch she works with at the palace would see it as a weakness and tear into her if they knew, so she had to keep it secret. From everypony.” “Even herself, it sounds like,” mused Nails. “Particularly herself,” said Hammer. “Now that she’s coming here, Spot worries about it, which makes me worry about it—” “So you decided to make me worry about it,” said Nails. “Well… Yes.” Hammer let out a breath which he had not realized he was holding. “You’re like a brother to me, Nails. You know that. So when Spot told me about her sister… I worried about you.” After not saying anything for a moment, Nails looked at his empty mug, tapped it with one hoof, and caught the eye of the server over by the bar. The young mare sashayed in their direction, elegantly dodging the groping hooves of several cargo stevedores at the bar, and placed two full mugs in front of Nails and Hammer with a flourish of her magic. The mare was a far cry from the stuck up unicorn that Hammer had seen far too often at the forge, complaining about money issues. The glitter of gold and sparkle of a tiny diamond from the thin band on Star’s horn was practically a beacon, proclaiming her eternal pairing with Stout Flagon and nopony else. It matched the glow to her cheeks and strut to her steps that fairly radiated joy at her new position, despite or because of its distance from the nobility she had been trying so hard to befriend before. “You boys are so predictable,” said Star Iolite with a faint smile. “Do I need to get a third for your marefriend, Hammer, or is she skipping out tonight?” “No, Star.” Hammer had to take a quick look at the doorway anyway. “It’s past her bedtime. Probably exhausted from getting things ready for tonight’s festival down in Ponyville. But thanks, ma’am.” “I’ll let Stout know,” said Star. “Too bad. Business is running slow tonight, and we stocked up on those little onions she likes so much. Later,” she added, strolling off across the bar’s floor to where several off-duty Royal Guard were signaling. The two of them watched her trot off before Nails let out a sigh. “Stout’s a lucky stallion. The two of them make a great pair at work, ever since Pirouette took off with the lawyer and left him in the lurch. I’ve never seen Stout happier. Or my ex-wife.” Nails looked at Hammer. “You don’t look happy.” “You’re not my type,” said Hammer, taking a sip of his beer and wiping off the foam mustache afterward. “Well, you’re not my type either,” said Nails with the most absolute straight face. “Spot has you tied up, my ex-wife has bagged a barkeep, and I’m left to play the field again. But no more noblemares. Never again.” The two of them watched Stout Flagon and Star Iolite chat while they were putting some new kabobs in to cook. There was some nuzzling involved, and much smiling between the happy couple, although after some time, Nails broke the silence at their table with a question. “When do you think they’ll get married?” “Soon,” said Hammer. “Before Star starts to show.” While Nails stared at him in wide-eyed amazement, Hammer continued, “Before you showed up tonight, Stout told me they already have a crib. Besides, giving them yours for a wedding present would be more than a little awkward.” “No kidding.” From the look Nails gave Hammer, he could only be thinking about Spot, and Hammer tried his best to stop it with a simple, “No.” “Come on,” said Nails. “The two of you go together like carrots and peas. You should see the way she looks at that crib when you’ve got your back turned.” “I need her,” admitted Hammer as bluntly as he could, “and she needs me. It’s just… not the right time.” That slowed Nails down to a reluctant nod. “Can’t argue with that. She’s spent her whole life buried in her work. I swear, every evening I see you two bring out something new and special in her personality that she’s kept suppressed all this time. She’s not the same overpressurized mare who threatened to punch a bunch of cargo stevedores in the nose when we first met.” “She would have done it, too.” Hammer took a drink. “Poor guys.” Their conversation decayed into inane trivialities for a while, such as speculation as to what all the missing Royal Guard were doing, or just why Princess Celestia wanted to do the Rising of the Sun ceremony in some tiny little no-account town at the bottom of the mountain this year. In fairly short order it became quite late, or somewhat early depending on how one read the clock, and the two of them had just decided to head to their respective homes when an unexpected visitor arrived. Or an expected visitor, terribly late. It was Spot, heading into the bar by the front door in short, twitchy motions, as if at any moment she was going to turn tail and bolt. Hammer was out of his seat the moment he saw her, but was caught between dashing over to her and scaring her away, or staying put and not being able to reach her when she fled. Thankfully for his nerves, she eventually scampered over to their table, and started talking in a breathless gasping manner that frightened Hammer almost as much as her words. “...she’s coming and I don’t know what to do and I had to—” “Calm down,” said Hammer in his most reassuring voice, which did not help a bit. It seemed to drive Spot into even further frazzlement as she practically head-butted him back into his seat. “I can’t stay here but I had to come here even though I’m putting you in terrible danger because I had to—” Spot took a terrible, desperate gasp for air. “She’s coming back. I sent Twilight to Ponyville and Cadence and Shining Armor away but I couldn’t tell you! I planned for this for so long but I don’t know if she’s going to show up there or here and… You have to leave! She could hurt you!” “She’s not going to hurt me,” said Hammer as quickly as he could. “I’m sure she loves you as much as you love her, so sit down and—” Spot lunged forward and kissed him like a frightened, desperate mare with no hope and nothing to hold back. “I gotta go,” she gasped when she tore herself away from him. With one rapid bound, Spot darted for the front door of the bar, far too fast for Hammer to make more than a token effort at holding her back. A table went flying in her wake, as well as Star Iolite nearly getting trampled in the rush and dumping her tray of kabobs. Their own booth was knocked backward by the frantic mare, and dumped Hammer and Nails onto the floor. “Whoa,” said Nails, trying to regain his footing. “I have to go after her,” said Hammer, who likewise had been knocked down and was struggling back up. The two of them made it to the front of the bar in record time, even with Star cursing the spilled kabobs in their path, but once they got outside into the starlit night, there was not a bit of Spot’s bright pink coat to be seen. There was also something else missing from the night. “Th-that’s not right,” stammered Nails, looking up into the bright moonlit sky. “The moon’s different. Hammer, tell me you see what I see.” There was no response. “Ham?” Nails cast a quick look around, and spotted where his friend was still kneeling in the street, right in front of the bar. “Look up, you big lug. Somepony’s done something with the moon tonight!” “It’s her.” Hammer could not bear to speak any more, and remained kneeling while Nails moved cautiously over to him. The center of the road held a hoofprint in a patch of muddy dirt, like some powerful blow had splashed the mud away and left serious gouges in the underlying pavement. But it was not the mere print which held Hammer’s attention, but the sheer size of it, and the golden sheen of ablated hoof-boot glittering from the dense stone’s surface. There was only one mare in all of Equestria who could leave a print that large, embedded into the stone with such force. It was directly in-line with the bar’s door, and with no other hoofprints around of similar size, indicating the pony who made the print flew away. Nails settled down beside Hammer and looked at the print alongside him. Such close friends did not need words to communicate at such times. Words actually got in the way. Still, they were faster than just sitting by his age-old friend, so after a while of providing silent support, Nails ventured an extremely quiet, “Did you know?” “Yes.” There was an exceedingly long pause, ending in a sniff. “No.” Hammer reached out and placed his hoof in the larger print before continuing in a much softer voice. “I refused to believe it. She wouldn’t care about me, of all ponies. It was impossible. I was seeing her reflected in Spot, or the two of them spent so much time together that they were acting the same, or I don’t know. I don’t know anything now. Everything’s changed.” Hammer sat there for a time with his head down and tears dripping off the end of his nose before he lifted his head, wiped his face on a kerchief, and asked, “Did you know?” Nails made to answer, then thought better of it. He looked down at the sizable hoofprint and put his own smaller hoof next to Hammer’s. “I thought Princess Celestia was acting a little strange at the divorce. Didn’t want to say anything. It was only the second time I’d ever seen her, after all. Besides, if she wanted to say something, she would have. So I stayed shut up.” “I couldn’t look at her,” said Hammer. “I couldn’t. I just kept thinking… I’d see Spot looking back at me from her eyes.” “Yeah.” Nails bit his bottom lip. “Me too.” He took a deep breath and nudged Hammer. “We’ve got something more important right now. I mean I put off Spot’s behavior to working with Princess Celestia for so many years, but…” Nails looked up at the featureless moon, then down at the hoofprint, then back up. “I don’t understand.” “Do you remember the story my mother used to tell us every time you slept over at our house? Once upon a time there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land.” “I thought it was just a story.” Nails’ eyes grew wide, and he stared at the moon. “She spent a thousand years separated from her sister? I don’t think we’ve been apart more than a day or two since we were able to walk. No wonder Spot had such frazzled nerves.” After a moment to rub the bridge of his nose with one hoof, Hammer rolled his eyes. “ I thought you’d say something about Nightmare Moon first.” “The Candy Princess?” Some of the welcome frivolity had returned to Nails’ face, but he sobered up quickly, and his voice lowered to a whisper. “Yeah, I know. Spot was so terrified of her just now. I can’t imagine Princess Celestia being afraid of anything.” “I can,” said Hammer without thinking. “She was afraid of being alone. She faced it for so long.” “And now her sister is back.” Nails paused. “Why didn’t she tell anypony? I mean other than you.” “She loves her.” Hammer wiped away a tear. “They hurt each other so much last time, and I don’t think she could stand to hurt her again. It’s right down in her heart like a piece of jagged glass, and it cuts with every breath.” Neither of them said anything for a while, but Nails did move closer and patted Hammer gently on the fetlock. “Look, there’s nothing we can do.” “Other than worry.” “Well, there is that,” admitted Nails. “I mean we’re already a little drunk.” “Not enough,” said Hammer. “We’re not going to be any help if we’re blotted when… Spot comes back,” said Nails. “I think all we can do is sit here and worry.” He thought for a moment. “What specifically are we worrying about? I mean if she wins… She’s going to need you more than ever.” “I don’t know.” Hammer absently scratched at the hoofprint. “I mean I know she needed Away too. And me. What if it’s just because of her sister? They’re family. I’m just… me. If they can make peace again like they were once…” Hammer took a pained breath. “She’s never coming back.” “Don’t worry about that,” said Nails. “She’ll be back.” There was an anchor attached to Hammer’s heart, and it kept dragging him deeper and deeper into darkness. “I can’t be sure of that. I may have lost her, and that makes me worry more than if she loses…” “She’ll win,” said Nails. The two of them looked up at the unblemished moon for a while, which was only marginally better than staring down at the street. “All night, all the time?” blurted out Nails. “Never happen. She’ll be back. She has to.” Hammer scooted closer. “Whatever happens, I’m glad I have you. Brother.” “Me too.” Nails leaned up against him, then added, “No hugging, please.” Ignoring minor protests, Hammer reached out and grabbed Nails around the shoulders anyway. The occasion was good for a long, rib-creaking hug before Hammer relaxed his grip and just sat there with one foreleg around his best friend’s shoulders, looking up into the night sky. “Well, okay.” Nails gave him a sideways glance with the hint of a smile. “But no kissing.” “No worries there,” said Hammer. They sat together in the dark street as brothers, one large, one smaller, remaining in the darkness for hours until the sun rose up into the sky and brought the dawn. ...and nothing more.