Chapter 2: Shadows in the Light: Waxing Gibbous
As Celestia’s warm sun rose, marking the start of another day on the Moon family’s farm, Shadow Snare woke up in slight surprise at the lack of his mischievous daughter trying to scare him. “Hmm… wonder what that little one is up to,” Shadow said in a gruffer voice than usual, still rough from the night's rest. Shadow’s thickly furred ears perked, shifting in anticipation as he listened for any creaking floorboards or sounds of hooves. He heard his wife breathing softly, the sound of the old farmhouse settling, the animals beginning to stir out in the pens, and his daughter’s calm breaths down the hallway. Taking a deep breath through his nose Shadow scented the air, trying to see if his daughter had managed to sneak into the room without him noticing. Nothing stood out to him other than the sweet wildflower scent of his wife, his own earthy pine forest scent, and the faint fall and apple scent of Autumn from her last attempt.
“I guess she’s still sleeping,” Shadow Snare said, yawning, his fangs standing out in the rising sun as he stretched his forehooves out and cracked his neck, now starting to feel more awake. His golden eyes glistened slightly as he looked at Sugar Beet, and Shadow felt his tail begin to wag. His mate made him feel like the luckiest stallion in the world and, reflecting on the peaceful life they now shared with their daughter, he felt like he couldn’t ask for more. Shadow felt a slight sadness in his heart as he knew the struggles they had faced to get to this point, and he feared that history may repeat itself for his daughter.
“Better get Autumn up or she’s going to be late for school,” thought Shadow as he leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek sweetly. Sitting back up, he watched as Sugar Beet started to stir from his kiss and smiled softly at her.
Sugar Beet shifted in her sleep, mumbling slightly as she felt her husband's fangs slightly graze her cheek as he lovingly kissed her awake. Her dark green eyes cracked open as she smiled affectionately to her husband. “Good mornin’, sugar. Hmm... no wakeup calls from sweet pea this mornin’?” Sugar Beet asked, still half asleep.
“Surprisingly no, love… but I’m sure she’s got something up her sleeves,” Shadow said mirthfully, his fangs peeking out past his lips “You go ahead and rest a little longer sweetheart. I’ll get Autumn up for school,” Shadow said quietly, his previous worries had been forgotten for the time being.
Sugar Beet kissed him on the cheek. “Thank ya, love, I’d appreciate a mite more sleep,” she said tiredly as she tucked herself back underneath their comforter. Shadow got up from the bed feeling the fall chill leaking in through the open window. Missing the warmth of the bed already, he shivered slightly before he shut the source of the cold air. The large silver stallion quietly made his way down the hall.
Doing his best to put the troubling thoughts aside, Shadow’s ears twitched as he stood before the bedroom door, something was off. “Wait,” he thought leaned his head forward attempting to better hear what had caused him to stop, his thickly furred ears twitching as they worked to pick up the sounds around him.
Narrowing his eyes Shadow focused; his thickly furred ears had finally found what they were searching for…on the sounds coming from the room. The silver stallion's eyes widened as he realized what his sensitive ears had been trying to tell him “Autumn… her heart, it’s beating harder… her breathing is more active. Is she having a bad dream?” He wondered as he took a cautionary step and scented the air once again. Autumn’s natural scent of fall leaves and faint hint of apples met his nostrils; it was stronger but nothing else stood out to the stallion.
Satisfied that there wasn’t an intruder Shadow carefully listened and heard the sound of hooves shifting slightly and fur brushing against the slightly open door. Suddenly it became clear why his little one's heart rate and breathing were off, the corners of his lips lifted as he put it together.
“Ah… I see. Pretty clever, little one,” Shadow smiled at his daughter’s new strategy, but sadly she moved just before he entered the door. He opened the door carefully and walked into the room as if nothing was wrong. His eyes glowed in the dimly lit room as he noticed she had put some pillows underneath her covers to make a filly sized lump in her bed.
“Very clever... she even made a decoy; she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with when she’s older. I feel bad for her future mate. She'll be able to outwit any pony. Celestia, won’t they be in for some surprises,” Shadow thought of that for a second before feeling a small bit of that sorrow once again weighing on his heart. “Maybe more than they know.”
As he approached “Autumn” laying in the bed, he noticed another faint squeak, the sound of the floorboards creaking as they took on weight behind him. “She’s gotten better at stalking as well; she’s quieter than she was a few months ago,” the silver stallion grinned cockily, unseen by his filly. “Not quite quiet enough, though,” Shadow thought as he heard the smaller hooves of his daughter slowly moving towards him.
Just as Autumn was about to lower herself to the ground and pounce on her father, sensing his daughters intent Shadow turned around quickly and reared back to stomp his hooves on the ground.
“Boo!” Shadow shouted. Autumn jumped in surprise, her eyes widening as she lost her balance and fell out of her crouch. Autumn’s hooves became tangled up in each other and the filly flopped over unceremoniously on her side.
Shadow chuckled a little at his daughter’s reaction to being caught but he felt bad that she had fallen over, “Sorry… are you alright?” he asked mirthfully. Autumn shook her head simaliarly to a dog to clear her head her; Autumn nodded her head sheepishly as she moved to stand on her own four hooves. Shadow offered his daughter a hoof to help her up and Autumn took it nodding a thanks to her father only huffing slightly at her failed attempt.
Seeing this Shadow thought it may be best to let Autumn know how well she had done. “That was even better, little one; you almost got me that time. Nice work with the decoy,” Shadow said with pride in his voice.
“Really,” said Autumn, smiling , matching her father's fanged smile at the praise she had received. “Thanks, Dad, what got me this time? Was it the door?” Autumn asked curiously.
Shadow nodded his head confirming her guess at what gave her away. “That, and you moved before I entered the room...when trying to get the upper hoof you need to be patient and wait for the right time to strike,” he said, his tone kind as he gave Autumn a small lecture. Seeing her contemplate what he had said Shadow looked at the time and had realized that he still had a task to complete.
“Well, since you're up, little one, it’s time for you to get yourself together for school,” Shadow said as he began to lead the way to the hall. “Don’t wanna be late now do you?” the silver stallion asked teasingly as he watched his daughter shake herself out before she messily made her bed. Autumn shook her head in response and turned to follow him down the hall.
“No way, Dad! Besides, I gotta head out early if I wanna meet up with French Butter before we head over to school,” Autumn said excitedly as she turned to head into the bathroom. Autumn saw her mother start to make her way out of her parents’ bedroom and stuck her head out to greet her. “Good morning, Mom,” said Autumn just as cheerfully.
Sugar Beet turned to look at her daughter, her eyes warm, smiling softly. “Good mornin’, sweet pea. Did ya surprise yer father today?” The elderberry mare raised her brow and turned to her husband looking for confirmation, only seeing the silver stallion’s eyes shine in pride as a smile grew on his muzzle. “I heard a lil bit a shoutin’ an thought maybe ya managed to scare ‘im,” said the elderberry mare.
Shadow watched as the filly’s face fell slightly and her ears lowered, shaking her head answering her mother’s question.
“She came pretty close though,” Shadow said earnestly, hoping to raise his daughter’s spirits. “I almost didn’t see her coming. Soon she’ll be able to surprise just about anypony.” Shadow reached his daughter and messed up her mane before turning to his wife and placing a hoof over Sugar Beet’s withers.
“Daaad… not the mane again,” Autumn moaned in slight annoyance as she ran her hoof over her newly tousled mane, turning her head to her mother smiling a little. “I did almost surprise Dad. Looks like I’ll just have to do better next time,” Autumn said jokingly as she stuck her tongue out at her father before she turned back into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Shadow chuckled at his daughter’s sass as she returned to her previous task of preparing for the day and getting her now twice messed up mane in check.
“We’ll see about that, little one,” Shadow said gladly to his daughter as he turned with his wife to head downstairs. “Your mother and I are going to get breakfast started and then I’m going to get started on the chores for the day!” Shadow shouted up to his daughter. Hearing an affirmative yell from Autumn he continued with his wife to the next task at hand: getting breakfast started and feeding the chickens to get eggs.
“I’m going to go fetch some more eggs, love,” Shadow said, despite Sugar knowing where he’d be; he said it out of habit. Sugar Beet smiled at her mate despite the unneeded reminder. She loved Shadow and how he loved to keep her in the loop. The elderberry mare nodded to her husband.
“Alright hun, I’ll see ya when y'all come back,” Sugar said, sweetly kissing her husband’s cheek and reaching up to nibble his thickly furred ear. She turned towards the kitchen to get started on their meal, pulling out all the utensils she’d need for the task. The pots and pans rattled as they were set on the stove and the bowls she pulled out clanked against the counter; the sound of the shower running could be heard as the sun rose above the Neighskapis mountains, and the old farm house filled with the familiar sounds of the morning.
Smiling at hearing all this and smelling the efforts of his wife already setting to work in the kitchen, Shadow felt truly content and that sadness he had felt earlier shrunk even further until it was almost gone; still there, but not as much. The silver stallion turned and walked out the front door, feeling the fall air cut into his coat as he walked the familiar dirt trail from the house to the chicken coop. Grabbing some feed by the barn, he lifted the heavy sack onto his withers naturally and tore a hole into the sack, dumping a decent amount onto the ground to lure the chickens out into the open.
“Blech,” groaned Shadow in disgust, sticking out his tongue and spitting at the ground, “That seed never tastes any better. I hate it when that happens.” Spitting again, the large stallion shook his mane slightly as he lowered the sack and went to open the door to the hen house, the chickens already clucking in alarm at his presence. As he pulled the line for the lever, the chickens hesitated slightly, as if knowing by instinct that a predator was present. Even though Shadow and Autumn cared for their animals under their charge well, the livestock could always sense them and would be cautious even to this day.
“Come on ladies, it’s safe, I promise,” Shadow said calmly, used to this reaction from the feathered residents of his farm. “Just trying to feed you guys and grab some eggs, that’s all.” Hearing the kind voice of the stallion that cared for them placated the hens and, recognizing that what they had sensed was not a threat, they rushed for the food out in the field. A few of the chickens even paused and nuzzled his forehooves as if to say sorry to the silver stallion. Shadow smiled a bit before he grabbed the basket in his mouth and gathered the eggs with his hoof, placing them with care. After filling several well-used baskets, he put a few to the side to sell in the market and brought one, filled to the brim, to the farmhouse.
As he was walking back, the rooster that they had named Big Red strutted up to the stallion and fluffed up a bit, trying to show that he wasn’t afraid. Shadow rolled his golden eyes and snorted, knowing that the rooster never really liked him much. Ironically the large rooster loved Autumn and would cuddle up to her any chance he got. “I bet that big feather duster does that on purpose,” Shadow thought in mock annoyance. “Oh, well, can’t win ‘em all.” Shadow walked past the other male and continued back the dirt path back to the house.
Opening the door to the house with his prize, Shadow went to the kitchen to present them to his wife. Shadow’s ears perked up straight and pivoted as he listened once again to the symphony of familiar sounds of his family. Noticing that the shower was no longer running but still hearing hooves upstairs, he knew that Autumn was still getting ready. Taking another deep breath, he smelled spiced oats and heard the fire as it crackled cooking their breakfast. The stallion heard his wife greet him as he walked into the kitchen door.
“Welcome back, hun, I see ya got the eggs. Breakfast should be done in two shakes o’ a lamb’s tail,” Sugar Beet said over her shoulder as she stirred the oats she was cooking. Pouring the oats into some bowls, Sugar set them on the table as her husband set down the eggs to lend her a hoof in setting out the food. After setting out the oats, Sugar turned toward the basket and began to fry up enough eggs to feed five ponies knowing of her husband and daughter’s appetites. “Shoot, Autumn herself eats enough fer a full-grown stallion. She sure is growin’ like a stalk o’ wheat,” the elderberry mare thought, smiling at her reflection.
Noticing his wife beginning to smile as he turned from setting the table, Shadow's curiosity piqued. “What’s on your mind beautiful?” he asked, falling victim to hisown inquisitiveness. Shadow watched as the mare of his heart dished out the eggs between them and carried them to the table. “Nothing sugar, just thinkin’ ‘bout how fast Autumn’s growin’ up,” Sugar Beet responded warmly.
Before Shadow could respond, the sound of a full stampede coming down the stairs interrupted the silver stallion. Eyes widening in surprise both adult ponies watched as their whirlwind of a daughter made it to the first floor.
Autumn dropped her saddle bags off by the front door and slowed her gallop to a trot as she made her way to the table. Seeing her parents surprised looks, the olive oil filly blushed slightly and her ears lowered in bashfulness. “W-what is it? Do I have something on my face?” asked Autumn.
Shadow shook his head in amusement. “No, little one, but with how fast you were flying down the stairs, I’m surprised you weren’t followed by a Sonic Rainboom!” Shadow said, barking out thunderous laughter as his wife joined in shortly behind him. Autumn's eyes widened at her father’s accusation and her ears lay flat against her head before she too started to laugh at her dad's joke.
After the family shared a good laugh, they all sat down to the meal Sugar Beet had prepared. Shadow watched as Autumn wolfed down her eggs, and after a slight scolding from sugar, the filly slowed enough to taste her food. “So, today I’ll be working the fields out with the teams and delivering the next batch of barley to Talbina and Malt Hopps. You’ll be at the market until later today, right?” Shadow asked as he turned his sights to his wife.
Sugar nodded in confirmation to Shadow as she finished her bite of oats, then she turned to Autumn. “I’ll be back in time to make dinner, sweet pea. Do you think you can take care of the critters when you get back?” Sugar asked. Swallowing her last bite of food, Autumn nodded at her mother.
“Of course, I’ll take care of ‘em as soon as I get back, Mom.” Autumn said as she cleared her plate. Noticing the time on the kitchen clock Autumn’s ears shot up and her tail started to bristle. “Oh no… I’m LATE!” Running to the door and grabbing her lunch from the counter, Autumn donned her saddlebag. “See you later, love you guys!” Autumn shouted over her shoulder as she reared up and galloped out the door running down the dirt path towards Bright Pear Orchards.
Shadow and Sugar both looked at each other before they began chuckling together at their daughter’s silliness. Shadow grabbed his mate’s hoof and felt her wrap her olive oil tail around his bushy jet-black tail as they finished their breakfast, feeling himself wag it slightly in happiness. Shadow forgot about the sorrow he felt that morning but couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was coming causing his hackles to raise slightly. “Whatever is coming, it can’t be good,” thought Shadow as he glanced at his wife. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it… together.”