The Filly That Lives Under Ground
Hi, Mommy! I’m back from school. Ms. Gumption made us do sprints around the school because some health test is coming up, and we learned a lot of things today. We learned about the Pony-Zebra Wars and then we did fractions, and then we painted a picture! Look at the picture I made you Mommy!
Are you making cookies, Mommy? Can I lick the spoon? Pretty please?
I love chocolate chip.
I love you, Mo—
Wha-what was that?
What’s happening, Mommy? Where are you?
Why is it so dark?
I-I…
I remember.
The cockatrice. I’m still stone! Ugh, it must’ve been a whole day since I’ve been stone. Why won’t anypony come around here and help me?
And what is that noise?
I-I think something’s scratching me. Something’s scratching the top of my head. And it’s drooling on me! Ew, whatever you are, stop drooling on me!
Now what’s coming? Is that a deer? I think it is. And the scratching’s stopped. Maybe the deer scared him off. Hey, Mr. Deer! Can you please go get Mommy or somepony to help me? I’ve been stuck here for a whole day, and—what are you doing? Are you eating leaves off of me? Why are you doing that, Mr. Deer—
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Mommy! Somepony! Anypony! Help! This monster’s killing the deer!
Somepony, please make it stop!
Help me!
It-it’s over. Now it’s ripping it open and—what’s all that? It looks gross, and it’s eating it all. Mr Deer…
Mommy, I’m scared.
And a bunch of vultures are digging their feet into my head!
I’m home from school, Mommy! Ms. Gumption had us run around for recess, and then she had us paint a picture in class. Wanna see the picture I made you, Mommy?
Are you making cookies? Can I lick the spoon?
I love you, M—
Thud!
What was that?
I think I have dirt in my mouth now. Ew! I-I can’t taste it. That’s weird. Mommy, why do I have dirt in my mouth?
And why am I still stone!?
That’s two days now, guys! If anypony wants to come rescue me, I’d be very thankful. It’s cold. The moon—
Hey, the moon doesn’t have a mare in it anymore! I wonder why Princess Celestia only put a mare in the moon for two days.
I hear somepony.
I hear someponies!
Hey! Over here! I’m trapped and I need help!
“Girls!”
Is that an adult?
“Fluttershy!”
And fillies! Oh, thank Celestia you’re here. Now please, come help me!
“Girls, we have to leave the forest at once!”
What? No, don’t go—
“There's no time for that. There's a cockatrice on the loose!”
Eep! It’s still here? Oh, I hope it doesn’t attack me again.
“The head of a chicken and the body of a snake? That doesn't sound scary, that sounds silly!”
It’s not silly! Haven’t your parents ever told you about cockatrices? They turn you into stone!
“Why, if I ever saw one of them cockathingies face-to-face, I'd laugh at how silly it was.”
Are you stupid? Cockatrices turn you to stone! I’ve been stuck here for a few days, and I’m hungry and tired of being frozen like this.
What’s that sound?
Is that a chicken?
…
What’s a chicken doing in the Everfree Forest?
Now that’s funny! Ha ha, a chicken in the Everfree Forest!
I miss my chicks on the farm. I hope Mommy’s taking care of them, especially Beaktrice. She’s scared of the dark. Just like me. And it’s always dark here.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
What was that?
Oh my stars, did they run into the cockatrice! Run, run, girls!
Wait, run over here! Don’t leave me!
Girls?
Anypony?
…Mommy?
I’m back from school, Mommy. I made you a picture.
I love y—
Ouch!
What was that?
Who’s stomping up there?
And why am I still frozen?
And why am I covered in dirt?
I can’t see anything. It’s completely dark. I can’t move, either. I’m so hungry, and so cold. Why is it always cold. And there’s always these noises—monsters lurking around, birds shrieking, ponies screaming, bugs crawling on me, and the wind always howls. Why is the wind howling.
“Apple bisque, we shouldn’t be here!”
Ah! A pony! Hey, hey, under you! Dig me up, please! I wanna go home! It’s probably been a week since I’ve been here, and I wanna go home.
“Or what? Granny Apple Bloom’s gonna give us a paddlin’? Nuh uh, nosiree, she’ll just give us a tongue lashin’.”
Please… I wanna go home.
“What are we doing out here anyway?”
“I heard there’s a zebra out here that used to practice potionmaking. I wanna see if it’s true.”
A zebra? In the Everfree Forest? Oh my stars, what if she finds me? She’ll probably cook me and eat me!
“And what if it’s true? What if there’s an actual zebra out here?”
“We kill it, of course!”
After that, will you come help me?
Hello?
Anypony?
They won't stop, Mommy. They won't stop screaming, and they won't stop fighting.
I'm covered in blood.
How do I know it's blood? I can't think of what else it could be. It's red, and it's falling from above. It won't stop flowing.
Celestia, please make them stop fighting.
100,000 years later
Mommy, where are you?
The wind’s always howling, the ground’s always shaking! I can’t sleep because the wind and the ground are always shaking!
There must be a ton of dirt on me!
I wanna go home!
Mommy!
I can hear something.
“It’s time, Luna.”
Princess Luna? Princess Celestia, is that you!? Have you come to save me?
“I know, dear sister. We’ve been guiding our little ponies for eons.”
“But time has taken its course, and now it’s time for the elements of nature to take their course.”
“Do you think anything will live?”
I’m alive! Just dig under your hooves, you’ll find me!
“It’s not for us to worry about. We shall leave the evil in Tartarus and the good to roam around in the fields of Elysium forever.”
What? What are you talking about?
Where’s Mommy?
“And will you be joining us, Discord?”
“Mmm… Elysium probably needs a jester. Someone to make sure there’s an eternity of new things to see.”
…Why are you all so quiet?
And what was that explosion?
“It’s time.”
“Time for nature to take over.”
“Thank you both for sticking with me for this long.”
“Of course, sister.”
“I had nothing better to do.”
What are you talking about?
Why are you screaming?
And why is it suddenly hot?
Why won’t the ground stop shaking?
Stop it!
Mommy, help me!
The ground won't stop shaking.
I can't sleep. The ground never stops shaking.
It's so hot down here.
Mommy?
Mommy?
Mommy?
