Something immediately felt off as I opened my eyes, blinking against the light. Cold moss pressed against my back while I stared groggily at the wooden ceiling, wondering what I was missing.
Then it dawned on me: I was alone. For maybe the first time since I met Honeydew in this world, I woke up by myself, in my own room, something I’d taken for granted since… ever, if my memory didn’t fail me. It was odd then, that I felt myself suddenly missing the feeling of somebreezie’s coat warming my back, sharing warmth much like a blanket.
As a side note, my brain added as I tugged my hooves under my body to warm up, breezies should really, really use blankets.
From above came the sound of creaking wood, causing me to finally stir from my resting place. My ‘room’ was really just a small pile of moss, separated from the rest of the house by thin, almost see-through, white curtains.
Stepping out of my segmented space, I quickly found Hippe work on… a large, white bulb, bigger than even herself! Her brows furrowed in concentration as she unraveled a long, thin string the object was made of, disposing the removed part in a bowl of hot water sitting inside the crackling sizzlepit. After a moment of stunned blinking, I recognized the procedure. She was unraveling and degumming a silk cocoon. Normally one had to boil them in water first, but I supposed that when you were acting at this size, you could work it differently.
“Good morning.” I greeted, wondering on the implications. I hadn’t seen the breezies produce any other kind of fabric. Did that mean that everything, from the curtains to Honeydew’s bandages were made of silk? It… wouldn’t even be that unlikely, since two or three cocoons could be enough to sate a clan’s needs for a long time.
“Frinjiòn’s eye on you, Twilight.” Hippe responded, looking up from her work to gift me a smile. “Have you not been able to sleep in the last few days?”
My tired brain had not yet fully processed her strange greeting (it sounded creepier than a “good morning” had any right to!), and so it took me a moment to respond. “Y-Yes, I mean no! I’ve been a little jittery, I guess.” After what happened to Honeydew…
Suddenly, I heard a loud creaking from the stairs, as I saw Kalypso make her way down, her two-colored eyes lighting up as they spotted me. “Finally awake, hmmm? And here I thought you had begun your hibernation” she quipped with a chuckle.
“W-wait, how late is it?” I stammered, giving her a worried glance.
“Well, you missed my husband leaving.” Hippe pointed out.
“And breakfast, if we hadn’t been waiting for you.” Kalypso added, jumping the final few steps down.
“Is Honeydew coming?” I asked with a glance at the ceiling. “I uh… I couldn’t convince him yesterday.”
Kalypso snorted. “Oh, I just talked to him, and he is coming out of his hole.”
“How did you convince him?”
“I told him that it’s important he stays at least civil with his sister. And if he can’t do that…” She left her sentence hanging in the air, her tone carrying a note of profound threat.
“Did you see something?”
“Of course not.” Kalypso snickered. “The gods don’t concern themselves with our personal problems… except for Framganga, I guess. She can be a little creepy at times.” Then, in a sudden sharp whisper, she added: “But don’t tell Honeydew that. His sibling rivalry is giving me a headache.”
“R-right…” I muttered, my thoughts still hung up on her remark about their gods. How she’d so casually assumed I’d understand her. “Can I go speak with him?”
Kalypso raised an eyebrow. “Sure.” She muttered, dragging the word out as she gave me a confused glance “You don’t need my permission, Twilight.”
“O-of course.” I shook my head as I climbed up the stairs, trying to get the burning sensation from my cheeks.
Unlike yesterday, when the room had been dimly lit, almost prompting me to light my own feelers (which still tended to give me a headache over time), warm sunlight now shone through an opened… well, I wasn’t sure whether to call it a window, a door or several planks removed from the wall, but it had the same effect. “Morning, Honeydew.”
“Good winds.” He muttered, his foreleg buried in a pile of moss. There were bags under his eyes and his feelers hung on the same level as his chin.
“Bad night?” I asked, allowing him to look up before I sat down next to his bed.
With a look to his buried leg, he grimaced. “It’s been itching like crazy, Twilight, you wouldn’t believe.”
“That means it’s healing.”
Lips pursed, he deemed my response with the same annoyance I’d once given my mother when she’d said those exact words. I couldn’t help but giggle, which caused him to switch from annoyance to confusion.
“You’re so random, Twilight. A mare of mysteries.” he chuckled, then tapped his chin with his healthy hoof. “Speaking of, did anyone know about your portal?”
My jaw dropped at the innocent question. I forgot. I actually, somehow managed to forget about going home! Pressing a hoof to my chest, I took a gradual, controlled breath, before slowly extending it outwards. “I-I didn’t ask yet.” I told the perplexed looking Honeydew. “Over you getting hurt and meeting your sister and Kalypso getting a bad deal with elder Mormo-”
“What?” he interrupted, looking aghast.
“Apparently, the bad winter doesn’t seem to reach them. Your sister said it was looking like a normal year.”
“But that’s impossible!” he exclaimed. “Up here, it should be-”
“Colder, I know.” I could only shake my head. “I don’t understand either, but that’s what’s happening. You can even feel it now.” I added, holding my hoof into the sunlight.
He stretched out a hoof, looking more and more uncertain as the warm rays gleamed in his fur, sparkling a little on the painted stripes… It did look good on him. “But then, they should have a lot of sizzlegrass stored.”
“Probably.” I said darkly. “But we’re still paying with the whole pot.”
“WHAT?” If I hadn’t stopped him, Honeydew would have jumped up right there and probably hurt his leg. As it stood, he was glaring at me with fire in his eyes. “That’s… Kalypso… she took advantage of Kalypso?”
“Uhm… yes?”
“Unbelievable.” he muttered. “She tricked a Frindrì.”
“And that’s… bad?”
“Twilight!” Exasperation lied in his voice. “She’s a chosen of Frinjiòn!”
My face scrunched up as I wondered what to say to that. Obviously, that was important, I was pretty sure that god was the leader of their pantheon or something. Part of me, the part that hated feeling stupid, wanted to nod in feigned understanding. But… I was getting sick of being clueless. I was sick of not knowing things! And if anyone would explain this without creating a fuss… With a long sigh, I met Honeydew’s eyes and confessed: “I don’t know who Frinjiòn is.”
If I had assured him that I’d just seen a great white shark swim through the clouds, he probably still wouldn’t look as bewildered as he did now. “You’re joking.” he muttered, nervously chuckling as he met my eyes. “You have to be-” as his voice trailed off, I could see his expression slowly contort into disbelief. “Y-you’re serious? You can’t- HOW?!” he finally exclaimed.
“I told you, I’m from far away. Have you never met a breezie who didn’t know about your gods?”
He shook his head. “No, never. Even the far-away Tidechasers know of Frinjiòn, even if they mostly seek Heistin’s favour!”
“Who are they, Honeydew?” I asked, begged, giving him my most pleading look.
“But- why haven’t you asked earlier?”
“I…” heaving a sigh, I let my eyes sink to the floor. “I think I just hated feeling stupid. I wanted you to think of me as someone smart, like my friends do back home.” I let out a sour snort. “If you can believe that.” I almost didn’t dare meet his eyes, until I felt something warm sink into my mane. Honeydew had stuck his glowing feelers into my hair!
“I never thought you were stupid Twilight.” he whispered earnestly. “I mean… I did think you hit your head really, really hard. A-and maybe also more than once.” He swallowed, showing a sheepish smile. “But you learn, and then you saved us by knowing this stuff about fire. I never knew that ashes could clean wounds.”
I felt a warmth rising up in my head that had decidedly nothing to do with his bright feelers, which he now drew back, letting them bounce infront of his face in a way that made it hard not to grin goofily. “S-so, about your gods?”
Honeydew leaned back, puffing up his cheeks. “Kalypso could do this better than me.” he muttered. “She’s a frindrì, after all.”
“I’d rather hear it from you.” I admitted, feeling that heat rising up again as I gave him a sheepish grin. “I don’t trust her as much as I trust you. You won’t tell her about this, right?”
“How could I after hearing that?” he rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked up at the ceiling, pondering. “But where to start…”
“How about Frinjìon?” I suggested. “His name seems to come up the most. Is he the leader of the gods?”
“Winds, no!” Honeydew exclaimed. “None of the gods would allow another to lead them. They’re…” He rubbed his chin, furrowing his brows in thought. “The gods come from the endless skies.” at my confused look, he elaborated: “W-when you look up at the sky, there is no end. And at night, you can see the glimmering of an infinite amount of worlds up there. The gods came from somewhere in this vast space, travelling on the everlasting breeze from world to world, sometimes moving past, sometimes staying for many, many years. Until they came to our world, where they looked upon its beauty and decided to take it as theirs. Heistin laid claim to the seas and the water. Jörgd, her patient brother, wished for the earth, and everything below it in his wish to craft it into a work of art. Meanwhile, Frinjìon did not seek to stay for long. He looked at our world and still found it lacking. He wished to find a place truly perfect, like the gods were themselves. And so, he claimed only the winds, so it could carry them away once the other had grown bored of their realms.”
Honeydew slowly shifted to a side of his mossy bed, allowing me to perch down beside him. “So, while he waited, he strolled through the lands of his friends, until he hit a peculiar sight. When Jörgd had claimed the lands, he had created many of the creatures that you can see in the world now. But as they grew up, they obviously needed to be fed. And so, he created weak, tiny worms, intended only as fodder for his creations. Those were our ancestors.”
“Your… ancestors?” I repeated, not sure if I understood correctly. “You don’t look like a worm to me, Honeydew.”
“Of course not, Twilight.” he chuckled. “But back then, we were just that. We had barely any muscles, no brains, not even clans. We had no purpose other than to feed the other creatures. And yet, Frinjiòn came upon one of us, summoning all its strength to slither out of the hole of the rat it was supposed to feed. And this, the sight of the most pathetic creation’s struggle, it made him feel something no god had ever felt before.” Honeydew’s voice dropped to a whisper. “He felt inspired. The worm he saw had dared to deny its fate, to carve a place in the world for itself. And, by learning to slither, it had grown over its boundaries and become something more. And that, Twilight, is something that the perfect gods had never managed to do.
From that moment, Frinjìon wanted to see what else we could achieve, and so he pleaded with his friend, to let him take us into his domain. Bewildered, Jörgd agree, and Frinjìon gave us his blessings.”
Suddenly, I could something brushing over my fragile wings. Honeydew’s hoof was gentle, as he followed the transparent appendage all the way to my shoulder, where it connected with the muscles on my shoulder blades. “And since then, he had watched over us, hoping that someday, we would improve far enough that we would be his equal. And maybe, one we have done that, together we could achieve something greater than perfection.”
“So,” I started, trying to replay everything I just heard in my head. “You want to be gods?”
“Heh… w-we’re trying?” he chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “W-we’re obviously still a really, really far way off, of course.” With a sigh, he added: “though, many of us think that’s silly. You probably do, too.”
I shook my head. How could I, after practically becoming a sort of goddess myself? Maybe the breezies would find their own version of Starswirls spell… or something of their own. “I don’t, Honeydew. I wish you all good luck.”
“Thank you, Twilight. A-and if I make it, the first thing I’ll do is show you how. I wouldn’t want to be a god alone” He chuckled, his feelers bouncing jovially.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” I responded with a knowing smirk. Then, unable to stop myself, my hoof shot forth, tapping against his glowing antennae, feeling a silly grin on my face as I watched it bob lazily from side to side.
Although Honeydew flinched at the contact, he did not pull away, anxiously watching my hoof as it played with his dangly bits. “D-do you want to know about any of the other gods?” he blurted out.
“Oh, right.” I sheepishly withdrew my hoof, then (with all my willpower) pulled away my gaze from those alluringly bobbing lightsources- Get a hold of yourself, Twilight! My annoying brain huffed. “S-so, what are those ‘winds of Fjermengard’? It seems to be connected to Heistin...”
Honeydew took a sharp breath. “D-do not think that she is evil, but-” he shook his head with a sigh. “Well, the tale say that while Heistin chose the largest domain of the world, it was also dark, cold, and what lives there is unapproachable and… harrowing. A-and so, Heistin became jealous of her brother Jörgd, for he had chosen the beautiful lands as his own. She approached him to share, but he refused. Had she not taken more than any other god already, did not everything under the water belong to her already? Enraged, Heistin vowed that it would, and using the cold powers she harnessed from the oceans, she made made her water freeze solid, so it would cover the lands henceforth. Jörgd fought back, urging a spirit to bring the sun closer and melt the snow. Every year, this battle repeats-”
“-Winter.” I whispered, frowning. “But the way you mentioned those winds, it did not sound like something normal…”
He shook his head sadly. “No… The winds of Fjermengard were an army of frost-bearing spirits from the deepest depths of Heistin’s realm. It is said that the gods sealed them all in a mighty cavern in the northernest north, where they’re safely kept.” he swallowed. “However, when one escapes… it is always the cause of horrible winters. I-I hope the rumors aren’t true.”
“Me neither.” I muttered, following Honeydew’s gaze to the staircase. Spirits…. Suddenly, I was starting to regret the consideration I was giving their beliefs. It would have felt so much better to just put it in the back of my mind as unlikely folklore. But spirits are hard to deal with. Take it from the mare who had to battle one that could change the fabrics of reality on a whim.
The sudden noise of a shrill flute made us both jolt up. “ARE YOU DONE TATTLING UP THERE?” Kalypso shouted. “Some of us are starving!”
Me and Honeydew jolted up. Then, after exchanging a nervous glance, we both began to chuckle. “We’ve been talking for a while, haven’t we?” I asked, reaching out to help him get safely on his hooves.
He nodded, carefully holding his hurt leg to his stomach. “Lets not test Kalypso’s patience any more. Or… my sisters.” he closed, his jaw clenching. But then, he let out a long sigh. “Let’s do this.”
Despite mine and Kalypso’s efforts, breakfast was tense, dominated by nervous questions and monosyllabic answers. In the end, both siblings fell silent, attempting to simply ignore each others presence.
“D-do you have any plans for the day, Twilight?” Hippe asked.
I opened my mouth, just to realize that I had no idea. I hadn’t planned for anything, my schedule was as blank as my breezie flank! It must have been living with the breezies, constantly having to move to unexpected tasks, that had made me drop my scheduling habit. I’d just been doing what I’d been told. So… what did I want to do? The answer came from a delighted squee inside my head, from a roused spirit that had been dormant for too long. “I’d just like to help out.”
“Are you sure-” Hippe started, but I interrupted her by nodding rapidly.
“Yes, yes I’m sure.” I grinned, inwardly chanting: Explore!
----
Hippe’s husband Greenfly worked on the closest tree, an enormous old fir which towered over the high-breeze clan’s oaken home. A place she’d called ‘the farms’. Now if that didn’t pique my interest! Until now I’d only seen breezies as a hunter-gatherer society, with emphasis on the gatherer-part. What were they farming and how?
With a little sigh, I sat down on the furthest branch of the oaken tree, waiting as Honeydew trailed behind me. He’d insisted on coming along. Meanwhile, Kalypso had wordlessly left the house as soon as breakfast came to a close, not leaving any of us with a clue where she was going.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Honeydew coming with. I suspected that it was mostly because he didn’t want to be left behind in his sisters house, and I feared that he might complicate the healing process just to avoid her. If only I had some way to bring them closer again… though I doubted that a speech about the value of friendship could bridge these gaps. It’d be like trying to reach Yakyakistan with a burning matchstick for a ladder.
Heaving a sigh, I let my eyes wander, and my worries were instantly forgotten. From the perched branch, I felt like my eyes could travels miles upon miles over forested mountains and rolling hills. Clouds of fog rested in cracks, nearly obscuring the sight of a far-away waterfall, casting off a jagged cliff into the rushing river, which parted the landscape. I couldn’t see a single clearing, only small in the endless, fiery ocean of yellow and orange leaves, where the naked branches pointed at the bright, blue sky.
“It’s lovely.” I whispered, drawing a long breath of the cool air. I felt Honeydew look over my shoulder, but wasn’t ready to tear my eyes away yet. Somewhere out there was our clan. But I had no idea where. How far had we travelled? Swallowing, I looked up at our tree, the massive stem against which the clan’s treehouses appeared like nothing more than tiny specks, and felt a chill in my stomach. The world truly was massive. And for a breezie? It was titanic. Once more, I felt a rush of immense gratefulness that Honeydew had managed to find me out there. The chances for that must have been… I licked my dry lips, refusing to ponder on that any further as I gave my saviour a smile and we both spread our wings.
We met Greenfly on the tan’s lower branches. He looked up in surprise when he saw us, in his hooves something that reminded me of a brown-ish jelly-bean. He seemed a bit surprised when he heard that we were willing to help, but then a smile grew on his face as he led us to branches full of tiny, almost translucent, green insects. “They’re the last generation of aphids this year.” Greenfly explained proudly as he trailed a hoof over the back of one insect. “Right now, we’re hoping they’ll lay another set of eggs for us to store. And of course, they produce our honeydew.” He gave Honeydew a wink. But Honey only looked at the bugs with a mild expression of disgust.
Few moments later, as Greenfly picked up an aphid and tickled its belly, I shared Honeydew’s look. I did not need to see where the sticky, sugary substance actually came from. WHY DID IT TASTE SO GOOD? IT HAD NO RIGHT TO! Still, as we helped Greenfly carry eggs and refused to acknowledge his question on whether we’d assist ‘the milking’, I was in thought. The highbreeze-clan seemed to be doing very well for itself. How much of that was because of them being spared the early winter, and how much was because they enjoyed a stable food production? I let those questions swirl around in my head for about an hour, before I stomped my hoof, placing down the egg I was carrying in order to face Greenfly. I’d decided to my habit of bottling up questions when I’d confronted Honeydew about the gods, it was time to act on that.
“It is nice to not worry about food.” Greenfly chuckled when I asked. “Honeydew might start to taste disgusting without variation, but starvation hasn’t been a problem for us for as long as I could remember. However, trading with your clan is still very important to us.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “You have your own sustainable food supply as well as sizzlegrass growing around your home. I-I don’t think our clan has anything like that, we just… fly out and pick things from the area.” Swallowing, I looked around, hoping Honeydew was not around to hear that. I did not want to hurt his pride.
“And that means you get much further around than we do.” Greenfly explained somberly. “Life is not all about food and sizzlegrass, Twilight. We need medical herbs, which we buy from you every summer.”
“Farin Gaela also likes us.” Honeydew interjected, limping towards our discussion. “She allows us to take the carcasses of her deceased workers.”
“And your toolmaker is excellent. Carveshine, was it?”
“Many clans are willing to pay for his work.” Honeydew agreed, a small grin on his face.
“The trade of our clans is important.” Greenfly said with a nod in my direction, before frowning. “A shame then, that elder Mormo is betraying our bonds of friendship like that…”
“What’s up with her?” Giving him an inquisitive look, I crossed my hooves before my chest. “It seems that every breezie I meet disapproves, and she’s your elder.”
With a sigh, Greenfly shook his head. “I don’t know. She hasn’t been elder for long, so we can look after a few mistakes, but this… and to a Frindrì. Maybe she is trying to prove that our clan comes first to her, but she is choosing a dangerous path all the same. Let us hope that Myrmelsday will appease the gods and spirits to oversee this slight.”
“Myrmelsday?” Honeydew exclaimed, his expression brightening as mine twisted to confusion.
“Of course.” Greenfly nodded. “In a few days, I think. If you stay long enough, I am sure you could attend as well.”
“Myrmelsday?” I whispered, trying to form the words with lip-movement more than words as I tried to get Honeydew’s attention. But he was completely focused on his leg, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“Maybe.” he whispered. “I’d love to be able to afford celebrating.”
Underneath it all we're just savages learning to behave with ties and marriage
9537502
wut?
9537525
two things
1 From Twilights perspective the breezes have a primitive but complex society and from the breezes point of view, Twilight may as well be a newborn with her lack of knowledge on what to them is the most basic things that they probably learn early on.
2 its a great song
If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?
9537654
interesting question, I don't actually have voices in mind...
it's hard to find comparisons in media tbh, since breezies would all nautrally have a higher pitch.
Sorry, I've been browsing around the internet for 40 minutes looking up clips of voices that might fit, but I couldnt find any ^^
BUT, if you, or someone else could tell me what you think they would sound like, I might just make it cannon, I'm open to suggestions.
It's interessting enough and I wanted a Breezie story for a while, now I only would like to know if Twilight dates a male Breezie or a female.
Not sure if that makes a difference but I'm not sure what fits more my mood at the moment. It will probably only change how "soon" I read this.
9543373
Oh and please if you do something like that, make the reactions worth it
I mean just do your best.
I had a story which was good, but the reactions toward an very unlikely shipping Twilight x Discord was pretty underwhelming in my eyes.
I mean...instead of something like "you date who??!!!?!?!?!?", it was more something like "oh that's nice, hey I have this new daring doo book here do you want to...."
It wouldn't hurt if even someone like Celestia, Luna or Cadance (especially her) don't see that comming.
To keep it short I like it if Celestia and the other Alicorns look more normal and can be suprised or sometimes even weak in some situations.
For Cadance I just like the idea that one story used in which she was actually only able to find soullmates or close friends and the love thing was something the ponies just started to believe without her doing anything about it.
I can say that I at least hardly see it used in a way I like, her powers I mean.
Either that or their personality alongside their behavior in the stories.
9543590
Awww, it warms my heart to see such enthusiasm ;3 you seem to habe practically devoured the story. Might I ask what you thought of it overall, as well as the characters? You can answer here or in a PM. Or, you know, not. But that'd make me much sad
9544369
I admit that pay more attention to this one here and while I maybe won't remember every step she took I liked it very much so far.
HHhhmmm I guess for this little reply I write a pm but I'm only at chapter 3 so far, I'm a slower reader lately and I honestly hope the chapters will only get as big as before.
I will try to get chapter 3 and 4 done today since I'm not really at home today.
Yo I still can't wait for Kally to call Honeydew out for being a hypocritical sumbitch.
9545162
language, please
*waggles finger*
9544496
You could insert any litte bad word you know but let's just say idiot.
He could have had one of "those" personalities that I remember most of the time from either human soldier in Equestria stories, anon or one story that I forgot the name from.
9548975
Thank you :)
Have I accidently made a double post or why is that one deleeted?
9550091
I thought you did, I only ever deleted my own comments (when I decided it was maybe a bit spoiler-y)
9550165
In that chase I suppose it's okay.
9550533
I explained it before. Its simply a difficult spell which draws alot of energy. And she'll need to fill that back up with calories. which she didnt have available until she was with the clan... which doesnt have food to spare either
9550540
I suppose that makes sense, then again I suppose if she is big she could maybe just gather the food?
Then again that could mean that the Breezies don't have much to eat or that she accidently hurts some small creature living there.
I guess you can see it this and that way.
Ich weis ja nicht wieso aber manchmal krieg ich einfach keine Meldung über einige Nachrichten oder Antworten.
Die Geschichte ist richtig gut soweit und es scheint so als ob Honeydew so langsam an Twilight interesse zeigt wenn ich das richtig deute. Zumindest schien es so als ob er schonmal darüber nachdenkt wie es wäre sich weiter auf Sie einzulassen, so wirkte die Geschichtsstune im Bett oben jedenfalls.
Wurde eigentlich schon erklärt wie das mit den Fühlern zu verstehen ist?
Ich überleg immernoch ob das einfach unangenehm für Ihn ist oder ob das schon wieder was mehr intimes ist, so wie die Pegasusflügel in einigen Geschichten.
9552225
the answer to the feelers is that Twilight doesnt know, and we're experiencing the story through her, therefore we dont know. You'll have to draw your own conclusions there
9552280
aawwww alright, he might tell her later.
9552280
great story so far ... eagerly awaiting fore more to read
9556227
aww, thanks, that always motivates me to try harder
9556370
also i love stories like this ... it's sooo unique
9556452
DONT MAKE ME BLUSH. it didnt work nono, it did not. a little bit
9556523
continue on this story and i'll have no choice but to read more ...
and what i said is true ... there is a lot of stories out there but yours is unique ... different ... in my words a masterpiece
*Deep inhale*
Y'all really did just do that. Haha!
Amazing story by the way; absolutely love this Breezy world that you have conjured up. Honestly could become it's own standalone book-series were it not copyrighted by Hasbro.
phrasing, dear.
9835940
quiet you, that was the best moment in the story and I'll fight you for it ^^
Wow that is a lot of information about The Breezies religions how they born and how they been evolving and I got to admit that is a pretty interesting lore speaking of Celebration it looks like there is one here and they look like they're going to stay here for a while until honeydews leg is healed but I still wonder what really happened between him and his sister I guess we'll find out next time