Ponies Give Me Hope

by Kuyashii

5 Feast and Firelight

I awoke hours later completely refreshed from my little nap, and I made my way toward the door to peer out into the growing twilight. The first stars of the evening were twinkling in the sky, and the chill bite of the wind made me glad that I had forgotten to change out of my sweats the day before. In the distance, between the ramshackle structures, I could see the bright and cheery glow of some kind of bonfire. By the sound of it, every pony in town was there. It wasn’t long before I convinced myself to head over and investigate; didn’t Twilight mention something about dinner?

I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I began to think about food. There was no time to waste, and so I soon found myself at the edge of a small clearing in the center of town, trying to make sense of what was going on. It looked like a massive feast had been prepared.

Tables were scattered all around what appeared to be the town square, piled high with a variety of pies, cupcakes, muffins, and other baked goods. The ponies had already seen to a great deal of the meal; heaps of empty dishes and tins were collecting at the ends of every table. The smell was absolutely heavenly. My mouth started to water, but I felt rather uncomfortable, as though I didn’t belong and didn’t have the right to barge in and eat. Of course, I most definitely did not belong here.

Thankfully, Twilight Sparkle noticed me standing outside of the firelight. She smiled and hopped down off of the bench she was sitting on, beckoning to me with a hoof.

“Max, you finally woke up! How’s your head?”

“It feels fine,” I replied. “Whatever was in that potion seemed to work.”

It really didn’t hurt anymore, but I wouldn’t have noticed anyways; my stomach was noisily demanding that I appease it. Once again, I had begun to attract the attention of the ponies, but since they were already somewhat familiar with me, it wasn’t long before their interest returned to their plates.

Maybe I was still dreaming. I couldn’t really be sitting in the midst of a feast with several hundred ponies.

Well, I thought, I’m still here after my nap. Don’t you usually wake up when you fall asleep in a dream?

“Max? You’re staring,” Twilight laughed, snapping me out of my reverie. I hope she still thinks that I’m just a little hazy from the blow to the head, or else I must seem rather rude.

“Right, sorry,” I apologized. “So, what’s going on here? May I have something to eat? I’m really hungry.”

“Oh, of course you can!” Twilight shoved a massive pie in front of me, and I sat down in a hurry. Before I took a bite, I glanced around first to confirm a growing suspicion.

“No forks, or spoons, or anything?”

“Forks?” Twilight cocked her head to the side. Oh well.

I dove right in, using my hands as necessary to shovel as much of that delightful treat into my mouth as I could fit. It was apple pie, mixed through with some kind of spices that tasted vaguely like cinnamon, and a thick, flaky crust that was baked to perfection. All of the ponies at the table stopped eating to watch me give that pie what for, but I was too hungry to care.

I finished it in about ten seconds, and as soon as I had pushed the tin back and licked my fingers, Twilight maneuvered a tray of cupcakes in front of me.

“Try these,” she said. They looked tasty, but smelled like they were infused with apples as well. Didn’t they have any other fruits? Maybe an orange?

Random, non-equine visitors can’t be choosers, I suppose.

I crammed them into my mouth, and discovered that the blend of spices was completely different. Taken all together, it barely tasted like apples at all, but it was immensely sweet.

“Those cupcakes were made by the pink pony from the group of us that found you,” Twilight explained. “I’ll have to introduce you; her name is Pinkie Pie!”

I nearly choked. What I couldn’t manage to force down my throat, I ended up spewing all over the table. The ponies opposite of me probably received far more for their first contact with a human than they could have ever hoped.

“Are you alright?” Twilight said, slapping my back heartily. There's nothing like a hoof to the spine to clear out your airways.

“Yeah,” I coughed. “I’m fine, thanks. It was just so good that I overdid it.” I could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks.

“It happens to all of us from time to time,” she said, giving me a little half smile before she kindly changed the subject. “So, how exactly did you end up here?”

“Well, I was running through the park near my apartment, and I slipped and fell.” Short, sweet, and concise.

“Apartment? Where do you live, exactly? You’re a long way from Fillydelphia or Manehatten, but I don’t think you’ve come from either of those cities, have you?” Twilight’s ears perked up, eagerly anticipating my response. I needed to get to the bottom of this.

“No, I definitely have not,” I replied. “Where am I right now?”

“You’re in New Ponyville!” Twilight gestured in a wide arc to the whole town.

“I don’t think I’m in California anymore.” I definitely hit my head harder than I thought.

“No, you’re most certainly not in Cal-i-for-nia anymore,” she said, enunciating each syllable as she tested the word. She seemed pleased, and smiled at me before continuing. “You’re in Equestria! Deep within the Everfree Forest, to be precise.”

Equestria, and the Everfree Forest . . . So, for my purgatory, I get sucked into the wonderful world of My Little Pony? Well, I thought, if the food is always this delightful it might not be half bad for an afterlife. Raised voices behind us drew Twilight’s attention, and she gestured toward the distant edge of the clearing.

“Look, another patrol group is coming back!” Three ponies stepped into the firelight: a timid looking yellow one, with wings and a flowing pink mane; a white one, with a wavy purple mane; and a big, red stallion with a mop of an orange mane. The returning group exchanged greetings with their relief, who trotted up to meet them. The other patrol strode off into the darkness, as nearby ponies waved goodbye or stomped their hooves to send them off. The yellow pony and the white pony parted ways with the stallion, and made their way over to Twilight once they had picked her out of the crowd.

“Max, I’d like you to meet Fluttershy and Rarity, two of my best friends!” Twilight beamed with joy.

“Oh, uh . . . Hello,” Fluttershy muttered, shrinking back from me. As she turned away, I saw that she had a mark on her flank as well; hers was three butterflies. The white one, Rarity, had a trio of diamonds for her mark.

“Delighted to meet you, sir,” Rarity said as she made an elegant curtsy, which she managed to do gracefully despite having four legs. I liked her; she seemed to take meeting a human in stride. Meanwhile, the other ponies at our table had grown rather rowdy, all of them scrambling over one another to grab the last pie.

“How was the patrol, girls?” Twilight asked, leaning toward them in order to hear over the melee.

“It was fabulous! Absolutely quiet, just the way I like it,” Rarity replied.

“I-it was alright,” Fluttershy squeaked, still turned obliquely away from me. “Has there been any word from Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight began to answer Fluttershy’s question, but stopped to address me first. She must have noticed my curious expression.

“Rainbow Dash is another friend of ours. She’s currently leading a team of Pegasi over the Eastern Mountains to scout out a more permanent place for us to settle down,” Twilight explained. “As nice as this place is, it’s definitely not our home.”

“How did you end up here?” I asked. I thought it was a legitimate question, but Twilight didn’t seem especially keen on answering it.

“Say, girls, have you eaten yet? You must be hungry after your patrol.” Real subtle Twilight, but lucky for you I can take a hint.

Rarity and Fluttershy said goodbye and set off to find a less crowded table for dinner. When Twilight and I turned back to our plates, we discovered that the other ponies had utterly consumed everything and then left while we were talking. Well, dinner had been nice enough.

“What warranted the feast tonight?” I asked.

Twilight answered my question cheerfully. “Usually, on this day of the year in Ponyville, all of the ponies get together and have what we call ‘Winter Wrap Up’. The Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth ponies each form teams with their own list of tasks to help bring in spring.”

I looked around, but I couldn't find a single speck of snow. “Seems like you all did a good job.”

Twilight shrugged. “There wasn’t really any winter to wrap up this year, but we decided that it would be a good boost to morale if we held the festivities anyways.”

I deduced that the Pegasus ponies must be the ones with wings, and that the Earth ponies were the regular ones. It was interesting to see so many different types of ponies working and playing together in harmony. Even the Earth ponies seemed content just to be themselves, without the ability to fly or magic spells. Their tight knit community was heartening.

“Oh, the dance is starting!” Twilight exclaimed, leaping up when she noticed that the ponies were beginning to gather around the fire, moving the nearest tables back to make room.

“You go have fun.” I didn’t have to tell her twice; she rushed off before I could finish.

The ponies formed rings around the fire, spreading out in layers like an onion. A group off to the side began stomping their hooves in a rhythmic beat, while the circles of ponies began to move in opposite directions every other layer.

They twirled in and out, switching places as they spun. The beat increased in tempo, and the ponies matched it, exchanging spots with other dancers so quickly that it seemed impossible to keep track of where one should be, until the mess cleared and the layers rematerialized again with all the ponies in their original locations. It reminded me of a waltz, only far more complex.

I spotted Twilight near the center, spinning around until I wondered how she didn’t fall over. She was waving her hooves around as she danced; it looked rather ridiculous, but it was somehow endearing at the same time. The whole lot of them seemed so carefree that I found it contagious; I couldn’t help but start tapping my foot to the beat.

As they danced, a pony across the square from me drew my attention. The violet Pegasus from Twilight’s patrol, Lily, was standing at the very limit of the firelight, watching the dancers with a mournful expression. She turned away and moved down an alley, disappearing into the night. To follow her, or not to follow her? It wasn’t a tough choice. I’ve always been too inquisitive for my own good.

I made my way over to the alley, dodging ponies who were still eating or obviously trying to appear deep in conversation so that they wouldn’t be thought less of for not joining in the dance. With one last glance backward to make sure that Twilight hadn’t noticed, I melted into the shadows. The alley connected to a street, which led out of the town, disappearing into the thick, tangled bushes at the perimeter of the Everfree Forest. The bushes swayed slightly; Lily must have already passed into the inky black beneath the boughs of the trees.
I crept toward the edge of the forest, checking once more to ensure that I hadn’t attracted any attention, before pushing through into the wilderness beyond.

Author's Note:

When I first discovered the Redwall series, I managed to talk a friend of mine into letting me borrow his massive stack of the first twenty or so books, and I binged on them through one warm, memorable summer. The feasts in the world of Mossflower were always meticulously detailed, and grounded the fantasy in something that everyone could relate to- the love of great food, peaceful times, and pleasant company.

Thank you, Mr. Jacques, for all the "good yarns".

Comments

[dark_zero]

interesting
is somewhat different from the others hie stories
because the ponies live in the forest
because they left their old home

'll wait forward to the next chapter

greetings and good luck

[CrystalMoon884]

Just guessing here that there was some sort of great pony war or something?