//------------------------------// // A Talk About Shadows // Story: Her Brother, Her Angel, Her Depression // by Kustom95 //------------------------------// Cloud and Starcatcher made their way down the hall and entered the dining room once more, emptied of everyone but Poundcake and Big Mac. The others had moved into the living room across the hall, and a few were outside on a small balcony Cloud had failed to notice before. Big Mac and Poundcake were talking about prices and such with a small pile of papers in front of them. As they entered the room, both of the stallions at the table looked up for a moment, and PoundCake got up and walked into the kitchen and Big Mac returned to the papers on the table. Starcatcher took a seat at the table and motioned that Cloud should do the same. “What are the numbers this month?” Star asked Big Mac “Same as always” Big Mac replied “Higher than what we need” “Is that enough to expand the orchard?” “Eeyup” came the simple and fitting response At this point Poundcake trotted back into the room, carrying a tray with several bowls and plates on his back. He deposited them on the table in front of Starcatcher, who thanked him for the meal. Cloud was confused as to why Starcatcher hadn’t gotten the food himself, and voiced the question to Star. “That seems kind of rude” he said “What are you referring to?” Starcatcher asked “If you knew there was food in the kitchen, why didn’t you get it yourself?” Cloud asked, tilting his head slightly. Poundcake overheard and replied across the table “That’s my fault. I’m horribly picky about how ponies treat my kitchen. I take after my father, I’m told.” Without looking from his papers, Big Mac added passively “he also makes a big fuss about any messes in there” “I don’t complain about Pumpkin’s messes” Pound tried to defend himself “Yer sister doesn’t count, she’s in there as much as you are and she knows how to clean so you don’t nag her about it” Big Mac came back as flipped to the next page. Cloud watched as the small exchange continued, and glanced over to see that Star had eaten over half of the food Poundcake had brought him. Poundcake dropped the argument with Big Mac, who hadn’t glanced up from his papers through the whole exchange. When he was thoroughly satisfied that his math was correct, Big Mac passed the small stack of papers across the table to Starcatcher, who had finished his meal with astounding speed. Not to mention a freaky cleanliness, seeing as there wasn’t a spot of food left on the dishes. “If ah’m right, then we can expand the orchard by five ta six acres. The question is, should we get somethin’ new this time?” Big Mac asked “We’ve got Apples and Zap Apples, some Cherries, Oranges, Pears, and Lemons so far.” Starcatcher looked over the papers and checked the math. “There’s enough for seven if we take a few bits from the savings” He offered to Big Mac “I’d rather not” “As for the crops, Darkcloud, would you like to choose? Cloud fidgeted where he sat. It was uncomforting, all this friendliness. He hadn’t expected something like this, and while welcomed, it felt a bit much for his first night there. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cloud asked “You can if you’d like, but you don’t have to” Big Mac said Cloud sighed, Big Mac and the others seemed like really nice ponies, but they were overdoing the welcome a bit. He felt a yawn pulling at his mouth. He tried to fight it but found that he was more tired than he’d expected. “Well, looks like you and me are gonna make the cider, Star” Poundcake said “why don’t you pack away for the night?” he asked Cloud Cloud nodded while another yawn took over “I guess I need some sleep” “It must be because of my attack earlier” Cloud excused himself from the table again, and began to walk down the hall to his room. Several voices sounded off as he passed the living room, wishing him good dreams. He thanked them and replied in kind, and made his way slowly down the stairs, his thoughts beginning to muddle together. He tried to concentrate on what his attack could mean, sometimes it was a precursor to something worse, other times it was an attack alone. He made it to his room and looked around as he sat on the bed. He had a vague thought about what his life could be like as his vision faded and he was embraced in the warmth of a dream. ______________________________________________________________________ “I need to see Zecora” Starcatcher told Big Mac The large stallion looked across the table at the thestral. “Why’s that?” the stallion rumbled “I need to talk to her, it could be something urgent” Starcatcher replied “That doesn’t sound good” Poundcake said as he returned from the kitchen “What’s going on?” “How should I say it? There are many ways to tell if somepony is sick, and there are many types of illnesses.” Starcatcher began to explain “Think of a shadow hanging over somepony. The shadow will become lighter when a pony is clear from danger and darker when a threat is present. This is how it works for most ponies. Thestrals have the ability to see this shadow and predict a safer course of action if we sense a threat. There are some exceptions to the basic rule of the shadow. For instance, some shadows are always light or dark, and others darken gradually and steadily, which indicates some imminent event which will end their life.” “I take it that something is wrong with Cloud’s “shadow” as you put it?” Poundcake asked “Yes, I believe so” “Why would you need to see Zecora?” Big Mac asked “If’n you can see the shadow and tell what’s going on, is that all you can do about it?” Starcatcher was shocked by Big Mac’s bluntness about it. He had just revealed that Darkcloud could die, likely sometime within the next year, and the farmpony had seemingly brushed it off like it wasn’t a concern. Big Mac noticed the look of shock that both colts were giving him and sighed. “Look boys, it’s not that I don’t care, but when somepony tells you something like that, and nothing can be done about it, it’s best to put it out of your mind. Never forget it’s there, but don’t fret about it and make sure you’re prepared for when it happens.” “How can you say something like that?” Starcatcher asked, confusion apparent in his voice. This was not what the stallion was normally like. He knew Big Mac the farmpony, a caring, strong and fatherly figure. Big Mac shouldn't be one to brush off somepony dying. Big Mac sighed and began to speak “When you get old enough, you learn to deal with this kind of thing. Take Fluttershy, for example, every time one of her animal friends dies, what does she do?” “She grieves, buries it, and tells the family” Poundcake replied “What’s that got to do with it?” “After that, she goes on and keeps taking care of the others, doesn’t she?” Both of the colts nodded and shared the same look of confusion “She doesn’t let it get in the way. And the same thing applies to me, and you’re lucky it didn’t happen with you” he said, pointing at Poundcake. Poundcake’s expression deepened with his confusion. Big Mac continued “When I was little, I had to go through both of my parents deaths. Thank Celestia I wasn’t there to see my father, but my Mother died soon after that, and I had to watch the pain as she faded away. In addition to that, I had all the responsibilities of the house thrown at me.” “I didn’t have to go through that” Poundcake pondered, his hoof on his lower lip as he looked at the floor in thought. “Exactly, ya’ll were too young to remember when Fluttershy and me took you in” “I was three, right?” Big Mac nodded solemnly, recalling the events that had happened fourteen years ago. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. “Anyways, what can Zecora do, besides tryin’ ta work her witchcraft?” “Her “Witchcraft” as you call it, can work amazing changes in ponies. Zebra magic works in ways that unicorn magic can’t” Starcatcher told Big Mac “If you think it’ll help, feel free to visit her” Big Mac responded “Just be sure to come back by the end of the weekend” Starcatcher nodded and excused himself from the table. Big Mac walked around the table and gathered up his papers without a word. He then made his way to the door, telling Poundcake “I’m gonna grab a little shut-eye before we get ta making cider” Poundcake nodded and got up himself. “I’m gonna clean the kitchen then” Big Mac left him to his business and poked his head in the living room to wish everypony goodnight. Diamondroot and Greenhoof were already filing down the hall to get some sleep, and stopped to wish him a good night. Pumpkin and Spring were chatting and playing cards when he looked in, planning their next trip into Canterlot, no doubt. Fluttershy got up from the couch and followed Big Mac from the room. Everything was calm for a few minutes while the girls chatted, Pumpkin listing off the ingredients and utensils she wanted to get, as well as a few cookbooks for rare recipes. Spring was interested in some new writing materials, showing her papers to a few publishers, and replacing her glasses. Eventually, Poundcake came in and joined the girls for a few hands of the game. “So. Why did Starcatcher leave?” Spring asked “He’s visiting his Aunt” “Again? That’s the third time in the past two months” Spring noted “What’s his excuse this time?” “He says she teaches him some of the potion recipes she’s famous for” Pound gave the usual response “He’s a scholar, what would you expect from him?” “Explain how she’s his ’Auntie’ again?” Pumpkin asked Poundcake rubbed a hoof on his forehead, trying to remember the lessons Starcatcher had given him on Thestral social traditions. “Um….. He recognizes her as a teacher and master of her craft, and he learned from her for about two weeks while she was fixing his wings and as such sees her as a caretaker” He said slowly, still collecting his thoughts “However, since they are not related by blood, he has imprinted on her as a superior and was set on referring to her as ‘Master Zecora’. But she found that offensive in some way and insisted on him calling her ‘Aunt’, because it’s a zebra tradition to refer to an elder who you hold respect for, or whom you have a close relationship with, by the title of ‘Aunt’ or ‘Uncle’.” Poundcake rattled off as he remembered Starcatcher’s explanation Pumpkin took a few moments to piece the information together, but quickly gave up. “Would you like the short version?” Spring asked “Please” “Basically, he enrolled himself under Zecora as a student, but she didn’t want him to call her master, so she decided to use a Zebra tradition to ‘adopt’ him as her nephew” SpringDarling told her Pumpkin stared at her for a minute before saying “I’m sure that makes sense, and I kinda get it, but you lost me” “It’s okay, sis, those social rules start getting really confusing for other species” “It’s not really important either way. As far as I’m concerned, my priorities lie with gathering the best apples in the orchard for the pies tomorrow.” “AH! QUIT TEASING MY MIND!” Spring wailed, throwing her cards in the air and then clasped her hooves to face dramatically “Granny. Smith. Apple. Pie” Pumpkin whispered the words “Why can’t you make it!?” Spring asked, pointing an accusing hoof at Poundcake “Because I’m better at cooking, I need something to do at any given minute” Pound said “It’s a pegasus thing” “And I’m better at preparing and occupying myself while my beauties gain their flavor” Pumpkin stated “Wow, look at the time” Spring said, looking at the clock on the wall, genuine surprise in her eyes. It was late, almost midnight, and the all three ponies felt the sudden weight of exhaustion on their shoulders, Poundcake less so than the mares. “We should get some rest then” Poundcake said, gathering up the cards “G’Night” The two mares made their way out of the room, each thinking her own thoughts. Spring wished Pumpkin a good night when she reached her room. As she tucked herself into bed, she blurrily wondered if Poundcake had given her a fake answer to Starcatcher’s visit to Zecora. She shrugged it off as she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.