[Fet Loch] A Cloud Shrouded Vacation (Closed)

[Bellosh]

"Well, isn't it kind of hard to tell, daddy? I mean, I'm having an awfully hard time understanding them for how they speak. Most of the words come out sounding somewhat harsh to my ears, if I'm honest..."

“Ah, that’s perfectly normal,” Filthy Rich casually explained; “Accents are always hard to understand when you’re only hearing them for the first time. But once you start immersing yourself in the local dialect,” the father patted Diamond Tiara’s backside; “It becomes easy to understand.” In truth, Mr. Rich still found the Fet Loch accent hard to understand too at times, but he needed to present himself to his daughter as the all-knowing and wise parent.

"Oye! Almost fergot! This 'ere's Mister Rich, an' he's a roit proper sort wi' the bizzo! Rollin' in dosh, he is, but dinnae get a swolled heed 'bout it! An' 'is lil' filly, Diamond Tiara. She's a roit boggin' dowaleen an' no mistake!"

“Uhh yeah, they’ll be stayin' ower in toon at one ay th' bed an' breakfasts, but Ah figure they coods hae tatties an' neebs haur wi' us."

“Weel excuse mah son, he shoods hae offered tae allaw ye tae stay th' nicht haur. Ah am much mair accommodatin', ye ur aw welcome tae stay haur as uir guests, ye tay Carrot Top, fowk is always welcome! ..... Whaur is mah manners! Redd Forge, ay th' Carrots, best blacksmith in th' valley! Welcome tae Fet Loch!”

The introductions started nice enough, Purple Haze giving her father delightfully pleasant descriptions of Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara. But the blacksmith threw an unintentional monkey wrench when he insisted that the two stay under his roof, which couldn’t really be done at this late hour without cancelling their bed & breakfast reservation. Yet Filthy’s body language brimmed with confidence as he accepted Redd Forge’s hoofshake with matching strength; “Pleased to meet you Mr. Forge! If you ever visit Ponyville, be sure to stop by Rich’s Barnyard Bargains for all the-” the stallion rushed to stop himself; “Ha ha ha, excuse me. Didn’t mean to slip into salespony mode there.”

Letting go of the red-coated stallion's hoof, Mr. Rich punted the question over to his little angel. “So Diamond Tiara, do you accept Mr. Forge’s offer to stay here instead? We’ll be spending a lot of time here with the Carrot family either way.” In all honesty, Filthy would rather pay the laughably-affordable cancellation fee for the bed & breakfast than reject Redd Forge's hospitality. Plus, he (and probably Diamond) would enjoy not having to walk over to the Carrot farm every fog-filled morning.

[RarityDash]

"Well I'm sure there will be something that will be interesting on this trip for you,"

Diamond didn't bother to reply to the orange-maned mare. She didn't see the point. Instead she just rolled her eyes and sighed. Yeah, right. There wasn't anything of interest for many, many miles out in this place. When it came to this trip, all of it was just going to absolutely suck.

​

“Ah, that’s perfectly normal, Accents are always hard to understand when you’re only hearing them for the first time. But once you start immersing yourself in the local dialect, It becomes easy to understand.”

"But why can't they just learn to speak normally, Daddy? Wouldn't that make it easier for everypony?" Diamond asked in a softened voice as she listened to her father.

Nearby she saw that Purple Haze was talking to a stallion that was apparently her own father, who had showed up to greet them. At this point she couldn't understand a word she said, but at the same time Diamond Tiara wasn't stupid. She could tell that the other filly was talking about her, and judging by the tone, not in flattering terms. Purple Haze, she supposed, was quite lucky Diamond Tiara couldn't understand her. She wasn't one to let ponies just get away with talking bad about her, after all.

​

“Weel excuse mah son, he shoods hae offered tae allaw ye tae stay th' nicht haur. Ah am much mair accommodatin', ye ur aw welcome tae stay haur as uir guests, ye tay Carrot Top, fowk is always welcome! ..... Whaur is mah manners! Redd Forge, ay th' Carrots, best blacksmith in th' valley! Welcome tae Fet Loch!”

"it is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Forge," Diamond said politely as the father finally came to address her and her own father. Even when it was another weird talking pony who chose to live out here in the middle of nowhere, Diamond was good to be polite when introducing herself, especially with her father around. She even gave a little curtsy and a smiled her best, as if to emphasize how little she belonged out there.

​

“So Diamond Tiara, do you accept Mr. Forge’s offer to stay here instead? We’ll be spending a lot of time here with the Carrot family either way.”

Diamond tilted her head and moved her eyes upward. Did it really matter at all? They were scheduled to stay at a "bed and breakfast". She didn't know for sure what to expect from that, but the image that came to her mind was hardly a four star Manehattan hotel room. What really made one poorly maintained, inadequate old building in the middle of nowhere better than another? As her father said, either way she'd be spending time with the Carrot ponies. With Mister Forge at least she might not have to walk quite as far.

"I would be pleased to accept the offer, Daddy," she said, still acting forcibly demure. She glanced toward Purple Haze and smirked. "I'm sure it will be a wonderful opportunity for me and Purple to get to know each other more!"

​

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze grinned impishly at Diamond Tiara as the other filly threw down the challenge. "Roit!" she said cheerfully, through a smile of gritted teeth. "Oi'm sure we've a roit lot tae learn 'bout each other, nae? An' we kin begin yer trainin' noice an' early, then, innit so? We've a plenty tae do taegether!"

Then she turned back to Carrot Top and gave her a pat on the side. "Dinnae fesh yerself bout him," she said to the mare. "Me Big Brae's all flustered o'er havin' tae chat bout such fiddle. He's nae a 'special somepony', exactly, but he's a big hit wi' th' mares! Allays wit' one or another a them! Oi'm sure it's only a matter a time till one a' them gets tired of him bein' all flustered an' slow an' nails him down fer a serious relationship!"

She gave a wink, making sure her big brother was able to hear her talking about that. She could do with tweaking him for some blushes. And land sakes, even her bestie seemed to appreciate eying her brother. Ew! Not that he wasn't a looker or anything, but ew! Her brother! She didn't know why he was always so uncertain.

She turned to her dad, then. "Oye, pops! Oi kin help make nibbles, roit?" She hardly needed his fond smile and nod - her pa could never say 'no' to her. "Roit! Oi'll see ma tae see wot she's in mind, then hit th' garden tae slip out th' extra food!" She turned to look up to Filthy Rich. "Did ye an' Diamond wanna help gather th' food? Or are ye wantin' tae relax from yer trip? Oi know a lad next door who'll take yer message tae th' bed an' breakfast fer a bit!"

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields worried that may have come off as a bit too aggravated to his cousin Carrot Top's question given that she felt she needed to apologize for inquiring if he had a "special somepony"; he didn't think he responded with annoyance in his voice. Of course his noisy little sister had to interject with her own self-important psychoanalysis about his personal love life; at least Purple Haze believed that somehow he was popular with the mares, although from his own experience, such an observation could easily be contested. He gave Purple a disapproving glance before rolling his eyes and turning back to his cousin, "Ye didne upsit me Carrot Top, Ah guess Ah jist didne hae onie other way tae say hoo things ur. it's nae big deal thocht, Ah hardly hink abit it at aw!" Okay, that second part was a bit of a fib, but the last thing Carrot wanted was the main topic of dinner revolving around his lack of a love life and all the "advice" he would receive along with the criticisms from the old stallion, who would once again tell the story how he was already married to Carrot's mom, Floret Blossom, by the time he was Carrot's age.

Speaking of his mom, Carrot Field just nodded at Redd Forge's suggestion and trotted off towards the house with the luggage in tow. Their guests should be fine with the old stallion; Redd can be grudgingly gregarious when he needed to be. Carrot knew he'd be stuck inside the house for at least a few minutes as his mother doted over him, "I'll make sure mom knows abit uir guests fur dinnae an' overnecht, Ah am sure she willnae min'."

*****

Redd Forge just rolled his eyes in Carrot's direction, "Ay coorse she willnae min', dumbtail, otherwise wa woods Ah hae suggested it? Now hurry up awreddy!" The old pale red stallion turned back towards he guests with a forced smile, "dornt min' heem, 'at colt can be a wee slaw oan th' uptake.." What really took Redd by surprise was one of the guests, the goldenrod mare, stated she was related; he didn't recognize her, not right off hoof at least, although she gave some idea how she thought she was family. "Actually by bein' second coosin tae mah foals ye woods be mah first coosin ance removed, yer maw ur faither bein' mah first coosin. Ah didne catch yer nam thocht an' which ay yer folks is mah coosin?" Truth was the Carrot clan was a large one, at least in Fet Loch; large enough that it was difficult for Redd to remember all his cousins, even among the ones he has met.

Purple Haze clammered how she wanted make an extra dish or two straight from the garden even though her mother already had most of dinner done, but how could Redd say no to his wee thistle? "Ay coorse ye may, aam sure yer maw will be happy wi' anythin' ye come up wi', an' we dae need mair food fur aw three ay our guests. Be sure tae tak' yer wee friend wi' ye, aam sure she'll loove th' garden!"

That just left Filthy Rich; Redd just raised one eye blow and snorted with a smile as he listened to what he saw as a snooty, rich earth stallion's sly attempt to hock his business. "Truth is Ah only bin tae Ponyville ance, when mah son was buildin' his farmhoose, ne'er bin back, dornt see nae need tae." Why was this glided stallion with Purple and Carrot anyway? Must be some dumbtail idea of his son's; that colt always had his head in the clouds. Redd figured though a guest was a guest and he only had to put up with the sales pony for one evening. "Weel dinner will be ready soon; aam afraid Ah dornt hae any fancy-pants business tae impress ponies wi', jist a hardworkin' smith haur daein' whit Ah can fur mah family, clan, an' town; most ay us just ur simple hardworkin' folk haur. Sae teel me, whit dae ye fancy Ponyville types dae fur fin?"

[Lux]

Carrot Top only could shrug at Diamond Tiara's lack of enthusiasm for this entire trip. Some ponies just couldn't see beyond what only they wanted and the cream colored mare could see that for Diamond this meant far away from Fet Loch as possible. She could see that the filly's father wasn't blind to this either as every word that cam out of Diamond's mouth was either sugar coating things or a complaint.

The orange manned mare still felt a little bad that she upset her cousin. The fact that Purple Haze prodded the situation by talking about her brother's issues with having many mares and not one to commit to only worsened things.

"Ye didne upsit me Carrot Top, Ah guess Ah jist didne hae onie other way tae say hoo things ur. it's nae big deal thocht, Ah hardly hink abit it at aw!"

She felt a sigh of relief as the stallion didn't seem too upset about delving into his life. Still the last part the mare didn't think was entirely true.

"Well then I won't ask you anything further about this on your vacation but if you need to talk about it feel free to meet me in Ponyville."

"Actually by bein' second coosin tae mah foals ye woods be mah first coosin ance removed, yer maw ur faither bein' mah first coosin. Ah didne catch yer nam thocht an' which ay yer folks is mah coosin?"

"Hmmm... first cousin," Carrot mused wondering how many cousins she had, "Well my father is Carrot Stick and my mom is Pea Pod. It's kind of a family joke that my parents say that when they met they said that they went well together like peas and carrots! Oh, and I didn't give my name did I? Well my name is Carrot Top. Pleased to meet you!"

"Sae teel me, whit dae ye fancy Ponyville types dae fur fin?"

"Well I wouldn't call myself fancy, but I like to travel to different places and I like the outdoors. I keep my interests simple as I'm a simple carrot farmer from Ponyville."

[Bellosh]

"But why can't they just learn to speak normally, Daddy? Wouldn't that make it easier for everypony?"

Filthy Rich was getting tired of these childish questions. “That’s enough Diamond Tiara,” he quietly grumbled; “It’s rude to tell your hosts that they don’t speak normally.” The businesspony reserved this sharp critical tone only for when he felt very close to punishing his daughter; if Diamond Tiara didn’t want to try her father’s patience, she’d know better than to whine further about the Fet Loch accent.

Purple Haze asked if Filthy and Diamond would like helping out gather the food, and the adult stallion viewed this as an opportunity for his little angel to have fun with another filly. “You go help out Purple Haze in the garden,” Mr. Rich gently nudged his headstrong daughter; “Daddy has to stay and talk to the other grownups. Don’t take too long out there, haha!” Hopefully, Diamond won’t get into another round of complaining after all that accent business.

Soon it was just Filthy, Redd Forge, and Carrot Top talking to one another. “In Ponyville, we’ve got town-wide events for everything. Summer Sun Celebration, Summer Harvest Celebration, Nightmare Night, Hearth’s Warming, Winter Wrap Up... and that’s only just a few of our festivals, actually. I assume ponies in Fet Loch have special holidays of their own?”

[RarityDash]

“That’s enough Diamond Tiara. It’s rude to tell your hosts that they don’t speak normally.”

Diamond didn't like to disappoint her father when she could avoid. It was hard to hear him take a harsh tone with her. She forced herself to smile as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said in a sugared voice. "But I really didn't mean it like that at all. I wasn't telling anyone to do anything. I was just asking why..."

​

"Roit! Oi'm sure we've a roit lot tae learn 'bout each other, nae? An' we kin begin yer trainin' noice an' early, then, innit so? We've a plenty tae do taegether!"

“You go help out Purple Haze in the garden, Daddy has to stay and talk to the other grownups. Don’t take too long out there, haha!”

Diamond sighed. Were they taking what she had said about wanting to get to know this Purple filly more seriously? Diamond almost regretted saying it now. She had just wanted to shove herself into the silly talking fily's face because she was pretty sure she had been talking bad about her. Going off gardening with her though? That was a chore, and a lowly, dirty one at that. Diamond wanted no part of it at all.

Fighting it would just make Daddy more cross with her though, she knew. He hadn't liked her tone just moments ago; if she refused him, he wouldn't be happy with it. She really loathed the thought of it, but she didn't see much choice here. She sighed.

"Fine, Daddy... I'll help Purple with the garden," Diamond said in a voice of sad resignation. "Even if I am tired already from all this walking..." she added through a sigh.

She walked back toward Purple Haze. "Let's get this over with then," she said, rolling her eyes.

​

[Bramble Rose]

Ha, finally! Purple couldn't wait. Here they were, the perfect opportunity to show Diamond what for! To grind her to the millstone, to take her very, very imperfect and flawed raw materials and maybe, just maybe, forge her into something marginally useful!

She grinned and led Diamond off, away from all the grown-ups and whatnot. Finally the chance to not have Carrot and his naive, soft heart sabotage everything she was trying to do ...

Unfortunately, the desire for vengeance and justice and the chance to do whatever she wanted did not come with inspiration for the same. Much as she hated bullies... she just couldn't bring herself to bully the bully in return. If Diamond mouthed off at her friends, she'd give Diamond a good solid bucking, but to do something to her in cold blood ... she couldn't think of anything ... well ... good.

Her shoulders sagged and her head drooped, and she let out a soft sigh, then she straightened up again.

"Roit, then," she said, grabbing up a basket and shoving it at Diamond. "Oi'll show ye how tae pull a carrot w'out nippin' off its leaves... but afore we get into it ... could ye jes' tell me WHY it is ye're always such a meanie an' a bully? Oi mean ... what in Equestria do ye get out of it?"

​

[brianblackberry]

Redd Forge's face grew a wide smile as he heard Carrot Top mention her father's name, Carrot Stick, "Och Ah remember coosin Carrot Stick; we used tae hang it aw th' time together as colts oan uir grandfaither's farm. Ah keep forgettin' 'at he moved aff tae th' Ponyville area efter he got merried." The dark red stallion suddenly laughed out loud, "Ask heem sometime abit th' water wheel incident, noo there's a story! Althoogh it main be a bit embarrassin' fur heem!"

Both his cousin and their fancy, slick salespony guest were more than happy to regale about the myriad of celebrations and events in Ponyville, although some of them were pretty familiar to the large earth stallion, "Weel we arenae as fancy as ye aw but we hae th' sam seasonal celebrations haur ay coorse, althoogh Ah dornt remember onie princess visitin' durin' onie ay those except when Princess Celestia cam by fur one summer sun celebration back when Ah was a wee colt." Ponyville didn't sound all that special after all, other than the fact a princess now lived there; still it always seemed to be the center of one cataclysmic event or another so at least the town had that going for it. As exciting as the town may be, there was one thing Ponyville didn't have! "Weel haur we hae th' Highland Games! Plenty ay Fet Loch music, food, an' bevvy! Ever haur th' bags?! Mebbe mah wee thistle Purple will play ye aw a tune durin' dinnah! Noo, whaur was I… Och reit th' games! Staine put, weecht flin', an' especially th' caber toss!" Redd slapped Filthy Rich on the back with a roaring laughter, "Loch tae see ye try some ay those!"

Redd was about to mention with pride all the spontaneous good natured brawls that would always break out between many of the stallions at the event when Carrot Fields had returned pulling a small wagon of food. Behind the large gray stallion was a petite middle aged mare with light grayish-green fur, her long gamboge and goldenrod mane laid astride both her shoulders in braided pigtails; on the mare's back was a large plate that held a delicious looking frosted carrot cake. Carrot smiled as he pulled up to the nearby picnic table, "Flithy Rich, thes haur is mah dame, Floret Blossom; mom, thes is th' fella Ah mentioned fa is visitin' fet Loch frae Ponyville, alang wi' his daughter, althoogh ah dunnae know whaur she went aff tae... Och reit, Ah almost forgot, ye remember coosin Carrot Top?"

Floret smiled warmly as she carefully slide the cake onto the picnic table, "Ah remember 'er as filly, hon. it is nice tae meit ye all-"

Before the soft spoken mare could finish, Redd spoke up loudly, "Carrot, Ah hope ye werenae plannin' tae goof aff abit toon wi' yer fancy friend haur tomorrow coz Ah need ye haur tae runt he smithy while aam gain!"

Carrot looked incredulous, not even home five minutes and his sire was already being a plan in his flank! "Huh? wa? Purple an' I-"

"Weel cancel whatever dumbtail hin' ye waur doing; th' auld railroad up in th' moontains hud some spikes stolen' an' they need replacements an' that'll tak' a better part ay th' day. Nae gonnae close th' shop oan th' coont ay 'at thocht, thaur ur some pans 'at need sandin', a coople wagon wheels need fixin' an' old Blossom Rose needs 'er fence fixed again, sae Ah need ye haur!"

Carrot just sighed, so much for starting his vacation, still it was just for one day and it was for family. Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara would have to explore the town on their own tomorrow, as he very much doubted they wanted to waste their time waiting for him while he worked in some dirty smith all day fixing things for the local customers. Perhaps he could talk his sister into helping, maybe his cousin too! Oh who was he kidding? He'd have better luck finding a four leaf clover!

[Lux]

Carrot Top smiled as Redd Forge recounted the fun he had with his cousin and her father back when they were colts, She could picture the two having fun on the farm.

"Oh I'll be sure to as him when I get back," Carrot said with a chuckle knowing this would be quite a tale, "So what was my father like as a colt?"

Before getting an answer, Carrot received an introduction from Redd's wife who offered her a slice of cake.

"Thank you," Carrot Top said biting into a piece of the cake, "This tastes delicious! You know, it reminds me of a recipe for carrot cake I use that my parents gave me. Did you give your recipe to them? Actually, now that you mention it, I do remember coming here a while ago. I think I was so young I could barely walk then!"

Redd then rattled off a list of jobs to do around the farm and surrounding area. She could see her cousin Carrot Fields who no doubt had better plans while visiting than that realize he was now roped into chores.

"Well if you need help with those things Redd then I can help as well. Many hooves make the work light as my father said."

[Bellosh]

The mention of the local Highland Games intrigued Filthy Rich. Assuming that event was in-season right now, it sounded like a perfect family-friendly occasion that the he could take Diamond Tiara to. Soon enough, Redd Forge’s wife also showed up at the table, and she seemed to be a nice pony like the rest of the Carrot clan. Filthy would have politely greeted Floret had not Redd interrupted the moment. Oh well, at least the Ponyville pony could start eating some delicious cake.

Curiously, it turned out Carrot Fields would have to stay behind to cover for his father tomorrow. Even more interestingly, Carrot Top mentioned a willingness to help out with the chores. And of course Filthy Rich was listening very well, for he sensed his first opportunity to accomplish one of the primary objectives for this trip: building up Diamond Tiara’s work ethic. “I don’t mean to interlope,” the visiting stranger interjected with a tone of curiosity; “But if there’s nopony to guide us through town tomorrow... perhaps you’ll let me and my daughter assist you as well? It’s the least we can do to repay you for your hospitality, and to be honest... I think Diamond Tiara could really benefit from the experience of working hard.”

[RarityDash]

Diamond Tiara was already rolling her eyes when things got just slightly more interesting. Of course, she was pretty sure that learning to pick carrots was close to the top of her list of things she had absolutely no interest in, so it's not like things getting more interesting thing was saying much.

She stared at Purple Haze, a slightly amused look on her face. She had to hand it to this filly. She was rather direct and to the point. Diamond could appreciate that. She had her cutie mark too, come to think of it. Aside from the, ridiculous accent, she was honestly a pony Diamond could respect.

Here she was, getting in Diamond's face about her behavior. It was kind of surprising. Bullying, eh? She'd have sooner expected Purple to confront her about being too fussy and unwilling to do hard work. The two hardly knew each other very well, after all, and thus far on this trip most of what Diamond had done was just complain for how it robbed her of the comforts she enjoyed. Was this pony more sensitive about her accent than one might guess... or did this come from some place else? Was Purple Haze judging her perhaps on reputation or on what some silly blank flank had told her? It was hard to say. Whatever the case, it made her eager to see what this pony had heard.

"Mean? Bully? What accusations!" Diamon said, acting as if offended. "If this is about what I said about your accent, I do apologize. I truly didn't mean anything by it. I can say some things I don't truly mean when I'm not in the best of moods," she added with effected niceness. "It's only that my father took me to this place against my will that I complain."

"Whatever the case, I certainly don't have a problem with you, Purple Haze. I fear we simply started off on the wrong hoof," she added finally, smiling a big fake smile at the other filly. "That's not me. You'll find that I'm quite nice."

She continued to smile as she looked at Purple, interested to see how she'd respond.

​

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze eyed Diamond Tiara suspiciously. "Ye know, Oi do hie tae Ponyville School. Oi know yer tricks, e'en if ye've ne'er picked on me. Ye should know that th' Carrots only value one thin' - hard work. Oi respect yer da, he's a roit clever sort, an' he earned it straight, best Oi kin figure. But ye've yet tae prove yerself. Ha'ever, we alsa allays give others a second chance."

Purple Haze clasped Tiara's hoof and gave it a firm shake. "If'n ye're willin tae play straight, Oi'll give ye a chance. Ye've nae got tae worry bout yer reputation here, aye? Chance tae try sommat new, roit?"

She released Diamond's hoof and let out a small snort. She knew this was probably some trick, but giving Diamond this chance would just make it all the more satisfying when she inevitably failed...

"So, lean in here, aye? An ye take th' plant like so, but nae too tight!" And she started to teach Diamond Tiara the proper way to pull a carrot from the ground.

​

[brianblackberry]

Floret Blossom's eyes brightened at Carrot Top's praise, and she hurried over with a little prance to her step. "Och, aam sae glad ye loch it!” She chirped eagerly, with her soft little voice. "If ye want tae trade recipes, eh'd be aw tay happy! Ah aye loch comparin' recipes-”

Redd cleared his throat. "Nae jusnoo, dear. She was askin' efter 'er da!" Floret simply rolled her eyes with a sarcastic smile that screamed 'here we go again with the stories'.

The older, ruddy stallion smiled in Carrot Top's direction as he contemplated which embarrassing story he would summarize about his cousin. "Weel back when we waur wee foals who lacked cutie cutie marks, th' two ay us tried varioos schemes tae hurry alang findin' uir special talents. Weel Carrot Stick got it intae his heed one day 'at we coods gie uir cutie marks in sheep herdin'. Ah dunnae know why; doesnae soond excitin' ur carrot related at aw, but we decided tae make 'at uir mission fur 'at day. Weel th' only thing 'at cam out ay 'at in th' end was th' resultin' stampede, which totally wasnae mah faut by th' way! See Carrot Stick cam up wi' th' brilliant thooght 'at th' only reason we hadnae gotten uir cutie marks yit frae uir earlier herdin' 'attempts' was coz th' herd simply wasnae big enaw. Weel th' only result frae tryin' tae shepher a bigger heard was a bigger stampede, an' a coople sore colt behinds when uir faithers got done wi' us.."

Carrot just laughed, as he had never heard that story before, but more at the thought of his gruff old sire the disciplinarian getting his flank shined for causing a stampede of sheep. The old stallion simply eyeballed Carrot, but the young gray stallion just kept on smirking, along with Floret, as they placed the plates of food on the table. Carrot didn't need to say anything; just having the ammo for later was enough.

What surprised the gray stallion and delighted his sire was that cousin Carrot Top volunteered to assist in the smithy tomorrow. Carrot Fields thought no one would simply choose to give up their day to labor in a filthy smithy, yet she was part of the Carrot clan and as his sister and father would often remind him, Carrots valued hard work. "Weel thanks Carrot Top, hopefully wi' th' baith ay us it will only tak' half th' day insteid ay th' whole day."

However, even Redd was taken aback with momentarily disbelief that Filthy Rich also volunteered himself and his daughter to help tomorrow. It was one thing for a family member to offer to help, but a guest? Let alone somepony not from Fet Loch; let alone somepony who looked like he never did manual labor in his life! Both Carrot's parents looked at their son in silent curiosity to see what he would say in response.

"Weel 'at is very kind ay ye, but thaur is nae need tae repay uir hospitality, it is tradition tae welcome guests loch thes in Fet Loch, an' we ur happy tae dae it! It is uir way! A guest is a guest!” As much as he liked the help, Carrot Fields felt very awkward about the idea that their Ponyville guests feeling they have to ‘re-pay’ in any way; he only relented when he heard that it would somehow benefit Rich’s daughter, playing to Carrot’s soft heart when it came to foals. “However, if ye want tae stick aroond an' watch, 'at is fine too; Ah am sure we can fin' somethin' ye an' Diamond can assist in if ye tois want tae..”

Redd simply looked bemused, “We’ll tak' aw th' help ye want Carrot, coz nae matter whit, th' smithy stays open aw day! Thaur is nae reason nae tae tak' even mair orders jist coz Ah won’t be thaur!”

[Lux]

Carrot Top felt that it was the least thing she could do to help out her relatives in exchange for a chance to reconnect with them after all these years of not knowing. Maybe by working she could learn about the daily life of the family. She listened carefully to the tale that Redd told about how he and her father were ones to get their cutie marks by sheep herding. She couldn't help but giggle at the tale imagining the group running from a stampede.

"Sounds like my dad was quite a rebellious pony when he was younger," she said, "I'll have to tease him about that when I meet him next time. Reminds me as a filly. I always was willing to help around the farm, maybe too excited now that I think about it. Like the time when I tried to water the veggies with a hose only to realize that I turned the water up too high and the hose started flying around like a snake and spraying water everywhere! By the time my parents turned off the water I was a soaked and muddy filly but they weren't too upset about it. There aren't many sheep in Ponyville, but there are cows and for whatever reason they sometimes get spooked or get it in their minds to go stampeding through town. But that's nothing like the Buffalo that stampede through Appleoosa where I visited to get home!"

Carrot Top watched as Filthy Rich offered to volunteer his service as well as his daughter. It was one thing for the stallion to help as perhaps there was a little farming experience in the store owner. But Diamond Tiara looked like a pony that nopony would volunteer her for anything unless she said so. But maybe she didn't know as it seemed she was more occupied with Purple Haze's accusation that she was a bully. The green filly certainly didn't mince words with her statement but she offered the pink pony a chance to rectify her appearance by helping out without bullying. Well Carrot would have to see about that if it could be done.

"Weel thanks Carrot Top, hopefully wi' th' baith ay us it will only tak' half th' day insteid ay th' whole day."

"Definitely. I want to help out family!" she replied with a smile.

[Bellosh]

OOC: I think we reached the point where I can introduce a time-skip.

Carrot and Redd seemed surprised at first when Filthy Rich offered the services of himself and his daughter, but they thankfully indicated their acceptance. “That would be most appreciated,” Mr. Rich thanked his hosts before patting his belly merrily; “Now then, I can’t wait to start eating some dinner. Purple and Diamond should be coming in any time now.....”

-----

*THE NEXT MORNING*

The early bird gets the worm, or so an early-morning pony like Filthy Rich always believed. Like always, he woke up right as Celestia raised the sun over Equestria. However, dawn in Ponyville always tended to be warm and sunny. Standing outside in Fet Loch proved to be a completely different experience; a thick layer of fog covered the land so completely that Filthy could barely see the entryway behind him. A chill in the air, although not anywhere close to freezing, was sufficient enough to make the stallion question why he didn’t pack warmer clothing.

Nonetheless, Mr. Rich felt sufficiently rested. He still had more waking up to do, like combing his disheveled hair and eating breakfast. Even so, the stallion believed he and his daughter were mostly ready to conquer their first full day in Fet Loch. At least, if Diamond Tiara didn’t throw too many objections his way.....

[RarityDash]

(ooc: sorry for the delay and possibly kind of poor post. no excuses. Thanks go to Brian for getting me to eventually post here again)

 

Diamond scoffed indifferently as she listened to Purple Haze speak, her good girl mask collapsing to make way for a bitter frown. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said as she pulled her hoof from the hoof shake. "I'll play nice, but that doesn't mean I'm going to play along," she muttered as she stepped away.

 

She rolled her eyes as the other filly then began to instruct her in how to pull the carrot out the ground. Was she really expected to do this? When the expectant look came, she grumbled indignantly but after a pause stepped back forward. She grabbed the vegetable by the stem and gave a sharp tug, wanting to just be done with it. The carrot came up with such unexpected force that Diamond went stumbling back onto her back hooves, promptly tripped on some lose dirt and then fell over onto her back.

 

"I can tell this is going to be just delightful..." she muttered, spitting out the carrot stem  as she sat up. She then took immediately to shaking dirt from her mane.

 

---

 

At the end of the day, Diamond's young body was sore from all the time spent picking carrots in the field with Purple Haze. She was exhausted when finally time for bed did come, but upon seeing the room she was to use and how poorly it compared to her own luxurious bedroom, all she could do was sulk. Thoughts of how it was all beneath her kept her awake longer than her worn out body should have allowed, and throughout the night she tossed and turned for how irritated she was by it all.

 

When the morning arrived Diamond was not in any way ready to greet it. Mane a mess, body insufficiently rested, as the other ponies began to stir, she stayed clinging to her pillow  in a deep sleep.

​

[Bramble Rose]

 

Purple Haze smiled brightly at Diamond Tiara, an impish grin.  "Well, Oi dinnae say ye had tae *enjoy* chores.  Chores are nae fun.  But ye earn respect when ye're tae put up wi' sommat nopony likes, if'n it's fer th' good of all.  Now, ye'll want tae pull a bit lighter'n that, an' give it jes' a hint of a twist as ye pull..."  And she proceeded to give Diamond Tiara those little tips that lend towards being a successful farmer pony.

-----

The sun was well over the horizon by the time Purple came in to Diamond Tiara's bedroom.  She'd wanted to wake Diamond up before dawn, like Purple herself, to share in all the pre-dawn chores, just to see how miserable Diamond would be with REAL work - but Diamond's honesty and promise the other day bound Purple to the same promise.  Besides, her mom had a talk with her last night about carrots and sticks ... not much got past that observant mare.

She'd convinced them all to let Diamond sleep in late, and came on up carrying a nice full breakfast - fried tomatoes, roast carrots, thick slices of toast, fried black beet pudding, and a nice fried egg, over easy.  And a nice tall glass of her own fruit-and-veggie juice.  She'd helped her mom put it together, and she'd put her all into it.

Still.  She paused just outside Diamond's door to savor this for just a moment.  Nothing saying she couldn't enjoy *this* part.  She burst in with a cheerful, "Gae mornin', Diamond!" as she trotted cheerfully over to the bed, hopping a little to slide her tray onto the bedside table.  "Ye sure worked hard yesterday, so Oi let ye sleep in a mite!  But ye're lucky, t'day's chores are a lot more fun 'n pullin' carrots!  We're tae help in th' forge!"

With a grab of her teeth and a practiced tug, the blankets were gone from Diamond's bed.  She gave a nice little flip of her head, and the blanket settled down folded at the foot of the bed.  "Eat up quick!  Ye'll need yer strength!  An' Oi've a noice pot o' pie downstairs for ye!"
 

​

[brianblackberry]

The moon was still in the sky when Carrot woke up, automatically getting up from under the sheets; ready to go do the farm chores.  It wasn't until he was halfway out of bed that he remembered that he wasn't at home, he was at his parents'.  There weren't nearly as many farm chores to do, here, and he was going to need his rest for the unfamiliar task of running the forge today.  He stayed there, half in and half out of bed, considering indulging himself by going back to sleep for an extra hour or two.  He thought of Dash's assertion that farmers were crazy, not to get the 'required ten hours' that she imagined most ponies must have, since she slept that much.

 

No, no.  He'd help the old stallion with the chores.  Just as he'd made that decision, the door burst in, and Redd stood there, letting out a loud, "Comon, y'lazy dumbtail!  It's time fur chores!  Ye gettin' soft in Ponyville?"

 

Carrot grumbled for a moment, but then decided to hop right out of bed, if just to show the old stallion he was just as used early morning chores as any other farmer.  “Sure’n Oi was already getting’ up!  Ye’re tae old tae handle a mornin’s chores on yer own farm, are ye?”

 

Redd just looked incredulous, “Oi’m still yer da, dumbtail!  Move that nest of a mane downstairs, yer ma an’ Purple have a lil’ fry up on.  Oi’d wake yer guests too, but Oi doubt they ever done a day o’ work in their lives.  Ye jes don’ let them slow ye down in th’ forge, Oi went round an’ got a few more orders for ye last night, jes’ t’keep ye busy!”  Carrot ground his teeth, but headed downstairs without another word.  There was nothing like a home cooked meal by one’s dam.  Sure, Purple Haze’s dishes were great, but who did his little sister first learn from?

 

After the usual pre-dawn chores, Carrot and Redd ended up in the forge.  With just a wave of his forehoof, Redd brushed the ashes off of the banked coals, shining a soft red glow across the room. Carrot loved his workshop, but he had to grudgingly admit – it was a pale imitation of his da’s forge.  Workbenches piled with all sorts of tools – long-handled tongs, short tongs, heavy hammers for heavy work, and the light hoof-hammers for the main mass of work.  And, of course, a couple of anvils in the center of the forge, the focal point of everything.  Several grindstones of different grades were to the side, able to be set against the waterwheel axle to set them spinning – and he knew the family’s small millstone was on the far side of the room, ready to go.

 

He dipped a hoof into each of the two barrels of water to see which was salted – the third was obviously oil, and he didn’t want to taste that.  He wandered around back to make sure that there was enough fuel back there – there, a stack of dried peat moss for reducing ore to round ingots.  Here, the giant stack of wood for the majority of the work.  And there, some charcoal for the high-temperature stuff.  He’d be the old stallion made it of birch.  He swore by birch charcoal.

 

Carrot gathered a stack of wood and came back inside to build up the coals into a proper fire, so that by the time he was ready there would be a nice stack of hot red coals, then tried several of the hoof hammers.  Finding one that felt of a good weight, he slipped his hoof inside, then used his teeth to fasten the wrist strap tight, encasing his hoof in the heavy, blunt sheath of solid steel.  The weight of it clumped loudly against the floor as he walked across to the iron.  “Aw reit, auld stallion,” he said, “What’s th' list fur today?”

 

Redd just watched grumpily as Carrot set up, and Carrot knew the old stallion was annoyed because Carrot was doing everything right.  He listed off a long spiel of things for Carrot to make, but Carrot was used to Redd’s tricks and listened carefully, then repeated it back word for word to make sure he’d gotten it right.  Then Redd was out the door and on his way, just as the sun was lifting over the horizon.

[Lux]

Carrot Top slowly made her way up to her bedroom in her relative's home, exhausted and a little sore but satisfied with the work she did. She was used to hard work in her garden, but here in Fet Loch things were different. The soil was thick and muddy, hard for her to walk in it let alone pull out the carrots from the ground. Nevertheless she felt that it would be rude to ignore helping out, and working how her relatives did seemed to bring the orange manned mare closer to them. She never complained as she loaded baskets of carrots into the wagon before getting a well deserved dinner. With thoughts about what new things she'd learn and do the next day she crawled into bed and fell asleep.

 

************************************* Time Skip *************************************

 

The sun had barely risen when Carrot Top awoke, hearing the sounds of hooves shuffling about outside her room, most likely her family. She didn't have the best night's sleep, not like being home in her own bed, but it was enough to make her well rested. She freshened up and made her way downstairs, hearing stirrings in the other rooms. she shook her head as she herd Purple trying to wake up Diamond Tiara. The pink filly sure had to learn about the value of a hard day's work! 

 

Stepping down to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat before making her way to the glowing warmth of the forge. 

 

"Good morning Red Forge and Carrot Fields. How are you two today?" 

[Bellosh]

 

If it had been up to Filthy Rich, he would have gotten Diamond Tiara up in time to eat breakfast with everypony. It took some effort, but lil’ Purple Haze eventually convinced the stallion to change his mind. Since this filly and Diamond would be together for the duration of the vacation, Mr. Rich figured that he could trust Purple’s insight. Plus, it helped that Filthy was rarely able to refuse the requests of a cheerful kid.

 

In the meantime, Filthy Rich stuck around the warm forge with Carrot Top. From where the businesspony was, he could faintly hear the spirited shouts of Purple Haze as she woke up Diamond. “Ha ha, sounds like my daughter’s getting quite the wake-up call,” Filthy quipped out loud for the other ponies around the forge to hear. All in all, Purple seemed like she would be a very good influence on Mr Rich’s daughter.

[RarityDash]

"Ugh..." Diamond grumbled at the sound of Purple's voice. She wasn't ready for this yet.Her brain just wasn't prepared to decode her thick brogue or be faced with what was sure to be another awful day of labor.

 

As the clattering of the tray and the smell of the breakfast reached her, however, she perked up a little. She looked at the tray inquisitively, as if perplexed by it. All of the food looked really good and there was lots of it. She stared at it a long while and then looked toward Purple. "Thanks..." she murmured hazily.

 

She brought the tray over to herself and began to eat some of the roast carrot. "This is actually really good," she admitted, still kind of groggy, taking a moment to sip some of her juice. She didn't usually like food that wasn't prepared to her exact specifications by the family chef, but she couldn't deny that there was something especially appetizing about the simple flavor.

 

She titled her head askew and looked back at Purple again. "What do you mean forge?" she asked, not understanding what they were going to do.

​

[Bramble Rose]

 

Purple Haze grinned.  "well, thankee!  Made it meself, dinn Oi?"  She felt a surge of pride that someone as picky and stuck up as Diamond Tiara couldn't help but compliment her food - though no doubt she'd never tasted food spiced with Hard Work before.  

"Oi mean th' forge!  Me da takes iron an' forges it inta useful tools, don't he?  You'll prolly work th' bellows, which is easy enough.  Oi'm tae help me big brae with actually making stuff!  I'm tae make th' nails t'day.  We've an order fer a bushel."  She paused.  It ... was ... entirely possible that Diamond Tiara didn't even know where everything she used came from.  "A forge is a big stone oven, sorta, where we heat up iron an' steel an' turn it inta tools, or decorations, or art.  It's wot makes everythin' metal wot yeh use.  There's different sorts a' forges - big 'uns, an' small 'uns... yer jewelry was made in a smaller sort wot we use t'day.  It takes a much finer hoof 'n me or me big brae has.  But if ye work hard t'day, an' help out, then me big brae's promised t'spend th' end of th' day makin' somethin' 'specially for you!"

As Diamond Tiara enjoyed her hearty country breakfast, Purple Haze started laying out all the leather clothing Diamond was going to be wearing today - cap, apron, sleeves, boots, even a nice little mask.  "Oi know alla this stuff'll be really hot, but I figured ye'd want th' whole set, t'keep sparks an' stuff from singin' yer coat, or yer hair gettin' all frizzed from th' forge."  She brushed a hoof through her mane - not that Fet Loch manes needed the heat of the forge to get frizzy like hers, but she was sure even the implied danger of having a mane like Purple's would keep Diamond Tiara from removing any of the protective gear for even a single breath of relief.  "So ye'll need t'make sure y'drink lots and lots of water t'day, an' this afternoon, ye and Oi will take off a mite early so ye kin take a nice cool swim."

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot was surprised as their guests stepped into the forge to pipe up their own thoughts and greetings, now that breakfast was over.  he grinned at Carrot Top.  "Bout th' same as at breakfast, cuz!  It's roit nice of ye two t'offer t'elp, but it's a hot, dull task this is.  Ye've got yer own relations t'go visitin',"  He turned his head to look to Filthy Rich.  "An' Oi'm sure ye'd loik tae show yer daughter round Fet Loch roit enough.  Plenty t'see round these parts!"

He paused, his head tilting to the side as they all heard Purple Haze's bright and cheerful greeting.  Carrot couldn't help but smirk a bit.  "Aye, she is that," he agreed with Filthy Rich.  "Funny thing is, though - it's usually me wot's draggin' Purple outta bed fer chores inna mornin!  Oi've ne'er seen her so excited fer mornin' chores!"

He looked around the forge... everything was well kept, but it was time for that first chore of the morning for the forge.  "But if ye want t'help, Oi'll admit, Oi'd nae turn down an offer tae 'elp bringin' in th' fuel fer the fire.  Oi need charcoal an' wood fer the main forge 'ere, an' then we'll be usin' peat moss fer th' refinery fire o'er here.  Th' peat's great fer treatin' th' ore - gets jes th' roit carbon intae th' iron fer fine, Fet Loch steel!  But gatherin' all of that is the dullest, dirtiest part of it.  'specially if yeh step deep inta th' muck.  If you two would loik tae 'elp me carry it all in, Oi'd take that as MORE than enough 'elp fer now.  One pony tae bring in wood and coal, one pony tae bring in peat slabs, an' Oi'd go down tae gather some fresh peat tae start dryin'."

He pulled out the small cart as he spoke, getting ready to head down to the peat bog to cut some slabs to replace the dried peat they were about to burn.

[Lux]

Carrot Top knew helping her relatives would be hard work, but the earth pony didn't shy away from the task. She especially wanted to know about the daily life of Red Forge and his family and how they interacted with each other. The task sounded messy, getting peat from a nearby bog to fuel the fire.

 

"I can help get the peat for the fire. being a farmer I'm used to getting my hooves dirty so a bog shouldn't be any different."