Thing a Day: Crane
"A big crowd today," The old pony murmurs to himself. A smile crosses his lips, and then he looks down at the gathered crowd of foals. "Now, Now.
Isn't this a suprise. I've yet to see a gathering of youngins this size in quite some time. Let me guess, your family is out shopping, and you all decided to
hear a story from good old Ichabod. Is that right?" He asks, and watches as they all nod, eyes wide with wonder.
"Alright. Lets see... Have I told you the story of Crane?" A chourus of no's replied, and Ichabod's smile only grew wider. "Ah, it's one of my
favorites. Let's see. Crane's early days were simple. He lived like you and me, his eyes wide and curious as he explored. And like everypony else, he
couldn't wait for the day when he got his cutie mark.
And then, one day, he got it, just like you or I. He was walking along, when he saw the most majestic bird. Tall, white, and proud, the bird which he
claimed namesake from stood before him. And the bird turned to him, looked him over with one eye, and flew away. He was stunned by it's majesty as it slowly
flapped it's wings, and a small smile came over him. But here's the most miraculous thing: A few minutes later, the bird came back to him. And it had brought
him a gift.
The gift was a fish, as a bird is wont to catch. But this was no simple fish, nay. It's scales shimmered of all the colors of the rainbow, and it's
eyes were incredibly wide, and expressive beyond words. Unlike normal fish, this one had eyes of a pony, like you or I, and they had the most magnificent
rainbow hue. He looked down at the fish in wonder, before realizing how young the fish had to be. After all, it was only a few inches long.
He thanked the crane, and a flash of light burst out, his mark appearing. And that mark was one of three flying cranes, cruising over the water. But
then worry came over him for the beautiful fish, so he went and returned it to the sea. As he threw it in, he heard the faintest of whispers, but discredited
it to the wind."
A hoof came up from the crowd. "Mr. Ichabod? What did it say?"
"Ah, I expected one of you to ask that. Very well. The whisper called out to him 'thank you.' Crane smiled, but realized that he had just thrown away
the crane's gift. He was saddened, when a very large fish came up to him. He quickly picked it up and brought it back to the crane, returning the gift. The
bird bowed, took the carp, and was off."
Ichabod took a breath, and looked at the clouds above. "It's such a nice day out, isn't it?"
The foals nodded, and one asked "Mr. Ichabod? Is that the end of the story?"
He looked down at the cream coated filly and smiled. "Of course not, silly filly. Where was I... ah, the shimmering fish. Anyway, Crane went home
that night, and tried to find all of the bird related jobs he could hold, so that he could spend more time with those beautiful birds. But none of them
suited him. He searched high and low, and nothing reached out to him.
Until he met a griffon diplomat. Their conversation was one for the history books. It went something like this..."
-+-+-+-+-+-
"Sir? I hope I'm not interrupting you." Crane asked, stepping up to the seemingly bored griffon.
The griffon regarded him for a moment, before looking back to his nails, uninterested. "Sorry son. I'm not giving out autographs today, and I can't
take you back with me to see my homeland."
Crane laughed at that. "Oh, no sir, I wasn't looking for that."
The griffon's interest was kindled, slightly, and he turned to regard the colt with one eyebrow raised. "Oh? Then what was it you wanted to see me
about?"
Crane gazed at his deep, golden eyes with hope. "Sir, I wanted to know if you knew of any unorthodox jobs involving birds? Crane's, to be
particular?"
The griffon was intrigued, and decided to think about it. "So, you don't want anything like birdwatching, or wildlife conservation ah? Hmm..." He
thought for minutes, but to poor Crane it felt like hours. Then, the griffon snapped his fingers. "Aha!" He exclaimed. "I've got it! Have you ever heard of
the job 'Fisherman?'" Crane shook his head, and so the griffon continued. "It's an old art, from before our times. It meant that someone would go out and
catch fish as their job."
Crane was intrigued. "Why would somepony do something like that?"
The griffon frowned. "Fish are good for you. Protiens from the sea help build muscles." Crane's expression went from curious to horror. "Oh, that's
right," the ambassador remarked. "Your kind are vegetarians. No matter. I believe you could find some other use for the fish? Perhaps as pets?"
Crane gulped, and nodded. "Yeah... Pets... Thank you sir!" He said with a bow. "I just might try that!"
-+-+-+-+-+-
"And so, with the griffon's advice, Crane became a fisherman..."
"Excuse me?" a mint-green hoof was raised, and a filly asked her question. "Why is it fisherman and not fisherpony?"
Ichabod chuckled. "Ah. You see, Man was a creature, also known by their long name of 'Human,' that lived long before griffons or ponies. As a token
of respect to a race now extinct, some occupations still have the ending of 'man' rather than pony or griffon."
"Ah." She replied, before sitting down.
"Now, as I was saying," Ichabod continued. "Crane became a fisherman, catching fish in the old ways. But none of the fish he caught made good pets,
so he would always let the smaller ones go, and he would give the bigger ones to the cranes. Until one day, a crane came to him with a gift. The crane
brought him the most vibrant orange fish he had ever seen. The bird gave it to Crane, before flying back to the waters. That fish sold that very day.
And on the next day, the crane came back, with another fish, this one a deep sea blue. And the next day, a solar yellow. Eventually, they settled
into a routine, Crane providing food, and the birds provided pretty fish for pets. Until one day..."
-+-+-+-+-+-
"What's this?" Crane asked as the bird flew in, obviously burdened by the enourmous fish it was carrying. "I've yet to get something this big. Are we
celebrating something?" Crane thought back, and the bird landed, dropping the fish into the tank. Crane was snapped out of his thoughts by the spash, and
looked into the tank at the enourmous fish within.
It had to be at least three feet long, as it reached from one end of the tank to the other, and it had to weigh more than a newborn foal. But that
wasn't the most spectacular part of it. The most fascinating part was the fact that the fish's scales rippled with all of the colors of the rainbow, and it's
eyes were the most expressive he'd ever seen.
He gasped, and then looked at his old friend, the bird. "How long ago was it that we first met? Five, Ten years ago?" The crane nodded, and he
smiled. "Ah, so this is like a tenth anniversary present, then? Very well..." He reached down, and gave the bird a fish equal in size, if not glamour. "Here
you go! I hope you enjoy!" He said with a grin.
The bird took the offering, bowed, and flew off to enjoy this days bounty. Crane picked up the fishtank and headed home, when he realized something.
He couldn't bring himself to sell this fish. He couldn't let go of it again.
He got to his house, and immediately set about making a large tank for the fish, before he carefully transferred the precious giant. That's when he heard the whisper again. "Thank you again. That's twice. And twice debt means that I guess it comes time for me to take up my end of the line, doesn't it? Alright... Two wishes. What two things do you desire most in life? Wealth? Power?"
Crane sat there, stunned, but the question sparked something in his mind. "I guess... If I had to choose right now, I'd want to be able to speak crane, so that my closest friend and I could talk together, and... To be able to tell my story, forever."
Crane watched as the fish nearly smiled, before it flashed golden. A beam of golden magic arced between the two, Pony and fish, and then the wishes were granted.
-+-+-+-+-+-
"He lived a happy, full life, spending quality time with his bird, and his bird's children." At that moment, a tall, old crane landed before all the assembled foals. With it were two smaller, young cranes. Ichabod regarded the bird with a smile, before turning back to the crowd. " You could say, he lived happily ever after. And that, fillies and colts, is the story of Crane."
"Mr. Ichabod? Can I ask you a question?" Asked a wine-colored, pink maned filly. "What's your last name?"
To that, Ichabod smiled. "Aha. You always were a smart one, Cheerilee. It, to answer your question, is Crane. Ichabod Crane."