Diary of a Gold Miner

by Albatross

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Other, Random, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 2713

An early 20th century gold miner unearths three unique little things.

This the diary of a gold miner operating in the Yukon, and during his search for the precious metal, uncovers something he soon discovers is more precious than any earthly wealth.

This short story is the result of a Writefag Challenge on 4chan. The story attempts to remain ambiguous and may not be historically accurate.
The story was NOT written greentext format, as it would detract from the 'immersive' feel.

Published 2014-11-06 04:00:10 UTC
Last updated 2014-11-06 04:00:10 UTC

Diary of a Gold Miner

February 3rd, 1903

I was about to blast a crevice alongside the mountain open when I heard some voices. For a moment I thought I was simply hearing things. I had been out here for several fortnights and I was told that I could hallucinate sometimes. But, the voices quickly turned into panicked cries, and soon sobs. They sounded so young, but I had no idea what children would be doing all the way out here. Despite my better judgement, I decided to get out there and see what the fuss was about.

After following the sounds for a few minutes, I came across a small crack in the mountainside. I stuck my eye up against it trying to make out something, but as soon as I did, the voices stopped. I couldn't see a damned thing, so I decided to call out to them.

I was stunned to hear a quiet, almost panicked reply.

"Who's there?" they said. They were definitely children. But what in God's name were they doing in there? I told them to stand clear of the crack, as I was going to smash it open with my pickaxe. I reared it back and brought it down, and the crack became a hole. Inside, were....

Hell, I'm still not sure. They looked like little horsies, but.. different.

One was all yellow with a stark red mane. Another, orange with a short purple mane. The last one really got my attention:

It was whiter than the clouds above, and had purple/pink striped hair. And sittin' right there on it's noggin was a horn.

Yeah, a horn. I couldn't believe my eyes. When I looked at them again, though, I could see they were a shivering and a shaking. It was mighty cold. I figured it was best to bring them back to my cabin for now, if only to get some answers.

February 4th, 1903

Well, the girls spent the night with me in a little crop of blankets I had brought along.

I did managed to get a few things out of them, though.

The girls call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whatever the hell that is. And apparently they are equine somehow, as they are Ponies, according to them. They come from a land called Equestria, specifically a town called Ponyville. (I swear to the Lord in Heaven above, this is actually what they called it. Horse puns anyone?)

Their names are Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Applebloom is that yellow one, Scootaloo is orange, and Sweetie is the one with the horn.

Unicorn, I think they're called. I was in for another surprise when Scootaloo smacked Applebloom with a wing. It damn near stopped my heart, I had no idea what I was seeing! The girls calmed me down soon enough and decided to explain this.

Apparently, there are three types of ponies.

Earth Ponies, which have some sort of magical connection with the land, resulting in a boost to their strength.

Unicorn Ponies are wizards or witches, or something. They can use magic at will. Sweetie emphasized this by refilling my cup of coffee. Her horn started glowing and so did my pitcher, and God help me the thing started floating.

I'm gonna die of a heart attack up here.

And finally, there are Pegasus Ponies, which can fly. Unfortunately, I didn't get a demonstration, because Scootaloo apparently can't fly so good, and she gets a lotta flak for it back home. Poor girl.

I'm going to show them around the mountain. There's one spot in particular I want them to see. The waterfall is about the most beautiful damn thing I've ever seen, especially at sunset.

Call me a sissy, but I can appreciate God's handiwork.

I'll do another page tomorrow.

February 5th, 1903

I showed the girls around. I've been trying to get at the gold deposits here. I'd been having a rough time of it as of late, with only about a half a pound of gold extracted so far.

Now you're not going to believe this.

I pointed out a small crop of ore that I had been wanting to get at, but it was at an awkward angle, and I wouldn't have been able to realistically get at it without going through the surrounding rock.

So, Sweetie Belle cast some sort of spell on it, and Applebloom bucked the rock clean away. Once we had separated the ore from the dust, we had ourselves a whopping 5 pounds of ore! I don't know how they did it, (Lord knows Sweetie tried explaining it but I wasn't listening)

but they did, and there we were with a load of gold in our hands (Hooves, for them I guess.) They'd done damned good work, so I promised them a cut of the profits. 10% for the each of them, totaling at a 30/70 split. They keep this work up, and I might just make it 40/60.

I have a feeling we won't need to stay out here much longer.

February 11th, 1903

The girls and I have mined 23 pounds of gold ore so far. Apparently, that one deposit was particularly rich, because we hadn't run into any more that big. We had split the work up a bit, Applebloom is helping me dig the stuff up, Sweetie is treating the rocks to make them easier to mine through and separating the ore from debris, and Scoots was helping me lug the stuff around.

While we were working today, though, I had asked them about home. Apparently they were so caught up in helping me they forgot about trying to find a way home. I didn't feel too right about that, so I promised them I'd help'em find a way home somehow. Those fancy science fellers would probably cut'em open and look at their insides if I brought them to the government or something. I had to stop myself from vomiting all over the place at that mental image. The girls were cute as a button and got hearts of gold, I didn't want anything bad happening to them. I considered simply taking them home with me. My ma would love'em to death I reckon. If they can't get home, I can at least promise them a comfortable living here.

I'll be saying a prayer tonight, for them.

February 16th, 1903

Sweetie Belle broke down today. She's real homesick, worrying about her sister, Rarity. I decided to take a break for a few days. They could use the rest.

February 24th, 1903

I done screwed myself up by falling off of a ledge and busting my shoulder. It's not too bad, I don't think, but I won't be working much with a bad arm. Applebloom's been tearing herself up trying to help me. Girl worries too much, I'm a big boy. I'll be alright.

March 1st, 1903

My shoulder's looking a bit better, so I decided to do some more work today. It hurts a bit, but it's nothing too serious. We decided to keep the load light, just in case.

We also made a bit of a breakthrough concerning getting them home. A scroll of some kind appeared out of thin air, in a burst of flames from Sweetie Belle's horn. We couldn't make out much, the paper had been burnt and damaged but we got all we could.

Dear Sweetie Belle, if you're reading this, then that mea-*burnt*

*burnt* doing all we can, and *burnt*

*burnt* coming home. Twilight and I will *burnt*

Your safety is paramount. We *burnt*-helping*burnt*-ation. Take careful note of the env-*burnt*

*This part of the letter was covered with soot, and we couldn't wipe it away. About a paragraph was lost.*

I promise, we will find you. You'll be home again in-*burnt*

*burnt*-look forward to seeing you aga-*burnt*

*burnt*cess Celes*burnt*

March 8th, 1903

God help us. We were taking a break, eating lunch when Scootaloo need to go relieve herself. She wondered out behind a tree and did her business. On her way back...

A damned eagle swooped down and grabbed her. She resisted best she could, and got the thing to drop her.

14 fucking feet.

When we got to her, she had deep gashes in her side, broken wing, leg, busted up several ribs, and her left eye was scratched. She had bruises forming all over her and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Oh God, I hope she just cut her cheek or something going down. If she starts coughing blood...

We dropped everything and ran back to the cabin, Scoots in my arms.

I've been scared before. I've been stabbed before, thought I was gonna bleed out and die.

This was a whole 'nother level. I had never feared for someone so bad in my entire life.

She's back here in the cabin with us now, and we're trying to keep her awake. Pappy always told me, never sleep after hitting your head. Apparently, his pappy died that way. If they're bleeding from the nose or ears after a fall, then they're hurt, bad. She hadn't done any of that yet, but I'm playing it safe.

I've given her a glass of whiskey. Hopefully it'll take the edge out of the pain for now.

God, please, help them.

March 9th, 1903

Scoots has been patched up to the best of my ability. Sweetie Belle knew a weak healing spell or something and cast it on Scootaloo. The bleeding stopped since then. After about 12 hours we let the poor thing sleep. She's okay for now, she's eating some oatmeal as I write this. I don't know how long she'll stay that way.

I found a small vial of morphine in my sack. I had forgotten Cathy packed that for me. I mixed a little bit into that oatmeal of hers. It's gotta be awful strong for something as small as her, and I don't wanna risk giving her too much.

I bandaged her eye last night, hoping the damage wasn't too severe. Actually, lemme go get a look at that.

~

Her eye's cut pretty deep, but she can still see out of it. The damage is mostly to her whites, so I think it'll be okay.

Applebloom and Sweetie have been crying for a while now. I was terrified they thought this was my fault, and they'd hate me. I'm glad they don't. They're still upset, worried for Scoot and homesick. It's just too much for the little ones.

Applebloom had told me that letter was from someone called 'Princess Celestia'. A real powerful pony who ruled over their land and even moved the Sun itself. From what we could piece together, they're trying to find a way here.

I hope they do soon. I don't know how long Scootaloo can hold up.

March 18th, 1903

It's been a little over a week since Scoots got hurt. She's been doing well so far.

That is, until she tried to move.

She can't move her back left leg. And with the other back leg broken, she's immobile. I've had to carry her outside in my arms just to let her do her business. It's been a little awkward, but it's important. She still has control over her facilities for now, though, so that's good.

I'm done mining. We got 35 pounds of ore. That'll be plenty. I'm gonna spend the rest of my time helping Scoots recover.

Cathy, my sister, will be sending a carriage my way on April 5th. I hope Scoot can last that long.

March 21st, 1903.

I was sitting beside Scootaloo, when a bright flash of light blinded us through the cabin windows. Me and Applebloom ran outside to get a look.

We saw a big white horse, with a horn and wings standing out there. She had a huge, flowing mane that seemed to be made purely out of color itself. And she had some armored ponies with her.

Applebloom screamed her name, Princess Celestia.

They took that as a cue to attack me. I got hit by a blast of something and was flung against the cabin wall. It knocked me right out.

When I came to, they were gone.

The girls included.

I-

I can't-

~

It's been a damned long time since I cried.

March 28th, 1903

Why?

Why did they attack me?

Why did they take the girls?

Why, God, why?

I've plum run out of whiskey. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. I've got all the gold here. They didn't even take the cut I promised them.

I don't want this shit anymore. For years now I've been obsessed with this stuff. Even came out here and built me a cabin when I found the mountain deposits.

Now, I don't want any of it anymore.

My father wasn't the best, but he loved me and Cathy. Always told me how great it was to have a family. I've been too blinded by my own greed to realize that truth.

I started to consider the girls my own. I had never felt this way about anyone before. I... I loved them. Loved them like they were my own children. I had only known them for a month, but...

They were the perfect little girls. Always happy, looking forward to the days ahead. They kept their chins up during the worst of it.

The day before that princess came, the girls told me about the Cutie Mark things. How it was supposed to define their special talent. And how they'd been trying to find theirs for years.

They were amazing little helpers.

I

~

I miss them. But I hope they're doing well. They're home, at least.

Shit, who am I kidding, they probably already forgot about me. Still;

I hope they're happy.

Keep that chin up, girls.

April 4th, 1903

Cathy will be coming to take me back tomorrow. She'll be leaving then, and it'll likely take 3 days for her to actually get here.

I don't even remember what I was going to do with the gold.

I'll probably just sell it for more whiskey.

They wouldn't want me to do that, would they? Maybe I should build an orphanage with the money or something. I don't know. I guess I'll find out in a few days.

April 5th, 1903

Cathy, if you're reading this, don't worry. I'll be okay.

That princess came back. I wasn't sure why she was here, until I saw the girls with her.

I damn near cried my eyes out when I saw them. I gave them a big ol' bear hug. Scoots is all better now. They had come for the girls right as an infection was setting in, so they managed to stop it early.

Celestia profusely apologized for the incident. They couldn't take any chances with their youngest in possible danger. I didn't really blame them. It was hasty, but sound.

They've offered to take me with them.

Cathy, take the gold. I don't care how it's used, but try to do something meaningful with it, okay?

I won't be needing it where I'm going.

Goodbye, Catherine. I love you, and take care.

I'm finally happy.

These logs were discovered by Catherine Mous, on April 8th 1903.

Historians found no reference to these "pony" creatures outside of the home variety we have here on Earth.

Many thought Anonymous, the gold miner had simply gone mad, and took his own life.

But no body could be found. We still to this day have not found any trace of Anon.

But, upon returning to the abandoned cabin over a hundred years later, scientists found a remarkable item.

Bundled in the blankets, haphazardly tossed into a corner, was a single, orange feather.

It does not match that of any creature on Earth.

Author's Note

That's it. I realize that wasn't long, but again, it was merely a request.

While most of my stories are greentext, (none of which are on FimFic for obvious reasons), I've decided I need to work on prose as well. I've got a few story ideas I'm going to flesh out and see what comes of them.

Thanks for reading!