Yawning, Sumac realised that he was pinned beneath one of Trixie’s legs. He could feel the rise and fall of her barrel against his back. He was warm, oh so very warm in bed with his adoptive mother. He yawned again, still trying to wake up, and did his best not to feel icked out about the situation. He had gone to sleep in his own bed, but at some point during the night, Trixie had grabbed him, foalnapped him, and pulled him into bed with her.
One of her legs was draped over his side and his head was resting upon Trixie’s other foreleg. He opened his bleary eyes, looked around, and could just make out Boomer above them. She was hanging by her tail from one of the wooden struts they used to hang lamps from.
It was a little chilly in the wagon, a reminder that fall, and then winter, was on its way. The ancient beat up stove from the old wagon had been installed in this one, and that old stove did nothing to hold back the winter chill. Trixie had hopes of getting them into a house before winter set in, but Sumac, even as young as he was, understood that houses were expensive.
For now, they lived down by the river on a Crown funded camp site.
Sumac wiggled a bit, Trixie’s foreleg draped over his ribs was heavy and it was going to take some real effort to escape. He felt Trixie shift behind him and then her embrace tightened, causing Sumac to go still.
“Don’t leave me,” Trixie murmured in a half awake voice. “Stay… stay with Trixie. The chill makes my joints ache and you are very warm.”
Outside, Sumac could hear birds chirping. The day was already getting started. Life was happening. The little colt felt a keen sense of excitement when thinking about the new day. He had Boomer to keep him company, and he had plans to rescue Pebble, get her out and away from her aunt Pinkie, and then together, they could while away the day.
“School is going to be starting soon… are you excited?” Trixie asked.
“Just a few more days,” Sumac replied.
“Twilight is giving me more work to help me out… I’ll be a librarian assistant trainee and a teacher’s assistant trainee. I might be able to get us a house, but it will be late fall or early winter.” Trixie yawned and let out a low, drawn out whine as she did so. “Today, you need to visit Fluttershy. Remember that, Sumac. If you get in trouble or need help, go to Lemon Hearts. And Sumac, my curious little darling…”
“Yes?” Sumac replied to show that he was paying attention.
“Try to get some study time in. Just so you can get into the habit of studying for school. It will make the transition easier for you. I’m worried, Sumac, about you going to a regular school. There is a lot more structure involved and you’re not used to that.”
Above them, Boomer let out a smoky yawn followed by a shrill trilling sound that made both ponies’ ears twitch. Her gleaming yellow eyes focused upon the two ponies snuggling below her and she watched them with rapt attention.
Sumac gave thought to everything that Trixie had just said. It seemed easy enough. Go out, rescue Pebble from Pinkie Pie, wander over yonder to Fluttershy’s cottage, get a lesson in pygmy tree dragons, which Sumac noted could count as study time, he would be learning something after all, and then do whatever felt right to do for a while. Come afternoon or so, he would need to scrounge up lunch, which might mean a trip out to Sweet Apple Acres, he could take Pebble with him, and after lunch, he could ask Pebble to teach him how to study better or something and while away the afternoon.
He added one more thing to his mental agenda. Avoid Olive at all costs. Olive was big, mean, and green.
“Sumac, has anypony given you any grief about who you are?” Trixie asked in a low, worried whisper.
There was no reply, not right away. Sumac lay in the bed, held in Trixie’s embrace, enjoying the feeling of being warm, secure, and comfortable. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and after a moment, he replied, “No. The only pony that is mean to me is Olive. Most ponies actually want to be nice to me because I’m Flam’s colt. They feel bad for me. Feel bad for us.”
Beside Sumac, Trixie Lulamoon let out a huge sigh of maternal relief.
“I do get told I’m nothing like my father or my mother though.” Sumac squirmed in Trixie’s warm, velvety embrace. “Ponies tell me my father was talkative and loud and I’m quiet and serious. My mother was mean, or so I’m told. I really don’t remember very much about them. I do remember my father singing, I think. I don’t know.” Sumac paused, was quiet for a moment, and then asked, “What happened, exactly?”
Trixie cleared her throat, gave Sumac a squeeze, and not satisfied with the squeeze, she pulled him as close as possible. She kissed him, right on the top of his head, just behind one of his little twitchy ears, and then tried to think of the best way to answer.
“I don’t know everything that happened,” Trixie began, “but I do know that Flam expressed an interest in reformation. Flam brokered a deal and he sold his brother out. Flam was granted leniency in exchange for testifying against his own brother. I don’t know what happened between them, some say the brothers argued. After everything that went down, Flam was a model citizen. He and Belladonna settled down together and Flam Apple appeared to be doing all of the right things.”
There was a bit of a pause as Trixie stopped to take a deep breath, so she could continue, “They came to Ponyville and Flam opened up a real estate business. Something called a timeshare or something. I don’t really understand it. But for ponies that couldn’t afford a nice vacation home on the beach, Flam had a way. Ponies could share it through this timeshare program. Flam made a lot of money on real estate and he started to say that anypony could get rich quick through his system of real estate investment. It all seemed legal, at least at first. Flam had a few accomplices that did get rich. Something about a pyramid scheme or something, I don’t understand, but the bits were all funneled upwards and the system promised that even very poor ponies would be able to buy in to help finance the purchases of new houses and properties and then everypony would get a share of the profits.”
“So it was a scam?” Sumac asked.
“Yes it was,” Trixie replied, “And Applejack kept trying to tell ponies it was a scam. Nopony believed her. Until it got out that it was, in fact, a scam. A lot of ponies here in Ponyville got duped. Flam was in a lot of trouble. A whole lot of trouble. The bad kind of trouble. He had the authorities after him, and Flam, being a smart pony, eluded them. So Princess Luna sent her agents to find him.”
Sumac lay still and quiet in Trixie’s embrace, waiting for her to continue.
“Sumac, honey, you have to understand, you don’t run from the agents. Many have tried and none have ever succeeded. They’re not like regular ponies. They’re different than us. They’re—”
“Bat ponies?” Sumac blurted out, trying to be helpful.
“Yes, Sumac, but you must never call them that. They’re ponies bred with dragons, or so I’ve heard through rumours. They’re called Wardens… and I had two Wardens named Wormwood and Grimes come and speak with me. We had a long chat and they sorted me out and I’ve never done anything wrong since.” Trixie trembled enough to cause the bed to shake and she gave Sumac an enduring, lingering squeeze. “Sumac, honey, you only ever get one warning from the Wardens… live a good life, be honest, and don’t cause trouble.”
Sumac could hear the fear in Trixie’s voice and truth be told, something about it scared him as well.
“It’s good that you are such a quiet, serious colt that never causes trouble.” Trixie kissed Sumac again, and then once more for good measure. “I’d like to think I had something to do with that. I love you so very much, Sumac Apple.”
“I love you too,” Sumac replied in a low whisper, feeling a bit embarrassed and squirmy.
“I gotta go to work. Apples for breakfast?” Trixie let go of Sumac so he could crawl out of the bed.
“I like apples!” Sumac replied in a chirpy voice.
“Of course you do, you’re an Apple.”
The early morning streets of Ponyville were busy. Vendors were setting up in the market. Vegetable sellers were pulling their carts into town. Sumac weaved his way through traffic with ease. Boomer was wrapped around his horn and a pair of battered, threadbare brown canvas saddlebags hung at his sides. Boomer watched everything around her with wide, curious yellow eyes, occasionally making odd, trumpeting honking sounds that Sumac thought were similar to swan sounds.
At least Sumac had a horn to help him through traffic.
As he wove his way through the market area, heading for Sugarcube Corner, Sumac saw something so intriguing that he had to stop and investigate. There was a pegasus with a griffon cub. Now, Sumac did not know why a pegasus had a griffon cub, but he knew there was a story there, and he was far too curious to keep walking. He glanced in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, where Pebble awaited, and then over in the direction where the pegasus and the tiny griffon were walking together.
Curiousity won out, as it always did for Sumac. He cut through the crowd, slipping through a forest of legs, a sea of carts, and the calls of vendors already set up and hawking their wares.
As Sumac drew nearer, he paused for a moment to try and have a look without looking. He didn’t want to be rude, but he had never seen a griffon up close before. And a pegasus with a griffon cub? That was just too interesting. Sumac was going to have to risk being rude.
Overcome with burning curiousity, Sumac cleared his throat as he followed behind the pair, and then said in a loud voice, “Hi. My name is Sumac Apple. And I’ve never seen a griffon before.”
Much to Sumac’s surprise, the pegasus mare stopped in her tracks. He saw her smile at him, and he felt relieved. As she turned around, the griffoness cub ducked beneath her and hid in her legs, something that Sumac did himself quite often with Trixie.
“Such a curious, polite little colt… look, Silver Lining, you have an admirer, I think,” the pegasus mare said as she looked down at Sumac. As she spoke, the tiny griffoness cub grabbed ahold of one foreleg and clung to it. “My name is Gloomy August and this is my little Silver Lining. It is so very nice to meet you. And you… you have a dragon!”
“Her name is Boomer,” Sumac said, saying nothing about how the little pygmy dragon had earned her name. “Hello, Silver Lining.”
The shy little griffon pressed her face into her mother’s leg, let out a shrill peep, but did nothing else to reply.
“She’s very shy. And a little lonesome I think,” Gloomy August said to Sumac. “She doesn’t have a lot of friends. A lot of parents seem to think she’s dangerous or something. Does she look dangerous to you? Look at the poor little dear… she’s smart though. She’s going to be going to Twilight’s special school.”
“I’m going to Twilight’s school,” Sumac said as he tried to peer at Silver Lining, who was making faint ‘meep meep’ sounds from behind her mother’s leg.
“I was just taking her to her cubsitters, so I can go to work. I’m sorry, we can’t stay and talk for very long. If you want to see another griffon, you should meet Rowanne. Rowanne doesn’t say much, but Garnet Targe will talk your ears off. Garnet is a nice pony. They both cubsit for me. Silver Lining doesn’t like being left alone, not at all.”
Overwhelmed by all of the information, Sumac just nodded in the most polite manner he could muster. He wasn’t aware that there were griffons in Ponyville, and a part of him was just dying to know why Gloomy was the mother of a griffon.
“Silver Lining, can you say hello?” Gloomy asked.
“No, Mama.” The little griffoness shook her head as she spoke.
“Um, where would I meet Rowanne and Garnet?” Sumac looked up at the pegasus.
“Oh!” Gloomy gasped. “Silly me… I’m sorry, I have clouds for brains.” The dark grey pegasus reached up and brushed away her dull purple mane from her eyes. “They both live near Fluttershy in a little cottage. They came to Ponyville as little wee ones and Fluttershy gave them a job and they had a nice little cottage built for them and oh, they are the nicest ponies… uh, well pony and griffon you will ever meet.”
The dark grey pegasus looked startled all of a sudden. “I’m gonna be late! I gotta go, sorry. I hope to meet you again, Sumac Apple.” The mare looked down at the cub hiding behind her legs. “Sorry Silver, but we need to fly. We have to hurry—”
“No!” The cub shook her head and her tiny wings fluttered.
“She’s scared of heights,” Gloomy said in an absentminded voice. The pegasus scooped up the griffon in her forelegs, gave her a hug, and then took off, her wings flapping as she rose. “Goodbye Sumac! I do hope that you and Silver can be friends!”
Standing there, looking up, Sumac watched as Gloomy August flew away, and little Silver Lining wailed like a siren as they flew through the air. Right away, he decided that he liked Gloomy. She was nice. She had to be nice, she was a griffon’s mama, and Sumac assumed that doing such a thing took a special level of nice. Going cross eyed, he looked up at the pygmy dragon clinging to his horn. Just like it took a special level of nice to look after an orphaned dragon.
He wondered if he could meet Rowanne and Garnet if he went out and visited Fluttershy today. Or perhaps see Silver Lining again. It might be nice. Sumac stared in the direction where Gloomy had flown off and as he did so, a large fly went buzzing past his head.
There was a flash of purple as Boomer’s tongue shot out of her mouth. Her sticky tongue slammed into the fly like a runaway wagon, and the fly, helpless, stuck to Boomer’s tongue, was slurped into Boomer’s waiting open mouth. Sumac could hear the buzzing of the fly’s wings, and then the soft crunch of the fly being eaten.
He stood in open mouthed awe, having just witnessed something awesome.
Boomer’s tongue seemed impossibly long, Sumac didn’t know how long, but she had just lassoed a fly with it… or something. He didn’t know how it worked, and it all happened so fast that he really didn’t have time to see it.
“That was amazing, Boomer,” Sumac said in an awestricken voice.
Turning around, Sumac headed off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner once again, so he could meet up with Pebble and continue his awesome day. He couldn’t wait to tell her all about his morning, that he had met a griffon with a pegasus mother, and that Boomer could lasso bugs with her tongue.
Meep Meep? I didn't know Griffons came in half Road Runner varients.
Darnit kudz, I've been trying to cut down on the sugar.
Well. I guess Flim and Flam are a terrible world of terribleness...
So many threads to be eventually tied up - I hope.
Hey, we just got introduced to Gloomy--her backstory doesn't have the be on the
heelsfetlocks of her introduction.Trixie mentioned being visited by the Wardens?...that makes me think she'll be visited yet again...
7035804
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/293462/whatever-way-the-wind-takes-you
Gloomy's story.
Did the Wandens kill Flam for a scam?
7035821
Did you read the stories previous to this one?
Because the answer can be found.
7035821
If they did we'll never hear about it in this story. E for Everyone.
kudz (rather surprisingly) puts Luna in charge of authoritarian scary mind-police in a lot of his stories.
7035850
Flam lives. In prison.
7035855
I more wanted to say things about Luna's brain-police and the inconsistency with the E rating than whether or not Flam is alive (because I do seem to remember him being alive. But I also remembered a few other things that proved to be untrue from the prequel.)
(Like whether or not the Wardens are even a thing or just a rumor. Since we've seen no definite yes or no.)
I wonder if one could use fairy tale style writing to make something like "Luna will find you in your dreams if you've been bad and disappear you from society" and make it E for Everyone friendly.
Sounds like that would make it more creepy, not less, though.
So Trixie officially adopted Sumac, right? If I've got that right does that mean that Flam and Belladonna gave up Sumac or does that mean that the Crown took Sumac from them (in a legal sense)? (It's been a while sense I read TLATHH).
Also, I wonder what would happen to Sumac's little world if Daddy sent him a letter. (Somehow I get the impression that Mama wouldn't do it, but I'm not so sure that Flam wouldn't.)
7035900
Flam and Belladonna lost custody. Trixie is legally Sumac's mother, with Applejack and Big McIntosh being Sumac's guardians if something happened to Trixie.
Unbeknownst to Sumac, Discord has helpfully volunteered himself as Sumac's guardian draconequus, something sort of like a guardian angel, but a lot less helpful and a lot more annoying. Which is why Discord showed up to tell Sumac that Pebble was in trouble.
7035934
Olive is not an Apple.
She's an Olive. Different tree entirely.
7035934
Also, Olive is smart. Smarter than Sumac by far. Smart enough to throw her own big words right back at Pebble.
7035915
If Discord was more helpful, he'd turn Olive into something much more pleasant, like a rabid timberwolf or something. Much more cuddly and lovable than she is now.
It
Also, IT'S GUS!
Silver Lining? Seems kudz got some inspiration from a certian David Silver and his human in equestria series.. :3
7036154
Nope.
Silver Lining comes from Gloomy, who tries to look for the good in any situation. She found her little griffon under some very trying circumstances.
7036161 ohhh, okay :) didn't think of that.
7036154 7036161
I've read David Silver's series, and yeah, the fact that the name was the same did not go without note, to me.
But, really, Silver Lining is just a good pony name (or name of someone naming a creature in the same manner they would name a pony). I'm more surprised there haven't been more named that.
7036386
I don't get to read much. I'm too busy writing.
Edit:
Silver Lining was named about six to eight months ago when I was doing Gloomy's story outline. Gloomy finds Silver Lining under some very trying and heartbreaking circumstances. Being an irrepressible optimist, she tries find the good in the situation, but only sees something very bleak and very grim. Silver Lining was the only thing she could find when facing the dark cloud of life.
When it's published, you'll know more.
7036407
Apparently I forgot to add Gloomy's story on my watch list, so it's had updates without me knowing!
Maybe I was under the misconception it was a oneshot.
Anyway, the other story has had the main character be named Silver Lining for about a year now. The writer is another one of the "write all the time, post constantly (read rarely)" types.
I didn't think yours had anything to do with knowing about his story, but it is unusually rare to find ponies with the exact same name, and as he updates the story every day it was fresh in my mind.
I dunno that I'm really disappointed, but I kind of expected Silver Lining to be a HIppogriffon
7036441
Why are you disappointed when Whatever Way The Wind Takes You isn't finished yet and the circumstances around Silver Lining haven't been revealed? I'm confused.
7036437 same, how does he live? both kudz and david post more than one chapter a day usually, which is just plain crazy! I cant even write one chapter of my non-fanfiction stories in a month, let alone more than one a day!
7035779
That.....why has noone thought of this before. Goldstar for youz.
7036526
I don't sleep much. I've been awake now for a very, very long time. I stay in chronic pain. I write to keep from losing my marbles. Writing is a distraction that keeps my focus on something other than the horrible pain in my body.
7036532 oh.. thats terrible.. atleast writing gives you a way out
7036450
When I said I don't know that I am disappointed I meant I was disappointed but didn't really feel I should have been
"My name is the Great and Powerful Trixie, and ah live in a WAGON down bah the RIVER."
Work for a princess doesn't seem to come with a decent health plan, you'd think they'd do something about this before it gets really bad.
7036532 that sounds bad.
I really hope your pain goes away soonNevermind, I'm an idiot who didn't read carefully enough At least I hope it won't get any worse than it already is.Despite that I really want to thank you for this story.
Oh lord. Someone get Rick Moranis on the phone. If we find out Olive is from outer space, we're gonna need him.
7035816 you bastard. Why do you do this *sigh* i have something to read tonight... At least that's one less on my Read ut Later.
7035816 Oh goodness, it's that Gloomy.
I'd forgotten about her.
Boomer and her tongue reminds me of these guys
It took me a while (if only because I started looking for it in chapter 8 instead of at the beginning) to find it but I liked this particular line.
That just sounds awesome. Well, except for those on the recieving end but it still sounds cool.
And I was inspired by how the wardens work. So I created an organization (though I'm... still unsure as to the title) that very vaguely works in similar function as the wardens here. But their motto? "No one runs from the [X]."
... I'm still laughing at that one line.
And this just emphasizes it.
7038222
I'm guessing all the time Trixie spent on the road, towing her wagon, caught up with her. Remember, she's a Unicorn, not an Earth Pony.
For now, they lived down by the river on a Crown funded camp site
Were they living on a steady diet of government cheese?
As soon as I read that, I just heard Chris Farley yelling "Living in a van, down by the river!"
I blame SNL for so many of my problems...