12. Start of a new life.
A loud whistle reverberated throughout the room. Chloe’s ears twitched and flattened against her head as she and the other two mares looked towards the source of the disturbance. From her position between the light-green mare’s front legs, she could see a cast iron stove on the left wall. A large, black teapot was resting on one of the burners as steam poured from the spout and flames danced around its bottom.
“Oh, looks my water is a’ callin’ me,” the light-yellow mare chuckled, trotting over to the stove and taking the pot off the burner. “We’re going to be a’ havin’ potato and carrot stew tonight, so don’t dawdle on yer work.” She gave her daughter a quick glance as she pulled something out of a nearby container and placed it in the boiling water.
Granita licked her lips as she set down her saddlebags by the front door. Potato and carrot stew was a godsend compared to what they had been eating. “That sounds great, Ma! Speakin’ of work, can the youngin’ stay inside with you so I can get my chores done?” she asked, pushing the filly out from between her legs.
“Now you done heard what your father said last night. She is your responsibility, and since you wanted her to be here so much, you are going to have ‘a look after her and get your chores done. Or did ya already done ferget what ya told Pa last night at supper?” She glanced down at the filly and then back to her daughter. “Now I would love to look over the darling, but what would your father say if he came in and saw me watchin’ over her?”
“He wouldn’t like it none, I reckon,” she replied, rubbing a fore leg.
“Darn tootin’ he wouldn’t.” She smiled warmly at Granita. “Don’t fret none. I’m sure she won’t be that much of a problem fer you to handle. Now you better skedaddle before Pa finds that you still haven’t started your chores yet.”
“But what about her name? You said you had just the name for her, didn’t ya?”
“The what now?” She paused for a second. “Oh! Her name. Yes, I’ll tell you and Pa at suppertime. Wouldn’t be fair if we were to leave him out now would it?”
“But, Ma-”
“Don’t ‘But, Ma’ me, I said I would tell the both of ya at supper, now git!” she scolded, waving a wooden spoon at Granita.
“Yes, Ma.” She nudged the still unnamed filly towards the door. “Come on, let’s get goin’ before we both get in trouble,” she said with a small sigh.
Chloe stood in between the light-green mare’s front legs, and now that she was at least somewhat certain that she wasn’t going to be hugged to death, she could finally take a look around the small room.
None of the walls were painted. Instead, they were simply bare wood, with the grain and texture fully visible. The ceiling was also bare, except for a lone lantern that had been hung from a rafter in the middle of the room. Below the lantern was a square wooden table accompanied by four matching wooden chairs, one on each side of the table. On the left wall was the aforementioned cast iron stove. It sat in the middle of the wall, with cabinets hanging to the right of it.. There was a small countertop with more cabinets and drawers underneath that ran to the back wall. To the left of the stove were a few shelves. Various foodstuffs and other miscellaneous items had been stacked on them in no discernible order. Under the shelves was was a pile of quartered logs, no doubt used to fuel the stove.
Why do they have wooden chairs shaped like, well, normal chairs? That doesn’t make any sense. She rolled her eyes and continued looking around. Because everything else here make sense, right?
To her right, there were two doorways. She couldn't really see where but from looking at the outside of the house, they couldn’t go very far. In between the doors was a small wooden table with an oil lamp and a few books on it. A picture displaying a couple of ponies hung directly above the table. One looked very similar to the older mare and the other was of a brown stallion with a black mane and tail that she didn’t recognize.
The far wall, from what she could tell, had a backdoor and a few various items lining the baseboards. There were a few pegs on the wall that were currently holding up some articles of clothing. This entire room was about the size of the living room of her one bedroom apartment. With all the stuff crammed in here, there was barely any room to move around without running into something or another.
After getting a good look at the room, she turned her attention to the strawberry maned mare that was messing with the stove. She cringed as the older mare picked up the teapot by the handle with her teeth and covered the open flame with a lid, snuffing it out. How in the world did she pick up that pot without burning herself?! That whole thing looks like it is cast iron with just a bit of wood on the handle and it didn’t look very pony-safe at all. One false move and the pot could swing towards her, burning her chin and neck.
Chloe was interrupted from her thoughts as a hoof nudged her forward, removing her from her hiding spot for some inexplicable reason. The light-yellow mare looked at her briefly before saying something to the younger mare. A few more sentences were exchanged between the two as the older one sounded like she was getting annoyed with the conversation. Chloe again found herself being nudged, but this time around it was towards the door as the light-green mare opened it, motioning for her to go back outside. I feel like a freakin’ pinball around these ponies! Always pushing or pulling or grabbing…it never ends! If only I wasn’t so damn small.
She let out an exasperated breath, glaring up to the mare in front of her before looking back to the strawberry-maned mare who was still busy cooking something or other. So what exactly was the point of coming here anyway? Was that older mare just a friend of hers? But why did we come here just to leave again? That makes no sense. We obviously didn’t come here to drop off or pick up anything. Did we come just so she could show me off to her friend or something? Chloe glared at the older mare one last time. Oh well, at least I won’t have to worry about being crushed to death by a certain overzealous mare.
Chloe turned back to the other mare who was standing at the edge of the open door, patiently waiting for her to exit. She trotted through the door, stopping just outside, and inhaled deeply, taking in the all too familiar scent as a small smile crept across her face. This smell reminds me of... Her eyes scanned over the barnyard, bringing back childhood memories as one of the hens in the chicken coop make a loud cluck. ...home. She took a few more steps into the barnyard as the mare followed alongside her. Good old dirty, smelly home.
Granita led the filly around the side of the house and over to the oh-so-typical-colored red barn with white accents. She opened the barn door and ushered her tag-along inside. The barn has a typical layout; empty stalls lined one side while tools, hay bales, and several burlap sacks lined the other, separated into three compartments by walls that ran all the way to the ceiling. There was also a loft with a ladder going straight up from the ground floor to a square entrance.
Chloe wondered just how a pony could possibly get up there with their anatomy, but it seemed she would have to wait for another day to find out as they walked past the ladder. The light-green mare grabbed a dingy looking saddlebag, placed it over her back, and walked over to the large pile of burlap sacks. Chloe followed the mare, curious as to what they were going to be doing. Now that she was closer, she could see little pictures printed on the sides of each sack. Most of them depicted different crops from what it looked like. There was the usual; corn, wheat, peas, lettuce, etc… but most of them had pictures of apple on them. And those were the ones that the mare was starting to load into her saddlebag with a metal scoop.
I’m bored. I wish I had my phone or something. Chloe had been watching the mare load seeds into her bags for a few minutes now. Her eyes started to wander around the barn, looking for anything interesting. Oh, hey. What’s that?
Something metallic on one of the stalls shined in the sunlight, drawing the curious filly ever closer to it. But as she got closer, she noticed that it was just a plain old watering can. Disappointed that it was not something in the least bit interesting, she began to search around once more. From this vantage point she could see almost the entirety of the barn. Off in the corner was a single axle cart somewhat filled with hay bales. In front of the cart, closer to the wall, was a strange looking contraption that caught her eye. It had a large, metal wheel with a handle on it. There was a chute coming off its side that looked big enough to throw something large in it. All this was supported by a wooden frame and four thin legs. The wall behind had multitudes of tools hanging on it along with cans and other various things that were on a shelf above everything.
Chloe trotted over, wanting to get a better look at this strange machine that was blocked in by the cart. There was too much stuff on the sides on the cart to safely get around and the only way to get a better look was to go over the cart. There was just enough room for her to jump up into the back of the cart and walk over the hay bales. She positioned herself directly behind the cart, looking up at the edge of it. Her tail swishing back and forth while she contemplated if she should sate her curiosity or just let it be.
Granita had been busy putting scoop after scoop of apple seeds into her saddlebags and didn’t notice that the filly had wandered off. With her bags now filled to the brim, she turned to where the filly was just minutes ago.
“Ya ready to- Hey, where did ya go?” She turned around and started looking for any sign of the missing filly.
Moments later, there was a loud crash followed by several smaller crashes and a distinct high-pitched yelp, all of which came from the corner of the barn. Granita cringed as her ears dropped. She rushed over to where the sound emanated from, hoping that the filly was alright despite whatever had just happened. Being so worried about the filly, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and the next thing she knew, her legs hit something that wasn't there a minute ago, causing her to lose her balance and tumble forward as she cried out in surprise. The ground came fast as her face slammed into it with a hard thud, and to add insult to injury, a good portion of the seeds she was carrying spilled out onto her head and the surrounding floor.
As Chloe rounded the corner, she collided into the mare’s front legs, sending both of them to the ground. The impact sent Chloe tumbling to the side, landing with on the ground with an ‘oomph’. She groaned, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position as she rubbed the sore spot her head, and the back half of her coat felt like it was covered in something heavy, warm, and very tacky, causing her flank to stick to the ground. She was about to check out what it was but caught sight of the mare who was just getting off the ground. She cringed as she watched the seeds fall from the mare’s head. Chloe could tell that she wasn’t very pleased with her at this moment.
“I-I didn’t mean too! I only wanted to look at something over there,” she sputtered out. Her ears drooped down the side of her face as she pointed to where she came from while doing her best to avoid eye contact. “I jumped on the cart and ended up knocking something into the wall and then...then everything just sorta fell.” She glanced up to the mare who looked like she was about ready to explode. “I-I’m s-sorry…”
Granita let out a frustrated snort as she eyeballed the filly. She wanted to be angry; she wanted to just yell at her for not staying put. But it was really hard to stay mad after seeing the sorry state the she was in. She had to actually stifle some laughter for a moment as she took the saddlebags off, shaking the remainder of the seeds from her body before heading over to the previously grey foal.
“Are you alright there, sugarcube? You’re not hurt or anything, are ya?” she asked with a worried expression while running a hoof over the filly’s forehead, moving her mane out of the way so she could check the spot where the filly was rubbing.
Chloe glanced up and saw a genuinely concerned look on the mare’s face as she checked out the red spot on her forehead. “I’m alright,” Chloe mumbled, pushing the mare’s hoof away. The sticky feeling that was covering a good portion of her body was getting to her, and she looked back at her flank.
Her jaw dropped seeing that her back half has covered in paint. The white and red had mixed together forming many different shades of pink along with dirt and hay sticking to it. “My-my fur!” she gasped, hastily getting to her hooves. Oh my god! I’m covered in paint and hay and dirt! She started turning around in circles trying to get a better look at her own rear until she got dizzy and had to sit back down. Holy crap! I didn’t think I had gotten this much paint on me...it’s everywhere!
Granita couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore. It was obvious that the filly wasn’t hurt too badly after noticing the way the she reacted to seeing herself covered in paint. Now that she was fairly certain the filly was alright, she went to go check on the damage to the barn. But not before making sure the filly wouldn’t go anywhere again. She didn’t want her to wander off and cause any more trouble.
Granita stopped laughing and put her serious face back on, clearing her throat. “You,” she said in a firm tone, pointing to the filly, “stay right here and don’t move a muscle.” She pointed to the ground. “Understand?”
Chloe got the gist of what the mare meant and nodded, lying down on the ground. Yeah, she’s pissed at me alright. Ugh...I’m pissed at me. I can’t believe I basically tarred and feathered myself. This is going to suck to get out. If it will come out...
“Good.” She trotted over to look at the mess the filly had caused. She stopped as she turned the corner. All the color drained from her face as she surveyed the carnage. Everything was awash in a sea of red and white, turning the ground and the tools pink where the colors overlapped. She could see several buckets of paint scattered on the floor that were leftover from when they painted the barn just months ago. The corn shucker had somehow been knocked over and was now laying broken in several pieces on the floor. Quite a few of the tools that had been hanging where now strewn across the floor, also covered in a lovely mixture of paint. Her mouth hung open; there were no words that she could say. This was going to take her quite a while to clean up, and she was going to have to do something with this filly. It was clear she would have to watch her every second just to make sure she didn’t get into anymore trouble.
Granita took a few calming breaths and thought about the situation in front of her...and behind her. The former, she could deal with later, but the latter was a problem that she had to take care of before it got worse. Thankfully when she returned, the filly was still in the same spot on the floor and gave her a quick glance before averting her eyes again.
“Alright, let’s go git you cleaned up before this stuff here up and dries,” Granita stated, pointed to barn door and giving the filly a nudge with a hoof.
Chloe sighed, carefully getting to her hooves as the drying paint tugged painfully on her fur. She kept her head low as she started slowly walking to the barn door, the solidifying paint on her coat wasn’t making it any easy to walk. She cringed as she sulked past the mess that she had accidentally created. Chloe could completely understand why the mare was upset at her. If some kid had come in her barn back home and done what she just did, she wouldn’t be handling the situation as calmly as this mare is. And that is what scared her the most.
Granita kept a close eye on the foal as they walked side by side. As they reached the barn door, she put a hoof out in front of the filly, stopping her as Chloe gave the mare a confused look.
“You.” She pointed a hoof at the foal again and then to the ground. “Stay.”
Chloe groaned and fell back to her haunches. She’s going to treat me like a criminal now, I just know it. She deadpanned at the mare, giving her a quick salute.
Granita just shook her head. She walked a few feet over and grabbed a brush and a large bucket that was next to the wall. Upon returning to the awaiting filly, she motioned her to follow. They made their way out of the barn and over to the side of the house where there was an opening in the fence that led into an orchard. Chloe wondered where the mare was taking her as she was guided through the field of young apple trees. With the orchard behind them, the pair reached a small opening of grass. Chloe could see a small stream up ahead whose banks were dotted with regular ol’ trees. Granita motioned for her to stop as they reached the edge of the stream that snaked its way throughout the farm.
Chloe glanced at the bucket with brush in it and then to the stream. “Oh no.” She started to back up. “There is no way I’m going to take a bath in a stream.”
“It’s just a bit of water. It ain’t gonna hurt ya,” Granita said, setting down the brush and filling the bucket up with water. “Let’s just get this over with so I can get to work.”
“You seriously want to give me a bath...with water from a stream?” she hesitantly questioned, looking at the mare in disbelief while backing up even more.
“I don’t have time to be playing games.” She glared. “Now get over here.” She pointed at a stop right next to her.
“No way.” Chloe shook her head, turned around, and started walking back to the house. She didn’t get but two steps before she was hastily lifted off her hooves. “Hey! Let me go you stupid horse!” she shouted as she struggled to get free. The much stronger mare easily kept hold of her, setting her down unceremoniously into the stream. “Ahhh! It’s cold! Let me go!” She splashed around in the water, hooves trying to find purchase on the slippery rocks as the mare just held her there until she stopped flailing about.
Granita didn’t want to be forceful with her, but the filly left her little choice in the matter. She needed to be cleaned of the paint before it dried. Otherwise, they would have to shave her fur off to get it out. After several minutes of the filly thrashing about in the water, Granita was wet from head to hoof but it seemed that the filly had finally either calmed down or just ran out of steam. Either way, all that moving around had at least gotten some of the paint removed.
“Stay,” she ordered as she loosened her grip. Granita kept her hooves around the filly, waiting to see if her command would be adhered to.
By this time Chloe was already soaked to the bone, and her legs were tired from straining against the mare. She sat there shivering, chest deep in the cold water, as she watched the clear water turn a light shade of pink. Now she just wanted to get this over with as quick as possible and warm back up. In a matter of moments, she felt a brush on her back, attacking the more stubborn of the paint that clung to her fur. The brush would start at the top of her back and work its way down until it made it to the base of her tail or got caught, sometimes very painfully, in the thick layer of paint. Then it would return to the top of her back, starting the process all over again.
Chloe had figured she had been getting cleaned up for at least thirty minutes when the brushing finally stopped. She felt the mare’s hooves wrap around her midsection, pulling her out of the stream, and setting her on the bank with just her tail left in the water. Thank god she let me out. That water is fucking cold!
On instinct she stood up and shook her body back and forth, throwing the cold water in every direction off of her fur, causing the mare to turn her head away. Chloe was about to start walking over to a particularly inviting looking sunny spot just beyond the bank of the tree-lined stream when she felt a hoof on her back, gently pushing her back to the ground.
“I know it doesn’t feel good and you’re cold, but you still got a bunch on your tail that we need to get off,” Granita said in a motherly tone. She kept her hoof on the filly’s back as she started to work on getting the paint out of her tail. “You know, if ya hadn’t been messing around back there, we wouldn’t be doing this right now, and I could be out in the fields getting my actual work done.” She sighed. Pa wasn’t going to be happy about the barn or the fact that she wasn’t going to get much done today. She would just have to deal with that later on.
Chloe laid there on the ground, still shivering as the mare constantly brushed the paint out of her tail. She wanted nothing more than to just be warm again and the sunny spot, just a few feet away, was calling her name. The only problem was that every time she moved a muscle, even the slightest bit, the mare would put more pressure onto her back, holding her in place. Yeah, she is treating me like a criminal now… I know this was entirely all my fault, but did she have to use freezing cold stream to wash me off with? She sighed, closing her eyes and relaxing her muscles as the mare continued cleaning her tail off. Maybe this is her way of getting some payback. Besides, it’s not like the brushing feels terrible or anything like that. It actually feels quite nice. Well, except when the brush gets stuck and a she rips a few strands of hair out.
It took Granita about half the time to finish up the filly’s tail as it did her coat. It wasn’t as bad since it had been soaking the entire time and the paint came out much easier. “There, all done.” She noticed that the little one was still shivering and picked her up into a hug.
What the- Chloe was about to push away from the mare, having no desire to be hugged by a horse, especially one that had just practically froze her to death, but stopped. Ohhh, she’s really warm...and soft. She wrapped her fore legs around the mare, pressing her chest and face into her chest, as the warmth permeated through her coat and into her skin. This isn’t really as bad as I thought it would be. Still, getting washed and then hugged by a horse? She shuddered at the thought. Well, at least I’m not freezing anymore...
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MOAR!
YOU SIR! Are just cruel. FIRST the Cliffhanger and then THIS!
Will we EVER hear this name idea?
Oh boy, is this just the beginning of CMC level mayhem, or will this just bea rare thing to happen?
Jerk
Y u so cliffhanger
What's wrong with hugging a horse? Is it because the horse can hug back?
Doesn't really make sense to me why she finds that strange enough to mention.
Great chapter though. I'm wondering if her mindset is starting to fit around her current age. She is acting a tad childish and inquisitive...Or she was always like that and I'm thinking too much on it.
4262919 4263020
The double cliffhanger wasn't intentional. I swear!
I just ran out of time to get a chapter released this week and decided to split it into two chapters instead.
Chloe's new name will be revealed in the next chapter, I promise.
4263012
That depends on If she can find something productive to do with her time.
You know what they say: idle
handshooves are the devil's workshop.4263209
Would you not find a horse giving you a bath and then hugging you, I dunno, a tad bit strange?
Chloe does seem to be acting a bit more childish, doesn't she?
4263253 Giving me a bath, yeah I would be totally weirded out by that. A hug I wouldn't mind though...But maybe I'm just a huggy person.
4263253 Do you make a Pinkie Promise?
4263293
Chloe makes for a very cute hoers!
*Why do they have wooden chairs shaped like, well, normal chairs? That doesn’t make any sense. She rolled her eyes and continued looking around. Because everything else here make sense, right?* Yeah, probably chairs weren't invented by ponies or something.
Also, why she keeps acting like a little kid, is her body?
Spot The Typo