Discord's Game

by Scribblestick

Book 5: Trottingham

Book 5: Trottingham

“Grainthresh, dear, would you mind saving some of those carrots for the trip?” Color Wheel asked. The purple mare was trying to finish packing for the next day’s journey to Trottingham, but her husband seemed intent on eating as much food as possible. She didn’t blame him, of course. He and the other farm ponies had worked hard to organize supplies, and she knew how hungry he got after a long day in the fields, but if he kept going at this rate, there’d be no food left for them.

“Sorry,” Grainthresh said. “I’m just a little nervous about that alicorn.”

“Are you still going on about that?” Color Wheel said. Grainthresh kept his gaze fixed on the table. “For the hundredth time, they’re here to help us.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that they were working for Discord when they first came here,” Grainthresh said.

“Oh, stop it,” Color Wheel said. “If it weren’t for them, he’d still be changing the sun and moon around every five minutes. Even Galeforce trusts them now.”

“That’s his decision,” Grainthresh said. “Not mine.”

Color Wheel knew arguing about it would get her nowhere, just as it had the last dozen times they’d gone through this discussion. “You can believe your conspiracies all you want,” she said. “That’s your decision.”

“You never know with Discord,” Grainthresh said.

Color Wheel’s retort was cut off by a knock at the door. “That must be her,” Color Wheel said. “I don’t want to hear any of your conspiracies while she’s here, understand?”

Grainthresh grunted as his eyes returned to his food. Color Wheel took this as a sign of grudging acceptance and opened the door. “Good evening!” she said to the blue alicorn standing outside.

“Good evening,” Luna said as she stepped inside. “How are you?”

“Oh, well enough,” Color Wheel said. “Are you hungry? Grainthresh and I were just about to eat.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Luna said. “Scrollkeeper made me a salad before I left the library.”

“That old pegasus can’t tell a full meal from a snack,” Grainthresh said as he put a small pile of hay in front of Luna. “Eat this. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Luna said as she took a bite. “The salad was a little small.”

“It’s not a problem, dear,” Color Wheel said. “Thank you for coming over. Grainthresh wanted to get an early start tomorrow, and we thought it would be best if you spent the night here.”

“It’s no trouble,” Luna said. “It was either this or spend the night alone in Shuttleweave’s shop.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Grainthresh said. Color Wheel picked up a hint of sarcasm in his tone and sent him a warning glare in case he was thinking of saying something foolish.

“What do you know about Trottingham?” Luna asked as she finished her meal. “All Scrollkeeper knew is that it’s mostly a farming community.”

“One of the biggest,” Color Wheel said. “When I lived there, it practically fed all of Equestria this side of the mountains.”

“You used to live there?” Luna said.

“That’s where Grainthresh and I met,” Color Wheel said with a smile. “In the wheat fields, if I’m not mistaken. Father had hired him to help with the harvest. I was taking water to the workers, and there he was, showing off to his friends. When he saw me, he struck a pose and said–”

“I don’t think that’s what she wants to hear,” Grainthresh said, color rising to his face.

Color Wheel giggled. “All right. I’ll save that story for later. We left a few years ago when my parents passed away. Discord wasn’t kind to their farm, and we decided we’d be better off trying someplace else. I’ve always wanted to go back, though. Everypony’s very friendly.”

“I wouldn’t count on that now, though,” Grainthresh said. “Hunger can change even the best of ponies.”

“Oh, don’t be such a pessimist,” Color Wheel said with a sigh. Grainthresh replied with a grunt and went to the bedroom. “Come on, dear. Let’s get you some blankets. I think it’s time we all turned in for the night.”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay up for a while,” Luna said. “I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose studying all day can do that to a pony,” Color Wheel said. “I’ll leave some blankets out for you, but don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t,” Luna said.

---

The wind blew softly through the corn stalks, filling the night with the quiet rustling of dry leaves. Luna lay on the soft dirt and looked up at the stars. How long has it been since I first raised the moon? she wondered as she tried to find all the constellations she knew. It was no small feat, considering she’d invented a few herself. I was just a foal at the time, I think.

“My, isn’t this delightfully dull,” a deep voice said. Luna leaped to her hooves and looked around. “A little chaos would make this so much more entertaining, don’t you agree?”

“Discord!” Luna growled. Though she couldn’t see the draconequus, she knew it had to be him. “What are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on my competition,” Discord’s disembodied voice said. “Our game ends in ten days, you know. I can’t let you catch me by surprise.”

“Show yourself!” Luna said. The draconequus appeared with a flash of light, floating on a cloud and sipping juice through a straw. “What do you want?”

“I believe I just told you,” Discord said, propping his head up with a talon. “So, how’s the search going? I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time in libraries.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Luna said.

“Oh, my dear princess!” Discord chuckled as his serpentine body floated around her. “You’ve been spending too much time with your sister. Her dreary attitude is beginning to wear off.”

“My sister is ten times the pony you’ll ever be,” Luna snapped, realizing a moment later that Discord wasn’t technically a pony in the first place. “I mean – you know what I mean!”

“Really,” Discord said, a bemused smile on his face. “I wonder, does dear Celestia think so highly of you as well?”

“O-Of course she does,” Luna said. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the draconequus said. “Why did she go on the dangerous political mission and leave you to distribute food?”

“Because – that’s not the point!” Luna shouted.

“Shh, keep your voice down,” Discord said, putting a claw over his mouth. “You’ll wake your friends inside.”

Suddenly, the pieces in Luna’s head began to click. “You’re here for the food, aren’t you?” she said, a blue aura bursting around her horn. “You want to stop us from helping the Trottingham ponies!”

Discord’s laughter echoed across the field. “I like the way you think!” he said. “Yes, I’d love to stir up a bit of mischief here, but unfortunately, I promised your sister I’d leave the Everfree ponies alone, and if I broke that promise, she’d never let me hear the end of it. I can’t have my future slave complaining all the time that I cheated, after all. Can you imagine how dreadfully irritating that would be?”

“We’re not going to be your slaves,” Luna said. “We’re going to defeat you and let these ponies live in peace!”

“We’ll see about that, little Luna,” Discord said with a chuckle. “As fun as turning your supplies to sandpaper would be, it will be far more amusing to see how your friend reacts when she sees what’s become of her beloved hometown.”

“It can’t be any worse that what you’ve done here,” Luna said.

“Ah, my dear little princess,” Discord said. “A change in the weather is easy to face. A change in the heart, that’s another case.”

“What do you mean?” Luna said. “What did you do to them?”

“I’ve done nothing there that I haven’t done here,” Discord said. “What the ponies have done is what you must fear.”

“Stop it!” Luna said, shaking her head to clear away his rhymes and riddles. “Go away! You’re a selfish monster who only uses his powers to help himself!”

“Hmm, perhaps,” Discord said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “But tell me this, dear Luna. What would you do with unlimited power?”

“I wouldn’t use it like you,” Luna said.

Discord chuckled. “You say that now,” he said, “but would you say it then? I suppose we’ll only find out when that moment comes.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Luna said. “No power is unlimited, not even yours.”

Discord’s laughter echoed around her once again as he floated away. “It was nice talking with you,” he said. “Take care. I’d hate for my new slave to get hurt.”

“I won’t be your slave,” Luna muttered. “You can count on that.”

---

“I thought the candy field was bad,” Grainthresh muttered as the three walked through the outskirts of Trottingham. Every field they passed was filled with either rubber replicas of crops or long-legged rabbits intent on eating everything in sight. Ponies ran every which way, chasing the unnatural creatures in vain, while others pulled up the useless props that took up valuable land. “At least you can still eat what Discord put in our farm.”

“Hey! What are you doing?” The three turned and saw an angry young stallion yelling at another. “How many times do I have to tell you? Quit chasing the monsters onto my field!”

“Where else am I going to chase them, huh?” the other stallion yelled back. “It’s not like you have anything useful in your field!”

“Unlike you, I have some replanting to do!” the first said. “Keep those mutant rabbits off my land!”

“Hey, calm down, you two,” Color Wheel said. “Shouting won’t get you anywhere.”

“Well, look who it is,” the first stallion sneered. “Good ol’ Deserter Wheel.”

“Huh?” Color Wheel said.

“Didn’t take you long to high-tail it out of here,” the second stallion said. “Ever think we could use your help taking care of your farm?”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Grainthresh said.

“Shut it, Ditchthresh,” the first stallion said. “I’m surprised you bothered to come back at all.”

“Hey, we came here with food!” Luna said. “Show a little gratitude!”

“Stay out of this,” the second stallion said. “This is earth pony business.”

“Look, can you just tell us where the mayor is?” Grainthresh said.

“Keep moving,” the first stallion said, jerking his head down the road.

“Thank you,” Grainthresh said as he began pulling his heavy cart down the road once again. “Luna, Color, let’s go.”

Color Wheel’s eyes were wide as they drew closer to the town. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I knew those two when they were colts, and they were never that rude.”

“That was several years ago,” Grainthresh said. “I seem to recall their parents were pretty upset when we left. Seemed to think we were abandoning the town.”

“Didn’t they see the farm?” Color Wheel said. “It was completely unsalvageable!”

“Let’s just find the mayor and deliver the supplies,” Grainthresh said. “Then we can worry about everypony else.”

The three drew several sour looks as they passed farm after farm, but the ponies were too busy salvaging their crops to talk to them. They eventually made it to the town hall, where they found a large, unhappy crowd of ponies standing outside. A white mare with a black and purple mane and what looked like the image of a stone block on her flank was trying to calm the crowd, with little success.

“Ponies! Please!” the mare shouted. “As much as I admire our way of life, this crisis is simply too big for us to overcome alone.”

“We’ve never needed help from nopony before, and we don’t need it now!” shouted a dark red stallion with a brown mane. Most of the others yelled in agreement. “I already have my fields cleared, and my workers are getting ready to replant as we speak. We don’t need somepony marching into town to feed us like we were colts!”

“You know as well as I that it’s too late in the season to replant, Cropharvest,” the white mare said. “The harvest is late as it is, and we can’t afford to–”

The rest of her words were drowned out by the townsponies’ loud complaints. “We don’t want help from nopony! We can handle this ourselves! Trottingham can take care of itself!”

“Ponies! Ponies!” A female voice rose above the shouting and quieted the crowd. “Come on, there’s no need to yell,” said a pink pony with a yellow and white mane and the image of a notepad on her flank.

“Well, what do you expect when our own mayor turns against everything we stand for?” the stallion called Cropharvest said.

“Mayor Cornerstone only wants what’s best for everypony,” the pink mare said. “Now, I know none of us want to ask for help, but we have to look at the facts. Almost seventy percent of our crops are gone, and until we can get rid of the rabbits, that number will continue to increase. In the meantime, we’re dreadfully behind on the harvest, and we’re very close to losing what little food we have left.”

“We know the facts, Field Reap,” said Cropharvest. “You’ve told us a hundred times.”

“Then you know that even if we manage to harvest everything we have left, our chances of getting through the winter are slim,” Field Reap replied.

“We don’t need help,” Cropharvest said slowly, glaring at the pink mare.

“I have already asked for help, whether you think we need it or not,” the white mare, Cornerstone, said. “Everfree will be sending supplies.”

“Then tell them to stop!” Cropharvest said, his voice rising. “Send them a messenger and tell them not to waste their time!”

“Um, excuse me,” Color Wheel said. Every eye immediately turned to her. “We’re here with supplies from Everfree.”

The crowd stared at her for a moment in silence. Finally, Cropharvest stepped forward and fixed Color Wheel with a cold glare. “As if asking for help wasn’t bad enough,” he said, “they had to send you of all ponies to deliver it.”

“We’re just here to help,” Grainthresh said, stepping between the angry stallion and his wife. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Should’ve thought of that before you left,” Cropharvest said. “You know, if you’d been here to do your part, we wouldn’t have had to ration our food that winter.”

“The times have been hard on all of us, Cropharvest,” Grainthresh said.

“Well, maybe they wouldn’t be if somepony didn’t run away when things got tough.”

“We didn’t have a choice,” Color Wheel said. “We would have starved if we stayed.”

“We are Trottingham ponies,” Cropharvest said. “We don’t back down, we don’t give up, and we don’t ask for help.” Cropharvest turned around and addressed the crowd. “Well, it seems our protests have fallen on deaf ears. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Cropharvest trotted away without a backwards glance, and most of the other ponies followed suit.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” Cornerstone said. “As you can see, the ponies here are being stubborn.”

“Stubborn? That was downright insulting!” Luna said. “What kind of pony rejects help?”

“We do, I’m afraid,” said Field Reap with a sigh. “Most of the farmers won’t even help each other. It’s good to see you two again,” she added with a nod towards Color Wheel and Grainthresh.

“Likewise,” Grainthresh said. “I just wish we could have seen Trottingham in better circumstances.”

“Well, until Discord is defeated, there’s no way of telling when those might come,” Cornerstone said. “Speaking of which, you must be one of those alicorns I’ve heard about.” Luna responded with a nod. “Well, welcome to Trottingham, even if our first impression was less than exemplary.”

“What would you like us to do with the supplies?” Grainthresh asked.

“Take them over there,” Cropharvest said, pointing a hoof at a building across the street. “I’ll have some of the workers unload your cart. In the meantime, I’ve arranged for you to stay with my assistant here,” she said with a nod towards Field Reap.

“I’ll be happy to show you to my home whenever you’re ready,” Field Reap said.

“Thank you,” Grainthresh said. “Let me get unhitched from this cart, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Where do you live?” Luna asked while Grainthresh walked over to the building Cornerstone had indicated.

“On my family’s farm just outside of town,” Field Reap said. “So, what have you been up to, Color Wheel?”

“What?” Color Wheel said with a shake of her head.

“Are you all right?” Field Reap asked.

“Yeah. I’m just…” Color Wheel’s voice trailed off as she looked at the ponies who were unloading the cart with scowls on their faces. “I’m fine.”

---

“Well, here it is,” Field Reap said. The farmhouse looked about as nice as Color Wheel and Grainthresh’s, and Luna saw the tops of carrots sticking out of the fields. “Looks like they’re done for the day,” Field reap said.

“Who?” Luna asked.

“My father and sister,” Field Reap answered as she pushed open the door. “Pa? Corncob? Are you in here?”

“Back here,” a stern voice called. “Where’ve you been? We’ve been harvesting for three days, and you haven’t checked in once.”

“I’m sorry, Pa,” Field Reap said. “We’ve been very busy at town hall trying to keep everypony calm.”

“You wouldn’t have to if–” A yellow-coated, blue-maned stallion with a sickle-shaped image on his flank entered from the back room and stopped when he saw Grainthresh and Color Wheel. “What are they doing here?”

“We brought supplies from Everfree,” Grainthresh said.

“You’re not mad at us, are you?” Color Wheel asked.

The stallion let out a long sigh. “I’m too tired to be mad anymore,” he said. “I didn’t like asking for help, either, but after what we’ve been through…”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Luna asked.

The stallion looked at her with a frown. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Name’s Brightsickle.”

“I’m Luna,” the blue alicorn said.

“Well, it’s good to meet you,” Brightsickle said. “Heard you’re challenging Discord. Not the smartest move, but anypony who can do that is all right in my book.”

“Thank you,” Luna said. “I saw your carrots outside. Do you grown anything else?”

“Well, hay, of course,” Brightsickle said. “We tried celery one year, but it didn’t turn out, so we’re back to carrots.”

“Will you be able to harvest them all before the seasons change?” Grainthresh asked.

“Well, you never know with Discord,” Brightsickle said. “Assuming the seasons change when they should, and if we work nonstop day and night, we might be able to get most of it.”

“You can’t do that,” Field Reap said. “Not with your back.”

“Well, we don’t have much choice,” Brightsickle said. “Besides, I’d be more worried about Corncob. She’s not used to working in the fields all day.”

“Maybe we could help,” Grainthresh said. “I already have my workers wrapping up our harvest.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Brightsickle said.

“Come on,” Field Reap said. “You can’t do this alone. We need the food.”

“You know the others won’t let me live it down,” Brightsickle said.

“So?” Field Reap said. “If we don’t get somepony to help us, we might not live through the winter at all.”

“Reap?” a sleepy voice asked. “Is that you?” A young filly with a yellow coat and green mane walked out of the back room with half-open eyes.

“Hey, Corny,” Field Reap said. “Looks like you’ve had a long day.”

“Mmhmm,” the filly said with a tired nod. “Why do we have so many carrots?”

“Well, we need to save them for winter,” Field Reap said as she hugged her younger sister. “Otherwise we won’t have anything to eat.”

“I don’t want to see another carrot ever,” Corncob muttered.

“Come on,” Field Reap said. “Let’s get you to bed.” As she led the filly back to her room, she glanced over her shoulder and shot her father a look that said, Please.

Brightsickle sighed and closed his eyes. “All right,” he said. “I want you all up by sunrise. If you’re going to help me with the harvest, you’re going to do it my way.”

---

“I just don’t understand it,” Color Wheel said as she, Corncob, and Brightsickle walked across a hay field the stallion had cut a few days before. “Why is everypony being so rude?”

“They don’t like being helped,” Brightsickle said, feeling the cut hay with his hooves. “Corncob, dear, will you please tell Grainthresh this field is ready to be baled?”

“Okay!” The filly ran towards the carrots, where Grainthresh, Field Reap, and Luna were working.

“But it still doesn’t make sense,” Color Wheel said. “Before Grainthresh and I left, they were at least respectful.”

“A lot has happened since then,” Brightsickle said. “You know as well as I what Discord has done.”

“Why should that matter?” Color Wheel asked. “Nopony’s to blame but him.”

Brightsickle let out a heavy sigh and looked out across his field. “The truth is, I think they’re scared,” he said. “I know I am. Deep down, we all know we can’t make it through this winter on our own, but we can’t bring ourselves to admit it. We’ve always been able to handle things on our own, and we don’t know what to do now that we can’t.”

Color Wheel pondered his words as the stallion began baling the hay. “Maybe they just need somepony to offer,” she suggested.

Brightsickle laughed. “The way I heard it, that didn’t go over too well in town.”

“But that was different,” Color Wheel said. “Cornerstone asked us to come. Maybe if we offer it without anypony asking, it’ll be different.”

“Brightsickle!” Grainthresh called as he trotted across the field. “Corncob said you needed me.”

“Yes,” Brightsickle said. “This field is ready for baling. Color Wheel, would you help the others with the carrots?”

“Of course,” Color Wheel said as the trotted away. She soon found Corncob pulling carrots out of the ground. She spotted Luna a little ways away doing the same with her magic. “Where’s Field Reap?”

“Down there,” Corncob said, pointing towards the house. “Cropharvest wanted to talk to her.”

That can’t be good, Color Wheel thought. “Thank you,” she said as she trotted towards the farmhouse. Maybe this is my chance, she thought. If I can get him to accept help, the others might do the same.

She knew from the shouting that whatever discussion the two ponies were having, it wasn’t going well. “First the supplies, and now this?” Cropharvest was saying.

“We need to finish the harvest one way or another,” Field Reap said.

“You’re destroying our way of life!” Cropharvest shouted as Color Wheel pushed open the door. “Trottingham ponies don’t ask for help!”

“Oh, hello,” Color Wheel said. Cropharvest turned his head and glared at her. “What brings you here this morning?”

“I’m having a private discussion with the mayor’s assistant,” Cropharvest said curtly.

“I see,” Color Wheel said. “Might I suggest you refrain from shouting? It’s just that everypony can hear you from clear across the field.”

Cropharvest blushed, apparently unaware that he’d been using so much volume. “What do you care?” he asked. “You left us, remember?”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you,” Color Wheel said. “You look a little hungry. Care for a carrot?”

“No,” Cropharvest said. “I want everypony to stop acting like they need to take care of us.”

“Take care of you?” Color Wheel repeated. “Oh, it’s not like that at all! After all, Trottingham farms have provided everypony with so much food in the past.”

“Exactly!” Cropharvest said, though he seemed confused that she was agreeing with him.

“And you’ve always been so kind,” Color Wheel continued. “Why, I remember the year Fillydelphia had that terrible drought. You gave them lots of food for almost nothing.”

“That’s right,” Cropharvest said, now definitely confused. “We’re the ones who help others, not the other way around.”

“So why, then, do you reject the kindness of others?” Color Wheel asked. “I mean, the Everfree ponies don’t have a lot, but we managed to bring you a little food to help you out.”

“I – that – it’s not the same!” Cropharvest said.

“Isn’t it?” Color Wheel asked.

“N-no, it isn’t,” Cropharvest said. “We don’t need help!”

“Tell me this, Cropharvest,” Color Wheel said. “What are you willing to sacrifice for your pride?”

“I – what are you talking about?”

“You know it’s too late to replant,” Color Wheel said. Cropharvest started to protest, but the purple mare raised her hoof to silence him. “Be honest, Cropharvest.”

Cropharvest’s mouth moved silently for a moment before he answered. “Yes.”

“Then why do it?” Color Wheel asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to just help somepony else harvest their crops? At least then you would stand a chance of getting through the winter.”

“I…” Cropharvest again found himself at a loss for words.

“I haven’t been here very long, but I can tell you this,” Color Wheel said. “If you don’t help each other, this winter may be your last. Are you willing to take that risk just to satisfy your pride?”

Cropharvest considered her words for a minute. “You know,” he said, “I think you’re right.”

Color Wheel smiled. “Well, then,” she said. “Would you like a carrot?”

Before Cropharvest could answer, a flash of light filled the farmhouse, making all three ponies jump. When the spots cleared from her eyes, Color Wheel saw a large stone orb floating to the floor. “What in the hay is that?” Field Reap asked.

“Excuse me,” Luna said as he pushed open the door. “We’ve finished the–” She stopped when she saw the orb and gasped. “When did that get here?”

“Just a moment ago,” Color Wheel said. “Do you know what it is?”

“I think so,” Luna said as she examined the stone more closely. “I don’t believe it. Do you know what this means?”

“What?”

“It means my theory was wrong!”

Cropharvest and Field Reap looked at Color Wheel for an explanation, but the purple earth pony could only shrug. “You were going to tell us something?” Field Reap asked.

“Huh? Oh, yes,” Luna said, bringing her attention back to the present. “We’ve finished harvesting the carrots.”

“Good,” Field Reap said. “You and Color Wheel can go with Cropharvest, then. Is that all right with you?”

Cropharvest sighed. “Well, if I’m going to get help, I might as well get somepony that can use magic. Come with me. I know just the place to start.”

---

It turned out Cropharvest’s starting point was to visit all the ponies who’s crops had been completely destroyed and stop them from replanting. It wasn’t an easy task, but in the end, they convinced the ponies with no harvest of their own to help those who still had food to pick. The next step was getting the ponies with crops to accept their aid, which turned out to be the more difficult task. However, as more ponies accepted their help, the others began to soften as well. Even the mayor got involved, and by the end of the day, Cornerstone and Field Reap had organized almost all of Trottingham in order to gather all the food they could before the seasons changed.

The next week was the busiest Trottingham had seen in years. Though the majority of their crops had been lost to Discord’s mischief, there was still plenty to harvest. After five days of nonstop picking, everypony was exhausted, but they had achieved the unthinkable.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” Cornerstone said as she stood before her tired citizens. “I am pleased to announce that this year’s harvest is officially over!” Everypony cheered and stomped their hooves. “We have gathered everything we can, and after careful examination, it appears that we have just enough to make it through the winter.”

The ponies cheered even louder, and Cornerstone had to raise her hoof to get them to settle down. “Yes, well done, everypony,” she said. “However, I think special thanks are owed to one pony in particular, whose persistence led us to set aside our own interests for the sake of the greater good. Everypony, please give special thanks to Color Wheel!”

The ponies cheered louder still as Color Wheel took to the stage. “Thank you,” she said. “I know some of you have hard feelings towards me and my husband, but I assure you we have only the best feelings and interests for you. I hope that you can forgive us for any misunderstandings we’ve had.” The ponies’ renewed cheering was all the answer she needed.

They spent that night with Brightsickle and his daughters, and the next day, they packed the stone orb and enough food to last them the journey home into the cart. “Thank you again,” Brightsickle said.

“It was a pleasure,” Grainthresh said. “We’ll visit again as soon as we can.”

“You’ll always have a place to stay with us,” Brightsickle said.

The three ponies bade Trottingham farewell and began the long journey home. “You all right, Luna?” Color Wheel asked.

“I guess,” Luna said. “I just feel like I didn’t do very much.”

“Nonsense,” Grainthresh said. “You’re the reason we were able to finish the harvest so quickly. Without your magic, it would have taken us twice as long.”

“You think so?” Luna asked.

“I’m positive,” Grainthresh said. “Color Wheel may have gotten things rolling, but you deserve just as much thanks as anypony else.”

Luna smiled, and so did Color Wheel. “Glad to see somepony’s given up on his conspiracies,” she whispered to her husband. Grainthresh just smiled and shook his head.

“Hey, what’s that?” Luna asked. Color Wheel looked and saw several carts coming towards them. When they drew nearer, the saw that it was a supply caravan led by a brown stallion with a yellow mane.

“Excuse me,” the stallion said. “How much further is it to Trottingham?”

“Maybe an hour,” Grainthresh answered. “Where are you from?”

“Manehattan,” the stallion said. “Name’s Oatbuck.”

“Manehattan?” Luna repeated. “So you saw my sister?”

Oatbuck looked her over and smiled. “If you mean the white alicorn, then yes,” he said. “It’s thanks to her and her friend that we came here. Listen, do you think the Trottingham ponies will accept all this? They can be pretty stubborn sometimes.”

Color Wheel smiled. “They will,” she said. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”