House of the Rising Sunflower

by kudzuhaiku

I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

Little. Brown. But also rather greyish. Speckled. Shaggy. The little colt was all ears, which is to say that his ears were enormous—adult-sized ears—and he needed to grow into them. It made him appear a bit rabbity. He was small, younger than Sundance expected, and quite distraught, as evidenced by the way he cowered behind Fluttershy. Seeing this reminded Sundance of how he hid behind his own mother as a colt, and then it occurred to him that Fluttershy was the closest thing this poor little burro had to a mother. This pained him, more so when he realised that he was taking this colt away from her.

Even worse, a part of him understood why.

Fluttershy was a healer.

Leaving was necessary.

It showed that the patient was well.

So many thoughts stampeded through Sundance’s mind that he couldn’t keep track of them all. The colt had to learn to trust others, and how to make his way in the world. Tearing him away from his benevolent caretaker was awful, and guilt ravaged Sundance, but he understood. There were others damaged by abuse, and for Fluttershy to be able to help them, the colt had to go. Understanding this did nothing to make Sundance feel better, and there was a part of him that felt like crying.

“I’ve packed all of his things,” Fluttershy said to Sundance in a voice much softer and lower than usual. “He came to me with nothing. Applejack gave him a blanket, which he is very attached to. Rainbow Dash gave him a stuffed Rainbow Dash doll.” The yellow pegasus blinked, cocked her head to one side, and her mane fell over her face. “Yes, Rainbow did that. She keeps doing that. I do believe that every foal that has come into my care has left with a stuffed Rainbow Dash.”

Sundance listened and said nothing.

“Twilight gave him a few books, including Hitut the Unlikeable Elephant, which is his favourite story. If you want to calm him down, you have to make the sounds, no matter how dreadful and repulsive they might be.”

“I am familiar with the story,” he replied. “It is a favourite of little Amber Dawn.”

“Oh good.” Fluttershy’s feathers fluffed out with relief and she let out a slight, small sigh.

“Some goodbyes must be said… I’m going to give the two of you some space.” With a respectful bow of his head, Sundance retreated as he spoke, and his gaze lingered on the vulnerable colt that cowered behind Fluttershy.

He backed away with soft steps, mindful of the moment, and he made no sudden movements. With ears down, head low, and wings slightly dropped, he retreated until he was some distance away, and then watched as Fluttershy cautiously turned herself about to have a moment with the tiny burro foal that was all ears. She sat down on the grass with him, wrapped one wing around him, and Sundance saw the foal stiffen a bit—but he did not offer resistance.

“Don’t you want me?” the colt asked in a hushed whisper.

“Oh, I do,” Fluttershy replied in a whisper that was as soft as it was broken-hearted. “But there are others just like you that need my help too. I want you to remember that there are good ponies in the world. Good creatures. You… you are a good burro. One worthy of love and affection. Oh goodness”—almost sniffling, she wiped the corner of her eye with one wing while she kept the other wing held right around the trembling colt—“you’ve come so far in such a short amount of time. So much resilience. It’s time for a new chapter in life… just like there are new chapters in books.

“We’ve turned the final page in this chapter, and now, a whole new exciting chapter awaits us. There’s a little filly who needs my help and you… you get to meet new friends and maybe find a family. Just be yourself and everything will be just fine, I promise.”

She kissed him, squeezed him, started to let go of him, but then hugged him close one more time. Sundance watched, waited, and remained silent. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard this might be, or what the colt might be feeling. Something good had finally happened, and now, it was all coming to an end. But that was likely the point; if the colt had healed enough, this would be a rough spot, but one that could be worked though, and life would continue.

If not… Sundance shuddered, and didn’t want to think about what might be.

This was only the first; Twilight Velvet had a whole roster of troublesome cases.

“Sundance seems like a nice pony,” Fluttershy said to the burro colt. “We’ve heard about him on the radio. He is going to give you a home, and I’m positive that he’ll dote on you, and be good to you. You are going to grow, and have all kinds of fun, and I promise that I’ll come by to check on you. Everything will be fine and you have nothing to worry about. Alright?”

When the colt nodded, he did so with great hesitation.

“You are one of the most special little foals I’ve ever met. So quiet, gentle-natured, and kind. You’re good with animals, you have patience, and you are a quick study. These are your best qualities, Tarantula. You have all sorts of good things to offer, you’re young, which means you’ll grow, and that means you’ll have even more to offer. When you get to your new home, you show everypony—everyone—just what makes you special. They will all adore you, just like I do. I’m sure of that.”

For the first time, the burro colt smiled. Oh, it wasn’t much of a smile; certainly not one meant for show, but what it lacked in width and cheer, it made up for with sincerity and warmth. It contrasted with his sad golden eyes, and Sundance’s heart was seized with a curious constriction. Perhaps he saw a bit of himself in the colt, or maybe he was just emotional, but he was certainly overcome with feelings. Fluttershy’s pep-talk touched him, and it was easy to see why she was the Element of Kindness.

Even Discord melted like butter when faced with that sort of benevolence.

In a moment that almost felt too strange to endure, Sundance found himself sincerely wishing that he was another pony, somepony other than himself. He wanted to be Fluttershy, to have her kindness, her goodness, and her profound gentleness. It was always good to be oneself—at least he’d grown up hearing that so often that it was now a part of how he thought—but he wanted himself to be a lot more like the buttery yellow pegasus whose kindness was storied.

His mother was a kind creature, or so he thought. She was kind to him, his father, his grandmother, and those close to her. But others… there were too many others deserving of whatever they got. Such as diamond dogs. Hooligans who did not drink their tea. His mother had a plethora of excuses, a whole list of those who deserved no kindness whatsoever, and it was only now, with Fluttershy in view, that he understood just how wrong this was.

“Sundance, are you well?” the perceptive pegasus asked.

“I, uh, yeah, I’m fine.” He turned all of his attention to the colt, and with a smile asked, “Say, kid, want to go and get some ice cream?”

All Sundance got in return was cold suspicion.

So that was how it would be. He nodded, because he could deal with suspicion. “You probably think I’m trying to win you over with ice cream. And you might be right, kid. But the truth is, I’ve flown a long, long way. From my barony to Canterlot, and then to Ponyville, and I left in a big hurry because of reasons, and I never stopped to get lunch in Canterlot, and now it is the middle of the afternoon, and I need to get home… only if I don’t eat something, I’ll probably crash into the ground and go splat about halfway there. That’d be bad, wouldn’t it?”

The colt’s eyes turned from suspicious to alarmed.

“But I don’t want to be rude and eat something in front of you if you’re not eating, that wouldn’t be very nice. So the way I see it, we can stop and get some ice cream, which would be great, because I haven’t had ice cream in a long while, or we can risk me flying home on an empty stomach. What’ll it be, kid?”

“You love ice cream, Tarantula. But you are fretful around strangers. Oh, you poor little thing, what will you do?” When Fluttershy squeezed the burro colt, there was a faint hint of a smile spotted upon her muzzle. “It would be awful if Sundance crashed halfway home. You have to make a grown-up decision, Tarantula.”

With his long, droopy ears attempting to rise to the occasion, the colt seemed stressed.

Fluttershy, her eyes a little teary, pulled away from the colt, stood up, steadied herself, sniffled for a time, and wiped the corners of both eyes with her wing knuckles. After sorting herself out, she said, “There’s a place called the Tamale Tent near the train station. They serve tamales, of course, and just tamales. That’s it. Nothing else. Tarantula is fond of this place. As for ice cream, the train station has a bustling cafe with a soda fountain.”

“Come with us?” the colt asked of his kind caretaker.

“No.” Fluttershy’s voice held surprising firmness. “You and Sundance need to get to know one another better. I would only be in the way.”

This made Tarantula frown, but the colt still leaned close to Fluttershy, who now stood beside him. Sundance understood that something was going on, but he wasn’t sure what. Kind as she might be, Fluttershy was also stern and resolute. She’d established that it was time for Tarantula to go, and now it seemed, she stuck by that. Sundance could only imagine how hard this was for her, and he suspected that she’d have a good cry once he’d departed.

“Ice cream. Please.”

Now proud, Fluttershy beamed like the sun, which somehow enhanced her yellowness.

“Ready to go?” asked Sundance.

There was a nod from the burro colt.

Sundance lowered his head until he was down at eye level with the little fellow, and then asked, “Is there anypony else that you want to say goodbye to?”

Both the colt and Fluttershy seemed surprised by this; Tarantula stood there, blinking, uncertain, while Fluttershy fought to maintain her now-quivering smile. She seemed touched, emotional, and Sundance admired how she held the floodgates secure. He raised his head, glanced around, and wondered if a certain cricket watched him. Tarantula recovered himself, and intense concentration could be seen in his eyes.

“Dash?”

“Oh, sweet honey heart, I’m sorry. Dash is away right now. She left with friends to do an important mission for Twilight.” Fluttershy seemed more hurt by this than the colt was, and by Sundance’s estimation, her attempts to comfort him seemed more like an effort to make herself feel better. “When I visit, and I will come to visit, I’ll bring Dash with me.”

With a sigh, the burro colt nodded.

“If we’re going to get tamales and ice cream, we need to go as soon as possible. Darkness comes early to the Sunfire Barony, due to the position of the Canterhorn. And we have to fly several hundred miles to get home. As it is right now, it’ll be a little dark when we get home.”

“Oh… my…”

“Nothing to worry about,” Sundance said to Fluttershy before she could work up a good worry. “I can land in almost any condition. And have!”

“You sound like Rainbow Dash,” replied Fluttershy while she looked down at her precious charge. “It’s a good thing that Tarantula likes flying. Please, do be careful.”

“Of course. His future is my future. And you”—Sundance offered a reassuring smile to Fluttershy—“have shaped the future of my barony. This little guy is going to grow up, and everything he’s learned from you, well, I’m sure it’ll influence us in some way.”

“Oh my, I hadn’t thought of that… oh dear, I hope I did enough. If I would have had more time, I would have done more. Oh, goodness… I didn’t do much about his atrocious table manners, because it was more important to inspire trust with the time I had. What if I ruined everything?”

“Not to worry, he’ll fit right in.” Sundance smiled down at the colt. “Ready to go?”

Hesitating, it was several long seconds before the colt nodded, and then said, “Yes.”

Author's Note:

This had a ton of re-writes. Those of you who saw some of the excepts on Discord might notice some changes. The delay was necessary though. Sorry.

Comments

[Aurora Dimmet]

Sundance will do right by Tarantula Sombrero. After all, let's not forget his special talent. He's a burrocrat.

[harts fire]

such a sweet chapter some how i see Tarantula having a hole Barony full of love to deal with.
but will a cricket be showing up to check on things?

[Lerris]

Daww

[kudzuhaiku]

9886114
Amazing.

[Tchernobog]

9886114
Get out

[Fireeaters]

I wonder why everyone keeps being surprised at sundance's thoughtfulness. They seem to have watched him enough that they should see he actively tries to be a nice guy.

[A.P.O.N.I.]

9886258
I think that they're just surprised when he doesn't make a hash of it.

[A.P.O.N.I.]

It's funny. I know his name is Tarantula, but I keep misreading it as Tarantella. That's funny to me, because I know that's what they mean to name him. So I keep misreading his name as what it was supposed to be.

[Odd_Sarge]

Great chapter. Needed this kind of affection after a rough day.

9886114
Ahhh, you ass!

[Spectrumancer]

I smell a future friendship between Amber and Tarantula. Bonding over adults making rude noises while reading stories.

[Stark Trist]

You have warmed my heart this evening. Great chapter!

[miss-cyan]

i love Tarantula already, im very excited for what’s to come c:

[wildlander84]

9885637
Yeah, and no I'm hearing them😣
I blame you😡👉
Seriously, u got any good rat's in your universe?
Master Splinter says "Kowabunga!"

[MrCakeandRice]

God I love this story.
I remember when I first found it, I quickly sped through the chapters. I read from the beginning to the chapter where the Bugbear skull was split in a single night.