Chapters The Legend of the Sapphire Cave
I levitated my map out where I could get another look at it. It wasn't the best – I had to piece together clues from an atlas and a lot of mythology and obscure research notes – but it had brought me here, so it was close enough. Looking down from the jagged ridge, I could easily spot the shimmering entrance of the fabled Sapphire Cave in the lush valley below.
Tucking the map back in my saddlebags, I had to smile to myself. It had been Spike who found the last missing piece of the academic puzzle I had to solve to find this place, a short scribble on a scrap of paper between the pages of a completely unrelated book. He had always been a great assistant, but that might've been the second most important thing he'd ever done.
I was going to miss the little guy. I'd left him back in Ponyville with the rest of my friends, sharing the treebrary with a substitute librarian from Canterlot. I hated to leave them all like this – especially him. He'd been a friend, companion and assistant for most of my life – I just couldn't do it anymore. I love them all dearly, but I couldn't deal with how things kept happening in Equestria.
It had been going on ever since I was sent to Ponyville. First, I had to face down Nightmare Moon with five mares I'd barely met, dragging us all through exhausting tests of skill and character in the depths of the Everfree Forest to fight a goddess-like alicorn of purely malicious intent. Then Discord had awakened to terrorize Ponyville and half the surrounding country, and I nearly lost myself and all of my friends trying to stop him. Not long after, it was left to me to expose the changeling plot against Canterlot at my brother's wedding, when even Celestia – my own mentor! – had turned against me. Then there was the incident with the Crystal Empire, where I was confronted with my own nightmares before having to trust Spike to save the Empire and, likely, all of Equestria.
And that's just the world-threatening incidents everypony knows about. The endless problems caused by Applejack's stubbornness, Pinkie Pie's psychotic episodes, Fluttershy's terror of everything , Rarity's vanity, and Rainbow Dash's arrogance could fill a whole shelf in the library, and that's with what has happened in the past six months alone. Even Spike caused a few problems of his own while chasing Rarity's tail.
So I withdrew to the library and my studies as much as possible. I knew I was neglecting my friends, but I just couldn't take it anymore. Monsters from the Everfree Forest, ancient black magic seeping into somepony's basement again , my friends fighting over something petty again , whatever. I stopped getting involved.
It was, once again, Spike who found the Legend of the Sapphire Cave. It was a children's story, an adaptation of an old mare's tale. Of course, he was enraptured immediately. “We've got to find this place, Twilight!” He said the same thing every time. “It's a cave where the walls are lined with sapphires as big as your head!” And I knew exactly what he wanted from it. He actually drooled over the gems every time he talked about the place, which was a little gross, to be honest.
He was easy enough to distract, of course. A snack or an extra dessert always did the trick. The frequency with which he brought up the story again, though, eventually brought me to promise to do some reading on it. I became fascinated by the topic myself when I discovered an old myth that some sort of ancient creature was responsible for the formation of the gem-lined cave, and that led me to field research. I left my friends behind and followed the map I'd made into the wilds beyond Equestria's borders, into an endless forest that rolled over plains, hills, and even some mountains like a carpet.
I almost wished I could have brought Spike with me. Sure, my friends are the other Elements of Harmony, but to be honest, I'd be a disaster without him. I'd probably spend so much time organizing my checklists, my books, and my mail (not to mention that I'd have to dispatch my letters by pegasus express!), that I'd never get anything done! Still, he was just a baby dragon. He wasn't made for the kind of treks, not to mention minor dangers (well, minor to a grown unicorn and Element of Magic, anyway – certainly not minor for Spike), involved with searching for mythical caves outside of Equestria.
Still, I probably should have left him with Fluttershy, not at the library. She'd proven herself as good at managing foals as she was with her animals, Spike would probably drive the new librarian crazy, and -
I shook my head; worrying about that kind of petty thing was exactly what I was trying to get away from. I'd spent too long staring and thinking, and Celestia had guided the sun close to the horizon by the time I pulled myself together and headed for the cave.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The sun was halfway set by the time I reached the cave entrance, panting and sweating. It wasn't exactly dark, but I'd read that night comes on fast in a deep valley, so once I'd reached the bottom of the series of hills and ridges I had set my pace to a brisk trot.
After a swig of water from one of my canteens, I looked up at the myth standing in front of me, and was simply awestruck. The cave had been lovely at a distance, but standing in its open mouth gave me a whole new definition of natural beauty (which I was quick to write down – I'd brought a heavy travel journal that I didn't feel like calling a diary, along with plenty of quills, for notes). The entrance was about four ponies high and topped with a beautiful arch ceiling, but the more-or-less straight walls were close enough that only two ponies could walk in side-by-side. Or one Big Macintosh. Though the cavern floor itself seemed to be no more than dusty rock, on every other surface the fading daylight was reflected and refracted by thousands of sapphire gemstones, most of them about the size of a hoof.
After several minutes of staring, it was suddenly night. I smiled up at the sky, thinking briefly of Princess Luna. Her nights were beautiful, and only became more so as she got back in practice.
The howling of timber wolves nearby told me it was also time to set up camp. Probably inside the cave – I knew they weren't afraid of light, or ponies. After listening to make sure none of the howls were coming from the cave itself, I quickly trotted into the darkness, using a simple spell on my horn to make it glow like a torch so I could see.
The inside of the cave was much like the entrance for the first hundred steps, and it struck me that this area may have been built , rather than naturally formed. It opened up, however, to a quite natural-looking cavern, so I watched my step carefully. A spelunker's guide had suggested maintaining at least three points of contact with the floor at all times, and there were certainly a few places where it would've been easy to break an ankle because of deformities in the rock if one wasn't careful.
After surveying the cavern, I determined there were two exits: one, the way I came; the other, a more naturally-shaped tunnel, almost directly across from the entrance. I got out my bedroll and laid it down in a slight depression in the rock far to the side of either path. Then I threw a ward over the cave entrance, just in case somepony or some thing decided to come through during the night - anything bigger than a mouse passing through it would cause it to shatter explosively, filling the area with the sound of a hundred glass windows breaking at once. That would be more than enough to wake me, should something come wandering in, and I could easily defend myself from there. I still decided not to risk a fire – it had been a hot day, and the coolness of the cave and its drafts was not unwelcome at all, so there was no need to draw further attention to myself.
I extinguished my light spell and went to sleep.
The Legend of the Sapphire Cave
I woke up with a headache. That was new. I put a hoof over my head, knowing it wouldn't do anything to help the pain, but it made me feel a little better about it. Hoping it was just dehydration, I groped around with my other foreleg for my canteen, but found nothing but cold metal on the floor beside me.
That wasn't right at all. I opened my eyes, squinting against my headache more than the dim, blue lighting. I was surrounded by iron bars. This is bad , I thought. A quick glance up and down confirmed I was shut inside a metal cage. This is very, very bad! How had I not noticed being moved? I quickly charged a spell, preparing to teleport myself back to the cave entrance.
Nothing happened. No glow from my horn, just inside my peripheral vision; no teleportation, nothing. Well, my headache did get about two times worse. I moaned in pain and tried to bury my head in my hooves. There must have been some magic-draining spell in effect, or something of the sort. I'd read about them, but I thought the headaches were supposed to be minor .
"You're awake?" somepony said. The voice was low for a mare, but still a mare's. There was a brief shuffling of hooves, and I looked up. Against the light stood a heavy-set silhouette. "Welcome to hell, newbie."
"That," I said, pointing up at her with my right forehoof, "is not funny."
"Nope, it ain't." She did something with one hoof on top of the cage. "Now, before I let you out, you got to know the rules. One, you take orders from me, or a supervisor if one's around. Two, you don't never talk back. Three, you don't make no small talk. Period."
"That's ridiculous!" I nearly shouted, indignant. Then her hoof came down hard on the cage, rattling the whole metal structure and intensifying my already-terrible headache. "AUGH!"
"That's for back-talk. I won't be so gentle next time," the mare said. "Anyways, suit yourself. You come out when you're ready to work."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
I estimated two hours had passed since I was left on my own. I'd tried yelling a few times - first for help, then just for attention - but nopony had come, so I had spent the time thinking. After calming myself, I'd been distracted from planning an escape by the cave I was in. The nook in which I'd been placed wasn't much bigger than my cage, which itself wasn't quite large enough for me to stand. In front of me was a small passage leading off to the right somewhere; the dim light seemed to be refracted through thousands of basketball-sized gems from whatever its original source was. I could hear the occasional shout in the distance somewhere, but I couldn't tell exactly which direction it was coming from.
Plans for escape relied on a lot of speculation. My friends I had left in Ponyville, the Princesses and Elements were still in Canterlot, and my saddlebags - wherever they were - only had basic supplies. I'd have to work with whatever I found here, and the only thing I knew for sure was that I was expected to work, implying a lot of slave labor (I'd have to tell Celestia about this abomination when I got home; all my history books had suggested slavery was completely abolished everywhere). The mare who'd talked to me referenced supervisors like she wasn't one herself, so I suspected she was some sort of head slave, responsible for organizing others but still completely subservient to whomever the labor was for - probably a mad pony or some greater power, as happened in the Crystal Empire. I likely wouldn't be able to get anything useful out of her - she couldn't have been put in that position for dis loyalty. That meant any information or assistance would have to come from any other slaves I came across. I would need to either find some sort of map or guide to the surface, or run uphill where possible and hope. I also wanted to figure out what was stopping me from using magic. Without it, I was just a weak pony with a horn, and that made me feel naked.
I must have dozed off at some point. The next thing I knew was the same silhouette banging on the bars of the cage, though thankfully, my headache had somewhat subsided.
"Hey! Water ration," she said, pushing a small tin cup between the bars. I tried to take it telekinetically, but that made my head hurt, and I grasped it with my hooves instead.
"Thank you," I said reflexively, before drinking. I wasn't particularly grateful, considering the circumstances, but at least going through the motions wasn't a bad habit to have.
"Aw, shut up." I could tell by her tone she wasn't used to politeness. I thought that maybe there was a way to get to her after all, but she hardened again fast. "Now give back that cup. I came to tell you it's dinner time, and 'cause you don't work, you don't eat. I'll be back in the morning, and you better make sure you change your mind by then. Working on an empty belly ain't fun."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
In the end, it took me another day and a half to swallow my pride and promise to follow the rules (I wished my belly could count that as eating). I wasn't used to fasting like this, though, and was trembling with hunger when I was finally let out of my cage. The slave in charge practically force-fed me some kind of gnarled mushroom so I could work, then led me out through a maze of twisting little passages, all different.
"I'm in charge," she explained. "I'm Zero. If somepony asks who told you to do your job, you say it was me." While I walked the cramps out of my legs I glanced over her, the first good look I'd had as she'd always been back-lit. She was a larger mare than myself, heavily muscled and both tall and bulky, with a sea-green coat and white mane and tail. It took me another moment to recognize what seemed off about her, at first: she was a crystal pony. Not one of the happy, clear ones liberated from King Sombra - she was almost completely opaque. She didn't even have a cutie mark.
"Now I don't care what your name was, newbie. You're Eighty now, and you better remember that, 'cause that's what I'll call for you by." That was disconcerting. In some of the darker books I'd read, substituting something else for somepony's name was a good way to help destroy her sense of identity. I realized I would likely be dealing with multiple levels of manipulation and coercion and gulped, knowing I'd already succumbed to the food deprivation approach. Maintaining identity and dignity while trying to escape was going to be a serious challenge, though I could think of an immediate counter.
My cutie mark, a symbol of myself, of any pony's self. For me, it was even more important - it was the same violet six-pointed star as the Element of Magic. I wasn't exactly sure what the similarity meant, but I knew for certain I could rely on the mark to remind me: I am Twilight Sparkle. I am Celestia's personal student, bearer of the Element of Magic. My destiny is bound to the Elements and my friends. I can -
"You have two words to say to me, newbie. 'Yes' and 'ma'am.' Y'understand?" I quickly nodded.
"Got it." She hit me in the shoulder, hard enough that I slammed against the wall of the passage we were in, and pinned me there.
"Try again," she growled in my face.
"Yes ma'am!" I stammered. She released me, and we returned to walking. I caught myself favoring my left shoulder, and forced myself to move normally. It was sore and going to bruise, but I knew it wouldn't recover as well if I didn't keep working it.
"One more thing. Stay away from Five. Ruby stallion, brown agate mane. He's mine . You can sleep around all you want - " I cringed at the mere thought " - but you make one move on him, and one morning, you ain't waking up." Her tone was casual, but I didn't let that fool me.
"Yes ma'am." Like I would do anything of the sort, I wanted to add. I wasn't Rarity, but I still knew certain things a proper mare just doesn't do.
"Good. Now today, you work in the garden. Ain't no sense giving heavy work to a newbie pussy as you. Forty-Four'll tell you what needs doing." We stopped outside a large cavern. Looking inside, I could see the rocky floor I'd expected was actually covered with soil. And it reeked. I covered my nose, and Zero laughed. "Newbies, ha! The smell gets you every time. Now get!" She swatted my flank for emphasis, which I did not appreciate. Still, I had to put up with this place until I learned enough to get my magic back and escape. I headed in, trying not to breathe through my nose.
I made my way past several ponies - mostly mares, and like Zero, they were all opaque crystal ponies without cutie marks - who appeared to be tending to beds of various kinds of fungus, before realizing I had no idea which one I was supposed to be looking for. That was fine; slave labor wasn't exactly on my very short list of hobbies. I'd have to get to it at some point, but with nopony paying me much attention, I could probably poke around and maybe try talking to somepony.
"Hey! Newbie!" Or not.
"Uhm, yes?" I turned towards the voice. It turned out to belong to a powerful brown stallion with a blonde mane and, notably, he actually had a cutie mark - it was one of the flatter mushrooms I could see growing in various places. His build kind of reminded me of Big Macintosh, though he was just slightly smaller.
"I'm Forty-Four, and I get to put all the newbies through the wringer."
"Um, you mean show us the ropes, right?" I said, trying to force a smile.
"Nah," he said with a hearty chuckle. He sounded so genuine and friendly - I might've liked him, under less evil circumstances. "I'll run you into the ground, newbie, and you'll thank me for it."
He really did. My job was simple enough - I just had to carry around a couple of large buckets on a yoke and collect mushrooms from the ponies who were harvesting - but between the weight of the yoke, the relative heaviness of the mushrooms (which made no sense to me, mushrooms don't have a lot of water in them or anything), and having starved for two days, I was worn out in under an hour. My legs simply collapsed under me and refused to work. Forty-Four was next to me, laughing, in no time.
"Dang, newbie. You unicorns sure don't waste any time pussying out. I thought you all was supposed to be magic and powerful and shit." He laughed again, then shrugged. "Well, I guess you get to learn harvesting. Come on." I was trying to get out from under the yoke and follow him, but he just grabbed my tail in his teeth and dragged me through the dirt. I was unable to get to my feet or protest enough for him to let go, so I settled for glaring death at everypony we passed. After nearly ten minutes of this, he finally dumped me at a mushroom bed. The yoke I'd just left behind was right next to it.
"What is wrong with you?!" I yelled, scrambling to my hooves. He laughed again at my scowl.
"Thought you should meet everypony, new - "
"I have a name! "
"I don't care! " he yelled right back, without missing a beat. He must have been in charge of the new ponies for a while. He continued with his usual tone and smile, "Far as I'm concerned, your name is Stuck Up Mushroom-Picker, and it's my job to take out that stick. Now pay attention, 'cause this is everypony's dinner.
"You get to harvest this whole bed. There's stalk under the dirt for about an inch, and you'll want that too. You dig into the dirt with your nose and uproot the whole thing. And trust me, you short anypony by not picking right, and your hide pays for it." He demonstrated the digging technique once while I tried not to drill holes in his face with my glare. I had to keep telling myself it wasn't his fault, he's a slave too, I shouldn't take it out on him, there are better ways to handle this -
"Now get to work. I eat your food ration if you don't finish it all." He wandered off to "talk to" somepony else, and I turned my glare to the dirt. It sat there, stinking, but my belly interrupted the staring contest with a gurgle that decided the winner. I sighed and got to digging, combating the stench that nearly made me gag with the reminder that this was for food.
Got it the first time! I thought proudly. Then I frowned. Why should I be proud of this ? It was slave labor. I was slave labor, as much as I didn't like the thought. I resolved not to get so involved with my assigned work, and looked around for the mushroom I'd uprooted. Somepony must've taken it while I was busy thinking. I was just burying my nose under the next mushroom - and stopping myself from gagging - when the first one showed up again, falling off the tip of my horn. Oh. The speared mushroom fell to pieces when I tried to move it to the side to start a pile. That was disappointing, but it gave me a brilliant idea.
I had the whole bed dug up and was lost in my own thoughts by the time Forty-Four came to check on me again.
"The hay?" His face was as surprised as his tone, and both seemed a first for him.
"Not bad for a newbie?" I did my best to mimic his voice, which he frowned at. Then I pointed to my horn, which I'd had time to scrape most of the filth from. "It turns out a horn's better for digging than a nose, and it smells less, too!" I could feel a proud smile on my face, and immediately swallowed it. I'm doing it again...
"I don't like your tone, newbie." His tone, going from conversational to flat with a hint of anger, was all the warning I got before he bit into my tail and started dragging me again.
"Oh come on !"
The Legend of the Sapphire Cave
Dear Princess Celestia, I thought to myself, Today I learned ten new ways to be in pain. I couldn't walk - my hind legs were broken. I couldn't have dictated or written a letter, either, as my right eye was swollen shut, and my jaw hurt too much to move. It was probably broken too, along with a couple of ribs.
Forty-Four had dragged me up a mound in the middle of the cave, where it turned out that when he says something will be taken out on your hide, he means he'll... when he did try that, I managed to buck him right in the testicles. I ran, of course, but he recovered more quickly than I'd expected, and caught me before I could even reach the cave entrance. He was a lot stronger than I, so while I tried to fight, it quickly turned into a beating. When he was done he just went back to work, and I had to force myself to breathe despite the stabbing pain each gasp brought. Zero had eventually found me there, slung me over her withers (which hurt, but I had no strength to resist), and taken me back to my cage. She might have tried to ask me something, but I was too woozy and hurt too much to understand, let alone answer.
It was a while before I realized somepony was trying to get my attention. An aquamarine mare with a poofy sapphire mane smiled and clapped her hooves together when she realized I was looking at her, then set down her plain brown saddlebags. She also had a cutie mark: a bright red cross, not unlike some of the trauma nurses at Ponyville Hospital.
"Hi! I'm Ruby Cross! Which is a funny name for a pony, but it just came to me when I got my stamp!" She was sparkling from what seemed to be an internal light, and nearly transparent, much like the ponies of the modern Crystal Empire. Something about this pony's personality must refuse to be repressed. "I take care of everypony who gets hurt around here! You're hurt real bad, so I get to fix you up! Isn't that fantastic? It's okay, we can small-talk if you want to, 'cause I told Zero it helps!"
I tried to reply, but an explosion of pain from my jaw told me that wasn't possible. I settled for an mmhm when I could think again. Ruby dug into her saddlebags.
"Oh, your mouth's hurt! I have just the thing!" She pulled out a clump of pink moss (wait, pink?) and shoved it in my face through the bars of the cage. "Just eat this, and try to ignore the taste, it's really good for you!"
I didn't know how I was supposed to do that, but she was quick to show me, pulling open my mouth and cramming the awful stuff inside before forcing my jaws through chewing motions. It hurt entirely too much, and I passed out.
I don't think I was unconscious long, because when I woke up my jaw was still incredibly painful. I moaned in agony. This is my life if I ever give up. Work, beatings and... and what that stallion tried to do to me. Another thought crossed my mind, while I barely registered Ruby rubbing some sort of ointment into my broken legs. This is their life. I restrained myself from frowning at the bars in front of my face. This wasn't just about me, and it never was. These ponies needed help, and I was the only one who could do it.
Again.
No! I'm doing field research! I left Equestria to get away from all this! Why does this keep happening to me?!
"Aaaaall done!" My thoughts were interrupted, and I painfully turned my head to look at Ruby. While packing up her saddlebags, she added, in a tone that suggested she was doing me a favor (and she probably was), "Also, no heavy lifting for a week! Oh, hey, you're new here! I'm Ruby Cross! Who're you?" I groaned, after gurgling when I tried to laugh. This mare seemed a bit of a ditz, but I needed the humor. She beamed at me.
"Oh, you'll recover beautifully, I just know it! Laughter is the best medicine!" I managed to smile, and surprisingly, it didn't hurt too much. The horrible moss stuff must have really done its job.
"Thanks. I'm Twi - " I stopped myself. I doubted any of these ponies knew much about Equestria - there were no accounts of crystal ponies outside the Empire, after all - so they wouldn't know anything about me. Their superiors, on the other hoof, I knew nothing about.
" - Star Swirl." I tried not to smile too much. I admired Star Swirl the Bearded a lot. As in a lot a lot. I'd even dressed up as him for Nightmare Night. He was smart, smart, smart, and knew more about magic than anypony. I still learned something new every time I went over his research again. I wished I could have studied with him - not only was I sure he could keep up with me, but I'd have to work to keep up with him! The last time I'd had a challenge like that was in Magic Kindergarden. He was, I had to admit, the sort of stallion a mare like me could get completely carried away with, if only he hadn't lived so long ago.
"Twister Swirl? Huh, what's a twister?" I was going to make something up about a slip of the tongue, but she interrupted just as I was opening my mouth. "Oops, forgot the time! I gotta go! Twelve's going to have my hide unless I'm late! Or not not late enough, or early, or on time, or - " She cut herself off. "See ya Twisty! Well, I hope not actually, 'cause that would mean you got hurt again! But you know what I mean!" She waved a hoof. "Bye!"
I settled down to rest as Ruby trotted out of my line of sight. Apparently I wasn't getting a rest, though. Moments after I heard her talking to somepony, Zero walked in.
"So, Thirty-Two says you're fixed up, excepting you ain't good for lifting. That right?" By Thirty-Two, she must have meant Ruby Cross. I nodded, noting that I was starting to see again through the thin slit between my inflated right eyelids. She frowned. "Two words."
"Yes ma'am." I remembered. She nodded.
"So you ain't that stupid. You're still needing a lesson, though." She hammered a hoof down on the roof of my cage, making an un-Princessly din that pinned my ears back against my skull, covered in turn by my forehooves. When it was over I looked up at her, honestly confused. I'm sure it showed in my face, because she interrupted before I even said anything.
"State your designation," she said, her tone completely flat. So that's what this was about. I gritted my teeth, and laid my ears back again in preparation. I had committed myself to fighting for my identity, and this was going to hurt.
"Star SwirAAAAAHH!" She started banging on my cage again.
"State your designation."
"Star Swirl!" I yelled. My hooves were trying, ineffectively, to protect my ears from the noise and vibrations. It was all starting to make me feel ill.
"State your designation." Her tone was as flat as ever.
"Star Swirl!"
"Your designation!" She sounded a little angry, though I couldn't be sure with all the racket.
"Star Swiraaaugkhgkblgggg," I said, interrupted by what was left of breakfast expelling itself through my mouth and nose at the same time. Zero stepped back from the cage, and the racket stopped for a moment. It took me a moment to realize I was still shaking, but I couldn't stop. After a minute, she turned to leave.
"I thought you could do better." Now that it didn't have to fight through a barrage of noise to reach me, I could hear her tone clearly. It reminded me of the one time I'd failed one of Princess Celestia's exams, years ago. The Princess hadn't been angry. She'd been sad. She had been disappointed , and when I heard her say so, I had wished for anger instead.
"I'm sorry," I whimpered involuntarily, my own voice dragging me out of the memory.
"Not yet, you ain't," said Zero, before walking away. I took the opportunity to rest, pressed against the far wall of the cage from my own vomit.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Here's the thing about hunger: The ponies back in Ponyville, Canterlot - anywhere in Equestria, really - know nothing about it. Well, maybe the Princess knows, but I could never picture a past Equestria without enough food for everypony. Not until that week.
Sure, everypony knows what it's like to skip a meal. I lived long enough in Canterlot to know that even the nobility cancel a meal now and then, in favor of more important affairs. I would get so caught up in research that I would forget to eat for as much as a full day, myself. You end up feeling a little weak, or a little fixated on food, but anypony with any discipline at all can overcome that. That's not real hunger.
I had a lot of discipline. It was necessary for my day-long study sessions, and for the focus to keep certain spells active, like the cloud-walking spell I'd used to visit Cloudsdale with my friends for the Best Young Flier competition. We probably wouldn't have died if my concentration had failed, with so many fast and powerful pegasi gathered in one place, but that's beside the point.
The point is that despite all that discipline, my hunger grew into an overwhelming, soul-sucking night, eclipsing all other desires. Forcing myself to remain defiant, despite the agony in my belly and the hunger-induced soreness everywhere else (the weirdest part of which was my tongue, I'd have to read more about that when I got home), took its toll on my already-dwindling energy. Days dragged on with hunger and the gut-wrenching odor of my own decaying urine - I wasn't even let out to pee! - as my only companions. Over the course of that week, I nearly forgot why I was resisting, and though I continued a while longer on stubbornness and principle, the loss of dignity and the steady chipping away of hunger at my resolve made the end result inevitable.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
It took ten days. Ten days without food or conversation.
I could have ended it earlier. Why didn't I end it earlier? I needed to eat to stay alive, and I knew what Zero wanted in exchange. It was so simple. I knew I'd had my reasons, but they seemed vague and unimportant compared to the gnawing void in my belly.
It had been especially hard since Zero started leaving a couple of mouthfuls of mushroom just out of reach. It was hard to think about anything else. I'd rubbed my shoulders raw trying to get just a morsel, and I was at it again when she came to check on me with my water ration, which had been cut in half. I didn't pay much attention, keeping my eyes and outstretched hoof focused on the mushrooms she'd left two days before. They were starting to grow some kind of mold. Extra protein, my belly chimed in, and I reached a little harder. Maybe, somehow, I'd gain the extra two inches I needed by force of will. It didn't happen, of course.
"I... I'm sorry. Please," I begged. "Please, I have to eat."
"You say that," she said indifferently. Her hard eyes told my later, saner self, that she'd seen and done this before. "You ain't done nothing to prove it. Now, take your water."
"Please!" I said. "I'll prove it! I'll do whatever I have to! Just please, please give me food!"
"Shut up." I did, instantly. "Well, ain't that something. You learned. You know, you could'a made this a lot easier on yourself, but that ain't no thing now. You ready to tell me what I been waiting to hear?"
"Yes ma'am." She pushed one of the mushrooms towards my reaching hoof, but not close enough. I whined. "Please..."
"Say it." I screwed my eyes shut, as if that would help. Why was this so hard? All I had to do was say a few words and I would finally get to eat. My heart still twisted painfully and dropped into my gut like a block of lead. Desperately reaching for food while lying on my belly in my own stinking urine and ten-day-old bile, I couldn't stop my tears as I forced out what I had to.
"I am called Eighty."
The Legend of the Sapphire Cave
"Ma'am?" Part of me noted the timidity I couldn't keep out of my voice with disapproval, but I ignored it and everything else my cutie mark kept pestering me with. Since I had arrived I'd been caged, starved, beaten, nearly raped, and starved again. Though I'd been nursed back to working condition and given enough freedom to clean up my cage, I was still without my magic and surrounded by ponies far stronger than myself. I was right to be cautious around them.
"I ain't saying it again, Eighty. You got no choice. You ate to heal. Now you work for it." I cringed. Memories of the mind-twisting hunger I'd been through were still fresh. There had been more than one occasion I wished for another beating instead, but that didn't mean I wanted to work with Forty-Four again.
"Yes, ma'am." I spoke without thinking, and in the back of my mind I made a mental note about conditioning. Still, I was going to have to choose my battles, and this wasn't one I could fight. I let my response stand.
"Good." She opened the cage and guided me back to the mushroom garden I'd worked in two weeks before. I simply went with her. There was nothing to say. It wasn't long before I was there, and she'd sent me to get my orders from Forty-Four. I didn't have the potential excuse of not knowing him this time, and despite my fear, I found him quickly.
"Um," I started, and realized I was shaking. I forced my composure back into place. "I'm supposed to work here today."
He responded by throwing a familiar yoke over my shoulders.
"You know the drill, yeah?" I just stared at him for a moment. Did he honestly not remember what had happened?
"You... aren't mad at me?" He shrugged.
"Nah, you bucked me and got yours. We're square." Note to self: If there is justice here, it's an eye for an eye. "Now fill those buckets."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
That "afternoon" was blessedly dull. I only slightly improved on my time carrying the yoke - I estimated maybe an hour and a half - and was again reassigned to picking mushrooms. The task was three things I was almost surprised to find solace in: Simple, boring, and safe. Forty-Four gave me two beds because of how quickly I had improved on my technique last time; that was, apparently, the typical load. Maybe with some practice, I'll be able to manage three, I thought. My flagging pride protested, and I reluctantly banished my sense of accomplishment.
I finished what felt like well before dinner, and lacking anything else to do - Forty-Four was on the other end of the cave overseeing other work - I wandered to another bed nearby, where a tired white mare was using her forehooves to grind what appeared to be pieces of mushroom into the dirt compost. I watched for a minute or so before I understood what she was doing: The best an Earth or Crystal pony could do to plant mushrooms. Of course. Somepony had to have sown the beds I pick. Knowing what she was doing wasn't an excuse to be impolite, though. I took a breath - something I was getting used to the foul feeling of, in this chamber - and introduced myself.
"Hi! My name is Sta - " I was interrupted by an angry twist in my belly. I could feel my faux-energetic speech quake and slow, and I couldn't keep from stammering my next couple of words. "I mean, I'm Eighty."
She didn't respond, not even to look up from what she was doing. Eventually, I continued anyway.
"And you are?" She still gave no indication that she even knew I was there.
That was fine. I knew more than one way to make friends. I quickly analyzed her work and saw she had been planting in a clear pattern, one that I could emulate without trouble. Taking a piece of mushroom from the pouch by her side - I noticed they were all pieces of the 'head', all attached to the gills where spores were supposed to come out - I carefully worked it into the dirt on the far side of the plot she was working on. Then the next spot, then the next.
Eventually, she reached to plant in the next piece of her pattern, and found my hoof already doing the work. She looked up at me and smiled, and I smiled back, even though I could tell hers was fearful. It was a start. Then she picked up the now-empty pouch of mushroom material in her teeth, and trotted briskly away. I gave another smile, this time to myself.
"Follow her." The near-whisper at my ear startled me, and I jumped a couple of feet straight up, only keeping in a yell by biting my tongue. When I recovered, I turned to discover a jade stallion standing next to me. He had a cutie mark, too faded to be recognizeable, like the rest of him.
"What? Why?" I asked. He cringed, and I lowered my volume to match his. "Sorry."
"So, are you going to keep her waiting?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Okay, newbie - "
"Eighty."
"Stop interrupting or we'll be caught before I finish." I nodded. "Okay, the short version is you just propositioned that mare. You did your work and hers, so she's yours until dinner."
"What?!" Luckily, I wasn't too startled to keep my voice down.
"Normally, we work until dinner. Helping with work makes a little time. You won't get a lot of other opportunities unless you're in the breeding pool." He shuddered before going on, and I caught a shadow crossing his eyes. "So go get her."
"But I don't even like mares!" I blurted. Then I fell over and blinked, staring up at the ceiling. A stinging in the side of my muzzle said he'd smacked me. What -
"Then get off your stupid flank and tell her. She's waiting!"
"I - alright." I pulled myself to my hooves and shook my head clear before heading after the white mare. I found her quickly, trembling behind her mane against the back wall of a small alcove. I tried to smile reassuringly, but she wouldn't even look at me, her shoulders starting to shake as she cried quietly into her forelegs. I tried a gentle tone.
"I'm sorry. I had no - ack!" She threw herself under me with a sudden energy, lifting up to knock me onto my back. I closed my hind legs just in time to stop her from... from...
"No, no! I don't want you to - "
"Sorry," the white mare mumbled. She turned around, hung her head, and lifted her tail, revealing a mess of scars between her legs. I cringed and looked the other way, sympathy pains radiating from my own nethers. "I don't know what I did to attract you - just, please, get it over with quickly."
"I... no. Put your tail back down." I found a reassuring tone much more difficult to conjure than I thought. "I don't want to do anything to you - "
"Heard it before," she mumbled softly, not moving. I sighed, realizing she wouldn't listen. "Just get it over with. I don't want hope."
"No. I really, really don't want to do... that." I turned and walked away before she could reply, and tossed "Have a good afternoon" over my shoulder.
I ran straight into Forty-Four. He frowned down at me disapprovingly, and I cringed, my entire body aching at the memory of his displeasure.
"You goofed up, Eighty. You know you ain't allowed idle chatter." I gulped before nodding, and he gave my fear a smile fit for a Cheshire cat. I couldn't say anything. I knew what he could do, and what his smile said he would do. And it only got bigger. "Get back to your cage and wait. I'll deal with you later." I nodded again, but couldn't even move until he was across the chamber, giving orders to somepony else.
I tried to shake my head clear as I left the mushroom garden. I knew what would happen at my cage. I knew I had no way to stop it. I wasn't strong, I couldn't use magic, I couldn't run fast enough, and my hooves were bringing me ever closer to what the frigid stone in my gut assured me was cage-shaped doom. I wanted to break and flee, but I knew I wouldn't get away - or maybe I would, only to get lost and starve. I shuddered as I let myself into my cage, and curled up to try and stop myself from shaking. That kind of hunger was not something I wanted to ever become familiar with. Just being acquainted was painful enough.
"Eighty." I gulped, and looked up, somehow expecting Forty-Four despite the irate voice belonging to Zero. Her look was hard, but I guess my face was enough to tell her I wasn't here to slack off, because her next words were in a much more neutral tone.
"Forty-Four send you back?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Guess it weren't for disobedience. Small talk?"
"Yes ma'am." I couldn't argue even if I'd wanted to; neither could I stop my voice from starting to tremble with the rest of me. Zero shook her head slowly, and each disapproving word felt like a punch in the belly.
"Well, Eighty, I'm impressed. You're already breaking records for worst-behaved newbie. If you were going to be useless, you could've just said so and spared the rest of us a mouth to feed."
"You'd have let me go?" I asked, trying to be hopeful through the knots my insides were tying themselves into. Maybe if I could make myself less and less useful... "...ma'am," I added, to be safe.
"I'd have had you put down." I gulped. Okay, maybe that wasn't a good option after all. "Don't give me that look, I ain't giving up yet. I got a job even you can't mess up."
"Yes, ma'am?" The question popped out automatically, and I restrained myself from sighing.
"As it happens, a new spot's open in the breeding pools." I gulped again. No. No. No no no no - "Eighty, you better appreciate this. This is my turn, and I been looking forward to it forever. But seeing as you ain't good for nothing else, I'm giving you this one last chance out of the kindness of my heart. Now come with me."
"Yes ma'am," I said before I could think. Then, scrambling for some way out of this, I blurted, "But Forty-Four said to wait here, and - "
"I ain't here for what Forty-Four said. He takes his orders from me, and if he don't like it, tough. Now get out and follow, before I make you."
I stepped out of the cage, and then... then...
... I don't remember.
The Legend of the Sapphire Cave
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