//------------------------------// // Chapter 6, First Fall // Story: The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 3 -- Follow the Equestrium // by shysage //------------------------------// Everypony decided that their Summer was just too short. It was amazing, but not near long enough. Fall was ushered in by a day that started colder than anypony remembered recently. Before even heading out, Summer flew up and retrieved the coats, one at a time. It quickly became clear that Sue's coat no longer fit. Lee's was tight, but would still keep her warm. Sue's was way too small. Shysage gave Sue his coat, which fit quite well. Anyway, Shysage mentioned that his Mare would keep him warm, if need be. Summer and Shysage both smiled at each other. They knew this was true. Even though Shysage and Summer spent quite a bit of time in a nice patch of Sunlight, the day went fine. The family took a walk, both in the morning, and in the afternoon, and they all ate and drank some water too. Still, nopony in Shysage's family liked the cold. But they all knew Winter was coming. Well, until the next day. It was a 'normal' day, and coats were not necessary. The family was up early, ate quickly, and then headed to the big meadow for what would be the last day they could fly. They flew there, following Lee, and then enjoyed the day in the air, as Pegasus families should. Sensing that this might be their last opportunity, Shysage kept his family there most of the day. Nopony complained. Near dusk, Summer had Sue lead them all back to their home, slowly. Summer flew with Lee, and kept track of her energy. She was doing fine. As usual, their big tree was hard to miss. Heading for the door of their home, they made a pleasant discovery; new coats for Sue and Lee. Both new coats were a little lighter in color, and looked very nice. They fit both Sue and Lee too, and looked to have a little growing space even. They would need them from that point on. This was, again, a very nice gift from the townsponies. Summer just wished they knew who to thank... Shysage got his coat back from Sue, but Summer just smiled, and said she would 'keep Shysage warm' any time he wanted. Shysage just said softly "I'll remember that tonite, precious Mare." Since it wasn't very cold yet, Sue and Lee let mommy and daddy sleep together and by themslves that night. Sue and Lee just slept next to each other. Shysage kept his coat on, and lay on his side up against the wall. Summer climbed up under his front legs and was quickly in Shysage's loving embrace, tucked up against his chest and neck. They basically just hugged all night, and enjoyed being close. Shysage actually kept Summer warm, but it didn't matter. Neither of them slept very well, but enjoyed it anyway. They would do this occasionally from that night on, with their girls' permission of course. That Fall also brought one other gift from the townsponies, a bunch of small candles, and a fairly large but rough-cut metal plate to put them on. This was also an amazing gift that anticipated a need Shysage knew they would probably encounter. When the weather was so cold it prevented them from opening the door, they would still need to have light in the house. Even one candle would make a huge difference. And Shysage also knew that even one candle could warm the house slowly. Of course, it could also start a fire, so all of this needed to be taken into account. That was the other reason for the bucket of water. Shysage knew the candle needed to be near the wall of their house, and the metal plate should be up on rocks, but still had to be very stable. Shysage also knew he needed to come up with a safe, reliable way to light a candle, aside from always having one going, which was also one option. Shysage knew flinty rock scraped over the rough surface of the metal plate would probably generate a lot of sparks, but their floor was dried pine-needles, and that could prove to be a bad combination. Shysage had also not seen any flinty rock on their walks yet, either. Well, he had all Fall to figure this out. Shysage also knew that he needed to find a better door for their house. The bark was good, but they needed a piece that covered the entire hole so their house would stay warmer in the winter. Shysage just got in the habit of checking around their house every few days looking for more bark. Nasty weather later in the fall would knock off a larger piece of bark, and that would do it. That Fall, Shysage also tried to store up some food for the girls during the Winter. They knew of a few places nearby that had Oats mixed in with the grass. Maybe once a week during that Fall, the family would walk to one of those places. After the Oats were gone in those spots, they just walked further away from their house in search of more Oats. Around the edge of the meadow where they did their flying, they found a lot more Oats. They made a few trips there and back. For Oat collecting, Shysage slipped his neck under the handle for their water bucket, took it near the river, then dumped it out. Then he would carry the bucket to the Oat stands, and they would carefully fill the bucket with Oats. At first, they tried to nip the stems off, but this slowed the process way down. After realizing this, they just carefully placed the Oats in the bucket with the stems down. When they were further away from both the city and the road, Summer would change into her 'people' form, and maybe change Shysage too if there were a lot of oats. It was a lot easier to get rid of the stems as 'people', and the bucket was quickly full of just the heads of the Oats. This really was the fastest way to collect Oats. At any rate, near the end of the Fall, they had a substantial pile of Oats for the girls. Summer and Shysage discussed this with the girls. It was more important for Lee to eat the Oats during the Winter because she was younger. Sue was probably old enough that she could just wait and eat when Summer and Shysage did. Rather than just restrict Sue, they all just asked her to take it easy so there would be more left for Lee. That Fall, 'school' did not go quite as well as Shysage and Summer had hoped. The main reason was that, with everything else going on, Shysage was having difficulty coming up with a suitable 'clip' solution. In addition, Shysage had yet to come up with suitable ink or paper. They rarely found any berries on their many Summer walks, and that would be the basic ingredient for the ink. Also, they had not found any plants with broad enough leaves that could be dried and serve as 'paper'. Besides, they had seen no Ducks or other large birds around, and the quill would probably need to come from something like that. Using the 'clip' thing for writing was just not going to happen, at least not now. They continued using their basic chalk-board on the ground, and Summer and Shysage both did the best they could with that. Basic math concepts were still fairly easy to communicate. Summer would frequently use some of Shysage's large pile of pine cones to better illustrate adding and subtracting and such. Words and sentences were impossible on their little clay area. For this reason, Shysage felt that they would brave a trip into the city, together. Shysage was hoping they had a Library, and a fairly simple book would go a long way in helping both girls start to get a grasp on basic reading and writing skills. They left early on a cold but sunny Fall day, with their coats on, of course. They headed to the main gate. This was the first time they had entered the ponies' capital city. When Shysage came to Equestria, he gained access to the Library by talking to the ruler of the realm, Princess Celestia. Shysage hoped to use the same plan here. Shysage felt that 'King' was probaby the safest bet for the ruler, a hunch based on what he had seen around the city. Shysage approached one of the guards at the main gate, then said carefully and slowly "Can I see the King?", and then Shysage slightly bowed his head a little. The guard at least heard 'King', then said simply "Ah..." and then turned, and pointed to a large building off in the distance at the opposite end of the main road through town. The building was far bigger than any of the other small houses in the city, and Shysage decided the King must live there. Shysage said "Thanks" and bowed again, then he and his family headed to the Kings 'palace'. That's what Shysage decided to call it anyway. Shysage and his family walked slowly, and most ponies completely ignored them. There were small groups of ponies along the way, but it seemed the ponies always gathered according to the three main pony groups, Earth, Pegasus or Unicorn. They saw a certain amount of what looked like 'commerce', but they couldn't tell. They were soon to the door to the King's palace. Shysage approached a guard there, and said slowly "Can I ask the King if I can use the Library?" This guard must have heard "King" and "Library". He quickly replied "Ah... Nom?" Shysage decided the guard wanted his name, so he said his name slowly. The guard then said simply "Com..." Shysage and his family followed the guard down a long hall, then into what Shysage thought was like an 'audience hall' or something. The room was quite big, and had a high ceiling. The King was standing on a raised platform, that was accessed by maybe 6 or 7 large steps. Shysage quickly realized that they should probably not use the steps. They followed the guard to the base of the steps, then the guard sat down, and Shysage and his family did too. The King was mumbling, or something... "All ded..." is what it sounded like. And he seemed transfixed in front of a picture on the wall behind him. The guard said carefully "King Thars, Shysag for teh Librory" The King was still mumbling... "Mar ded... dappont onz ded... we all ded zoon... Bah..." The guard repeated himself, obviously used to this... "King Thars, Shysag for teh Librory" Without even turning around to look, King Thars mumbled to the guard "Bah... Go... we all ded zoon aniwy..." That must have been a 'yes', the guard got up and said "Com..." again, and led them down a short hall, right turn, another short hall, then a stairs down to a lower room. Shysage looked down the steps, into what they could see of the room. He saw a few rows of book-shelves in the room... But there was no light down there... And there was water standing on the floor, that smelled like it was all the sewage produced by this city. It was terrible, and Shysage would not take his family down there. Shysage turned to the guard, then bowed, then said slowly "Thanks, No..." The guard just laughed, like he expected this, then said "Com..." again, and led Shysage and his family back to the main door and out. Shysage bowed again, then "Thanks..." and the family headed back down the main road, away from the King's palace. Again, the townsponies just ignored them. Well, except for a small group of Earth pony mares, talking along the side of the road, maybe half way to the gate, who sincerely smiled at Shysage and his family. Summer had a hunch here too, and then stopped, bowed to the group, and said quietly "Thanks..." The mares all smiled back. Summer was pretty sure they were involved with the coats. And she was glad she could thank them. The coats made a huge difference. Shysage and his family were soon back at their house without a book. They would just have to make do... Towards the end of that Fall, both Shysage and Summer realized that Sue had grown very quickly in the last six or seven months since they had arrived here. Sue was almost as big as Shysage, and would probably end up a little bigger. During that same time, Sue's mane and tail had faded substantially, from the Yellow they used to be. They were now almost as light as Sue's coat. Well, they did spend a lot of time in the Sun, but Shysage didn't think that was the cause. None of this mattered, Summer and Shysage loved both girls no matter what. Still, it was exciting. Both Summer and Shysage knew that ponies often changed substantially between foals and full grown. It was always fun to try and think what their girls would one day become. Whatever it was for both girls, Summer and Shysage were devoted to helping 'their girls' get ready for whatever path their lives would take. And Summer and Shysage never talked about true friendship with the girls, but did their best to show this gem every minute of the day.