Sugar Hoof the Wizard Colt

by Furenstein

No Work for Young Colts

I could feel something familar, and so foreign at the same time. Life, naturally formed, pure, seeped into my hooves from the ground. Spending so much time out in the desert with the only plant life being what I myself had made has caused me to become sensitive to these changes. I could feel the roots underneath me whisper their secrets as my magic was rejuvenated.

As I continued to follow the train tracks, I was made aware of a large density of apple trees through the roots. Too many apple trees to be natural, in fact. The way they were spaced apart in even rows made it a dead giveaway. These were crops, and where there are crops, there are people nearby to tend and eat the crops. With the sheer amount of apple trees taken into account, this isn't some station or border watch, it's a town. It's likely inhabited by ponies, meaning I will get to see first hoof what a pony town is.

Stepping off of the tracks, I channeled my magic into the ground and caused the soil to glow the same neon green as the farms back home. This time it was only a small circle into the ground, as I only intended to grow one thing, an apple tree, it seemed fitting given the over-abundance of them. My magic easily grew a seed under the earth and a light creaking noise filled the air as the tree grew from a seed to a full grown apple tree in merely a few minutes.

I ripped the tree from the earth and began slicing it into paper so I could write notes on my discoveries. By the time I had a full stack of paper, a new tree had grown. I wondered for a moment, how long it would take for someone to find this fast growing apple tree before following the train tracks to a new town, and hopefully some bags for all my paper.

---

Back in the desert, Birch stood in front of a crowd of over half a million treants. Many of them toiled away crafting, farming, and mining, even while Birch started his speech.

"The master has ordered more treants be created and they be armed and armored! Is it not clear what the master intends?!" He shouted to the crowd, causing the crowd to roar in kind.

"He plans to build his own kingdom here in this desert! As proof of his plans, he has left us here to aquire the mystical Idol of Boreas, a griffon relic known to allow unity or control for whoever wields it!"

The roars continued at the prospect of Sugar Hoof owning this idol.

"With the Idol of Boreas, our king shall not only have claim over us, but over all kingdoms, who could deny his right to rule then?!"

---

A yellow pony wearing a brown hat and vest approached me slowly.

"Well howdy, young colt, what are you doin' out here all by yourself." His green eyes looked warmly into mine.

"I'm heading for Griffonstone, but I'm looking to do some odd jobs to earn some extra storm bucks for the road."

The stallion looked down at me, mouth closed far too tightly, and his eyes looking a bit off.

"Young colt, where are your parents?" He asked.

I looked down sullenly, silently wishing these ponies would stop bringing up bad memories. He seemingly understood as I heard a grimace from him.

"You're all alone out here?" He asked me.

I didn't want to mention the treants back in the desert, so I just nodded an affirmative.

His smile reappeared, but I could that he was trying far too hard with it. "Why don't I take you down to the sheriff's office and we'll see about gettin' you somethin' to eat, you must be famished."

"I'm just looking for work, I doubt I could get one in law enforcement." I said, moving past the yellow pony.

This proved to not be a good idea however, as I felt myself being picked up and carried off.

---

"And you just found him along the train tracks?" A pony with a cowboy hat and a sheriff's badge asked to the yellow pony.

"Yeah, he was just following the tracks towards town, I asked him where his parents were and he just looked sad." The yellow pony seemed worried.

"Calm down Brae, we'll put in a missing foal report and let foal protective services know, he'll be alright." The sheriff said.

"Thanks, Silverstar." He said, calming down.

I was busy eating and analyzing a delicious apple dessert that the yellow pony, Brae, gave to me. It appears that some magic from the baker, Brae, and the ambient magic of the world combined to enhance the quality and flavor of the baked good. I began taking notes while Brae and Silverstar spoke so I could attempt to recreate it. Whenever I used apples in baking, the apples would end up spoiled by the time I wanted some, but the magic here seems to prevent food from spoiling by quite a large margin.

Brae watched me as he went to leave.

"I don't think I ever asked you your name." He asked, walking over to me.

"Sugar Hoof, thanks for the dessert by the way." I said before taking another bite.

"Don't mention it, it's the least I can do with what you've been through," He started, giving a small smile, "What are you doing with all this paper though?"

"Oh, I'm taking notes about the magic inside your dessert so I can attempt to recreate it later."

He laughed for a second, "You're pretty good with that horn of yours, huh?"

"I've spent my entire life in practice and study, so i certainly hope I'm good at magic, at least to some degree." I said, continuing to write.

"How old are you, by the way." He asked as I remembered myself.

"Two." I said simply.

He looked at the paper I was writng on and saw that I was writing without a quill or ink. "You can write without writing materials?" He asked.

"Magical writing works just fine in short term," I said, taking another bite of the dessert, "I planned to buy some stuff if I could find some work."

Sheriff Silverstar got up from his seat and said, "I'll head over to the saloon and see about renting a room for the colt."

Brae turned back at the sheriff, wide eyed, "Sheriff, a saloon ain't a place for a two-year-old colt."

"I can't just let him leave and he can't stay here. The saloon is the only place that has a room available."

Brae looked back at me as I drew out the magical runes I found in the dessert.

"He can spend the night with me." He said, causing me to look up from the paper.

"Brae," Silverstar started before brae continued.

"He has nowhere else to go until the ministry sends a representative over here. You and I both know they won't send someone till mornin', and you've been called out to the saloon before, you know how ponies get when they've got a bunch of salt goin' through 'em."

"Brae," Silverstar continued, to no avail.

"Now imagine a little colt in a saloon with a bunch of inebriated ponies, t'aint right, Sheriff."

"Brae! I wasn't disagreeing with you, just keep an eye on him until the morning."

So I'm to be settled with this pony for the night, I suppose it was getting a bit late. It's not like I brought anything with me so I'd just be sleeping under the stars. Maybe my journey could be halted for just one night, I'll sneak off before dawn and be right back on track.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

With all that magic I wonder why he hasn’t made anything that can allow him to fly? Also, those trees are really out of their minds…

[Raw Gem]

Yup..Birch is out of control... Any bets when he will fully go against his summoner/creator?

[Teraunce]

Birch really has outgrown his birtches and it is nice how Equestrian magic is affecting "sugar"

[shance]

Well this is fun, and Sugar really was an isolated old man wasn’t he? Not much for working with other people, or savvy enough to see the dictorial Birch.

I just hope he doesn’t rebel the moment Sugar rebels. I can’t help but think Sugar really does not need more than 30k, but will end with millions upon returning.

[TheDriderPony]

Seems like he could save a lot of trouble by just saying: "Look. I was subject a magical accident involving a botched aging spell that left my body like this with my mind intact. Suffice to say, despite appearances, I'm easily old enough to be your father. Do you really think a toddler could have such a precise grasp over his power and faculties?"