The Haunting
Admiral Biscuit
I should have been completely exhausted and slept the day away—we both should have—but we woke around noon.
I wanted to say something about the state of Milfoil’s coat and her mane, but before I could even open my mouth she gave me a death glare, and I just grabbed one of her curry combs and started working the tangles out of her coat while she tackled her mane.
Running the brush through her coat was relaxing, even though I had to work carefully to avoid tangles. Besides what the water and sleep had matted together, there was mud that hadn’t been washed out last night, and I was going to need to wash my sheets when we were done.
Milfoil noticed that, too, and shifted her hooves around, so I put a hand on her back. “It’s fine. You worked so hard yesterday.”
She set her mane-brush down, and leaned in for a kiss. “So did you.” She giggled. “You’re not very good with a plow, though.”
“Who ever is their first time?”
“Sanguinary never got good. That’s why she has to pull.”
“So you just decide who’s the best at any task on the farm?”
Milfoil nodded. “Isn’t that the logical way to do it? You can’t pull a plow when you’re small, it’s too heavy, so you have to steer one first, and if you aren’t good at it, you graduate to harness.”
I thought about that. It made sense; farmers were practical and cared about getting the crop in, rather than showing favoritism, and then a realization hit me. “I should have been pulling a plow.”
She nodded. “But you haven’t got a harness, and I thought you’d want to participate.”
“I did.” I leaned over and poked her nose. “Even though I suck at it.”
Milfoil rolled her eyes. “You should have seen the first time I tried. I was barely big enough—I hadn’t even gotten my cutie mark yet. I convinced Sabi and Sanguinary that Mom and Dad would be happy if we helped out. Sanguinary’s harness was too big for me, so they let me steer, and they didn’t get too far before I’d dug the blade so deep into the soil that they couldn’t move it at all.
“Well, they thought maybe we’d hit a rock, ‘cause that happens a lot.”
I knew all about rocks, I’d kept hitting them, too, which would send the plow off-course. I would have thought that after a few years all the rocks would have settled down below the level the plow was at, but that wasn’t the case at all.
“I’d just buried the cutting edge in the soil, and it took a while to get it back out. After that, I spent the next couple of years riding the seeder, until I got big enough that Sabi taught me how to use the cultivator. Sanguinary didn’t like that very much, ‘cause she had to keep stopping and backing up while Sabi was showing me how it worked.
“Once I got good with that, though, the plow was easy.”
•••
There were lots of plants to move. It was easiest to bring them across from her house to mine in her market wagon. I could lift up the front end and steer it while she helped push from behind, and that way we could move a lot of plants at once.
By dusk, my house looked like a hoarder’s. We’d completely filled the entire first floor with flowers, to the point that neither of us could get upstairs any more.
I assumed that she had some sort of logic for the arrangement—I hoped it involved the plants closest to the back door being used first.
I’d expected to feel more tired than I did, and I’d expected to be dreading the night’s planting, but I was actually looking forward to it, if for no other reason that doing helped mute thinking.
“How do normal ponies handle planting in the spring?” Surely they couldn’t all be doing this.
“Sheds, better planning in the fall, and generally not trying to do this much at once. But we don’t have a choice, do we?”
“No, we really don’t.”
“If you hadn’t gotten so many valerian and yarrow plants, it wouldn’t be so crowded in here.”
“I know. But it worked out all right in the end and that’s what matters.”
“And I got a few more than we really need, because I want Windflower to have a chance to look them over and pick the ones she likes the most.”
I looked at the cluster of plants again. “Do you think we’ll get them all planted tonight?”
“I doubt it. But there’s always tomorrow night.”
I sighed. “I don’t know how much more time I can take off work.”
“Thaler will understand,” she assured me. “Even if you don’t want to tell him exactly why. Everypony is planting in the spring.”
“That’ll make it even worse. He’ll be shorthanded.”
“But nopony will be doing much,” she countered. “So there won’t be much work. You’re new in town, so you don’t know how it is. When it’s time for planting, nopony expects much else to get done. Everypony’s busy with that.”
I hoped she was right. I could think of a million arguments against her point, but then I remembered visiting Paris once and discovering that outside the tourist areas, everything shut down for lunch between noon and one p.m. A nice system for the worker, maybe not so much for the consumer.
•••
Windflower was paler than she’d been yesterday, although not lacking in spirit whatsoever.
We’d left the back door open and she just came in through that, rather than by way of the attic.
I imagined that she’d made a brief circle of the backyard before coming into the house—a last inspection of last night’s handiwork—and I regretted that Milfoil and I had been talking instead of watching outside.
Naturally, she noticed all the plants immediately, and began to examine them, starting with an orbit at ceiling level to get an idea of what we had.
Milfoil was biting her lip as Windflower settled down among the pots for a proper inspection. “I hope we’ve—”
I cut her off with a kiss. “Of course you have.”
Indeed, Windflower appeared to be satisfied with all the plants. She zipped around like a general inspecting her troops, pausing at each pot before moving to the next.
She worked her way back into the kitchen, and finally pointed to one pot that was reasonably close to the back door, one of the amaranth plants, and we began to work.
•••
Maybe the ponies didn’t see it, but I felt like there was a bit of ceremony in placing the first plant. It was like digging the first shovelful of dirt before the excavators moved in, or tossing out the first pitch in a baseball game.
I carried it out and set the pot in the garden, right next to the spot that Windflower indicated. The soil had already been turned up, so it only took Windflower a few scoops with a trowel to make a big enough space for the root ball.
Milfoil carefully lifted the plant out of its pot and put it in the soil, and I shoveled dirt back around it.
In hindsight, that was the moment before going over Niagara Falls. The moment that the roller coaster is at the peak of the lift hill, almost but not quite to the point where gravity takes over. The brief moment of focus before the ride begins in earnest.
•••
I’d once watched a construction documentary where the foreman had graphed out every single step of the process, with time estimates and branches leading off at different key points. Was the north end or the south end of the pipe closer after the crane dropped the valve in place? Did the welds pass initial inspection or not? How long would X-rays take, and would there be repairs needed?
This was not that organized. Not by a long shot. And that didn’t matter one whit; we did what Windflower asked. We put the plants where she wanted, we fulfilled her final vision.
When the old stallion arrived for the night, I got demoted to carrying duty, and I found I didn’t mind a bit.
As the night progressed, Windflower got better at managing us; she’d point to a few pots at a time, and I’d take them out one-by-one, and let the ponies put them in place.
There was a point I realized that the yard had gone from turned-up dirt to meaningful rows of plants, and another point when I realized that I’d worked my way into the living room and there were only a few stragglers left at the corners of the kitchen. Those might have been unworthy plants, or they might have been on the docket for tomorrow, I didn’t know.
It wasn’t warm, but I still had my shirt off. I was vaguely aware that I was operating on autopilot, although I came back into focus when Windflower finally left for the night.
•••
We were all covered in mud and sweat, and I had to imagine that both ponies were as sore as I was. And if I wanted to be negative, there was still a lot of work to be done. I knew how many plants were left over at Milfoil’s house, to say nothing of the seeds and bulbs which would all have to be individually planted as well.
And yet, we’d made enough progress that I could almost see what it was going to be when we finished. How it might look as the plants grew and the flowers bloomed.
When I was a kid, I’d camped out in the backyard, which had been a grand adventure. As I grew up, the confines of the yard lost their appeal, but now seemed like a fine time to try again. The sheets were muddy anyway; a little more wouldn’t hurt.
I didn’t have a proper tent, but there wasn’t any rain scheduled yet, so after Windflower’s great-uncle left, I went upstairs and bundled up all the bedding and dumped it out in the backyard.
“Are you serious?”
“Why not? It’s a nice night.”
“You humans have weird customs.”
“Yes.” I spread the sheet out on the lawn. “Didn’t you ever camp out in the backyard when you were a kid? A foal?”
“Sure, but that was years ago.I ought to just go over to my house, and I can watch you from my bedroom. See how long you last.”
“I can make it the rest of the night, easy.”
“I don’t know why I hang out with you,” she muttered. “You lie about walking into lampposts and want to sleep outside when there are two perfectly good houses to spend the rest of the night in.”
I shrugged. “Probably because I’m a lovable idiot.”
“You’re my lovable idiot.” She kissed me on the nose and then settled down on the blanket. “We’re going to the spa tomorrow, and you owe me so you can’t say no.”
Oh, they're going to regret that once the morning dew sets in...
Once again when will these two realize that they are perfect for one another? Hopefully their wedding will be awesome.
9561175 They could pray to Celestia for a sign like Gideon asked for: dew on the grass, not on the sheets.
Sanguinarity? Did her parents unite feuding branches of the family or something?
The garden isn’t magic but it is a ritual. Setting things right.
Exhausted humans are weird, but lovable anyway.
9561175
It’s not as bad as you think as long as you can go inside after.
Enough hand/hoofholding, they're up to kissing!!
Oh and Windflower was there too.
I mean, if she started lacking that, what'd she have left?
I wonder if Windflower is getting ready to move on after the garden gets put together...
The tomato plants are falling over.
You must construct additional pylons.
The difference between sleeping outside under a sheet and under a sheet tent, is the tent isnt touching you, to let your grease let the dew etc soak through the sheet and drip, run all over you, causing dampness and refrigeration. Of course, if its warm and not max humidity, damp sheets make great refrigeration.
See, she's still able to learn. Those ghostly brain cells still work just as well!
Hmmm, but she seems to be fading more. Interesting...
Keep going! ;)
They are so cute together.
9561543
Ah yes, nothing like waking up and finding frost all over the inside of the tent. faugh, that was one morning I could have done without...
And so the grand vision comes together. I wonder if Windflower will keep losong opacity as they see it through.
In the meantime, sorry, Milfoil. He's your idiot now. I don't think there's any getting rid of him at this point.
... HE USED TO BE SO PURE! WHAT HAS BECOME OF OUR CINNAMON BUN?!?
R-r-r-r-rape ghost! 😱
Milfoil tell me why your name is forbidden on many lists in games? Are you a poisonous water plant?
Wouldn't you usually plant bulbs in fall? Though I guess earth pony magic could make that unimportant.
This doesn't bode well...
Although the interactions with Milfoil are so darn cute it's almost unbearable!
I wouldn't be surprised if a changeling starts lurking in the background for all the free food
Dam this story is cute
Sooooo, you're saying that we're about to get into the real meat of the story? Forty-seven chapters in? Uh huh.
I'm kidding, of course, I really like the slow pace of this story, but that sentence made me raise an eyebrow.
I have a feeling this is ending soon... adorable as always, and Troop Leader Windflower, what a boss.
After all that work that he's not used to, he's going to need the spa quite a bit.
9561175
Well, that might wash out some of the mud, maybe.
9561205
I think that they already know that, even if they aren’t saying it.
Of course it will!
Now, speaking of that, wouldn’t it be funny if it turned out that the custom in Haywards Heath is planting a garden together or something like that?
Steve: “We really ought to get married.”
Milfoil: “Oh, we already are.”
Steve: “What? When did this happen?”
Milfoil: “Last spring, when the two of us planted sunflowers together.”
9561222
As long as they’re not calling for a bear to maul 42 foals, like Elisha did.
9561266
It’s Sanguinary, which is another name for yarrow.
Incidentally, Milfoil is also another common name for yarrow.
Exactly--it has no special powers of its own, but the act of making it and maintaining it does have a sort of power.
They’re just silly.
After washing the sheets and a trip to the spa, everything will be in good order for the next day.
9561351
9561370
Not much, honestly.
9561540
That would be a very reasonable thing to assume.
9561543
The worst part is when you’ve forgotten about the additional pylons and run them over with the lawnmower the next spring.
I haven’t spent the night on bare ground with just sheets/blankets between me and the ground in quite a while (if ever), so I can’t say for certain how much moisture they’d absorb, but it’s probably a lot, even more if there’s dew. I do know that the floor of tents even with ground sheets could get quite damp, and seem to recall the tents usually having a slightly musty odor no matter how much we aired them out. The only time that wasn’t an issue was the few times we camped outdoors in the wintertime; then, everything was so frozen that you never really noticed the mustiness.
9561590
Yes and yes.
9561699
They really are, aren’t they?
9561706
Been there and done that. The worst part is whenever somebody brushed the tent, there’s be an icy snowfall inside the tent. Oh, and my boots froze solid, so I had to walk in my socks to the campfire and thaw them out before I could put them on.
Also I ended that camping trip at the hospital with a plastic surgeon trying to reassemble my finger, but that’s a different story.
9563683
I could so see that happening!
9561897
If the garden was the one thing that really kept her behind. . . .
Yeah, she’s pretty much stuck with him forever now. She’ll just have to get used to his weird human ways.
9561912
9561936
That one lives next town over.
9561938
You’re thinking the other Milfoil, the aquatic plant. Milfoil is also a common name for yarrow.
9562277
On Earth, you plant spring-flowering bulbs in the fall, and summer-flowering bulbs in the spring.
You’re right that earth pony magic could change things up a bit, though.
9562296
I know, right? The two are a perfect couple.
Yeah, if there was one around, he’d probably be hanging out in the attic or something.
9562803
In some ways, though, I don’t know if I’d say that’s entirely wrong. Like, if you imagined many books or movies or even real life some times, there’s always a period of time where everything’s being put into place, and then it sort of all happens at once.
9562530
Thank you!
9563180
Yes
Troop Leader Windflower knows what’s up. She’s got this handled.
9563299
Oh yeah, totally. And he’ll feel a lot better after he’s been.
9563722
Have him visit.
9563751
Who says it’s a him?
Im not much for fluff and romance stories but this is cute as hell. Very descriptive at times I can actually visualize what's going on.
9563759
Are you high on sjw jenkem? I know you saw the Robot Chicken clip I told you about. That is the rape ghost.
9564499
Yes, I did see the clip, but my question remains: how do you know the one in the next town over is a he? It could be a she.
9564608
Done. This has been going downhill anyway.
9563711
I'll probably end up saying it again further into the story.