The Forgotten: Friends

by Jatheus

Chapter XV

The students were settling down before class, some soft chatter filling the air. Mestra Amymone’s thoughts had wandered to her coming adventure. Disappointing as it had been to not have found any of Mestra’s family in Hollow Shades, the prospect of seeing new places was somewhat alluring. As for the unknown marvels awaited her, she indulged to speculate.

“So,” Burble broke the mare from her reverie, “are you really going to be leaving soon?”

She turned to him, “Ah, when spring is. I need to find family. No family in Hollow Shades.”

“Oh,” he looked back down to his homework from the previous day.

“But we’ve still got a few weeks, and I say we make the best of it!” Stormy said cheerfully.

Mestra knew Stormy well enough to understand that her apparent good humor was a facade. They had talked many times about their coming separation, and Stormy was sad about it. If she wanted to put on a happy face for Burble’s sake, it would probably be best to simply play along.

The school day went without incident. As they were departing, Mestra noticed that Verdant Thicket had been chosen for classroom cleanup. Normally they would do this on an assigned schedule, but it shouldn’t have been his turn for at least another week. She surmised that Miss Acumen was giving him extra turns because of the chestnut incident.

“Thanks, Burble,” Stormy said as Mestra approached. “See you later!”

“Buh-bye,” he replied, trotting off.

“Stormy and I to see Burble later?”

Turning to her friend, Stormy seemed a little surprised, “We... you’d say, ‘Are we going to see Burble later?’”

“Ah.”

“No?” Stormy sounded unsure. “I mean, yes, eventually. It’s another way to say goodbye.”

“Ah,” Mestra nodded.

It had not yet ceased to amaze the mare how many different phrases meant similar things. It was not a mystery to her why after two years of study, her language skills were still somewhat lacking.

Mestra did not enjoy their winter job nearly so much as she had the berry picking. Shoveling walkways in front of other ponies’ houses was grueling work, especially while being bitten by frigid wind. By the time they finished with the drudgery, her nose and hooves were somewhat numb in spite of the activity and clothing she wore to protect against such. The pair walked back to their house as the sun slipped below the horizon.

“So, on to the next town, huh?”

Mestra didn’t feel comfortable with small talk, but she always tried to humor Stormy when she could.

“Ah...”

“I don’t blame you. I’ve always wanted to leave Hollow Shades.”

Mestra stopped, feeling confused by the statement.

“Why Stormy would want to leave?”

The dark mare shrugged, “There’s a whole world out there, and I’ve only seen this one little town.”

“Home... is home for Stormy not with family?”

“You’re right. I have a home, family and friends, a place where I belong... My mom would say it is one of those quirks of life that we always want something we don’t have.”

The icy breeze compelled her to continue moving if for no other reason than to keep warm.

“Para...” Mestra tried to remember a word she had found in her Magister’s journal, “Para-ducks?”

“Paradox?”

“Ah! Paradox is when are things opposite of their should be.”

Stormy’s brow furrowed a moment, “There are so many things wrong with that sentence, but the meaning is pretty accurate.”

Mestra couldn’t help but grin at her friend, who playfully pushed her away. They giggled a moment as they continued down the path, soon growing silent. It was as if a damp heaviness were hanging over their cheer. Becoming filled with a serious demeanor, Stormy spoke again.

“It’s just not going to be the same around here without you, Mestra. I...” the young mare stopped.

Mestra turned to face her still companion, waiting as she searched for words. A glistening filled her eyes as she looked up, locking gaze with Mestra.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

The forgotten mare felt something of a churning within her belly. She wasn’t sure what to say. She had also enjoyed her time with Stormy, but the need to find her own place was strong. The thought that her own family and friends could be missing her terribly was too much to bear. Stormy sniffed, wiping her nose.

Beginning to walk again, Stormy continued speaking in a much more nonchalant tone, “Well, it’s just bad timing is all. I can’t leave until I finish school or my mom would have a fit. And really, you’ve already made sure that nopony here knows you from before, and you’ve put aside enough supplies to make it a couple of months on the road.” She smiled, “That’s not bad for a year’s work.”

Fresh snow began to fall as they neared their destination, prompting them to pick up their pace. Mestra shivered against the growing cold as the pair made their way up the walkway to the house. The door creaked open at Stormy’s push, and the two friends entered the dark, stamping their boots against the rug to dislodge dirt and ice. Mestra shook to drop any snow that had piled onto her back, displacing her butterflies.

As the door shut, the little glowing insects were the only light. Mestra found this quite curious, as the windows always let light in, and it wasn’t quite dark enough out to have so obscured the inside of the house. Additionally, Misty was normally home and had lanterns ready. Mestra was just about to ask Stormy about it when her heart leapt into her throat.

“Surprise!” a half-dozen voices shouted together.

Confetti streamed from pop guns as light flooded the room, the lanterns having been previously covered by blankets. Decorations had been strewn all over the house, making for quite a cheerful display. The smiling faces that met Mestra left her mostly confused. She then saw a banner above them that had been crudely fashioned, but the meaning was not wasted on the forgotten mare, ‘Happy Birthday, Mestra!’

She looked immediately to Stormy, who had a smug grin upon her face. Clearly she had known that this gathering had been planned.

“Come in, you two!” Misty greeted them.

“Are you surprised?” Burble asked.

“Ah! Mes... I am surprised! How is this I... this my birthday? How you did know it is when?”

“Well,” Stormy shrugged, “technically we don’t know. But, I was talking to Miss Acumen, and she told me that the date isn’t so important. So we just picked one for you.”

Mestra couldn’t help but smile at such a delightful way to bend the rules of the social construct so that she could fit in. A warmth spread through her chest at the thought.

It was a small gathering, but the mirth of friendship was quite abundant. They sang to her as Misty brought a cake from the kitchen, the top alight with burning candles as was tradition.

“Make a wish,” said Misty.

“But you can’t tell anypony or it won’t come true,” Burble warned.

Stormy gave a reassuring look, “It’s just a tradition... there’s no real magic to it.”

Mestra’s mind was running too quickly to formulate something that felt appropriate to wish for, but focusing upon the journey ahead, the forgotten mare knew of one thing that seemed appropriate. She closed her eyes and made a wish that she could have Stormy travel alongside her. The forgotten mare blew out her birthday candles to the cheering of the guests. Cutting through the cream cheese icing, Mestra discovered carrot cake, a delicious surprise.

“Yum!” she voiced her delight.

“Do you remember the first time you had carrot cake?”

“Ah! I come to Stormy’s house for the first time. Misty gave carrot cake.”

“That’s right!” the dark mare affirmed.

“You are making good use of your improving language skills,” Miss Zenithal Acumen praised as she took a slice of the cake. “I still think you’d be best served staying here to learn more.”

“Thank you,” Mestra replied. “Mes... I will learn more. I study... and practice.”

“I’ll hold you to that, but there is no substitute for proper tutelage. Practical application is quite useful, but you may acquire poor habits if you aren’t diligent.”

“I will make good habits.”

Miss Acumen smiled behind her glasses.

The conversation turned toward Mestra’s coming journey which led to notions of excitement and wonders that one might find on an adventure. Burble became excited at the talk of amazing stories.

“So I heard this one the other day from a town to the south. It’s about a group of fillies and a colt that pulled off a stunt so amazingly stupid that it became immortalized in the town’s lore and was referred to afterward in hushed whispers as, ‘The Carrot Incident’.”

“Come on, Mestra,” Stormy spoke as though unaware Burble was only beginning a story, “it’s time to open presents!”

Burble shrank back a little, but the promise of gifts was too much for the forgotten mare to ignore, and she practically squealed, leaping from her chair. Misty and Miss Acumen began bringing the wrapped offerings. Light glinted off of the sparkling paper and glittery bows as Mestra eagerly tore into them. A bit of laughter rose up at the gusto with which she ripped paper to reveal her first gift.

“That’s from me,” said Stormy.

Mestra opened the box to find a hat, woven of straw, dyed white. Shooing her butterflies off of her head, she put the hat on and looked at Stormy, who gave her a smile.

“It’s not so much for fashion, but when summer comes, it’ll keep you a bit cooler when the sun gets hot.”

“Thanks!” Mestra grabbed Stormy briefly in a hug and then reached for the next gift.

It was a slightly worn book entitled, ‘Delicious & Nutritious: A Field Summary to the Best Tasting Edible Wild Plants’. Mestra looked up, a little confused.

Miss Acumen explained, “My own personal copy. I traveled a fair bit before I settled down and became a teacher. That is the best guide I have ever found to have on hoof if you are living off of the land for a few weeks.”

Mestra gave her a grin.

“I know it’s not so fun or exciting,” Zenithal Acumen added, “but I hope you’ll find it useful. I have left notes on several of the varieties listed.”

“Thank you!”

Given to her next was a small package, a square box. Mestra undid the crude wrapping and opened the container, discovering two items inside: a folded paper with Equestria drawn in a moderate amount of detail, the other a silver round casing held a northward pointing needle.

“That one’s from me,” Burble mumbled.

“It is a map!” she smiled at him. “And a compass.”

“I thought that you could cross off where you’ve been, and maybe you can find towns a little more easily. Also, I marked Hollow Shades so it is easy to find, just in case... if you ever wanted...” he began to blush lightly as he stopped talking.

Mestra would have filled the silence, but there was no need, as Misty brought forth a final gift, “This one, we all contributed in part, but I picked it out.”

Savagely ripping her way into the box led Mestra to discover a new set of blue saddle bags.

“Pretty! Is Mes... my favorite color!”

Misty smiled, “We thought you’d need a better way to carry your things than tying them up on your back. Now you have a place to store your winter clothes and keep some provisions while you travel.”

“Thank all of you!” Mestra grabbed Stormy in another hug.

The forgotten mare was a bit overwhelmed with glee. The thoughtfulness of the gifts and the party had put a grin on her face that it seemed might be a permanent resident.

In spite of the fact that each of her friends had in turn asked her to stay in Hollow Shades, they had given her gifts that would no doubt aid her on her journey. She was truly lucky to have made such good friends.

Comments

[platogkrone]

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[Jatheus]

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Thanks for saying so!