My First Day at the Rock Farmby GoodPiggy76ChaptersJust Another DayMeeting the Rest of the CrewConfrontingUnexpected OccurencesSnow FallJust Another DayI wasn't expecting today to turn out the way it did. I was looking forward to another great day of laying on my bed, staring at my TV, and eating junk food. Clearly, however, that's not what my parents had in their intentions. Slowly, the door creaked open. I had been lying in bed, trying to sleep in, minding my own business, when my mother placed her hoof on my shoulder. "What?" I said while combining it with a groan. "Get up, we need to talk to you." My mom said "Can't you see that I'm sleeping in?" "It's 1:00 PM... You can't keep doing this every day." "Why not? It's not like I have a job." I fired back angrily. "Just get up, we'll be waiting for you." "Ugh," I moaned as she exited my room. After a few minutes, I decided to finally push myself off of the bed. Who's she to tell me what to do? I thought to myself. I went into my bathroom and splashed some water into my face. I then checked myself out in the mirror for a few seconds, which turned into minutes. After some time, I heard my father yell my name down the stairs and remembered my task. Curse my absent mindedness. I opened up to door to the stairway, and trotted up to the living room. My mom and dad were standing in front of the front door. "So why did you want me again?" I asked impatiently. "We wanted to talk to you over some lunch-, er... I mean breakfast." My dad said. "You had me at breakfast." I said as we exited the door and walked into the streets. When we got to the restaurant we took our seats at a large booth, taking up more seats than we needed. I've always liked it that way. Since I don't relate to other ponies that much, I like my space. I quickly scanned through the menu. The thing that caught my eye the most were the cherry pancakes, which was made from Equestria's best milk, straight from Trottingham. "So... Shadow, we had something to talk to you about." My mom said. "Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked, still having my eyes locked onto the menu. "We wanted to talk to you about getting a job." I sighed and dropped my menu on the table upon hearing this. "I already told you, I'm working on it." My dad's eyes widened at this. "How? You just lay in bed all day, watching that television in our damn basement all day." "You'd be surprised at all of the stuff you can learn from TV." I said. We all stared at each other for a brief moment. Thankfully, the waiter broke our silence. "Hi guys! Thanks for stopping in. Can I start you off with a drink? "I'll just have a water," My dad said. "Water." Said my mom. "Could I have a glass of chocolate milk?" I asked "Certainly." She said before leaving. My parents we staring at me. My mom leaned in against my dad to whisper something in his ear. I detested when then did stuff like this. I don't like when people keep secrets from me. "What?" I asked. "You can't live in our house anymore." Said my dad. "What? Why!?" My mom, being a unicorn, used her magic to open up a strap on her saddlebag. She then brought up a piece of paper onto the table. I looked at it for a few seconds, switching glances between it and my parents occasionally. I picked it up with my hoof and opened it. It was a flyer for a farm. As I looked closer at it, it said Rock Farm. "What the hell is a rock farm?!" I asked angrily. "Keep reading." My mom said nervously. As I looked through the flyer for a few seconds, I think I finally understood what they were getting at. At the bottom, it read Now Hiring! This made me roll my eyes. I turned over the paper to read what was on the back. It read: Please join us at the rock farm, where we turn rocks into gems! We're always searching for new workers. The job requires strength and discipline. It pays 12 bits per hour. 12 bits an hour? Not bad for a job like this... But I couldn't let my parents see me getting any joy out of this. I was about to open my mouth, but that's when the waiter came back. She gave us our drinks and took our orders. I decided to go with the pancakes. "Anyway... What makes you think that I'd be good at this sort of thing." I said. "We don't think it's the best job... But It's the best that we could find." Said my mom. "Well I'm not doing it, so you might as well throw it away." "We already signed you up." My dad said. "Why would you do that?!" I moaned "You need to get a life beyond that basement. You start tomorrow. It starts at 7:00 AM sharp. Plus the time it takes to get there, so you'd have to wake up at 6:00 AM. We already called a taxi pony to come get you." "Please tell me you're joking..." The waiter came back with our dishes and set them on the table. I gave her a friendly smile. After she left, I stared at her rump for a few seconds. "So we expect you to be in bed by 10:00." My mom said. "Fine, I'm not seven anymore." I said. "Where do you expect me to sleep, or eat?" "The Rock Farm has offered to take you in." I had nothing else to say or ask, so I simply rested my head on my hoof and started eating my pancakes. We spent the rest of our time at the restaurant in silence, with me occasionally making angry glances at them. Soon, the waiter came back with our bill. We paid and she left. I couldn't tell, but I swore I saw her wink at me before she left. I lay on my bed, knowing that this will probably be my last night here. Unable to sleep, I pick up the remote from by table and flick on the television. Light fills the room, and makes my eyes hurt for a second. I flicked through the channels. Nothing but garbage was on. "Ugh," I said as I laid my head back. I turned it off, throwing the remote across the room. It ended up landing dead on the power button, turning it on again. My eyes flared at this. "One.... Two......... Three............." I said Counting to three always helped me calm down. My short temper always hindered me in relationships in general. I got up, out of bed and threw a couple of F-bombs, and S-bombs in the process. I rubbed my eyes while trotting over to the remote and turning it off. This time, I carefully set it down on the table. I got in bed, pulling the covers back up to cover me. Staring up at the ceiling fan, I force my eyes to close. I take the time to think about where my life is headed, and for what the future has planned for me. Maybe I was too harsh on my parents. Maybe my job won't be as bad as expected. It's then, when I finally drifted into dreamland. As my eyes opened, I was greeted by darkness. Being so used to waking up with the sunshine in my room, I couldn't help but be a little freaked out. I glanced over at my glow-in-the-dark clock. It read 5:33. I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I looked at my dark circles in the mirror, trying to hide my morning ugliness with a smile. Before jumping into the shower, I quickly grabbed my toothbrush with my hooves. I brushed my teeth, rubbed shampoo and conditioner throughout my coat and mane, and rinsed it all out. Hopping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel. I was trying my best to enjoy these luxuries as much as possible, because I didn't know which ones I would have on the farm with me. I rubbed a hoof through my mane and trotted into my room. 5:54 said the clock. I quickly put on some presentable clothes and grabbed a few changes of clothes, a journal, a couple of pens, and some paper, then crammed it into a suitcase, hastily. I then opened the door and trotted up the stairs. I crept into my parents room. My mom was fast asleep, but my dad had his reading glasses on while reading the daily paper. "Hey." He said. "Hey... Just wanted to say bye before I left." I said. "Oh... Well you have to be going soon. It's six o'clock" "Yeah, I know... Tell mom I said bye." "Okay. Goodbye, son." I trotted out of their room, gently closing the door on the way out. I walked through the living room, trying to catch a mental picture of the house before I depart. Just outside of the window, the taxi pony was waiting patiently. I didn't want to keep him waiting, so I opened the front door and walked outside. I plopped my suitcase on a chair and hopped up on the other. "Sorry I'm late." I said apologetically "No problem, buddy." He said. I'll have to remember to give him a nice tip for his friendliness. "So you're going to the old Rock Farm? I haven't been there in ages. Why are you going?" He asked while starting at a slow pace. "Oh, I'm just going for some business reasons." "Ah, okay." The cold, morning wind was in my face, and I loved it. The scent of the morning dew put me in a great mood, and I felt extremely perspective. The sun was just beginning to rise over the hills of Apple Acres Farm. It truly looked beautiful. "Nice, isn't it?" I asked, trying to make conversation. "Yeah, it's gorgeous. Celestia is doing a great job." He responded. I nodded my head in agreement. "Smell that wonderful air.... I should get up early more often." Or stay up even later I thought. "It's amazing, that's exactly why I took the morning shift." He said while giving a sniff. We were starting to go into the mountains. The scent of dew was replaced with the smell of dust and stone. When we got to the top of the trail, I got a full view of PonyVille, the place where I had lived my whole life. It looked as if it was slowly disappearing under the edge of the mountain as we were now going downward. When we got to the bottom, the taxi pony went to a full stop. "Why did we stop?" I asked. "This is where you wanted to go, wasn't it?" "I thought we were going to the rock farm." "We're at it!" "Where is it?" "They own nearly all of this land. Try looking a bit over there." He pointed his hoof down the trail. I squinted my eyes. Sure enough, I did see a few small structures which appeared to be a few cottages, and a windmill. There were also a ton of basketball sized rocks scattered all throughout the land. "Oh... My bad." I said while slapping my face with my hoof. "Here's your fare." I paid his fare of 30 bits with a 10 bit tip. "Thanks bud!" He said as he turned around and started up the mountain again. I took my suitcase and slowly trotted towards the cottages. I took the time to look at where I will be working for a while. Honestly, I'm not impressed. The flyer made it sound a lot more exciting than it actually is. The fence on the trail seemed to go on forever. Eventually, I made it to the small patch of civilization. I assumed that the biggest house that had a, "Now Hiring!." sign on it was where I was supposed to go. I knocked on the door a few times. I could hear some fumbling and small curses. Which what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened. A stallion with a caramel coat, and a gray mutton chops with a black hat opened the door. His face was completely straight, and was chewing on a piece of wheat. "Oh... I-Ummmm... Hi..." I said. "You must be our new employee," He said in a deep voice. "Yep," I said. "Fantastic." He said with a lack of enthusiasm, "Let me show you around." "Oh-Okay..." He led me to one of the cottages. "This is the mess hall. We have complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner here as promised in the flyer. " "Sounds great." He led me to another cottage which looked completely identical. "This is the hobby room." "The hobby room?" "We have some stuff to do when our employees have the day off. We have books, boardgames, a radio, we even got our hands on a television." He took a long breath after this sentence which freaked me out. "This is also where the restrooms and showers are located. "Oh, great!" I planned out what I was going to watch first on the TV. He led me to the final cottage. I had no clue how I would remember which cottage was which. "This is where you will be sleeping. You have the sixth and final room." "Thanks," I said with a smile. "Hmm, I don't think I've introduced my self. My name is Igneous Rock" "And I'm Shadow." "Pleased to meet you." He said while feigning a smile. "You can have the rest of the day to unpack and meet the fellow farmers." "Okay. Thank you very much, sir." He trotted away and left me to myself. I walked up to the porch of the cottage and slowly opened the door. I walked in and spotted door labeled No. 6. I opened the door and got a good look at my room. Inside, was a bed, a desk, a couch and a dresser. On the dresser, there was a dried out plant. I could almost hear its pleads for water. However, there was one specific thing that got my attention. There was picture on the desk. Upon further inspection, it was Igneous, and a all pink pony. She was frowning, but Igneous was grinning. I decided not to give it too much thought. I dropped my suitcase on the ground and opened it. I took out my clothes and organized them into the dresser. I put the pens and paper on the desk. I decided to write my first letter. Dear Mom and Dad Today, I arrived at the farm. I've moved into my room and unpacked my stuff. Although it seems kind of bland, I do, honestly have a good feeling about this place. I hope you guys are doing well. I miss you already. The good news about the place is that it has a television, so I won't be as bored as I thought I was going to be originally. Please get back to me and keep me up to date on what is happening in PonyVille. With lots of love, Shadow I quickly ran outside to place the letter into the mailbox, then raced back inside to get out of the heat that the evening sun was now beaming down on the farm. When back in the hallway, I saw a small mare who looked as if she was a teenager. She had a navy coat and a gray mane. "Oh.. Hello, are you new here?" She asked. "Yes, actually I just moved in today. I'm starting work tomorrow." I responded. "Oh. That's nice." She said with a smile. "My name is Marble Pie." "Nice to meet you, Marble, I'm Shadow." "I'd love to talk, but I have to get to work." "Okay, don't let me keep you." "See ya." She said happily. I watched as she exited the cottage. I went back to my room and jumped onto my bed. I have a lot ahead of me I thought to myself. . Meeting the Rest of the Crew I woke up as the sunshine was just beginning to pour into the room. I stared at the ceiling for a while, then decided to get out of bed. Looking over at the analogue clock, it read 6:47. No sound could be heard in the hallway except for the soft creak my door made as I opened it. Peaking my head outside, nothing was to be seen either. Leaving the door open, I went to my suitcase and got my toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and placing them in my saddlebag. I then walked into the hallway, closing the door on my way out. As I was just about to open the door to the outside world, a door behind me opens up. Out of room number four, a stallion appears with a black coat and a spiky red mane, and he had a fire cutie mark. He almost looked deprived of sleep, until he saw me. "Oh.. Hey..." He said with a surprised facial expression. "Hey." I said. "You must be that new pony they were talking about." "Probably." "Well, It's nice to meet you. My name is Pyrospread." "You have an interesting cutie mark, Pyrospread." "Thanks, I got it when I burned down my dad's coffee table." "Oh... That's nice." "Speaking of cutie marks... Can I see yours?" His eyes shot down to my saddlebags which blocked my mark. "Oh... I-I would show you, but I have to go. Sorry!" I said as I shrunk down and hastily opened the door. The glare of the now rising sun nearly blinded me. I trotted down to the cottage which contained the showers. I opened the door slowly to not disturb any ponies that may be in there. Peeking my head in, I was only greeted by loneliness. I opened up the door to the bathrooms and went to the shower. The curtains were quite dirty. I turned on the water, and nearly screamed because of how cold it was. I did, however jump out of the shower, slip and fall on my shoulder which got cut in the process. Shit I thought. Just one more thing to wash, I guess. I went back into the shower, thankfully the water was warmer now. Hastily, I rinsed water through my mane, spreading shampoo then conditioner throughout it, doing the same with my coat, and rinsing it out once again.. I stopped the shower, and stepped out. Grabbing a towel from the rack and drying myself up, I threw it into one of the bins. I brushed my teeth and then raced back over to my room to put my stuff away. Then I walked back to the outside. Igneous was on the bench behind the main cottage. He was reading a book that was titled, "Small Town Values." He set it down on his lap and looked up at me. "Hello, Shadow." He said with a grin. "Hi, Igneous." I said while returning the smile. "I suppose you would want me to teach you how to farm with rocks?" "Yes, please." "Okay. Basically, you move rocks to where we tell you to move rocks." "Okay..." "It all depends on the pressure of the wind at the time." "Oh." There was a small silence between us. "Is that all?" "Yep. We're currently moving all the rocks to the north east. Here's a compass." He pinned it on my saddlebag. "Thanks, I'll get to work right away." I started moving to the south direction. Following the fence back like when I first came to the farm. I finally found a rock that I could move, and climbed over the fence. I looked at my compass to see where I should move it. I lifted my muzzle down to the rock and gave it a small nudge. It didn't budge, so I decided to nudge it a bit harder. The rock fell over to its other side. I kept doing this until I was about half way there. I lifted my head up to look to see how much more I had to go. That's when I saw an interesting pony in the north direction. She had a pink mane and coat, just like the one in the picture. Maybe I should go talk to her. Her colors were a lot more vibrant than the boring scenery at the farm. I convinced myself to continue my job. I eventually got to where I was supposed to put and went to go find another rock. I continued doing this for about 80 rocks. It took me about 7 hours. By the time I was done, I was panting like hell. Eventually Igneous called us in for gathering all the rocks. He thanked us, then went into his cottage. Since all of us workers were together, I felt like this was a good time to meet the rest of them. I finally got a good look at the pink pony. Yep, she looked identical to the one in the picture. Straight hair, and a frown. I began to approach her. "Hey." I said. "What? Oh.. Hi..." She said in a shy tone. I got a good look at her cutie mark. Three balloons. This puzzled me because I couldn't think of a reason a pony as vibrant as this would be at a place such as this. "I'm Shadow, who are you?" I asked in pure curiosity. "My name is Pinkemena Diane Pie... Or just Pinkie Pie." "Oh, are you and Marble Pie sisters?" "Yes... Me, Marble, and Limestone are all sisters." I looked over at the other workers. I assumed the gray pony with the darker mane was Limestone. "Oh...." I tried to think of something to say. "How did you get your cutie mark?" She looked at her mark and then back at me. "I got it when I threw a party for my family. Back when it was just my parents, me, and my sisters." She looked down at the ground. I couldn't help but feel that there was more that she wasn't telling me. "Is that all?" I asked. "What?" "What happened next?" "Oh... I-It's nothing." I just stared at her for a few seconds. "Oh. Well, I guess catch you some other time, then." "Bye..." I noticed something on her foreleg as she turned around. A scar. A scar going up from her leg starting from her hoof. I felt like it was my job to know more. But, I still have more of the workers to meet. I think I'll start with Limestone. I approached the gray mane'd pony and opened my mouth. "Hey, you must be Limestone." I said. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Your sister told me." "Oh." "Do you mind if I ask you something?" "Sure." "How did Pinkie get that scar going up her leg?" A frown appeared on her face. "I-I not allowed to say." I didn't say anything else. She simply put her head down as if she was about to cry. Then she ran into the residential cottage and into her room. All eyes were one her. Thankfully, I don't think they blamed me for making her cry. The other pony I didn't know was another mare. She had orange fur and a brown, sleek mane with a picture of an iron bar for her cutie mark. I decided to talk to her next. "Hello, I'm Shadow." I said. "Hello, I'm Ferossium." She smiled at me. "Maybe I shouldn't be asking this... But, do you know where Pinkie got her scar?" I closed one eye, afraid to see her reaction. "Oh. I heard she just got it when she was helping her dad build the fence." "Oh... Well, thank you." I said with a smile. I decided to just go hang out in the hobby room. I opened up the door and got a good look at the place. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the television with the remote. I flipped to the Comedy Colt channel. A re-run of one of my favorite shows, Stallion Park was on so I decided to watch that. About 10 minutes into the show, I hear the door open. Ferossium and Pyrospread walked in. I could overhear Pyrospread flirting with her, and her giggling at it every once in a while. I assumed they were in a relationship. When he noticed that the TV was on, Pyrospread looked over at me. "Hey, Shad." He said. Shad? Is that my name now? "Hi, Pyro." "So you watch this show?" "Yeah! Do you?" "Yeah, I've seen it a few times." Ferossium spoke up in the middle of our conversation. "Hey, Pyro, I'm gonna go to my room for a bit, join me later..." She said with a wink. "Okay, hun." Pyrospread replied while grinning. After she closed the door to the outside, we sat there for a while watching the episode. We watched it for about ten more minutes. Eventually, Pyro broke the silence. "So I heard you had a little crush on Pinkie." I looked over at him to make sure he was talking to me. He was smiling at me. "W-What?" "Ferossium told me you were asking about her." "So what? I can't be interested in somepony?" I realized how those words sounded after they left my mouth. "Curious about somepony?" He smiled at me. "It's fine with me... I don't care who you like." "But I don't have any feelings for her..." "Mhmm..." He simply sat there, staring at the TV with that stupid grin on his face. I wanted to clobber him with my hoof. I crossed my forelegs on my lap and we watched the rest of the episode, and the one that followed it in silence. When it was over, the time was about 4:00 PM, and I was getting hungry and thirsty. I got off the couch, and Pyro followed me. I opened the door to the outside and he closed it on his way out. We made our way to the mess hall, and I opened the door, allowing him to follow me again. Sitting at one of the tables, alone was Pinkie. Of course, Pyro had to nudge me. I mouthed the words: Shut, the, fuck, and up to him. I saw a water fountain and raced over to it, taking big gulps of water and air in at the same time, which made me cough. Pyro was following me, and he took a few slurps himself. We trotted over to the mare behind the counter with a gray mane, and a coat of white fur. She had golden rimmed glasses which were resting on the top of her muzzle. "Hello, dearie." She said. "You must be our newest worker." "Yep." I said with a smile "My name is Cloudy, and you're Shadow, correct?" "Yeah." She offered us both dandelion sandwiches, and we took them, thanked her, and found the nearest table. Pinkie was still sitting there, she appeared to be eating the same thing as us. Pyro was looking at her. We took off our plastic wraps and took our first bites. "You know... I think you should really go talk to her..." He said with sandwich in his mouth. "I already told you, I'm not interested in her." I said while rolling my eyes. "Either way, I think you two would make good friends." "Why?" I said, taking another bite of my sandwich. "I know she seems boring, but you should see her when here parents aren't around." "Oh yeah? What's she like then?" "Well... J-Just look at her cutie mark, It doesn't match her current personality." "I guess you have a point." I looked back down at my sandwich. Eventually, Pinkie got up to throw away her plastic wrap. I watched her as she went to the door. Me and Pyro just sat there for a while in an awkward silence. Soon after, I finished mine as well. "I guess I'll catch you later, then." I said as I got up. "Yep, I have to go check on Ferossium anyway." I dropped my wrap off in the trash can on my way to the outside. When I opened the door, I saw Pinkie sitting on the bench, alone. I approached her. "Hey." I said with a friendly smile. She looked up to see who it was. "Hi." She said. "What are you doing here, alone?" "Why do you care?" "I'm just curious." "I just want to be alone." "Maybe we could be alone, together." I said with a smile. She looked up at me and stared for a few seconds. Eventually, a small but noticeable grin appeared on her face. But, she just quickly put her head back down. Pyrospread was opening the door soon after that. As soon as he saw us, a wide, toothy grin appeared on his face. He mouthed some words over to me as he made his way to the residential cottage. I ignored him and turned my attention back to Pinkie. I just stood there in silence and wished for her to make conversation with me. The only sound that could be heard were the crickets that were beginning to come out along with the moon. I looked down at her scar, and then back up to her. "Well... Bye..." I said. "Bye." She said. I turned to look back at the cottage, and approached it. I opened the door and way immediately was ambushed by Pyrospread. "How did it go? Are you two... You know... Together?" He asked impatiently. "Shut the hell up. Go talk to your marefriend." He frowned at me, then trotted away to Ferrosium's room. He closed the door and I was left to myself. I let out a long sigh and slowly went into my room. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Dear Mom and Dad, Today, I began my first work day, which was extremely tiring. I met the rest of the workers and I think that I'm going to like them. I've started hanging out with a stallion called Pyrospread. Although, I do have mixed feeling about him. It's turning out to be a lot better than I expected. Eagerly, I'm waiting for my first week's paycheck. I'm surprised at how good the money is honestly. Maybe in a few weeks I can come visit again. Your son, Shadow I set down the pen, folded the paper up, and crammed it into an envelope and brought it out to the mailbox. Pinkie was no longer there. I went over to the hobby room and took another shower. On my way back to the cottage I stopped to look up at the sky. It was getting dark, and the stars were starting to pop out. I took in a large breath of the fresh, cold air. When I got back to my room, I threw my saddlebag on the ground, turned off the lights, and jumped into bed. I pulled the covers over me and let out a long sigh, just happy that today is over. Who would've thought my life could've changed so quickly? I thought to myself. As I laid in bed, I thought about my day. From waking up, to taking a shower, to going to work, to that awkward talk with Pyrospread, to talking with Pinkie... I stopped at that moment. I realized how much I couldn't stop thinking about her, and started thinking to myself. Oh Celestia... Maybe I *do** like her...* I stared up at the ceiling for a few decades, just thinking. Eventually, however, I heard somepony knocking hastily on my door. I swore to myself, threw the covers off, and got out of bed. Opening the door, It was Pyro. "What the hell do you want?" I asked angrily. He was looking into my room, surprised that the lights were out. "You're seriously going to bed already?" He asked. "Ummm... Yeah." I said with an obvious expression. "Not without a drink! Follow me." I sighed, and said told him that I'll be right out. I put on my saddlebag, and walked into the hallway, closing my door on the way out. I followed him and Ferossium outside, and into the mess hall. Upon opening the door, I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I was seeing. Literally gallons of hard cider were sitting on a table. "What the..." I said in awe. "Yeah, we get free cider every Friday." I didn't even know today was Friday, let alone being able to get free cider today. He leaded me to the cider and gave me a cup. I poured myself some cider, just after Pyro did. We found a table nearby and began to drink. Pinkie and her sisters were talking and giggling occasionally over at another table. Desprately, I wanted to go talk to her. But, I felt that I've did enough talking today. I switched my attention back to Pyrospread and Ferossium. "So, Shadow," Pyro began, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for another stallion to come along. Sure, being surrounded by mares is great, but it's still nice to have colts for friends, right?" I nodded my head in agreement. With my eyes half closed, I took another sip from my cup. "I know that we're going to be great friends..." He said. I tried to make a friendly smile. "You don't talk much." Ferrosium blurted out. "No, I do. I'm just tired." I said as if it was obvious. I always get a little bit angry when I'm tired. Or at least more angry than usual. "Well, it looks like those girls are having fun." Pyro said, looking over to the Pie sisters. "Yup," I said, looking over at them, but one of them in particular. I almost could sense that they could notice this, but I began not to care. We got up to get another round from the gallons and sat back down. I chugged down the cup in five seconds, watching as my table mates made that so-called adorable talk when in a relationship I got up to get another cup of cider, but realized that I was already getting a bit woozy. Damn, that stuff is strong. "Sorry, but I'm tired, and don't want to wake up with a headache tomorrow. So I'm going to hit the sack." I said with a yawn. "Oh. Okay. Sure, goodnight." Pyro said. After I threw my cup away, I glanced over to Pinkie. I could almost sense that she was looking at my in the corner of her eye. And, the fact that she might switch her attention over to me any second scarred me. I decided not to go straight to bed. Instead, I went outside, took in a huge breath of air and looked at the sky and the stars. The lack of light pollution out here made it truly beautiful. I walked all the way to the end of the fence, to where I had first entered. I plopped up on the fence, taking a seat while looking out into the empty land of dirt and sand. I watched as the cold, night wind blew blankets of sand and soil across the emptiness. I didn't realize how cold the night was compared to the day. Not that it's bad, it feels really good against my fur. For a while, I just sat there, being happy to be away from everypony for a while. After a while, however, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit lonely, as If I wanted to spend this time with somepony. Before I hopped off the fence, I sucked in another big breath of fresh air. I walked back to the cottages, this time more slowly as I felt so attached to the environment here. I opened the door while yawning, slowly lumbering to my room. None of the workers were anywhere in sight, most likely sleeping, or still in the mess hall. I walked through my door, closing it while entering. I threw off my saddlebag, turned off the light, and jumped into bed again. As I laid in bed, I resumed my thoughts. About the workers, about my parents... And most of all, one specific somepony. And, dear reader, I think you know who that somepony is. ConfrontingIt's been just over a week since I've came to the rock farm. As the week progressed, I continued doing my job and eventually got my first pay check. Looking at the number scribbled out onto the piece of paper, I wasn't disappointed to say the least. The first thing I did with It, was call a taxi to take me over to Ponyville so I could cash the check. Currently, I stand before the Bank of Equestria. I trotted up the marble stairs and peered through the glass door. I was happy that it wasn't too crowded as it was a Saturday. When I pushed on the door, it opened, letting out a breeze of cool air on the way out making me shudder in comfort. I walked over to a table, picked up a pen with my mouth and scribbled down my signature on the back of the check. I took the check to the mare behind the counter and set it down in front of her. We exchanged smiles. I entered my pin and she took my check, saying, "Thank you," As she hit a few keys on a keyboard. I left the bank and took a few seconds contemplating what I should do next, but my stomach decided for me. Living in this town my whole life, I knew where everything was, so I went to my favorite bar and grill for lunch. After opening the door, I took a seat at a booth. A waiter, who I've been familiar with since I've been here so many times, walked towards my table. He greeted me and then asked what drink I wanted. "Could I just have an ice tea?" I asked with a smile. "Certainly, I'll get right on it." He said, returning the smile. I gazed up to one of the flat screens and saw a news broadcast. It was just pointless babbling like always. This just in... Famous mare Vinyl Scratch was spotted flirting with one of her personal bodyguards by her pool! Images were leaked! More news at 3:00 PM! I really wanted to be one of those ponies that didn't care about something like this, who I've always admired. I couldn't, however, help be a tad interested. Most likely, I just wanted to see pictures of her rump due to me always being attracted to her. I forced myself to focus my attention onto the menu. Scanning through it, I decided to stick with something healthy, a herb salad. My waiter came back and placed my tea on the table. He asked me what I wanted for the main course, I told him it and he was off again. I put my mouth on the straw and took a few sips, blowing a few bubbles into it to keep myself occupied. I looked over at the clock, it read 2:20 PM. Eventually, the waiter came back, floating the tray in a membrane of yellow magic and set it on the table. "Thank you." I said. "No problem, anything else?" He asked. I shook my head and he went off to do his own thing. I wolfed down the salad in a few big gulps. I tried to ignore some of the ponies staring at my lack of table manners. When I got done with my lunch, the waiter took the plate away and gave me the bill. I paid the bill, making sure to tip him, and went back outside. I couldn't go to my parents house, because they ordered me to not come back for at least a month. I decided to go Sugar Cube Corner, to bring back some sweets to the farm. It wasn't far from here either, just down the street in fact. The buildings that I passed on my way to the corner, looked dead and bland compared to the Corner. It was definitely the most lively on the street, since it resembled to be a large gingerbread house. I walked into the shop and the small bell above me jingled. Nobody was at the counter, but the store was open with people eating in it. "I'll be right out, sweetie!" Said the lady, who I assumed to be Mrs. Cake. In a few moments, the pink, swirly maned pony came out. I've been there many times before, so she recognized me. "Hello!" She said with a hearty smile. "Hi, Mrs. Cake!" I said back. She obtained a yellow note pad with her mouth and put it on the table. She asked me if I knew what I wanted, so I nodded. "Could I just have a dozen vanilla cupcakes with red frosting?" I asked, already starting to get eager. It's been too long since I've had a sweet. I almost thought I felt a stream of saliva about to stream down my face, but I regained myself just in time. "Of course! It should be about ten minutes!" She said, while trotting away into the room where she first emerged from. m I had nowhere else to go, so I plopped down on one of the booths. It was a nice, not crowded at all. I had a lot of space to myself. Like at the restaurant I was just at, the news was on the television. It was a different broadcast though, and the story caught my eye. More and more reports of bandits and tribes are being sent to us. The camera was zooming in on a muscular pony. He was carrying something circular in his teeth. Maybe a key ring? There were also several tents near him, and a campfire. He obviously didn't notice the scout recording him. The camps are being discovered in places around Trottingham, Appaloosa, and PonyVille. The only place I could imagine them hiding around here would be the Everfree forest. I have no desire to go into a creepy forest, so I should be safe. "Ding-Ding!" Said Mrs. Cake. Giving a smile, I trotted up to the counter to be greeted with a dozen scarlet cupcakes staring at me. Sugarcube Corner always were the best bakers in town. I remember eating my mom's baking when I was younger, but nothing compared to the corners'. "That'll be 30 bits, hun!" She said, maintaining her usual peppy attitude. I dug into my left saddlebag, where I kept all my money, and counted out the amount onto the table. We smiled at each other, and I concluded with a, "Thank you." I tied it onto my back and opened the door to let the autumn, evening wind hit my face. I heard the bell ring above me once more. I debated against my self to visit a few more places while I was here. But, in the end I decided to go back to the farm. After all, carrying around that box all day didn't sound very appealing. Plus, I didn't want to take any more chances than I already have of encountering my parents. Who knows how they would react if they saw me. Although I have only worked at the farm for a week, staring at that same, gray sand/dirt all day left my eyes hungry. The forest-green trees, on my way back and fourth was a pleasant change in scenery. Sweet Apple Acres is truly beautiful. I didn't call a taxi this time. Lately, I have been feeling a lot more energetic. I suppose I just wanted the exercise, the feeling after a long day of exertion was amazing, and something that I've never felt before; at least not for a long time. The sun gleamed around the mountain which I was starting to ascend. I took the same route that I took a week ago. In fact, it was the only route that I knew of. A big, dirt road, going straight down the middle of the apple farm. Now that I think of it, I wonder if there is a connection between the two farms. I reached the peak and took a breath of fresh air. It wasn't a huge mountain, so I could still breath without trouble. I could see the entirety of the town, and in the faint distance, I could make out the cottages of the rock farm. I made sure to take my time going down the mountain. When I came up here this morning, I learned that the hard way; due to it being a hell of a lot steeper than I thought. The box was already starting to make its creases on my back, so I wanted to get it off as soon as possible. I came to the fence, which indicated to me that I was almost there. I swear that every time I walk down this path, it just seems to get longer. Eventually, I came to the central hub (Which I had taken to calling it.) Pyro and Ferossium were sitting on the bench behind the main cottage. I gave them a wave. I made my way to the washrooms. After I was done taking a shower, I went to my room. This time, however, it felt different. I realized that this was the first time that this place has felt like a home to me. The thought made me smile. I decided to make the moment even better by picking up a cupcake and eating it. I threw myself down onto the bed and snuggled my head up against the pillow. Within minutes, I was asleep. Golden strips of sunlight glistened through the thin, wooden curtain straps. I opened my eyes while stretching my forelegs. The first thing that my eyes focused on, was my calendar. My parents sent me it along with a letter. The calendar featured various pony models in several different erotic positions. I think my parents are just encouraging me to get a marefriend. It was Sunday, which meant it was a short work day: Only four hours. I forced myself out of bed, picking up a cupcake on the way to the door. Once again, I went to the hobby room to brush my teeth and shower. Afterwards, I got to work. Just like every other day, it was just more of pushing of the rocks with the tip of my muzzle to where ever Igneous tells us to take them. I'm honestly surprised this place doesn't have any unicorn workers. They would certainly have an easier job with this task than normal, earth ponies like us would. In fact, I think that we only have one pegasus, Ferossium, which was strange since her dad would always take her down into the mines where he worked. On the other hand, I never did see her use her wings that often. Maybe she's a bad flyer? I knew a pony who was like that. I couldn't recall her name, but I still remember that smooth, pink mane and yellow fur. I met her when I was a teenager, and always had sort of a crush on her. Several eons later, Igneous called us in and thanked us, in his bland, lifeless attitude. Like we usually did, we made our way to the mess hall, to pick up whatever was served to us. We had the same setup for a week. The pie sisters would sit at one table, and the last three of us would sit at another. I noticed that Pinkie wasn't that participant in the conversation, the other two sisters were doing most of the talking. I turned my attention back to the table and looked down at my plate. Apple Salad. I began to eat unenthusiastically. Pyro noticed this, and stared at me. "Is something bothering you?" He asked. I still had my muzzle buried into the plate when I looked up at him. I lifted up and shook my head. A while later, I was staring at a plate with green specks scattered around it. I looked around the room, avoiding contact with my table mates. I saw cloudy packing up her stuff, like she did every night. The clock above the main doorway read 4:13. I sneaked a look over at the pie sisters, but just Pinkie in particular. I noticed that she was looking at the clock as well. I looked back down at the table. A few minutes later, I heard somebody get up out of their chair. I looked over to see the the pink pony walking towards the door. At our table, we remained silent, with me being the only person noticing her exit. The pie sisters were just as chatty as ever, however. At this point, I couldn't tell you what came over me. It was as if a part of my brain took control of my full body. I dumped my paper plate into the trash can and opened the door. I was planning on going back to my room, I guess. But, my curiosity got the best of me when I saw the pony trotting into the forest. She was already about halfway there when I noticed. I can't believe how big the EverFree Forest is, as it goes on for miles. I began to walk towards her, keeping a safe distance. I took cover behind every large, convenient rock I saw. I was scared to death that she would look my way. And felt as if turning back wasn't an option. She began to come to an entrance of the forest. I was hesitant at first, but I assumed that it must be safe enough since she was heading in so courageously. I closed in on her more, since I could easily hide if she looked behind her. Her neck began to turn, and I almost fell into a trance. Thankfully, I regained myself, and leaped into a nearby bush, praying that she didn't see me. I don't think she did, so I poked my head out from the leaves. She didn't see me, and she continued down the path. I got up and followed her. Eventually, she came to a dead end. It was a circular path, with a round mosaic stone in the middle. Pinkie plopped down onto it, and just sat on it. I just stood there in silence with her back turned to me. I began to get closer to her, while thoughts fired around my mind. I began to shake as I was only a few feet away from her. It was then when she realized something was behind her. She turned her head around, slowly. When she saw me, her eyes grew enormous and her mouth looked as if it was about to make a scream. I quickly threw my hoof over her mouth, silencing her. "Shhhhh... It's okay..." I said, still not allowing her to speak. I took it off of her mouth, and she began to breathe heavily. "Why the hell did you follow me?!" She said angrily, with her face flushing with red. "Why did you come here?" I asked, not answering her question. "I come here to relax, when I don't want to be around any ponies." She said. "Can you please leave?" My eyes flew around, desperately thinking of something to say. There was one thing that I couldn't get off of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. I guess it's going to come out eventually, so it might as well be now. "How did you get that scar?" I asked nervously. I assumed that the scar was given to her from when she was young, as it was fading pretty well into her pink fur. Her eyes filled up with rage as she grew even more crimson than before. Soon after, she decided to hide her face from me. I thought that it was just my imagination, but I could hear her making sobbing noises. When she turned her head to me, tears were running down her cheek. She made a strange sniffling noise which I made out to be, "Leave me alone." I didn't know what to do. I didn't just want to leave her there, especially since I had made her cry. I scanned around the forest to make sure that nobody was watching me. I can't explain how guilty I felt, and pretty soon, I felt as if I was going to cry as well. "N-No.... Please don't cry." I said, with my lips already starting to shake. Never having very good social skills, I wasn't very good at speaking, let alone s. I never should of brought it up, it was just the only thing that I could think of. I found myself looking around the forest once again, thinking of my next move. But, without thinking, I got down to her level, reflecting her expression. I wrapped my hoof around her. I felt as if I might start crying soon. I tried to hide it by putting my head down. "I'm sorry..." Is all I could say. However she got that scar, it must've. been something awful. I didn't know why I was apologizing, but I still felt dreadful. She lifted her head towards me. I could see her red, moist eyes glistening in the sun's set, she looked gorgeous. I realized that she was the first mare who didn't push away when I showed any sort of affection towards her. Either I felt extremely bad for what I did, or I just wanted to make the most out of this moment. Either way, I had to do something. I wrapped my other hoof around her and brought her close to me. I felt her tears moistening my chest, but her sobs stopped and she was still. She wiggled her head to get more comfortable. I could see her face again, and it was enough to make my eyes begin to drip. So I just sat there, with her in my eyes. Her expression was slowly changing from an anger-fueled sadness to an empathetic sadness. She began to rest her head on my shoulder, and my heart warmed up. With my hoof, I moved a hair of hers away from her eye and feigned a smile, quickly replacing it back with a frown. The stars were beginning to come out about now, shinning over our faces. I forced myself to break this moment for our safety. I got up with one of my hoofs still around her. "Let's go." I attempted to say. Thankfully, nobody was in sight when we walked towards. I opened the door quietly, peeking through, then I walked down the hallway to my room. I opened the door and then set her down on my bed. I also sat down and wiped a tear from her eyes. I was a lot more audible, so I decide to finally say something. "Listen... I'm sorry." I said, trying extremely hard to hold back yet more tears. She rubbed her hoof up my foreleg affectionately without saying any words. She lifted her head and stared at me, while trying to smile. I asked myself if she was curious about me as I was interested in her. Her hoof came up to my shoulder and rested on there. She was still gazing into my soul. I noticed that she wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes were still shaded red. It seemed like an eternity, but she broke the moment when she tugged on me so I was laying on my back. She crawled on top of me and lied down, still while looking into my eyes. Slowly, I noticed her eyes began to close. And I felt something. Something moist. I closed my eyes and embraced whatever was about to happen. I felt her lips touching mine, while her tongue played with mine. I didn't want to stop, but all good thing eventually had to. When she broke away from me, a string of saliva connected us. She rested her head on my shoulder, and cuddled towards me. The moonlight shined on our faces, and sent us into dreamland. Unexpected OccurencesI woke up with my eyelids still closed. Feeling something warm against my coat, I remembered where I was, and snapped my eyes open. Her forelegs were clinging around my waist. I gently moved them off of me, going slower every time I thought she was waking up. The sun wasn’t up, and it was almost pitch black. I flipped one of the curtain straps to make sure. To my surprise, the sand outside looked even darker than usual. The only thing visible in the distance, was the moon. I headed over to my desk, trying to soften my steps. I flipped on the small lamp, and a dim glow lifted away the darkness. The clock above me read 4:01 AM. The box of cupcakes were still on my desk. A fan was the only thing cooling it. Not that I needed to keep them refrigerated. They surely wouldn't melt in the cool autumn weather, let alone winter, which it will be in a month. I looked over at Pinkie, who was- I noticed something different about her. Raising an eyebrow, I closed in on her. While I lifted up my hoof to put to her cheek, a strand of her mane was to the side of her head, over her ear. It was... Wavy? She had always had straight hair, with her bangs evened off. I felt it on my hoof, turning it over to inspect it. Her entire mane looked like a partially filled balloon. Puffy. I was perplexed by this. Unless she somehow got hot and sweaty last night... (I couldn't help but put the thought into my mind.) I don't see how her mane could be this messy. When I inspected it a bit more, I couldn't help but smile. I had to admit, it was adorable. I trotted over to the desk, still smiling, and grabbed a cupcake from the box. The cupcake looked beautiful, and that's when I realized how hungry I was. I took a bite of it, tasting and smelling the frosting and yellow cake. Then, I heard something. I looked over at pinkie. She was sitting straight up in bed as if she was wide awake. I took a step back, surprised, almost scared, when I hit the table and almost smashed the cupcakes. Pinkie was licking her lips eagerly "I LOVE cupcakes!" She said. Her voice was high, and quick. Not saturated with mellow like it usually is. Just standing there, I looked down at my cupcake. I was perplexed by her change in personality, but I was just happy that she was happy. I smiled and opened up the box again, not talking due to cupcake in my mouth. "C-Can I have one?" She said, almost stuttering. I swallowed and cleared my throat. "As many as you want." I said, smiling. Her hair sprang up, as if it inflated like a balloon. She seemed to run to the box with the force of a speeding bull, but floated down like a piece of paper. She then gobbled one up, unladylike, but I kept smiling and didn't mind. Then, she attacked me. She forced her lips onto mine, and her tongue to mine, catching me off guard. This was... not her. Not, the Pinkamena Diane Pie I knew. I could taste the frosting on her lips, and it was even better then straight-up eating them. A while later, the cupcakes were nearly gone, we both wolfed them down in a few minutes. We still had plenty of time left, so we decided to spent it together. I hopped on my bed gracefully, reducing sound, and laid down on my back. She smiled above me and curled up against me, between my forelegs. She was warm and her adorable breathing made my heart leap. I rested my eyes, and tightened my grip on her hips. I edged towards her and kissed her on her neck. She gasps softly. I fell asleep once again. We were both perfectly still. I didn't know if she fell asleep, or just relaxed, or whatever, but I think that she enjoyed it as well. I woke up, once more, this time by the sun creeping in through the window. I got up from the bed and made sure that I didn't disturb her. I walked over to the desk to see the box wide open, with nothing but crumbs inside. There were about one or three cupcakes left when we stopped eating, so I assumed she ate some while I was asleep. I smirked, and wrapped my saddlebags around my waist. I put a hoof to Pinkie's shoulder and gently shook her awake. Her adorable eyes opened up and stared into my heart. "H-Hey..." I said just after pecking her on the cheek. "Ughh-gh alright..." She said before yawning. We said our goodbyes, hugged, and I was off to the showers. "Eighty... S-Six..." I said, letting out a huge puff of air. The sun was beginning its descent, and was gleaming through the mountains. I couldn't help but glance over at Pinkie. Every time I needed some encouragement... I was looking for her affection, hoping she'd give me some. But, I found disappointment every time. At least... I think I did. There were several times that I thought she might have been looking at me too. I noticed that her mane was straightened again, and she had the same gloomy expression on her face, like always. However... It seemed more... highlighted... If that makes sense. On my way back, I heard Igneous calling us back in. He congratulated us, once again, in his dry and lifeless tone. He attempted a smile, showing his grimy teeth, which faded quickly. Everybody went into the mess hall. Pinkie brushed up against and smiled at me on her way. It was a welcoming surprise. I considered joining them (her), but I remembered that I had other plans.. I found myself staring into space, and I shook myself out of it. Then I saw something odd. Igneous was simply standing there, like I was. He was staring straight ahead. Not to me, but it looked as if he was staring at me through a corner of his eye. He was expressionless. I decided to slip away to where I needed to go. After taking a shower, I opened the door to the hobby room and stepped in. Remembering something, I stopped in my hooves. The door made a creaking noise when I opened it slowly. I peaked my head out. No Igneous was in sight. Letting out a sigh of relief, I flipped the analogue sticks to turn the TV on, and changed the channel to the new episode of Stallion Park. The episode did a lot to lighten my mood. Of course, it was already sky high because of Pinkie. Creeeeeeeeeek Speak of the devil. "Can I come in?" She said in her high pitched voice, which warmed my heart every time I heard it. "Of course!" I said, angling my head up to her and smiling. I made room for her, and got up from my laying position. Clearly, that isn't what she had in mind. She leaped into my lap, pressing out a puff of air from me. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" I said, smiling at her. She giggled back to me. I shifted back into my laying position, with my arm around her. We both watched, but I was having a hard time paying attention to the show. All of my emotions were focused on her. I felt her vibrations against me as she laughed. Minutes passed, and I still couldn't stop thinking about her. I brought her closer to me, tightening my grip on her. BOOM Lightning struck; The window lit up with white. Pinkie immediately shifted her head to the window. Rain was hitting and streaming down the roof. The dead tree, just outside the window tapped on the window. It never didn't amaze me how fast the Pegasi change the weather. Shaking. Pinkie was shaking. I put a hoof on her (The one I didn't already have around her.) My aunt was afraid of lightning. What did my mom call it? Astraphobia? Yeah, that was it. "Do you have astraphobia?" I asked. "What is that?" She asked in her mellow tone. "It's the fear of light--" I said, just before another strike came, which was followed by heavier rain. The TV turned black. The room was black. I told her to hold tight, and I went to look for a flashlight. Near the TV, there was a straw basket with a lot of junk in it. I dug everything out and found a TV remote (Which had no batteries,) a phone book, a handful of VHS tapes and.... and a key. I picked it up, pondering on what it could be to. Shrugging it off, I went to the shelf to the other side of the TV. I tripped on my way there, over a cord to the TV. "Ah... Shit..." I sighed, pulling myself up. "A-Are you okay?" Pinkie asked through her trembling hooves. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." I said, feigning happiness. While I was down, I saw an umbrella on the table under the TV. I'll definitely have to take a mental note of that. I continued to the shelf. There were mainly only books and old magazines. I keep hearing that the books belong to another pie sister, Maud, who I've never met. There was, however, a gas lantern. I picked it up and shook it. It still had a little bit of juice in it. I remember seeing some match boxes in the bathroom, so I went there. I remembered to be cautious on my way there. Since the bathroom and the hobby room were in the same cabin, It was simple. I go the matchbox, took a match out, and lit the lantern. The room sprang up in orange light. I set the lantern on the table between the TV and the couch. Pinkie calmed down a bit. It's when I set the lantern down, that I realized how cold it was. The fall's night air was getting more and more cold every day. Winter was on it's way. The lantern gave some warmth, but not enough. I had a new objective, to find blankets. There was a closet, which I opened. It was full of boardgames, but no blankets. I might bring one over to Pinkie, though. I looked all over the room, but I couldn't find any blankets. Then, an idea popped into my head. I went into the bathroom, picked up a few towels, and brought them to the couch. "Sorry, but It's the best that I could find." I said, laying one on her. "It's fine... Thank you." She said with a grateful smile. I smiled back at her and kissed her on the forehead. "I found some board games in the closet, want me to bring those out?" I asked. "Sure." She responded. "I think there is a trivia game in there that I like." I nodded and went back to the closet. After some digging and searching, I think I found it. I then brought it to the table. I set the lantern to the side. Pinkie seemed delighted to see it. I was delighted simply because she was. We began to open the box, then play. After some giggling and playful insults, the rain began to weak and the lightning was reduced to thunder. In regards to the trivia game, it was actually fun. However, I didn't know if the game itself was fun, or playing it with her was fun, but either way, I enjoyed it. You'd be surprised at the amount of stuff you have crammed in the back of your brain. She ended up winning every time. But it was debatable if she really knew the answers or just had the questions memorized. We were there for at least an hour. The power came back, so I shook the lantern out. "That was fun, I'm glad you showed me that game." I said with a smile. She hugged me and got up and walked over to the door. "Hang on." I told her, then reached under the TV. I pulled out the umbrella and gave it to her. "Thank you." She said, with those beautiful eyes staring into mine. I lost control, grabbed her, and kissed her goodbye. When we broke, she continued smiling at me. She picked up the umbrella in her mouth, opened the door, and left, all without saying a word. I sighed with relief. Is this really going to where I think it's going? I stood there for a few minutes. I remembered something that perplexed me. The key. I couldn't contain my curiosity. What was it for? I decided to dig through the basket and pulled it out. I put it into my saddlebag. I opened the door to the outside world, and walked out. On my way back to my room, I heard a dry voice behind me. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He said. It was dark out, and I couldn't see who it was. I took a few steps forward into the void. The wind flowed through my mane, sending chills down my vein. "Yeah, what did you need?" I said. Out of the darkness, a stallion storms into me and drives me into a wall. I was forced into the dirt, as he landed on top of me. "What the f-" I said, just before getting clobbered in the face with a dark hoof. I continued getting jabbed with the dark hoof, bringing new pain each time. I didn't feel any blood spilling, but I did see it. All over the stallion's hooves. The blood looked like paint on his ebony hooves. I was feeling light headed. I looked up at him. It was Pinkie's father. I was greeted with another hoof in my eye, blacking me out for a second. My head slammed into the ground, which woke me up immediately. "Wha--Why did y-" I mumbled. "You're not good enough for Pinkie, stay away from her." He said, beginning to back away. His dark eyes stared into my soul, as I coughed up blood onto the ground. My lip dripped crimson and was beginning to swell up. At his words, I was filled with rage. Rage that I hadn't felt for a long time. I got up on my four legs, took a few steps, picking up speed every time. But, I lost balance and fell back into the mud. A tear fell from my eye into the already moist soil. Igneous was gone when I turned my head back up. I decided that there was no way in hell that I was going to bed like this, so I went back to the bathroom, in the hobby room. I looked at myself in the mirror. Blood was drying on my black fur, mud all over me, especially in my mane when he drove me onto my back. I sighed and stepped into the shower. The water gushed on my face and body, but it was frigid. I sprinted out of the shower, tripping on the lack of a translation between the shower and the tile. I hit my head on the counter edge and fell down, gushing new blood. More tears were poured in frustration and despair. The water began to warm, so I went back in. I made sure to cleanse my new wound on my forehead. I watched as the red tainted water was sucked down the drain. I got out of the shower prematurely. Feeling lightheaded, I picked up my saddlebags, and turned off the shower. On my way out, I picked up the lantern in my mouth and a few matches which I put in my bags. I made sure that Igneous was gone, which he was. So I walked in silence back to my room, letting the autumn air into my new wounds. Surprisingly, it felt really good. At least it was less painful. I opened the door to the hallway and walked down to my room, slowly because I didn't want to lose my balance again. I was just happy that the day was over. Happy about Pinkie and the time we spent together, but with strands of sadness and confusion with Igneous. I took a match and lit it, bringing the room up in light, then using that match on the lantern. I put out the match and tossed it into a waste basket I had bought. The lantern was warm, and I was freezing, so I held it close to me. Closing the window's blinds, I bounced onto the bed that sprang me up. I set the lantern on the shelf near the bed. As I drifted to sleep, I heard a voice. "Hey, are you alright?" They said through a thin but noticeable crack in the wood paneled wall. I looked into the crack, it was Ferrosium. "Yes, I'm fine." I said, laying my head back on my pillow. "Well you didn't look so good thirty minutes ago." She said. I tried to exert a chuckle out. "Yeah, I had to clean up afte- You saw that?" "Well... No. But I did hear it." She said. "E-Everything?" I said nervously, afraid she heard what Igneous said. "Yes." She said. After a long pause she said, "I wont tell anybody about her if you don't want me to." I smiled, even though she couldn't see me. "I appreciate that." I said. Another pause took place. "Do you know what happened to Maud?" She asked. "No, tell me." I said, closing my eyes. She was frowning in my mind. "Haven't you been seeing those barbarian ponies on the news?" She said. "It sounds vague, yet familiar." I said. "Well, she went into the woods one day as punishment for not responding to her dad's question. Hours passed and she hadn't come back. We all assumed that she was just busy playing with rocks..." She said. "That was two months ago." I found it insulting that they figured that she was playing with rocks, but nonetheless, I asked. "W-Why hasn't anybody said anything?!" I was beginning to lose my sanity. "Well, some people handle these things differently. You know how Cloudy has been her happy self? Well that asshole Igneous keeps her secluded from these things. She doesn't even know her own daughter is missing. And the pie sisters... Some of them have handled it better than others... But just look at them." She said. It sounded like she was letting off steam. I didn't say anything for what seemed like an eternity. I sighed and asked. "Why haven't you told her? I'm sure that she would go to Ponyville and get help." "Igneous threatened us. He is the only one who knows who hasn't changed. I can't tell if he doesn't care, or just is bottling up his feelings. But, we needed a new worker, which is why we hired you. You're sleeping in her bed." She said. My lantern was changing her fur into a golden shade. More silence. "Thank you for telling me." I said. "You're welcome." She said, pulling up her covers. "By the way, you and Pinkie make a cute couple." My heart warmed at her words. I shook the lantern out and fell back in bed. "Good night Ferrosium." I said. My day went from good, to great, to amazing, to perplexed, to heartbroken. But, there was one thing that ended off my day with a sliver of good. And that was that I had a new objective. And that objective, was to find Maud. Snow FallSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Just Another DayI wasn't expecting today to turn out the way it did. I was looking forward to another great day of laying on my bed, staring at my TV, and eating junk food. Clearly, however, that's not what my parents had in their intentions. Slowly, the door creaked open. I had been lying in bed, trying to sleep in, minding my own business, when my mother placed her hoof on my shoulder. "What?" I said while combining it with a groan. "Get up, we need to talk to you." My mom said "Can't you see that I'm sleeping in?" "It's 1:00 PM... You can't keep doing this every day." "Why not? It's not like I have a job." I fired back angrily. "Just get up, we'll be waiting for you." "Ugh," I moaned as she exited my room. After a few minutes, I decided to finally push myself off of the bed. Who's she to tell me what to do? I thought to myself. I went into my bathroom and splashed some water into my face. I then checked myself out in the mirror for a few seconds, which turned into minutes. After some time, I heard my father yell my name down the stairs and remembered my task. Curse my absent mindedness. I opened up to door to the stairway, and trotted up to the living room. My mom and dad were standing in front of the front door. "So why did you want me again?" I asked impatiently. "We wanted to talk to you over some lunch-, er... I mean breakfast." My dad said. "You had me at breakfast." I said as we exited the door and walked into the streets. When we got to the restaurant we took our seats at a large booth, taking up more seats than we needed. I've always liked it that way. Since I don't relate to other ponies that much, I like my space. I quickly scanned through the menu. The thing that caught my eye the most were the cherry pancakes, which was made from Equestria's best milk, straight from Trottingham. "So... Shadow, we had something to talk to you about." My mom said. "Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked, still having my eyes locked onto the menu. "We wanted to talk to you about getting a job." I sighed and dropped my menu on the table upon hearing this. "I already told you, I'm working on it." My dad's eyes widened at this. "How? You just lay in bed all day, watching that television in our damn basement all day." "You'd be surprised at all of the stuff you can learn from TV." I said. We all stared at each other for a brief moment. Thankfully, the waiter broke our silence. "Hi guys! Thanks for stopping in. Can I start you off with a drink? "I'll just have a water," My dad said. "Water." Said my mom. "Could I have a glass of chocolate milk?" I asked "Certainly." She said before leaving. My parents we staring at me. My mom leaned in against my dad to whisper something in his ear. I detested when then did stuff like this. I don't like when people keep secrets from me. "What?" I asked. "You can't live in our house anymore." Said my dad. "What? Why!?" My mom, being a unicorn, used her magic to open up a strap on her saddlebag. She then brought up a piece of paper onto the table. I looked at it for a few seconds, switching glances between it and my parents occasionally. I picked it up with my hoof and opened it. It was a flyer for a farm. As I looked closer at it, it said Rock Farm. "What the hell is a rock farm?!" I asked angrily. "Keep reading." My mom said nervously. As I looked through the flyer for a few seconds, I think I finally understood what they were getting at. At the bottom, it read Now Hiring! This made me roll my eyes. I turned over the paper to read what was on the back. It read: Please join us at the rock farm, where we turn rocks into gems! We're always searching for new workers. The job requires strength and discipline. It pays 12 bits per hour. 12 bits an hour? Not bad for a job like this... But I couldn't let my parents see me getting any joy out of this. I was about to open my mouth, but that's when the waiter came back. She gave us our drinks and took our orders. I decided to go with the pancakes. "Anyway... What makes you think that I'd be good at this sort of thing." I said. "We don't think it's the best job... But It's the best that we could find." Said my mom. "Well I'm not doing it, so you might as well throw it away." "We already signed you up." My dad said. "Why would you do that?!" I moaned "You need to get a life beyond that basement. You start tomorrow. It starts at 7:00 AM sharp. Plus the time it takes to get there, so you'd have to wake up at 6:00 AM. We already called a taxi pony to come get you." "Please tell me you're joking..." The waiter came back with our dishes and set them on the table. I gave her a friendly smile. After she left, I stared at her rump for a few seconds. "So we expect you to be in bed by 10:00." My mom said. "Fine, I'm not seven anymore." I said. "Where do you expect me to sleep, or eat?" "The Rock Farm has offered to take you in." I had nothing else to say or ask, so I simply rested my head on my hoof and started eating my pancakes. We spent the rest of our time at the restaurant in silence, with me occasionally making angry glances at them. Soon, the waiter came back with our bill. We paid and she left. I couldn't tell, but I swore I saw her wink at me before she left. I lay on my bed, knowing that this will probably be my last night here. Unable to sleep, I pick up the remote from by table and flick on the television. Light fills the room, and makes my eyes hurt for a second. I flicked through the channels. Nothing but garbage was on. "Ugh," I said as I laid my head back. I turned it off, throwing the remote across the room. It ended up landing dead on the power button, turning it on again. My eyes flared at this. "One.... Two......... Three............." I said Counting to three always helped me calm down. My short temper always hindered me in relationships in general. I got up, out of bed and threw a couple of F-bombs, and S-bombs in the process. I rubbed my eyes while trotting over to the remote and turning it off. This time, I carefully set it down on the table. I got in bed, pulling the covers back up to cover me. Staring up at the ceiling fan, I force my eyes to close. I take the time to think about where my life is headed, and for what the future has planned for me. Maybe I was too harsh on my parents. Maybe my job won't be as bad as expected. It's then, when I finally drifted into dreamland. As my eyes opened, I was greeted by darkness. Being so used to waking up with the sunshine in my room, I couldn't help but be a little freaked out. I glanced over at my glow-in-the-dark clock. It read 5:33. I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I looked at my dark circles in the mirror, trying to hide my morning ugliness with a smile. Before jumping into the shower, I quickly grabbed my toothbrush with my hooves. I brushed my teeth, rubbed shampoo and conditioner throughout my coat and mane, and rinsed it all out. Hopping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel. I was trying my best to enjoy these luxuries as much as possible, because I didn't know which ones I would have on the farm with me. I rubbed a hoof through my mane and trotted into my room. 5:54 said the clock. I quickly put on some presentable clothes and grabbed a few changes of clothes, a journal, a couple of pens, and some paper, then crammed it into a suitcase, hastily. I then opened the door and trotted up the stairs. I crept into my parents room. My mom was fast asleep, but my dad had his reading glasses on while reading the daily paper. "Hey." He said. "Hey... Just wanted to say bye before I left." I said. "Oh... Well you have to be going soon. It's six o'clock" "Yeah, I know... Tell mom I said bye." "Okay. Goodbye, son." I trotted out of their room, gently closing the door on the way out. I walked through the living room, trying to catch a mental picture of the house before I depart. Just outside of the window, the taxi pony was waiting patiently. I didn't want to keep him waiting, so I opened the front door and walked outside. I plopped my suitcase on a chair and hopped up on the other. "Sorry I'm late." I said apologetically "No problem, buddy." He said. I'll have to remember to give him a nice tip for his friendliness. "So you're going to the old Rock Farm? I haven't been there in ages. Why are you going?" He asked while starting at a slow pace. "Oh, I'm just going for some business reasons." "Ah, okay." The cold, morning wind was in my face, and I loved it. The scent of the morning dew put me in a great mood, and I felt extremely perspective. The sun was just beginning to rise over the hills of Apple Acres Farm. It truly looked beautiful. "Nice, isn't it?" I asked, trying to make conversation. "Yeah, it's gorgeous. Celestia is doing a great job." He responded. I nodded my head in agreement. "Smell that wonderful air.... I should get up early more often." Or stay up even later I thought. "It's amazing, that's exactly why I took the morning shift." He said while giving a sniff. We were starting to go into the mountains. The scent of dew was replaced with the smell of dust and stone. When we got to the top of the trail, I got a full view of PonyVille, the place where I had lived my whole life. It looked as if it was slowly disappearing under the edge of the mountain as we were now going downward. When we got to the bottom, the taxi pony went to a full stop. "Why did we stop?" I asked. "This is where you wanted to go, wasn't it?" "I thought we were going to the rock farm." "We're at it!" "Where is it?" "They own nearly all of this land. Try looking a bit over there." He pointed his hoof down the trail. I squinted my eyes. Sure enough, I did see a few small structures which appeared to be a few cottages, and a windmill. There were also a ton of basketball sized rocks scattered all throughout the land. "Oh... My bad." I said while slapping my face with my hoof. "Here's your fare." I paid his fare of 30 bits with a 10 bit tip. "Thanks bud!" He said as he turned around and started up the mountain again. I took my suitcase and slowly trotted towards the cottages. I took the time to look at where I will be working for a while. Honestly, I'm not impressed. The flyer made it sound a lot more exciting than it actually is. The fence on the trail seemed to go on forever. Eventually, I made it to the small patch of civilization. I assumed that the biggest house that had a, "Now Hiring!." sign on it was where I was supposed to go. I knocked on the door a few times. I could hear some fumbling and small curses. Which what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened. A stallion with a caramel coat, and a gray mutton chops with a black hat opened the door. His face was completely straight, and was chewing on a piece of wheat. "Oh... I-Ummmm... Hi..." I said. "You must be our new employee," He said in a deep voice. "Yep," I said. "Fantastic." He said with a lack of enthusiasm, "Let me show you around." "Oh-Okay..." He led me to one of the cottages. "This is the mess hall. We have complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner here as promised in the flyer. " "Sounds great." He led me to another cottage which looked completely identical. "This is the hobby room." "The hobby room?" "We have some stuff to do when our employees have the day off. We have books, boardgames, a radio, we even got our hands on a television." He took a long breath after this sentence which freaked me out. "This is also where the restrooms and showers are located. "Oh, great!" I planned out what I was going to watch first on the TV. He led me to the final cottage. I had no clue how I would remember which cottage was which. "This is where you will be sleeping. You have the sixth and final room." "Thanks," I said with a smile. "Hmm, I don't think I've introduced my self. My name is Igneous Rock" "And I'm Shadow." "Pleased to meet you." He said while feigning a smile. "You can have the rest of the day to unpack and meet the fellow farmers." "Okay. Thank you very much, sir." He trotted away and left me to myself. I walked up to the porch of the cottage and slowly opened the door. I walked in and spotted door labeled No. 6. I opened the door and got a good look at my room. Inside, was a bed, a desk, a couch and a dresser. On the dresser, there was a dried out plant. I could almost hear its pleads for water. However, there was one specific thing that got my attention. There was picture on the desk. Upon further inspection, it was Igneous, and a all pink pony. She was frowning, but Igneous was grinning. I decided not to give it too much thought. I dropped my suitcase on the ground and opened it. I took out my clothes and organized them into the dresser. I put the pens and paper on the desk. I decided to write my first letter. Dear Mom and Dad Today, I arrived at the farm. I've moved into my room and unpacked my stuff. Although it seems kind of bland, I do, honestly have a good feeling about this place. I hope you guys are doing well. I miss you already. The good news about the place is that it has a television, so I won't be as bored as I thought I was going to be originally. Please get back to me and keep me up to date on what is happening in PonyVille. With lots of love, Shadow I quickly ran outside to place the letter into the mailbox, then raced back inside to get out of the heat that the evening sun was now beaming down on the farm. When back in the hallway, I saw a small mare who looked as if she was a teenager. She had a navy coat and a gray mane. "Oh.. Hello, are you new here?" She asked. "Yes, actually I just moved in today. I'm starting work tomorrow." I responded. "Oh. That's nice." She said with a smile. "My name is Marble Pie." "Nice to meet you, Marble, I'm Shadow." "I'd love to talk, but I have to get to work." "Okay, don't let me keep you." "See ya." She said happily. I watched as she exited the cottage. I went back to my room and jumped onto my bed. I have a lot ahead of me I thought to myself. .
Meeting the Rest of the Crew I woke up as the sunshine was just beginning to pour into the room. I stared at the ceiling for a while, then decided to get out of bed. Looking over at the analogue clock, it read 6:47. No sound could be heard in the hallway except for the soft creak my door made as I opened it. Peaking my head outside, nothing was to be seen either. Leaving the door open, I went to my suitcase and got my toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and placing them in my saddlebag. I then walked into the hallway, closing the door on my way out. As I was just about to open the door to the outside world, a door behind me opens up. Out of room number four, a stallion appears with a black coat and a spiky red mane, and he had a fire cutie mark. He almost looked deprived of sleep, until he saw me. "Oh.. Hey..." He said with a surprised facial expression. "Hey." I said. "You must be that new pony they were talking about." "Probably." "Well, It's nice to meet you. My name is Pyrospread." "You have an interesting cutie mark, Pyrospread." "Thanks, I got it when I burned down my dad's coffee table." "Oh... That's nice." "Speaking of cutie marks... Can I see yours?" His eyes shot down to my saddlebags which blocked my mark. "Oh... I-I would show you, but I have to go. Sorry!" I said as I shrunk down and hastily opened the door. The glare of the now rising sun nearly blinded me. I trotted down to the cottage which contained the showers. I opened the door slowly to not disturb any ponies that may be in there. Peeking my head in, I was only greeted by loneliness. I opened up the door to the bathrooms and went to the shower. The curtains were quite dirty. I turned on the water, and nearly screamed because of how cold it was. I did, however jump out of the shower, slip and fall on my shoulder which got cut in the process. Shit I thought. Just one more thing to wash, I guess. I went back into the shower, thankfully the water was warmer now. Hastily, I rinsed water through my mane, spreading shampoo then conditioner throughout it, doing the same with my coat, and rinsing it out once again.. I stopped the shower, and stepped out. Grabbing a towel from the rack and drying myself up, I threw it into one of the bins. I brushed my teeth and then raced back over to my room to put my stuff away. Then I walked back to the outside. Igneous was on the bench behind the main cottage. He was reading a book that was titled, "Small Town Values." He set it down on his lap and looked up at me. "Hello, Shadow." He said with a grin. "Hi, Igneous." I said while returning the smile. "I suppose you would want me to teach you how to farm with rocks?" "Yes, please." "Okay. Basically, you move rocks to where we tell you to move rocks." "Okay..." "It all depends on the pressure of the wind at the time." "Oh." There was a small silence between us. "Is that all?" "Yep. We're currently moving all the rocks to the north east. Here's a compass." He pinned it on my saddlebag. "Thanks, I'll get to work right away." I started moving to the south direction. Following the fence back like when I first came to the farm. I finally found a rock that I could move, and climbed over the fence. I looked at my compass to see where I should move it. I lifted my muzzle down to the rock and gave it a small nudge. It didn't budge, so I decided to nudge it a bit harder. The rock fell over to its other side. I kept doing this until I was about half way there. I lifted my head up to look to see how much more I had to go. That's when I saw an interesting pony in the north direction. She had a pink mane and coat, just like the one in the picture. Maybe I should go talk to her. Her colors were a lot more vibrant than the boring scenery at the farm. I convinced myself to continue my job. I eventually got to where I was supposed to put and went to go find another rock. I continued doing this for about 80 rocks. It took me about 7 hours. By the time I was done, I was panting like hell. Eventually Igneous called us in for gathering all the rocks. He thanked us, then went into his cottage. Since all of us workers were together, I felt like this was a good time to meet the rest of them. I finally got a good look at the pink pony. Yep, she looked identical to the one in the picture. Straight hair, and a frown. I began to approach her. "Hey." I said. "What? Oh.. Hi..." She said in a shy tone. I got a good look at her cutie mark. Three balloons. This puzzled me because I couldn't think of a reason a pony as vibrant as this would be at a place such as this. "I'm Shadow, who are you?" I asked in pure curiosity. "My name is Pinkemena Diane Pie... Or just Pinkie Pie." "Oh, are you and Marble Pie sisters?" "Yes... Me, Marble, and Limestone are all sisters." I looked over at the other workers. I assumed the gray pony with the darker mane was Limestone. "Oh...." I tried to think of something to say. "How did you get your cutie mark?" She looked at her mark and then back at me. "I got it when I threw a party for my family. Back when it was just my parents, me, and my sisters." She looked down at the ground. I couldn't help but feel that there was more that she wasn't telling me. "Is that all?" I asked. "What?" "What happened next?" "Oh... I-It's nothing." I just stared at her for a few seconds. "Oh. Well, I guess catch you some other time, then." "Bye..." I noticed something on her foreleg as she turned around. A scar. A scar going up from her leg starting from her hoof. I felt like it was my job to know more. But, I still have more of the workers to meet. I think I'll start with Limestone. I approached the gray mane'd pony and opened my mouth. "Hey, you must be Limestone." I said. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Your sister told me." "Oh." "Do you mind if I ask you something?" "Sure." "How did Pinkie get that scar going up her leg?" A frown appeared on her face. "I-I not allowed to say." I didn't say anything else. She simply put her head down as if she was about to cry. Then she ran into the residential cottage and into her room. All eyes were one her. Thankfully, I don't think they blamed me for making her cry. The other pony I didn't know was another mare. She had orange fur and a brown, sleek mane with a picture of an iron bar for her cutie mark. I decided to talk to her next. "Hello, I'm Shadow." I said. "Hello, I'm Ferossium." She smiled at me. "Maybe I shouldn't be asking this... But, do you know where Pinkie got her scar?" I closed one eye, afraid to see her reaction. "Oh. I heard she just got it when she was helping her dad build the fence." "Oh... Well, thank you." I said with a smile. I decided to just go hang out in the hobby room. I opened up the door and got a good look at the place. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the television with the remote. I flipped to the Comedy Colt channel. A re-run of one of my favorite shows, Stallion Park was on so I decided to watch that. About 10 minutes into the show, I hear the door open. Ferossium and Pyrospread walked in. I could overhear Pyrospread flirting with her, and her giggling at it every once in a while. I assumed they were in a relationship. When he noticed that the TV was on, Pyrospread looked over at me. "Hey, Shad." He said. Shad? Is that my name now? "Hi, Pyro." "So you watch this show?" "Yeah! Do you?" "Yeah, I've seen it a few times." Ferossium spoke up in the middle of our conversation. "Hey, Pyro, I'm gonna go to my room for a bit, join me later..." She said with a wink. "Okay, hun." Pyrospread replied while grinning. After she closed the door to the outside, we sat there for a while watching the episode. We watched it for about ten more minutes. Eventually, Pyro broke the silence. "So I heard you had a little crush on Pinkie." I looked over at him to make sure he was talking to me. He was smiling at me. "W-What?" "Ferossium told me you were asking about her." "So what? I can't be interested in somepony?" I realized how those words sounded after they left my mouth. "Curious about somepony?" He smiled at me. "It's fine with me... I don't care who you like." "But I don't have any feelings for her..." "Mhmm..." He simply sat there, staring at the TV with that stupid grin on his face. I wanted to clobber him with my hoof. I crossed my forelegs on my lap and we watched the rest of the episode, and the one that followed it in silence. When it was over, the time was about 4:00 PM, and I was getting hungry and thirsty. I got off the couch, and Pyro followed me. I opened the door to the outside and he closed it on his way out. We made our way to the mess hall, and I opened the door, allowing him to follow me again. Sitting at one of the tables, alone was Pinkie. Of course, Pyro had to nudge me. I mouthed the words: Shut, the, fuck, and up to him. I saw a water fountain and raced over to it, taking big gulps of water and air in at the same time, which made me cough. Pyro was following me, and he took a few slurps himself. We trotted over to the mare behind the counter with a gray mane, and a coat of white fur. She had golden rimmed glasses which were resting on the top of her muzzle. "Hello, dearie." She said. "You must be our newest worker." "Yep." I said with a smile "My name is Cloudy, and you're Shadow, correct?" "Yeah." She offered us both dandelion sandwiches, and we took them, thanked her, and found the nearest table. Pinkie was still sitting there, she appeared to be eating the same thing as us. Pyro was looking at her. We took off our plastic wraps and took our first bites. "You know... I think you should really go talk to her..." He said with sandwich in his mouth. "I already told you, I'm not interested in her." I said while rolling my eyes. "Either way, I think you two would make good friends." "Why?" I said, taking another bite of my sandwich. "I know she seems boring, but you should see her when here parents aren't around." "Oh yeah? What's she like then?" "Well... J-Just look at her cutie mark, It doesn't match her current personality." "I guess you have a point." I looked back down at my sandwich. Eventually, Pinkie got up to throw away her plastic wrap. I watched her as she went to the door. Me and Pyro just sat there for a while in an awkward silence. Soon after, I finished mine as well. "I guess I'll catch you later, then." I said as I got up. "Yep, I have to go check on Ferossium anyway." I dropped my wrap off in the trash can on my way to the outside. When I opened the door, I saw Pinkie sitting on the bench, alone. I approached her. "Hey." I said with a friendly smile. She looked up to see who it was. "Hi." She said. "What are you doing here, alone?" "Why do you care?" "I'm just curious." "I just want to be alone." "Maybe we could be alone, together." I said with a smile. She looked up at me and stared for a few seconds. Eventually, a small but noticeable grin appeared on her face. But, she just quickly put her head back down. Pyrospread was opening the door soon after that. As soon as he saw us, a wide, toothy grin appeared on his face. He mouthed some words over to me as he made his way to the residential cottage. I ignored him and turned my attention back to Pinkie. I just stood there in silence and wished for her to make conversation with me. The only sound that could be heard were the crickets that were beginning to come out along with the moon. I looked down at her scar, and then back up to her. "Well... Bye..." I said. "Bye." She said. I turned to look back at the cottage, and approached it. I opened the door and way immediately was ambushed by Pyrospread. "How did it go? Are you two... You know... Together?" He asked impatiently. "Shut the hell up. Go talk to your marefriend." He frowned at me, then trotted away to Ferrosium's room. He closed the door and I was left to myself. I let out a long sigh and slowly went into my room. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Dear Mom and Dad, Today, I began my first work day, which was extremely tiring. I met the rest of the workers and I think that I'm going to like them. I've started hanging out with a stallion called Pyrospread. Although, I do have mixed feeling about him. It's turning out to be a lot better than I expected. Eagerly, I'm waiting for my first week's paycheck. I'm surprised at how good the money is honestly. Maybe in a few weeks I can come visit again. Your son, Shadow I set down the pen, folded the paper up, and crammed it into an envelope and brought it out to the mailbox. Pinkie was no longer there. I went over to the hobby room and took another shower. On my way back to the cottage I stopped to look up at the sky. It was getting dark, and the stars were starting to pop out. I took in a large breath of the fresh, cold air. When I got back to my room, I threw my saddlebag on the ground, turned off the lights, and jumped into bed. I pulled the covers over me and let out a long sigh, just happy that today is over. Who would've thought my life could've changed so quickly? I thought to myself. As I laid in bed, I thought about my day. From waking up, to taking a shower, to going to work, to that awkward talk with Pyrospread, to talking with Pinkie... I stopped at that moment. I realized how much I couldn't stop thinking about her, and started thinking to myself. Oh Celestia... Maybe I *do** like her...* I stared up at the ceiling for a few decades, just thinking. Eventually, however, I heard somepony knocking hastily on my door. I swore to myself, threw the covers off, and got out of bed. Opening the door, It was Pyro. "What the hell do you want?" I asked angrily. He was looking into my room, surprised that the lights were out. "You're seriously going to bed already?" He asked. "Ummm... Yeah." I said with an obvious expression. "Not without a drink! Follow me." I sighed, and said told him that I'll be right out. I put on my saddlebag, and walked into the hallway, closing my door on the way out. I followed him and Ferossium outside, and into the mess hall. Upon opening the door, I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I was seeing. Literally gallons of hard cider were sitting on a table. "What the..." I said in awe. "Yeah, we get free cider every Friday." I didn't even know today was Friday, let alone being able to get free cider today. He leaded me to the cider and gave me a cup. I poured myself some cider, just after Pyro did. We found a table nearby and began to drink. Pinkie and her sisters were talking and giggling occasionally over at another table. Desprately, I wanted to go talk to her. But, I felt that I've did enough talking today. I switched my attention back to Pyrospread and Ferossium. "So, Shadow," Pyro began, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for another stallion to come along. Sure, being surrounded by mares is great, but it's still nice to have colts for friends, right?" I nodded my head in agreement. With my eyes half closed, I took another sip from my cup. "I know that we're going to be great friends..." He said. I tried to make a friendly smile. "You don't talk much." Ferrosium blurted out. "No, I do. I'm just tired." I said as if it was obvious. I always get a little bit angry when I'm tired. Or at least more angry than usual. "Well, it looks like those girls are having fun." Pyro said, looking over to the Pie sisters. "Yup," I said, looking over at them, but one of them in particular. I almost could sense that they could notice this, but I began not to care. We got up to get another round from the gallons and sat back down. I chugged down the cup in five seconds, watching as my table mates made that so-called adorable talk when in a relationship I got up to get another cup of cider, but realized that I was already getting a bit woozy. Damn, that stuff is strong. "Sorry, but I'm tired, and don't want to wake up with a headache tomorrow. So I'm going to hit the sack." I said with a yawn. "Oh. Okay. Sure, goodnight." Pyro said. After I threw my cup away, I glanced over to Pinkie. I could almost sense that she was looking at my in the corner of her eye. And, the fact that she might switch her attention over to me any second scarred me. I decided not to go straight to bed. Instead, I went outside, took in a huge breath of air and looked at the sky and the stars. The lack of light pollution out here made it truly beautiful. I walked all the way to the end of the fence, to where I had first entered. I plopped up on the fence, taking a seat while looking out into the empty land of dirt and sand. I watched as the cold, night wind blew blankets of sand and soil across the emptiness. I didn't realize how cold the night was compared to the day. Not that it's bad, it feels really good against my fur. For a while, I just sat there, being happy to be away from everypony for a while. After a while, however, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit lonely, as If I wanted to spend this time with somepony. Before I hopped off the fence, I sucked in another big breath of fresh air. I walked back to the cottages, this time more slowly as I felt so attached to the environment here. I opened the door while yawning, slowly lumbering to my room. None of the workers were anywhere in sight, most likely sleeping, or still in the mess hall. I walked through my door, closing it while entering. I threw off my saddlebag, turned off the light, and jumped into bed again. As I laid in bed, I resumed my thoughts. About the workers, about my parents... And most of all, one specific somepony. And, dear reader, I think you know who that somepony is.
ConfrontingIt's been just over a week since I've came to the rock farm. As the week progressed, I continued doing my job and eventually got my first pay check. Looking at the number scribbled out onto the piece of paper, I wasn't disappointed to say the least. The first thing I did with It, was call a taxi to take me over to Ponyville so I could cash the check. Currently, I stand before the Bank of Equestria. I trotted up the marble stairs and peered through the glass door. I was happy that it wasn't too crowded as it was a Saturday. When I pushed on the door, it opened, letting out a breeze of cool air on the way out making me shudder in comfort. I walked over to a table, picked up a pen with my mouth and scribbled down my signature on the back of the check. I took the check to the mare behind the counter and set it down in front of her. We exchanged smiles. I entered my pin and she took my check, saying, "Thank you," As she hit a few keys on a keyboard. I left the bank and took a few seconds contemplating what I should do next, but my stomach decided for me. Living in this town my whole life, I knew where everything was, so I went to my favorite bar and grill for lunch. After opening the door, I took a seat at a booth. A waiter, who I've been familiar with since I've been here so many times, walked towards my table. He greeted me and then asked what drink I wanted. "Could I just have an ice tea?" I asked with a smile. "Certainly, I'll get right on it." He said, returning the smile. I gazed up to one of the flat screens and saw a news broadcast. It was just pointless babbling like always. This just in... Famous mare Vinyl Scratch was spotted flirting with one of her personal bodyguards by her pool! Images were leaked! More news at 3:00 PM! I really wanted to be one of those ponies that didn't care about something like this, who I've always admired. I couldn't, however, help be a tad interested. Most likely, I just wanted to see pictures of her rump due to me always being attracted to her. I forced myself to focus my attention onto the menu. Scanning through it, I decided to stick with something healthy, a herb salad. My waiter came back and placed my tea on the table. He asked me what I wanted for the main course, I told him it and he was off again. I put my mouth on the straw and took a few sips, blowing a few bubbles into it to keep myself occupied. I looked over at the clock, it read 2:20 PM. Eventually, the waiter came back, floating the tray in a membrane of yellow magic and set it on the table. "Thank you." I said. "No problem, anything else?" He asked. I shook my head and he went off to do his own thing. I wolfed down the salad in a few big gulps. I tried to ignore some of the ponies staring at my lack of table manners. When I got done with my lunch, the waiter took the plate away and gave me the bill. I paid the bill, making sure to tip him, and went back outside. I couldn't go to my parents house, because they ordered me to not come back for at least a month. I decided to go Sugar Cube Corner, to bring back some sweets to the farm. It wasn't far from here either, just down the street in fact. The buildings that I passed on my way to the corner, looked dead and bland compared to the Corner. It was definitely the most lively on the street, since it resembled to be a large gingerbread house. I walked into the shop and the small bell above me jingled. Nobody was at the counter, but the store was open with people eating in it. "I'll be right out, sweetie!" Said the lady, who I assumed to be Mrs. Cake. In a few moments, the pink, swirly maned pony came out. I've been there many times before, so she recognized me. "Hello!" She said with a hearty smile. "Hi, Mrs. Cake!" I said back. She obtained a yellow note pad with her mouth and put it on the table. She asked me if I knew what I wanted, so I nodded. "Could I just have a dozen vanilla cupcakes with red frosting?" I asked, already starting to get eager. It's been too long since I've had a sweet. I almost thought I felt a stream of saliva about to stream down my face, but I regained myself just in time. "Of course! It should be about ten minutes!" She said, while trotting away into the room where she first emerged from. m I had nowhere else to go, so I plopped down on one of the booths. It was a nice, not crowded at all. I had a lot of space to myself. Like at the restaurant I was just at, the news was on the television. It was a different broadcast though, and the story caught my eye. More and more reports of bandits and tribes are being sent to us. The camera was zooming in on a muscular pony. He was carrying something circular in his teeth. Maybe a key ring? There were also several tents near him, and a campfire. He obviously didn't notice the scout recording him. The camps are being discovered in places around Trottingham, Appaloosa, and PonyVille. The only place I could imagine them hiding around here would be the Everfree forest. I have no desire to go into a creepy forest, so I should be safe. "Ding-Ding!" Said Mrs. Cake. Giving a smile, I trotted up to the counter to be greeted with a dozen scarlet cupcakes staring at me. Sugarcube Corner always were the best bakers in town. I remember eating my mom's baking when I was younger, but nothing compared to the corners'. "That'll be 30 bits, hun!" She said, maintaining her usual peppy attitude. I dug into my left saddlebag, where I kept all my money, and counted out the amount onto the table. We smiled at each other, and I concluded with a, "Thank you." I tied it onto my back and opened the door to let the autumn, evening wind hit my face. I heard the bell ring above me once more. I debated against my self to visit a few more places while I was here. But, in the end I decided to go back to the farm. After all, carrying around that box all day didn't sound very appealing. Plus, I didn't want to take any more chances than I already have of encountering my parents. Who knows how they would react if they saw me. Although I have only worked at the farm for a week, staring at that same, gray sand/dirt all day left my eyes hungry. The forest-green trees, on my way back and fourth was a pleasant change in scenery. Sweet Apple Acres is truly beautiful. I didn't call a taxi this time. Lately, I have been feeling a lot more energetic. I suppose I just wanted the exercise, the feeling after a long day of exertion was amazing, and something that I've never felt before; at least not for a long time. The sun gleamed around the mountain which I was starting to ascend. I took the same route that I took a week ago. In fact, it was the only route that I knew of. A big, dirt road, going straight down the middle of the apple farm. Now that I think of it, I wonder if there is a connection between the two farms. I reached the peak and took a breath of fresh air. It wasn't a huge mountain, so I could still breath without trouble. I could see the entirety of the town, and in the faint distance, I could make out the cottages of the rock farm. I made sure to take my time going down the mountain. When I came up here this morning, I learned that the hard way; due to it being a hell of a lot steeper than I thought. The box was already starting to make its creases on my back, so I wanted to get it off as soon as possible. I came to the fence, which indicated to me that I was almost there. I swear that every time I walk down this path, it just seems to get longer. Eventually, I came to the central hub (Which I had taken to calling it.) Pyro and Ferossium were sitting on the bench behind the main cottage. I gave them a wave. I made my way to the washrooms. After I was done taking a shower, I went to my room. This time, however, it felt different. I realized that this was the first time that this place has felt like a home to me. The thought made me smile. I decided to make the moment even better by picking up a cupcake and eating it. I threw myself down onto the bed and snuggled my head up against the pillow. Within minutes, I was asleep. Golden strips of sunlight glistened through the thin, wooden curtain straps. I opened my eyes while stretching my forelegs. The first thing that my eyes focused on, was my calendar. My parents sent me it along with a letter. The calendar featured various pony models in several different erotic positions. I think my parents are just encouraging me to get a marefriend. It was Sunday, which meant it was a short work day: Only four hours. I forced myself out of bed, picking up a cupcake on the way to the door. Once again, I went to the hobby room to brush my teeth and shower. Afterwards, I got to work. Just like every other day, it was just more of pushing of the rocks with the tip of my muzzle to where ever Igneous tells us to take them. I'm honestly surprised this place doesn't have any unicorn workers. They would certainly have an easier job with this task than normal, earth ponies like us would. In fact, I think that we only have one pegasus, Ferossium, which was strange since her dad would always take her down into the mines where he worked. On the other hand, I never did see her use her wings that often. Maybe she's a bad flyer? I knew a pony who was like that. I couldn't recall her name, but I still remember that smooth, pink mane and yellow fur. I met her when I was a teenager, and always had sort of a crush on her. Several eons later, Igneous called us in and thanked us, in his bland, lifeless attitude. Like we usually did, we made our way to the mess hall, to pick up whatever was served to us. We had the same setup for a week. The pie sisters would sit at one table, and the last three of us would sit at another. I noticed that Pinkie wasn't that participant in the conversation, the other two sisters were doing most of the talking. I turned my attention back to the table and looked down at my plate. Apple Salad. I began to eat unenthusiastically. Pyro noticed this, and stared at me. "Is something bothering you?" He asked. I still had my muzzle buried into the plate when I looked up at him. I lifted up and shook my head. A while later, I was staring at a plate with green specks scattered around it. I looked around the room, avoiding contact with my table mates. I saw cloudy packing up her stuff, like she did every night. The clock above the main doorway read 4:13. I sneaked a look over at the pie sisters, but just Pinkie in particular. I noticed that she was looking at the clock as well. I looked back down at the table. A few minutes later, I heard somebody get up out of their chair. I looked over to see the the pink pony walking towards the door. At our table, we remained silent, with me being the only person noticing her exit. The pie sisters were just as chatty as ever, however. At this point, I couldn't tell you what came over me. It was as if a part of my brain took control of my full body. I dumped my paper plate into the trash can and opened the door. I was planning on going back to my room, I guess. But, my curiosity got the best of me when I saw the pony trotting into the forest. She was already about halfway there when I noticed. I can't believe how big the EverFree Forest is, as it goes on for miles. I began to walk towards her, keeping a safe distance. I took cover behind every large, convenient rock I saw. I was scared to death that she would look my way. And felt as if turning back wasn't an option. She began to come to an entrance of the forest. I was hesitant at first, but I assumed that it must be safe enough since she was heading in so courageously. I closed in on her more, since I could easily hide if she looked behind her. Her neck began to turn, and I almost fell into a trance. Thankfully, I regained myself, and leaped into a nearby bush, praying that she didn't see me. I don't think she did, so I poked my head out from the leaves. She didn't see me, and she continued down the path. I got up and followed her. Eventually, she came to a dead end. It was a circular path, with a round mosaic stone in the middle. Pinkie plopped down onto it, and just sat on it. I just stood there in silence with her back turned to me. I began to get closer to her, while thoughts fired around my mind. I began to shake as I was only a few feet away from her. It was then when she realized something was behind her. She turned her head around, slowly. When she saw me, her eyes grew enormous and her mouth looked as if it was about to make a scream. I quickly threw my hoof over her mouth, silencing her. "Shhhhh... It's okay..." I said, still not allowing her to speak. I took it off of her mouth, and she began to breathe heavily. "Why the hell did you follow me?!" She said angrily, with her face flushing with red. "Why did you come here?" I asked, not answering her question. "I come here to relax, when I don't want to be around any ponies." She said. "Can you please leave?" My eyes flew around, desperately thinking of something to say. There was one thing that I couldn't get off of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. I guess it's going to come out eventually, so it might as well be now. "How did you get that scar?" I asked nervously. I assumed that the scar was given to her from when she was young, as it was fading pretty well into her pink fur. Her eyes filled up with rage as she grew even more crimson than before. Soon after, she decided to hide her face from me. I thought that it was just my imagination, but I could hear her making sobbing noises. When she turned her head to me, tears were running down her cheek. She made a strange sniffling noise which I made out to be, "Leave me alone." I didn't know what to do. I didn't just want to leave her there, especially since I had made her cry. I scanned around the forest to make sure that nobody was watching me. I can't explain how guilty I felt, and pretty soon, I felt as if I was going to cry as well. "N-No.... Please don't cry." I said, with my lips already starting to shake. Never having very good social skills, I wasn't very good at speaking, let alone s. I never should of brought it up, it was just the only thing that I could think of. I found myself looking around the forest once again, thinking of my next move. But, without thinking, I got down to her level, reflecting her expression. I wrapped my hoof around her. I felt as if I might start crying soon. I tried to hide it by putting my head down. "I'm sorry..." Is all I could say. However she got that scar, it must've. been something awful. I didn't know why I was apologizing, but I still felt dreadful. She lifted her head towards me. I could see her red, moist eyes glistening in the sun's set, she looked gorgeous. I realized that she was the first mare who didn't push away when I showed any sort of affection towards her. Either I felt extremely bad for what I did, or I just wanted to make the most out of this moment. Either way, I had to do something. I wrapped my other hoof around her and brought her close to me. I felt her tears moistening my chest, but her sobs stopped and she was still. She wiggled her head to get more comfortable. I could see her face again, and it was enough to make my eyes begin to drip. So I just sat there, with her in my eyes. Her expression was slowly changing from an anger-fueled sadness to an empathetic sadness. She began to rest her head on my shoulder, and my heart warmed up. With my hoof, I moved a hair of hers away from her eye and feigned a smile, quickly replacing it back with a frown. The stars were beginning to come out about now, shinning over our faces. I forced myself to break this moment for our safety. I got up with one of my hoofs still around her. "Let's go." I attempted to say. Thankfully, nobody was in sight when we walked towards. I opened the door quietly, peeking through, then I walked down the hallway to my room. I opened the door and then set her down on my bed. I also sat down and wiped a tear from her eyes. I was a lot more audible, so I decide to finally say something. "Listen... I'm sorry." I said, trying extremely hard to hold back yet more tears. She rubbed her hoof up my foreleg affectionately without saying any words. She lifted her head and stared at me, while trying to smile. I asked myself if she was curious about me as I was interested in her. Her hoof came up to my shoulder and rested on there. She was still gazing into my soul. I noticed that she wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes were still shaded red. It seemed like an eternity, but she broke the moment when she tugged on me so I was laying on my back. She crawled on top of me and lied down, still while looking into my eyes. Slowly, I noticed her eyes began to close. And I felt something. Something moist. I closed my eyes and embraced whatever was about to happen. I felt her lips touching mine, while her tongue played with mine. I didn't want to stop, but all good thing eventually had to. When she broke away from me, a string of saliva connected us. She rested her head on my shoulder, and cuddled towards me. The moonlight shined on our faces, and sent us into dreamland.
Unexpected OccurencesI woke up with my eyelids still closed. Feeling something warm against my coat, I remembered where I was, and snapped my eyes open. Her forelegs were clinging around my waist. I gently moved them off of me, going slower every time I thought she was waking up. The sun wasn’t up, and it was almost pitch black. I flipped one of the curtain straps to make sure. To my surprise, the sand outside looked even darker than usual. The only thing visible in the distance, was the moon. I headed over to my desk, trying to soften my steps. I flipped on the small lamp, and a dim glow lifted away the darkness. The clock above me read 4:01 AM. The box of cupcakes were still on my desk. A fan was the only thing cooling it. Not that I needed to keep them refrigerated. They surely wouldn't melt in the cool autumn weather, let alone winter, which it will be in a month. I looked over at Pinkie, who was- I noticed something different about her. Raising an eyebrow, I closed in on her. While I lifted up my hoof to put to her cheek, a strand of her mane was to the side of her head, over her ear. It was... Wavy? She had always had straight hair, with her bangs evened off. I felt it on my hoof, turning it over to inspect it. Her entire mane looked like a partially filled balloon. Puffy. I was perplexed by this. Unless she somehow got hot and sweaty last night... (I couldn't help but put the thought into my mind.) I don't see how her mane could be this messy. When I inspected it a bit more, I couldn't help but smile. I had to admit, it was adorable. I trotted over to the desk, still smiling, and grabbed a cupcake from the box. The cupcake looked beautiful, and that's when I realized how hungry I was. I took a bite of it, tasting and smelling the frosting and yellow cake. Then, I heard something. I looked over at pinkie. She was sitting straight up in bed as if she was wide awake. I took a step back, surprised, almost scared, when I hit the table and almost smashed the cupcakes. Pinkie was licking her lips eagerly "I LOVE cupcakes!" She said. Her voice was high, and quick. Not saturated with mellow like it usually is. Just standing there, I looked down at my cupcake. I was perplexed by her change in personality, but I was just happy that she was happy. I smiled and opened up the box again, not talking due to cupcake in my mouth. "C-Can I have one?" She said, almost stuttering. I swallowed and cleared my throat. "As many as you want." I said, smiling. Her hair sprang up, as if it inflated like a balloon. She seemed to run to the box with the force of a speeding bull, but floated down like a piece of paper. She then gobbled one up, unladylike, but I kept smiling and didn't mind. Then, she attacked me. She forced her lips onto mine, and her tongue to mine, catching me off guard. This was... not her. Not, the Pinkamena Diane Pie I knew. I could taste the frosting on her lips, and it was even better then straight-up eating them. A while later, the cupcakes were nearly gone, we both wolfed them down in a few minutes. We still had plenty of time left, so we decided to spent it together. I hopped on my bed gracefully, reducing sound, and laid down on my back. She smiled above me and curled up against me, between my forelegs. She was warm and her adorable breathing made my heart leap. I rested my eyes, and tightened my grip on her hips. I edged towards her and kissed her on her neck. She gasps softly. I fell asleep once again. We were both perfectly still. I didn't know if she fell asleep, or just relaxed, or whatever, but I think that she enjoyed it as well. I woke up, once more, this time by the sun creeping in through the window. I got up from the bed and made sure that I didn't disturb her. I walked over to the desk to see the box wide open, with nothing but crumbs inside. There were about one or three cupcakes left when we stopped eating, so I assumed she ate some while I was asleep. I smirked, and wrapped my saddlebags around my waist. I put a hoof to Pinkie's shoulder and gently shook her awake. Her adorable eyes opened up and stared into my heart. "H-Hey..." I said just after pecking her on the cheek. "Ughh-gh alright..." She said before yawning. We said our goodbyes, hugged, and I was off to the showers. "Eighty... S-Six..." I said, letting out a huge puff of air. The sun was beginning its descent, and was gleaming through the mountains. I couldn't help but glance over at Pinkie. Every time I needed some encouragement... I was looking for her affection, hoping she'd give me some. But, I found disappointment every time. At least... I think I did. There were several times that I thought she might have been looking at me too. I noticed that her mane was straightened again, and she had the same gloomy expression on her face, like always. However... It seemed more... highlighted... If that makes sense. On my way back, I heard Igneous calling us back in. He congratulated us, once again, in his dry and lifeless tone. He attempted a smile, showing his grimy teeth, which faded quickly. Everybody went into the mess hall. Pinkie brushed up against and smiled at me on her way. It was a welcoming surprise. I considered joining them (her), but I remembered that I had other plans.. I found myself staring into space, and I shook myself out of it. Then I saw something odd. Igneous was simply standing there, like I was. He was staring straight ahead. Not to me, but it looked as if he was staring at me through a corner of his eye. He was expressionless. I decided to slip away to where I needed to go. After taking a shower, I opened the door to the hobby room and stepped in. Remembering something, I stopped in my hooves. The door made a creaking noise when I opened it slowly. I peaked my head out. No Igneous was in sight. Letting out a sigh of relief, I flipped the analogue sticks to turn the TV on, and changed the channel to the new episode of Stallion Park. The episode did a lot to lighten my mood. Of course, it was already sky high because of Pinkie. Creeeeeeeeeek Speak of the devil. "Can I come in?" She said in her high pitched voice, which warmed my heart every time I heard it. "Of course!" I said, angling my head up to her and smiling. I made room for her, and got up from my laying position. Clearly, that isn't what she had in mind. She leaped into my lap, pressing out a puff of air from me. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" I said, smiling at her. She giggled back to me. I shifted back into my laying position, with my arm around her. We both watched, but I was having a hard time paying attention to the show. All of my emotions were focused on her. I felt her vibrations against me as she laughed. Minutes passed, and I still couldn't stop thinking about her. I brought her closer to me, tightening my grip on her. BOOM Lightning struck; The window lit up with white. Pinkie immediately shifted her head to the window. Rain was hitting and streaming down the roof. The dead tree, just outside the window tapped on the window. It never didn't amaze me how fast the Pegasi change the weather. Shaking. Pinkie was shaking. I put a hoof on her (The one I didn't already have around her.) My aunt was afraid of lightning. What did my mom call it? Astraphobia? Yeah, that was it. "Do you have astraphobia?" I asked. "What is that?" She asked in her mellow tone. "It's the fear of light--" I said, just before another strike came, which was followed by heavier rain. The TV turned black. The room was black. I told her to hold tight, and I went to look for a flashlight. Near the TV, there was a straw basket with a lot of junk in it. I dug everything out and found a TV remote (Which had no batteries,) a phone book, a handful of VHS tapes and.... and a key. I picked it up, pondering on what it could be to. Shrugging it off, I went to the shelf to the other side of the TV. I tripped on my way there, over a cord to the TV. "Ah... Shit..." I sighed, pulling myself up. "A-Are you okay?" Pinkie asked through her trembling hooves. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." I said, feigning happiness. While I was down, I saw an umbrella on the table under the TV. I'll definitely have to take a mental note of that. I continued to the shelf. There were mainly only books and old magazines. I keep hearing that the books belong to another pie sister, Maud, who I've never met. There was, however, a gas lantern. I picked it up and shook it. It still had a little bit of juice in it. I remember seeing some match boxes in the bathroom, so I went there. I remembered to be cautious on my way there. Since the bathroom and the hobby room were in the same cabin, It was simple. I go the matchbox, took a match out, and lit the lantern. The room sprang up in orange light. I set the lantern on the table between the TV and the couch. Pinkie calmed down a bit. It's when I set the lantern down, that I realized how cold it was. The fall's night air was getting more and more cold every day. Winter was on it's way. The lantern gave some warmth, but not enough. I had a new objective, to find blankets. There was a closet, which I opened. It was full of boardgames, but no blankets. I might bring one over to Pinkie, though. I looked all over the room, but I couldn't find any blankets. Then, an idea popped into my head. I went into the bathroom, picked up a few towels, and brought them to the couch. "Sorry, but It's the best that I could find." I said, laying one on her. "It's fine... Thank you." She said with a grateful smile. I smiled back at her and kissed her on the forehead. "I found some board games in the closet, want me to bring those out?" I asked. "Sure." She responded. "I think there is a trivia game in there that I like." I nodded and went back to the closet. After some digging and searching, I think I found it. I then brought it to the table. I set the lantern to the side. Pinkie seemed delighted to see it. I was delighted simply because she was. We began to open the box, then play. After some giggling and playful insults, the rain began to weak and the lightning was reduced to thunder. In regards to the trivia game, it was actually fun. However, I didn't know if the game itself was fun, or playing it with her was fun, but either way, I enjoyed it. You'd be surprised at the amount of stuff you have crammed in the back of your brain. She ended up winning every time. But it was debatable if she really knew the answers or just had the questions memorized. We were there for at least an hour. The power came back, so I shook the lantern out. "That was fun, I'm glad you showed me that game." I said with a smile. She hugged me and got up and walked over to the door. "Hang on." I told her, then reached under the TV. I pulled out the umbrella and gave it to her. "Thank you." She said, with those beautiful eyes staring into mine. I lost control, grabbed her, and kissed her goodbye. When we broke, she continued smiling at me. She picked up the umbrella in her mouth, opened the door, and left, all without saying a word. I sighed with relief. Is this really going to where I think it's going? I stood there for a few minutes. I remembered something that perplexed me. The key. I couldn't contain my curiosity. What was it for? I decided to dig through the basket and pulled it out. I put it into my saddlebag. I opened the door to the outside world, and walked out. On my way back to my room, I heard a dry voice behind me. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He said. It was dark out, and I couldn't see who it was. I took a few steps forward into the void. The wind flowed through my mane, sending chills down my vein. "Yeah, what did you need?" I said. Out of the darkness, a stallion storms into me and drives me into a wall. I was forced into the dirt, as he landed on top of me. "What the f-" I said, just before getting clobbered in the face with a dark hoof. I continued getting jabbed with the dark hoof, bringing new pain each time. I didn't feel any blood spilling, but I did see it. All over the stallion's hooves. The blood looked like paint on his ebony hooves. I was feeling light headed. I looked up at him. It was Pinkie's father. I was greeted with another hoof in my eye, blacking me out for a second. My head slammed into the ground, which woke me up immediately. "Wha--Why did y-" I mumbled. "You're not good enough for Pinkie, stay away from her." He said, beginning to back away. His dark eyes stared into my soul, as I coughed up blood onto the ground. My lip dripped crimson and was beginning to swell up. At his words, I was filled with rage. Rage that I hadn't felt for a long time. I got up on my four legs, took a few steps, picking up speed every time. But, I lost balance and fell back into the mud. A tear fell from my eye into the already moist soil. Igneous was gone when I turned my head back up. I decided that there was no way in hell that I was going to bed like this, so I went back to the bathroom, in the hobby room. I looked at myself in the mirror. Blood was drying on my black fur, mud all over me, especially in my mane when he drove me onto my back. I sighed and stepped into the shower. The water gushed on my face and body, but it was frigid. I sprinted out of the shower, tripping on the lack of a translation between the shower and the tile. I hit my head on the counter edge and fell down, gushing new blood. More tears were poured in frustration and despair. The water began to warm, so I went back in. I made sure to cleanse my new wound on my forehead. I watched as the red tainted water was sucked down the drain. I got out of the shower prematurely. Feeling lightheaded, I picked up my saddlebags, and turned off the shower. On my way out, I picked up the lantern in my mouth and a few matches which I put in my bags. I made sure that Igneous was gone, which he was. So I walked in silence back to my room, letting the autumn air into my new wounds. Surprisingly, it felt really good. At least it was less painful. I opened the door to the hallway and walked down to my room, slowly because I didn't want to lose my balance again. I was just happy that the day was over. Happy about Pinkie and the time we spent together, but with strands of sadness and confusion with Igneous. I took a match and lit it, bringing the room up in light, then using that match on the lantern. I put out the match and tossed it into a waste basket I had bought. The lantern was warm, and I was freezing, so I held it close to me. Closing the window's blinds, I bounced onto the bed that sprang me up. I set the lantern on the shelf near the bed. As I drifted to sleep, I heard a voice. "Hey, are you alright?" They said through a thin but noticeable crack in the wood paneled wall. I looked into the crack, it was Ferrosium. "Yes, I'm fine." I said, laying my head back on my pillow. "Well you didn't look so good thirty minutes ago." She said. I tried to exert a chuckle out. "Yeah, I had to clean up afte- You saw that?" "Well... No. But I did hear it." She said. "E-Everything?" I said nervously, afraid she heard what Igneous said. "Yes." She said. After a long pause she said, "I wont tell anybody about her if you don't want me to." I smiled, even though she couldn't see me. "I appreciate that." I said. Another pause took place. "Do you know what happened to Maud?" She asked. "No, tell me." I said, closing my eyes. She was frowning in my mind. "Haven't you been seeing those barbarian ponies on the news?" She said. "It sounds vague, yet familiar." I said. "Well, she went into the woods one day as punishment for not responding to her dad's question. Hours passed and she hadn't come back. We all assumed that she was just busy playing with rocks..." She said. "That was two months ago." I found it insulting that they figured that she was playing with rocks, but nonetheless, I asked. "W-Why hasn't anybody said anything?!" I was beginning to lose my sanity. "Well, some people handle these things differently. You know how Cloudy has been her happy self? Well that asshole Igneous keeps her secluded from these things. She doesn't even know her own daughter is missing. And the pie sisters... Some of them have handled it better than others... But just look at them." She said. It sounded like she was letting off steam. I didn't say anything for what seemed like an eternity. I sighed and asked. "Why haven't you told her? I'm sure that she would go to Ponyville and get help." "Igneous threatened us. He is the only one who knows who hasn't changed. I can't tell if he doesn't care, or just is bottling up his feelings. But, we needed a new worker, which is why we hired you. You're sleeping in her bed." She said. My lantern was changing her fur into a golden shade. More silence. "Thank you for telling me." I said. "You're welcome." She said, pulling up her covers. "By the way, you and Pinkie make a cute couple." My heart warmed at her words. I shook the lantern out and fell back in bed. "Good night Ferrosium." I said. My day went from good, to great, to amazing, to perplexed, to heartbroken. But, there was one thing that ended off my day with a sliver of good. And that was that I had a new objective. And that objective, was to find Maud.
