//------------------------------// // A pony trail // Story: The Iron Chancellor // by Radical Centrist //------------------------------// Graze Hill and his family were travelling east, away from the tyrannical unicorns and pegasus who had stolen their food and all of their belongings. He had foolishly thought that their union would solve all of their ethnic divides, and it looked like it did until his harvests came. He came to learn that they were all two-faced demons, the pegasus barely lifting their hooves to give the bare minimum amount of water. The unicorns threatening against raising the sun to rob the earth ponies for all they had. He was sick of it. So he stockpiled food and gathered his family to travel east. He knew the risks of having to deal with the griffons, however, he knew of an earth pony settlement that was large enough to deter against attacks, which he and his family would be joining. "Are we there yet?" Little Hill giddily asked, "No! And for the billionth time stop asking!" Green hill scolded his little sister, who simply giggled in response. "Stop fighting you two, you might attract the griffons' attention!" Their mother, Opal Hill scolded. "Pshhh! The griffons will get a tummy-ache if they eat little-hilly over here." Green ruffled his little siblings' mane playfully, brightening her smile. "The griffons are a serious threat son, and I expect you to drill it into your mind before it's too late." Graze informed his colt, as his fathers did as well. Green simply pouted and crossed his front hooves in defiance. Little blew a raspberry at him. Green squinted his eyes towards his little sister, she followed. "When will you ever mature Green?" Opal shook her head disappointingly, as Green had become 12, and had to think more like an adult now. "I think I'm seeing a river in the distance." Graze looked towards the river in the distance, which was the landmark which he was looking for to reach the village. "We are halfway there!" "Ughhhhh! Halfway?! We travelled for two days!" Green cried out, his boredom had started to consume him. "Yeah! Way are we even going so far?!" Little corresponded, frailing her hooves. "This may be difficult, but we are doing this for our freedom! So we will never go hungry again!" Graze proudly exclaimed, his wife simply nodded in agreement. "You said that about Equestria 4 years ago!" Green criticised, "I had to go hungry to feed my little sister!" "I'm sorry..." Little squeaked out, head down in shame. "No, no... It isn't your effort, it's just that... It seems like we are running away from all of our problems!" Green apologised to Little but also brought a valuable point. "For all the moments why did you have to be mature now?" Opal face-hooved, already regretting what she wished. "Well... This is different!" Graze deluded himself. "How so? You also said that 2 years ago! Until those mean pegasus and unicorns stole out things!" Green objected, as he clearly remembered the terrifying day when a gang of pegasus soldiers invaded their home and stole their food. He still had a scar running down his back hooves from shielding his little sister from shattered glass. "The village we are going to won't have any mean unicorns or pegasus, there will only be earth ponies." Graze said, trying to appeal to Greens' personal experiences. "Don't you remember the Plains? That kind of ponies will be living in the village." "...Okay..." Green conceded, deflating onto the wagons' sides. He just noticed that Little has crawled up beside him, snuggling his scarred hooves. "Thanks, Little sis." "... This might be a problem..." Graze assessed, as the river seemed to be wider and deeper than as described by the rumours. "Perhaps there was a heavy rain? The river seems too deep to cross simply by hoof." Opal stuck a hoof into the river to check its depth, and couldn't reach the ground. "Doesn't that mean we can just wait until the river becomes smaller again?" Green asked, leaning over the wagon to look at the river. "If we stay and wait, we will be too exposed against griffon hunters, and there is no guarantee that the river would become shallow over time." Graze surveyed the skies, to ensure that no suspicious clouds were close, as normally griffons would approach on them quietly to lunge at unsuspecting ponies. "Then what do we do? We can't just fly over the river like a pegasus," Green trailed his hooves like wings to demonstrate their flightless-ness, which garnered a giggle from Little. "We will have to ferry it, Green and Little, you're going to have to hop off for now." Graze gestured his children off, and began to grab several planks and a rope to begin assembling a platform to float themselves across the river. Opal and Graze worked, as Green and Little sat at the sidelines watching them idly. Green began to throw rocks into the river but quickly drew his attention towards the skies, as it was quickly darkening. A storm was brewing. The storm remained unnoticed by Graze and Opal, as they were too focused on their construction to look up towards the storm. "Uhhh... Dad? Storm's a-coming." Green worryingly informed, which made Graze look up and make his eyes widen in surprise. "Dang... We just finished the platform as well!" Graze cursed his luck, and began to grow more worried. "Honey, how many pieces of cloth do we have?" "We don't have enough to prevent ourselves from being soaked." Opal dug through the topless wagon, only yielding four pieces of rags which farmers would wear on their heads to not suffer the intense summer heats. "Crud... The winds are strong as well! We have to find a cave somewhere!" Graze panicked, and began surveying the surroundings of any cover or shelter to weather the storm. "There! There's one!" Little shouted out, pointing a hoof across the river to a cave opening. "Alright then! Everypony climb aboard! The storm might start any second!" Graze rallied the family, who call climbed aboard the platform carrying items from the wagon. Just as they all climbed on, rain began to pour down heavily and extremely strong winds began to rock their balance on the platform. "Row! Row! Hurry now! Or we are all doomed!" Graze grew immensely worried, as the winds weren't strong enough to throw Opal or his balance, but they were able to shake Green and knock Little. Thankfully, Green held onto Little tightly, grabbing onto one of the boards of the platform. Progress across the river was incredibly slow, and every metre they travelled, the stronger the winds became, some lighter items on the wagon being whisked away into the watery depths. The storm was deafening and as strong as the gusts of frost which they encountered during the windigos times. "Halfway there! Green, hold Little in place!" Graze shouted, however, was muffled by the sound of the storm. "Already am! Row faster!" Green replied, gripping the board on the platform tighter. Graze and Opal reinvigorated their rowing, quickening their pace, we are so close! Just a little further- a large rock, which had been picked up by the winds collided against the wagon on top of the platform, its velocity and weight able to dislodge it from the platform and snap the ropes. The platform disintegrates into splinters and planks, as the passengers abroad were thrown into the river. "LITTLE!" Green cried out, barely losing his grip on his little sister, as he grabbed onto the still-floating wooden board to allow them to float above the water. He swung her on top of the board to ensure she would float and began looking around the unruly waters to spot his parents. But it would be in vain, as he felt himself drifting downwards the river, and his exhaustion had caught up with him. So he laid his head against the board and promptly fell unconscious. Opal and Graze woke up, hooves held together on the other side of the river. They both coughed out water that had entered their lungs and tried to recollect their memories. A storm... Ferry... Platform... Stone... GREEN AND LITTLE! They both thought simultaneously, as they galloped mindlessly around trying to find them. After hours of finding nothing but pieces of splinters and cloth, they cried loudly, disregarding the dangers it would bring if a griffon was nearby to hear them. "Our little filly!" Opal cried out distraught. "Our colt!" Graze cried as well. They had failed them. They were the worst parents. They had killed them. And they would never see them again.