A Crystal pony mare, by the name of Scarlet Sapphire Gemstone, was galloping through the forest to escape an unseen foe. She knew it was there, but she couldn’t see or hear it. She galloped her way through the forest dodging trees, vines that appeared to move and bushes. She continued this way until she came to a clearing, she gave herself a moment to catch her breath. Bad decision, as a timberwolf had caught her scent during her run.
She smelt its horrid breath as a got closer to her. Her pupils shrunk to pinpoints as fear started to overcome her. She bolted from her spot just as the wolf pounced, missing her be mere inches. She galloped as fast as she could, fear and adrenaline motivating her to continue running despite being out of breath. She felt that the wolf was getting closer yet she couldn’t look back to confirm this, not without risking hitting a tree or tripping on a log.
She shouted in pain as the wolf snapped at her tail, pulling out a chunk of hair. Ripping the strands from their follicles, ripping the nerves out the place. She attempted to double her running efforts and found herself rewarded with a log that she couldn’t have seen, tripping over it and tumbling through the forest, still at high speed. Coming to a stop at the base of a tree. She looked over and saw the Timberwolf creeping up on her, it’s fangs barred ready to rip into her flesh.
She watched in terror as her death approached her. She saw the Timberwolf pounce, and felt a sharp horrific pain shoot through her abdomen as the Timberwolf dug into her stomach, ripping blood vessels and internal organs. Suddenly the pain stopped and her vision started to blur.
Suddenly she heard voices, and she saw a blue blur enter her field of vision then an orange blur entered as well. She saw them chase off the timberwolf, and one of the blurs galloped over to her. “She’s still alive!!! But she won’t be for long, we need to get her to a hospital.” She felt her eyes start closing, yet she couldn’t keep them open. “She’s fading fast. Stay with us, don’t let yourself fade.” She couldn’t help it, the weakness was too much. Her vision blurred more and more, until she blacked out.
She woke up to the sound of a ‘Beep-Beep-Beep’. She attempted to open her eyes and saw white, lots and lots of white. She attempted to move her head to see more of the room she had been placed in, but to no avail. She started panicking, the beeping going faster as she panicked. She heard a door slam open, “You’re safe, calm down. You are safe here.” Scarlet started to calm down, and tried to ask a question, but she couldn’t move her mouth. The pony sensed another wave of panic was about to hit and reassured her, “You been out for a very long time. Your body has somewhat forgotten how to move. You’ll need help to move around until you recover more. How would you like to sit up? Blink once for yes, twice for no.” Scarlet blinked once and the pony helped her get into a upright position. She got a good look at the room around her, a hospital room and the pony the came in was a nurse. A white earth pony mare with a pink mane and a red cross as a cutie mark. “Is that better?” Scarlet replied be blinking once again. “I’ll go get the doctor.” Then she walked out, leaving Scarlet to herself. “At least I’m not stuck staring at the ceiling.” She thought to herself then mentally laughing at her silent joke. About ten minutes pass before the doctor shows up, and ten minutes is forever when you pretty much stuck staring in one direction. “I see you’re back among the living. You’re a very lucky mare. Not only did you survive the everfree forest, you’ve also survived being disemboweled by a Timberwolf. Somepony must be watching over you.” Scarlet stared at him, being that’s all she could do. “You should be able to talk again soon. And you’ll regain some more muscle control afterwards. I’ll be back shortly with something for you to drink.” The Doctor left Scarlet by herself and the wall she was staring at. ‘Is that a crack?’ she thought to herself.
The Doctor returned with a glass of water floating in his magical grip. “I put some vitamins in with it to help get your body back under your control. He brought the cup to her mouth and opened it with magic and she drank the water with some assistance from the doctor. She found she could move her mouth and attempted to talk, but nothing came out except a slight wheezing. “That’s a good sign. Drink some more.” She was able to drink by herself, though the doctor still had to hold the cup for her, “Doctor, how long was I out?” “Almost a year.” Her eyes shrunk at the thought, and then a blush blossomed on her face as she realized, sponge baths. “I’ll need to get your name for insurance.” “My name is Scarlet Sapphire Gemstone.” The doctor wrote a note down on a clip board. “And you are?” “I am a crystal pony, a pure blooded crystal pony.” The doctor nearly dropped his clipboard, “Really? You’ve come quite a long way from home, haven’t you?”
Scarlet turned a little bit scarlet, “Yes, I have. The empire is in a bit of chaos right now. Sombras blood line collapsed with the assassination of his many times removed grandson. I didn’t want to get caught up in it, so I left.” The doctor looked at her, “What about your parents? “They died a few years ago, that bastard of an emperor had them executed. So I took matters into my own hooves.” The doctor lost his magical grip on the clipboard, which hit the floor with a soft thud. “You killed him?” Suddenly the wall seemed much more interesting. “I had too. He was corrupt, he executed ponies daily without a cause other than that it pleased him.” She started to cry slightly, “I couldn’t let anymore die. I had to leave because those who were still loyal were chasing me down. But before I could leave, a witch put a curse on me, that me and all my offspring would suffer. There has been a darkness chasing me.”
“Yes, the unicorn who saved you mentioned something about an evil presence in the Everfree forest when they rescued you. He thinks it might be trapped there.” Scarlet tensed up, “So it’s not gone?” “No, but it’s trapped. A bunch of unicorns from town banded together and used their magic to place a seal over the presence. It won’t be leaving the forest anytime soon.” Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank heavens. How much longer until I can move?” “A few more hours until you get feeling back, you should be able to start moving again sometime this week.”
A buzzer beeped on the wall, “Doctor, one of the Earth ponies from the group that rescued the mystery mare is here, he asked to see her again.” Scarlet looked at him confused, “Who is he?” The doctor replied “His name Golden Pasture. He’s been coming in every week to check in on you.” “Every week?” Scarlet asked. “Indeed, the nurses have a small poll set up to what your reaction would be when you woke up and found out.” Scarlet was upset that she was the subject of a poll, and the doctor sensed this and thought that it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her that there was a hospital wide poll about the date she would wake up, Nurse Goodwill was the winner of a hundred thousand bits. There was a lot of bets. “He can come in, but don’t tell him I’m awake.” The doctor looked at her quizzically. “I want to surprise him.” He nodded and left to bring Pasture in. Scarlet closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep.
After a few moments of waiting the doctor came in with Golden Pasture. “She’s still asleep huh?” The doctor nodded. “Do you think she’ll mind?” the doctor shook his head. Pasture walked over to her bed, placed a hoof on her cheek and tilted it so that she was looking at him. “Why won’t you wake up?” Scarlets eyes shot open and she said “I don’t know, you tell me.” Golden jumped back at the sudden surprise, a look of shock on his face. Meanwhile Scarlet and the Doctor were having a good laugh at the colts expense. “I’m sorry, but it was too good to pass up. The doc tells me you’ve been visiting me during my coma. So tell me Goldie, why?” Pasture blushed at the nickname and question. “I…think..you’re cute.” Scarlet opened her ears a little more, “What was that?” “I think you’re cute.” “Come again?” “I think you’re cute, okay?” Scarlet giggled at the answer.
“You’re not going to call me a freak?” Scarlet giggled at the thought “Why would I do that? You know, you pretty cute yourself.” Pasture encountered a full face blush at the statement. “How would like to help her with physical therapy?” The doctor proposed. Both the ponies blushed at the question, Scarlet coughed slightly, “That would be interesting.” Pasture agreed with the sentiment. “Okay then, I’ll write you up as her physical therapy assistant and her attendant. If you’ll excuse me I have to go get the paperwork.” They both excused him.
A while passed before he returned with the paperwork, they both signed the proper sections. And they were left alone. They conversed for a while before Pasture had to leave. But by the time he left she had started being able to move her limbs. “That’s a good sign. I guess therapy starts tomorrow.”
Tomorrow came quickly for the young mare. Therapy started and it was painful for her, but every time she fell Pasture was there to help her back up. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months for them. After 5 months of physical therapy, she was released from the hospital. “I don’t have anywhere to stay.” “You can stay at my place.” “I don’t want to impose.” “It’s no imposition it all.” Scarlet smirked “Well, if we are going to live together, you should at least ask me out first.” “Okay, how does 6:00 pm sound?” Scarlet did a double take, “Wait, what? You’re actually asking me out?” “Sure, why not?” “Oookay then, 6 O’ Clock it is.”
After wandering around town for a while, wondering how all the ponies were getting along so well. She had heard of the state that the area was in and wondered ‘why are they here? Shouldn’t they be fighting, or at the very least, shouting at each other?’ In her thoughts, she didn’t notice a hole in front of her and she stumbled right in. ‘ouch.’ A unicorn saw the stumble and rushed over, “are you okay?” “I’m about as okay as a pony who fell down a hole.” “You don’t have to be snarky.” “Sorry, I was just released from the hospital.” He levitated her out of the hole. “So I guess that means you’re new here, huh?” “Yeah, I don’t really know the area very well.”
“Welcome to Ponyville, the unofficial capitol of the neutral zone.” “Neutral zone?” “Yes, it’s the area between the lands of the three tribes, to the north is the Pegasus dominion, to the east is the Unicorn dominion, to the south is the Earth pony dominion. To the west is the Everfree forest and beyond that is the wasteland and beyond that is the Crystal Empire. We don’t hear much from over there.” “I’m sorry to go off topic, but do you know where a Golden Pasture lives?” “Just down this road to the left. Why?” “”I’ve got a date.” “Wow, been on the outside a day and already picking ‘em out.” “Well, he picked me, and I said yes. So, it’s kind of both our faults. Oh dear. I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date.” And she galloped off to find Goldies house.
She found his house in short time, “I’m here.” “Wonderful. Let’s get started.” The date when perfectly, months pass and they became closer and more physical in their relationship, until one day. They are both lying in bed, Scarlet with a stupid grin on her face and Goldie with a look of shock. “I don’t think I’m going to look at an eggplant the same way again.” “You’ll get used to it.” “I still think turning it into a ‘pleasure enhancer’ was one of the stranger things we’ve done.” “Does that include messing messing with the v-pill?” “ESPESCIALLY THAT!!! I’m still pulling chunks of food out of my coat.” And as if to accentuate his point, he pulls a comically oversized chunk of corn out of the fur of his cutie mark. “When did we last eat corn?” “last week, why?” “Just wondering.” “I have something important to say.” “Please don’t tell me you’re a filly fooller .” “IT WAS ONE TIME!!! I swear, you have sex with ONE mare and suddenly everypony calls you gay.” Goldie laughs at Scarlets little pout, “What were you going to say?” “Goldie, I think I’m pregnant.”
“How much longer are you going to be in there?” Sounds of vomiting could be heard through the door, “Not much longer. *BLEGH!!*” Goldies walks out of the bathroom. “Are you sure?” She lifts her hind leg up and reveals that her udders are starting to fill up and slightly enlarge. “I hope you don’t end up like Milky Way.” “She’s such a nice filly. I heard she got her cutie mark a few days ago. Apparently she’s going to become a milkmare when she grows up.” “It’s kind of creepy knowing the filly that you’ll be getting your future milk from.” “We’re getting off topic. We always do that. Why is that?” “I blame the writer.” “What was that?” “Oh shit, did I say that out loud?” “Never mind, I need to get to the hospital to check.”
The couple walked into the hospital, Nurse Goodwill was heading up the welcome desk and reading a rather obscene magazine, Goldie asked, “Do you think it’s a good idea to be reading a playcolt magazine in the open like that?” Neither noticed the missing foreleg which was currently between her thighs. She panicked when she heard him ask, the magazine flopping onto the desk revealing a VERY well-endowed stallion. Scarlet looked at it with interest, “Goodness, how is that even physically possible? That things twice his size? I feel sorry for any mare at the receiving end of that thing.” The nurse giggled uneasily before hastily pulling it off the counter. “So, what can I do for you?” “I’m here for a pregnancy test.” “You know there are kits you can use at home to test right?” “Those are only 50% accurate. A hospital visit is always accurate.” “I’ll ring a doctor.”
A few minutes after the call went out a doctor showed up, the same one that took care of her when she first “arrived” in Ponyville. “Oh, Scarlet. It’s good to see you again.” She walked over and gave him a slight hug. “It’s good to see you too.” “So what’s the issue?” “I think I’m pregnant.” “Oh really, so you and Goldie finally did it.” “Oh we’ve been doing it. About 150 times.” Goldie groaned in embarrassment, “Scalet, why were you counting?” “For moments like this. My father always told me to plan ahead.” “If we’re done embarrassing Goldie, let’s take you in back?” Goldie and Nurse Goodwill watched them go into the back, “So 150 times?” “Ugh, please don’t bring it up.” “I was going to ask for advice.” “See I knew this……Wait, what?”
In the back, the Doctor and Scarlet walked into a sterile white room, the same one she spent a year in a year earlier. Not that she could notice, all hospital rooms are the same. “I’m going to go get the specimen bottles.” He left and oddly enough, returned very quickly. “I’m going to need you to fill this up.” He levitated a gallon sized beaker over to her. “WITH WHAT!??!?!?!” “Just joking.” He levitates a normal sized beaker over to her. She takes it, put it on the floor, bends over, “We have restrooms for that.” The doctor says with a blush on his face as Scarlet fills up the beaker. “I realize that, but what’s the point? If I spill anything, I would just end up tracking it in here.” The doctor thinks for a moment before replying “Point taken” He levitates the beaker over to him and caps it off, “I’ll be back soon.” Scarlet turned the tv on in her room to get some entertainment, “ugh, not this horseshit.” She quickly turned to another channel, “what’s this? Drawn Together? Meh, how bad could it be?”
The Doctor returned shortly to find Scarlet laughing her flank off at a rather obscene Tv show. “I’ve got your results back. They came in positive, you really are pregnant. If you’ll turn off the tv and roll to your side, I can check how far along you are.” She complied and the doctor scanned her with a spell, “It’s a filly and from what I can tell, She going to inherit traits from both your species. I can’t tell what traits as of yet. But, I can say for certain that’s you going to have a filly.” The Doctor barely had time to react when she glomped him, “THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!” “Well, let’s go tell Goldie the good news.”
When they arrived at the welcome desk, they found Goldie laughing it up with the nurse, she was asking “Ice cubes and peanut butter? BWAHAHAHAH. How did it work?” “Better than you might think. Oh you’re back. What’s the news?” “I’M PREGNANT AND IT’S A FILLY!!!!”
Celebrations were being held for the first Foal to be born in Ponyville for 100 years. When they day came, there was much tension surrounding the waiting room, the thirty ponies in there sweating more than the entire city guard on a summer day. Finally, Scarlet was rolled out, a pink foal with a golden yellow mane. “Is her mane shimmering?” a mare in the back asked. “She is part crystal pony.” “What’s her name?” “I don’t kno……” At that moment the foal opened her eyes and looked her mom in the eyes with her own, her eyes were a glimmering shade of lavender. “Amethyst.” “What’s that?” “That’s her name. Her name is Amethyst.”
My dear little filly, Amethyst Sparkle Gemstone.
Author's Note
more to come.
“It’s the choices we make in life that determine our place in the world, but it’s how we choose to respond to calamity and adversity that determine who we are as individuals” -Unknown
In the ten years since Amethyst was born, a lot has happened. There were a few skirmishes between the Unicorn dominion and the Pegasus Dominion, war was averted thanks to the efforts of the Earth ponies acting as neutral mediators. A manticore attacked several cities along the Earth pony border with the Everfree forest. Oddly enough, the Griffons offered to mediate at any Peace summits that the Tribes find themselves at. The Earth ponies and Unicorns were glad and accepted the offer, the Pegasi were skeptical and paranoid but eventually accepted on the condition that only one griffon representative be allowed per tribe. Getting distracted, this story isn’t about that, it’s about Amethyst.
She was wandering in a field near the edge of town with a Unicorn Colt friend, not a coltfriend just a friend, named Dusk Shine. He’s a Purple unicorn colt with a mane of a darker shade. “Are your sure that there’s some around here?” “My mom told me there was some here.” They continued wandering the field until Dusk caught a glimmer of something sparkling, “I think I see one.” “Where?” “Over there.” He points over to an area with a taller grass than where they were standing. Amethyst walked over and searched and found the glimmer, “I found it.” She walked out carrying a gemstone in her mouth. “Wow, I can’t believe that worked.” “I told you it would. My mom finds these all the times. Let’s go show her.”
The two walked through Ponyville easily dodging the groups of ponies around until the came to a stop at Amethysts door. She opened and walked through, “Mom, I’m home and I’ve got something to show you. Come in Dusk, my parents won’t bite………very hard.” Duck chuckled uneasily as he walked through the door. Scarlet walked into the living room to see her daughter with a colt, “I’ve got one rule. No kissing.” “MOOOOM!!!” Scarlet laughed at the scarlet faces of the two in front of her, “I’m just joking. What’s your name?” “My name is Dusk Shine.” “Nice to meet you. So how old are you?” “I’m eleven. I already have my Cutie mark.” It’s revealed to be a star surrounded by 5 other smaller stars. “My special talent is magic.” “Oh really?” “yes mam, it is. But I really need to study if I’m going to get better. I need to get home, my mother is probably worried.” Both mother and daughter wish him good luck and said their good-byes. “You said you wanted to show me something?” Asked Scarlet. Amethyst perked up, “Yes mom, look at this.” She pulled an Amethyst out of her mane. “What have I told you about putting stuff in your mane?” “Only if it’s clean?” She asked with a smile. Scarlet shook her head. “This is a very beautiful amethyst. Where did you find it?” “In the field you find gems in.”
Scarlets mood darkened ever so slightly, “Please don’t go there without an adult. It’s very dangerous there.” “Why?” “A mare was killed there 2 years ago by a timberwolf. Please promise me you won’t go there again without an adult.” “Okay, I promise.” “I need to hear you say it.” “I promise never to go to those fields without an adult.” “Thank you.” “I want to try something, do you have any gold?” “Why?” “I want to try something.” “There’s a bar down in the basement, please don’t do anything crazy.” “Come on, I only burnt down the house once.”
She walked down into the basement, turned on the light and looked at her mothers work shop. There was a forge, an anvil, several molds for what looked like swords, some ingots of a metal she thought was iron, and some gold ingots. “There they are.” She walked into and tossed a gold ingot onto her back. “Wait, I need to make a mold first.” She placed the ingot onto the anvil and looked around for a blank mold. Not finding one, she shrugged, “I guess I have to do this the hard way.” She cut off a small section of the gold ingot using a diamond bladed hacksaw inexplicably placed there. She worked it into a shape, not knowing how she was doing it, until she got it into a shape she liked. She looked at her gemstone and placed it into the slot she made for it, and then she sealed the slot with a bit more hoof work. Then she crafted a chain with the left over bits and attached it to the setting she just made. “I just made a necklace. Hmm, it’s not quite finished yet.” She carved out a phrase onto it; she didn’t know what the phrase meant; only that it was important. She looked up at the clock at found that several hours had passed.
Once she cleaned up the work space down below she started her way back up the stairs, as soon as she reached the top, Scarlet threw the door open very fast, smacking poor Amethyst in the face and throwing her down the stairs. “OH MY!!! Amethyst are you alright?” Amethyst groans as she gets up, her necklace siding off her neck. Scarlet sees the necklace and asks “Did you make that?” Amethyst groans and stumbles as she attempts to get back onto her hooves. Scarlet rushes down the stairs to her daughter and sees a slight trickle of blood flow down her face. “You’re cut.” “I’ll be okay, mom. And yes, I did make the necklace.” Scarlet picks it up and inspects it. “This is beautiful. Where did you get this gem?” “I found it in the field you told me not to go to.” “And this inscription? Ab uno ad alterum, alterum a se? What does that mean?” “I don’t know. It just came to me. I don’t know how to explain it.” “Well I think it’s beautiful. So how much were you going to sell it for?” “Why would I sell it? I made it for myself. I love it mom.” “Okay dear, calm down.” “Please let me keep it.” “You can keep it.” “YAY!!” Amethyst rushed forward and hugged her mom very tightly around her neck, not noticing a flash from her flank. “Dear, you may want to look at your flank.” Amethyst turns her neck in curiosity. “MY CUTIE MARK!!!” An amethyst in the shape of a heart.
What brings us together? The need to be around others? A primal instinct? Something, as of yet, not understood? No, what brings us together is a bond that every individual shares. This bond is stronger in some than others. Most call this stronger bond, Love.
Three years later.
Amethyst Gemstone and Dusk Shine grew closer over the intervening years; ultimately they came to a small crossroad. Amethyst and Dusk were at a small diner in Ponyville. “What are we?” Asked Amethyst. “Isn’t that something you should ask your teacher?” Dusk replied. “No, I mean what are WE? Are we friends, or………just what are we?” Dusk shuffled uncomfortably, “What do you mean?” “We have gotten so close to each other that I want us to be more than just friends. I want you to be my coltfriend.” Dusk looked at Amethyst with his eyes wide, stammering wildly. “I..i…WHAT?!?!?” Amethyst shrunk at his reaction and looked ready to start crying. Dusk picked up on this, having been around her long enough to know her. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’m new to this sort of thing,” You’re not the only one. “But I’d like to be your coltfriend.” Amethyst beamed with excitement and jumped over the table and tackled her new Coltfriend in a hug and kissed him right on the lips. Amethyst suddenly remembered where they were and deeply blushed. But instead of the resentment they were expecting from an interracial relationship that came with the prejudice that the races have with each other, they heard cheering and applause. The owner of the diner came over and helped them off the floor, a unicorn with a specialty for cooking. “For the newest couple, Consider your dinner and meals paid for and dessert is on the house. Three cheers for our newest couple.”
News spread quickly of the newest couple in town and everywhere they went in town ponies were congratulating them on overcoming prejudice. And they lived happily ever after. Or so they would hope. Tragedy comes with many forms and in many ways, none of which you ever see until it’s far too late to do anything. The world they live in is a dark world and many lives have been destroyed in the struggle. Amethyst would find out the hard way that when you are most happy, you are most vulnerable to tragedy.
