while 3 of my family members – winter rose and prim rose and signal flare – were going on dangerous but important trips to some remote place in the everglow until they were lost and injured and killed by bandits
their poorly translated twins of matching brands – hellebore and early bloom and searchlight – were out here marching with the kith and getting themselves lost and injured and killed on breland's behalf
...
they fought in the war
i learned this from my farrier
he had an old bench sized just right for ponies
"are you skittish? do you kick?"
"not since i was a yearling"
"good – hellebore kicked!"
medya set to exploring walls of souvenirs from his military days
while back hooves soaked torksen told us how he'd met a half-dozen ponies who served in the monstrous regiments
while he trimmed and filed he told us how they and the kith worked together to make the best use of their diverse abilities
he called them "breland's finest"
despite being at least two months overdue and wearing shoes too often my hooves weren't that badly off and before i knew it he was ready for me to pace outside to check for trim and balance
i always wear shoes when outside here – double deal's advice – so i hadn't yet compared hoofprints from old and new while unshod
for some reason the sight reminded me of the vision of myself as a filly but with harmonized front legs and i wondered what that set of hoofprints might look like
there was a bit more shaping and some shoe adjustments but it all went faster than i expected and not just on account of having half the work to do
he did a great job and i was happy to set up another appointment in 6 weeks
but on the way out medya showed me one of the old windowpapers on the wall – a pair of unicorns and a pegasus with brands i know from family records
as we headed back to the h&h my mind boiled
i keep getting more information and less understanding
i may not be following in my relatives' hooffalls but now i want to know where they walked and why
once i've had a day to collect my thoughts i'll contact dad via the sending stone ... and ask him to pass it to mom because i have so many questions about her side of the family
why was it all such a secret?
why would they fight in a war so far away?
what actually happened to prim rose?
what actually happened to signal flare?
why didn't hellebore come back home?
...
why?