Alca Forte's Backstory

When I had awoken, I found myself in a bed, covered with bandages.

The room I awoke in appeared to be an infirmary, or at least a shoddy attempt at one.
Evidence of mining could be found here and there. The beds were piles of straw, unsanitary and dirty. There was a hoof-made cabinet to the tunnel’s right, which was filled with carved wooden bowls and a few books. A single table on the left side of the shaft was chiseled from stone, with what appeared to be a stone mortar and pestle to its side. What a mess.

From the bed, I could hear the frantic shuffling of hooves as metallic picks struck the earth. There was quiet chit-chat from time to time, but aside from that, there were two other notable sounds. One of them was the harsh voices of ponies, barking out incomprehensible commands. I presume those would be the overseers. The other... was a mare’s offtune singing, accompanied by foals..

From the singing and laughter of foals, and the barking of orders, I was not quite sure what to make of this place. Perhaps all the foals in this place were little twisted abominations. The little demons might have been torturing the other prisoners at the command of the overseers!

Or perhaps I was just over-thinking it.

I had attempted to get up on my hooves, only to find that my forelegs were not fully healed. So much for exploration. Still exhausted and aching, I had fallen asleep in time.

The next time I woke up, I was face to face with what I presumed was an overseer.

“Hey, what are yew just sitting ‘round fer?! Git back ta’ work, ya lazy bum!”

My response? I stared at him blankly.

“Oh, ‘Ah git it. Yer the new guy. Welcome ta’ hell. Or, the Moon as ‘Ah like ta’ cawll it.”

He exited the room for a moment, returning with a simple bag and a mining pick. He unceremoniously threw it at me and began to drone about the “honorabible sirvus yew is doing fer the em-pie-yer,” in a monotone voice.

After bearing with his drawn-out speech, he ordered me to open the bag. It was a tattered cloth bag with a single strap, intended for one to hang it around his or her neck, and what appeared to be a reinforced water bottle holder. Inside the main flap were a few items : a sample of the Blue Silver ore, a notebook, two quill pens, and a small filled inkwell. I suppose those are intended for drawing a map or something. The water bottle holder contained a small lantern inside. Yet when I
examined it closely, there was no oil.

“This here is how it werks. Yew git that bleu stuff and give it in fer useful stuff from us. If yew work hard, ya may have a life of some sem...balance to us hard-werking ponies!” he bellowed with a hearty laugh, following up with an obnoxious sneer.

Ugh.

He shoved me out of the bed, and directed me towards the left passage. I slowly trudged towards the mine shaft, awaiting a morbid and gloomy future.

The miners groaned as their picks struck the earth, repeating their monotone labor as if they were automatons. The foals were pushing carts filled with useless rubble away. The observers’ expressions were stern and tense. As I stood at my dismal prospects, taking in the new reality, one of the overseers had noticed me.

“‘Ey there! Get back to work!”

Crap.

Looking through my bag, I took out the Blue Silver sample. It seemed just like a sapphire. Using my telekinesis to wield the pick, I chipped away at the areas where I saw blue.

Now, maybe it is my memory failing me as usual, but everypony seemed to be avoiding me. When I had stepped near the rocks, the others took one glance at me, and backed off. As if I had a disease, all the miners within a few feet turned to another section of the rock. Anytime I would try approaching a fellow miner, they would act as if they had some urgent matter to attend to; picking a rock away from me.

I didn’t understand. We were all unicorns and earth ponies here; why was I the one singled out?
After toiling for Celestia knows how long, a prominent overseer blew a whistle, signalling the end of mining duties. The other miners quickly formed a line, heading towards the other chamber. I slowly waited at the end of it, confused as to what was going on.

The line soon shortened, revealing what appeared to be a trading hub. The overseers were waiting near the tables, which had several items lying on it. The assorted items ranged from basic necessities, to tools and to luxuries. At the front of the line, several miners were attempting to bargain with the guards, plopping their findings of the day onto nearby scales. Once it was my turn, I traded the lantern away for stale bread and a bottle of water. I had knowledge of basic illumination magic; I would manage.

The ponies that had finished were walking into another area. Following them, I soon arrived at a clearing, completely devoid of any furniture. There were several mine shafts also dug into the walls, with a simple wooden sign beside each of the openings. As I trotted slowly by each entrance, I looked over the signs; each stating a single word to state what was past it. Although there was a few oddly named tunnels such as “foal”, “stallion”, and “mare.”

I looked down the child-specific tunnel. The energy there was... somewhat unsettling. You would figure that such dismal condition would bring these little tykes down. Nope.

I... did not want to live with these foals. I’m... bad with other ponies.

I decided to try the other tunnel. Perhaps they would leave me relatively alone. Looking down the adult male-specific tunnel, there were several compartments dug into the wall with what appeared to be an office at the far end. Beside each “room”, there was a sign again; stating a name. As I trotted over towards the office, the stench of alcohol and rotting...something....

By the time I was knocking on the door, I was nauseous from everything.

I do not clearly remember what happened after I had knocked on the door. Perhaps it is because of my poor memory, or because of my nausea...I vaguely remember meeting a mare, but that would be ridiculous. That was the office for the stallions after all...

I woke up later in one of the “rooms” of the corridor; the sign in front read my name, finalizing my place in this world. Starting from that day, I was just another unicorn in Blue Silver Mines. I soon settled into a routine everypony there had followed.

A typical morning starts at around six in the morning, or at least around that time. With a loud THUD of a gong resounding from the office, everypony walked out from their “bedroom”, groaning and exhausted. A brief fifteen minutes for eating and preparing for the day before the pegasi woke up, blowing their whistles in a half-asleep daze. The drowsy overseers would try herding us towards the mineshaft, watching us for any suspicious activity as we struck the earth with picks. The schedule fluctuated at this point, as the chief overseer blew his whistle at his discretion to signal the start of a brief break. Everypony would rush to finish his or her lunch before the chief ate his, who would promptly sound his whistle after. From then, we endured the tiring labor until the screech of the whistle was heard once more. Afterwards, the miners would have free time to do whatever they wished; chat, mine more, trade, sleep, drink, wander, or anything really. There was no clear indication of a curfew, so they would play or drink to their hearts content, so long as they stay out of trouble. I never really had much to do in my spare time. It was just like in the mineshaft; every time I had approached somepony, he or she would get away as fast as possible. I was generally left alone by everypony. But of course, I could never fall asleep awaiting for the next day. The stench from the other “rooms” was too strong for me to bear. As such, I had to do something to make myself collapse in exhaustion, or at least make me tired.

During my first week at Blue Silver Mines, I had decided to make a map in order to get acquainted with the surroundings I was doomed to be with forever. With the supplies that I had received upon arrival, I decided to start drawing out the important parts of the map. Starting from my “room”, I had crafted myself a poorly drawn map of what I had seen so far. It progressed quite nicely, until I had reached drawing out the mineshaft system.

I never had thought the system was of such a magnitude. I usually had followed the others for areas to mine, so I had never really considered its expanse. As I struggled to keep the map detailed of areas where the ore still rested and the various walls, my markings wore the paper and eventually I had ripped the paper.

Imagine my horror. In my fear, I had tried to piece the shreds back together, but I only ended up tearing the paper further. As I stared at the torn-apart pieces...

Well, I do not really remember this part either. Screaming at the top of my lungs, bawling like a foal, whimpering like a lost kitten... perhaps only one of those choices, perhaps all of them.

In any case, in my confused state, I fruitlessly wandered the mineshaft. My surroundings became increasingly unfamiliar as I galloped through the tunnels, and I soon found myself in a cavern.

The cavern was notable for many things. The underground lake, which almost shimmered in the light? The odd mushrooms, giving off a soft neon green light? The abundance of vibrant flowers of several hues and shades? The elusive beams of light, coveted so by those underground?

But at the time, there was something else that had captured my frenzied self’s attention. Or rather, somepony. It was my first time that I had met her. As she approached me, I was still wailing in my confusion. With a few good smacks across my face, she yelled at me.

“Hey, Alca! Snap out of it!”

As soon as I calmed down, I looked up from the dirt floor at her, my face still sore from its beating. I briefly glanced at her, before turning around to survey my surroundings. To my left, there were the glowing mushrooms. The green glow gave the cavern a warm feeling, although I felt a bit peculiar from the mushrooms themselves. To the right, the underground lake stood still. You could hear water pouring into the lake from far back at a steady rate. At the far end of the room, the flora gently swerved back and forth in the few beams of light they received. And this may of been my imagination, but some of the flora and vegetation was covered in what seemed to be blood.

“Is everything alright Alca?”
I turned back to the mare, before turning my head in confusion.
“Uhm... how do you know my name? Have we met before?”

She stared into my eyes, seemingly searching for something, before giving out a sigh as her head tilted downward, a slight smile on her face.
“No, no... Nice to meet you. I’m Celia.”

After we introduced ourselves to each other, I got up onto my hooves, and began circling the room wandering around. She had said something to me, but I do not remember any of that either, nor the idle banter I had told her in response. I was too interested in the surrounding vegetation. I stopped at the mushrooms, ripping one out of the floor.

“So... what is this exactly?”
With another sigh, she gave the mushroom a brief stare before shaking her head.
“No clue. Although I do remember somepony trying to mix it with something...”
“Mix?”
“You know, in the...medicine... uh...room? The... thing?”

The Mortar and Pestle.

As thus, I found a new way to spend my free time. Alchemy. On that day, I had plucked a few of the flowers and mushrooms, stuffing them into the bag I had received. Glass bottles were also available for trade, which I feel are necessary for any aspiring alchemist. As I plunked down my bottles and materials onto the stone table in the infirmary, I brought the books from nearby shelves to my attention. Perhaps I could find a book about alchemy and go from there.

Uh. Nope. Not this one. Not this one also. Or this. Okay, on my own for this.

I spent a good while like this within the mine like this. Apparently, I spent... six months? Everyday I would sit down in the infirmary, the glass bottles and my bag beside me, and I would just go on my merry way from there. The various things and concoctions I could make, I listed down within a few sheets of paper. The papers were filled and filled with combinations, notes, mixtures, and everything I had learned from my experience.

I eventually lost the papers though. Whoops...ehehehe...

So, six months, I created many things. Salves. Warmers. Tonics. Disgusting-tasting drinks. And oddly enough, I managed to make poisons.

Pro-Tip for any “aspiring” alchemists out there. Don’t drink the things you think are poison. It was fortunate that I stumbled on an antidote as one of my first creations.

So I lived like this for six months. Wake up, mine, play Alchemist, sleep. Rinse and repeat.
And then that day happened.