It was a perfect Canterlot fall morning - birds flittering about, rays of sunlight bursting through breaks in the fluffy clouds that the pegasi were clearing from last night's rain. It was always important to let the sun dry up any remaining puddles of rainwater, especially on the streets where unsuspecting carriage ponies can't tell whether a murky puddle is an inch or a foot deep. The outer edges of the city were already brimming with activity – coffee shops and small markets always opened their doors earlu for the flood of hungry workers and students looking for a bite to eat.
“Hey, Gravy Face, why so bitter?” asked Nail with a smirk.
“Don't call me “Gravy Face,” Rust Bucket!” Gravity retorted. Nail was cool and all, but sometimes she is a real jerk. The tawny unicorn mare beside her looked genuinely hurt, she stroked her rust colored mane with one hoof as the two strolled down the street. This was usually how their mornings went. Chatting as they galloped through the morning traffic of Canterlot to school. However this morning was different. When they came to the fork in the road, Gravity did not turn to the left with Nail down the road that led to Diamond Secondary School. No, instead she faced towards the right, looking towards the untraveled road.
“Ya think you'll be alright without me Gravy Face?” Nail said, clearly worried. Gravity paused, thinking of a good parting response.
“I don't even know why you call me Gravy Face, my face is gray, just like the rest of me,” She questioned. Nail laughed,
“I betcha five bits you wont survive the first five minutes at your new fancy-schmancy private school!” She was probably right, Nail was the only friend Gravity had, she had always supported her. However she tried to sound confident when she replied,
“The bet is on.”
~
Rockheste Private School for Young Mares and Stallions. Quite a mouthful. However it seemed to go on forever when it was slapped on a long granite sign in front of the school. At least it wasn't a boarding school. It was a miracle that her own mother could afford to send Gravity to such a place. She wished that Nail could come with her, but she knew that Nails parents could never afford it. Students were already starting to trickle into the school, chins high and smooth thin bodies hugged by their perfectly tailored uniforms. That's when Gravity remembered she didn't have hers on. She was too embarrassed to go out in public with that thing, especially since she lived in a less wealthy part of Canterlot. It wasn't unlike Gravity to avoid attention at all costs, mostly because whenever she did draw attention it was usually a bad thing. Gravity trotted down the concrete walkway that led to the main entrance. The hard surface felt horribly uncomfortable on her hooves, the jarring hardness of it caused painful vibrations to move up her leg.
The two open front doors were surprisingly simple, large and wooden, not uncommon. However the archway definitely showed off the grandiose side of the school. Gravity trotted confidently into the building, only to be stopped dead in her tracks. “Holy...” she murmured as she gazed up in awe at what she saw before her. On the ceiling was a massive painting, however the term masterpiece would be more accurate, really. The painting showed a great ball with historic leaders all dancing elegantly together, Gravity's seemingly endless gawking session was only interrupted by a professor gingerly passing by, and commenting on her observing it,
"That painting was made by one of our students, you know,”
“Really?” Gravity questioned, almost refusing to believe such a thing. She knew this place was for the talented and rich, but a student? Making that?
“Really, her name was Bejeweled Stroke, she's our art professor now. And you should get your uniform on, classes are starting soon.” he said, smiling. This was when Gravity got a good look at him. He was young, with a lively yellow coat and a dull red mane. “I'm Professor Golden Binding, I teach first year social studies and I believe that I have you first period.” he said kindly, and then set off. Gravity scoured the wall for a clock, and found a rather large one above the main entrance, it read 7:53. “7:53?! I only have seven minutes until class starts!” she thought hurriedly. “Excuse me? Hello? Do you know where a bathroom is?” she asked a random pink mare quickly, her breathing had quickened. Gravity never did well under stress.
“Down the hall to the left. And the first door to the left is the mares room,” the purple mare replied. She seemed very annoyed. “Don't you have a map?” she asked. A map! The map! She had a map. It was right at...home. How was she going to get around? She couldn't just ask everypony where everything is! That would be the opposite of a good first impression. Worst first day ever.
Deciding not to dwell on it, Gravity sped towards the bathroom. All the halls seemed fully decorated with the arts. No wonder Gravity's mom wanted her to attend here. She was rather art crazed herself. However she had no time to look at the various sculptures and murals. She skidded to a halt when she reached the bathroom and burst inside, breathing heavily. She reached for her favorite blue saddlebags when she realized something. She had no saddlebags.
Gravity wanted to scream. But there was no going back home. She instead just walked out of the bathroom and headed to her first period, social studies. She gulped when she entered the room. The class was a lot smaller than the public school rooms. There was only about fifteen kids, and all of them stood in awe as the naked earth pony, drenched in sweat, came into the room. However, Professor Golden Binding simply smiled and nodded.
“I'll go get a spare uniform, okay? You get settled in.” he said sweetly. Gravity sighed in relief. However all her stress was not yet relieved. She sat at a desk closest to the window, and peered outside.
“Hey, gray mare, nice mane!” said a stallion. Gravity blushed and turned away from the other students. Most mares and stallions have the very roots of their manes start in between their ears and creep down to the back of their head. Some stallions have their roots further forward on their head. But Gravity's roots started just a bit higher from the back of her head and went down the back of her neck. Her mane came over her in waves from her neck and draped down over one side of her face. Her mother once teased that the reason why she named her “Gravity,” is because her mane seemed to defy it. Nail once said that her mom once knew a really old pony named Scootaloo when she was a filly who had a similar mane.
When the stallion that had just spoken realized that she wasn't going to reply, he continued to speak. “You part Zebra or something?” he chirped. This stung Gravity extra bad. Why did everypony think she looked like a Zebra? The stripes in her mane isn't exclusive to Zebras and aren't even black, they're light blue. Gravity snorted in response. A light prod on her back sent her head snapping in the direction the invasive hoof came from only to see her friend Professor Golden Binding had returned with a spare uniform in his jaws. Gravity nodded thanks and then zipped to the bathroom to change into it. Unfortunately, it was not as nice and fitted as the ones most of the students wore, in fact, the loose and sagging shirt made her look bigger than she actually was. Gravity had never been so self-conscious in her entire life.
Thankfully the rest of the day was mostly peaceful. However she did get many strange stares from the other students. Most of the teachers introduced themselves and started on a small lesson. The lessons were usually introductions, but Golden Binding held an actual lesson that was very interesting. He talked about the past and how ponies would get their cutie marks at a young age, around 8-12. It shocked most of us, the vast majority of ponies never got their cutie marks. Those who did, like Gravity's mom, would get paid highly in their job. It seemed so odd that the ponies of the past didn't think that cutie marks were all that extraordinary. Gravity learned that the stallion that had bothered her name's was Chrome Clockwork, and that the reason why he was teasing her was because he thought she was cute.
She let out a shuddering sigh when the bell rang. The first day was over. She was awfully glad to get out of the building. Everything was so fancy inside there. She much preferred the suburban area of Canterlot than the high class city center. The busy carts filled with grains and vegetables clacking across the cobblestone streets, the smell of burnt bread from that crappy bakery across the street. Yes, Gravity would much rather be there than in any high class private school. She relished in all of these things as she walked home, enjoying the wind on her back that was restrained by the closed windows and itchy uniforms of Rockheste Private School.
“GRAVYYYYY!!” screamed the ecstatic tawny pony mare. Nail bounded towards Gravity, and she jumped in surprise. “You survived?” she yelled.
“Uh, yeah, duh.” Gravity replied, trying to make it sound obvious.
“Even without your saddlebags?” Nail pushed, leaning closer to her friend.
“You knew?” Gravity gasped in surprise, why didn't she tell her?
“Why do you think I made the bet? I thought you would be suspended for coming in naked to school!” Nail laughed.
“Thankfully a nice professor helped me out by getting me a spare.”
“Was he cuuuuuute?”
“Hell no! He's like, 25 or something crazy like that.”
“Heh,” Nail concluded, looking out into the distance. It was a strange event, seeing Nail not talking for once. But even in moments of silence, she has thoughts racing through her head at the speed of light. Nail's really intelligent, she's just talkative.
Gravity knew something naughty was going through Nail's head when she got that light in her eyes. That look that means she has thought of something bad. Nail's head slowly turned toward Gravity, an evil grin growing on her face.
“What have you thought of now?” Gravity asked, raising an eyebrow. Nail chuckled and suddenly grabbed Gravity's hoof and dragged her into a nearby alleyway.
“Woah! What are you doing-MMRRPH!” Gravity's exclamations were muffled by Nail's hoof, and she leaned in closely to Gravity. Whatever Nail was thinking of doing, it was going to be real bad.
And Gravity's expectations were met and exceeded.
“Wanna go over the Wall?”
Author's Note
Thank you for reading the first chapter in my new story!
“Go over the wall? Are you crazy?” Gravity said after ripping Nail's hoof away from her mouth.
“Shhhh!” Nail hushed, leaning in closer. They were almost touching noses now, and Gravity did not appreciate her getting into her personal space. “There are police officers everywhere, Gravity. We have to stay quiet, and stay low.” Nail murmured.
“Or, maybe we just don't do this at all.” Suggested the now annoyed gray mare.
“Come on, I've gotten close before, nopony caught me, I just need another pony to boost me up.” Whined the smaller pony. She made a puppy dog face and looked into Gravity's eyes. Gravity rolled her eyes and stood up, ready to walk out of the damp and cramped alley, but Nail thought otherwise. She grabbed Gravity's hoof once more and dragged her into the depths of the alleyway, muffling any of her sounds with another hoof. How she was able to move around on only two hooves, the world may never know. But there were other things on Gravity's mind. Things like how her back was getting scraped off by hard gravel and the dirty hoof inserted in her mouth.
Eventually Gravity gave up any idea of struggle and gave Nail a submissive look. And so she let Gravity go and the two mares walked through the side streets of Canterlot, nearing the Wall. The Wall is a very sensitive topic and is rarely a subject. It's nothing special, really. Just a huge concrete wall surrounding the city. The police are crazy about the Wall, even touching it is considered an anomaly. That's why there are no houses on the very outskirts, they don't want any accidental touches. Only old and abandoned slums were on the outskirts near the Wall, and ponies say that the ones who live near the Wall go insane from being so close to it. Nail didn't speak a word so Gravity didn't either, she knew when Nail didn't speak that she really shouldn't speak. They sneaked further and further from the city center, they could see the Wall now, Gravity expected it to be taller.
“This is completely insane,” Gravity whispered as silently as she could to her companion.
“Then why are you still following me, eh?” she replied with a smirk. That was a good question, even though Gravity may seem like the shy and scared type, she was constantly seeking stimulation. Climbing the wall, one of the greatest crimes of all, was perfect to brighten up her day.
“Stop!” Nail whispered abruptly, and held her foreleg out in front of Gravity so she couldn't move any further. The Wall was right in front of them now, Gravity expected it to be smooth, but the concrete had small cracks and bulging spots. “See all of those parts that jut out? The Wall was made poorly, I heard, so some parts stick out. This is how we're going to climb up, but in order to get to the top, I need you to hoist me up, okay?” she explained quickly. Wasting no time, she leaped from her spot and scrambled for a grip on one of the cement lumps. Gravity gasped and rushed to Nail, afraid she's going to fall. Thankfully, she regained her footing and leaped to the next place. “C'mon!” she called out. Nail was already multiple feet in the air, crouching on her perch. Gravity took a deep breath. What was she about to do? However, despite her fear, she leaped out at least two feet into the air, her hooves clacking on the Wall. She could somehow feel the hot cement on her hooves, and how grainy and old it was. She tried to get her hind legs on the small ledge, only to find her hind hooves flailing at air.
“AHHH!” she cried, but shut herself up quickly. This was a bad time to gain attention.
“Grab my hoof!” Nail said, reaching out her arm to her friend. Gravity felt her heart skip a beat as she let out one fore hoof from her death grip on the wall to Nail's. Her dear friend strained with all her might and hoisted Gravity from her position to a comfortable and stable place on the lump.
“Celestia, how made are we, eh?” Gravity wheezed, regaining her breath.
“Look, if you're going to be all wimpy and crap all the way up, you should bail right now. No offense though, it's just if you're not up for the challenge-”
“I can handle it, Rust Bucket!” Gravity interrupted. Sometimes she felt like everybody underestimated her.
The rest of the climb was easy, only a few hops were needed to get to the top. The wall was only about twelve feet high. Such a thing was minuscule compared to the over five hundred foot high skyscrapers in the city center. When they reached the final ledge, it was clear that neither of them could jump the the top of the wall. Nail took a deep breath and started explaining her plan
“Okay, so the first thing we do it I-”
“Why don't pegasi just fly over the wall?” Gravity interrupted Nail. Her friend simply stared out into space in response.
“I-I don't know...maybe they just...well, there aren't a lot of pegasi in Canterlot anyway so I guess...They just...” she trailed off until she was simply sitting there with her face contorted with curiosity. Gravity expected her to say something, but was surprised when she didn't, “Alright, so you're going to hoist me up onto the top and I'll pull you up with me, got it?” she said cheerfully. Without knowing it, the thought of the pegasi simply slipped from her mind and she continued thinking about the Wall.
“Are you sure you're not just going to do the thing where I pull you up and you abandon me? Could you even pull me up?”
“First, why would I abandon you? You're my friend, it makes no sense. Second, you and I both know that I'm stronger than you, even though I'm smaller.” she said smugly. Nail was right, she was stronger than Gravity. So, Nail climbed on Gravity's shoulders, Gravity letting out a gasp at her friends weight, she had definitely been eating a lot of hay fries lately. However her weight was even more prominent when she leaped off her back, her hind hooves digging into her spine as she prepared to jump. Gravity almost collapsed and slipped off the lump when it happened. The gray mare breathed heavily, letting her black and bright blue mane slip over her eyes. She heard hoof steps above her, meaning that Nail made it too the top. Gravity looked up to see her friend standing at the top, looking beyond. She saw the brown mare's ears flop down, and Gravity cocked her head in confusion.
“Aw balls!” the mare exclaimed. She stomped her hoof to the concrete, her rusty mane bouncing,
“What is it?” Gravity questioned,
“Come on up and you'll see!” she called back, and she crouched as low as she could go and let down her hoof. Gravity jumped and grabbed her dear friend's hoof. She made low grunting noises as she pulled up the larger mare to the top, finally resting as Gravity scrambled up to look at what Nail had seen. Yes, now they could see what was beyond the Wall, and the city, and get the smallest glimpse of the world beyond that they had never been told of.
Desert, it was all desert. Rolling hills and valleys of shifting sand and dirt. Dry wind swept their manes, a new light shone upon them. Gravity noticed this new light that was shining upon them when she saw how green her friend's eyes really were. Nail must have noticed this too, for she looked upon Gravity with a similar inquiry.
“Your eyes are blue?” she asked, and Gravity was taken aback at the comment,
“What? You never noticed it?”
“I always thought they were dark voids!”
“The hell is wrong with you?” She yelled into the barren wasteland, she laughed hysterically, crumpling to her knees and almost choked on air. God, what was all of that? Maybe the Wall did make you insane.
“Celestia! Shut up! Ponies are going to...hear you...oh SHIT!” Nail yelled, grabbing Gravity's head and snapped it towards the city. Police officers were pointing at them and galloping towards us at a surprising speed. “We need to get out of here!” she said, frightened. Gravity's heartbeat rose significantly. Thoughts started racing through her head. This couldn't be happening, no, this couldn't be happening, yet it was.
“I think we're going to have to jump!” Nail yelled, she was trying to sound brave, but her voice told otherwise.
“JUMP?! Are you crazy? We'll die!” Gravity wailed back.
“We're going to die anyway if we don't try!” Her frightened friend cried, there were tears in her eyes now, her chest heaving, she was becoming delirious now and Gravity had to snap her back into reality. But it was too late, Nail launched herself off the wall, not a single sound coming from her mouth as she began to plummet.
“Nail NO!” Gravity screamed, and before she could think over her actions she was falling towards her friend, plummeting towards the earth at a break-neck speed that sent her heart racing in a fraction of a second. She felt that horrible feeling in which your stomach rises to your throat. Thoughts started racing through her head so fast that they meant nothing, she could die right now, this was no time to think. Gravity tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Then everything went black.
Gravity groaned as she opened her eyes weakly, her head throbbed in pain, and she was nearly blinded by the brightness of the world. At first all she could see was light and shadows, however when the pain in her head subsided she could focus on the objects above her. A unicorn nurse with a pearly white coat and a cotton candy many was looking into her eyes worriedly. Gravity mumbled something, trying to communicate with her.
“Hey there, are you feeling all right?” she asked. She expected the nurse’s voice to be kind and soothing, but she only heard a rough concern in her voice. Why was that? When Gravity took a look at her surroundings she understood. A police station, she was in a police station, sitting on a cot.
“Why aren't I in like...a hospital or something?” she croaked, her eyes drooping as a sudden wave of exhaustion came over her. The nurse frowned and looked down for a second, and replied,
“Surprisingly, you're all right...but only because...you broke your fall...on your friend...”
“WHAT?” Gravity yelled, her voice cracking, she leaped out of the cot and clumsily tried to gallop, but only slipping and fell only to be caught by the nurse and promptly put back on the cot.
“Stop that! You may not be in hospital condition, but you're still hurt!” the nurse practically yelled at her, gaining some side glances from the police ponies in the background. The nurse sighed and gave Gravity a sympathetic look.
“Your friend...Nail? Anyway, she's been hospitalized, she's currently unconscious and has suffered from a minor concussion and some broken ribs. That's all I know, I swear, now you need to calm down until your mother gets here-” her speech was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open. A small pink earth mare with a gray mane tied up in a messy ponytail burst into the room.
“GRAVITY!” she gasped, tears were streaming down her face, and she immediately pounced on her daughter, hugging her tightly and sobbing. “Oh my god, you're okay!” she choked, and Gravity couldn't help but tear up also. Her school day was horrible, everything hurt from jumping off the wall, she's in a police station, and her friend is hospitalized because of her! Nearly seconds later, mother and daughter were both crying into each others arms, embracing tightly. But her mother let Gravity go and wiped away her daughters tears, sniffling. But the door opened once more and a police pony in a tight black suit with a gaudy golden badge clipped on the front.
“Miss? You are her legal guardian, would you please come with me.” he said curtly. Before leaving, her mother leaned over and whispered into Gravity's ear,
“I'm going to get you out of this mess, okay?” and with that, she trotted out the door with the stallion.
~
Gravity awoke from her slumber when she felt her mother lifting her off the cot and onto her back. At first, she welcomed not having to walk home, she was so tired. An icy wind swept through her mane and she shivered, Gravity was fully awake now, a bit drowsy, but awake.
“Mom...what time is it?” she groaned, nestling into her mother's back.
“It's around 9:00, once I drop you off at home, I need to go back to work, okay?” she whispered back. She seemed so tired, but her mother was used to working late, why was it that she was so sleepy?
“Mom, am I going to have to go to jail?”
“No hon, everything is all cleared up.”
“Did we have to pay lots of money?”
“Only a bit, don't worry, go back to sleep,”
“Okay.”
~
Gravity pulled herself out of bed, the clock said 11:00 now, she yawned and stumbled over to the ringing phone. Who could be calling at this time? She scrambled to pick up the phone and brought it to her ear, leaning on the counter top.
“What?” she groaned, rubbing her head. The voice that responded sent a smile to her face!
“Gravy!” squealed Nail, and Gravity could almost see the huge smile on her friend's face.
“Nail! Oh my Celestia, are you okay?” she gasped, tearing up.
“Yeah, a few broken bones, but it's alright. How about you?” it surprised her how concerned Nail was about her own health, usually she just shrugged at Gravity's pain. Now she realized why Nail was her best friend.
“I'm alright, not dead.”
“Oh! Good, I was hoping that would be the answer!” Nail chuckled, they chatted like this for a few minutes, but their happiness was disturbed by a crackling sound that came from the phone.
“Nail, I'm losing you, can you hear me?” she asked through the white noise.
“Gra—ca----ea--e?” called back, Gravity cussed and hit the phone, but it continued. This had never happened before, so she just set the phone down, canceling the call.
But the noise didn't stop, in fact, every electronic device in the house started to do the same thing. Soon the house was full of the same static. Gravity was in panic mode now, what was happening? She was shaking, but she didn't know why. Why was she shaking? At that moment, she realized that it wasn't her that was shaking, it was her house. Her house was shaking, the floors were moving she looked outside and everything was rippling and warping out of place. Buildings were crumbling. A scream filled the room, it was her scream.
“CITEZENS OF CANTERLOT. GET TO YOUR BUNKERS. LOCK THE DOOR. DON'T OPEN IT FOR ANYONE OR ANYTHING.” screamed the emergency intercom. Gravity ran, she was open to the idea of the bunker. She slid and skidded down the halls, practically tripping down the stairs , scraping her legs and face as she whipped through her house, her mind blurry and heart beating fast. Her bruises ached from the sudden movement.
Then there was the bunker. The huge steel door loomed over her. She pulled on it, and it opened for the first time. The bunker could only be unlocked from the inside or by the princesses, wherever they were. She rushed inside, the sound of the earth moving under her feet was sickening, and she stumbled into the bunker, tears wetting her face and worsening her vision. But all she could think about that second was getting inside and pushing the giant door closed, feeling the vibrations from many locks click into place, and the silence that Gravity thought meant that it was over, when it was really the calm before the storm.
Author's Note
Phew! Sorry, that took way longer than expected, I was really busy with all sorts of crazy things! I'll try to do the next chapter faster, but I have a lot to deal with.
