I open my eye, to find the living room bathed in the dull light of dawn before sunrise proper. I'm surprised I managed so many hours of sleep in one go... Even the acrid taste of shame and failure lingering in my throat isn't as strong as it typically is, after waking from these sempiternal nightmares. Though as I slowly grow less torpid, my waking perceptions remind me oh-so helpfully that my body is still not my own, and that it aches even more than usual... Guess I must have slept in a bad position.

My conclusion is soon validated as I take stock of said position, and I find myself curled up around a still-asleep Amber, my right arm going over her barrel as if she were a large, breathing teddy bear.

...

And my hope that nobody saw us like this is dashed when I notice the small blanket that has been laid down over us. Damn...

I do my best to not disturb Amber as I disentangle myself, replacing the blanket over her, and I'm once more happy to always wear socks indoors as I tiptoe – a bit too literally to my liking – out of the living room. In the kitchen I'm pleased to see Ivan and Jeannette Vallières seated at their table, the couple of senior early-risers enjoying their breakfast.

“Good morning.”, I greet them. “Can I get a glass of water, please?”

“Of course.”, Jeannette smiles softly. “You know, you don't have to ask every single time...”

I bite my lip as I pull a wing out of the confines of my sweater, and use the inexplicably dexterous feathers to get a glass from the cupboard. “I'm not supposed to, so that's the least I can do.” Which is true – it's a tacit agreement that those living on the equine side of the farm shouldn't unduly intrude on the fully-human residents' side.

“That's just a question of measure!”, Ivan grumbles in his typical blunt, snappish way. “We can't have every single horse on the land gamboling through the house when they need to drink or take a piss, that doesn't mean that it can't be done from time to time!”

Well, all the more reasons to check beforehand, I tell myself while I fill my glass. I needed some time to adapt to Ivan's gruff manners, and learn that it was just his way of talking rather than any real aggressiveness toward me. They're both cool old people, but I wouldn't openly backtalk him yet either, though.

“And that didn't stop you from shedding blue hair all over our carpet last night...”, he continues as I climb on one of the unoccupied chairs, even if it's not really comfortable. “What of your friend, anyway?”

“Still asleep. If you have some coffee left in the pot when you're done, I'm sure she would be extremely grateful.”

“We thought we heard some kind of commotion last night...”, Jeannette tells me between two mouthfuls of honey-topped tartine. “Was that why you two wanted to stay away?”

“More or less...”, I sigh. “The winged ones tried to rope me into advocating for them, but their best tactic was to insult me... I shouted, probably scared the foals even more than the storm, and made a fool of myself, basically. My friend was just supportive, but I don't want her to face any backslash because of my own temper...”

“I'm sure she won't. You just have to wait for heads to cool down, stormy weather isn't good on anybody's nerves.”, the old woman tries to reassure me.

“Eh... I wouldn't be so sure about that!”, her husband counters. “Even just from the outside it's clear that these big-brained horses aren't too keen on those who stray from the herd!”

“It hasn't always been like this though...”, Jeannette admits sadly.

“Really..?”, I ask, dubious. That disgusting group mentality seems to be well established...

She nods. “Things changed so very quickly, the number of ponies more than doubled in less than a week's time. This could have some sort of effect on attitudes and such, I believe.”

“We wouldn't be in this situation if Annie weren't obsessed with bringing more and more of them here!”, Ivan all but sneers. “Let me tell you, she bit off a lot more than she can chew!”

The door leading to the garage is pushed open by a pony, and we turn to see a sullen-looking Fenchone – also known as 'Annie', her human name – entering the kitchen. “My ears were burning...”, she muses aloud as she closes the door, casting an unreadable glance in my direction. “So, what's up here?”

My first idea is to deny any kind of, uh, I don't know – fomenting dissent? But Ivan's sharp tongue is quicker: “Just talking about how this nice woman has been treated by your flock.”, he answers, pointing at me.

“Why didn't you intervene, Annie?”, Jeannette adds, doubling down on my unease at the impending confrontation.

I expected Fenchone to be angry, at least glare at me, but she looks more weary than anything else as she takes place on the fourth and last chair: “It was a matter between pegasi.”, she explains simply to her grandparents, and I rein myself in to not correct her. She then turns to me: “Besides, as much as I can dislike her attitude at times, Keensight wasn't wrong, you know.”

“Uh... Who's that one, again..?”

She stares at me, incredulous: “That would be the green pegasus mare with whom you had a verbal spar last night.”

Oh, the cockatoo! Keenckatoo? Cockasight? Just 'Cockatrice' could be fun, though... What's her cutie mark again?

Wait... “And which of her arguments would you consider to be 'not wrong'..?”, I ask sternly.

Fenchone raises a placating hoof. “I'm just saying that she was right, the issue of your place among pegasi needs to be addressed.”

“I don't want any place 'among pegasi'!”

“Which is kind of the problem! Look, is it so hard to put on a brave face and deal with ponies? What do you think I'm doing? You think it's always sunshine and rainbows to have every pony coming to me for the smallest, most trivial things?”

“No, but I don't see why that should make me the go-to person for these walking featherdusters!”

“And whoever would be?”, she retorts with growing frustration. “Violette had very good things to say about, and most pegasi already go to you on their own! I know that your situation is peculiar, but sometimes we have no choice but to take our responsibilities, even if we didn't choose them! Just look how much tension there is right now, I don't want ponies to start fighting each other like they almost did yesterday! You, Violette, and I, we can give them a cadre on which they can rely on, to all work together! Is that so bad?”

Is she really asking this... to me!? “I'm just... The very last person who should be in a position of leadership!”

“You think I am..?”, she snorts, then lean forward, going down to a whisper: “I... I'm just as clueless as everybody else, I'm in charge mostly by default... Our community is fragile, proper infrastructure is still lacking, so we have to keep up hope, as leaders, because as long as we work together – an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus – our ponies will follow.”

“Annie, dear, you can't force her...”, Jeannette tells her granddaughter. “It won't do any good to put her in a position she doesn't want.”

“It's a position of necessity.”, the mare reiterates, still trying to keep her voice down. “How does it look like, if the figureheads can't even work together, or heck, if they actively avoid each others? How can we convince our ponies that all the work and sacrifices we ask of them will be worth it if they can't put their trust in us?”

“Clearly the grouchy sock-wearing woman with a pirate's eye patch is the picture of trust...”, Ivan remarks, though he winks at me discreetly.

“It's not my fault that the pegasi only swear by her, even after she rebuffed them twice over..! If I had the choice I would ask someone else, sure, but I don't! Keensight is willing, of course, but she just doesn't gel with the others – even more so now... Laurence's a part of this community, and as long as she's here her every actions will have consequences, as yesterday proved.”

Always this talk of 'community'... Is it so hard to just leave me alone!? I'm nobody's leader, that's not why I'm here for!

Though... I'm still here for a reason. And I think I see how that could work..!

I take a good long drink, using those few seconds to prepare myself. “So, Violette told you about me, huh..?” At Fenchone's nod, I continue: “Did she also tell you why I'm here for? What's my mission?”

“She... didn't mention that, no, why?”

“I'm here to protect you. I'm here to make sure you all stay together, and safe. So I'll go, and stay away, keep my distance.” She's about to protest, but I don't give her time to: “It's a big farm, Fenchone. I'll patrol around, make sure no pony strays too far, look out for threats, and stay out of your mane.”

Fenchone clearly wasn't expecting me to have a counter-offer, and I wait for her to come up with an answer. “We... We already have a garde champêtre doing regular rounds.”, she tries, but that's certainly not the deterrent she thinks!

“Great, then I'll have an opportunity for some more human company... If and when I decide to have it.”

“But—”

On a sudden impulse I lean over the table and look her right in the eyes: “Listen Fenchone, I thought I showed it plainly but clearly I need to spell it out: it's not that I don't like people, or ponies, whatever – I just don't like being around more than one or two at a time, especially not when I can't be on my lonely self otherwise, and even more so when they can't respect the basic fact that I am still human. Seriously, these birdbrains have been hounding me non-stop, I just can't take it anymore. So, I'm gonna go spend my days hiking in the woods, make myself useful there, and you'll just have to say that you sent me out to do it, or exiled me if it suits you better, blablabla whatever you need to cook up. Hell, that way I'll make damn sure that no-one falls into your aven, you won't have to nag everybody about it anymore! So, do we have a deal?”

Fenchone keeps staring at me for a good five seconds before answering: “It's... We can try it, see if it works, yes.”

Only then do I blink at my own frankness, and quickly avert my gaze. I, uh, I've rarely been this direct and eloquent, especially with someone I barely know..! Usually I need to be enraged to be this unhinged, but this time it was just... Clarity of mind, no pondering of my words before talking, just being the most direct and efficient possible to deal with the problem at hand.

... That was a weird feeling.

Not a bad one, though.

I'll file it for further introspective analysis at a later date – right now I should get a move on, before most ponies go about their day. I turn to the kind old couple: “Jeannette, Ivan, could you please tell Amber to look after my belongings, once she wakes up?”

“Of course Laurence.”, Jeannette nods with a smile. “If you ever need to, just ask and our couch is yours for the night; we understand that your situation is different from the ponies.”

“Thanks.”, I smile back. Goodness, do these people really have to find more ways for me to like them?

Ivan pushes himself up from his chair: “I'll get you the door.”

That's appreciated – opening a door from this side can be quite the hassle if like me you don't fancy using your mouth for this kind of thing. I follow after Ivan once I've put my empty glass in the sink, letting Fenchone and her grandmother start their own conversation about a missing couch pillow. Ivan pulls the front door open for me as I remove my socks and stash them into my pockets, but when I cross the threshold, the old man bends to talk directly into my good ear: “Not to sound too much like my harridan of a granddaughter, but I don't think Annie's completely wrong, you know. Oftentimes you don't choose your responsibilities, they choose you...”

“I know that.”, I answer without stopping. “I have a responsibility to my mission first and foremost.”

His wry smile is somehow audible as he chuckles: “And from where did you pull that all-important mission, anyway?”

I hesitate. I'm not supposed to not say, but I'm still far from being ready for that particular can of worms...

Looking back at the man, I try for exaggerated innocence: “... Oh, it came to me in a dream.”

This makes him laugh, as I hoped, and fortunately he doesn't dig deeper, closing the door behind me.

Well... Time to face the world and my self-imposed exile, I guess.

The ground is still muddy from all the rain, and the sky overcast. I don't really mind – the sun's never been a friend, and the earth's squishiness dampens any unwelcome clip-clop sounds. Too bad it's far too humid for petrichor, that smell has always had a relaxing effect on me...

As I pass the vegetable gardens, my eye wanders over the uneven rows of growing plants, and I freeze in my step.

Right there, among the carrot sprouts, is the very clear imprint of a shoe left in the mud.

Scanning the immediate vicinity reveals more full or partial footprints, of the same general dimension. If I had to guess from the details, this would have been hiking boots or something of the like, with complex, deep-lugged soles.

The most important point, though, is that the tracks point toward the house, but stop right in the middle of the garden. I know for a fact that neither Ivan nor Jeannette went out yesterday after it started raining, and from the way the mud has been displaced it is clear that the footprints I'm looking at were produced after the soil was already quite wet.

An unknown human was standing right here yesterday, at some point between the first raindrops in the mid-afternoon and when the storm ended.

Could there be a connection with the pony tracks from last night..? How would that even work? First human shoes, then nothing, then pony hooves? No, the more likely option would be that the two are unrelated...

Is there anything else out of the ordinary? Inspecting my surroundings, I notice that the television antenna on the house's roof has been almost snapped off. I vaguely remember noises from above during the night, maybe the storm did it? I doubt our intruder would have much to gain from getting on the roof, but a pegasus should fly up to take a look, just in case.

Back toward the footprints, I'm somewhat relieved to find some of them going away from the farm and toward the fields. They're more widely spaced, and their form is different from the others, which I would interpret as a change of pace – walking toward the farm, then running away from it.

This needs to be investigated... And lucky me, whoever our intruder was came and went from the same direction I'm heading to.

I cross the gardens then get to the fields. The footprints are less clear here, but there's still nice traces where the boots slid on the slippery mud and uprooted some wild plants. The tracks lead straight toward the forest, their owner must have had a clear idea of where they wanted to go...

My ears pivot back as they catch the distinctive sound of a large mass sailing through the air, and I curse under my breath when I recognize the plop of four hooves landing on the mud next to me, in my blind spot..! Damn pegasi, I hoped they were still lazing around at this hour!

“Hey, Laurence?”, the stallion asks me in English.

I'm relieved that it's only Alex, but then, as I turn toward him, I remember that I still owe him some sternness: “Yes..?”

The stallion is coming to terms with his situation, if I'm to believe the fact he's growing more lax with his desire to hide under his clothes – he's only wearing boxers now, and they only hide half of his shield-and-lightning-bolt cutie marks. Right now though, he certainly doesn't look too proud of himself: “I... I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for how things went last night, I should've tried to dissuade them or something...”

“Maybe you should have.”, I reply coldly. “It doesn't really matter now anyway.”

He looks down, ears drawn back, but the two little appendages soon spring back to full-alert mode when he notices what I've been investigating: “Wait, are these footprints?”

“Yes. They came from the forest, walked up to the gardens in front of the house, then ran back the way they came.”

“Should we follow them?”

“I will, but you should rather go back to Fenchone now, to inform her, and also check around. I'll keep you informed of whatever I find.” He nods, and prepares to launch back into the air, but I raise a hand to stop him: “Oh, and Alex? From now on I will patrol around the farm during the day. If you want to make it up to me, I would appreciate if you kept an eye for any trouble on the farm grounds themselves.”

“Will do!”, he salutes military-style, before flying back toward the house.

Somewhat reassured to know that I'm not leaving the place defenseless, I continue on my way toward the woods.

The earth is less muddy under the trees. It makes the tracks harder to follow, but at least it's less dirtying to walk around. And walking around I do – even when the footprints finally disappear completely in the litter of dead leaves, a little beyond the mossy stone wall that seem to circle the whole property. I can't do much more for now, so I keep on marching through the forest, more or less following the wall to get a better mental picture of the surroundings.

It's quite pleasant. Enough to spend a least a good hour just rambling and yet not feel the time pass, actually! The chirps of birds act as the ideal background noise for this little outing in the natural, almost wild world – I even catch sight of a curious roe deer in the distance, at one point.

And god... It's only now that I realize that this is the first time in, what, three weeks? The first time in three goddamn weeks I've had the opportunity of spending some time truly alone..!

Of course I'm smiling like a loon as soon as I notice!

Almost despite myself I start walking quicker, then full-on jogging amidst the trees! I can feel I'm not fully healed yet, but I'm still in far better shape than I probably ought to be – not that I'm complaining! I can't push into a real run though, in part because my clothes are a bit restricting, but mainly because I have some trouble gauging distances – more than once almost-tripping on the traitorous ground, or taking a glancing blow from a tree trunk. Damn dead eye...

I'm back to walking after a bit, giving me time to catch my breath and rest my hooves. My wings rustle, as if they were eager to have their turn now, and—

...

Dammit..!

Way to go ruining the mood, Laurence!!

Urgh! Why did I even think for a second that exercising this stupid body would amount to anything good!?

I try to get my sweater back over these cursed lumps of flesh, bone and feathers, but my hands are caked with mud and humus, failing to get good purchase and splattering dark brown grim all over my clothes!

Anger and hurt and frustration build up in my lungs far too quickly to process, and they push their way out—

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

The sound of my unfiltered pain echoes through the forest, the ensuing silence being almost deafening in comparison.

My throat feels raw after screaming like this, but it needed to get out..!

Come on now Laurence, it won't change anything to lay sprawled on the ground... Birds start chirping again, timidly, as I get back up, the poor critters probably afraid of the mad woman who intruded so noisily into their home. At least they're the only ones who had to witness this pitiful display...

“Howdy..?”, comes a feminine voice from somewhere behind me.

... Do I really have to jinx it every single goddamn time!?

I stay still, hoping against hope that I'm just dirty enough to blend with the background and not be noticed. No such luck, of course, with this stupid blue and light red horror I'm trapped in...

“Hey, are you Laurence?”, asks the voice, closer now.

I soon notice that the voice is accompanied by only one pair of footfalls, and indeed it is a human who walks into my field of view, to stand before me with a curious expression. She looks just a tad familiar, but I'm not sure why – I certainly never met her. She's wearing a navy blue blouson with dark green shoulders, and pants of an even darker blue, similar to a police uniform except for the green. Her black hair is tied into a bun, kept away from her brown eyes and ocher face. She looks... Southeast Asian, maybe..? On her feet are rubber boots, of a kind that could have left the tracks I followed, but the large white 'garde champêtre' sticker on her chest would identify her as a potential ally rather than an intruder.

“That's me...”, I answer cautiously. “And you are?”

“I'm Clémence, garde champêtre.”, she smiles widely. “So, how is your harrowing exile from pony society treating you so far?”

“And how would you know anything about that..?”, I ask, eyebrow raised.

“The forest knows aaaaaaall..!”, she whispers in a flimsy attempt at a spooky voice, gesturing theatrically around us, before dropping her strange act altogether: “Nah seriously, Fenchone gave me a call. Told me to keep an eye on you.”

“So very considerate of her.”, I deadpan. “Though I'm not here to be watched over...”

“I don't know.”, the woman shrugs. “I wasn't the one screaming bloody murder just a second ago for getting a little dirty.”

Who does she think she is!? I stare at her sternly, but it doesn't have much effect other than making her smirk waggishly:

“Even when you're angry you little ponies are still cute, it's amazing.”

“I'm not a pony!”, I snap, before trying to get away from that woman – to no use, as she's following me:

“... I see. You're not brainwashed like the lot of them, then?”, she asks, walking on my good side.

“Oh, it's the fact that I'm not going by a silly moniker that clued you in..?”

She just chuckles, keeping to my side as I venture forth into the forest.

“You're going to follow me all day..?”, I grumble after a moment.

“Fenchone thought I could help. Show you the lay of the land and stuff.”

“I can discover that all by myself, thank you.”

“... You're a real sourpuss, you know that?”

I stomp in frustration, making us come to a stop: “I didn't ask for you to dog my every step, dammit! I didn't get away from these idiots just to be harassed by another!”

“'These idiots'? What d'you mean?”

“These damn pegasi!”, I all but spit. “Constantly trying to talk to me, stalking me, acting as if I should be in charge! And they had the audacity to complain about me not playing along, even!”

“Really? I imagined you were all playing hide and seek or something.”

“You think I hide under tarps for fun!? And besides, how would you even know that!? I haven't seen you put a foot on the farm since I'm here!”

“Uh, binoculars.”, she answer, showing the small pair that is indeed strapped to her belt. “I like to take a look regularly, see how things are.”

“And you wouldn't happen to have taken a look from right in front of the house last night during the storm, by any chance..?”

“You kidding? I wasn't going to stay outside with that weather! Why d'you ask?”

“Footprints in a garden, just one person, I followed the tracks right up to the wall. Rings any bell?”

“Nope... I'll give it a look myself, but maybe it was just some poor guy looking for 'shrooms, you know?”

“Let's hope it's just that...”, I answer without much conviction.

“So, to get back to what you were saying: the pegasi want you to be in charge, but you don't want to, so they're frustrated, or something like that..?”

“Or something like that, yes... Don't ask me why, the reasons they give are asinine as can be!”

I resume walking, increasing my pace once again, but Clémence keeps up without issue. I have to give it to her – she's tenacious!

“My opinion is just an outsider's,” she begins, her breathing even despite her near-jog, “so take it with a grain of salt, but I think they react like this 'cause they expect you to be here for them, just like Fenchone and that new purple unicorn.”

“Her name's Violette, and yes, that was more or less what Fenchone said – acting like some sort of triumvirate or whatever.”

“Did you think that maybe it's because they see you three like potential co-alphas, or the lead mares of the herd, like horses, you know?”

“They're not feral animals..!”

“Even humans have an instinctive component to their social interactions! But if you prefer it that way: the three of you are the eldest, and with strong personalities. It's natural they would look up to you, no?”

“We're all twenty-five years old!”

“Well you don't all look like it, then... But it doesn't matter anymore right, you left it all behind?”

“That's certainly the plan!”, I answer while increasing my speed, still trying – vainly – to escape that freaking gluepot of a woman!

I trot determinedly toward the fields, my little packet hovering next to me. I can feel eyes on my back, but I don't care! Mom agrees with me, or at least she didn't explicitly tell me 'no', and it's all that counts.

Mom... It's like I've been missing a piece of my life all this time, one I'd never noticed was missing in the first place! Sure, I wasn't happy to have been cast out by my human family, but with time I grew to think I just didn't need them to have a good, fulfilling life. Only now do I realize how wrong I was... I'm so much more joyful and carefree, knowing that she's here for me!

Though, am I... Like, regressing into a child's role..? I'm young but not that young! It's probably just a question of, I don't know, an emotional safety net or something? Like, whatever happens, I'll still have her.

I'm closer to Mom than ever, but now I'm afraid of losing my 'big sister'...

Laurence needs her space, that's a given, but to the point of going away to live in the forest..? They couldn't even tell me if she was going to come back to spend her nights with us! I don't want to leave her to sleep alone in the dark! At the same time, those mean pegasi are always pestering her, and I know she's not as social as Mom...

She didn't even come to have lunch, but at least this gives me the perfect excuse to go see her to bring her some food!

I don't know why the others didn't like the idea... Do they fear the pegasi would try to do something to me, just because, what, they feel like I'm stealing Laurence from them? Well we wouldn't be in this situation if they behaved like the other unicorns do with Mom, it's the pegasi's own darn fault!

Ugh... Stop it Amber, you sound just like them now..! Why can't everypony get along? We didn't have this problem before! Is it just becau—

Eep!

I almost dropped my packet when that pegasus flew over me! Gosh, I thought he was trying to steal it or something!

And now he has landed, and is waiting for me just a little way ahead... What should I do? Would the other unicorns help, if he tried to take the food?

“No need to be afraid, Amber.”, he calls to me with a slight smile. “I'm not gonna steal your parcel.”

“I... I just have your word on that!”, I blurt out!

“Come on, our two groups may be glaring daggers at each other all day long, but I don't think we've quite reached the level of parcel-stealing, no?”

“Tell that to the pegasus who threw a pine cone at me!”

“I swear she acted on her own, and she's been scolded for her foalish behavior, trust me.”

Well I still haven't decided if I trust you or not, mister!

I'm not even sure I remember his name... He's almost self-effacing compared to the other pegasi, and I've never seen him bother Laurence in any way. Maybe he has a little more manners than his friends! Though he's a bit weird too, always holding his right foreleg folded against his chest...

“So?”, he asks, waiting patiently for me.

I suppose he's been nice, so far..? I walk slowly up to him, taking better note of his looks: he's lanky, especially compared to the other pegasus stallion on the farm, and if I had to guess, I would say we have roughly the same age. His coat is cream colored, and his light orangish mane and tail would really benefit from a good brushing. Those big sky blue eyes really complement his fine features though, and I'm sure if he took better care of himself he would be quite handsome! I mean, for a pegasus, at least.

But what about his foreleg..? It... It looks strange, like...

“Hey, eyes up, filly!”, he laughs.

“Oh, er, sorry..!”, I blabber, focusing my eyes on his own. “So, I, er, I kinda forgot your name..?”

“I'm Luisard.”, he smiles. “I guess I'm a bit too much of a wallflower to leave a strong impression, am I?”

Not sure what I should answer to that, my attention strays back toward his foreleg, and I let out a shocked gasp when he unfold it from against his chest, revealing that the flesh on the inner side of his leg and the front of his chest are hairless and like mangled, with parts obviously missing enough for the skin to barely cover the bones in places, and– and oh gosh I can't look!

“Had enough..?”, he sighs.

“Yes, yes, I'm sorry!”, I whimper, looking away. “Oh gosh how did that happen..?”

... Wait, I didn't mean to say that out loud!!

“I– I'm sorry Luisard, I didn't mean it, I, I don't care!”

To my relief he seems to find me more pathetic than offensive: “It's okay, Amber. Walk with me?”

“All right...”

Gosh I can be such a ditz sometimes..! And in my shock I even dropped my packet! I'm lucky it didn't spill its content everywhere... Anyway, I resume my path, with my new unlikely companion walking at my side; I try to not be too quick, as he's forced to only use three legs.

“Are you, er, are you sure you want to walk..?”, I can't help but ask. “I don't mind if you hover.”

“That's kind of you, but it's okay. I already spend too much time just flying around when I don't need to, I don't want to lose my remaining legs to disuse, you know?”

“I... I suppose, yes...”

“And to answer your question, I got this from humans who tried to kill us, my friend and I. Far-Right types, who took pleasure in harassing people less fortunate than them... Changing into some kind of hoofed mutants didn't really endear us to them, of course, and we had to fight... Even if my friend had barely grown her horn, she gave them a run for their money, let me tell you! You sort of remind me of her, actually, or what she could have been...”

“What do you mean? What happened to your frie—” Ack, stop digging yourself Amber!! And start thinking before you open you darn mouth!!

Fortunately, once again Luisard is willing to forgive my horrible faux pas... “She wasn't as lucky as I was, as you may have guessed... Oh, and Amber? Don't worry about offending me, I'm sure it doesn't come from a bad place. Your frankness is refreshing, and kinda cute in its own way...”

“If, er... If you say so, Luisard...”, I mumble, not believing him one bit on this point, and wishing I could just hide somewhere to escape my burning shame...

“Anyway, you're going to see Laurence, right? Mind if I tag along? I'd love an opportunity to chat with her. We do share bit of history after all, from what Sassaflash said...”

“I'm really not sure she would like that, Luisard...”, I frown. “She left because you guys kept bothering her!”

“And I'm the first to regret it, trust me. Tell you what, I promise I'll only open my mouth if she allows me to. Better?”

The cautious answer would be to refuse, of course, but... I suppose I owe it to him to at least give him the benefice of the doubt..? And he's been nice so far, I want to believe he's really better at respecting boundaries than the others! As long as he does as he says, Laurence will just have to tell him 'no' and that'll be it, right?

“Okay, you can follow me, but rest assured I'll make sure you honor that promise!”

“Duly noted.”, he nods. As we're about to enter the woods he does look slightly uneasy though, glancing around nervously...

“Not used to flying by the forest?”, I ask, surprised by his change of attitude the moment we got under the shadows of the foliage.

“It's precarious to try to fly in there, so no, not really. And I don't think even unicorns or earth ponies venture in the woods that often anyway, beyond the latrines. I wouldn't fancy meeting a wild boar or something...”

“Well don't you worry, with Laurence around I'm sure it's quite safe!”

“Mmh, and how are you planning on finding her in the middle of the forest, exactly..?”

“Oh, finding my way is kind of a specialty of mine...”, I wink at him.

“Well... Lead the way, then!”, he replies with a smile that I'm sure is a little forced.

Just like I said, our path is close to a straight line and completely boar-free. After two minutes at most of leisurely walking, we arrive to a scene I did not expect: Laurence, her sweater off and standing precariously on her hindlegs, is mock-punching a tree trunk under the critical gaze of a young human woman in a garde champêtre uniform, the very same I remember catching sight of the day we arrived in Coursac.

“Come on Big Boss, I thought you were a boxer, not a mindless brawler!”, the woman berates my friend... Though instead of snapping at her in retaliation, Laurence seems to be throwing punches at an even quicker pace!

Her hooves are moving so fast..! I'm reminded of that time we spied on the Brigade, and she saved us from my own foolhardiness by clocking a guy right in the jaw in as much time as I needed to blink! Here she's not actually touching the bark however, or if so, only with the very tip of her hooves. I don't get it... What's the point?

The woman soon takes notice of us: “Well Big Boss, I think we've got ourselves an audience.”

Laurence stops almost immediately, leaning against the tree and panting. “What..? Oh, Amber..! It's you..! Everything... alright..?”

“Yes, don't worry.”, I smile. She's clearly exhausted, and yet you can't miss that glimmer in her eye, or how the corner of her mouth is trying to pull into a smile; she's having a good time! I then turn to the woman who must be her new friend, walking up to her and offering my hoof: “I'm Amber, nice to meet you!”

She crouches to better shake my hoof. “Hi Amber, I'm Clémence. Here to have a chat with my prized catch?”, she smirks, pointing at Laurence with her thumb.

“'Catch'..?”, I repeat, head tilted in confusion.

“Yep!”, Clémence chuckles, getting back up. “I used the good ol' technique of our hunter-gatherer ancestors: run after the prey until she's too tired to keep up!”

“Har, har, har..!”, snarks Laurence. “You are the one who almost keeled over!”

“Details!”, the woman dismisses with a flick of the hand, before her eyes fall on the packet still hovering at my side: “Oh, but I've never seen unicorn magic from so close before! Can I take a look?”

“Sure!”, I reply as I hover it up to her, keeping it mostly steady as she gleefully pokes at the little cardboard box.

“Fascinating..!”, she breaths. “What's inside? It smells good.”

“Oh, it's Laurence's lunch! She didn't come, so Mom and I kept her some.”

“Lunch..?”, Laurence blinks in surprise as I levitate the packet to her. “So late already?”

“Well you know how it is when you have fun, Big Boss! I'll leave you to your friends and your meal, then. See you tomorrow? I'll bring the good stuff.”

“All right, see you!”, Laurence calls at Clémence as she's already sauntering away, before turning to me: “Thank you Amber, I really—”

“You could have woken me up this morning!”, I cut her off; I wasn't expecting to wake up all alone, and with her gone from the farm!

“All right, all right, stop pouting already...”, she grumbles, rolling her eye. “I know how you like to sleep in.”

“Point taken...”, I concede before changing subject: “Er, what were you two doing, exactly?”

“Training, of course!”, she replies with a satisfied smile, sweat pearling from her face. “As frustrating as it may be, I need to get used to how this body moves now that it's not coming apart at the seams anymore, how to deal with impaired depth perception, and... Well, maybe also get back to testing that, uh... That thing, with the wings, you know. At least here there's nobody to hurt, and I can't break anything...”, she ends on an almost-whisper.

“Oh, yes, I see...” I remember all too well how anguished she was feeling the last time we talked about this...

“Anyway, thanks again for lunch.”, she says once she's back in control of her emotions, taking the packet in her hooves and beginning to inspect it. “You can stay for a bit if you like.”

“Sure, but, er... Before you dig in, there's someone who wanted to talk to you...”

Like I feared, her content expression morphs into a peeved squint: “Let me guess: another pony wanting to harass me?”

“Not harass you at all, no!”, I try to reassure her. “He even promised to not say a word until your say so!”

I can tell she's not really convinced... She puts the packet on the ground. “All right, and who would that be..?”

“Well it's—” Looking behind me, I'm surprised to see that Luisard is not standing close by, but hiding behind a tree, and at quite a distance even. Is he afraid of Laurence? Or of Clémence? Maybe he's just that shy... “Er... Luisard? It's okay, you can come out now.”

The young stallion walks from his spot in silence, and comes sitting next to me.

“So Laurence, this is Luisard. I suppose you may have seen him before...”

“I did.”, she replies coldly, squinting hard at him. “Though of them all he's certainly the one who got the less on my nerves...”

“Sooooo... can he talk?”

“I give him two minutes to say his piece, then he better turn tail and go back to his friends. Fenchone doesn't expect me to just spend my days arguing for nothing...”, she snorts, sitting on the forest floor and still glaring at Luisard,

“So it's true..?”, he begins, some hesitation in his voice. “Fenchone cast you out?”

“No, she didn't 'cast me out' – did you even listen to what I just said!?”, Laurence snaps at him. “We decided, together, that I would be more useful to you all by keeping watch around the farm – which was my own idea to begin with. I have full confidence in her and Violette's ability to lead your little community without my constant presence. There, that's my official statement, you can go parrot it back to the rest of your ilk. Amber, make sure it's word for word...”

“It's good to hear.”, he nods. “We were afraid your 'exile' wasn't as consensual as she was claiming, be assured I'll spread the word. Though I would bet that Keensight won't be as pleased as the others...”

“Keensight..?”, Laurence repeats, head tilted. “Ah yes, that green harpy! Well I don't give a damn how she feels – scratch that, I'm more than happy to displease her!”

“Even if she tries to still make your false exile look like a real one?”

“And why would she even do that? More importantly, why should I care?”

“Because she wants to stay on top, that's why. It's the only reason I can see for why she would have acted like she did last night, and she did play you like a fiddle...”

“Watch your tongue, colt..!”, she snarls.

I can see he's struggling to prevent his ears from drawing back. “Sorry, it was just an expression... What I meant is that I'm pretty sure she pushed your buttons just so you'd snap.”

“No shit Sherlock. Any more world-shattering news for me?”

“You may not be aware of her reasons, though. It was a dominance fight, she wanted you to break your teeth asking Fenchone to lift the ban on altitude flying. That didn't work out, so she changed tactics, to disqualify you, so to speak.”

“So what?”, Laurence asks, rolling her eye.

“The others want you, not her.”, he explains. “She's been on edge since you arrived, probably feeling you're stealing her spot – and she wouldn't be wrong. You've been kind of a, uh, well kind of a jerk to everybody, yet they still admire you.”

“I've only been a 'jerk' because you've been harassing me!”

“And I'm sorry you experienced it that way, but I can promise you it comes from a good place! Keensight's only been in charge before because she was the oldest, but she acts like a pompous office manager trying to have a bunch of teenagers follow strict rules! If you could at least try to tone her down, that would be good for all of us...”

“Do it yourself, if you're so savvy!”, she scoffs.

“The others wouldn't follow me. I'm just the runty cripple, basically a feather away from being treated like another weirdo... Even with how Keensight is, she still inspires some measure of respect. But compared to her, you're exactly what the others seem to value most: strong, stalwart, dangerous-looking, and so on. They'll always flock to you instead of either of us!”

She stomps both forehooves in frustration: “Well I don't want anything to do with your pony or pegasus business, okay!? How many times do I have to repeat it!?”

“I don't understand, I could get that you would be anxious, or unwilling to take on responsibilities, but... Why drawing this line at 'pony' business..?”

“Because I'm human, birdbrain, not one of you!”, she growls, her uncovered wings rustling.

Oh no, this is getting a little too close to sore subjects here!

“You may be human in your head, and I can accept that, but—”

“Luisard, that's enough!” I exclaim, bumping lightly against him to prevent him from finishing his sentence. Laurence certainly doesn't need another argument like this!

And fortunately, he listens to me, even if he doesn't seem to like it...

“I'm pretty sure your two minutes ended a while ago, colt...”, Laurence grumbles, the fire of her anger slowly dying down, to my relief. “And I know what you were going to say. But like it or not, I'm human. That's why I can't be what you want me to...”

“I... I think I understand, yes...”, he mutters, dejected. “I'm sorry to have offended you, it wasn't what I intended.”

“And I want to believe you...”, Laurence sighs wearily as she sits down. “But in the future, please keep in mind that there are some... Some things that you shouldn't try to talk about with me, all right? So now go back to your pegasi, tell them I'm working with Fenchone, and that from now on they better behave, okay?”

He nods, and I think that's where we should end it.

“Should I... Should I go, too..?”, I ask Laurence.

“You can stay...”, she mumbles.

“All right. Come on Luisard, I'll point you the way.”

I can feel that the stallion isn't satisfied to have things end like this, but as I walk away he accepts to follow. Once we're facing the forest, I direct him with a little magic to stand against my side, and I orient us in the good direction.

“Right there! Keep straight, and that's it.” And then, taking advantage of our closeness, I whisper into his ear: “I... I know it wasn't what you expected, but...”

“It's okay...”, he whispers back. “Thank you for helping, and see you around, Amber.”

He gives me the faintest little nuzzling against my cheek, and departs through the woods...

When I walk back to Laurence, she's looking at me with an eyebrow raised: “You're blushing.”, she states.

What!? “No I'm not!”

“Yes you are.”

“Okay, I'm maybe blushing,” I admit, “but that has nothing to do with anything!”

“If you say so...”, she concedes. “At least he had better manners than the others...”

“Eh, that's what I thought too... That's why I allowed him to come.”

“It would be worth it if that convinced the others to stay out of the forest... Don't do that again though, okay..?”

“Okay...”, I reply as I sit next to her, pushing the packet of cooling food toward her. “Say, Laurence... You remember, when we were in the car for Toulouse, you suggested that we could maybe look into how my magic works, together?”

“Ah, yes.”, she answers after frowning a bit. “What of it?”

“I thought that, maybe... We could do that?”

She looks surprised. “Wouldn't another unicorn be more appropriate, now..?”

“Well, they're not you! And considering their attitude I wouldn't put a freakin' laser beam spell anywhere near them!”

“Point taken..!”, she chuckles.

“Also... We could try to understand how your magic works, together? What do you think?”

She hesitates, and begins to slowly open the packet as if buying herself time to think.

“I... I would like that, Amber.”, she finally says.

I peer at my reflection in the mirror. The hair under my chin does feel a little different than the rest of my coat, when I sweep my frog over it. Would it really be able to grow into a real beard or something?

It could look good. Kind of a more rugged style.

And yet...

It keeps bothering me.

No, that's not it... Quite the contrary. It doesn't bother me...

So... It bothers me that it doesn't bother me..? Seriously? I'm a stallion, letting hair grow on my face should be the most natural thing! I'm not a woman anymore, the rules shouldn't apply to me anymore either!

And yet...

“Uuuuuuuuuurgh..!” I let out, facehoofing. How do the others make it look so darn easy!? I should go back to not caring at all, it would solve everything!

“Problem?”, Amber asks from next to me, as she finishes brushing her teeth.

“Nah, just thinking about beards and mustaches for the first time. Not something you're especially acquainted with either, right?”

“... You would be surprised.”

I snort at the silly answer, then walk away from the mirror and the corner of the barn set up as a grooming area. I've had enough of this for now...

There's quite a bit of work for today, after all. It should be raining again this weekend, but unfortunately we won't get our new rafters before that – they had to be ordered, and won't be delivered before next Monday. What we can do though is try to clear and plow all the fields before that bout of bad weather. The unicorns are supposed to help us, at least for the weeding, while in the meantime the pegasi will continue working on that 'shower shed' at the back of the barn, which will use the well water and maybe a gas heater for the winter.

I hope this time they won't—

“Mister Sweetchard!”, a chorus of little voices calls for me as I exit the barn.

I turn to face the line of impatient foals who ambushed me: “Hey kids, what can I do for you this fine morning?”, I ask innocently.

“You know that perfectly well!”, Rustcrust scowls, the earth colt being the oldest of the bunch and the less tolerant of joking around.

“Cartoon Club!”, the others chant eagerly, stomping their small hooves.

“Oh, how could I forget!?”, I gasp. “Well, it depends really: were you nice to Mr. and Mrs. Vallières and followed all the rules yesterday?”

“Yes!”

“They didn't even know we were there!”, Follavoine giggles.

Yeah, I very much doubt that! But the old human couple did say that the foals behaved themselves, mostly, so they agreed to a second session of Cartoon Club as long as it's set up by an adult.

“Alright then my little ponies,” I grin widely, “let's get this show on the road!”

“Yeah!!”, they cheer, pronking wildly – even Rustcrust's smiling, almost in spite of himself!

I lead my little troupe toward the house, passing in front of the opened garage doors. Inside, I catch a quick glimpse of Violette, Crispy and Fenchone discussing budget and something of the like on a computer, now that the breakfast has been cleared from the folding tables. I hope we're not too tight, with the unforeseen spendings adding up to all the new plants and stuff we got yesterday...

More immediate matters call for my attention though, as I push the front door open and the foals rush inside. “Follavoine, wipe your hooves!”, I remind the hyper earth filly. Seriously, sometimes that cartoon seems to have some sort of addictive quality... Or maybe it's just foals being foals? Though I suspect that the adults who check on them regularly only do so for an opportunity to watch bits and pieces of episode!

... Well, I can certainly relate, to be honest!

As the foals find their places on the carpet, I turn the TV on, the 'no signal' alert flashing for a couple seconds. With the TV antenna wrecked by the storm, and not being able to change it right now, I guess Cartoon Club will be its only use for a while anyway. Marnepâle turned out to be really protective of her laptop, so she transferred the episodes on an external hard drive Fenchone didn't use much, and I just need to plug it into the TV.

I insisted on omitting any episode which included Discord, though. Foals don't need that.

Rustcrust gets the remote, as the little ones can get a bit clumsy with their hooves, and I let them launch their first episode – the one with the Hearth's Warming pageant. That's pretty topical, I guess, considering how tense things are between our three tribes... At least there's some hope to be found in our own foals, who don't really seem to care – Rustcrust, Follavoine and Melon Leaf have no issues being friends with Musème the unicorn, or the pegasus who's called... 'Gloomy', I think? Granted, I've heard of Rust and Melon picking on Gloomy once or twice, but in their defense the foal is a little weird, even if I can't put my hoof on exactly why.

Anyway, that will occupy them for an hour or two at least. Now I should go have a look at the little patch of garden I've got for myself, I'm curious to see if the new plants are faring well!

“Mister Sweetchard..?”

... Or not right now, apparently. I look down at the little raspberry-and-white pegasus: “Yes? A problem?”

“No, it's just, in the last episode there was the Wonderbolts again, you know?”

“Uh, yes?” If you say so, kid...

“I think they're very cool!”, he gushes. “So, I was wondering, do you know any of their names?”

“Their names? Uh, not off the top of my head...” Let's see, I think I remember at least one called something like 'Wildfire' or 'Spitfire'... And that's all. Not much of an answer... And Gloomy is still watching me, with these expectant orange eyes... “You know what? I'm sure there's a list on the Internet; wanna check?”

“Oh yes! Thank you!”, he smiles widely, even if there's something slightly... off, about it. But whatever, a weird happy foal is still a happy foal!

We go back outside, and to the barn. I should have plenty of data on my phone to go check the MLP wiki, and I hope it won't take too long, ponies are already getting to work and I don't want to look like a straggler. When we go past the garage and the working mares inside, though, I still allow my eyes to linger on Crispy, and her alluring curves... It's funny how, despite being a little plump, her general build is actually more on the slender side of things compared to the other earth pony mares – and in fact not too dissimilar to Sangaree Spice, the less leggy of our unicorns. Not that it doesn't suit her, of cour—

“Mister Sweetchard?”

Uh? I blink, looking away from the garage and back to my tiny companion: “Oh, sorry buddy, got distracted for a moment here.”

“Well your marefriend is cute!”, he giggles.

“Cutest of them all!”, I grin, winking at him. “Mmh so, it's Gloomy, right?”

To my surprise, he looks at me with an almost accusing pout: “It's Dusky...”, he grumbles.

“Oh, sorry Dusky, must've misheard.” I was pretty sure Rust called him 'Gloomy' at least once though... “So, what do you like so much about the Wonderbolts?”

“They're the fastest fliers around!”, he proclaims, his little wings buzzing. “And they're always ready to help the ponies who need it! What's not to like!?”

“Good point, good point.”

Entering the barn, we find it not as deserted as I expected it to be: two ponies are lounging on pillows, each reading a book, though... that's using 'pony' in the loosest sense, as the two happen to be the mule-like guy who doesn't have a cutie mark, and the little stripped filly, who doesn't look much older than Dusky. They glance up from their reading, and for some reason I feel like we're intruding...

“Uh... Sorry for, uh, barging in,” I stammer, “we're just going to check something on my phone...”

“No harm done.”, the stallion answers with an almost bored air. “Do as you like.”

“Thanks...”

It's so bizarre to see an adult, and not too young at that, without a cutie mark... With his strong features and his muted, even grayish colors, he would almost make me think of a 'natural' equine instead of a real Equestrian pony... Most of the others act as if he were invisible or something, but he doesn't really take part in group activities either – he even eats in his own corner during meals. The stripped filly plays with the other foals sometimes, but otherwise she follows closely the mule stallion.

Should I ask her if she wants to watch the cartoon with the others..? I mean, nothing's stopping her in the first place, so maybe she just isn't interested.

Anyway! Where's that darn phone again?

I rummage through my luggage, and fish my phone from between the carefully folded clothes I'll probably never wear again. It's been turned off for a while, but as I press the power button it does light up, fortunately.

“So, let's see...”, I mutter to myself. “Signal's pretty weak, but that should do it...” After a little while I can access the wiki, and the desired list of Wonderbolts members. “There you are buddy!”

Dusky takes the phone in his hooves, moving carefully to extend a wing feather over the screen and scroll down the webpage.

He almost drops the device when it rings and vibrates though, only saving it from falling by catching it in his mouth! Getting it back to my own hooves, I see that I've just received more than a dozen texts and missed call notifications. Gosh, I'd forgotten why I turned it off in the first place..!

There's calls from work, from my landlord, from Sébastien, and—

...

And there's a bunch of calls and texts from Karim...

Asking how I'm doing...

Why I'm not answering...

Oh baby bro, I... I didn't want you to worry like this..!

Should I...

Should I call him back?

Not while sounding like a big burly stallion..!

Just a text, then? But I know him, he would try to call right away! An email, maybe?

... What could I even tell him?

...

I...

I should've got rid of this phone ages ago!!

I'm Sweetchard now, not Sarah, I shouldn't have to care!

He's... I...

“You don't have to care if you don't want to.”

I get chills at the sound of this little raspy voice dripping with contempt, but when I turn toward its source, I only see Dusky, looking innocently at me. It... It couldn't have been him, right?

“What did you say..?”, I still ask, almost whispering.

He tilts his head, as if he didn't understand the question. “Me? Nothing, Mister Sweetchard. Is there a problem?”

I glance toward the two other equines in the barn, but they seem focused on their books. Did I just hear things..?

“Mister Sweetchard?”

“I, uh, sorry Dusky, it's alright.”, I lie, casting the darn phone back into my bag and away from my sight. “Did you get what you wanted?”

“Yes I guess so... Do you think the mare with the eye patch is a Wonderbolt?”

There's not many 'mare with an eye patch' he could be talking about: “Well, I didn't see any 'Sergeant Rafale' on this list, but who knows? Her character isn't in the cartoon, so everything's possible.”

“Alright... Well thank you a lot!”, the little colt beams at me.

I muss some more his already unruly whitish mane. “You're welcome buddy. Now let's get back to things.”

On our way out I offer a slight nod to the mule stallion, and he answers in kind, but Dusky actually goes straight to the stripped filly; I can't hear what he tells her, but she responds by a little 'good luck'. I guess she does have some interactions with the other foals after all, that's reassuring.

After making sure that Dusky is on his way back to his friends, I canter to the shed for my tools, stopping just an instant at my little patch of garden to check if everything's alright, and—

Wait, what?

I... I don't know what's happening, but I'm pretty sure plants aren't supposed to move on their own, not like this! Is it some kind of joke? Like, let's haze the new guy or something?

Seriously, my beets – the ones they already attributed to me just to laugh at my dislike of them – have been unearthed and put on the other side of the patch, near the onions! Now they're separated from my tomatoes by the lettuces and some carrots that shouldn't even be here in the first place! And... Is that basil, that's been planted near the tomatoes?

What. The. Heck!?

Buck it, I don't have time for this right now, all the others are already in the fields! Stupid foals and stupid phone and stupid bucking plants!!

I almost barrel though the shed's door, and to find what!? All gone!! Of bucking course they took the tools with them when I didn't show up immediately! Whirling back, I gallop toward the fields, casting a nasty glare at the pegasi looking in my direction from their work by the barn – I DARE any of you to laugh darn featherbrains, you'll regret it!!

My hooves beat the loose turned soil as I finally get to my friends, all hard at work, either with rusty picks and hoes, or strapped to and steering the two old plows we could get our hooves on. Marnepâle is drawing one right now with Crispy at the stilts, but Sèlengrain is just getting himself out of the other.

“Hey Chard, took your time!”, the blue-gray earth stallion calls as I approach. “Ready to—”

“Yes!”, I almost shout, skidding on the ground as I snatch the straps from his hooves. “I'll do it!”

“All right, all right!”, he chuckles, helping me into the oversized harness. “It's all yours!”

The instant he's done and Fleur de Bruyère has taken her place at the stilts, I begin to pull with all my strength..!

... And I almost fall over, not expecting the thing to be so heavy! Or is the soil just that compact? Come on Chard, I don't care if it's your first time, you have to get it, you've ridiculed yourself enough today!!

I refuse to pay any attention to Sèlengrain's unneeded advice and push forward, dragging the plow behind me, with Fleur making sure the mouldboard keeps furrowing like it should. It's hard, tiring work, but that's exactly what I need right now!

Just focusing on lifting one hoof after the over, instead of on how the straps are digging into my chest, or how my tail keeps swishing angrily...

Walking straight, and pulling, trying to keep my mind away from what happened...

I let out a long, deep exhale as my earlier tension is slowly replaced by the healthy heat of working muscles; I really needed that..!

Soon I've caught up with Marnie and Crispy. My honeybunch glances at me as I reach their level, and I can see the concern in her eyes; she must have wondered what I was doing to be late this morning... Well, time to prove her there's no cause for worry, and that I'm in top shape!

It must be like, at least twenty minutes later that I really begin to tire... I don't know how Marnie's keeping up, she's still going steady! Sure she's stocky, but I'm quite a bit taller, that should count for something!

Why can't I do at least as much as her!? That's not fair!

A large shape comes to my left, and I look up to see Perchelongue, the biggest, tallest pony in our community – a green giant always chewing on a wild wheat stalk, my eyes barely level with his chin. “I think you've had enough for now Chard, let me take it.”, he tells me, but... But no, not now! I'm sure I'll get a second wind or something, I know I'm stronger than that, and I need to work!

“Sweetchard!”, Fenchone calls from behind us. “You've tired yourself enough at this, let Perche take over before you pull a muscle!”

I grit my teeth, a not-so-small part of me screaming to just disregard that order, and keep on pulling until I've exhausted myself too much to even think..!

But then, I notice that Crispy's ears have turned in our direction, and... And I don't want to embarrass her by acting stupid.

Coming to a halt, heart hammering in my chest, I let Perchelongue help me in getting out of the harness, and I assist him in strapping it on his larger frame. As soon as he's ready the green stallion starts pulling, and the plow dragged in his wake slices through the hard earth like it's mere sand...

Well, whatever! I'm just not a plow kind of stallion, that's all! There's no shame in that! I'm sure Perche isn't as good for a lot of things, especially with these big hooves of his! And I'm even going to prove it!

I reach down for the pickaxe the stallion discarded, and I get to dig and scrape along the furrows in powerful strikes to better break the mounds and loosen the soil. Tiny sparks fly when the steel of my tool hits a hidden stone, but hearing the tings as the rock screams under my strength is strangely comforting...

Sèlengrain bumps lightly against my side, distracting me from the soothing work: “Slow down Chard, there's no need to rush. Look, we're already almost half-way through!'”

I do look up, and see that he's right – the field on our side of the path is almost completely plowed. Gosh darn it, they had already done so much without me..!

Sel stops me from getting back to my pickaxe by hoofing me some water in a plastic container, and only then do I realize how dry my throat feels. “Thanks man...”, I croak, bringing the spout to my lips.

As I drink, my eyes wander to Sèlengrain, the older stallion being back to work. It's his own small goatee-like beard, the same color as his dark gray mane, that made me wonder if I could have one too. I would ask how it grew, but... I don't want to look like a dummy, everypony knows that facial hair just, well, grows! It must change color to match the mane with length or something, I'm sure.

Between the beard and the red kerchief tied around his neck, he's certainly the most handsome stallion on the farm... And the mares agree, their eyes have a tendency to wander too when he's around! Compared to him I must look downright boring... Maybe he's on to something, with that kerchief? Some clothing item as an accessory could make all the difference – what about a waistcoat? Or a beret?

“Can I have some before you drink it all?”, Bilberry asks dryly, drawing my attention away from the stallion.

“Oh, of course, sorry Billie.”

“So Sweetchard,” the young mare asks after she has guzzled down some water, gesturing at my hooves, “feels better to use these gifts for a good cause, huh?”

My lower lip must bleed from how hard I bite down on it, just to try to keep my face neutral and stop my tail from swishing madly! What are you trying to suggest here!? I thought we were past that now, I don't want our friends to know about this!!

You're lucky we're not alone or I'd—

“What d'you mean, Billie?”, a mildly curious Sèlengrain asks from where he's working.

“Uh?”, she turns toward him, apparently surprised he heard her. “Oh, just that he didn't try to live up to his potential 'til now, a real couch potato! Right Chard?”

“Yeah, right...”, I murmur, absolutely seething. At least she didn't spill the beans..! I REALLY don't need that right now!!

My anger crumbles to dread when I see Fenchone putting her hoe down and walking up to me: “Are you alright, Sweetchard?”, she asks, concerned.

Dang it, the old nag's perceptive..!

Quick Chard, think of something! Maybe I– Oh, but there is something!

“Yeah, but, I kinda lost time earlier, trying to understand why someone decided to switch my veggies around; that was a little frustrating, you know?”

“Shh! We don't talk about it!”, Perchelongue stage-whispers from in front of us; the stallion has some impressive hearing! “You know, like fairy folk who vanish once you've thanked them?”

Fenchone rolls her eyes: “We're not sure why, but it doesn't hurt the plants, so that's all I need to know. Quite the opposite, in fact – the gardens became far more healthy and efficient once the plants started to change places.”

“Yeah, and if it's not broken, don't try to fix it I say.”, Sèlengrain adds with a shrug.

“Bets have been placed on which pony is actually a sleepgardener, but nothing more.”

That's... Okay, that's weird. But I guess that, if it works, it's good in the end, right..?

Anyway... That's a mystery for another day; right now I should focus on working, instead of staying in my head...

I let myself be numbed by the repetitive task, until soon enough we reach the end of that field, along the low stone wall where the minibus dropped us four days ago. While Perchelongue and Marnepâle get the plows on the other side of the path, Bilberry corners me discretely:

“Hey Chard, I, uh...”, she begins, looking uncomfortable. “Sorry for earlier, I shouldn't have said that out loud...”

“Yeah, you shouldn't have...”, I frown, before going past her to join the others.

“So,” she goes on, following after me, “I was thinking of taking a walk through the woods for a bit once we're done, maybe try to find Laurence, see how she's doing, you know? Would you like to come?”

“Nah thanks.” With my luck today, it'd be only another recipe for disaster...

Sèlengrain seems to have heard her once more: “I wouldn't mind coming along, if that's okay? I've been curious about what we could find in the woods, but until now it was more or less a no pony's land.”

“Oh yeah, of course!”, the filly smiles, before trotting toward Marnie and taking her turn drawing the plow. While Billie's strapping in, I use the opportunity to go to Crispy, and we share a comforting nuzzle before she has to go back to steering. Gosh I need her more than ever today..!

“I'd stay hoeing with you,”, she says softly, “but my pastern's still sore, so I wouldn't be much help...”

“Don't worry honeybunch, you do what you can.”, I reply with a tired smile.

All too soon we have to get back to work... Both Perchelongue and a happy Bilberry look like they're racing each other, and they quickly leave us behind, dragging Crispy and Fleur along with them. At least some of us are having fun...

“Hey Chard,” Sèlengrain asks as the both of us are trying to dislodge a stubborn rock, “I've been wondering, what's your marefriend's cutie mark, exactly?”

Ah, talking about Crispy – now that's something I could do all day! “It's actually a trio of beignets, you know, like bugnes or merveilles? Because her pony was a cook – a royal cook even!”

“Impressive!”, the stallion whistles. “But from what I've seen, she's never participated in kitchen duties, has she?”

“No... She's, uh, it's not really her thing, I think. But it'll come, eventually. It's her cutie mark after all, it's important!”

“Just like yours is a farming cutie mark, right? You'll prove better than any of us in no time flat I'm sure!”, he winks.

“Haha, yeah, of course, of course!”, I force myself to laugh.

Ponies have been wandering at the edge of the woods today, taking breaks from their work on the fields to gallivant around... I'm pretty sure they didn't do that before yesterday – seriously, it's like they waited for me to get there!

But anyway... It was still relatively easy to avoid them if I so desired and the day's been pretty quiet beyond that. Training with Clem in the morning, a little visit from Amber at lunch, soon a second one before dinner... I could get used to this.

Only real bothersome thing is that there's still no news concerning those footsteps... I'm a bit leery to think that 'no news is good news', but I can't do much but keep patrolling.

My good ear swivels at the sound of pony hooves on the forest floor, and I turn to greet—

Uh, Vi..?

The purple unicorn walks up to me with a sly grin: “Not the pony you expected?”

Well, no! Not that it's an unpleasant surprise in and of itself, but I was supposed to meet with Amber! Though the filly did tell me earlier that Violette could try to discourage her from coming to see me if it riled the pegasi too much... “Let me guess, you're going to ask me to stop seeing your daughter?”

“Hardly,” Vi shakes her head, “she's old enough to do as she pleases...” She makes a little pause there, blinking, which I interpret as surprise from the utter lack of sarcasm in her words. She recovers quickly though: “No, I just hoped for a little chat, woman to mare?”

I snort. “What is there to say?”

“A whole lot actually. How are you feeling?”

“Uh... Fine, thank you... Actually I've been feeling a lot better, which isn't so surprising since I'm not hounded or insulted constantly...”

“I'm really sorry that they gave you such a hard time, but...”

“... But I'm not the most social person anyway, huh?”

“Well, yes, to put it mildly...”, she confirms, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“I can't blame them...”, I shrug. “Well, except for that green cockatoo, she's a real bitch.”

Vi stifles a laugh, but refrains herself from commenting.

“And yet that doesn't stop you from worrying how it could affect Amber, huh..?”

“I can't say I'm not a little worried, but only because she seems to care so much about you, and I care a lot about her, as you can imagine.”

Yes, I can certainly do... “... It must still feel pretty strange, sometimes, no?”

“Pardon?”

“Discovering right out the blue you have a pony daughter, I mean. All the things it could impact in terms of family dynamics, hierarchical interactions, and so on and so on!”

“'Strange' is a pretty weak word in this case..!”, she giggles. “I must say it was a relief to finally understand why we were so drawn to each other... But it's you who's supposed to do the talking here...”, she adds with a smirk.

“Damn you're smart...”, I smirk back, my attempted distraction so swiftly avoided.

“I would like to think so.”, she winks. “So, how is it, spending your days here?”

“It's great.”

“And..?”

“And it's great.”, I refuse to elaborate, enjoying our little game. For some reason she seems to be exerting less control over her facial expressions, when usually she's far more guarded and deliberate with the ponies – it's something I had already started to notice when we were still in Toulouse. I find it quite amusing to be honest, and that could make for a new diversion: “Is it just me Vi, or is there a reason why you act so differently with me, compared to the others..?”

This time the pause is quite a bit longer, and I'm worried to see her face growing carefully neutral: “I'm afraid I do not see what you are talking about, Laurence.”

Did I offend her? That wasn't the plan! “Please excuse me Vi, I... I wasn't saying it like it's a bad thing, you know? Actually I very much like it! So, uh... What I mean is, do as you want, really! I promise I won't judge!”

... Good job, Laurence, that sounded oh-so convincing..!

Vi stays still for a moment, and I begin to feel a bit uneasy until she lets out a deep long sigh, her shoulder sagging:

“Ugh... It's not easy, you know? Letting go...”

I sit down, motioning for her to do the same. “Because of your responsibilities?”

The mare plops carelessly on the ground, as if she just waited for my authorization to cut the strings holding her own body upright: “Oh gosh yes!”, she moans to the sky. “I've been spending my time trying to be here for Amber, and helping Fenchone manage things, the unicorns always come to see me when they have an issue, and I'm also working on the identity confirmation procedures for all the ponies here, so...”

“A little stressed out, huh?”

“You have no idea..!”

“Can't you, I don't know, delegate? If your unicorns are a little brighter than my pegasi, that is.”

“Maybe I could... Éclat d'Astre is a smart mare, if a little clumsy, but... I can't just burden her with what should be my work...”

“I can understand that... And, maybe you also need to make yourself useful, in some way?”

She ponders my remark through and through, and I'm worried when I see tears starting to well in her eyes: “I feel... I feel like I should be with Antoine, not here...”, she rasps. “Does that make me a bad pony? A bad mother..?”

“What? No, of course not Vi! Why would you say that?”

“Because... Because I've taken a vow to help ponies everywhere, and yet I'm shackled here now, but at the same time, how could it be otherwise..? I have to be here for my daughter, and I already feel guilty enough for not having been at her side during the less savory parts of her life, and...”

Oh, right... I forgot she has her own mission. “Maybe... Maybe there's a happy medium to be found, don't you think? If you talked to Amb—”

“I can't talk to her about this, Laurence!”, she blurts out, voice shaking. “What would she think of me..? I've already hurt her enough..!”

“She's a smart filly, Vi.”, I try to reassure her. “I'm sure she can put things into perspective.”

“Probably, but... I don't think I'm ready for that...”

“It's all right, it's better not to rush it.”

We stay a little while without speaking, Violette sniffing as she wipes her tears away. “Do... Do you think we could just talk like this, from time to time..?”, she asks with a timidity I've never seen in her.

“Of course Vi.”, I sigh, somewhat resigned to act as her pressure valve. It must count as protecting ponies in some convoluted way, no?

And to think I've talked more since I've fled to the woods than during the three days prior... I guess the simple fact that these were mainly one-on-one affairs could have helped, as well as the feeling of being able to just get away and not be found if I felt like it...

“Great!”, the unicorn exclaims, masking her vulnerable state behind a carefully-crafted mask of joviality. “Next time I'll come with something to drink though. By the by, you wouldn't agree to meet with me and Fenchone from time to time, just sitting around a table to discuss things?”

“Nope.”, I answer, rolling my eye. “I only consult a single patient at a time and I don't do house calls.”

She makes a show of shaking her head: “You're impossible, you know that..?”

Her next sentence dies in her throat as a dog barks in the distance.

“What was that!?”, she cries out, jumping back on her hooves like she was sitting on a springboard.

I get up too, and let my good ear track the sounds. Clem told me she had spotted traces of a stray dog or two nearby, but she thought they wouldn't wander our way.

But that bark sounded far too close to my liking...

There's another one, confirming that the animal is at least in the vicinity of the stone wall...

And then there's the whinny. The high-pitched, terrified whinny.

My body is in motion before I've even had time to think.

“Laurence..! Don't leave me..!”, I hear Violette hissing from behind.

Really, Vi!? I slow down just enough for her to catch up – for some reason she looks terrified. Whatever, we don't have time!

Just like I thought we find them at the wall. Four foals are standing atop the old stones, including our youngest filly – and she's the one they're after.

Three dogs, all mongrels, are mobbing our foals, trying to make the filly fall from the wall. The others ponies, older like that teal pegasus teen, do their best to chase the carnivores away by kicking any teeth-filled maw that tries to get a grip on them – but they're just an unsealed stone or slippery patch of moss away from tragedy!

“HEY!!”, I shout, rearing up.

The biggest dog turns to face me, snarling, while the other two keep harassing their preys. They're all larger than the foals, and the big one is not that much smaller than me...

“Vi! Get the wings out from my sweater..!” But nothing happens. “Vi, dammit!!”

“I..!”, she stammers, fear dripping from her voice. “I... Yes, Laurence!”

Slowly I can feel the hem of the sweater being pulled up, and I start opening my wings, spreading the feathers as much as I can.

Like I hoped, the dog doesn't look so sure of itself now that I've almost tripled my size, and this also draws the focus of the rest of his pack. Using the wings to balance myself, I start sidestepping to the right, forcing their attention to stay on me.

“Vi, if you can, try to levitate the foals to you!”

Once again she's slow to react, the golden light of her magic sluggish and wavering as it slowly encircles the young ponies.

“Steady Vi, okay? Take your time, keep them right over the wall as long as you can, then up out of reach then right toward you, okay?”

I'm relieved to see that she follows the instructions, allowing me to keep my eye firmly on the animals. I can tell they're unsure, glancing from me to the foals and back to me.

Foreign muscles in my chest and back clench, and the wings beat – shakily at first, then more surely, and the movement becomes almost automatic. The rapid, constant motion finishes to gather the dogs' attention on me, and as I make sure that the foals have left my field of vision, I jump to the right.

The dogs react by barking and snarling, but they also turned to follow me, just like I wanted. The three are now solely concerned with me.

Just peachy...

I clench my fists, ready to fight. I've worked on my depth perception, but I still have issues with moving targets. That'll be swim or sink..!

The big one closes in, and—

And it's encased in golden magic, and as Violette shrieks the dog is propelled through the air, over the wall and a good fifteen meters away, finishing his course against a tree trunk!

I press my unexpected advantage, shouting and beating my wings again to discourage the two now very uncertain dogs, and when one of them feels the halo of golden magic forming around itself, it wisely chooses to turn tail, scraping over the stone wall with a yelp, and it's quickly followed by the last animal. They scamper away through the darkening underbrush, and are joined in their flight by the big one – who is limping badly, but still alive.

My heartbeat slows down, and only then do I let myself fall back on all four, my hips protesting that I stayed upright for so long...

God that was ten—

I almost jump out of my skin as a teenage pony glomps me from behind: “I knew you were a hero!!”, the teal pegasus squeals in delight.

... Oh goddammit..!

“Go ahead and get them back to the house Vi,” I call behind me, “I'll make sure those mutts don't try to follow us...”

I breath again when the teen finally lets go of me, and I hastily fold these damn wings back under my sweater. All the same, when I look at the unicorn mare leading the relieved foals toward the edge of the forest, I can't miss how the young pegasus glances back toward me every few steps, with wonder in her eyes...

*sigh*

Just great, that was exactly what I needed..!

Next Chapter: 17 – Weirdsome Meetings Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 53 Minutes