Chapter 27
There was something lumpy between Sumac’s head and his pillow. It took him a few sleepy and confused seconds to figure out that it was his mane. He slid his head around against his pillowcase, trying to smooth his mane out to get rid of the lumps. As he did this, he felt two forelegs grab him and pull him closer.
A moment later, there was a somewhat damp snuffle against his ear, then a kiss. He didn’t mind. He was hurting, it was more than soreness, he was groggy and had a headache. He had trouble remembering last night and a good part of yesterday afternoon.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” Trixie said in a low whisper and her lips tickled Sumac’s ear, causing it to twitch. “Kiddo, I know you must be hurting. How about I help you get to the bathroom, then get you some breakfast, and then I’ll get you some pain medicine… does that sound good?”
“Thirsty,” Sumac croaked, and it hurt to speak. He didn’t bother trying to say anything else. His mouth was dry, too dry, so dry that his tongue felt as though it would crack open if he kept moving it.
“I know… the pain medicine will make you thirsty.” There was another kiss followed by a gentle squeeze. “You’ll be okay though. Pebble is downstairs, and Cinnamon was brought here a little after midnight. He’s pretty messed up too.”
Sumac blinked a few times and even his eyes felt dry. He could feel his eyelids scraping over his eyeballs. He wanted a drink more than anything else in the whole wide world. He coughed, then wished that he hadn’t, as the scratchy feeling in his throat was agonising. He had a feeling that it was going to be a rough morning.
Sitting at the table, Sumac leaned against the edge and rested his forelegs on either side of his plate. He had already guzzled down two glasses of apple juice and was working on a third. He hadn’t said much of anything to Pebble or Cinnamon.
Cinnamon’s hind leg was wrapped in a bandage and secured against his body to keep it immobilised. The colt looked miserable, he looked as miserable as Sumac felt, which was pretty miserable. Even in his current state, Sumac felt bad for Cinnamon. He didn’t know what was going on, he had trouble remembering the events of yesterday.
Sitting on the edge of the table near Pebble, Boomer begged the filly for food, which Pebble provided. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Pebble was the only foal present that didn’t look like a miserable lump. She was still wearing her nightgown.
“What took so long for them to bring Cinnamon to us?” Pebble asked.
Looking up from a cup of breakfast tea, Lemon Hearts addressed the question that Pebble had asked. “He stayed in the hospital for a while for observation, and then nice Warden Wormwood visited him and they had a talk.” She looked over at the colt sitting across the table from her. “Somepony from foal services will be by today to check in on him.”
“I like Wormwood,” Cinnamon said in a groggy voice. “He was nice to me and brought me a bottle of Celestia~Cola. He said it was his favourite and I liked it too.”
Somewhat bleary eyed, it had been a long night for Trixie, the blue mare nodded her head. “I think I’ve come to like Wormwood. It’s strange, I was so scared of him, but last night… last night, he showed me how others see me.” She looked over at Sumac, her eyes distant, and it took several long seconds before she continued, “He gave me the proof that I’ve been craving… needing… that others think of me as a good pony. I know it sounds silly, but I worry so much about how others see me… if they’ve noticed that I’ve changed. If they can see that I’m trying to do good. And he showed me… he showed me what others think… they think that I’m a good mother and somehow, that makes everything better.”
“A good mother, a good friend, and a good mare,” Lemon Hearts said as she turned her head to look Trixie in the eye. “I suppose we all need a little convincing of our own goodness from time to time.”
“Yeah.” Trixie slumped down on the couch, there was no room for her at the table, lifted up her teacup, and took of sip of breakfast tea.
Even in his groggy, disoriented state, Sumac could sense that something was different about Trixie. Something had changed. Something had happened, but what it was, he didn’t know. Last night was a blur. He had a vague memory of a ginormous bat winged pegasus visiting them.
Using his telekinesis, he slipped his straw between his lips and kept drinking. As he slurped down more apple juice, he lifted up a thick, sticky piece of pancake, tearing it off, and held it out for Boomer, who let out a happy trilling sound when she saw it. Sumac was hungry, but he wasn’t sure if he could swallow something doughy and sticky, like pancakes, but he didn’t say anything. He would try to do so in a bit, once he had more to drink.
Grabbing the bite of food in her fingers, Boomer’s maw opened wide and she crammed the entire sticky lump right in, then her tongue darted out to lick her fingers. When she swallowed, the big lump could be seen sliding down her narrow neck.
Taking a more direct approach, Boomer, who was still hungry, opened her mouth wide, gave Sumac the saddest eyes she could muster, and then pointed down her gullet with her finger as her tail swished behind her. Her pantomime couldn’t make it any clearer—she was hungry and wanted more food. Sumac rewarded her by tearing off a huge chunk of his pancakes, which lay steaming on the plate in front of him.
“She’s smart,” Lemon Hearts said as she watched Boomer eating.
“I can’t wait until she talks.” Pebble pushed her now empty plate away and rested her front hooves upon the edge of the table. “Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re very welcome, Pebble,” Lemon Hearts replied. “Oh goodness, I need to get to work. Trixie… good luck looking after the little ones.” Eyes narrowing, a sly smile spread over Lemon Hearts’ face. “Say, Trixie… tell me… how do you feel about looking after a houseful of foals?”
Not knowing what to say, Trixie shrugged, but said nothing in return.
Looking up from her book, Trixie stared at the front door. Somepony was knocking. She blinked, startled, and realised that time had slipped away from her while she had been studying magic. She rose from her chair, her knees creaking, and winced when her bad leg popped.
She glanced over at the couch, where the three foals sat, Sumac appeared to be half asleep, Cinnamon was awake but glassy eyed, and Pebble was reading to the both of them in a low, monotonous voice that sounded an awful lot like her mother’s.
Horn glowing, she pulled open the front door, then stood with her mouth agape, rather surprised by who she saw. Trixie took a step back away from the door, making room for her guests to enter, and she said, “Hello Twilight Velvet. I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Previous directors spent too much time behind a desk. I’m trying to remedy that.” Twilight Velvet stepped inside, moved out of the way, and then turned her head to look at Trixie as Wormwood entered and stood beside her. “Twilight told me to tell you that you’re getting paid for today, Miss Lulamoon.”
“Oh.” Trixie backed away, tilted her head back, and looked up at Wormwood. “Good morning, Wormwood. Something tells me you haven’t had much sleep.”
“No.” Wormwood grinned and then adjusted his dark glasses.
“Poor guy.” Trixie clucked her tongue. “It’s nice seeing you, Wormwood, don’t get the wrong idea, but why are you here?”
“He’s my trainee,” Twilight Velvet replied.
“What?” Trixie did a double take. “What?”
“Warden Wormwood is set to retire in just a few weeks.” Twilight Velvet grinned. “He’ll be joining foal services as a social worker and foal fetcher.”
“Oh, Trixie sees…”
Moving past Trixie, Twilight Velvet made a beeline for the couch. She smiled at the foals, a warm, sincere, loving smile, and then sat down on the floor in front of them as Pebble closed her book. She cleared her throat, made herself comfortable, and then looked Cinnamon in the eye.
“It’s good that you have your friends with you,” she said in a smooth, soothing voice. “I have some good news for you, Cinnamon. Now, I know that everything is scary right now and there is a lot to go through during this transition, but everything will be okay. You have your friends, you have nice ponies like Trixie and Lemon Hearts who are willing to help you, and best of all, you have a family member coming to look after you.”
The colt blinked, looking surprised. “But my father said that my family didn’t want anything to do with me.” Cinnamon looked confused and a bit hurt as he spoke.
Hearing the colt’s words, Twilight Velvet’s smile vanished. “That’s not true. Your father’s family didn’t want anything to do with him, but they’ve been worried about you. Now, they can’t all come out here and look after you, and I don’t think that you want to go and live with them, because you have friends here and you worked very hard to get into Twilight’s school.”
Cinnamon nodded.
“You have an aunt, your father’s younger sister… she’s a little young, but she’s at that age when she wants to leave home and make her way in the world. She’s agreed to come to Ponyville, live in your father’s house, and look after you. She’s dying to get to know you.”
“Really?” Cinnamon’s eyes went wide.
“Really.” Twilight Velvet’s head bobbed up and down. “Her name is Cassia and she’s taking a train right now. She’ll be here late tonight.” The older mare lowered her head until she was down at Cinnamon’s eye level. “Cinnamon, your father, he won’t be coming back. I think you know this already, as Wormwood spoke to you last night. Your father is sick… he’s very, very sick. The alcohol has made him ill. He’s going to be going away so he can get better, but once he’s better, he’s not going to be allowed to come and see you until you are an adult. When you are an adult, you can make a choice to see him, if you would like, or you can just move on with your life. I know this is going to be very, very difficult for you, but you have friends who will help you. And you will have Wormwood to talk to, if you feel troubled. He’s going to be posted here in Ponyville.”
Moving into the kitchen, Trixie began to prepare tea for her guests, all while watching Twilight Velvet interact with Cinnamon. There was something very maternal about the whole thing, and she hoped that she might pick up or learn something from Twilight’s mother. After all, Twilight Velvet had raised two ponies that had become royalty, so she had to have exceptional motherhood skills, or so Trixie reasoned.
Cinnamon, who had something of a smile on his face, turned and looked at Pebble. “I have an aunt that wants to meet me.”
“I have aunts. You’ll like having one. It’s like having a spare mother around and they usually say yes when your mother says no, because they want to be your friend, rather than your parent.” Pebble’s head swiveled and she looked at Twilight Velvet. She didn’t say anything, but she just stared at the middle aged mare with a peculiar expression upon her face.
“Indeed.” Twilight Velvet chuckled a bit, then returned her attention to Cinnamon. “Now, I need you to be a very good little colt. Cassia is scared to death. She’s never lived on her own before, this is her first time leaving home. She desperately wants to prove to the world that she is all grown up. She also wants to meet you. She’s only heard stories about you. So I need for you to be the very best colt that you can be to make her life easier while she adjusts. Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah.” Cinnamon nodded, then turned and looked up Wormwood. “If she gets scared, can she go to you for help?”
The big brute of a pegasus nodded, then sniffed as the fragrant scent of tea filled the air. He smiled, revealing his fangs, cleared his throat, and then Wormwood said, “I’ll be checking up on you twice a week. I’m going to make sure you keep your room clean. I’m on to you, Mister.”
A fearful expression crept over Cinnamon’s face and he gulped.
“I’d keep your room clean,” Twilight Velvet suggested. “Cleaning up after yourself would probably help Cassia adjust to being your caretaker. Think you can do that?”
Turning to look at Twilight Velvet, Cinnamon nodded. “I can keep my room clean and I can do dishes too.”
“Good.” Twilight Velvet smiled. “You know, I think everything is going to be fine…”
Have a nice read, folks.
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But I thought its been more that 5 years by now, shouldn't be more than 6 bet definitely more than 5... oh well.
And here most of us thought Trixie would be the next Bucky (foal wise). Nope, new characters ahoy!
Always a warm feeling with your stories.
Granted, sometimes it's anger at the characters, but still...
Is it just me or is there something between trixie and lemon hearts. They are good friends but I get a sort of vibe, at least from lemon hearts, that maybe there is something a little deeper there.
7326839 look at the chapter before this. Mostly with Wormy.
And moments later an explosion can be heard coming from the center of Ponyville. Mrs. Velvet should know better than to say something like that.
Cart before the horse time for me... but if Gloomy and Wormwood have a filly, I feel it should be named Absinthe (water and wormwood). I say filly due to the fact that the two sort versions I can think of, Abby and Sindy, are best applied to females in my neanderthal brain.
Nope. Still disturbed by Wormwood.
Otherwise, a nice, warm chapter and a bit of reprieve from the previous chapter.
7327125
Your human sense of individuality has been disturbed.
Imagine if you will, a pony's powerful need to belong, to be cemented into place within the herd. It is a different sort of psychology.
7327461
What about all the other problems with Wormwood. Like how fear controls are counterproductive to emotional health. While fear itself is not bad, being able to properly deal with it and not exaggerate it to crazy paranoid levels is important to anyone's ability to not live a critically awful life, and you have been very clear that you do not actually have to do bad things or even want to do bad things to activate their fear aura.
Instead if you are flawed you will be fear controlled because you are now impure. Their perfect moral senses kick in and automatically fearmonger you and you deserve it for not being pure.
That seems like a good way to make someone who is bitter or angry into someone who is paranoid, bitter, and angry, and afraid of or hates themself. Which won't be fixing that bitterness and anger anytime soon.
7326839 Oh boy, and I though that I was the slow one to understand those situations.
7328027
When shepherds decided to find a companion to look after their sheep, did they draw a sheep from the herd and say, "Guard your kin?"
No.
They found wolves and then bred them until they achieved the traits desired to keep the sheep safe. Do you know how sheep stay safe? By being scared of the sheepdog. The sheepdog is in charge and he means business. Failure to move along or stay with the herd means getting nipped. It is pain and fear that keep the sheep in line, but it is also what keeps them alive, safe, and secure.
And to hear you talk, it almost sounds as if you are saying that this is wrong. Keeping the sheep alive and well protected is wrong. Because it might scare them or hurt their feelings. You know what really hurts a herd animal's feelings? Being ripped apart, eviscerated, and eaten alive because the sheepdog or the shepherd didn't do their job.
I created the Wardens as part of a psychological component for an evolved herd-think. As fears, thinking, and equine psychology evolved, becoming both a herd and society, I tried to map out estimations, ideas, I tried to think of how shepherds might evolve as well. In this instance, the shepherd, (Celestia and Luna) didn't turn to wolves to breed faithful sheepdogs, but dragons, and then through selective breeding, created a race that was both sheepdog and shepherd.
If you find them scary or disturbing, that's great! That is ultimately what I was going for. I wanted something alien and off-putting. I wanted something that was as far removed from our own psychology as possible, but something that fit within the bounds of herd psychology. Based on the reactions, I'd say I did my job and I feel pretty satisfied.
7328210
I've seen studies that the heteronomy of humans over horses does hurt them psychologically and creates unnatural aggression within them. This I guess is softened by the sheperds being ponies as well, the alpha mares so to speak, but any kind of artificiality seems to be a quite negative factor on the psychology of an equine. Sheepdogs ain't natural on a deep level, which does explain the extreme fear they create in ponies, increased of course by their powers.
But this does lead to the question... Do Celestia and Luna fight fire with fire here?
Or is my bad vest pocket psychology to blame?
7326839 I think there is honestly. I think Lemonhearts likes Trixie more then friends.
7328210
In the end, immortal monarchs know best what is good for their little ponies. If you do not have shard of evil in your soul or bad secrets why would you ever object to this?
I understand what you are coming from, but it assumes a power balance which i find abhorrent. What you describe is the death of liberty and regression of thinking feeling creatures to some kind of permanent childhood. Quite dark, but i see where you come from, and know that there is people who would love such a thing in real life as well. This is in essence an Inquisitor with enough power so he can be content he will not make mistakes and has enough control that he or she can be lenient.
Could be perfectly fine for ponies? They are after all a race of their own, but then again i would not take a word of anyone who is living in society which accept this kind of thing, it is hard to know if they had smilies painted on their souls or if they are happy without 'assistance'.
Then again: Based on weed/sequel the grasp is not too tight for people who does not seem suspicious and the princesses are using kinder ways of manipulation and control like the Stiff Upper Lip Society.
7328591
Wardens go after the worst of offenders.
If you read MFD, you can learn about Fink Apple, who has a run in with a Warden. He comes away from it a better pony. But you will also get a different picture if you pay attention. The Wardens are losing. There are too few of them and too many ponies. They can't possibly deal with the overwhelming number of criminals in places like Manehattan.
Which is why the Stiff Upper Lip Society exists. Change has to come about somehow, a little at a time.
It looks like the situation's in an upswing. Always good to see. Now if only they could protect Sumac from shorting out his brain so often...
So the old badass of the area is only a few weeks from retirement.......
....
He is gonna die isn't he?
7328930
No. He'll casually walk away from the explosion in slow motion without once turning to look behind him.
7328940
I am now imaging the scene from the other guys
Well another day and another chapter.
So I have a question. It's kinda out there and really has nothing to do with the plot.
What would happen if a Warden used there mind powers on Discord?
Now I have my theories but I'd like to know what your final say is. Would it be unifective like Fluttershy's stare? Or would it over load them because he is so old and has done so many bad things?
I know it's just a silly little thing that just poped into my head at random.
Anyway this was a nice enjoyable chapter and now I must go and read TPRS.
-BFBL
7329222
It doesn't work. He's not pony enough.
7329233 Ah so one has to be pony enough for a Wardens ability to work.
Man, these colts have had a rough time of it.
That should be fun. I'm reading another on-going story at the moment with an animal companion who is gaining sapience and speech, and it is the cutest thing.
Wormwood as Twilight Velvet's protégé? Given the size difference, it half way feels like a sitcom in the making.
Awesome, it's good to know that Cinnamon won't have to leave the school purely on account of his father screwing up so badly. Plus, from the sound of the arrangement, there should be plenty of opportunities for Sumac and his extended family unit to continue interacting with him. This Cassia will probably need a certain amount of help with this being her first time out on her own.
7328210
Each time by the time I get to a decent computer for responses you've got multiple ones already...
And I've been through a lot of ideas for responses...
No. I am saying that fear controls, for a sentient populace, are neither the only way nor the best way to operate and protect them. Not when there is safety and prosperity, and possibly not even then.
Unless you saying the situation is so desperate that there is no option but to control them via misery. Is the world is so awful that they can only barely keep afloat because they have an inherently superior race created by their even more superior overlords that keeps them in line all the time?
Now, this is mitigated because you say they are only used on the worst of the worst, that not the whole civilization is kept in line by them but only the people who are obviously terrible, but in your hypothetical situation these controls would be applied to anyone stepping out of line because nobody can be trusted (because that's how sheep herding works, right?)
7330130
If it was as bad as you think it is, why is there still organised crime in Manehattan? Arson? Crime families that control the city?
If it was as bad as you make it sound, crime would be non existent. A few thousand Wardens against a population of millions. You do the math. I've been painting a much larger picture for those who have been paying attention.
7330606
Two things:
1. You made the broad metaphor you did, and challenged me that I must think it's wrong to protect ponies because it's just like sheep and sheepdogs, when I think that's wrong precisely for the reasons the metaphor is wrong: Sheepdogs don't protect a pack from itself but from behavior that would encourage outsiders, ponies are not sheep, a species that basically would die out now if the shepherds didn't keep them alive, Ponies are not in as much risk as sheep are, and ponies are more psychologically complex than a sheep where fear has a different impact on sheep which wouldn't amount to anything anyway.
So why wouldn't I argue against the metaphor you made that you made an accusation to me on?
(But maybe I should have just posted this list of reasons why the metaphor is flawed, and say they all add up to my disagreement.)
2. You have made it clear the Wardens fear applies to Tarnished. Is Tarnished one of the worst criminals? Is it healthy for him to be afraid when his problem is that he had an extremely unhappy adolescence?
Saying that Wardens apply to Tarnished, who is not a monster, and they know how he deserves to be afraid because he is a bad impure pony, gives the impression that they are basically everywhere and apply to everyone.
But, to be more honest, the reported effect on Tarnished is what is getting me. And, in minor, the effect on Trixie who is still affected, despite being a "good pony now." I care about him, and his growth, and I see fear of the boogeyman (and the representative fear of himself) in opposition to that growth, and the way Wormwood talks about it like he deserves it just makes it worse.
And there must be more examples of borderline ponies. Troubled ponies whose lives are made harder by the presence of Wardens, not the opposite.
7330898
No, but Tarnish has thought about doing some very bad things. Read Venenum Iocus lately?
That said, Tarnish and Wormwood are friends. Which is why Tarnish has been exposed to the fear. Otherwise, he might have never known.
7331096
I'm a couple of chapters behind (on a lot of stories, and once I'm behind I tend to have a harder time catching up.)
7327461 Wonder if we can expect to see Gloomy August any time soon.
Hmm, for some reason I imagine Wormwood sounding like Bubbles from Lilo and Stich.
I like Cinnamon he's cute, and I like this threshal Wormwood you made. He's funny.
7326839
They're on the verge of becoming best friends. Lyra and Bon Bon might have tips for them.
7489547 I am shipping those two as the BESTEST of SPECIAL FRIENDS so hard right now!! <3
7350965
Oh my goodness, I can totally see this