Brick Dust's sore, dry eyes squinting in the bright sunlight told him he had not slept the best. No wonder; he had laid on the cold cave floor. Brick Dust decided to just leave for town and get uneasy stares over with. He passed by his food supply but not feeling at all hungry. The white snow outside only made everything brighter. Brick Dust's pitch black eyes argued with him about the light, but he had no sunglasses. All he could do is trot slowly and quietly through the snow, occasionally alerting small rodents to dart away in to the green of the circling forest. Even animals feared Brick Dust. Sure, they feared pretty much everypony, but Brick Dust couldn't even enjoy the company of birds. Bird feeders he had set up many years ago hung abandoned and rusted on tree branches. Brick Dust checked them again even though he didn't expect to see a single flying animal perched on one eating away at seeds contently. Irritated, Brick decided he would take the feeders down soon.
Brick Dust's town was a remote village not too far from Ponyville but would still require a long train ride to get to from there. Brick Dust didn't know exactly how far away Ponyville was since he never bothered to ride trains after he had enough of everypony shunning him and talking about him behind his back. He had an old map that used to show detailed locations of Equestria, but it got ruined when his cave flooded once. This happened when there so much rain that the now-weakened stone walls couldn't take the strain and they leaked. The night Brick's cave flooded he had to sleep outside in a withered cabin in the forest to avoid getting sick or soaking wet. Also, that night was animal-free in range of Brick.
Steedville held small shacks and large castle-like structures. It was a place Brick Dust would call anything but home, but it was the only place he could get necessities for survival. As he thought about it, he wondered if it would be best for him to hunt for food in the forest around his home. Although, the only water there was always cloudy and rich with decaying leaves and the occasional bloated fish corpse. Brick always got clean water in Steedville. There was a lone hiker stallion that frequented the forest around his cave that would trade him plants he grew for a satisfying amount of bits. Brick had to admit that he was a great gardener, but he knew nopony except that hiker would ever care. Sometimes he felt like his own best friend wouldn't give him enough praise. Brick Dust had this in mind when he saw a baby blue colored stallion rush down the road, a similarly-colored filly running next to his side. Upon seeing two ponies Brick Dust could fully trust, he smiled in relief, though the expression faltered when a chocolate-colored mare bumped into him and growled at him in fury before trotting away in a huff.
Ice Frost was a pony who lived a fulfilled life alongside his younger sister, Glacier Freeze. In a way, you could call him and Brick Dust opposites. Glacier Freeze was no help for Brick's mood; she numerously bounced around always having something good to talk about. This made Brick Dust feel envy, which made him guilty. He felt like he should always be happy for his best friend's successful life, but why couldn't he?
Glacier Freeze grinned hugely and ran in place. The little unicorn filly vibrated the ground while looking up at Brick Dust with huge, shining blue eyes. With a nervous smile, Brick Dust backed away slightly.
"Uumm...hey, Ice. How are sales?" he asked.
"Everything's fine. Been making some hearty deals at the shop. You should really come by more often. You always look so bored," Ice Frost answered.
Brick's ears fell. He shuffled a hoof along the ground.
"I know. I honestly don't know why," he said.
Glacier Freeze hopped up and down.
"And lately, Icey has been letting me help him restock! It helps me practice with my magic," she beamed.
Glacier had been happier than usual for a while due to her new-found talent in magic. She was already step ahead of the other unicorn fillies and colts in her classroom at school, which did nothing else but make Ice Frost feel proud. Brick Dust wished he could use magic and wondered what it was like for Ice Frost to help raise a unicorn. His family had an Earth pony side and a unicorn side, with Ice being a part of the former side. Ice Frost chuckled at his sister.
"Man, wish I could use magic. Oh well. Guess we have something in common, Brick," he told his friend with a little laugh. "Well, we better get going before ponies get too impatient, including Glacier here."
Glacier Freeze leapt in the air, her horn emitting happy sparks. The two hurried away for their store (a sweet shop), leaving Brick Dust alone. As he headed for the town's water supply, he received many glances and a few taunts. Bad memories shown in his mind. All this laughter and hatred first started back when the accident happened. It had occurred right in the middle of the village. Mocking and scorn went on loop, and at that time and all time after that, Brick had not his beloved older brother to defend him. The reason behind all of this torment was only because everypony thought it was all Brick's fault. As time passed, Brick Dust began to believe they were right, though it pained him to.
Brick felt hot tears sting his black eyes as he thought about his brother. He wanted Bright Red back. Bright Red was a pegasus. Brick recalled all the cheerful times where he rode Bright's back through the clouds and high fog. It was simply unbelievable for any Earth pony to thoroughly describe the sky like they had their own wings. Even though Brick never expected it, he felt a smile creep onto his face. Bright Red was up there watching over him. He was going to be strong for him. Filled with sudden confidence and determination , Brick Dust gathered up the courage to head to the water well.
Even the water in the still pond looked poisoned with darkness. The moon did not glow. It hid behind clouds like a bedroom behind closed curtains. Snow fell and refused to relent. It was way below freezing. Brick Dust, however, did not even bother to shiver. His ears down, he sat with his eyes shut tightly. Little ice plates floated lazily in the pond in front of him. The hilly fields around him looked no more cheerful. Nothing but snow-covered plains were around, appearing dusty blue in what little light was left in the night. Brick Dust stood up with a heavy sigh. Leaving round tracks in the soft white, he started for home. It was one of those nights.
Brick Dust eventually made it to what anypony would refuse to call home. A blandly-colored cave stood adjacent to a vast coniferous forest. Brick Dust stepped his way through a snowy hill attempting to block him from getting inside. Brick Dust only felt warm when he reached a fire ring that had been lit for hours. All that remained were a few yellow flames crawling up dry wood in a desperate attempt to gain any sort of energy. Brick Dust fed the little flames with some kindling. Afterwards, he sat and pondered. Why did these types of nights have to keep coming to him? Was he still not over the incident?
Brick Dust had so many defeatist thoughts and negative emotions flowing through his mind and body that it hurt. His head ached and throbbed, anther migraine from the incident occurring. Brick Dust clutched his head and gritted his teeth in exhausting pain. He felt so much agony that he didn't realize he had fallen asleep until morning came.
Author's Note
In case you want to know, all my stories' intros are short.
