When sleep’s grip over him fades, Moonshadow doesn’t rise straight away. The old ache of loneliness and hunger is still there, the sides of his face wet with tears he doesn’t remember crying. But the rest he is awakening from doesn’t match what he’d seen in that dream, it was one decidedly unfamiliar to the little colt.
It’s… Comfortable. The chill of the night air can’t reach him here, curled up inside a bundle of blankets on the upper loft of a barn. To other ponies, it would have been considerably below-standard housing; for the impoverished orphan, it was a rare luxury to sleep under a roof.
Perhaps it is because of that reason that, though he had woken up at the crack of dawn, the young colt had not moved from his spot, even with his eyes open and staring up at the thatch roof above. How had he gotten here? It all felt so surreal; he had just been trying to steal food from them, and somehow he’d ended up with a place to sleep and a full meal.
Perhaps he should have been thankful, but instead, he simply feels wary. What were they up to? What was going on? Was it some kind of trap? Maybe they’d already called the authorities, and he should just make a run for it before something went wrong…
“Rise an’ shine, ya silly colt! It’s high time y’all got up!” The chipper voice of a pony from the staircase nearby startles Moonshadow to attention, looking over to see the face of one Roisin Sunshine Rhodi grinning at him. “Ah already ‘ave breakfast ready t’go. Oatmeal n’ molasses!”
Any thought of escape leaves Moonshadow’s mind at the thought of food; his stomach grumbles once again, reminding him that though he’d gotten to eat the previous day he was still far from nourished. It took time to warm the digestive tract up to proper sustenance again. Without even meaning to, or thinking about it, Moonshadow wobbles up to his emaciated legs, sniffing the air hungrily.
“Food?” Is all he ends up saying, his voice sounding dry. More complex thoughts than that were not necessarily in the colts' nature; it was hard for them to be, given the lack of anything resembling a proper education.
Roisin just giggles in response and motions the colt over. “Thas’ right, so c’mon! Your oats’ll get cold if’n ya don’t get up and come along now!”
Spurred on by that statement, Moonshadow finds himself following the bicorn as she bounds down the stairs and off towards the farmhouse a few meters away from the barn. For the second time in as many days, Moonshadow finds himself entering the house of another pony.
Torrent and Everbloom are already there, waiting for him. Though the older bicorn, the other two ponies' big brother, was still looking a mite suspicious, more than a little bit standoffish in posture, he isn’t outright glaring at Moonshadow. Guess I’ll take what I can get.
Uncertainly, the colt climbs up into the seat next to Everbloom, eyes darting around anxiously, like a wild animal caught in a cage, seeking a route of escape. Hunger had drawn him here; it would not, however, set his frayed nerves at ease.
“Yer lookin’ better today, Moonshadow!” Aria Everbloom states, leaning over to take a look at the colts face. “Ahm glad. Jus’ you wait, big brother makes the best oatmeal, with berries an’ molasses an’ all sorts of things!” She clamors against the table excitedly.
A pang of envy goes through Moonshadow’s mind. This filly… She had older ponies to look after her, who fed her, made sure she was warm and safe… She’d probably never had to endure the cold of a blizzard or fainted from hunger. Despite the kindness he is being shown, he can’t help but feel a powerful undercurrent of bitterness underneath the gratitude.
A bowl, still warm from being heated over a fire, is placed down before him, and Moonshadow looks up to see Torrent staring down at him. “You had better eat up, lil colt. If’n yer going ta be staying ‘ere until yer feelin’ better, you’d best expect that you’ll be workin’ to earn yer keep.” The imperious gaze of the stallion seems somehow at odds with the gentleness with which he moves; Moonshadow can’t help but feel there’s more going on under there than met the eye.
“Y-yes, sir.” Moonshadow nods his head. “Um… Thank you for letting me stay.” He responds meekly, pulling the bowl closer to him. True to Everblooms word, the oats are far fancier than just any old dry grains like Moonshadow was used to eating; it was usually the easiest thing to find in unwatched sheds or storehouses. The smell alone is delectable. Uncertainly, he takes a bite, almost in awe of the richness of flavor.
Torrent quirks his mouth as he sits down again, the suspicion in his eyes fading for a moment, although Moonshadow hadn’t seen it, too fixated on the meal before him. Huffing, Torrent shakes his head. “Dun thank me, thank mah lil’ sis ‘ere. She’s the one who said ya can stay.” He huffs, brusquely. A twinge of pity finds itself into the standoffish heart of the stallion; just looking at Moonshadow eating, it’s apparent to see that he’d not had a proper meal in months at the least, maybe ever.
“R-right. Of course. Thankyou, Miss… Um…” He scrunches up his face, he can’t quite remember the filly’s name.
The bright red filly just grins and bumps into him from the side playfully. “It’s Aria Everbloom Rhodi, ‘member? Ah guess ah have it easy rememberin’ yer name, since ya only have the one.” the filly giggles a little. “How are ya likin’ Torri’s cooking?”
“It’s…” Moonshadow winces, trying to remember the word. “...Great?” It wasn’t the one he was looking for, but it was close enough for this circumstance.
Torrent huffs, looking proud with a coy smile on his face. “Hmph. Mayhaps yer not so bad. Alroight, get that there food in ya, we’re burnin sunshine. An’ ah don’t mean mah little sis over there.”
Moonshadow nods and returns his attention to his food, slowly coming to be more at ease. He is still wary, but… at least, he doesn’t feel in any immediate danger.
That might have been the first time that was true in his life.
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One meal later, and Moonshadow is brought out to the back of the barn by Torrent, the hyperaustralan struggling to keep up with the older bicorn’s long stride. Upon reaching the fields, Torrent rounds on the younger colt.
“Alright ya little scamp, if’n yer goin ta be staying with us for a while, yer gonna hafta earn your keep. So while mah sisters an’ I are pickin’ crops, yer goin’ ta help weed the fields. Ya think ya can do that?”
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Moonshadow puts on his most determined face and stands tall and upright, nodding his head. It was a rare occasion indeed that anypony thought he could do anything helpful, and he was determined not to let his benefactors down.
“Now, c’mere an’ I’ll show ya what yer taking out. An’ you’d best watch yerself, ah’d better not catch ya diggin’ up our crops!” Torrent warns icily, before jerking forward with his head to lead the way.
The fields are not like the ones Moonshadow was most used to, at least, they aren’t organized in a similar way; crops are all grown in close proximity to other types, groves of fruit trees coexisting with berry bushes in the shade and grain crops in the sun. Altogether it looks almost more like a forest than a farm, albeit, an extremely lush, well-maintained, and plentiful forest; just looking at it is enough to make Moonshadow’s mouth water.
Somewhat to Torrent’s surprise, he barely needs to instruct Moonshadow on what to do, as the Hyperaustralan seems to easily differentiate the edible crops from the invading weeds. Presumably, years of foraging both in the wild and on others farms had graced him with a near encyclopedic knowledge of what was edible or not, and he was a quick learner to boot. Slowly, he grows more comfortable letting the colt do the chores on his own while he heads off to do his own work, checking in every once in a while; every time he does, he finds the colt still hard at work, jaw set with a fierce gleam in his eye, a radiant sense of determination emanating from him.
Still, the ponies endurance has limits, and despite the colts clear intention to keep going, Torrent notices him growing increasingly sluggish as the sun reaches its zenith. Looking around, Torrent whistles; The colt had saved him maybe a couple hours of work, all told, and was still making his best effort at it even now. Delicately, the stallion places a hoof on the hyperaustralan’s shoulder; the colt jumps in the air, startled, and bolts around in a low stance as if thinking he was under attack.
“Woah, easy there. Ah wuz jus’ gonna ask ya if’n you wanted ta take a break now. We’re makin’ good time, soz we can take it easy for a bit.” Torrent states reassuringly, recoiling slightly at Moonshadow’s skittish behavior.
The colt seemingly needs no further prompting, simply nosediving into the dirt and laying there motionless as if he was a machine that had just been flipped to the ‘off’ switch. Torrent blinks, before laughing slightly; and then promptly scowling as he realized what he was doing. Wasn’t he getting too comfortable around this scoundrel?
“Alright, c’mon, we’re goin’ ta git some lunch an’ cool off for a bit where ah can keep an eye on ya.” Torrent states, pulling the colt up to his hooves. Moonshadow stumbles, but nods.
“A-alright, mister.” He bows his head quickly, as he runs his hoof over his joints to brush some of the dirt from them.
As the pair crossed back towards the barn in silence, Torrent glances back at the colt scampering after him, before clearing his throat and with a severe tone of reluctance, speaking up. “Yer a hard worker, kiddo. You done farm work before?”
Moonshadow pauses before shaking his head, and looking away. “N-no… I just, picked up a bit from… watching other ponies doing chores.” Torrent snorts at that; ‘watching’ his hoof, the colt meant casing the place. “And, I know how to find what's edible and what's not, so it's not too hard to identify crops from weeds.”
Torrent scrunches up his face as he pulls open the sliding door on the barn, pausing while Moonshadow trots in before looking back hesitantly, waiting for the stallion to follow. Instead, he simply frowns, watching the colt. “...Jus’ how long ‘ave you been on yer own, kid?”
Moonshadow frowns back, leaning away as if worried Torrent was going to strike him. “I-I don’t know. I was too young to really remember it clearly.”
The colt’s gaze hardens as he clenches his jaw, and Torrent watches him for a long moment before continuing with surprising tenderness. “An’... Jus’ what happened to yer… Folks?”
Moonshadow turns towards Torrent and scowls, suddenly defiant as he raises his voice. “How should I know!?” He shoots off. “They left me in the woods to fend for myself! They could be dead, the rulers of the world, or anything in between as far as I know!” The colt trembles and looks away. “A-and good riddance to them, as far as I care. I hope they’re poor and miserable for the rest of their lives!”
Torrent doesn’t say anything, but just sighs and shakes his head, walking over to open the cellar and get something to eat. “...Alroight. We’ve got-” The stallion cuts himself off as he turns back towards the colt, seeing Moonshadow tearing up and trembling in place, muscles tensed like he was in a fight. Sighing, Torrent leaves the cellar door open and trots down over to sit next to the colt.
“I-Is there something wrong with me? Why didn’t they want me?” The colt’s voice breaks as he speaks, squeezing his eyes shut. He sighs heavily and looks away, suddenly looking exhausted. “...Just because I was born wrong?”
Although he doesn’t ask, Moonshadow can see the curiosity readily apparent on the older stallion's face at that last statement. With a long pause of silence, the colt stares down at the ground, sniffling, before answering the unspoken question. “A-a doctor told me about it one time. Said I was in… In-tur something. I guess I was born wrong, something about being half colt and half filly.” Moonshadow just sounds exhausted now. “It doesn’t matter. All it means to me is that they’re gone, and I have to take care of myself.”
Surprising the colt, or, half-colt half-filly based on what they said, Torrent’s hoof finds Moonshadow’s shoulder, with a sympathetic look on his face. “That might be, but roight now y’ave got some Rhodi family hospitality to look forward to. Courtesy of mah sister, of course. So chin up, alroight? Ah’m sure she wouldn’ wanna see ya mopin’ around.”
That seems to get the colt to pull himself together somewhat, and Moonshadow puts on a determined look and nods his head. “Mhm!”
There isn’t much more talk while Torrent makes lunch for them; not just himself and Moonshadow, but his two younger sisters, too. Only once it's ready does he head out to the fields to call them in for a family meal.
Sitting at the table and gazing at the one last empty seat by the end, Moonshadow furrows his brow in confusion. Daisy and tomato hayburgers only went so far to distract him, as delicious as they were. After a long moment, he can’t help but ask about the conspicuous absence. “S-So…” Moonshadow starts. “...What about you? Why are… What happened to your… folks?” He finishes lamely.
The air of the gathering, moments ago lively as Torrent and Sunshine chattered while Everbloom chowed down on her sandwich, shifts like somepony had just flicked a light switch. Even the otherwise indefatigable sunshine shifts uneasily in her seat, as Torrent just glowers over at Moonshadow.
“They died.” He states bluntly and apathetically, seeming to have absolutely no interest in discussing the matter any farther.
“Sorry about them.” Everbloom states, tugging on Moonshadow’s forelimb. “They dun lik’ talkin’ about it much. Ah don’t even know what happened to ‘em, jus’ that they died when ah was just a wee lil’ filly, too young ta remember their faces.”
Moonshadow gives Everbloom an incredulous look. “You mean, they won’t tell you?” He looks back and forth between the present ponies, earning himself a stern glare from Torrent.
“Now look ‘ere, mah sister might have talked me into lettin ya stay, but that only goes so far. You mind yerself while you’re under our roof an’ dun go lookin’ for answers you’r not ready to ‘ear. Ya hear me?” Torrent states coldly, causing the colt to shiver at the threatening gleam in the stallion's eye.
“U-Um, yes, sir!” Moonshadow pipes up, remembering just how strong the stallion's limbs had been choking him out when they’d first met. All the curiosity in the world wouldn’t make him forget that.
With that ominous warning, and the tension in the room thickened, Moonshadow uneasily returns to his sandwich, mind full of more questions than ever.