The firey tale of Redd Coal

"Redd!? Reeedd!? It's time for breakfast son!" My mother Ruby called. Still tired, I got up out of bed, my wings were stiff from underuse. I rose upon my longer back legs and proceeded towards the kitchen where mom, dad and my older brother Quicksilver were waiting for me. I knew today was going to be another boring day.

  After saying good morning to everypony I took my usual seat next to Quicksilver and I saw the typical cocky grin on his face he always had right before he'd insult me. He went on with his usual morning verbal assault that normally included my long back legs and the growths protruding from my front hooves. "Sup freak show!" He said as he punched me in the right front leg. "Silver, you be nice to your baby brother!" Mom scorned. "Redd's unique and you need to treat him nicely." Mom always had my back in these situations.

  My father Charcoal on the other hoof, found it fitting that silver picked on me. My mere existence already cost his greedy plot a fortune, which in turn meant everypony in the village had to work harder in the mines. Though he never showed it, he was ashamed of me for obvious reasons. I could only walk on two legs and unlike the other ponies in town, my coat was a bright shade of red, making me a freak among my own kind. Dad never saw anything in me, I meant nothing to him. All that mattered in his eyes was money, something he would have had if he didn't have a wife and children.

  Anyway, the end of breakfast meant only one thing in our house, time for work. I dreaded going down into those dark shafts, where many ponies died from collapses and drunken brawls. My best friend Emerald Isle was one of the lives lost when a support beam broke and the old mine shaft caved in, burying everypony unlucky enough to be in there. Sometimes I swear I can still hear him crying for help. Since then, the mines have given me the heebie jeebies.

  It wasn't that I was scared to go, it was just the shock that when it happened, nopony made any attempts to rescue them, it was like money was more important to them than the lives of others. That coupled with the fact that whenever I went down there, Quicksilver always beat me or told dad how little my payload was. I would have brought a good amount back if Quicksilver didn't steal each cart full I had. If that was enough, everypony would glare at me like I was a monster. Today was no different, I put my helmet on and walked towards the entrance to the mines. I was only seven but I had to work since I stood as tall as the biggest stallion in the village. Once again, money meant more to them then the lives of others. This was truly Tartarus.

  As soon as we got down into the mines, we began the 18 hour work day, same as every other. While other ponies swung picks and hammers, I was unlucky enough to have to pull minecarts from shaft to shaft. It was torture, especially when I couldn't fit in the harness like the others. I finally decided to just pull on the chains which proved to be slightly more efficient, just slightly. I pulled the cart to shaft 3B with one thing on my mind, nothing ever changed in the mines or the village. Not even time changed, day in and day out it was always the same around here.

Shaft 3B was the oldest shaft that hadn't collapsed, it was a symbol of the village's integrity. The rock walls were full of gems of every type and size. Despite its looks, I found no pleasure there as everypony there glared at me. I tried my best to just ignore them and continued to the end of the line where old Ironhooves was breaking open geodes. He was the only adult who didn't see me as a freak

"Hey Redd. How's life treating you?" He greeted with a warm smile. I stopped the cart, dropped the chains and returned his greeting. I later said, "Iron, I don't think I can take this anymore." He put left hoof down, a puzzled look on his stone gray face. Before he could ask, I continued with, "I mean I don't think mining is for me. I want to get out there and actually live my life."

Iron looked me dead in the eye and said, "Redd Coal, you know I can't say anything to stop ya, but if you leave you won't be able to ever come back." He may have sounded like he did not approve, but the look in his eyes showed a hopeful spark. To him I was the hope that one day he too could leave and find a wife. We began talking about what we would do when we get out there. We spoke while he broke open geodes, each one more valuable than the last and I loaded them into the cart. Once the cart was full, I grabbed the chains and I started pulling it away but Ironhooves stopped me, he reached under his helmet and pulled out something I couldn't quite see. He looked at me again and hoofed it to me, saying "just wait a couple years before using it." I looked at it and saw it was a train ticket. I pulled the cart with renewed hope, but that hope faded when i saw my father's face, i could have sworn his eyes glowed green as I stopped the cart before him. "Redd, what do you think you are doing? Get back down there and earn your keep!" I groaned as i brought the cart with me down into the same boring mines, in the same boring village, on another boring day.