//------------------------------// // Fighting and Forgiving // Story: The Life and Trials of Autumn Moon // by TraumaLane //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Fighting and Forgiving - Waxing Gibbous The schoolhouse was a moderately sized building and held three separate rooms for teaching colts and fillies. The remaining rooms were used for the principal’s office, teachers’ lounge, and one left for other purposes. This room was commonly used to discipline students who misbehaved in class or who started fights; the room’s dull olive drab green walls felt militant in nature, like it was meant for members of the royal guard more than students. The stale smelling room had twenty desks, an old clock on the wall, two medium windows to look at the grounds where gym classes would take place, and a large chalk board that had a hastily written ‘DETENTION’ written on it. The five adolescent ponies dejectedly sat on their haunches, waiting for the last hour of class to finish so they could await their parent’s arrival to pick them up. True to their word, both French Butter and Tall Tales had stayed with Autumn to help explain what had occurred during her scuffle with Brick Breaker and Silver Tongue. Autumn glanced at her friends tiredly, lifting her head slightly from her folded fore hooves, her bright amber eyes glowing in the shadows her legs had cast over her face. “I’m glad that Butters and Tales both stayed to defend me, but I’m sorry they’re stuck in detention with me,” thought Autumn glumly as she heard the clock ticking away the minutes. Autumn turned her attention to the offending object. It seemed as if the clock was slower than usual, slightly taunting her as the minutes seemed to loudly tick by. As time continued to pass her stomach sank further in a mix of guilt and anticipation for the punishment she knew would be coming. “I wonder how Mom is going to react… I hope she was able to get someone else to watch the stand today,” thought Autumn, worry seemingly adding another stone to her already sinking stomach. As Autumn sighed deeply, her ears twitched slightly as she heard movement from the desks in the back-right corner of the room. She flinched slightly in pain and glared in slight annoyance at the now bandaged wound in her ear. The laceration that had oozed blood at first had seemed to be almost healed, but to be safe the school nurse had cleaned her ear with saline, put an antibiotic on the affected area, and wrapped a small piece of gauze over it. Nurse Aid seemed surprised that the filly’s wound was almost healed, noticing the amount of blood that had stained Autumn’s face and silver mane with its dark brown color. Autumn had always been a ‘quick healer’ according to her parents. “It’s still weird though, I still don’t really understand what happened,” Autumn mumbled quietly to herself doubt and fear running rampant through her head. Autumn smirked a little chuckling at the thought that followed. “At least I don’t have to wear that head wrap for a week. If Mom saw that she’d probably flip, and Dad would probably knock the school down with his shouting alone.” Autumn jumped, startled as she felt a hoof on her withers, nudging her to gain attention. “How are you holding up?” Tall Tales asked, sympathy shining in his orange eyes as he looked at Autumn in concern, his mouth in a sad grimace. “Are you still worried about Miss Turner? I’m sure she believed us, and half of the class saw what Silver and Brick did,” the cornflower blue unicorn said encouragingly. Autumn felt the corners of her mouth rise as Tales' words served their purpose relieving some of the despair she had been feeling in the pit of her stomach. Nodding her head Autumn returned his kind smile not ready to speak just yet, still gathering her thoughts. Tales’ ears folded back as he quickly glanced at Silver and Brick sitting in the back of the classroom, a frown forming on his scrunched-up muzzle. “Although that didn’t stop them from trying to blame us anyway,” Tales said, snarling out his reply; his eyes narrowed at Silver and Brick, his tail twitched in annoyance. Autumn saw the change in her friend’s expression and followed Tales’ gaze; as soon as her eyes met Silver Tongue and Brick Breaker, that same rotten fruit smell took over the stale scent of the classroom. Autumn felt what was left of her grin falter as the scent filled the air. The colts in question froze in place and glared at her direction, as if trying to gauge if she would rush them again. The silver maned filly turned slowly towards them but saw the two jump slightly at her movement. Autumn didn’t want to see them looking at her like that; it made her feel sick to her stomach. “That bucking smell again… I can’t blame them too much, I’d be scared too.” Autumn’s eyes dimmed slightly. Lifting her forehooves, she looked at them as if they might hold the answer to what had caused her to act that way. Trying not to show her dejection at the lack of answer from her hooves, Autumn shook her head to answer Tales question. “No, it’s not Miss Turner I’m worried about. Even though Silver did hurt me, I shouldn’t have tried to attack him,” Autumn lowered her head, shaking it slightly, her amber eyes hidden from view. “My family raised me better, I know I’m gonna get in trouble for this and I do deserve part of it. I’m just scared of what happened to me… It was like… I couldn’t see anything else but Silver. All my anger f-focused on him… a-and the next thing I know you and B-Butters were snapping me out of it,” said Autumn, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke, unconsciously tucking her tail so that it lay like a soft furry safety blanket over her hooves. “I-I bet I scared Tales and Butters, too…” Autumn felt as if she was dunked in cold water at the thought. She felt hollow, empty and sick with worry. Autumn tried to avoid breathing in through her nose to block out the possible smell of her friends' fear. Feeling something touch her, she flinched as Tales wrapped his forehooves around her in a half hug. French Butter was listening to the conversation, her eyes filled with compassion as one of her dearest friends started to tell them what had been weighing on her mind. “I knew something else was bothering her…” thought Butters as she felt sympathy towards the troubled filly. Standing up from her desk the green pea farm filly joined Tales giving Autumn a much-needed hug to show her support. Butters noticed Autumn was startled by the additional hooves, but as she saw the olive colored filly she began to smile again, and Autumn’s shaking began to slow down. “Don’t worry Autumn, Tales and I will always be there to watch your back. So, don’t worry if you need us. We’ll be there,” French Butter said kindly to the shaking filly and stroked Autumn’s back her hoof making comforting circles on the filly’s thicker coat; Butters looked at Tales and saw the colt look at her with determination in his eyes as he voiced his agreement. “You can bet your last bit on that, Autumn, we got your back,” Tales said reassuringly. Nodding his head, a warm grin spread over his muzzle. Tall Tales felt his own mood improve as he saw Autumn start to smile again. Seeing Butters smile start to return as well made it all the better. As Butters and he backed out of the hug he held up a hoof, his eyes lit up hopefully as he glanced at Autumn, hoping she’d return their usual gesture. Autumn’s eyes gleamed as she looked up. Seeing the looks on her friends' faces, she returned Tales hoof bump, feeling as if she had been filled up with her Mom’s famous carrot and celery soup warm and sated. She felt comforted by the friends she thought she had scared away with her behavior. “Thanks, you guys… you’re the best,” Autumn said, her voice stronger than it had been before and tears in the corner of her eyes as her fang filled smile reflected the joy her friends had given her. She rubbed at her sore eyes with her hoof to try and hide the evidence of her tears ever the tough tomboy. Autumn’s thick silver tail started to wag slightly as she lowered her hoof. She heard a scoff in the back of the room. “You two better be careful, she might rip your throats out with those fangs of hers,” Silver said coldly, despite the fear Autumn still smelled in the air. The unicorn’s eyes held nothing but contempt and distrust for the wheat farming filly. Autumn felt her smile waver, lowering her head she took a deep breath; she stood and slowly approached the powder blue unicorn. Silver’s eyes widened and the smell of fear in the room thickened; a green aura covered his horn. “S-stay back, Moon, I-I’m warning you,” said Silver, his body slightly trembling as Autumn’s hoof steps echoed through the room. Brick Breaker’s own eyes widened as he stood defensively, his breath becoming quick and shallow. Amber eyes met navy blue, and emerald green ones; Autumn tried with everything she had to show that she meant the two colts no harm. “Back o-off you half-breed freak, y-you won’t get lucky twice,” said Brick as he assumed a defensive stance, his head lowered as he pawed at the floor to show his intent. Autumn froze for a second before she continued to approach the colts, cautiously she lowered her head and moved slowly. “I-it’s almost like approaching an injured animal… just gotta take it nice and slow,” Autumn thought as she saw the hate burning in the unicorn’s eyes lessen. As she continued her walk the green aura around Silver’s horn began to lose its luster, Brick’s breathing evened out and he began to relax his stance. Autumn stopped a short distance away from the two bullies and slowly lowered herself to her haunches; she held her head up high as she looked between the two males. And took a steadying breath as she prepared herself to speak to her two used to be tormentors. The ears of all four ponies stood at attention, curious to hear what Autumn had to say, as Autumn opened her muzzle to speak, the door to the room opened startling all five of the ponies present. Autumn’s head spun to see Miss Turner begin to enter the room, and following closely behind her was Sugar Beet and Silver’s father. Escape Clause was an imposing cream-colored unicorn stallion that oozed upper class... a well known lawyer whose cutie mark was of a scroll and quill. The stallion’s frigid lavender eyes looked at Autumn in slight loathing before his gaze traveled to his son, getting colder as his eyes narrowed on the colt. Autumn felt as if a weight had hit her with the unicorn stallions gaze, and her body shook as a chill ran up her spine. Trying not to show how it affected her, Autumn looked up guiltily to her mother and skulked back into her seat. Sugar Beet’s warm emerald eyes showed nothing but concern and love for her daughter as she looked upon the scene. Sugar’s eyes widened as she saw the bandages on her daughters’ ear and she unconsciously rose a hoof to her mouth in shock. Glancing at the unicorn colt, she couldn’t help the angry look that took over her face. “W-what happen’d… di-did one of those colt’s hurt ‘er?” Sugar thought as her anger rose at realizing her baby had most likely been injured by the young unicorn. It felt as if a dragon had lit her pelt on fire. Glancing at Autumn, she noticed the look on her sweet pea’s face but couldn’t tell what or who was causing her daughter’s newfound distress. “Don’ ya worry now sugar, we’ll git ta the bottom o’ this.” As she took a seat beside her child, she put a supportive hoof around her withers and nuzzled her daughter’s face slightly. Miss Turner took her seat at the front of the class, a couple of folders floating in her light blue aura onto the desk. Escape Clause took a seat in the front row and was followed in turn by Silver and Brick. Miss Turner took a deep breath. Feeling nothing but apprehension, she mentally prepared herself to go over the situation with both parents and to tell them the decided punishment. “So, Mr. Clause, Mrs. Moon, we have called you in today due to a fight that occurred between Silver and Autumn that took place during lunch hour. From the reports given by Tall Tales, French Butter, Autumn, and several other colts and fillies, the fight started with verbal taunts given by Silver. Silver has been known to disturb class, some of these instances were when he teased other students,” speaking calmly and concisely, Miss Turner kept a neutral look on her muzzle. However, she noticed the harsh look Escape Clause gave his son and the flinch that the young unicorn gave as a response; the colt began to sink lower in his seat and refused to look at her as she spoke, his actions betraying his guilt. “However, this is the first instance where physical blows have been exchanged. Based on the reports from those involved and witnesses, things seemed to escalate when Silver shot a magically charged rock at Autumn,'' Miss Turner's voice became stern, her eyes narrowing as she addressed the students and parents with the details of what had started the fight. Both Sugar Beet’s and Escape Clause’s eyes widened at hearing this. Both parents looked at their children, appearing surprised at their actions. Sugar Beet glanced at Autumn, who looked like a dog that had been kicked. Sugar’s eyes held a question that would go unanswered until Miss Turner continued to tell them of what occurred next. “After seeing that she had been injured, Autumn then proceeded to charge at Silver. Brick Breaker stepped in the way to block her path and she struck him in the stomach. Several students noticed that she seemed to move incredibly fast as she did so, but after being checked by the nurse no further injuries were found,” said Miss Turner as she sighed lightly, as if telling the story strained her physically in some way. “Autumn then stated that she turned back towards Silver and tried to rush him next before she was stopped by two other students… Tall Tales and French Butter respectively,” the prussian blue unicorn paused, noticing that Autumn had begun to slouch in her seat and look between the other ponies in the room guiltily as the details came to light, the young filly looking truly remorseful. Sugar Beet’s eyes looked fearful at hearing the details, but as she looked at her daughter, they held nothing but concern. “Several other colts and fillies saw that Silver threatened Autumn with more stones after she had injured Brick Breaker, however, no more blows were exchanged. The nurse has also examined Autumn’s ear. Amazingly, the bleeding stopped quite quickly, but she covered the cut just in case,” Page Turner spoke the last words calmly missing the odd look Escape Clause had on his muzzle at the school mares last statement. The female unicorn closed the folder containing the records of the students, glancing at the parents Page Turner noticed a sad slightly knowing look overcome Sugar Beet and the cold stern look on Escape Clause. “Now, is there anything anypony else would like to say before we continue?” asked Miss Turner in a measured tone as she glanced between the parents and students alike. “…th…fre…fa…lt” Miss Turner’s ears perked straight up as she heard the mumbled reply from Silver Tongue as the colt spoke under his breath, her eyes narrowed slightly. Looking intriguingly at Autumn, she noticed the filly seemed to narrow her eyes and lower her head slumping further in her seat as if she had heard the colt clearly. Seeing that the mumbled reply had also attracted the attention of the parents, their eyes focused on Silver, the teacher spoke once again. “What was that, Silver? Do you have something you’d like to say?” asked Miss Turner, her voice stern but even as she spoke. The unicorn colt’s head snapped up in surprise at having been heard by Miss Turner despite his best efforts. Silver snorted and looked over at Autumn seeing the look in the filly’s eyes and the focused looks of the adults in the room. He thought better about his next words. “No, Miss Turner…” the unicorn said reluctantly. As the colt turned his dark navy-blue eyes to look at his father, he saw a look of disapproval on his face, his strong muzzle turned into a deep frown directed right at him. Escape Clause had heard what he had said, and the colt once again shrank in his chair. Nodding, Miss Turner was about to continue when she was once again interrupted by none other than the silver maned filly sitting next to her elderberry mother. Her brow’s raised as Autumn cleared her throat to gain her attention. “Yes, Autumn?” Miss Turner asked in a patient voice. “I-I’d like to say something, if it's alright Miss Turner?” asked Autumn. Quietly, she lifted her head to look at Miss Turner, waiting for the school mare’s approval before she continued. Seeing a small smile on the prussian blue unicorn’s face, Autumn felt a sliver of confidence run through her; Autumn looked to her mother for additional strength before she turned to look at Escape Clause, Silver Tongue, and Brick Breaker, a remorseful but determined look took over her face as she slowly stood on all four hooves. “First off, I want to say I’m sorry… you did start it by throwing the rock, Silver, but that doesn’t mean I had the right to attack you. I got so angry that all I could think of was hurting you back, but that isn’t the right answer,” said Autumn her voice steady as she addressed the unicorn colt, Autumn felt a small smile start to form on her lips as she saw that the anger in the colt’s eyes had faded even more and his powder blue ears lowered as he looked away from her. Shifting her amber eyes to the Brick Breaker, Autumn’s smile faded as she spoke to the colt; she had hurt in her rage. “Brick, I’m sorry I hurt you, it was wrong of me to hit you… especially since you didn’t hit me at all,” Autumn said glumly as she looked up to see that Brick’s eyes had widened in surprise at the filly as he nodded at her before her, too, looked away. Autumn’s ears rose as her smile grew warmer before it was replaced by a more serious expression she spoke again. “Most of all, I’m sorry for scaring everypony. I’ll accept whatever comes next…” Taking her seat, Autumn felt relief flood her body. Taking in a breath, she was surprised to find that she had been holding it since she had stood up. Autumn felt a hoof on her withers and turned to look at her mother, who had begun to rub her back in a familiar comforting gesture. For the first time since the fight had taken place, Autumn felt the weight in her stomach lift, feeling comforted by her mother’s gesture she leaned in close to Sugar Beet, resting against her mother’s side. Looking around the classroom, Autumn noticed the admiration that shone in Tales’, Butter’s and Miss Turner's eyes. Feeling the best she had all day, Autumn felt her wild silver tail wag as she raised her eyes to look at her teacher, still feeling nervous, Feeling the strength of her friends and her mother by her side, she knew she could face any punishment. Sugar Beet’s warm emerald eyes shone with pride as she looked at Autumn. She saw that her daughter was truly changing in front of her; the slight sadness returning to her eyes went unnoticed by the other ponies. Her ears were flipped back as she smiled warmly at her brave daughter. “That’s ma’ filly, so much like ‘er father… it looks like it’s finally time we tell ‘er,” thought Sugar as a small amount of dread tore across her body, her smile faltering only slightly. “Autumn’s growin’ up, Ah fear for her… but Shadow and Ah will be there wit’ ‘er every step o’ the way. We’ll help ‘er through this, together,” thought Sugar Beet as her eyes flashed in determination, feeling her protectiveness over her daughter surge forth provided her with the strength to face the threats to her filly side by side. “Brave words for a… pony your age, truly beyond your years. It takes courage to admit when you’re wrong,” said the gravelly voiced Escape Clause as he stomped his hoof. The cream-colored stallion sat straighter as he addressed Autumn and Sugar Beet, and he turned his gaze to Miss Turner. “I want to personally apologize for my son’s actions, and to the both of you mares. I promise that his mother and I will be having some choice words with him. One with his pedigree shouldn’t stoop as low as fighting others.” Escape Clause’s voice seemed overly sympathetic as he addressed the ponies in question, as if he was putting on a show. Sugar Beet’s hackles began to rise as she noticed the change in tone as the stallion looked at her baby and noticed the inflection on his choice words. Her eyes narrowed and she fought against her instinct to rush the older stallion herself. “What did tha’ fancy pants snake ‘n the grass mean by that?” thought the elderberry mare as she didn’t miss a smirk on the male unicorn’s face. Escape Clause looked away from the mare and turned his attention to Silver as his stern voice got deeper as he said the last few words. “Do you have anything to say, Silver?” asked the stallion, looking at his son expectantly. Silver jumped at the sound of his father’s voice, his navy-blue eyes finally leaving the spot that they had been glued to on the floor. Silver’s eyes widened as they met his father’s stoic gaze. Swallowing the saliva that collected in his suddenly dry mouth, Silver cleared his throat. The colt turned towards the mares of the Moon family and looked at Autumn and Sugar Beet. The young unicorn's eyes held a shred of sincere remorse as he looked at Autumn’s semi-hopeful expression. As he saw the fierce look in Sugar’s eyes he flinched. “I’m sorry Autumn… Mrs. Moon, it was wrong to throw the rock,” Silver choked out, looking at the floor after he finished his “apology”. “Tha stallion was faker than a three-bit coin an’ that colt’s got som’ growin’ to do. At least ‘e seems like ‘e meant ‘is apology,” thought Sugar Beet as she deadpanned the two unicorns that spoke to her, trying to clear their conscience. As unladylike as it was, Sugar snorted and attempted to look pleasant as she addressed Miss Turner and the unicorns sitting across from her. “Autumn’s father and Ah will also be talkin’ to ‘er when we git home. But if we find out tha Autumn’s been hurt again, we will come down on th’ two o’ ya like a twister at a campsite. Am ah clear?” Sugar Beet’s eyes burned as she looked at Escape Clause, a growl in her throat signifying the sincerity of her promise to protect her daughter. Escape Clause eyes widened as the mare leaned closer to amplify her threat. He sneered as he looked at the simple farm mare, his eyes holding disdain for the wheat farmer and her “deformed” daughter. Miss Turner and the fillies and colts present all looked at the usually kind mare in surprise at the ferocity in her voice. Miss Turner looked between the two parents, nervous that another fight would occur between the adults. Autumn’s mouth dropped wide open in a wide ‘o’, exposing her fangs as she heard her mother’s reply, her tail limp on the floor. “I knew mom could be scary when she’s angry, but I’ve never seen her this riled up,” thought Autumn in amazement as she saw her mother looking fiercer than a timberwolf as she stared down the large stallion. Autumn turned her head looking towards French Butter and Tall Tales as if to see if she had been imagining the last few minutes. Butters and Tales looked back at her; their mouths were open wide enough to catch parasprites, seeing that Autumn knew it had been real. Escape Clause was the first to recover, shaking his head slightly; he placed a fake smile on his muzzle, “Crystal, Mrs. Moon, crystal,” said the unicorn as he smugly answered the farm mares’ question. Sugar screwed up her muzzle before she settled back down in her seat. Miss Turner cleared her throat to break the tension between the adults in the room. Emerald and amethyst eyes broke the bridge of tension that was building between them; the gem-like orbs of both adults met with the teacher’s gaze. “Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and apologies. Now, Mrs. Moon and Mr. Clause, both Autumn and Silver will be suspended from school for the next ten days. They will have to write an essay about resolving issues without violence and will miss the school trip that was planned next week. If this is acceptable, we will send the students home with you,” said Miss Turner calmly addressing the room full of ponies, seeing the parents nod in agreement, she continued. “Brick Breaker, you will be suspended for 5 days and will write an essay about how words can harm others. However, you will not be banned from the trip… if you are allowed to go by your parents. I’ll be sending a note home with you and will expect a reply from your parents tomorrow, alright?” The school mare looked sympathetically to Brick Breaker as the colt nodded his understanding as well. “Yes, Miss Turner, I’ll tell them when I get home,” said the earth colt as he took the letter the teacher had written to his parents. Brick Breaker paused after he put the paper envelope in his saddle bags looking at Autumn he cleared his throat. “H-hey Autumn, sorry…” said Brick Breaker, his voice could barely be heard, but looking up, seeing the surprise on the filly’s face, he knew she had heard him. “Well, what do you know… good job, Brick Breaker,” thought Miss Turner as she caught the colt's gaze before he turned around in embarrassment at being caught. Feeling pride in two of her students that day, she recomposed her face before addressing the room once again. “Alright then, if there is nothing else, please sign on these release forms and you are all free to go home,” said Miss Turner as she completed the last of her duties for the students and her parents. “That went better than expected,” thought the school mare as she watched the parents and their children walk down the dirt path towards town “This is the hardest part of the job. I hope those two will be alright,” thought the prussian blue unicorn, shaking her head as she turned to walk back into the schoolhouse to grade papers. The sun began to set in the sky as the quartet of ponies slowly made their way towards their homes. Sugar Beet walked a few feet ahead of the trio to allow them to talk about everything that had occurred without her eavesdropping. “The nerve o’ that stallion. He knows more than he’s lettin’ on… he’s shadier than a tree in a bottomless gorge. Others my red plot…” She shook her head to rid herself of the angry thoughts of the snooty stallion. “I have to tell Shadow as soon as he gits back, horse feathers… why in Celestia’s green earth does that delivery usually take four days?” the mare asked silently in her mind as she looked up to the sky, her emerald eyes pleading to some greater force to answer her question. Autumn was so focused on her mother, noticing that she still seemed to be upset, that she didn’t hear Tales talking to her at first… shaking her head she turned her attention to the unicorn that had spoken to her. “…sorry you can’t go on the trip, Autumn; we’ll tell you all about it when we get back, promise!” said Tales as he tried to cheer up the fuzzy eared filly. Tales held up his hoof as if he was taking a solemn vow for his friend. Seeing her mood barely lift, he attempted to cheer her up once again. “Hey, I’m sure your mother will be alright. If what we saw in the classroom proves anything, she cares about you too much to be angry forever. I’m sure things will get better, okay?” the unicorn colt nudged the filly as he began to chuckle at the memory of the look the stallion had on his face. Autumn couldn’t help but smile at that, nudging the unicorn back as lightly as she could, still afraid of hurting somepony. “Thanks, Tales, you’re the best. I’m sure this will be a great story one day… but it’ll be awhile before I want to relive today,” said Autumn shaking her head and rolling eyes to hide the regret that ran through her. “You and me both, Autumn, but I’ve got to get home before the sun sets. See you in a few days, Autumn. I’ll try to take plenty of pictures so you can be with us on the trip, okay?” Tales waved his hoof as he took the path that split off heading towards the farmlands that his two friends called home. “See you later, Butters, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow. Get home safe. Bye, Mrs. Moon.” The colt smiled at the green pea filly as he galloped off. Sugar Beet didn’t react much to the colt’s farewell other than a nod and wave of her hoof as she continued to lead the way back to the wheat farm. Her mind was still working to decipher the puzzle that the family would soon have to face together. “Bye, Tales, see you tomorrow,” Butters said as she watched the cornflower colt disappear over the hill heading back into town. Looking at Autumn, she saw that soon she would have to leave as well. As they neared the crossroads of their homes, the green pea filly tried to smile, her sympathetic turquoise eyes meeting Autumn's golden eyes, which glowed as the sun cast a pillar of light on them both. “Hey, he’s right, you know; your family loves you, and I’m sure that together, you guys can figure all this out.” Autumn smiled at her friend and nodded her thanks to the fellow farm filly. “Sadly, I’ve got to head out, too. I’ll come by with Tales after the trip, okay? I’ll see you as soon as I can,” said Butters, trying to reassure her friend. “Bye, Mrs. Moon, see you in a few days, Autumn,” said French as she turned to walk home. She glanced back towards her friend, her eyes reflecting sympathy as she watched Autumn trudge behind her mother. As twilight began to shine through, the sky turned a deep lavender color; dark blues and purples took over as Celestia’s sun set and the princess began to raise the moon. Autumn walked slightly behind her mother, glancing at her from time to time, knowing that she still had to face a possible punishment at home. She was afraid to add to whatever was troubling her mother. Her mother had been unusually silent as they walked the familiar path home. “I’m glad that Corn Flour was able to take over the stall for Mom,” thought Autumn as she looked at her mother concerned at the silence that had taken over after they left the market. “Probably best if I don’t bring up the weird stuff until we get home. I can’t believe Mom sounded so fierce; I guess me and Dad aren’t the only ones who can growl.” Chuckling at the thought, the olive oil filly started grinning despite her worries. Sugar Beet's ears perked up as she heard her daughter’s familiar giggle, her green eyes lit up as she looked at her daughter. The filly’s laughter had managed to pull the mare out of the troubles plaguing her mind; Sugar Beet began to smile herself. “Hey sweet pea, I wan’ ya to know I’m proud of ya… now ya shouldn’t be fightin’, but ya were jus’ defendin’ yerself and I’m not mad at ya. Alright?” Sugar said to Autumn hoping to alleviate some of the weight of the worries that plagued the Moon mares on their walk. The elderberry mare’s loving smile grew as she saw relief spread from her filly’s face to the rest of her body. Autumn’s ember eyes started to shine with unshed tears as her mom reassured her. Autumn felt the warmth of her mother’s love and reassurance in that smile, and warmth spread from her heart to the rest of her body, making her hooves feel twenty pounds lighter. Autumn rushed to her mom, hugging her around her barrel and nuzzling underneath her mother's chin as the filly’s tears finally fell, shedding some of the stress and fear that had occurred over the course of the day. “M-mom, something weird happened today…I was so s-scared, s-something’s wrong with me…” Autumn’s voice broke as she finally felt that she could tell her mother about what had happened. Sugar Beet listened to her daughter patiently as she listened to every detail of what had caused Autumn to be distressed. As Autumn told her mother what it had felt like when she rushed Silver, she noticed her mother seemed worried but was not as surprised or afraid as she thought she would be. As soon as Autumn finished her mother pulled her filly closer to her barrel, hushing her as she shed the last of her tears. “There, there sweet pea, now ya listen to me… nothin’ is wrong with ya. Yer my daughter, prettier than a magnolia in may no matter what some varmints may say. I know ya probably have a lot o’ questions, but I promise as soon as yer father comes back in a few days, we’ll tell ya everythin’, okay?” said Sugar reassuringly, her kind words seeming to sooth Autumn as her daughter’s amber eyes shone with tears and curiosity. Sugar felt her own tears threaten to leave her eyes. “It’s somthin’ we both need to tell ya. Do ya think ya can wait until then, my brave filly?” asked Sugar as she looked into Autumn's eyes, hoping to plead to her daughter, who was quickly becoming a mare. “Alright, mom, I’ll wait… I’m sorry again for causing trouble today,” Autumn said, hiccupping as she looked up at her mother, feeling her tail start to wag behind her. As her mother wrapped her arms around her withers, she felt safe; the relief of having her mother’s reassurance and the possibility of receiving answers lifted much of the weight that was left in her stomach. The two mares looked up at the mare in the moon, admiring the stars that lit up the night as they continued to walk together, the burdens of the day fading as they talked about everything and anything. The moon cast a beautiful glow over the farmhouse, and as the mares entered their property, Autumn and her mother worked together to take care of the livestock that had awaited their return. Big Red ran up to Autumn as she fed the hens clucking away as he nuzzled her hooves and tried to get her to play with him. Pausing the rooster noticed how his master was acting, sensing that something was bothering Autumn he jumped up flapping his wings to land on her back, nuzzling her neck and cooing trying to comfort his master. “Aww...I’m alright, Red, thank you. Go get some rest, we need you to wake us up tomorrow,” said Autumn as she sat down on her haunches reaching up to pick up the affectionate poultry. Reds little black eyes shone as he seemed to smile at her with his little beak as if he was asking if Autumn was sure.... Autumn moved to cradle the rooster to her chest giving him a little hug before setting him down on the ground. Autumn completed her portion of the chores and gave red some extra feed before heading back to the farm house. The comfort the rooster gave her made it seem like the fear, uncertainty and rage she had felt was a little farther away. Autumn’s ears twitched as she heard her mother approaching; the elderberry mare’s hooves walked calmly up the path to the house. Together they walked side by side into the warm house, the love of the family radiating around the exhausted mother and daughter. “Thanks for helpin’ to finish the chores, sugar. Now ya won’t be able to go play with yer friends until after we speak to yer father, and ya still have to write that essay, but after that we’ll discuss any other details of yer punishment,” Sugar said kindly yet sternly to her daughter watching for her reply, Autumn nodded in understanding. “That’s fair, Mom. I’m gonna skip dinner tonight if that's alright; I’m exhausted…” said Autumn, yawning as she spoke to her mother. Autumn stretched out as best as she could still feeling sore, hoping to relieve some of the residual pain. Sugar looked at her daughter with an understanding look on her face as she walked her daughter up to her bed. “Get some rest, sugar, we’ll talk more tomorrow, alright. I love ya,” said Sugar Beet as she tucked her tired filly into bed. “Thanks, Mom… for everything… I love you, too,” said Autumn, her voice still strained from her hard day she watched as her mother went to turn out the light. “I wish mom would just tell me what’s going on, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough. Guess there’s nothing left to do but wait for dad to get back… I hope everything’s going well,” The olive oil filly’s eyes glowed in the dark as she looked at the moon before she began to lose her battle with sleep. She couldn’t help but feel content and loved despite the events of the day. “I’m sure everything will be ok…” thought Autumn tiredly as she finally fell asleep.