The Earth Ponies

by RomanCandle

Chapter 3 -- The Tale of Penthes

The Tale of Penthes

Once, in the fields of the lands of our ancestors, there was a young pony known to his kin as Penthes. He was a happy, light soul, and brought joy to those he was around. But when the time came for he and his to place their withers to the plow with the rest, he was not to be found.

For the first day, his kin thought nothing of his transgressions, and smiled and laughed when he returned with the sunset as they always had. Nopony thought themselves immune to fear or idleness, and all was forgiven.

On the second day, the stallions in the field began to speak their discontent. Had Penthes taken ill? He had not seemed so at the evening fire that last night. When he appeared at nightfall, when all the tools had been put away and all the work been done, there were fewer who smiled, and none who laughed.

On the third day, there was much discontent among the tribes. He had laughed and made fun as normal, and the witch-doctor had said she had seen him not. Who was this pony, to shrug his burdens while the rest of them labored?

That night, when he returned, the chief of the tribe spoke up, and went to Penthes.

"My son, have you fallen ill?"

"No sir, no sir, lest ye count the glory of creation instilled in my soul as an illness; at which I must say aye." The young stallion was full of life and his eyes sparkled as he spoke. "I have been spending my days wandering the wilds and tasting the fruits of Sweet Mother, and it has brought me such joy as I cannot describe."

The chief looked in the eyes of this young pony and sighed, for he was old and wise and had seen ponies stricken such before.

"Young Penthes, it is good to revere and enjoy the fruits of Nature, but not at the ignorance of our labors. Leave such trivialities to the flighty pegasi and foalish unicorns--our place is here, with the fields and the soil."

The young pony took aback, and scoffed. "But I have found food and shelter amongst the wildest of the wilds--we need not labor so hard! There should be food for every pony--earth, sky and star--if they were to look for it as I have."

The chief struck his hoof upon the Earth and spake:

"Foolish child! You have lived enough seasons to know that we must feed even those in the sky with our labors, yet you still argue? Begone, then, and take your place amongst the beasts of the wilde! And let ye not be found wanting when the fourth of the Wilde Earthen Spirits rears its mightae head, lest Laccarentia claim ye amongst the glorious rays of the Sun, and the sweet harvests of the soil! For such is what we Earth Ponies stand for! Now if ye will not return to the stallions labors tomorrow, do not return to our fires again!" The chief stomped his hoof once more, for finality.

Penthes stared open mouthed at the head of his herd--before turning with a flip of his tail and walking towards the woods.

He was not seen on the fourth day, nor the fifth. Fillies and Foals claimed to see him near the edge of the clearing as they went about their chores--all claimed him to appear hale and whole. The chief said nothing.

Summer took its leave and Autumn began its descent. The labors in the field sprouted tenfold and all began their work on the harvest, and food was in good supply. There would be enough for the sky ponies and the royal bloodlines, as well as the tribe--but only just. Penthes was seen on occasion near the edge of the woods as the season deepened, and appeared only in need of a bath and a good nights rest. He was seen once attempting to sneak into the fields and collect some of the harvested foods, but he fled once he was sighted.

The chief was asked what should be done.

"The boy has chosen his path, and forgotten his magicks. To give him food and shelter would do no one a kindness. I hope, for his sake, he has enough in his bones to hold him--should he make it through to spring, I shall allow him to return--till then, I stand by my word."

And it was so. Frost began to creep up the leaves and trees and huts, and the food was tucked into storage and delivered to the Pegasi and Unicorns in their turn. The chief saw that nopony in his tribe would starve that winter, and he was grateful. Yet he also saw he would have none to spare, and he wept for Penthes. For as fair Autumn turned herself to Winter, Penthes could be seen skirting the edge of town, scraggled and scrawny.

In the depths of Winter, as the wind howled like the Wendigos, the ponies within the hearth of the village were happy. They were amongst their friends and family, and had not gone hungry. The chief was silent as he stared at the door, and soon the whole clan did too--had they heard a knock?

There twas again--who could it be who would venture out in such storms?

And once more, at the third knock, the chief opened the door and Penthes fell forward into the shelter. He was little more than hide and hair, and he wheezed as the cold left his lungs. The chief looked to the witch-doctor, who merely shook her head. Penthes stammered through chattering teeth.

"I am s-s-s-so so-r-r-r-r-y. I d-d-d-d-did not und-d-d-derstandd..." The chief placed his hoof over his mouth.

"Shhhh, little one. I could not have changed your path, but I am sorry it came to this. We need the magicks of each Pony to make it through the winter--without your aid we have not enough to feed you. But at this late hour in your short life, you have recognized your folly. No aid we can give you is strong enough, but I will not have it said we are cruel." He made a motion to a filly, who brought over a bowl of hot broth. He held it to the shivering stallion's lips as he drank and held him by the fire.

"In this late hour, I give you all I can spare--my home, my hearth, and my heart. In this late hour I try to ease your passing, and hope that with the knowledge you have gained will aid you in Tartarus. Remember that we are not just subject to the magicks of the Earth, but also part of it--and to forsake our magicks is to forsake ourselves. As the day turns to night, so does the Earth--and as we labor in day and rest in night, so do we in summer and winter."

The bowl was empty and the stallion was breathing slowly, but shallowly. His eyes were closed.

"Sleep, Penthes. Sleep and forget your mistakes, that you might remember."

The chief stayed with Penthes all night, until the Stallion was no longer there.

And they wept.

Half Note and Firelock looked from the book to each other, even as Tornado Bolt carried three more collections around the corner. Half Note gulped and rubbed her face.

"Well, Tornado, you were right about these being sad..."

Author's Note:

This tale is easy to recognize what it's adapted from. Bonus points if you can tell me where I got Penthes' name from.

I didn't intend for this to take up the whole chapter, it just kind of happened. But I think I like it.

Comments

[RomanCandle]

2216200 I hope there's no kicking and screaming involved. Well, maybe a character or two, but...You get what I mean. The biggest part for me right now, story wise, is just making sure all the little pieces fit together right.

[CraftAids]

Well THANKS
I begrugingly inform you of my humble state of being forced to finish reading this
there goes THAT chunck of time

you know what you did

[Emperor]

Given the magical setting of Equestria and of course narrative coincidence, one expects the tale of Penthes to have a kernel of truth in it to the setting of Equestria. Of course, it also seems to be a little bit of work-shaming of Earth ponies to work hard, whereas Pegasi and Unicorns were better off at the time. I have to wonder if this mysterious Laccarentia got to Penthes and made him sickly too before he died.

[Starbuck the Pegasus]

Half Note and Firelock lookedstared from the book to each other

Wat? Editing please.

[wlam]

The grasshopper and the ants? Could be any of number of stories, really. Fables with that particular moral are a dime a dozen, you could've taken it from anywhere. Penthe means sadness in Greek, but otherwise, I've got nothing.

[Shadowshame]

when I read this I think "if they didn't have enough food to spare then it wouldn't matter if he had helped because of how the tribes worked back then the pegasi or unicorns would still have only left the earth ponies enough food that most would survive always leaving one to die."