Spring and Spanner

by CodenameOne

12 - The Lonely Road of Yesterday

The following day Spanner again took off from work, and Spring asked him if she could stay home from school. It had been an easy request to grant, though of course he'd make sure to get any schoolwork she'd need from her teacher.

After a quick breakfast Spanner took Spring out into the village, and to a nearby park. Being close enough to a forest meant the ponies of Hollow Shades weren't particularly keen on nature themes, but there was a modest park with beautiful cherry blossom trees in it. Gifts from another country, Spanner had learned.

In better circumstances, the park would be a great place for the two of them to play together. As it was, Spanner just wanted to spend some time with his daughter. He led her over to a picnic table and the two of them sat down together. She'd been pretty quiet since yesterday, but her smile had returned.

"When I left home, I never thought any of this would happen to me. When I left, I wanted to be happy. I thought, if I moved to another place, it'd be easier. In some ways it was" Spanner said with a smile. "It was easy to forget about home. I avoided foreign news, nopony from the old country lived here, and I was as far away from the old country as I could be. What wasn't easy to forget, however, was what I went through."

"Was it hard to leave?"

Spanner nodded. "At first, I thought about where I'd go, and what it'd be like to leave behind the only home I'd ever known. Leaving behind the ponies I knew was the hardest part, I thought. Then I realized actually leaving would be much harder. The country was in such chaos, no boats or airships were allowed to come in or leave. Our leaders were looking for those who had served in the war, to force them to fight in the civil war and keep the peace. I snuck away from home without saying goodbye to anypony. I fell in with a group of ponies fleeing to the country side, and after nine days we arrived in a small village, near another country. I crossed the border that same night, but the police there caught me pretty quick."

"The ponies there didn't send you back?"

"It was a nation of Griffons, actually, and they knew what it was like. The police there let me go the next day, and a few days later I found a Griffon merchant navy ship that was leaving for Equestria. They wanted to know why a deserter was still carrying his uniforms and souvenirs, but I couldn't speak Equestrian, and only one of them barely spoke my language. I couldn't pay them, so they worked me pretty hard on the trip over, and that was enough to keep them from asking questions. I was so happy to leave that I was glad to do whatever jobs they wanted me to."

Spring scrunched up her face. "You couldn't speak Equestrian?"

Spanner shook his head. "The languages are similar, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to keep track of contractions. And synonyms. I struggled with words like 'the' and 'this', because the sound doesn't exist in my native language. Imagine going your whole life without making that 'thhh' sound. It's harder than you might think."

Spring wasn't sure what to say about that, but as she thought about it she thought it'd be kinda weird if she couldn't say 'the', 'this', 'there', and so on. "But you can speak Equestrian great now."

"I can speak Equestrian well now, yes" Spanner said. "After a month the ship arrived in Equestria, and I lived in the port town for about a year before I decided to move farther inland. I drifted until I found Hollow Shades, and after a few years, I had settled in...and nothing had changed. I was miserable. That's when I went to Small Steps, and you changed my life."

Spring smiled, and Spanner smiled back. She was so happy to hear that she had helped her dad, even if he hadn't been her dad when she first met him. "When I saw you, I knew you were a good pony, Spanner! Patchouli said you looked mean, but I just knew if I did my best I could make you smile. I really like making ponies smile!"

"I know you do, my little flower, and I love that about you."

She beamed at the compliment, but there was another question still on her mind that had been bothering her for a while. "Dad...? Was that stallion who came to see you a bad pony?"

"Stalwart Shield? ...No. He's not a bad pony. There are bad ponies out there, Springy, and sometimes it can be hard to tell who's good or bad, but you seem to have a good eye for figuring out who's which" Spanner said. "But it's like I said, he's just a relic, stuck in the past. He's doing what he thinks is right, doing the only thing he's good at."

"I thought if you had let him in, then he must be good. But then he tried to give you that film, and..." Spring trailed off, not wanting to bring it up again. Thankfully, Spanner understood what she was getting at.

"Again, I'm sorry that you saw that. I'm sorry for everything you've been through the past few days, Springy, but I promise you that everything will be alright. It's going to be a while, I won't lie to you, but I promise that we will be happy. Life will soon go back to the way it should be: fun, happy, and peaceful."

Spring nodded. "OK. I understand."

They were quiet for a few moments before Spanner spoke. "C'mon, let's go find something fun to do. I just...felt like I needed to come out here, and talk with you. I know it was a very stressful and scary weekend, but I just wanted to make sure you understood what happened, and to make sure you still... Still trust me."

"I do, dad!" she said. "I still trust you, and I'm not scared anymore! You're not a scary pony, you just had bad things done to you by bad ponies, but that wasn't your fault. I guess I'd be kinda upset if bad ponies lied to me and made me do bad things for them."

Spanner smiled. "Yes, I imagine you would be. But, you're a forgiving type, Spring, and that is a virtue itself." He stood up and Spring did so as well, and waited for Spanner to join her. Together they headed back towards Hollow Shades, a gentle breeze blowing some leaves by them as they went. "Springy?"

Spring looked up at her dad. "What is it?"

Suddenly he hugged her. A tender, gentle hug, that Spring eagerly returned. "Thank you, Spring. For everything."

Spring wasn't sure what she did that he would thank her for. She did what anypony would do for somepony who needed help. But she'd never turn down an opportunity to hug her dad, so she just nuzzled into him. "You're welcome, daddy."

Later, at home, Spanner had made some lunch for the two of them and Spring went to her room. She was looking to read some books, but first she had to tend to her flowers. They were starting to wilt a little bit, so she made sure to pour a little extra water into the planter for them. She set aside her watering pot and climbed onto the chair in front of her desk. She looked at the bit that Spanner had given her, all those weeks ago, nestled upright in a small wooden stand, and smiled. She pulled out her quill and parchment, and began to write.

She dated the letter, sealed it up in an envelope, and set it aside for her dad to address it. She hopped down, trotted over to her bookshelf, and picked out a short history book. She still liked to read story books, but as she learned more and more in school and from Spanner she was starting to read non-fiction more and more. She crawled onto her bed, facing the door, and opened the book up. The warm sun streamed into the open window of her bedroom, the distant singing of birds serene and calming.

Just as she was about to start reading Spring looked up at her open door. She could hear Spanner in the kitchen, washing dishes, and there was one more thing she had to do before she started reading. "Dad!" she called out, and the faucet in the kitchen was shut off.

A moment later Spanner trotted into the threshold of the open door, and he looked at Spring with a concerned smile. "What is it, Springy?"

"I love you, dad."

Spanner's concern vanished and his smile, now warm and gentle, widened. He trotted into Spring's room proper, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. She giggled, and Spanner put a hoof on her shoulder. "I love you too, Springy."

He left her alone again and she turned her attention back to her book, a permanent smile on her face. She started to read, but she took a moment to think about what Spanner had told her earlier in the park. He had explained a lot to her since yesterday, and she had learned a lot, but there was one thing that she knew was true. Not only because her dad had told her so, but because she believed it herself.

Everything would be alright.