Spreading my wings, I landed on the platform overlooking the river. The sun was colouring the horizon a slight red in the distance, filtering through the oncoming clouds.
Tonight had been one of the rare nights during the rain periods where the skies had been clear and I had decided to take the time to have a look at the damage to the farms for myself.
Hooves touched down softly behind me as my pair of thestral guards landed behind me. It wasn’t a lot, just a slight creak of wood and a soft clip-clop as their hooves landed.
Crossing over to the edge of the platform to look down at the damage below. In all honesty, it likely looked worse than it really was.
We were growing rice after all, so it could have been a lot worse when the river burst its banks and flooded the forest below. The pony in charge said she expected that we lost maybe thirty or forty percent as the water was deep, but in my mind, that was the least of the problem.
The river brought a lot of… just junk along with it. Mud, branches, and whole trees now covered most of the fields and couldn’t be cleaned up safely before the water receded, which was weeks away.
“What a mess,” I said with another sigh before I glanced back at the sisters, “I guess that's what we get for having the fields right next to the river.”
My guards for the night were actually a pair of identical twins. Both of them tall for thestrals, a bit over average for a pegasus actually, their coats an almost pitch black and slightly lighter dark grey manes. With their cutiemarks covered by their armor, basically the only way I found to tell them apart was the side they wore their braided manes at and I still wasn’t convinced they didn’t switch from time to time to mess with me. In fact, I was fairly convinced of it.
Shade Leaf walked up on my left, looking down at the fields before she looked at me, “I heard it could be worse, your majesty.”
“So far, we may have lost forty percent, so it could,” I admitted as Leaf Shade walked up next to her sister, also looking down towards the dark waters, “So it could have. But that’s now and there are weeks of rain left.”
“We still have the train, your majesty,” Leaf Shade pointed out, “We managed so far. Anything we can grow only helps.”
I nodded, “We just have to learn from our mistakes,” I agreed and frowned down at the water, “...And maybe get better at building water barriers,” before I shrugged and stepped back, “Best head back I think before those clouds reach us even if it was nice to be able to stretch our wings a bit. Rain always results in being stuck inside.”
Leaf Shade nodded, “We might be better at it than pegasi, but even we can’t fly right in a downpour.”
Very true. And while our coats dried easily and our wings didn’t retain water, nopony liked being rained on. Especially here where it was less like rain and more like standing in a waterfall.
I knew that the times I ended up being caught in it outside, I always ended up feeling half drowned in minutes.
“Let’s go then,” I said and rubbed my eyes with my hoof, “When we get back, you can take the rest of the morning off. I’m just going to look at some reports before going to bed.”
“If you like, your majesty,” Shade Leaf agreed with a smile.
I spread my wings and took to the skies, circling upwards before banking off towards the village. We weren’t the only ones out flying tonight. Even a casual glance showed me dozens of bats flying about, trying to get errands down before the rain returned.
The glow of the market stood out brightly among the glimmering lights of the village. Everypony trying to get things done and then packed up again on the rare rain free day. There was talk about a covered market in the lower village, but there wasn’t space for it yet.
So during the rain period, while some ponies kept their market stalls open, most just shut it down and treated it as a holiday, staying home wherever possible and just curling up with a book.
Something that sounded really good right now actually. Reading those economic reports can wait until tomorrow. The latest Daring Do arrived on the last train and I haven’t even had a chance to look at the cover yet!
Circling down to land on the railing of the throne room, I glanced back and waved as the twins broke off and dove down, circling down towards the guard barracks.
Stretching my wings for a second, I then folded them and left the throne room for our living quarters.
As I entered the living room, Sunset looked up from the book she had been reading in the light of her horn on the couch, “There you are!” she said with a smile, poking the book closed with her hoof as the light faded away from her horn, leaving the room lit only by a couple of candles.
I nodded, crossing over to jump onto the couch next to her, “Hey,” I said and touched my horn softly to hers, “Sparks not home yet?”
Sunset shook her head, “Actually, she was back before me. She’s already asleep in the bedroom.”
I blinked in surprise, “Really?” I asked and glanced at the closed bedroom door, “She’s usually back later than I am.”
Nodding, Sunset rolled over to look up at me, resting her head on the cover of her book, “Said she was tired. I think she wanted to talk to Luna about something.”
“Ah, yes that would do it,” I agreed and shifted, resting my head on Sunset's chest as she put her forelegs around me.
One of us being asleep at an unusual time would certainly attract Luna's attention. In fact, that was the usual way Sunny or Sparks had a conversation with her as they couldn’t just go meet her in the dream realm on their own.
“Want to join her? I’m getting a bit tired,” Sunset admitted, “been a long day.”
“Actually, I had been hoping to read the new Daring Do?” I admitted with a small smile, “Been looking forward to it since it arrived.”
Sunset grinned and nuzzled, “Enjoy your book,” she said and scooted out from beneath me before rolling onto her stomach and stretching with a groan, “I have an early morning tomorrow. Inspection at the train station.”
“Are you sure we can’t relax that by now?” I asked as I enjoyed the view, “The shield bubble is up.”
“Yes, and it works for everything larger than a pony,” Sunset said and relaxed again, shooting me a knowing look, “Plenty of things pony sized in this jungle that think we look like snacks. There is a reason why we still live either behind walls or in trees. And why all houses in the lower village have thick walls and window shutters.”
I nodded. All true. I wish it wasn’t necessary, but we still needed guards everywhere anypony was on the ground. Or like on the ground village, behind tall walls tipped with spikes.
Sunset slipped off the couch and glanced at me with a smile, “Have fun, but don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams.”
As she left, I put her book on the table and floated the package containing mine over to me to unwrap it before I blinked and stared at the cover.
Daring Do, in what was clearly a jungle. Next to her, almost back to back was a batpony stallion as they were surrounded by dinosaur-like predators, each of the ponies holding a burning torch in their teeth to ward them off.
I glanced at the title, “Daring Do and the Secret of the Night,” I read slowly. Now I was curious! Opening the book I started to read.
And hoped it didn’t have an R rating. Because that may be a bit awkward.