//------------------------------//
// Reap 
// Story: Sow The Wind 
// by Jhoira 
//------------------------------//

Rain Shine ran through the fields to get home as quickly as she could. Grinning as she felt the wheat stalks ahead of her, warning them of her coming that they could lean just out of her way, then then close in behind her. She would leave no trace as she ran through the field. She had always been more in tune with the world around her than her kin. No unicorn could match her in magical power, natural knowledge, or navigation through the forest. She had bamboozled her friends and family multiple times by being able to navigate through the forest with her eyes closed. She didn't need to see, the trees, the leaves, the flowers, everything called to her faintly, and guided her path through.

She hopped over the nearby hedge, not wishing to impose upon it for passage. She quickly searched around for the fancy counting device that her father had bought in the city. Finding it over next to her father's bedside she snatched it up. Grinning as she turned she let out a small gasp as she saw her mother in the doorway to her parents room. She grinned as she held up the abacus and her mother could only sigh. "Did he really forget it, again? It's the reaping time."

Rain Shine grinned as she shrugged, floating the abacus behind her as she walked past her mother. "Well, that's kind of why he needs it, isn't it? He can't keep numbers in his head."

Rain Shine got caught up by the tail in her mother's magic, causing her to look back. "I don't suppose it would be any use to ask that you come home after the work day?"

Rain Shine grinned and shook her head. "That depends, do you actually need my help with something?"

Her mother shook her head, sighing. "No, but you must stop spending so much time in the forest, away from the village. We have to find you a mate, you can't pretend like you aren't of age any longer Rain Shine. We must think of your future."

Rain Shine sighed and nodded, putting on her best long suffering face. "Yes mom... But really it's not that urgent! Or important, I can always just go live in the forest if you and dad kick me out!"

That elicited the most practiced long suffering face from her mother, far outpacing Rain Shine's own in its expertise. "You know that won't happen, but really Rain Shine, if something were to happen to us..."

Rain Shine relented and bowed her head slightly. "Yes mother, I will think on it. But we have a season of work, no time for courting this season!" She grinned and her mother considered. 

"Yes, this season is busy. So, then the time for courting will be next season, will it not?" Rain Shine sighed but nodded, inclining her head to affirm her consent in a formal manner, dipping her horn below her mother's. Smiling her mother nodded. "Very well then, have a pleasant day, Rain Shine."

Rain Shine turned and raced out of the house. Making excellent time by weaving through an outcropping of trees and over a small patch of brambles that, begrudgingly, granted her passage she made record time, which was why she was sent. Though her family and friends couldn't explain how she managed to be only of average speed on a road, but the fastest through the fields or the forest they knew better than to not make use of her skills. Skidding to a halt next to a middle aged unicorn, her father, Rain Shine deposited the abacus on a nearby bundle of wheat. "And there you are. In record time I might add."

Her father hoisted the abacus with his own magic as he raised an eyebrow. "Record time?" He started to count the bundles of wheat on his abacus. Despite Rain Shine's earlier comment he was actually excellent at math, but one could only keep so many numbers in place in his head. He calculated not only the bundles of wheat, but their likely yield of grain in the harvest. One never knew quite how many bad stalks there were in a harvest until one harvested. Some that looked good ended up bad, and some that looked stunted still yielded usable grain.

"Well if mom hadn't waylaid me with talk of getting married it would have been!" Rain Shine grinned as she started towards the wheat field and the reaping to help but... 

"And did you two come to an agreement?"

Rain Shine sighed, rolled her eyes. "Yes, father." She could almost hear the smirk behind her, from her use of the f word he knew she was being petulant. "Next season is the agreement." And after a pause, without her father asking a follow up or anything she bounded into to wheat field to help with the reaping.

When she was younger, and first discovered the full extent of her powers she feared that working in a farm would be horrible. It wasn't, plants were supremely practical things. They didn't fear or object to being harvested, despite it being their death. Even as they died they knew that there would be another planting. Another piece of them going on and growing in an eternal cycle. To be honest they didn't really think in the first place, but they had a sense of acceptance about them at the harvest time.

The days work went quick to Rain Shine. She didn't like to think about it too much because it made her feel dirty, but the reaping was always an... invigorating time. She shuddered a bit as she looked at the bundled wheat. She licked her lips as she felt more power inside of her than at the start of the day. It was like eating a hearty meal, but with her magic. She had just eaten an entire field of wheat, and needed to go deposit it.





Rain Shine arrived at the pool, deep inside of the forest. She leaned down, putting the tip of her horn in the water, and let out the massive flood of energy she had stored. It had taken a week for them to reap all their fields. They didn't all belong to her parents of course. The entire community of their little village came together to do all the threshing in one big event. Her parents actually had the fewest fields because they specialized in high quality wheat. Most others raised barley, oats and buckwheat. The other one that raised wheat raised an inferior but more hard wearing strain of wheat, and used an inferior but faster threshing method.

On top of that her father grew summer wheat. It grew faster and was harvested earlier, hence the name. Usually one would either grow another quick crop or let the field lay fallow after that. But that has never been a problem for her family. Rain Shine always uses a bit of her stored up power to coax another crop of wheat out, despite it not being the right season. She also made sure her town's fields never became exhausted, despite their not getting to properly lay fallow like they should have.

Rain Shine pulled back and let out a small gasp. Shaking her head she blinked rapidly to get rid of the stars moving over her vision. Sitting down hard she let out a sigh. She always felt so tired after dumping magic into the pool. But it was just in ratio from when she was just absolutely brimming over with extra magic. She always kept a bit more than she had before the reaping. It jet her slowly expand her own powers without any chance of simply knocking of a, metaphorical, bucket of magic and getting it everywhere, again, metaphorically. She'd done that once. It's how her father ended up with a brand new barn in less than an hour, that then burned down in the same time.

She laid down next to the pool, peering into it and letting her mind wander. Not in the sense that she was thinking about random things. In the sense that as she gazed into the pool her mind took flight. Her soul, whatever it was that caused on to be more than a plant, flew over the trees. It sped towards her village. A dozen homes in all. Twelve unicorn families that had long ago traveled to the north out of the unicorn city states in search of a simpler life. Settling next to the forest surrounding a small mountain range. They had started as eight families, gained one through migration and slowly three families grew large enough to split into their own. A small and close knit community.

She came down to soar through the small of the city. Having their homes relatively close together was slightly inconvenient for the layout of their fields, but more than made up for it with the community and security it offered. Bandits might look at a single farm house as a target. Twelve houses, not so much. Ten farming family's, a blacksmith and a forester. She sped past and circled every house as she flew faster than any pony could match even at full gallop. She had a purpose here, but first she shot up into the sky, simply enjoying the sensation of being free from her body.

Leveling out as she finally was done with her flying and returned to the reason she had come. Floating around their main square, at least, what they called the main squad. It was really just the open are their houses clustered vaguely around. She floated amongst the chatting ponies, considering them all. She could hear them, but she ignored it. Her intent wasn't eavesdropping, it was considering her village. She wasn't even considering what she had spoken to her mother in earlier. She was thinking about her people, they lived a working but pleasant life. They were beholden to no master. They sold their goods at a nearby city and paid for the privilege. That was fair and good. She, like usual, failed in her intent. But that was alright.

She stood up as her soul snapped back into her body. Well, she wasn't sure it was her soul but she always thought of it as that. She could travel long distances very quickly, but whenever she went back to her body, no matter how far away that was, she was back instantly. She gazed down at the pool, brimming with magical energies from innumerable wisps she'd gathered from dying plants during the reaping. Even as a fully she'd gathered the pieces together, without even knowing how. After every reaping she set out to view her village, and sometimes beyond. But every time she came back, unable to think of what to do with this resource she hid deep in the forest. The sprinkling she sent over the fields to refresh them took so little of its power. It had another small use, and it was a good use, she just wished it had more use, it's current use wouldn't drain even the pools current magic in a thousand years.

Thinking of said use she looked up to see her visitors. Smiling she gave a small bow to the floating lights that trailed out of the tree line. "A fresh delivery for your dining pleasure." Most of the lights simply floated to the pool, alighting on its surface for a short time before floating back into the forest. A few, however, floated over to Rain Shine. "Hello there, how had the forest been this week?"

Though the forest spirits didn't talk they did let off a small pulse of energy. One that Rain Shine could somehow interpret. Causing her to smile gently. "Oh, you scared off a unicorn from the forest? It wasn't one of mine, was it?" A few more energy bursts , and Rain Shine shook her head. "One in armor. Probably a city guard. Was he chasing anyone?" More energy. "Guess he was just curious." The forest spirit expressed its concern. "Don't worry about it. You didn't hurt him. And even by his own laws the city has no claim on this forest. It's too far away from their territory."

To Rain Shine's surprise she'd found the forest was very concerned with pony legality. They didn't make their own laws, besides one. Otherwise they simply adapted to the ones around them, as was their nature she supposed. Their law was simple. Don't take more than had been generated last year. Don't cut down more trees than saplings had survived the year before and don't hunt more than newborns survived the year before. The entire pint the forest has was to survive and grow. It wasn't too concerned about losing parts of itself to pony axes or arrows.

Rain Shine turned to one of the forest spirits and smiled. "How goes the trees?" She nodded as it answered. "Oh, excellent." She grimaced. "I always hate having to try and convince the foresters to make due with already dead wood for their needs." She looked to another spirit. "And the deer?" She nodded, grinning. "Excellent!"

Rain Shine continues to hold a small court between herself and the forest spirits. It wasn't really anything formal. She was a well respected member of the community who allowed the village to use all its land to its maximum potential. If she leaned on someone they would usually capitulate. And that way both her village and the forest that they depended on prospered.

While there were only one family that were officially foresters, the entire village used the forest. Berries, nuts, fruits, the lesser unintelligent animals, firewood and everything. Without it their little village couldn't prosper as it did, and might not have survived at all. But from all the reports she was getting, the forest was in excellent health. 

Rain Shine rolled her eyes as she got a long stream of energy relatively shouted at her. While they were always the minority they tended to be the loudest. Ill pleased spirits cane to complain about the chopping of trees, the stealing of nuts, and the hunting of animals. Rain Shine calmly listened, or rather, understood their complaints, since the spirits didn't actually speak. She calmly pointed out how hypocritical the spirits always were since they never complained about squirrels taking nuts, wolves eating animals, or termites eating trees. The angry spirits always grumbled but took their fill from the pool anyway. They disliked the ponies, but not enough to pass up free magic.

Rain Shine looked about as she waited a few more minutes, but no one else wanted to speak to her. Or maybe, nothing else perhaps. It was very unclear if the spirits were actually people or not. But either way, their meeting was over, so she got up and left the spirits to their feast, turning to go home.