Happiness? With where I am? it's easier to fake it. one friend, one parent, and the whole Qurral thinking I'm just a test subject..
You know that feeling, when you look around you and feel like people are always choosing everything evil. My whole life I've seen the terrible things that ponies have done. My mom always told me to stay true to who I was, when I see all the ponies around me hurt each other with their hooves or words, it's so hard to do that. In my head I can't comprehend why or how these ponies could choose bad, shouldn't it be obvious that bad is bad, evil is evil, and that we should be good? Is it just the nature of ponies around me or is there something else? Maybe a nurturing force?
“A long time ago,” A voice said in my head. “Before the moon had a mare, before the ruling of the two Sisters,” “Before even Equestria had a name” The voice was all around me, a soft, bold feminine voice, penetrating the atmosphere around me. although my ears were full of sound, all that my eyes can see is a thick darkness.
That changed with her next sentence.
“There once was a battle, a feud between the inhabitants of the land.” My vision exploded with color, gray, blue, yellow, pink, green; so much green, most of the colors were ones that I had never seen before, then the colors started to move and form into objects. They started to move past me.
No, I was moving past them
I started to go faster until I was racing along, the streaks of earth tone colors streaking past me. I started to slow down and the streaks turned into mountains and valleys. I came to a stop in front of a mountain on top of a valley, a river rolled on in it.
It was beautiful.
“Earth ponies, who tilled the land and were industrious, provided the land with food.” I saw in one corner of a valley a small village erupt; farms sprawled across the valley floor. Water wheels along the river across the base of the valley, towers were built up, some with clock faces that shone to the ponies below.
“Pegasi, who with their wings flew into the sky to interact with the clouds, who in return for the food that the earth ponies raised, controlled the weather, and provided rain and water to the lands.” above the valley, in the blue abyss, I saw clouds shoot together to form a city. Factories upon this city puffed out clouds that fed the thirsty crops below.
“And unicorns, who with the magic that was naturally adorned upon their heads, protected the land from mystical beasts and curses. With their magic, a group of the most powerful unicorn sorcerers would raise the sun and moon” A mountain appeared, erecting from the ground to shadow the valley from the sun, then a castle grew from the side, its towers ran high, reaching for the endless blue spotted with clouds. On the highest outcropping, a glow rose and grew in power and light, the sun moved to bring the light right above the valley to shine on the valley floor.
“Although they might have worked together for survival, they did so with scorn” I saw many debates, conferences that should have remained calm turn sour and bitter, pointed hooves and name calling shouted in my ear, there was so much contention all around me. All of the interactions screamed loudly, filling my thoughts and vision.
And I could perceive all of it.
“Their disharmony brought not only sorrow, but legendary creatures of snow and ice, the Wendigos.” The shouting faded, and my vision shifted to the clouds to see horse-like ghosts, circling; wisps of cold spewing out from them.
“The colder the ponies were to each other; the colder the wendigos natural magic made the land” arguments turned to scuffles; scuffles turned to brawls. There were tears in the eyes of the ponies. My heart went out for them, I never had liked fighting.
“Our ancestors were among the earth pony nation, but unlike the rest, they did not think less of others, they had tried to be kind and courteous.” I saw an earth pony turn away from the fighting and try to stop the hate around him. To try to push out the Darkness and cold that was being shoved down each pony's throat. The sky had turned a permanent gray, signs of snow fall showed.
“Many scoffed at our first leader, but there were a few who joined him, a few that saw the signs and feared the worst lest ponies stayed on the path they were on.” One turned to many, but they were ultimately a fraction of the ones filled with anger
“Try as they might, peace could not be gained, and the hate turned against us. We were cast out from the cities, forced from our homes. We were laughed at, called traitors, as brother turned against brother, child against parent” I saw a great many ripped from their homes and thrown out in the cold. I expected to see hate and vengeance from the cast outs, but ,to my surprise, I saw (and surprisingly felt) their love and understanding for the rest, they looked disappointed more than anything
“But as the fighting continued the land became more and more desolate and covered with snow. We could not survive much longer without the warmth of civilization; we packed up and left. We did not look back.” My vision was swept up as I saw a somewhat large caravan move. As I watched, they started to move faster through the white valleys, faster, faster they moved. Slowly the snow turned to grass, but they did not stop there, they pushed forward. They faced many hardships, by the time that they stopped the numbers were visibly lower than what they had started with.
“We had traveled to a far, far land that was not touched by pony's hooves yet. We set up under a tall mountain that overlooked the land for miles around.” The mountain was a single mountain, a lonely mountain, the herd stopped in the shadow of it, and small shacks appeared. And they began to thrive.
“But the magic of the wendigos is not so easily beat by distance.”, the Proto town was blanketed with a light sheet of snow and the blue sky turned into gray clouds.
“Our communities were strong and our friendship true, yet we were cold and beginning to starve.” The voice had taken a dark tone.
“But” it said, “there was a sad hope.” My attention was directed to a small dark blue colt with short blue hair and a filly with a green coat and long red hair.
“Two little ponies, who’s love for each other was strong, knew they had to do something, they could not sit and watch as the families who raised them suffer. They would sacrifice anything for the ones they loved. They snuck off often, against the advice from anypony, to find food, on one of the hunts for food they journeyed into the mountain.
“In the mountain they found an ancient magic; a fallen star, no pony saw it, no pony wished upon it, its magic still in full. It poured into the rocks around it, changing the underground.” My vision sprawled across large caverns and long tunnels filled with gemstones and crystals. Populated by changed creatures, fusions between organic and stone. In the center of it all I saw The Fallen Star, a comet frozen in stone. The star had a large teardrop shaped gem that was a deep purple, with more than just a feeling I knew that this was the source. It just radiated from it.
“These two ponies sacrificed themselves to save the earth ponies they loved.” The two ponies both walked up to The Fallen Star, they stood in front of it, for a moment they looked into each other's eyes before embracing in what would be their last kiss.
A bright light enveloped them, my vision was nothing but white. When my vision cleared, I was looking at the star but not as it was before, the teardrop had turned into a heart. Sealed in a glossy tomb were the two ponies, forever locked in each other's hooves.
“No longer was the Star fallen, it was now known as: The Risen Love
“Because of these little ponies who loved everypony despite their differences, we survived, the harsh forever-winter raged on while we gathered underground. The Fallen Star is no longer unused.
“Its magic generously washes over us to remind us of the true and honest kindness and loyalty that The Two had for all. A standard for us to follow.”
“Now today,” it continued “thousands of years later, we honor the Two by living on and loving each other” the image of the Risen Love changed to a much more familiar scene; the Qural I call home. I saw a large cavern that had a city in it, a ginormous pillar was in the middle that had many, many rooms carved into it.
I lived in the pillar near the bottom.
My vision started to fade away to black, and I started to go numb, losing sensation. Vertigo took, and I was nauseous. My pain was unbearable.
I opened my eyes with a sharp gasp for air to see a mare looking down at me with an expecting look, she was purple with a seafoam blue crystal mane. Starting from her chest a wide crack in her hide spread across her body, a Keeper.
Then I turned and emitted my stomach contents onto the floor
“Oook, nausea, write that down Varon” she said to somepony somewhere. Her voice reminded me of the voice I heard in the vision “Well, Ledge, how do you feel.” she put her hoof out to steady me on the bed as I sat up.
“I... feel….” I wanted to say horrible, dizzy, stricken with pain, despair, depressed but also joyful, loving, and hopeful. What actually came out was a groan as I dropped back onto the bed drained of all energy.
“Nu...Nuro” I asked weakly.
“Yes?”
“P…Please te..tell me that wasn’t the final product.” “I could feel everything like I was everywhere at once.”
“Was it that vivid? I thought we didn't give it enough. “Varon the next batch needs…” she brought up a hoof to her chin and looked like she was doing math in her head. “20% less corallite” she said resolutely
She helped me onto my hoofs and said, “let's get you to sick bay, then you can give your statement.”
*****
This is my life. The ‘test dummy’ of the Qural. Being the only adult without a cutie mark means I'm the one everypony calls to ‘find my cutie mark’ but in reality, they just need a pony that isn’t important to any job to do something here and there.
My name is Legendary Jelly. A strong and commanding name, at least that is what my mother says, her name is Rare Jam.
This last ‘test’ was focused on the newly found Knowledge Stones. Nuro Nelly, the purple pony, was trying to combine a mental stone (aka coralite) with a host of other magical items to create a stone that could show the user a set ‘vision’. The first prototype is going to be a classic history lesson, a story of The Two, ‘The example to us all’ pffft, as if any of the ponies here follow them.
Here in the Qural, nopony likes any pony, friendship is not necessary to survive, so no pony has friends (or in that matter wants any). We stone ponies have what we need, we are a hardy civilization, and I mean that quite literally, as our hide is hard as stone. As we age our skin slowly cracks. We stick to ourselves and our kin until we crumble away.
“Dust to Dust”
Me? I survive off of the small desk work that requires no specialization or the odd mining job. I didn't have the ‘luck’ to be born as one of the other breeds. What I would do to be able to use the magic in stones like the Keepers, or to have the strength and power of the Wardens, or even shine the light and protection of the Torches.
But no. I am just a stone pony. 23 harvests old with no cutie mark. No talent. No promotion. Somepony who is not needed to survive.
“A Nopony” But it is a life I am accustomed to
*****
I walk into the door to my mother's house halfway up the Spire, “mom! I'm home.” I say to the house
“Oh good! Just in time. Come into the kitchen!”
With a smile and a sigh, I drop my saddle bag by the door and walk into the kitchen to find my mom in the process of making an unusually large batch of red ruby apple jam.
Her skin is the color of peaches with a brown mane. She had a violet jar of jam as a cutie mark
She has always loved to preserve food, and that was her cutie mark, she is one of the ponies that takes the food from the harvest and makes it last. A very important pony for survival.
“Take the jars out of the oven” she said with one pointed hoof and the other mixing the next batch
I did as I was told and set the ruby red jars on top of the stove.
“So,” she said, holding the bowl and spoon. “What did Nuro want?”
‘Sigh’ “she wanted to test out her new ‘knowledge stone’... it's a long story”
*****
Still feeling drained from the experience, I excused myself to go lay down in my room. I passed by my mirror and took a look at my black with gold striped mane. "ughh" I grunted "Messy". My eyes drifted to my gray body, when the light hits just right there is a shimmer of gold, 'pearlescence, a rare trait down here' I remember my father saying,
I found myself dreaming before long.
I dreamt of the ‘vision’ that Nuro had me in. I saw flashes of anger and hate, the faces, I saw all the faces, the pain, the suffering, the anguish that was displayed. The ponies being cast out.
I screamed but no sound was heard, only the clops of the ponies leaving. The long journey.
I wanted to leave, to stop, but I couldn't. I was forced to watch, to hear, to feel.
The clops got louder and louder, faster and faster. Harder and firmer
BANG BANG BANG
My view changed with each bang, flashes of caves.
BANG BANG BANG
Before me I saw the fallen star, with each bang I got closer and closer. One of the bangs turned the fallen star into The Risen Love. I could see the ponies, lifeless and frozen.
BANG BANG BANG
*****
My eyes shot open; my heart was racing. I heard a voice at the door.
Knock knock knock
“Legendary, you in there?”
The voice was familiar, but I was too engulfed by what just happened to know who the voice was.
“Yes, I'm here!” I called out exasperated, “Who is it?”
“Oh come on Ledge, we’ve known each other far too long for you to not know my voice.”
Only then did I recognize the voice, his voice was a little low pitched that had a raspy undertone that betrayed a caring nature.
“Oh! Max! Come in”
The door opened and Maximus Gray poked his head in.
“Oh, sorry, did I wake you?”. He had a genuine look of concern attached to the question.
“No… well yes but…, ugh, get in here.”
Then in came Maximus, a warden, as the name suggests he is a gray stallion with a purple mane. On his flank there are two bars of iron with a pickaxe behind them. He got his cutie mark when he joined his father in the mines as a tool and ore crafter.
We grew up together. We first met in kindergarten when someponies were hitting me for being a regular old stone pony with a main and hide that glittered with gold. Max stepped in and took a beating for it, but because he was a warden, he had too thick a hide to be hurt. He never hit anypony but they still had to put some of the bullies in casts because they bucked a stone wall too hard.
We’ve been together ever since. The two of us, the max ledge. He works in the quarry with the majority of the other ponies here.
They mine the earth in search of gems, crystals, and ores for the Qural to progress and grow. They usually go out for a certain amount of time, right now he should be still in the mines.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be working right now?” I asked as I started to get out of bed.
“Yes,” he walked to the corner where there was a sitting pillow on the ground and sat,
He put a hoof to his chin while looking concerned “but, there was a cave-in, a quake or something made the whole mine unstable, so they sent the majority home while the safety crew sures up the main tunnels.”
When he looked up and saw my stance of panic he quickly added “no pony got too hurt, we don't think, but there were a few close calls,” he looked back down and looked like he was remembering these ‘close calls’. “Thank the Two that our wardens and torches were prepared”
I hate his job.
Although accidents are few and far between, they make a few less come back.
Max is my only friend, and to see him go out to the most dangerous job in the stone, with even the slightest chance of not coming back makes me feel… I don’t want to even think about it, to even put myself into the shoes of a possibility makes it too real and reminds me a little of reality.
“Are you ok?” he said probably sensing my conflicted feelings
“Am I ok! What about you!?!?” I said with a little more emotion than I intended.
He shrunk back, he knows what I am feeling, we have had this conversation before. I have made sure my concerns are known,
He also knows what happened to make me hate the mines. The very same mines that took Draco Jelly.
My father.
“Ledge, you know why I do what I do, I know the dangers, but someone has to do it.” He stated “and besides” he lifts a hoof up and taps his head which makes a metal-on-metal sound. Being a warden means he has an iron hide. Natural protection given to us by the Two.
Knowing that the conversation is pointless, I sigh reasoning and said, “fine,” then I sat on the other pillow in the room with a smile, “Humph, did you just come here to wake me up or did you want to go grab a bite”
His defenses drop and I maybe see a little embarrassment in his face, “well actually yeah” his face went blank.
“I made a rare find before we were evacuated.” he reaches into his saddle and brings out a small box.
“ooOOOoo'' I gawked. A rare find plus food means a Gypsy salt, a magically infused salt that unbelievably increases the taste of a meal. There are a few types; six to be exact, common (we use for everything because it's everywhere), stone (works best for stone ponies), gem (keepers), steel (wardens), light (torches), and most rare and best tasting, and just so happens to be the one I see behind the lid of the box, the horizon gypsy salt. Another gift from the Two.
“I’m going to get your mom to use this in a large batch of rainbow applesauce so I can preserve this,” he explained “but first I was thinking something like…” his voice changed, and he became a little skittish “You, me, a restaurant, how about it?”
Another conversation we have had before. To make a long story short, colt meets mare, friends for life, colt realized one day that he more than liked mare, mare didn't have the same feelings (That's my excuse anyway, I've never wanted to face what the truth actually was), colt is sad but still continues his attempts.
But to be honest. The best times I have are with him, so I play along. He does too, half joking, half serious. So, I say.
“Hmm it has been a long while since I’ve had good food, why not” I gave a look that said ‘don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing’
He returned my look with a look of boisterous confidence that just screamed, ‘Who said I was trying to hide it’
A common interaction.
I roll my eyes with a smirk, and he chuckles to himself.
“So where were you thinking?” I speak.
“Stonenut Joe’s” I hear in reply.
I start laughing “hahahahaha, heheee” I look up and I see his smirk “heh, your, hehe, joking right?”
He tilts his head down just a tad and looks right at me, with a smile.
I stop laughing and look back at him. “Ohmygosh you're not” I bring my fore hooves up and point them at him “what?” “You're going to use that on a, ONA STONEUT!?”
From what I saw from the vision, the surface was almost an infinite space. the only ceiling would be my own imagination.
As I looked up to the ceiling of the Qural, glowing with the many enchanted gems that lit up the space, I felt trapped. I never liked tight spaces, but I was fine with the average Qural experience, but now after seeing, and feeling, how big the world above was, I felt restricted. and the coldness that emanated from everywhere was now very much noticed.
Max and I were walking along the many alleyways that webbed the ground. There is not a lot of space, so the housing is tightly packed. The biggest road is reserved for the temple of the two, that houses the risen love, for the rest barely three ponies wide.
We were walking away from the spire single file with him leading the way through the stone maze. We passed by a few vendors in the hallways, mainly ponies homes with a hole in a wall to sell a variety of things.
When we came across a pony or two coming the other way, we swiftly passed by, although our flanks touched as we half bumped into each other. nothing was said, but there was always a look of contempt. So much for courtesy.
Here in the Quarry, it's necessary to be flank to flank to survive, with limited space that is said to be quite literal. I hear there are some bigger and more spacious Qurals but I have never made the journey myself.
Something about tunnels scare me.
For some reason I felt more restricted in these tight corridors. I couldn't shake the openness of the vision. *****
We came out into the large road that leads into the temple. ponies milled about, expressions of weariness and the unimpressed filled the street. further on there was a gathering of the two distinct 'Gangs' in the quarrel, nothing usually becomes of it but 'it's always wise to leave dumb ponies alone', A wise pony one told me.
Stonut Joes was on the other side of the (relatively) large walkway, but I felt an unmistakable pull and purpose towards the large doors and expert craftsmanship that held The Two. I was captivated, stuck in a stupor of thought.
So much so that I did not notice that Max had stopped to talk to an older pony, that was a coworker of his, until I rammed into his steel rear end. Man did I envy that steel flank
He, of course, didn't budge, but he did turn to give me a quizzical look. Which I returned with an apologetic sorry.
I trotted up next to him to hear an older stallion say with a drawl: “So i’this the mare you're always droning on bout? Well, howdy there” he extended a hoof to me. “name’s I’ron Pixs, but you can call me Ron," he says as we greet “you must be the infamous Legendary Jelly” I fluster.
“Maximus here is an apprentice o'sorts in the mines.” He then turns to Max to say “I wanted ta tell you that the safety ponies have called me to help em. T’ say the small quake shifted all t’ studs, so a large-scale reconstruction is needed. If I need ya I’ll send for ya. But I wouldn't count onnit.”
He then tips his head to both of us. “I gots to get goin now but yall have a good time”, In a not-so-secret way he winks at Max who blushes with an eye roll.
Before he got too far, a shout took our attention from further along the road.
"YOU SON OF A KRAGGON, THAT WASN'T PART OF THE FORSAKEN DEAL" a red coated Torch, backed by Stone ponies and other Torches, screamed at a particularly smug looking dark green Keeper mare, who was surrounded by Wardens. His gemstone blazed with fire on his head. I could see the Keeper say something with a smile before turning around, strutting away.
Whatever he said made the Torch flinch back and look aghast, his flame flickered momentarily.
then I saw it.
A look. an Emotion. one that I had seen, heard, felt.
Hate
flashes of the Vision filled my sight, ones of the contention and hate that brought coldness to valleys. His gem exploded into fire as he lunged into the retreating group. his followers joined in the attack.
"Although they worked together for survival, they did so with scorn, conferences that should have remained calm turn sour and bitter, pointed hooves and name calling"
A brawl ensued.
A low rumble echoed through the air. noticed by everypony in the large street except those fighting. looks of concern shot all around.
I see a Warden wrap his hooves around a torch half his size by the withers and whip the doomed Torch around himself into a wall that crumbles around him.
the Torch slumps and becomes unnervingly still, skin shattered
while the warden is distracted a purple torch uses the opportunity to pull some clear gray stone out of his satchel, then tosses. the stones around the Warden before his gemstone glows a deep purple, the stones shine the same hue as the air gets heavy. The warden is forced to the ground and the concertation of the torch increases. the look on his face is pure malice .
"cast out from the cities, a great many ripped from their homes and thrown out in the cold"
The rumble grows in intensity as pebbles and rocks fall from the ceiling. all too few of the fighters look up and realize the danger, but the ones who do, realizes their folly. The ponies around me evacuate the streets. Max yells something to me, but I have fallen to my haunches, broken.
In the confusion of battle the red torch corners the green keeper against a wall. his eyes wide with fear, clearly knocked down a peg without her posy of Wardens. the torch was relishing this revenge as his gem starts forming a ball of magma on his forehead.
Right before he hucks this ball of fire a rock chunk falls right on his muzzle sending the molten rock across the ground. he looks up ready to disassemble something but to his utter Horror, about halfway down from the ceiling was a massive stalactite speeding down to him.
In a moment of complete irrational thought he grabs the mare Infront of him and dives to the side just before an impact That sends fragments of rocks rocketing over their heads.
I feel a tangible sigh of relief from the air around.
The torch shoots up after processing what he just did, the keeper shriveled in a ball, he looks around clearly conflicted, when one of the other torches grabs him and yells at him to get going, and they stalk off cautiously, as there is still debris fall from the roof.
A warden comes runs up to the mare lifts her up and instructs: "ON YOUR FEET! WE. ARE. LEAVING." as they exit the road opposite to the torches.
as they split the temple is revealed, my whole focus was pulled from the surroundings to the arch way, the tension in the air was sharp. I'm aware of Max by my side refusing his own safety for mine
Then something happened. something that would change everything.
A great heart sickening crack was projected across the Quary as the tension snapped inside me, taking me with it, I felt like something was ripped from me.
An immeasurable silence rested upon the inhabitants.
...
...
The silence was broken with a high-pitched scream that came from the direction of the temple.
for everypony here its super easy to be stone cold when that is just what we are stone. I grew up my whole life a blank flank never finding my talent. My mother has never said it to my face but sometimes I overhear her say things that shatter my confidence. when I was around 17, I was tasked with going into the mines and seeing what I can help with.
I lasted a quarter of the time I was supposed to, before I was medically discharged.
I couldn't tell you what happened if I tried to, my body had a stroke, but the Keepers of Care, the KC, could not find any evidence in my body that I did have one. after 5 'episodes' in a row I was sent back to find out what was happening.
the best thing the KC could tell me was I was having a conversion disorder.
I have these 'spells' every now and then, but nothing can be done except giving medistone and seeing was it does.
Of course, like ponies, nothing changes.
"until now"
I stand frozen in the chambers that holds The Two, the stone carved into an intricate cathedral with the Risen Love at the forefront. the massive gemstone that gives magic to the life around it, was under heavy inspection.
I was standing behind the crowd, but I still saw the point of interest. the purple heart, the source of energy, had a fissure spreading diagonally across the surface. the soft glow that accompanied it was now dark insomuch that only the sharpest eyes could see. Coming out of the crack were bolts of magical electricity that shunned all who came too close, so a perimeter was kept around it.
Hysterical cries were heard all throughout, the tragedy of our deity being disgraced had traveled far, fast. this, this was our protector, our lifeline, the source of all the magic that we non magical ponies poses.
The two ponies within the heart were on either side of the crack. A clear sign of this heresy. they are supposed to be together so that the love and friendship they have for each other could have its full reaction with the star magic around them. But now they lie opposite of each other, their turmoil and hate for this fact clearly shown through the sparks and zaps around them.
And yet I feel a pull.
A yearning to be One.
After Max had made Sure I was ok after the quake, he swiftly left to go and secure his family and home, leaving me at the temple.
Which left me to walk towards the Two unaccompanied.
As I push past stunned Keepers and walk around deadpanned Wardens, weeping Torches and uncomforted ponies, my eyes are locked on my destination. I get no attention as I stop at the edge of the crowd, my head tilted ever so slightly and my mouth ajar.
I have seen the more curious ponies get too close and get what looks like a painful zap, but as I stand close to too close, my fears are quelled in such a way that I start to take my next step.
"Hey, look another one", a more rebellious pony says off to the side, waiting to laugh at another's pain.
Its Time
I stop my approach mid step, shaken by the voice/thought. I hear the pony scoffing at my apprehensiveness, but he sounds far off.
We can no longer wait
suddenly the commotion around me stops and I am alone in the temple.
Come closer, touch the star
Clarity enters my mind as I continue my stride, faint shouts of the ponies behind me roll off into nothingness as I strut to the Two. magical energy bursting around me in brilliant color as the lightning goes to hit me but is redirected by an invisible hoof.
I can see the crack fully now. I can see that it goes all the way through into the heart. I raise my hoof up to touch the fissure, but I stop before I touch.
We have much to discuss The two ponies' eyes open with blinding white light as I am pulled, by some unbelievably strong force, into the gemstone, which absorbs me like water, and my vision fades.
*****
“A long time ago,” A voice said in my head. “Before the moon had a mare, before the ruling of the two Sisters,”
“Before even Equestria had a name”
I had been here before
“There once was a battle, a feud between the inhabitants of the land”
I saw before me the vision that Nuro had shown me. I watched before me the horror of what I saw again. the biggening, the fight, the out casts, the anger, the pains. To my dismay I felt it again.
“But the magic of the wendigos is not so easily beat by distance.” I saw the proto town that was covered in snow.
“Our communities were strong and our friendship true, yet we were cold and beginning to starve.” I was going through this sorrow again.
“But” it said, “there was a sad hope.” My attention was directed to a small dark blue colt with short blue hair and a filly with a green coat and long red hair.
“Two little ponies, who’s love for each other was strong, knew they had to do something, they could not sit and watch as the families who raised them suffer. They would sacrifice anything for the ones they loved. They snuck off often, against the advice from anypony, to find food, on one of the hunts for food they journeyed into the mountain.
something about the vision changed, I no longer felt all that I saw, instead I was thrusted into the eyes of a colt.
---\______/---
I saw the green filly ahead of me climbing up a rock. She was wearing a thin cotton coat that looked way too cold for the environment, but it seemed like it did not bother her. She had a cutie mark that was a rose with oversized thorns on it.
“Rosebud, I think we shouldn’t be this far away, you know our moms worry enough as it is” I said, or he said? (We?) the colts voice was high with a bit of raspiness.
“Raspberry Cream is that hesitation I hear?” the filly (Rosebud) turned around and looked at me, no looked at Raspberry with a look of guile. Her voice was smooth and calm. The sense of hesitation that raspberry felt went away as he took in the beauty of the filly.
“No,” I (we) sighed “but we are pretty far up here, look” I pointed down the hill towards the snow-covered shacks, that looked like small dots of brown amongst white.
Ahead of me, Rose called out: “ ha HA I knew it, Ras come look at this!” I trotted over to see what she was looking at. She was looking down behind a rock “I knew those gem berries had to have come from somewhere!
“Woah” I said as I looked to see a small opening that peered into a large expanse strangely lit up with yellow light “A cave!”
“Not just any cave! Look at the source of the light!” Upon further looking I noticed what she saw “Gem berries! Come on, let's go get some!” she reached into her saddle bag and brought out a rope.
“Woah, where did you get that?”
“Well, your dad is the town woodsman.” With a devious smile she wrapped the rope around the rock.
While shaking my head I said, “pretty like a flower but pointy like thorns," my heart fluttered as I chuckled. “Just the way I like it.”
She looked at me with the rope around her waist. “Oh, stop it you goofball you’re making me blush.” with that she jumped down the hole repelling down “stay up there I need you to pull me back up!”
“Ok but make it quick, it's almost sunset. '' Looking down the hole I saw her hit the bottom and headed to the closest clump.
“looks like they grow on vines!” she yelled up. After a little while of collecting, she stopped to have a taste. “Ohhhhh Raas you have got to try this, it's so much better fresh!”
In the distance I heard a rock hit the ground, echoing in the cave.
“Ras? Did you hear that?” she stood frozen, looking off.
“Yeah… you should probably get out of there, it's getting dark.”
“Right.”
On her way to the rope another noise arose, this time the sound was almost like glass breaking but with no other shards hitting the ground. The sound was short and didn’t echo.
“Rose!” I yelled “hurry” even before she got to the rope I started pulling. My strength not failing me when she jumped on and grabbed the rope with her teeth.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a light blue blur on the wall of the cave coming around to the rope. Panicked, I started pulling faster.
The blur jumped off the wall and just for a second, I saw clearly what it was. Raspberry had never seen it before, but I knew it well. To me I knew this creature as Skrall, a crystal dog-like beast of the underground, that often plagues deep mines (what was it doing so far up?)
It jumped into midair heading towards the rope, as it neared it put its sharp hand/arm behind it and slashed the rope. Rose went tumbling down and hit the ground hard, the sharp crack of bones cracking and screaming filled the cave as the creature landed on the wall. It turned its one eye to me and screeched a horrible flat scream that sounded like it was underwater and raced up the wall to the hole where I peered in.
“ROSE!” I step back and spin to prepare myself to buck the lines out of the beast. I can hear it getting closer, almost almost… aaand, nothing. Nothing came out of the hole.
I go to look back down the hole, only that there is no hole.
“What!?” I frantically search around for any sign of the hole, but I can't find any “Rose!” I yelled at the ground. I pranced around looking for anything under the snow “Rose!!” Nothing. Gone. lost. I fall to my flank. A tear starts to form in my eye. Deflated, I ask nopony, in particular “Rose?”
---\______/---
My vision is ripped from the colt’s eyes, and I see him below me, I get a good look at the sobbing colt. His cutie mark was a bottle of cough syrup with a bush growing out of it.
My attention moved to the rock floor around him.
“What happens next would change the course of history” the soft disembodied voice returned.
I zoomed down into the rock and came out on the other side, heading straight to the filly who lay on her back writhing in pain. I notice that her hind legs aren’t moving on their own. And I am forced behind her eyes.
--\______/---
The first thing I felt was the pain, then I heard somepony scream, wait, that screaming was from me. it felt like my upper back was being torn to shreds perpetually, oddly the pain stopped at… oh no, we started to panic as we realized we could not move our hind quarters; the screaming turned from a death scream to a scream of terror.
“AHዙዙH, AU⋃ሀυggh, aiiigggh, noo nonono, arrrrggghh.'' The smooth calm voice was replaced with a crackled voice gurgling through the blood dripping down her muzzle.
“RASPBERRY” I (we) said desperately, my breathing was deep. Looking up I could not find the hole. The pain was slowly drowning away as my body fell into the pain.
“HEEEELP”
There was no reply. I was starting to panic.
Suddenly I remembered the beast, something clicked inside me. As I started to slow down my breathing
“Ok rose” I said inwardly “you're alone, and… ‘hurt’,” I could not bring myself to say it “and surrounded. Stay calm” my back was still screaming with pain, I could feel myself wanting to pass out, I looked around to take inventory of my surroundings.
“Berries, rocks, and more berries” “Ugh”
“I'm doomed” I laid back down and closed my eyes. Darkness taking over me
“Maybe… a nap…..
*****
When I came to, my vision was moving along the cave, rocks passing by. The occasional berry vine lit up the delve. I looked around to try to see what was happening. Or at least I tried. My eyes shot wide open when I realized I could not move.
“Heeooo?” I tried to say ‘hello’ but my mouth wouldn't move.
We stopped, and I was plopped on the ground, muzzle first. I may not be able to move but I can still taste the dirt. (yuck)
I was pushed over to face the thing that was carrying me. It was the Skrall! It had a head with one eye that spanned the face of the, well, face. In one of the crystal hands that it had, it held a green stone and brought it up to my face, the stone bled out a green gas, as it bled the stone turned into a gem
Rose did not know anything, but to me this was mind blowing, a skrall using an absorption stone? Unheard of!
As the gas entered my lungs, my vision began to fade, and vertigo took over.
*****
I opened my eyes to a bright light, and I shrinked back. (was I dead?). My body felt cold, and stiff like I haven't moved in a while. With a hoof up to my eyes I slowly opened them.
When my eyes adjusted to the light around me, I was struck with beauty.
In front of me I saw something magnificent. A giant round blue crystal that had tails of crystals above it. It was half in the cave wall behind it, it had a tear-shaped gem pointed down in the wall, it was glowing with a purple energy. Where the gem touched the ground there were smaller outcroppings of jewels and brilliant stones that seemed to grow away from the point of the purple jem, seemingly flowing out from it, its influence spreading over the whole room.
The gem started to grow a little brighter, and for some reason i felt like it could feel that i was beholding it
“Hello, little one” I hear from behind me.
I turn my head to see the creature that was carrying me standing over me, its eye-face staring right at me. My initial instinct it to run but there was a calm about the situation that i was in that disarmed me
The skrall’s head started to glow, with it came a voice.
“Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you”
---\______/---
My vision was pulled from her eyes and started to rise in the cavern, from what I could see a conversation ensued.
My vision was obscured by the ceiling as I rose. When I emerged on the other side the ground was covered in snow and the blue colt was clearing away the snow with a shovel. He had a pickaxe on his back.
And I was pulled behind his eyes
---\______/---
With the pickaxe in my mouth, and running on the strength of hope and determination I hit the ground.
CLINK…
CLINK…
CLINK…
Chunk after chunk came off the ground.
CHINK…
CHINK…
CHINK…
The sound became more and more hollow.
CHUNK…
CHUNK…
CHUNK…
I was so close, I could feel it, like physically feel it.
CHENK
CHUNK
My body was sore, I was chilled to the bone. It was deep into the night and I was tired. The only thing keeping me going was the image of Rose looking at me with that danged smile that i fell for, a mischievous smile that told of adventure
CLUNK…
CLUNK…
I took a deep breath and hit with all my fury.
CRAANK
My ax was sunk deep into the stone and there it lay stuck.
CCRRR KKK
A web spread from the point of impact and surrounded me
“uuuh.”
The cracks shot from the web in all directions.
“UUUUH!”
I frantactly looked around as the chaos around me unfolded. It all stopped in a moment of calm.
You know that feeling, when you look around you and feel like people are always choosing everything evil. My whole life I've seen the terrible things that ponies have done. My mom always told me to stay true to who I was, when I see all the ponies around me hurt each other with their hooves or words, it's so hard to do that. In my head I can't comprehend why or how these ponies could choose bad, shouldn't it be obvious that bad is bad, evil is evil, and that we should be good? Is it just the nature of ponies around me or is there something else? Maybe a nurturing force?
I just want to be good.
I just want to be happy
Then why is it so hard.
*****
As I fall through the ground below me my eyes are closed, my hooves are flailing about trying for any hoof hold. I screamed for a good 30 seconds before I realized that I was no longer falling but instead on my stomach.
When my eyes open, I no longer see the mountain top nor do I see the cave, what I do see is a white void all around. With a gasp I jump to my hooves and look around. Nothing.
I must be out of the vision, but where is everything? Better question: where am I?
"I do believe I can answer that"
I whip around to see where that came from only to be greeted by something that wasn't there a second ago, three pony shapes standing In Front of the Fallen star. One of the ponies is bigger than the other two, the one standing in the middle, with what looks like a horn? A unicorn? The other two look more familiar. Only after a moment do I recognize them as The Two that our life is based on.
"whatgaba" I mumble out in confusion.
"I said, I can answer that.", I then realized that the unicorn in the middle who said that was no unicorn at all! He had wings! Pegasus? But a unicorn? What do you even call that?
I hear the pegi-unicorn thing chuckle and say " I'm called an alicorn"
"Wait, CAN YOU HEAR MY THOUGHTS!?" What in the world?
That alicorn(?) looks up at me and says, "Among other things, yes. I'm sure you have a million questions so let me start with who I am. "
And with that he gestures with a hoof to the side and I see another vision playing before me.
"First things first, I am not a god, nor am I some pony special." The screen changed to a view of a city bathed in green covered in clouds, a giant black orb resting in the dead center held up by buildings around it.
"My story is larger than what you can comprehend, so we shall start at my death. I was a God, do not get me wrong, I had all the power I could desire. So much power that I thought I could overcome one of the fundamental truths in my world: death." From the black sphere there came a melody, of sorts, it had a steady decrescendo, until a soul was forced into it, then the melody increased.
Wait. How did I know that?
"I am supplying you with the knowledge sufficient for you to comprehend."
Oh.
"I am not proud of who I was. I was a parasite, an intruder to a planet. one that is not unlike unto your own."
almost under his breath I hear "albeit a fallen one."
"Against all odds, in the end I was 'evicted'," I could hear some spite as he continued, "by a mare known as security." in the vision I see a giant piece of moon? (What?), fell into the orb which I knew as the alicorn standing next to me, as the city was enveloped in the proceeding evisceration.
"I would have ceased to exist right then and there" there was a certain fear in him. "If it weren't for the stars seeing fit for me to pay for my crimes."
It was at this point when I realized that I was standing next to the same type of pony I loathed. The same pony that filled the Qurall with hate and anger, the same that forgot I existed until I was needed. He knew what I was thinking, and he had this hurt expression on his face, he would not look at me.
This, THIS is a GOD!? WHAT!?
He flinched like I had just bucked him where the sun doesn't shine. (But doesn't he shine?)
I put it together and cut to the chase. "What do you want from me?"
"It is not like that" almost a whimper.
"Ledge" I hear behind me, accompanied by a hoof to my shoulder. surprised by the contact I jump away and look behind me to find Rosebud looking at me, compelling me to be kind. Raspberry stood behind her. "Give him a chance." she said softly, giving me a choice.
Raspberry walks beside her, "there is more to this story that I think you should hear."
"I do not blame you if you want nothing to do with me." the alicorn says into the ground. "For my story gets worse before it gets better."
I do not know what to think. Here before me are the two most important ponies I have ever known and what seems to be a ruffian in front of me.
without a word I rest my face and sit down, allowing him to continue. this better be worth it I think at him.
After a minute to regain his composure, he magically makes a vision for what's next.
A counsel of stars surrounding a malformed black sludge
"The stars took away my power to sing, sent me to a place with instructions to create harmony." I see before me the fallen star hurtling towards Equus. "What a joke I thought, how am I supposed to do the one thing they took from me. at first, I did not care for my instruction, because with me were ponies,"
Before me lay the familiar town/mountain/clouds that I saw in the visions before "Ponies that could be manipulated and used, sadly not by me. So, I created the wendigos, that take the hate and suffering of the little ponies and use it to torment them more. with them I was able to snuff out the song they played and separate the three breads."
A sadistic smile appeared on his face only to change to a look of loss. "It was then that I realized that because I could not sing, I needed others' songs to live, my power was fading, and I was dying because of my own actions."
Wait
He caused this.
This tragedy?
All those ponies that hurt? all the screams of agony?
Because of HIM?!
My rage was unbearable. But before I could say or do anything, Raspberry walked up to me and said "Be kind, we are all ponies," he then added "Ish".
Here I am, with the cause of what I believe to be the root of all of the things wrong with this world we live in, and here are my two Idols, in full faith, supporting this 'pony' and asking me to do the same.
I was about to shut him out, get out of here, do something, but what Ras said came into my mind 'be kind'.
Right at the climax of my anger, I let it go. They must see something in him. I guess I'll find out what.
I guess I'll choose kindness. (Begrudgingly)
"Thank you, legendary, I knew your song was great." Before I could unpack that, he continued with his story. "And so, I withered away. My creations are running rampant. My second chance is ending." what I saw in front of me was thousands of years as the Fallen star's light fades into the rock around it.
"As my life was ending, I was hopeless. but as it was, two little ponies found me, their song was great, in fact their song was more, they were together, they were a Harmony" I saw flashes of the vision, showing the Two and the Star.
"My story was told, and they had people to save. They then joined me to save what they could. From there, I took in the town of refugees, and sheltered them, for I could only live if they had a song to give." He looked to the side and said to himself "Hey that rhymed."
Shaking his head, he went on, "But, I fear that we have come to an end of an era. I have tried so hard to keep the song of the stone ponies strong, but your rock hearts were stronger, and I am weak beyond comparison." He then kneels down to my level and looks me in the eye, only then do I see the nebula that is his eyes, that go forever and ever.
"And when I go, the caves comes with me"
oh
OH
That would be bad.
I stand up, wide eyed, and ask "what do you need me to do?"
the same thing I said before, now with vigor.
He stands up (He towers over me) and looks at me, like the next words that come out of his mouth will be the most important thing that has ever been said, period. Rose and Ras move to stand on either side of him before he says:
I trot around my room, scowl on my face, putting stuff in my saddle bags in preparation for the long walk.
"You need to slow down, not 20 minutes ago you were passed out and screaming non-sense to yourself, hay, you should still be at the KC, now your ramble'n on about goin to the other side of the mines."
'sigh'
"To coal's gate, yep" one of the other Qurrals, set a very long way into the mines, started out as a base camp for the workers, became the first Qurral outside of the Risen Two after ponies started staying.
It had taken a lot of convincing from the Two to get me to go.
"Ledge."
max put his hoof on mine, stopping me from putting things into my bags
"What happened? you are clearly angry. Are you trying to get away from something? The gang fights?"
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. As I exhale, I rest the scowl that was on my face.
How do I even explain? 'The Two and an evil god want me to make some friends in the other side of the mines.' Pfft, like that makes sense.
"No, Max, I'm not running away." I turn my head and look at him.
I've got to say something, but what?
"Then what?" he lets go of my hoof and sits down, pure concern on his face.
"I... Uh..." Of course, he won't let me go, what sane pony would.
"Fine" here go's my credibility. I take a deep breath. "whenIwasconnectedtotheFallenstar,IwasinthepresentsofThetwo,andanalicorn,theytoldmethattheQurralisindangerandthattheyhavedonealltheycantosaveit,buttheonlythingthatcansaveitisme,apparently,andtodothatIneedtogotocoal'sgatetofinda,'ponyofjoy',whateverthatmeans,ohandthealicornisanevilponythatalmostdestroyedaworldfaraway."
As I proceed to take a breath so that I can continue, a hoof gets shoved into my mouth.
"woah woah woah" Max takes a second to prosses what he heard. "THE Two? the Quarrel's in danger? pony of joy? what are you talking about"?
"And what the hay is a Alicorn."
"ithhh ahh lohhhnm storhhy"
"Oh, sorry" he stated as he pulled his hoof out "what?"
"It's a long story. I guess I can start at the beginning."
"What?"
"Just stay with me here, A long time ago. before the moon had a mare....
*****
"Wait a second" I said "We never got those Stonuts!"
"Really Ledge, that's what your concerned about?"
"What do you want from me I'm coping!" the frown on my face told of my contempt.
what was I doing...
It hit me after telling max what I was told to do, of what I was actually doing. packing for a 2-day trip walking through old mines and rickety minecart tracks. Then I would have to go and find that one pony the Two told me about, in a quarry i have never been to. dread started to flow through me. would I be able to make it on my own?
Max apparently read my dread and put a hoof on my shoulder. I snapped out of my blank stare into the floor, and looked at him, my apparent fear shown on my face.
"If what you say is true," max said "then you need to go, I have no clue why or who or what you need to see or do, but it sounds important."
well crap, that seals it, I have to go.
I look up to max and start with a stutter: "w ww will you come with me? I... I do not want to be alone."
Max reels back. looks down and thinks for moment. "I.." he starts. Then he shakes his head. "No. I don't think I can." he looks back up into my eyes and says, "but I know that you can complete this on your own." "Oh, and didn't you say that you need to make some friends on your trip? just walk fast and you'll be Loney no more!"
That still left the trip to be done alone. But he was right. I could do it. But that still doesn't mean I have 100% motivation to go.
Uggh, why am I so contradicting.
Max, ever-vigilance in the search for emotions, pokes me out of my disassociation and says, "I could always help you prepare though."
*****
The next few hours, Max and I pack essentials, go over maps, and general guides to the undergrounds. All was going well until Max asked a question that I hadn't even considered.
"Oh, hey, have you told your mother about what you're doing?"
Let me tell you about the many points of culture of the underground, specifically the swears we use in times of distress. let's start with 'crack'. As we stone ponies age, our skin dose this thing where it cracks at places that most often comes into contact with other hard things, like our hooves, or knees. At the end of our lives, (that averages around 80 harvests, the time scale we use) our body starts to crumble to dust.
Death is not pretty. Insomuch that the word 'crack', and those related to death, is perceived by many as taboo. and used by many more as a way to condemn a pony to verbal anger.
Well, I hadn't thought about my mother since what happened at the temple, so at the time, you can imagine the intensity of Max's face palm, after he asked the question of my mother when I blank faced yelped:
"OH, crack me with a rusty metal spoon and pour me out in a Skrawl's eyes!
“Sapphirrrrreeeee!!!” calls out through the bunk house.
The sound reverberated across the black stone walls. Empty bunk beds populate the walls all the way down the long, corridor like, quarters, all of them perfectly put together, fit for a bit to bounce on the sheets of thin and scraggly blankets. Although ponies might have slept on them not hours before, you would have never had know, based on what was left. The metal frames supporting the bed were smooth and clean, properly put together.
All of the beds were proper. Except for one, the very last one at the end of the room, where a blue skined keeper lay messily on her back, hooves up in the air, snoring deeply. Her blanket hung on the side of the bed, no where close to providing warmth.
The red warden stallion who had shouted across the expanse, had made it to the bunk where she lay, his face contorted into an incomprehensible rage at the pure insubordination of this trouble making, no good, lazy, small, mare that has never shown any respect to authority.
He took a huge breath through his nose and said ‘calmly’:
SAPPHIRE!!
Sapphire, who was enjoying a nice dream about stonuts, was rudely ripped from her slumber and bound up in surprise. Only to hit the bed above her leaving a small dent in the metal frame... Right next to countless other dents.
That bump woke her up. She now looks around to make heads or tails of her surroundings.
The red stallion allowed her to realize the mistake she had made before grilling her. After a few moments a look of destitute painted itself on her face. Her eyes focused on the rows of empty beds.
Nopony woke me up. again.
Sapphire has always tried to be nice to all of her coworkers. Gave them gifts, did special things for them, and helped them. But they never seem to appreciate her. All of them know, everypony wakes up together, works together, and sleeps together. It’s the ‘code’ for coal miners. Yet here she was.
Whether or not she was forgotten or ignored, the feelings of loneliness hurt.
The red stallion, who had done this same routine multiple times in recent history, stared red hot lances into the green hopeless eyes of Sapphire, who was now, after looking around, looking into the eyes of her superior.
“How many times." He was practically palpitating in his boots " How many times am I going to have to tell you, no, to POUND into your dense, thick, skull.
He grabs the mare off her bed and throws her to the center aisle.
“YOU”
He kicks the mare down the corridor as she tries to get up
“ARE INDENTURED”
Another kick sent into the stumbling mare.
”TO US”
One final push brought the mare to the ground with thick clatter.
“now go out there and don’t come back until you bring back 16 tons of the number nine coal!!!
Sapphire scrabbles up to her hooves to trot to the door.
”NOW”
With that, the mare ran down the rows of beds and burst through the door to the outside, where once she was out of sight from the red stallion, she immediately slows down to shake herself off.
“What got into his pants?” Sapphire said with a light bubbly voice. She sighed as she trotted off to the equipment shed.
She usually wakes up in time for roll call, with the others, why didn’t she wake up this time? And the better question, why did the others not wake her?
She knew why. Nobody liked her.
With her head down, she walks to her now long day ahead of her.
Over her shoulder she hears a few snickers followed by a jab “Oh look who decided to wake up, its sleeping beauty.”
Sapphire looks over to see three ponies laughing at her. She knew these ponies. Ignoring their jabs, she turned to greet them with a smile on her face.
“Oh hello there Senet, Jade, Garnet. How are the mines for you today?”
“Sixteen tons lighter” Jade said with added flout. The other two chuckle.
With a innocent smile on Sapphires face she said “your welcome! I’m glad I could help you; I would do anything for a friend!”
The three mares, annoyed that their fun was being taken for ‘granite’, all shot looks of disgust, and Senet spoke up and said “Uhh, Sapphire?”
“Yes, Senet?”
“We’re not friends.”
Sapphire knew that if she let their cold in it would never leave, so she stuffed her frown deep into her heart, put up a fake smile, and said “If you say so! Anyway, I’ve got a long job ahead of me, so I better get started, see you soon!” she added a friendly wave as she spoke. Then with a fraudulent skip in her step, she turns to head to her workstation, forgetting to go to the shed to get her supplies.
She ignored the ensuing slander the girls said, purposely loud enough for her to hear.
*****
The familiar sounds of pickaxes on stone echo through the tunnels of Coals Gate, makeshift explosions bring thumps of air pressure every now and then. Rickety minecarts creak and shift through the long rock halls.
Sapphire is hooked up to a large, two-ton wagon. With her small frame and weak body, she can barely tote the heavy load, but she still keeps a smile on her face.
Every dirt-stricken cheek, looked upon that smile with distain. Sapphire knew, she didn’t care. All she needed to know was that she gave a smile.
All she ever hoped was that she got a smile back. She never did.
She hauled her cart through the twists and turns of the tunnels, each inch memorized, her goal: The Depository. The trip takes a while, the cumbersome load's weight, more noticeable with each step. But she gets there all the same.
“Hello again Beetle!” Sapphire said weakly as she waved to the creaky old mare behind the collection booth.
The old mare looks at the tired young Sapphire with stone faced pity as she dumps the load into the weighted scales, next to the booth, Beetle looks at the instruments in her booth then looks to a clipboard to mark a few tallies, she looks up to say in a wispy, shaky voice, “That brings you up to 9 tons”. Beetle sighs, “7 more” she softens her expression to ask, “why do you stay here, Sapphire, you do nothing but work and work, and you get treated like trash for it.”
Beetle had lived a very long time, and for the better part of her life she has sat in this booth, counting ton after ton. Her Cutie mark was that of a checklist on a clipboard. She was here when coals gate was founded from the dust, and she vow to be here when she herself returns to dust.
Beetle had seen many ponies come and go. Ponies looking for money found in the black rock that is the name sake of Coals Gate. Most realizing the high paycheck comes with high risk. Too high of risk for the smart ones, so they quit. The weak ones carry on because they can’t afford not to. The strong one carry on because they can.
Beetle has seen many ponies so full of life, and vigor, brought lower than the stone, by the coal. Many ponies walk into the mines and not come out unchanged, some never come out.
But Sapphire was one that never lost her spirit. Beetle could never figure out why. Sapphire was so happy to break her body over and over again for others, that body being one of a keeper, the weakest of the four pony breeds. Even now Beetle could see new cracks in Sapphire’s skin.
Sapphire knew exactly why she did what she did, but she hated thinking about her reasoning. She had been all throughout the tunnels, looking for a place that she could belong to bring happiness. Many, many, harvests were spent trying her best to please other ponies, trying to belong to a place, ponies to laugh with. But she would never find what she was looking for. Or rather she would be shunned and kicked out, or just plain ignored. Or worst of all, laughed at.
One time not too long ago, she snapped. She could bear no more. If she couldn’t belong, she didn’t need to exists. She gave up on trying to live a life for ponies, but she couldn’t bring herself to be selfish. In some crazy way of thinking, she convinced herself, the best thing for her was to work herself to death. The best of both worlds, the others wouldn’t see her anymore, and she would help others as much as she physically could.
She saw it as a win-win.
She never feared death anyways.
"Sapphire, you ok?"
Sapphire snapped back to reality "Oh sorry Beetle, guess I zoned out." She intoned with a sheepish grin.
"Honey, you were standing there for 3 minutes with a Two forsaken look on your face."
"Oh... uh" she was taken aback before timidly offering "power nap?"
Beetle just shook her head
"Well I guess I'll be off then, 7 more tons to go and all...." She trailed off as she turned the cart around to head into the tunnels once more. Before remembering that she hadn't said goodbye.
"OH, uh, bye Beetle!" beetle could only see her head poking out from behind the cart as she called back
Beetle turned back to her work with a frown. "That mares going to get herself hurt." She said to herself.
*****
At the end of the work period, (or more accurately, sapphire's work period, as everypony has already retired) Sapphire trudges through the doors to the sleeping quarters to see everypony sound asleep, all perfectly tucked into their beds, not a hair out of place. As carefully as she can, she walks to her bed in the very back. Her eye lids drooped low, and her movement sluggish, but she manages all the same.
But before she can get to her bed to pass out, a green, smooth and uncracked, hoof shoots out Infront of her from the right of her vision. Following the hoof up, Sapphire saw Jade, and her glaring silver eyes, and slight smirk.
Before sapphire could say anything, she felt another hoof slide around her withers and rest on her shoulder. A red hoof. She looks left to see Senet's red glaring eyes and even more pronounced smirk.
As Sapphire tries to say something, Senet brings a hoof up to her mouth in a 'shush' motion before leading Sapphire back out the doors. Away from Sapphires bed, much to her chagrin.
They took Sapphire out behind the crew quarters, in a secluded place so no wandering eye would be able to see them. The wall behind was rocky and uneven in contrast to the smooth and sharp corners of the bunk house opposite of it. Back here light was sparce, only a few dim glow rocks sat behind the bunk house, which meant far too many dark shadows for a pony that cared about their safety at this hour, but almost in comedic juxtaposition, not once did running away or getting out of there crossed Sapphires mind. She was too tired to care what they wanted.
She would regret that.
"Well, well, well. would you look at the menagerie." From the shadows a voice calls out from a particularly dark shadow to the group just arriving
Sapphire looked towards the call to see that even her eyes, that were attuned to the naturally dark caves, could not penetrate the darkness that surround the supposed source of the vocalization.
The darkness started to move, as if it was some sort of fluid caught in a whirlpool , the darkness then proceeded to condense into its center, a gem that so happens to be on the forehead of a familiar face.
Senet speaks up from behind Sapphire, "Garnet. You had absolutely no reason to be that dramatic."
Garnet scoffs as the last of her darkness is absorbed into the speckled gemstone on her head, before tilting her head up to say: "One must never underestimate a good fear inducing entrance." Much to Senet's distain.
Jade then pipes in to say, while pointing to a sleeping Sapphire, "ummmm, looks like it's not too effective" she then follows it up with a poke into Sapphires side to wake her, to no effect.
"Uugh, are you kidding me!" Garnet starts, as she starts to stomps over to Sapphire, she continues to mumble on her way "I do all that work to make her fear me even just a LITTLE bit, and she goes and nods off on me in the middle of my moment of victory." She finishes her rant right Infront of Sapphire. She then smacks sapphire with a loud frustrated "WAKE UP you dolt!".
Sapphire's head is smacked aside only to lazily revert to its original position with her eyes still closed.
Garnet prepares to hit her again when instead she sees Sapphire's eyes sluggishly open.
When Sapphire wakes, she sees Garnet In front of her. Sapphire, who had forgotten what happened prior to her nap, says "OH, hey Garnet! Thanks for waking me. It's been a long haul." she puts a hoof up to her cheek must have hit my head again, "What did you want?"
Garnet face hoofs. She take a moment to collect herself before she put on an obviously fake friendly smile. She then goes to Sapphire's side and wraps a hoof around her.
"Alright Sapp'h, here's what I'm going to do." She squeezes a little harder "I'm going to ask a question and you aren't leaving until I get the right answer," She tightens her grip and her anger breaks through her faux when she says "Got it?"
"Ok! wow you sure are strong garnet, if you keep that up you'll dust me" Sapphire gives a weak laugh.
"Good" Garnet spits
"So, what do you wana know?"
"What am I to you?"
That caught Sapphire off guard. And for the first time, a bit of fear sparked in Sapphire.
"You're my friend?" Sapphire gives weakly.
Garnet's mouth widens into a sickly grin. "Wrong answer."
Garnet then proceeds to raise the hoof not around Sapphires withers and slams the hoof into the chest of the blue mare. Sapphire shrieks as chips of hardened skin fly off the point of contact
"Now," Garnet says in a crazed tone. "lets try that again"
Sapphire's mine races as Garnet asks again "What am I to you"
What dose she want from me Sapphire thinks. Her option for escape ended when Garnet grappled her.
"HUH?" garnet pushes.
"Your.. a frien-"
Sapphire was cut off as another hoof was smashed into her weak chest. She screams as the wound starts to bleed through the fractures in her skin.
"What am I." She spits.
Through tears and sobs Sapphire mumbles "A fr-"
"Nope" Garnet pounds her again but this time she keeps her hoof imbedded into Sapphires chest and grinds her own skin into the wound, driving the mare into the ground and pinning her there. With her hoof still in Sapphire chest she positioned her self over Sapphire and looked into her eyes.
"Let me get this straight. I am a hard working mare who wants nothing to do with you and your niceness. YOU,[i/] are a good for nothing D.U.F.F., who should do nothing but keep to your self, and leave mares like me, and my actual friends, alone." With each sentence she puts a little more pressure onto her hoof to emphasize her points. "So here's what I want yo- LOOK AT ME!" Garnet screams as Sapphire loses focus to pain "I want you to never speak to me or my friend again, and your going to keep your stupid 'positivity' to your self. I'm sick of your horse apples" Garnet the goes to release the pressure before putting it back on to say "And never, call me your friend, again." she then releases the pressure and walks away, her friends in tow.
Jade hesitates to look at Sapphire with a confused expression before she goes out of sight from the broken, sobbing mare on the the ground
Never had Sapphire felt more alone then she did now, curled up in a small pile and puddle of her own skin and blood.
I give up, I cant do this anymore. was her final thoughts as she fainted from the pain.
