30. You know about topography?
The Tale of Lord Barleycorn
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Chapter 30: You know about topography?
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"... And that's how the local topography can affect the local wind currents."
Twilight was beaming like a school filly. It was so rare to find a pony outside of Canterlot’s lecture halls who could go on for any singular school of science for very long. Twilight had not expected to find such a pony in Hollow Shades, but Warm Winds was clearly the studious type. He had spent the better part of an hour explaining his meteorological findings in highly technical terms that Twilight rarely got to hear outside of science books.
The weather station was just as Melon Fizz had described it. It was a large tool shed that stood at the foot of a low, hump of a hill near the Everfree. A crooked weathervane sat at one end, and a wind sock used to gauge wind direction but these were the only signs that anything out of the ordinary was taking place inside. The ‘station’ itself was just like the other buildings Twilight had seen, but despite its deplorable condition the ponies inside carried on with their tasks.
Best of all, Warm Winds had been able to confirm that although Hollow Shades never had full control of its weather, it was not as random as outsiders thought. Storms powerful enough to do significant damage to the town were exceedingly rare, but even the most minor storms had predictable signs.
And like the storms, although the seasons changed without any magic or manual labor, they never overstayed their welcome. There were no accounts of snow in July, or summer heat in January. The local ponies merely had to be patient and the weather would change. It might be better, or worse, but it would change.
"I have to say, this would make some serious waves if you presented this to the pegasi back in Cloudsdale." Twilight smiled, taking a second look at the mass of graph paper and flowcharts that were pinned up on the walls. "I didn't think it was even possible to predict the weather in the Everfree."
Warm Wind's cheeks lit up as he tried to mask his embarrassment behind a smile, "I-I don't know about that. All our data is a collective effort by everypony from just two years of research. It's hardly anything concrete at this point."
Twilight chuckled, "Relax, you have every right to be proud. With your permission I'd like to visit again and look over your data more thoroughly."
The stallion nodded his head while he continued to grin, "Sure, if that's what you'd like, Princess."
The corner of Twilight's mouth twitched at the mention of her new title. Her first instinct was to reassure Warm Wind that he didn't have to call her 'Princess,' but she resisted that urge. Princess Celestia herself had told her that she had to accept her new role, and that meant getting used to wearing a crown and being referred to by royal titles. Although… she’d left the crown back in Ponyville. It was much heavier than it looked.
Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by a burst of laughter. Rainbow was in the corner, still talking to the same weather mare she’d opted to converse with rather than listen to Warm Wind’s dissertation. Twilight had caught a little of their conversation while Warm Winds had fetched several papers that clarified the station’s findings.
Apparently Rainbow and this local pegasus had been talking about flying in the wild winds over the Everfree and dealing with local weather phenomenon versus typical Weather Factory-made clouds. Not every detail had been overheard, but Twilight was certain that she heard the local mare describe safe, stable clouds as ‘boring.’
Twilight was happy that Rainbow seemed to be making friends.
A sudden knock at the weather station’s door brought an end to all conversation as Warm Winds politely excused himself to answer the door. Twilight couldn’t help but notice the smile he wore, it was if he expected another Equestrian princess to be outside his humble shack.
It wasn’t Celestia or Luna, or even Cadence. When Warm Winds opened the door he had not expected to see nearly half a dozen mares staring at him.
"Um, hello. This is the weather station, can I help you?" Warm Winds ventured, clearly unsure how address so many unexpected visitors.
"Yeah, are Twilight and Rainbow Dash still here?" Fluttershy asked softly.
Warm Winds smiled and politely stepped aside, allowing his new guests to see for themselves.
Twilight stood as she saw her friends, "Hey girls, what’s up?"
Pinkie was the first through the door, her eyes locking on the charts on the walls. "Ooo, topography! Neat!"
Twilight tilted her head to the side, "You know about topography?"
"Yep! Gotta know about a lot of things if you live on a rock farm." Pinkie beamed, looking nostalgic as she scanned Warm Wind’s readings.
"That… remind me to ask you about it later." Twilight said slowly before turning to the rest of her friends, "What brings you all here, I thought we were all going to meet up at the farm."
Applejack and Fluttershy shared a glance Twilight couldn’t quite understand, but it left her feeling like something had happened.
Applejack rubbed the back of her head, she really didn’t want to talk about her family, at least not yet. "Well, we kinda had a change in plans. Y’see… we kinda found the scarecrow those varmits-"
"Rabbits." Fluttershy corrected.
Applejack rolled her eyes, "The critter the rabbits told us ‘bout."
Rainbow’s ears perked up, and with a flash she was hovering over the group, an energetic grin plastered on her face as she punched her hooves together in anticipation. "Alright! Which way did it go?"
Applejack winced, "Um, Lord Barleycorn kinda went into the corn and then we lost track of him."
"Darn, then we’ll have to go looking for it, maybe we can retrace your steps and," Twilight blinked, "Lord Barleycorn?"
Rainbow fluttered down to the floor, her enthusiasm half-gone as she eagerly awaited an explanation.
"By chance, do any of ya remember the stage that’s under the water tower? Or the foals carvin’ pumpkins?" Applejack waited until she saw a few of her friends nod, "Well, he was puttin’ the stage together an’ watchin’ the foals when Fluttershy and I were on our way to the far."
"Wait, this thing was building a stage and was looking after a bunch of foals?" Rainbow scratched her head, "Nopony was scared of it?"
Applejack shook her head, "No, in fact the foals couldn’t get enough of him. In fact they seemed real eager to see him again tomorrow."
Warm Winds smiled, "Yeah, it’s all the kids have been talking about since his show a few nights ago."
"What show?" Twilight asked.
"Just a sec." Warm Winds quickly trotted to a spigot where he pumped himself some well water to drink. He then wiped his mouth with his fetlock, "Sorry, I’ve been talking to Princess Twilight for a while."
"It’s perfectly alright, please go on." Rarity urged.
Warm Winds opened his mouth, then shook his head as if he was disagreeing with his own ideas, "It’s probably best I explain from the beginning. Several days ago a foal saw a forest spirit and caught a picture of it, naturally nopony believed him as he ran around getting underhoof and generally acted like a nuisance while everypony’s getting ready for the Harvest Festival. Then all the sudden every foal started to pester their parents, and even strangers about somepony calling themselves The King of Autumn was going to appear and put on some sort of show."
Twilight nodded to let Warm Winds know she was able to follow his story, "And did he?"
"To be honest I didn’t think there would be anything more than an untalented magician, why else would any showpony come here?" Warm Winds chucked lightly, "I thought it was just an early Nightmare Night prank. Surprise surprise, the King of Autumn appeared on the water tower and played the sweetest song I’ve ever heard. After that he offered to bring out the Everfree spirits for a weird Nightmare Night festival so we could bring in ponies and use the money to buy back our lumber mill. Best of all, he said he’d handle organizing the whole thing."
Applejack’s ears bent back as she remembered how Lord Barleycorn told her how he was in a hurry to get things ready. "When we talked to him just a while ago, he said he needed some help, but that’s about the gist of it. He’s doin’ this so the town can git their mill back and help out a lot of ponies."
Rainbow scratched her head, "What about the rabbits?"
"Oh, he got rid of the rabbits that were tearing through the farmer’s crops, and the mice too, I think." Warm Wind grinned, "Even those stupid, surly crows have been pretty jumpy."
That just about clinched it for Applejack. Scared or not, those rabbits had done plenty of damage to the apple crop. Without Fluttershy to manage them, every farmer in town might be trying to pacify an army of long-eared marauders.
Fluttershy, however, was left confused. The rabbits had never mentioned any mice, or crows for that matter. in fact, neither had shown up with the rabbits, that much she was sure of.
Twilight, however, remained focused on Warm Winds, "Can you tell us anything about this ’King of Autumn?’ Where he came from, what it is?"
"Not much, Lord Barleycorn did pretty much what I said, and he’s been working with the foals all day." Warm Winds crossed his forelegs at the mention of the scarecrow’s name, "He’s a very talkative spirit, you could speak to him yourselves."
Twilight’s eyes glanced down at Warm Winds’ legs. She had read several books about Everfree myths, and although none of them had mentioned anything like a seasonal king or talking scarecrows, there was one book that mentioned the gesture she just witnessed. It was listed as one of the many ways a pony could protect themselves from spirits.
The books said that Everfree spirits loathed disrespect and were notoriously easy to offend. This gesture was more to show respect, and to hopefully mollify any unintended offence. Of course, this information came purely from books on old traditions and superstitious practices like knocking on trees in spring to ‘wake them up.’
Twilight then turned her attention to her friends, "What did you think of him?"
"Well, I thought he was charming. He spoke with a way I would describe as ‘thespian.’" Rarity began, "Very polite, very tasteful, but he was never once boring or boorish."
"He wants to bring all the Everfree spirits here so everypony can come and have a spookerific time! There’s gonna be a play and music, and pumpkin lanterns!" Pinkie grinned as she bounced back to the group, "I’ve got to check to see if the ponies at Tablecloths will let me bake pies there, since he can’t do that himself."
"That sounds… interesting. When is this ‘party?’"
"Hm, he said less than two days, I believe he intends his party to start during the Fall Harvest Festival. Difficult, since that means ponies will have to come here instead of celebrating in their home towns." Rarity’s brow furrowed as she thought, "But to organize and throw a party for a whole town in two days?"
"I’ve done that before." Pinkie beamed, "And with the six of us helping I know we can do this for sure!"
Rainbow raised a skeptical eyebrow, "But if he’s a king or whatever, can’t just get that done himself?"
"Wouldja ask Princess Celestia to bake her own cakes when she comes to Ponyville?" Applejack narrowed her eyes, "An’ I asked him why he doesn’t have his servants do any of that stuff. They’re all busy makin’ autumn happen in it’s own way here. He said he’s doin’ all this on his own free time."
Rainbow held up her hooves, "Okay, I get it, yeesh. So… what do we do?"
"Well, he does seem docile from what you said, but I’d feel better if I got to see him myself." Twilight idly tapped the dirt floor with her hoof, "Maybe I could ask Princess Celestia, maybe she’s heard about this Lord Barleycorn."
"That might be a good idea." Shrugged Applejack, "I didn’t remember till you mentioned her, but when Ah talked to him he said he used to talk a lot with Celestia."
Twilight’s eyes widened at this news, but it wasn’t long before she smiled brightly, "Excellent, then she’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with!"
A scroll, inkwell, and quill levitated out of Twilight’s saddlebags, enveloped in Twilight’s violet aura as she quickly began composing her message.
With everypony’s attention on Twilight as she-self dictated her letter, Fluttershy covertly nudged Applejack in the shoulder.
Fluttershy leaned in closer to Applejack, then whispered so quietly Applejack had to strain to hear her, "Don’t you think we should tell the girls about what happened at the farm?"
"Ah will, just… give me time...." Applejack whispered back.
"’... Your faithful student, Princess Twilight Sparkle.’" Twilight gave a quick scan of her work for spelling errors, only to smile when she didn’t see any, "Alright, Rainbow, you think you could deliver this to Spike for me?"
Rainbow showed her trademark cocky smirk, "Fly all the way back to Ponyville? No problem, but what are you going to do while I’m being a mailmare?"
Twilight showed her friend a knowing smile, "Applejack said that he’d be back tomorrow, so we’ll just have to find a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow, we investigate."
---
To Carrot Top’s relief, she couldn’t hear the smallest creak from the rusted hinges as she painstakingly lowered the screen door back against the door frame. She had spent nearly a half hour sneaking down from her room, moving as slow as she could manage to avoid causing the floorboards to creak and alert the family. The last thing she wanted to do was answer any incriminating questions about why she was sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night with a loaded saddlebag.
Her efforts were rewarded with only the sound of crickets in the field, and the sound of a single owl far in the distance. For now the scattered wild clouds were allowing Luna's moon to shine with all its pale glory, giving Carrot Top all the light she needed to navigate her way to the now-familiar fields.
It was not hard to find Jack; one of the carts was sitting out by the tangled rows of beans that Carrot Top herself had been picking when the sun was up. Jack himself was hunched over near the cart, pulling the plants up to more easily find the mature pods in the dim light.
Carrot Top's hoofsteps on the dirt path were comparatively loud in midnight silence, and Jack turned his head in time to see her approaching from quite a distance up the path. He waved to her, then resumed picking the crawling vine clean before tossing it onto a messy pile of discarded plants.
"I see you're hard at work." Carrot Top said quietly, almost fearing she'd wake somepony up in the farm house.
"I feel like I always am." Jack mirrored her volume as he placed his hand against the cart and stretched his back. That’s when his eyes fell on her saddlebags, "If you have food in there you're my hero."
"And this time there's no pears, dandelions, or mushrooms." Carrot Top grinned as she dug into her bags to pull out a bowl of fresh apples and slices of toast which she set on the ground in front of Jack.
The ecstatic grin that showed out from under Jack’s mask quickly faded, "Toast and apples?"
Carrot Top pouted, "Well if you don't want them I can take them back to the house."
"No please, I'll take anything other than pears and weeds." Jack stooped down to claim the bowl, quickly taking a bite of the apple through the wide hole in his mask.
The amount of sweet, succulent juice surprised him, and as soon as Jack got his chunk of apple rolled against his cheek he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Juicy." Jack stated before chewing, "If it weren't for you I'd be back to scrounging in the woods, although that's hardly any different than eating at Harvest Moon's table. I'll need a proper meal after all of this is done."
"You and me both." Carrot Top muttered, "Oh, I almost forgot. I got you the paper you wanted."
"Oh good." Jack came over to investigate the contents of Carrot Top’s saddlebag.
With the apple in his off-hand, Jack quickly found the bundle of blank paper and gave a nod of approval. "That’ll be plenty, thanks."
Jack’s hand then bumped against something hard, and the silence of the field allowed him to hear the gentle sloshing of liquid. Grasping the unfamiliar object, he pulled it out to reveal it to be a squat, dark vial with a cork stopper.
Carrot Top was quick to flash an apologetic smile, "I couldn’t find any pencils or pens in the house, all they had was some chalk, that old ink, and some quills."
Jack continued to stare at the bottle, his eyes blinking owlishly at it as if it wasn’t real, "Quills? You mean those feathers people used to write with two hundred years ago?"
"Maybe for your people, but ponies still use them." Carrot Top shrugged, "Well, unicorns mostly."
Jack placed the inkwell back in the bag and took another bite out his apple, "I’d point out there’s no unicorns living here, but I think we could just as easily say there’s no ponies that need clothes like these, either."
Carrot Top began to rub her forehead, "I’m about ready to stop asking questions about this place. Slim Harvest did a lot of strange things and I can’t devote brain power to trying to figure out what an old pony like him was thinking."
"You and me both. It’ll be morning by the time I’m done doing this and writing the script for the play." Jack looked out across the mass of tangled beans, "It would have helped if Summer had put up rope or poles or something these beans to climb. Heck, he could have used the corn if nothing else."
A frown found its way onto Carrot Top 's muzzle, "Excuse me, but I don't think we can really afford to have you miss any sleep."
Jack looked over to see the mare pull the paper out and set it on the soft earth, the ink and quill soon joining it.
Jack looked out across the beans, then to the cart and the amount of beans he had picked and shook his head, "I got half the cart full now, and it wouldn't look good if it looked like my 'pumpkin court' was slacking off."
Carrot Top effortlessly popped the lid off the inkwell with her teeth and spat it into her saddlebag, "I couldn't agree more, which is why you're going to keep working while I take dictation."
"I could, and I'm spitballing here, write the script while you pick beans." Jack rocked back and forth on his heels in an innocent gesture.
"I did that all day, I'm not doing it all night." Carrot Top deadpanned.
"That's fair, I guess..." Jack sighed as he pulled another mass of tangled vine and began to pick the large pods and toss them into the cart, "You said unicorns usually use quills, can you?"
"Oh please," Carrot Top gave a dismissive wave of her hoof, "Unicorns aren't the only ones who use quills. 'Though, they do tickle the roof of my mouth."
Jack laughed; another handful of beans landed in the cart, "I can imagine. But before we get into this, I didn't get to ask you about today."
Carrot Top grimaced, "What about it?"
"Applejack mentioned Summer when we talked today, I didn’t get a lot of details but I can only assume that he blew up at her." Jack tossed aside the vine and didn’t reach for a new one, "Are you okay?"
Carrot Top bit her lip as her mind went back to the farm house. The dinner she had shared with her friends and relatives after Applejack had left had been a silent, uncomfortable experience. Harvest Moon had tried her best to make some small talk for the sake of conversation, but Carrot Top had only wanted to finish her meal and get to bed. There wasn’t anything she wanted to say in front of Summer, and she was a little too concerned with what awaited her when this was all over and she was back in Ponyville.
"I'd rather not talk about it." Was Carrot Top's answer as she quickly brought her eyes down to the paper in an attempt to force the conversation back to the script. "So how does this start out?"
The only response came from the crickets, but Carrot Top didn’t look up from the paper. If she broke her concentration she’d focus on her problems, and that would only make her feel worse. The quicker she got this whole stupid affair with her family over with the sooner she could leave.
That’s when she heard Jack’s heavy boots coming towards her, but even after sat next to her, Carrot Top kept her eyes locked on the blank pages.
That’s when Jack’s mask landed in front of her.
"Come on, what happened?" Jack asked gently.
Carrot Top winced, but she did at last turn to her head to look at Jack. He was sitting in that weird position with his legs twisted underneath him. Without the mask, Carrot Top could see the worry he carried in his forehead even though he tried to hide it with a goofy smile.
"You really want to know?" Carrot Top’s ears flattened against her skull.
"Of course." Jack’s arm fell around Carrot Top’s shoulders and gave her a friendly shake, "I’m told I’m a good listener."
Carrot Top grumbled at the jostling, but didn’t complain any further, "Alright, I wasn’t going to bring it up, seeing how we’re so close to getting this over with and getting out of here, sure. Yeah, AJ and Summer had their little spat, but it didn’t go the way I thought it would."
"How did you think it would happen?" Jack asked, his arm still slung around Carrot Top’s neck.
"I mean I was expecting lots of screaming and yelling, for it to get really nasty and heated." Carrot Top looked down at Jack’s mask, "Instead what happened was a lot of cold, mean-spirited words which nearly started a fight right there in the kitchen."
Jack blinked, "By ‘nearly’ I’m guessing that didn’t happen?"
Carrot Top shook her head, "No, thank goodness. AJ stormed out before anything got to that point, and Fluttershy went after her. This will sound horrible but I’m glad they didn’t show up at the farm again today, but that’s not what’s really bugging me. It’s something that only affects me."
Jack gave an understanding nod, "And I’m guessing this other thing is what’s really eating you."
"Right on the muzzle," Carrot Top swallowed an uneasy lump in her throat, she could feel her resolve crumbling as she preemptively wiped her eyes with her foreleg, "Leadfoot stupidly called me Cousin Golden in front of Applejack."
Jack flinched, "And this means your little secret is out..."
"It’s worse than that. When I see her next she’s going to do the same thing that got Summer so riled. I know she loves her family but I’ll never get to have any peace when I get back to P-Ponyville..." Carrot Top clenched her eyes shut, she didn’t want to cry in front of Jack. This was so unproductive when there was so much to do… crying wouldn’t solve anything, "I’ll just be another Apple, and my only options will be to just give in and let them walk all over me or be known as a jerk for pushing them away like Summer."
Carrot Top lifted Jack’s mask with her hoof and stared it, "I wish I had been wearing that rag pony mask you made, and the costume. At least then I could have just pretended to be a spirit and just bluffed my way out of it like you can."
With that, Carrot Top pressed her face against the burlap sack. She didn’t want her friend to see her break down. Her body shook as she fought to suppress her a sob.
The hand that had simply rested on her shoulders slipped away, causing Carrot Top to pull her face from the mask and back at her friend. If it had been Roseluck or her other friends they would have hugged her and tried to cheer her up with hopeful statements. Instead Jack was leaning back, propped up by his hands and looking up at Luna’s moon.
"You think I’m really that good?" Jack asked, completely devoid of emotion.
Carrot Top stared at Jack, had she offended him in some way?
"Well, yes." Carrot Top’s ears fell back, "You managed to trick a whole town into thinking you’re really the Autumn King, and you almost have a whole new holiday made just to help out a town. That’s incredible acting if I ever heard it."
Jack’s immediate answer was a deep, heavy intake of air as he placed his hands over his face before letting himself lay back on the dirt. "Sorry, I’m really sorry Carrot Top. I should be focusing on you but… what you said just hit me funny. I had to get dragged to another world, naked and lost in a cornfield during a thunderstorm, just to hear those words."
"That… you’re a good actor?" Carrot Top guessed.
Jack let out a sigh and pulled his hands away from his face. His smile was proof that Carrot Top was right.
"I wanted to be an actor since I was a child. I joined drama club when I was in school, I even joined an improv group in my spare time in University but I was never selected for even a minor role in serious productions." Jack’s smile faded, and his own eyes watered at the memory of so many rejections.
Carrot Top sputtered, "But you’re so good at this! You can sing, you can dance… you can even play the violin! How could anypony pass you up?"
"I didn’t learn how to dance and sing until later on, and there aren’t many roles that require you to know how to play an instrument." Jack’s smile came back a little, but it looked forced, "The trouble was I kept trying too hard, and there were always at least thirty other people applying for the same role. Directors can get pretty annoyed if you try out for five different roles in the same production by the way..."
"So when you learned to sing and dance I guess they thought you were over-qualified?" Carrot Top smirked as she laid down next to her friend.
Jack’s hand suddenly fell on Carrot Top’s head like a rubber tarantula, causing the mare to squeak in surprise before she saw the rest of his outstretched arm behind her. She pretended to fume at the human, and would have chided him for getting dirt in her mane before she felt those strange flat claws scratch behind her ear.
She couldn’t explain it, but the way Jack’s ‘nails’ gently scratched behind her ear left Carrot Top incredibly relaxed. She tilted her head and leaned into his hand secretly wishing he would scratch harder.
“Maybe Jack wouldn’t mind doing this again? Those fingers are better than any backscratcher I’ve ever used, and he can do this laying down!” Carrot Top gushed inwardly.
"No, by then I’d moved on. I gave up on the stage." Jack’s hand switched ears, making Carrot Top tilt her head with it, "I changed majors, ended up transferring to… erm, another kind of school. It got me a lot of teasing, but I don’t regret it. I love my work and I help a lot of people."
Carrot Top didn’t remember closing her eyes, but nevertheless she reopened them, "But do you want to be an actor someday?"
"I think I’ve been one since I got here." Said Jack, "Sure the play we’ll be putting on won’t have fancy special costumes or be a brilliant work of The Bard, the point of a play is to take the audience on a trip, and if they have a good time, that’s all that matters."
Jack’s hand stopped its heavenly scratching and he sat up to stretch his arms.
"You are so doing that again for when we catch the train to Canterlot." Carrot Top didn’t care what the other ponies on the train would think. That felt so nice!
"We’ll see." Jack chuckled as he shook her again.
Carrot Top replied by socking him in the shoulder, which got another laugh out of Jack and soon had them both laughing.
"You know, this hasn’t been all fun and games for me, but I’m really glad I got to meet you." Jack smirked, "Corn Crib and Leadfoot are great, but I haven’t meet anyone as sharp as you in ages."
Carrot Top blinked, "Huh?"
"Leadfoot might know about me but unlike you he doesn’t seem the type that could think on his feet, er, hooves very well. That, and you’re pretty strong." Jack emphasized this by rubbing the shoulder Carrot Top had punched.
"Farm work will do that to a pony." Carrot Top said proudly, but as she looked down at the paper her smile quickly deflated, "What… do you think will happen when this is all over?"
Jack’s hand began to scratch his bearded cheek, "To be honest, I have no idea. I’m just guessing your princesses are capable of sending me home. I don’t know them, I’m just aiming for the best possible solution. As for you, my only suggestion is to look at what’s directly in front of you, any further than that and it’s too easy to panic."
Carrot Top bit her cheek, "I don’t know… What if-"
"If you could take this all back, and I mean go back in time and never come to Hollow Shades, would you?" Jack asked plainly, glancing at Carrot Top as he took back his mask. "That means never getting to spend time with Corn Crib, no helping your family keep their home..."
"And no helping you get back home." Carrot Top finished, looking Jack in the eye, "I think I see your point."
Jack smiled, "If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll see what I can do about Applejack. She might listen to the King of Autumn."
Carrot Top nodded, "That…. might help. Yes."
"Good. Do you feel any better?" Jack asked as he slipped his mask back on. The night air was chilly, and his beard did nothing to insulate his face.
"Maybe, I’ll let you know tomorrow." Carrot Top rubbed her eyes with her hoof, "Alright, let’s get started with the script… How does it start?"
Jack chuckled and reached for the next vine, "With a song."
"Trick or treat…~"
---
===
Canterlot Palace
===
Celestia had only recently slammed the doors of her bedchamber closed and let out a sigh. The day was done, literally in this case, and she was in the security of her room. With hardly a thought, she teleported her regalia and crown onto the silken placemat which had been their nightly home for longer than she cared to remember.
The solar princess arched her back and flexed her wings, a yawn escaped her mouth as she looked to the hearth near her bed. A small fire crackled, and as always her reward for a hard day’s work of politicking and solar control sat on a golden tea tray. A large slice of her favorite cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream on the side, a steaming cup of of tea with a lemon wedge resting in a bowl, and a whole jar of honey.
What she didn’t expect to see was a letter from Twilight waiting for her. She shrugged and tended to her tea, perhaps she would have something to read by the fire other than skimming the last Daring Do novel. A. K. Yearling was taking her sweet time writing her latest book...
With her tea properly sweetened with a spoonful of honey, Celestia lightly stirred and waited for it to cool as she unfurled the parchment. Normally she allowed Twilight’s letters to be sent to her directly through the young dragon’s magic fire, but today her timing simply had been terrible. A major trade agreement had been in session, and minotaurs did not take well to interruptions.
"Probably just another friendship report." Celestia mused, a little pleased at the idea of some simple, light reading.
As she read, Celestia simply raised an eyebrow.
"A talking scarecrow that dances and plays violin..." Celestia set her tea back on its coaster, needing her full attention as she reread the letter again.
She zeroed in on a single line; "It claims that you and it are old friends."
Celestia lowered the letter, blinking several times as she searched back through the long, long tapestry of her life for anything even resembling what Twilight had described. Celestia ultimately determined that she had not.
Another look at the letter had Celestia looking at something else.
"Hollow Shades..."
---
To be continued...
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Oh yes! I love every update of this story!
One of those few stories where you drop Everything and just read.
6574182 Agreed.
-------------------
Here's hoping Jack can get through to AJ about Carrot's point of view and even clear up the reason between the Apple and Harvest feud.
Oh ho ho, now it´s about to get good. At least if Celestia plays along. Honestly, I can see her doing so, maybe even do a little trolling.
If he gets revealed to be "merely" a human actor, it's gonna devastate the foals. It'd be like finding out Santa is just made up, and to a small child that's a horrible thing to do to their innocence. Still, the girls are gonna ScoobyDoo Lord Barelycorn at some point, yanking off the mask with a collective "gasp"-- I just really hope it's not in the presence of any foals.
I wonder if this new festival will upstage Nightmare Night? Luna just got back recently and only got to celebrate her own holiday a few times. It'll be alright though, Halloween wouldn't be the same if it wasn't in Hallow Shade so Luna can still keep the rest of Equestria. Ha!
Dang, once again I loved it! Whenever this story updates I throw a hand in the air and shout my joy to the world (much to the annoyance of everyone around me.) Anyone with me?
On another note, I kinda hope Celesta decides to mess around with the ponies and jack.
Humans could easily conquer Equestria and without even resorting to violence. Just offer the Princesses unlimited ear-scratches and belly rubs in exchange for the throne!
Speaking of, I doubt Tia will blow his cover. At least till the festival's over.
6574289
or, perhaps all the belief and magic in the air would turn him into his real lord of autumn?
6574399
Eh... I dunno. That seems pretty far fetched. I'm thinking after the ScoobyDoo drama is over that the adults will realize they're going to ruin a whole bunch of childhoods and instead keep the truth about Lord Barleycorn a secret. Sure, it's not possible to remain innocent forever but it's nice while it lasts and most adults like to reminisce it through the young. Who knows, maybe Jack will be so convincing that he'll get the Elements to help him make this first Halloween a festival to remember. Also, huge props to making it happen without magic. Heh, it's all a bit like Winter Wrap-Up; no magic and the whole town gets involved. Er, well, the kids mostly get candy, but that's their job.
If Luna and Celestia do take a run through the haunter house, they might need magic inhibitors or a scared alicorn could accidently blow up half the building in fright.
6574399 Oooh. Mantling! Now that's a fun idea.
Trick or treat!
Trick or treat!
Trick or treat on Halloween!
6574289 Personally, I hope the girls do get the chance to ScoobyDoo Jack... and then choose not to. Because between the truth of just a weird alien thing tricking everyone into dancing to his tune or the lie of a great King of Autumn taking a personal interest in saving someone's town? I know which one I would choose...
... Or Celestia could enter stage left and dues ex machina the heck outta things
That could be fun too.
I love this story!! Keep it up!
Only 9 new chapters? I started reading this story when It first came out, man.
One too many 'pretty'.
'to' is incomplete, and I think you are missing 'he'
I believe there should be an 'and' here.
Don't need 'that'.
>>There's always a few that slip by. Thanks for pointing them out!
That Celestia segment
I was half expecting her to know the *real* Lord Barleycorn.
I wish I could give you two and a half likes! Barleycorn updates always make me happy.
6574950 Real life issues, friend. A lot of them. =c
6575223 and seeing people happy with my story makes me happy.
Uh ooh. Wonder if barley didnt really think that celestia was that old. Might get a princess dropping in on ya.
All of my yes!
I love it when this story updates! Prepare yourself, the princess is coming. Hoping Tia is excited to see her "old friend."
Still one of the best stories here. So glad to see an update.
Man, for a moment I thought it would get really bad with Celestia. I realized just as I reached her part that it was possible that "old friend" can easily be said sarcastically and that Jack's assumed title could easily actually be someone that exists in Equestria and as such I thought for a moment that Celestia would think he was something else and much more dangerous. Good to see he wasn't that unlucky.
Nice to see some emotion from Jack and Top. Generally, great fun in this chapter.
A single nitpick: I think you missed a "rather" or it should be "instead of" instead of "than" in "to the same weather mare she’d opted to converse with than listen to Warm Wind’s dissertation."
Thanks for another half hour of great fun. As always, looking forward to more. Happy writing.
6574839
Mmm, true, the Princesses could just go, this is terrible! Every pony gets 10,000 bits in some "stimulus package".
Tho finding the Canterlot pony responsible for shutting down the lumber mill would be a good target for ALL the tricks during trick-or-treat. TP the hell out of his mansion!
Wonderful chapter. Loved seeing the characters have a little breathing space for retrospection. Twi and co are probably going to start digging even further into this, unfortunately. Here's hoping they not screw the event up, as well as Tia deciding to play along with the masquerade. At this point the story could go a few ways near the climax. Either they decide to uphold the masquerade to keep up hope for the town, the story gets a deus ex machina in the form of spirits actually showing up, or they ruin the event and it somehow will end up working out anyways.
Hmmm. A job that helps people, yet gets him teased. Teaching is always one thing, so that the Cheerilee comparison is a bit stronger. A councilor? Storyteller? Not enough info to go on.
EDIT: Back in the Zompony chapter, there's this tidbit:
Definitely something closer to schools.
6575897 Fixed, thanks. =3
And you're very welcome. I'm surprised so many people like it really. When I started this I was expecting it to linger in obscurity and only get a few comments, and eventually grow bored and hurry it to its conclusion so I could move onto other projects. Shock of all shocks, here I have my most popular story. =3
6575244 Do It faster, or...
i.imgur.com/ImEHC69.jpg
Oink, oink, piggy piggy, come to my shop and I'll show you the world.
6576604 Land economy?
It'd be awesome to have the chapter about the Halloween festival be released on Halloween irl. butttt.... that is a couple days away in the story so not likely. Great story can't wait for the next chapter.
6576733 It probably has something to do with the fact that you write awesomely
I think I did say that you other one was great too, when I commented on that. But this one probably shines because it has such a theatrical human and because it avoid the cliches, not by going the other way, but going between the cliches. A lot of the situations have two "usual" outcomes, but you often manage a litte of a and a little of b.
Also, you have a knack for personal drama that doesn't get melodramatic, but just enough to have the right impact.
Should be "are Twilight...."
I see no way in which this could possibly come back to bite our protagonist in the rear.
Anyway - this is another great chapter. It looks like we're nearing the final wrap-up, and I can't wait to see where this goes.
Anyone else think sun but gonna go ham?
6575246 Another great chapter--wonderful cliffhanger! Nothing too impacting but we're left wondering about Celestia and if she knew any who went by the title "Lord of Autumn". It's so wonderful that Twilight didn't Lord Barleycorn because the likelihood of there once being a being with that title. Can't wait for the Discord-level Chaos to ensue!
Stories like this are the reason we drudge through the piles of shitty OC's and blatant wish fulfillment that every fandom suffers.
Thank you.
Still holding onto the hope that there'll be the big 'wait, what?' on behalf of ol' Barleycorn. Loving it so far.
6582246
First of all: Amen.
Second: If you're willing to suffer the premise of an OC or wish fulfillment, some of them are actually diamonds hiding amongst shards of glass. I'd have to go through my favorites at some point to hunt one down but some are remarkably well written and stay very true to the characters. ... ... Now if only they weren't exceptions, eh?
Loving this story.
6582971 And some of them are plutonium atoms hiding amongst the uranium-238!
And I don't even know what that analogy implies!
6600727 agreed it was beautiful
6608275 huh? Did I make a mistake somewhere?
6609091 no its nothing
... well, that's one way to break the ice at least.
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw9347_medium.jpg
6609091 Just Leadfoot losing the "Harvest" part of his name in a spin-off.
6614533 ... amazing I never caught that until now.
That's a big oops on my part.
6657670 Continuity is a wonderful thing.
6660554 Aw, thanks.
I'm so happy I read this. :)
It's really adorable! I can't stop repeating myself. Hahahah.
Damn it! When I started reading this, I believed it was finished! Now I have to wait and I'm on the edge of my seat to see what happens next!
This is a great story not even gonna say anything else as its kept me hooked on it since I started.
I actually didn't go to sleep last night from reading this but I do not care, its cute, its quirky and a hidden undertone of danger and truth mixed in for good measure.
You sir have a fav like and a follower
6678687 I've had to stop reading my old chapters because I want to sit and pick through every single word choice. But thanks for calling it out. FIXED
6679001 How? I think there's some leeway when it comes to ponies and things like 'logic.' *points to Pinkie*
6679021 Ah, another subscriber to the theory that ponies are made of dark matter.
6679071
Because honestly you think some normal homely flower girls are going to wonder how a scarecrow is talking and saying such lovely things to them? (however true honestly they are adorable) when they deal with disasters on a weekly basis? (Magic based or otherwise) The fact that it didn't try to claim it was going to immediately eat them possibly made them believe it's just someone playing with them and thus....it's magic and unicorns use magic so a shy unicorn likes us.