16. I'd bet my hat on it.
The Tale of Lord Barleycorn
- - - - - -
Chapter 16: I'd bet my hat on it.
---
It hadn't taken Leadfoot all night, but he certainly lost precious hours he could have spent with his bed. The fiddle had nearly been thrown at Lord Barleycorn's head before Leadfoot stumbled back to the house. His bed was just as he had remembered it; firm but not too firm and warm once he was under the covers.
It had been heaven until his alarm clock rang. He hadn't remembered setting it, and Leadfoot blamed his cousin for not warning him. After several more minutes of nuzzling his neglected pillow, Leadfoot rose and slunk on downstairs for breakfast.
His mother was whisking something in a bowl, and there was pot of boiling water on the stove. Leadfoot's stomach lurched, his nose had become incredibly sensitive to the smell of boiled dandelion greens after months of eating the blasted things.
"Mornin' mom." Leadfoot looked around the kitchen, the only pony there was his father who had the newspaper splayed out across the table as he nursed his coffee. "Mornin' dad."
Summer Harvest mumbled something close to that effect in Leadfoot's direction, but Leadfoot didn't mind. It was sort of a family joke that Summer Harvest was always awake before breakfast but wasn't alive until he finished his morning coffee.
"What's for breakfast?" Leadfoot asked as he rubbed his face.
"Boiled dandelion omelets," Harvest Moon said, eying the way her son's sudden gagging fit. "And pancakes."
Leadfoot eased up at the mention of pancakes, "Sounds good, I'll go get Corn Crib and Cousin Golden."
"Speaking of whom," Summer Harvest's voice rumbled like thunder, but he always sounded a little haggard in the morning. "Why're you in here and her out in the barn?"
"She... asked me to do her a favor and if I did it, I'd get to sleep in my bed." Leadfoot cleared his throat, "I'll go get them."
"... What kind of favor?" Summer asked, sounding curious.
Leadfoot bit his lip, if his dad knew his fiddle was gone there'd be a second bomb to go off in this kitchen. "I, um... had to agree to talk to Cousin Golden's friends."
Summer Harvest snorted, but said nothing more. The way Summer's forehead creased was a warning signal that Leadfoot should just leave him be.
Steeling himself for the cold morning temperatures, Leadfoot opened the front door and rushed straight to the barn. Quickly navigating the stairs, he found the three of them right where he had left them the night before. The fiddle case was resting near Lord Barleycorn, open with the bow string resting on top of the instrument.
Coming closer, Leadfoot nudged his cousin with his hoof. Carrot Top flinched, and reflexively pulled herself closer to the warmth created by her two bunkmates.
Leadfoot nudged her again. "Hey, it's time to wake up. That is, unless you want me to eat your breakfast."
Filly, mare, and scarecrow groaned one after the other as they began to stretch, none of them eager to get out from under the blanket. Leadfoot smirked, half-enjoying the effect his idle threat had on them.
Corn Crib was the first to crawl out, accidentally pulling the blanket off the scarecrow and full-grown mare. The sudden rush of cold air was more then sufficient to wrench Lord Barleycorn and Carrot Top from their straw bed, causing both to sit up with a shiver.
"Are Lily and Daisy up?" Carrot Top rubbed her eyes as she tried to keep her teeth from chattering.
"What's for breakfast" Corn Crib asked, the foal had already wrapped the displaced blanket around herself.
"They're not up yet, but we have dandelion omelets and pancakes cooking as we speak." Despite his best efforts Leadfoot found himself yawning along with his sister.
"I suppose I'll have to wait for breakfast..." The scarecrow sighed, "... again."
"Why wait?" Carrot Top asked, "Why not come inside?"
"Dad's the reason." Leadfoot snorted, "Convincing him to let me mail you for help was like pulling teeth. If dad knew about our talking scarecrow he'd be out chasing Barleycorn away with a pitchfork."
Carrot Top begrudgingly nodded in agreement. "He seems the type who'd at least make the attempt."
"All the more reason for me to stay out of his sight." Lord Barleycorn tugged on his collar, "But getting back to the matter of your friends, which way would they take back to Ponyville?"
"They'd head..." Carrot Top looked out to the rising sun, which was visible through the thin spaces between the boards. "If East is that way, and the road's goes that way... They'd head west."
"Okay, then I should get moving and set myself up by the road." Lord Barleycorn reached over to collect his boots.
The unusual nature of Lord Barleycorn's feet caught Carrot Top's attention, but it was when he stood to his full height that Carrot Top felt a sense of awe. Before Iron Will had come to Ponyville, Carrot Top had thought that nopony could stand taller than Princess Celestia. Lord Barleycorn on the other hoof was nothing like Iron Will.
For one, he was thinner than that musclebound bull. The shabby clothes he was wearing were baggy, but still covered his strangely proportioned form. The feet she had seen weren't hooves, so Lord Barleycorn couldn't have been a minotaur. The lack of fur on his not-fetlocks was certainly strange... leading Carrot Top to wonder if his whole body was furless. It would explain his need for clothes. Much more, if Lord Barleycorn lacked a proper fur coat and was doing all of this for the sake of a promise he made to a foal then Carrot Top would have to rethink her definition of 'dedication.'
"Save me some food, if you please." Lord Barleycorn said, stooping down to close and collect the violin case, "Your dad's violin needed some tuning, but I think I got it in working condition."
Leadfoot turned to Corn Crib and Carrot Top, "He played it last night?"
Corn Crib shook her head.
"You were asleep, but I heard him." Carrot Top made a sour face, "It was terrible."
"I said it was out of tune." Lord Barleycorn said defensively, "And I will be eager to redeem myself tonight."
"I'd like that." Carrot Top smiled, "But we should get going as well, I'll make sure something's left over for you."
"Please make it a good portion. I haven't eaten well in days." Lord Barleycorn thought back to the wonderful meal of roasted rabbit he had in the forest. "Strange how they all took off after only one night of trapping..."
"I'll make sure you have something." Carrot Top said as she walked to the stairs after her cousins.
The Harvest siblings took the lead after exiting the barn, their stomachs urging them on toward the kitchen. Breakfast itself was a quiet affair, save for more of Harvest Moon's chipper questions about Ponyville. Carrot Top was obliged to answer them, and was secretly grateful for Summer's begrudging silence as the older stallion sipped his coffee.
All at once a loud thumping was heard coming down the stairs, drawing everypony's attention toward the hallway door. What had arrested the attention of the entire kitchen turned out to be Lily Valley and Daisy, dragging their travel bags behind then.
"Come on girls, don't go!" Roseluck's voice echoed from up the stairs, "We're already here!"
The two pink mares stopped at the foot of the stairs, momentarily locking eyes with the Harvests before pushing on through the front door.
The door slammed shut just as Roseluck appeared, and to her credit, Roseluck looked very awake for a pony who typically never rose to meet the sun. The Harvests watched as Roseluck demonstrated just how frustrated she was by growling through clenched teeth and stomping her front hooves on the floorboards.
Roseluck's immaturity had Carrot Top hiding her face with her hooves. "Rose, what did you say?"
"I didn't say anything!" Roseluck insisted as she came into the kitchen, "I just said that it didn't matter what happened last night and that's it!"
Carrot Top shot her friend a disbelieving look. There had to be more.
Roseluck's tail tucked between her legs as she buckled under the carrot farmer's gaze. "Well, I did kinda say they were acting like foals when they slunk away from the table last night... and I might have talked more about the weather... and timberwolves."
Leadfoot groaned, "I guess that's it then..."
"Well, we still have one chance, we just gotta wait for Lor-" Carrot Top got a sharp nudge in the barrel from Corn Crib, who shot her a warning glare.
"And what chance is that?" Summer Harvest asked, looking skeptical. "They looked pretty determined to leave."
Carrot Top bit the inside of her lip, ashamed to have almost blown Lord Barleycorn's cover so quickly. "I was saying, there's a chance that Lily and Daisy might come to their senses out there on the road."
Roseluck shook her head then released a tired sigh, as if the morning had finally caught up to her. She trudged her way to the table, eager to feed her aching belly. Before sitting Roseluck forced a cheerful smile for Corn Crib, trying to appear as positive as Carrot Top had sounded.
---
=== Outside ===
Being the kind of pony who owned her own business, Lily Valley wasn't used to waking up at the crack of dawn. She also wasn't used to walking long distances just after getting out of bed, but this time at least she wasn't doing it with a lot of bags on her back. The morning was quiet, with only a light breeze that would come and go and the occasional bird that professed its love for this early hour. Lily found the crisp autumn air refreshing, but there was something about the way the corn fields that girdled both sides of the road that made her feel fenced in.
The corn stood a good nine feet, high enough to block both Lily and Daisy's view of the farm house at their back, and a good portion of the sky as well. Lily tried to avoid looking up, dark gray clouds were rolling in, and Lily Valley felt a need to rush home before sheets of rain started coming down.
"Daisy, did you pack an umbrella?" Lily asked, trying to keep her eyes lowered.
"No," Daisy said, "I didn't expect to be doing any farming in the rain. I didn't expect Hollow Shades to be so weird."
"I'll be glad to get home where we have real weather teams." Lily Valley said as she turned her head toward Daisy. "What are you going to do when we get back to Ponyville?"
"A hot bath sounds nice, then I'll probably thank Blossomforth and Colgate for looking after our flowers." Daisy shivered a little but kept walking, "And after that I'll probably take inventory to get myself back into the swing of things."
Lily Valley closed her eyes and smiled, "A bath does sound wonderful, but I think I'll get a late brunch first. I'm thinking a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup."
"Please don't mention food." Daisy whined, "I'm hungry enough to take an ear of corn off these stalks and start gnawing on it."
"Sorry, I got a look at the breakfast Harvest Moon was making and I can't get it out of my head." Lily sighed, "I might take you up on that corn idea."
Daisy snorted, but didn't really respond.
An awkward silence settled between the flower mares as the walked. It wasn't long before Lily Valley cleared her throat, trying to entice the conversation to return. Peeking up at the sky, Lily could see the clouds were still moving in.
"If Rose was here she'd be saying something like 'What, you're scared of a little rain? It's just like going swimming!'" Lily looked back, half expecting the rose vendor to appear behind them, cantering happily and wearing with that same old impetuous smile. "We've always done so much together... And then there's Carrot Top..."
"Do... you think Carrot Top will be okay with us taking off like this?" Lily asked, not sounding so sure of herself.
"She did say we could take off anytime we wanted." Daisy stated, her eyes now locked on the ground. "And really, we're flower vendors. That farm needs a dozen farmer ponies working around the clock."
"You and me are on the plant team every Winter Wrap Up." Lily offered.
"That's not the same as farming. We clear the snow and plant seeds. Whoopie." Daisy countered.
"Roseluck is staying." Lily Valley muttered.
"Do you want to go back?" Daisy snorted, "I don't want to have to head back to that farm and pretend nothing happened."
"I just feel bad that we're leaving our friends in the lurch." Lily Valley said, "Rose is staying, and really she's the one that has the most reason to run home. She started that mess last night, and she has Lyra back home minding her shop."
"It's her choice." Daisy stated flatly, "I don't think our help would help or hurt their chances with that wreck of a farm. Besides, back home we can look after Rose's flowers for her; doing something we have actual experience in."
Glancing over at Lily Valley, Daisy then lowered her head a little. "And Summer didn't have to yell at you."
Lily Valley blinked, surprised to hear Daisy say that so freely. "Thanks Daisy. I'm sorry for being a real downer, I just know we're going to have to do a lot to cheer Rose and Carrot Top up come the end of this."
Daisy nodded, looking down the corridor of corn again. "I'm sure Pinkie would be good help in that department." A smile crawled back onto the blond mare's face. "She'll probably throw one for us when we get back. Free cake will get our spirits up."
Lily nodded, then tilted her head so that one ear was higher than the other. To Daisy it looked like she was straining to hear something.
"Hear something?" Daisy asked, eager for a topic that was a little more benign.
"If you can believe it, somepony's out here playing the violin." Lily closed her eyes so she could focus on the sound. "From up ahead... I think."
The wind rustled the corn again, preventing Daisy from hearing anything other than the hush of dry leaves for a while. When the wind and the subsequent noise died down, Daisy was amazed to confirm what Lily heard. It sounded like it was coming from down the road, at the long awaited end of the corn.
The song didn't sound like it belonged in Hollow Shades. Soft but clear draws of a violin wafted over the corn, and a light somber undertone lead to an almost ethereal sensation as Lily and Daisy listened. Why such a song was being played on the side of the road so far from anypony, neither mare could say. The musician couldn't have been any of the Harvests, they were all back at the house. There was no indication they crossed properties, but even if Lily and Daisy had, why would anypony be practicing where nopony would hear it?
"It's probably some unknown talent," Daisy said, "One of those future famous musicians who end up being from some little town nopony's ever heard of."
"Must be." Lily Valley said, "It doesn't sound like the usual hoedown music that pours out of Sweet Apple Acres."
"You think we're painting with a wide brush?" Daisy asked, "I mean, we don't know a lot of farmers, maybe they don't all act as... 'rural' as Applejack."
Lily thought for a moment, "Maybe, then there's also the whole nature vs nurture thing. Have you seen Rarity's parents? They make you think they foalnapped Rarity from some Canterlot bigwig."
Daisy snickered, "While I agree with the analogy, I wouldn't say that around Rarity."
The end of the corn stalks was finally in view, and Daisy and Lily Valley hurried the last few yards to meet this musical prodigy just as he was playing the final notes in his song. A large rock sat at the corner of the field right where the corn ended, apparently standing as a marker to help with planting. The rock itself was unremarkable, that could not be said about what was sitting on top of it.
"Ah, just in time!" Lord Barleycorn chuckled, secretly pleased that he'd been able to end the song and flip his sleeve over his hand before the ponies could see it. "I just finished my warm up song. I love to take requests from the audience, especially when requests come from such lovely mares such as yourselves."
Lily Valley and Daisy stared at the scarecrow, unsure what to make of the strawman before they both began to laugh at their initial uneasiness.
"Okay, you got us!" Daisy called out, "You can come out now!"
Lily glanced at her friend, quickly adding; "It was a good prank."
No reply came from the corn, save for another hush as the wind shook the field again.
The scarecrow cleared its throat, then took the violin from under its burlap chin and chuckled quietly to itself. "I assure you there's nopony else around."
"Oh come on, the joke's over." Daisy faced the corn, "I know there's some unicorn in there pulling its strings."
"No strings on me, unless you count a few bare threads." The scarecrow chuckled, "Perhaps if I introduced myself?"
The scarecrow slipped off the rock, violin and bow still grasped in its sleeves as it lowered itself to one knee before Lily and Daisy. "Lord Barleycorn, The King of Autumn gives you his sincerest welcome to Hollow Shades!"
"Actually, we were just leaving." Daisy frowned, growing a little tired of talking to this strange puppet.
In contrast Lily giggled and offered the scarecrow her hoof. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Lily Valley."
Lord Barleycorn set the violin bow in the grass and took Lily's hoof. "I'd say it's me who's honored, were you named for the Lily's beauty, or was the flower named for your own?"
"I um..." In the face of such flattery Lily Valley turned away, a bashful smile and a dark blush on her face. Feeling the puppeteer's eyes on her, Lily hurriedly added; "This is Daisy."
"Ah the Daisy, flower of spring; a bloom that speaks of humble innocence and possesses a gentle sweetness that rivals a warm breeze across your cheek." Lord Barleycorn tipped his hat to Daisy, "And I say you epitomize those qualities, m'lady."
Daisy opened her mouth, eager to respond to such beguiling words but she couldn't seem to form any of her own. It simply didn't feel right to respond properly to this scarecrow, no matter how polite the operator was.
"Gotta hoof it to this stallion," Daisy thought as she pretended to clear her throat, "He lays it on thick, but if he could say that to a mare's face and sound just as genuine he'd have... well, one possessive marefriend."
Lord Barleycorn held his hat down on his head as another gust grew. "Forgive me for being so forward, but what are two young beauties such as yourselves doing out and about on the cusp of a storm?"
"We're um... heading home to Ponyville." Daisy said, finally finding her tongue.
"Quite a ways as I understand it. You won't make it back unscathed." Lord Barleycorn stated, "There's no cover until you get to Hollow Shades, and then the roads become quite bereft of shelter in all directions."
"Well, we don't really have much of a choice. We need to get back home." Daisy looked over her shoulder, she could see Lily was glancing down the road and shuffling on her hooves like an overeager filly.
"It must be a very serious matter to risk the storm." Lord Barleycorn rubbed his chin, "Did the situation become... physical?"
"What? No no no, nothing like that. We just had a, um, falling out with the Harvests." Daisy still felt a little embarrassed talking to a scarecrow, but if the puppeteer was more secure talking through 'Lord Barleycorn' then she wouldn't question it. More weird stuff from a weird town. "At least this stallion's polite."
"A falling out, eh?" Lord Barleycorn mused, "Was it Summer Harvest? I've heard he can be a little hard-headed, but he means well."
"A little?" Daisy blanched, "He screamed at me and Lily when we just tried to calm everypony down."
The scarecrow shrugged, "He's under a lot of pressure."
Daisy frowned and shot a glare at the corn on either side of the road, "Do you know what went on?"
The scarecrow merely shook his head, "No more than what you told me. Could you tell me a little more? Talking about it might make you feel better."
Daisy sighed, the scarecrow's soft voice coaxing her to begin; "Well, he yelled at Roseluck after she told him that the Apples aren't out to belittle everything they do just because they're a branch family. When we tried to give a few examples of what the Apples have done for Ponyville, he turned on us... I mean he called us ungrateful and said if we were going to defend the Apples we could all be boiled in Smooze for all he cared."
"Smooze?" Lord Barleycorn shook his head, ignoring his desire to ask about it. "While I don't condone his words, I think you could perhaps understand the reason for them."
"What do you mean? He was pretty clear he didn't want our help." Lily Valley peeked up at the clouds again and tucked her tail between her legs.
"Not quite." The scarecrow collected his bow and leaned back against the rock, "Summer Harvest sounds like a stallion who's desperately trying to keep his pride intact. Most farmers are very proud, and asking for help was the same as admitting that he couldn't keep his family fed. As for his business with these 'Apples,' it's news to me."
Daisy raised an eyebrow, did the scarecrow just insinuate that he knew nothing about one of Equestria's most famous farming families? But there was more to what he had said, something that Daisy couldn't put her hoof on. "So... are you saying it's our fault?"
"What? Oh no, think about it." Lord Barleycorn tapped the side of his head with the bow, "His farm's not doing well, it's his livelihood, the reflection of all his effort and experience as a farmer. If the farm does poorly it makes him look like a bad farmer. He can't feed his family, he can't keep the farm looking like it should... shame of this magnitude might make a lesser pony want to cut his losses. But Summer keeps on working because giving up isn't even an option. If the farm fails then his family's out on the street. A lot's riding on him. I'm sure if your friend apologized, this whole matter could be swept under the rug. You all might come out a little stronger too."
Daisy shot a pensive look to Lily, who didn't seem concerned with the storm anymore. "You really think so?"
The scarecrow gave a crisp nod of his head, "I'd bet my hat on it."
"Daisy, do you want to give it one more shot?" Lily asked.
Daisy was silent for a moment, but a rumble in the sky seemed to clench it for it. "Come on Lily... we're heading back."
Lily nodded, eagerly turning around on the road but keeping her head noticeably lower than normal. "Maybe Harvest Moon still has breakfast set!"
"I hope. I hate working on an empty stomach." Daisy said, a little smile on her face, "It was nice meeting you... whoever you are."
"Stay dry!" Lord Barleycorn waved to them, strumming a few notes off on the violin. "And try to think on the bright side!"
"The bright side huh?" Daisy had already turned to follow Lily Valley, "Well, I did notice how you've been looking at Leadfoot."
Lily blushed, "Well, he is kinda cute, but if we're staying maybe we'll finally get a chance to see a forest spirit!"
Lord Barleycorn's shoulders slumped as he stared at the retreating mares, "Seriously? The kid thinks I'm the god of autumn, her mom thinks I'm her farm's spiritual guardian, and these two choose to believe I'm just a puppet?""
Reaching in through the mouth of his mask, Jack scratched his prickly stubble. "Ponies are freakin' weird. Still, that was pretty good for me improvising all that. Not bad considering I was just running out the clock with the storm."
A few warning drops, fat and heavy hit the brim of Jack's straw hat. It was all he got before the clouds opened up, and he was sopping wet. The rain masked his whimpering groan, and Jack tucked the violin and bow under his arm before he began to limp all the way back to the farm.
"The one good thing here? Those two aren't going to look back if they're rushing to get inside." Jack grumbled.
---
=== Ponyville, earlier that morning ===
"Hey Twi, find anything?" Applejack asked upon reentering the Ponyville library.
The apple farmer stopped in her tracks, struck by the state of the normally neat and tidy library. Books were piled across the floor, and the table in the center of the room was covered in scribbled notes.
"Uh, Twi, you in here?" Applejack called out, a little louder than before.
The lavender alicorn's head appeared from behind one of the piles, her eyes were a little bloodshot as she smacked her lips. "I'm here. I think I fell asleep last night."
"Ya need a moment to get yerself in gear?" Applejack asked.
"No, I'm used to all nighters." Twilight got to her feet and began doing stretches to ease her stiff neck muscles. "Did Fluttershy get done last night?"
Applejack sighed and shook her head. "Ah don't think so, those rabbits are the orneriest varmints I've ever seen, even worse than that Angel o'hers. Ah think Fluttershy's still in the orchard, tryin' to coax the rest of the rabbits back to her cottage."
"Well, at least she's calmed down I guess." Twilight began closing some of the books with her magic, then levitated her collection of notes to Applejack. "And from what they told Fluttershy... I didn't really get anything specific. A walking scarecrow that... ick, eats rabbits could be a lot of things. A berserk golem, a teenage dragon that's decided to harass the forest animals, and don't get me started on the volumes and volumes of local forest spirit myths."
Applejack rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever y'do, don't mention forest spirits around Granny Smith if you value gettin' home before dark. Great Granny believed in them and taught Granny all kinds'a stories."
Twilight chuckled politely, "Don't worry, I don't think it's any sort of forest spook. But after what Fluttershy told us, the rabbits used to live near a lumber mill. And after looking through some of the more detailed atlases I own, there's only one place that's close to Ponyville with one of those."
Applejack blinked, indulging her friend by asking the question Twilight wanted to hear; "And where's that?"
"A town called Hollow Shades, I've never heard of it." Twilight's nose twitched, she could smell Spike's buttermilk-blueberry waffles from all the way in the kitchen. "Have you ever been there?"
"Hollow Shades?" Applejack's smiled brightened, "Lansakes, Ah haven't been there since Ah was a real little filly. Heh, haven't even thought about that place in years, come to think of it."
Applejack noticed the odd look Twilight was giving her, "Heh, sorry. I got kin there, real nice ones. All distant cousins but they're hardy, even for Apples. "
"Oh, then we can ask them about this." Twilight yawned, "Why don't you send them a letter and ask if they've seen anything strange, and that we might be stopping by. Just um, keep things vague. I know your family's not squeamish, but I think we should keep the whole rabbit-eating scarecrow between us for now."
"Right, it might spook them if they haven't seen or heard of it yet." Applejack nodded. "Mind loanin' me some paper and a quill?"
Twilight shook her head and pointed to the desk she normally used to write letters to the princess. There was ample parchment, paper, envelopes, and ink to write with. After making sure Applejack was headed in the right direction, Twilight excused herself to eat a late breakfast.
With Twilight out of the room, Applejack spread a sheet of paper out on the desk and began to write:
"Dear cousin..."
Applejack resisted the urge to nibble on the tip of the quill as she tried to remember her cousin's name.
"Oh yeah!" Applejack smiled, pleased with herself for being able to remember his name so quickly.
"Dear cousin Leadfoot..."
---
To be continued...
---
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DUN DUN DUN!
Yay! Another chapter. Aside that you spelled "redeem" wrong (redeam?) Looks like the ponyvillians are making the first step towards Hollow Shades.
3859061 Huh, I saw that before I posted the chapter and I thought I'd fixed it. Oh well, it's fixed now.
This was nice, i really love how he bullshits his way trough
Can't wait for the next update.
What an eye popping turn of events at the end. Ah, but since I'm a skeleton, I have no eyes to pop!
Yohohohoho~! Skull Joke!
All kidding aside, glad the Mane 6 are finally heading into the spotlight.
Another enjoyable chapter. Keep up the good work! It is a joy to read.
Can't wait for barly to meet more people cough twilight and rest cough
3859097 You seem to forget that Equestria is full of shit by human standards to begin with
Lord barleycorn is just awesome. If only there were lessons to achieving a silver of his caliber, just imagine all the things you could get away with!
A storm is brewing, and Applejack is going to be at the centre of it.
i.imgur.com/kp8te.gif
Awesome to see an update for this story, it's really wonderful story after all.
So the feud with apples was one-sided after all? It seems AJ is of quite good opinion about them.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but will you go with 3 antagonists(after all antagonist does not need to be evil or even bad) for our fair hero in the story? Or am I looking to much into it because of the song. If I had to guess the first one would be the good doctor, second maybe AJ, and no idea about the third.
Anyway, love how Barleycorn bullshits himself out of these kind of situations, can't wait for the next update.
And the plot thickens. Once again a nice reading with good pacing and fleshed out characters. That violin piece made a nice extra and set the mood very well for the encounter afterwards.
It's always interesting to see how ponies handle meat eaters. On one hand they have no problem with dogs, cats, eagles or griffons, who all require various degrees of meat as part of their diet. On the other hand most ponies ought to be rather squeamish about the idea of eating a living creature. And lets not forget that animals in general seem way smarter in Equestria.
I only saw these two typos here.
3859711
Well, I can't give too much away here, but I can tell you that the doctor will play a part in the end of the story. Spoilers abound if I go into too much detail, but really I think sometimes a situation can be the best antagonist. The doctor will be getting a little more screen time, but it might be a chapter or two away. More details on him to come.
Roseluck is a very hot, sexy pony.^_^
3859743 Fixed. Always eager to fix my mistakes since I loath delivering a substandard chapter.
As for the whole meat thing, I've seen stories that range from the Ponies occasionally indulging in fish (pegasi usually) to them not even eating eggs unless its a part of baking. Me, I think pegasi needing extra protein makes sense (and supposedly because they had a warrior culture if the hearth's warming eve pagent was any indication), and I think the ponies could tolerate an omnivore eating fish. But yeah, I think it'd be hard to have a conversation with a talking cow after having eaten a whole herd's worth of them by the time I was 18. Just my thoughts.
3859839
He'd better, or else Mr. Chekhov will be very cross indeed, and that guy keeps a gun on his wall.
3859996
I'm not scared of the gun, I'm scared of the nookular wessels.
But nah, more to come. Don't worry.
I think the rabbits would be able to tell the difference between a dragon and a walking scarecrow.
3860020 Maybe, but I figure Twilight would try to cover all her bases.
Oh, I do love this chapter. And I can see that you are not painting the Apples as bad guys, that's a relief.
AJ is going to be in for some unpleasantness.
That meeting between Barleycorn and Daisy and Lilly was brilliant, I could just see it in my head and that's something rare. Very nice, and great to finally get some hints about what's going on between the, what, Harvests? and the Apples.
One thing, at some point, though I unfortunately forgot where, you wrote "Pony", capitalized, without any reason. Sorry for the vague correction, but I'd rather trigger a mad search than let it slide, because I'm a terrible person.
Next chapter would be nice now. Please?
Happy writing.
3860444 Well I wanted to portray them as having more than just a panic button between their ears. Often the flower trio are just there to freak out and run away and I think it's not fair they get that stigma, they're just the normal citizens who aren't meant to deal with the crap that wanders into town. XD
And nah, I'd never be unfair to the Apples. I also fixed the problem.
Itbegins.shitgonnahitthefan.jpeg
Politics!
So, I am really liking this story, But there is one aspect that I am a bit worried about: How the ponies react to something that eats bunnies.
Please be careful and remember something very important: these ponies live along side omnivores and carnivores (griffins), so they shouldn't be that bothered by it. especially Fluttershy.
now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I know that Flutters is a kind and gentle soul. However, the fact remains that several of her animal friends are exclusively carnivores (falcon, eagle, owl) and others are omnivores (bear, weasel), so she shouldn't be all that freaked out that something is eating the bunnies. She should be freaked out by the description she got of Lord Barlycorn, but not the fact that he is eating bunnies.
Applejack might be a little sickened by it, but she has a dog, which requires meat to survive. Twilight has an owl, so she shouldn't be that shocked either. the real concern should be the description, not the bunnies.
3861364 There's always one scene that I think of when the whole 'eating meat' thing comes up in HiEs, especially when it comes to Fluttershy. I think it's at the beginning of Bird In the Hoof where we see her feeding otters fish. Clearly she doesn't have a problem with that, and I infer from it that she respects an animal's right to eat what they were supposed to eat. Heck she has that huge bear in her home a lot, and I don't care what anyone says, eating berries and vegetables ain't gonna cut it for a bear that size. Taking that in mind (and in my personal head canon) I don't think ponies would care too much if humans eat meat. They might think it's gross in the same way I used to think sushi sounded gross.
3861459 thank goodness, because I was worried that you might go the whole "drive off the carnivore" route with your story. I hate it when people do that.
3861510 Very unlikely. I already have an ending in mind, and I do remind you what's said in the story description; of what 'comedy' generally means in theater.
3861557 I know, but I've had too many stories go sideways on me. I was just making sure that this fantastic story didn't do the same.
Simple, yet very strong writing. I think this is one of the few fics wherein the OCs add something essential to the story.
3860528
Awesome.
awwwwwww yeahhhhhhh
I was mentioned. I am open to helping others, If anyone needs help editing a story of their own don't hesitate to ask me. 
3861459 Mate sushi is amazingly delicious
I could feel it in my bones the moment he said he would play the Fiddle/Violin that it would be Bink's Sake.
The moment it came up i just smiled. It is my favorite of music with Violins.
Grammar quibble!
YEEEEEEEZ picture ! i wonder if there are more? people really need to read this story its one of the best hies ever
3902780 glad you like it.
3902804 people really need to get to making fan art for this. i would but sadly my drawing skills are ...
3902811 Mine too, unfortunately.
but my friend Escopeto does great art and he thought this was a charming story... and I really needed a new bit of artwork for this story. The old one made this fic look like a x-over with Jeepers Creepers.
3902846 i thought the old one was pretty cool. gave it an epic feel, but its nice to finnaly see what corn crib and barley corn look like. by the way how tall is he anyways? he a little short in the picture but im not sure if thats just perspective or not?
3902864 its a perspective thing, Corn Crib's in the foreground. He's about average height for a young man, which is still head and shoulders over an adult pony.
3902960 i love this story so much. thank you for making one of the best fanfics iv ever read
and hopefully it will keep going for a while
3903023 Hey no problem. Working on #17 right now.
3903048 YEEEEEEEEES
i really like how this isnt the standerd HiE stoey. keep up the amazing work
3934920 Fixed, thanks for pointing these out.
3935048
No problem. It's important I use my obsessive nitpicking for good.
3957325 Fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.
*frustrated moaning* Why'd you have to go and tease me like that!
Got notification about a new chapter, but there was no new chapter
Ah, foiled in my search for the next chapter