PART THREE:  Sons

The next morning dawned cold and sunny and the mist from the day before was gone. Pippin had wanted to get to the bottom of the issue of the potential crossing at Haysend and had demanded Merry's attention long into the night, something that left Merry yawning his way through first breakfast. Meticulous about making himself presentable Merry had also managed to arrive so late that it was only his obvious tiredness that prevented a scolding from Cook.

“You ought to sleep at night, Master Merry," Cook said and tsked at him while placing a generous helping of sausages, eggs and beacon on his plate and pouring tea in his mug.

"I'm sorry, but Pip kept me up all night talking,” Merry said, yawning hugely before tucking in.

“Well, he’s not the only one who’s been up all night,” Esmeralda said. “Sunshine gave birth to Dapple¨s foal last night."

“She did?” Merry looked up. Dapple was the pony the Brandybucks used to teach children to ride on and foal of the pony Dancer which Merry had learned to ride on when he was little. He was calm and steady and not afraid of anything. “How are they?”

“It was difficult,” Esmie said. “Your Da is in the stables still, but Harry was there all night and he saved them both. I really don’t know what we would do without him.” Esmie shook her head. The stable master was the best Buckland had seen in generations. “They came in about an hour ago to eat a bit after the colt was born but went out again to see to them. The poor thing came out with the legs first and she lost a lot of blood."

“I am sorry,” Merry said, shaking his own head. He loved ponies almost as much as he loved people and was always emotional when it came to the ponies he knew.

Esmeralda looked lovingly at her son. She knew what he was thinking about. "Why don't you go out to them when you are finished? You can take some second breakfast with you."

*****

In the stables Saradoc was sitting on a stool by Sunshine and her foal. It had been a long night but the foal was now asleep by his mother and they were both going to live. Saradoc looked up as Merry and Pippin entered. Being the Master was hard work, he knew that, and missing Rory didn't make things better. He had been so great with the ponies. Rory had always known how to handle a pony and what it needed. Saradoc thought Merry had inherited that and was suddenly very happy that he had Merry. He had someone who kept alive one of the things he loved so much about his father. He would concentrate on tutoring Merry now and teach him all the things that his own Da had taught him over the years. It was a comforting thought. Rory had been wise in many things beside how to handle ponies and Saradoc was looking forward to share the wisdom he in turn had gained with Merry, and perhaps they together could make things better for the people living in Buckland.

The talk they had had the previous day confirmed something Saradoc already knew: Merry had learned a great many things and already showed wisdom in his decisions and thoughts. His head was in the right place and he was always open to new knowledge. Saradoc sighed. Having the future to think about was a good thing - no matter how difficult the present was and his drifting thoughts came back to the present as Merry spoke.

“Da?”

"Oh. Good morning lads.”

“Mum said to come and see how you are doing and brought you this.” Merry held out the food package. "Do you need any help?"

“No thank you. There is nothing more to be done now but wait.”

Merry looked at the ponies. The colt looked to be well but Sunshine did not look all that good. "How are they?"

“The colt will be just fine, but I am worried about Sunshine. She should be up and attending to her foal, not just lie there," Saradoc said sadly and petted the mare.

“She will in a bit,” Harry said, coming up to stand behind Merry and Pippin at the entrance to Sunshine’s stall. “She is very tired now and need to rest.”

Saradoc rose. “Come on, lads. Let’s go outside for a while. Harry will care for Sunshine."

“Who will name the foal, Uncle?” Pippin asked as they came outside the stables. ”He needs a name.”

“That depends. It is usually the owner of the father who gives the foals names, but sometimes it is the stable master."

“But you own all the ponies here," Pippin said. "Then you get to name them."

“I do. But I rarely take the time to do it. I leave that to Harry." Saradoc smiled. Both lads had looked so sad a moment ago, but now Pippin was his usual cheerful self again, asking more questions than Saradoc knew the answers to. Merry still looked solemn but Saradoc knew he would brighten up soon enough. He just needed a bit of time.

“Will you name this one?”

“I don’t know. Do you have a suggestion?"

Pippin shook his head. “When was he born?"

“What do you mean?” Merry asked.

“I mean, if he was born just before dawn you could call him Dawn, but if he was born in the middle of the night he should have another name."

“Dawn is not a name for a colt, Pip," Merry said.

“He was born in the middle of the night,” Saradoc said amused. Pippin’s logic was never this... well, logical.

“You could call him Blacky."

“He’s brown!” Merry said. “You don’t call a brown pony black."

“He's not completely brown,” Pippin objected. “He has a white blaze. And two white socks.”

“We'll call him Blaze then," Saradoc said, raising his hands to stop the discussion. This could turn into a full-blown argument if he didn't rein the lads in before they took completely off. Merry and Pippin liked to argue about things like this but he had yet to see a lasting disagreement between them. They had had few quarrels and made up quickly because none of them could stand seeing the other one hurt or sad. “Let’s go see how things are going in the paddock, shall we? I am curious about how Ally is doing."

“Who’s Ally?” Pippin asked.

“Oh, it’s Da's new wonder. He is a golden pony that Da has been training for the Tunnelly's in Bucklebury."

“Why are you training him?" They had come to the paddock now and Pippin climbed up on the fence, his feet dangling.

“It’s for the Shire Races. Tom Tunnelly is determined to win this year and asked me to help him train his pony.”

“But you don’t do the training,” Pippin objected.

“No, but I have the best trainer in the Shire," Saradoc smiled.

“Everyone knows that the best ponies in the Shire come from Buckland, Pip. We breed and train the best ones," Merry stood beside Pippin, a hand at his back to steady him as Pippin continued to dangle his feet.

They stood watching the training for some time. Nibs, who was Buckland’s best pony trainer had saddled Ally and was about to take him out for a run when one of the stable lads came with three year-old foals in a row to let them run in the paddock for some time. Two were black with a white blaze and one was grey.

Pippin looked at the new arrivals for some time wondering. How could the trainer know which pony was best for the races? So he asked.

"Well," Saradoc said. Pippin lived at a farm so he would know about how new foals were born and how they were conceived. “First you have to have the right mare and the right stallion. You need to know what kind of racing pony you want. For racing you want a fast one, but he would also need to endure the race. It is not good if the pony is very fast but don't last until the race is finished. Then you need to think about the character of the pony. You do not want one that is shy with other ponies but not one that is so individualistic that he can't behave around others for that reason. You also need to think about how the pony is built. Is it tall and lean or little and round?"

“All racing ponies I have seen are lean,” Pippin said.

“Yes. Long legs and lean muscles are good when you want racing. Long, lean muscles means it races faster. Small ponies have to run more to cover the same distance as the larger ones.”

“What about Blaze. I think he would be a great racing pony,” Pippin said. “All good racing ponies I know are brown."

“But you don’t get to decide the colour of it.” Merry said as Pippin gave pouted.

Saradoc tried not to laugh. “No, that is the same with ponies as it is with hobbits. Children are usually a combination of the genes of their mother and father and resemble both.”

“But, Merry doesn’t look like a Took at all! And they say I don’t have any Banks in me."

“No he doesn’t.” Saradoc looked at his son. Merry looked Brandybuck through and through, mirroring himself and Merimac and his Grandda with the askew features, blue eyes and golden curls. People who didn’t know better often took Berilac and Merry for being brothers, even twins, but Saradoc had no problem seeing the difference in their looks. Merry was not as tall as Berilac, but he was thinner and there was something about the set of his eyes that was not quite as Brandybuck as Berilac was. "But he acts like one. And in that way he is Took."

“He does look like you though,” Pippin mused.

“Yes he does,” Saradoc agreed. "Just like you look like a proper Took." No-one was more Tookish than Pippin. The cinnamon-coloured curls, green eyes, the long, narrow nose, the freckles and the bowed mouth were all features that shouted Took. In fact, Saradoc thought, having blue eyes was just as sure a proof of having Brandybuck as the green eyes was of being Took. Almost no other hobbits had blue eyes. He looked to Merry. And almost no other hobbit has so fair curls either. There had been a comment or two about that over the years. Why did Merry have so fair curls? Most Brandybucks were sandy headed or golden haired, but Merry was uncommonly fair.

“Thank you for discussing me as if I was not here," Merry said and Pippin turned to embrace him. “The ponies too know that we are talking about them. See?” Merry nodded towards the paddock where the pony ears were tilted in their direction.

“I’m sorry, Mer.” Pippin said.

The three ponies in the paddock had started running now and were running in neat circles along the inside of the fence. The grey one was smaller than the other two and had to run faster to keep up.

“What do you suppose will become of them?” Merry asked. "And what about Blaze? What will he be?"

Saradoc looked at him. “What do you think? You have read enough about breeding and training ponies for your opinion to be heard."

“I think…” Merry looked at the ponies for some time. The black ones were brothers and the grey one was a mare. Both black ponies neighed and raced each other but the grey trotted steadily along not bothering about the others, just doing her thing. "The grey one should be a good riding pony. She is strong and her back is broad which means it will be good for Mum or some other lady with lots of skirts to ride on." Merry stopped talking and looked at Saradoc for approval or corrections.

Saradoc nodded. “You might be right about that. She is still young yet and has to show her true spirit, which I think she won’t as long as those two lads are with her. She is a little shy.”

“Yes. But those black ones are maybe a bit too high spirited to be racing ponies. They need more taming of course, and are also young."

“That is where I disagree with you,” Saradoc said. Merry had been right so far. "High spirits are good for racing. I thought you knew that?"

Merry shrugged. “I suppose. But too high spirits are not good."

“No that is true. And as you said, they are young still.”

“Blaze is another matter. Sunshine is high spirited but Dapple is slow and gentle as the day is long. Sunshine is a good riding pony and Dapple would work well in the fields if it wasn't for all the children needing to learn how to ride.” Merry said. “I don’t think Blaze won't be a racing pony though, Pip, even if he is brown. He looks too much like Dapple."

“By being brown?" Pippin asked.

“That too, but also by being small."

“It`s a baby pony. Of course it is small!” Pippin said. There were times Merry wasn't as bright as people would have him be.

“I know that. But his legs are short for a foal and his neck is not very long either." Merry retorted. Sometimes Pippin didn't think before talking.

“That is a good observation Merry. I think though, that we shall wait a year before we start thinking about his future and how he is to be trained.” Saradoc said.

Pippin was starting to fidget by now. Merry and his uncle had started discussing breeding now. Which mare to mate with which stallion? Would that one go with this or would that be too much spirits and too little gentleness? And what stallion would breed best plough ponies and cart ponies? And which ponies would represent the Hall in the Shire Races, except Ally of course? Soon the names of foals and sires and mares started spinning around in Pippin's head. This pony discussion had been interesting at first, and he liked watching the ponies run, but enough was enough. He sighed. The ponies were standing still in the middle of the paddock now, waiting for new orders. Pippin looked down at the sandy bottom of the paddock. Here and there a full footprint could be seen but most of it the prints were ruined by hundreds of hoof prints. He sighed again and wondered if discussions would be so boring when he grew up.

“Pip?” Merry grabbed his arm to steady him just as Pippin was about to fall of the fence in his restlessness.

“Can we go now, Merry? I am bored."

“Why don’t you run ahead and I`ll be in shortly?” Merry liked these talks with his Da and wanted to make the most of it. It was nice to feel his opinion being valued and heard and he was really interested in this pony breeding business. Saradoc was awfully busy and Merry felt it was important to treasure the moments they got alone together.

“All right," Pippin slid down from the fence and ran in the direction of the barn.

“That lad has too much energy,” Harry said, coming out of the stables to check on the ponies in the paddock.

“Yes he has. How is Sunshine?"

“She is getting better. She has woken up and is tending to her foal now, so I decided to leave them alone for a bit.”

“That sounds wise,” Saradoc said. “Oh, and we have a name for him. Pippin wanted to call him Blacky, but we settled on Blaze."

“A good name. We haven’t had that around here for some time now," Harry agreed. “You will write in the book then?” There was a book in the Master’s study containing the names and dates of birth of all ponies in Buckland with the names of the pony's sires going back through many generations. Ponies were after all almost as important as hobbits to a Bucklander.

“I will. In fact, I think we should go do that now, Merry-lad. And if I am not too mistaken there is a cousin who wants your company and he is a blaze of his own." Saradoc put his arm around Merry's shoulders and steered them towards the Hall, the both of them laughing.

Merry nodded. “Yes I think he got enough education on ponies and breeding to last him a lifetime today."

“Well, I hope it sits then because he will need it sooner or later.”

“I am sure it does. Pip is a fast learner when he pays attention."

“Just like you. And I am pleased with the attention you have been paying lately."

“Thanks, Da. I know how important this is to you and I want to learn what I can too,” Merry said, stopping to look his father in the eyes. “After all I will have to be Master after you and will have something to live up to.”

Saradoc smiled then and embraced him. “Thank you, Merry for being such a good lad."

Merry blushed. “Well I do suppose you know where I have it from?"

“I suppose I do,” Saradoc said and laughed.

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A/N: Harry is my creation. He is stable master at Brandy Hall and appears in several of my stories. Any mistakes about the ponies and breeding are all mine. I really don’t know anything about those things.