A New Helping Hoof

The train’s whistle blew, and it slowly began to pull out of the station. Obsidian Knight watched as his home, the city of Trottingham, located on the island of the Griffish Isles, disappeared into the distance, perfectly back-lit by the lowering sun. Well, he hadn’t really lived in Trottingham, just near it, in a small home just outside the city, in the nearby forest. It had been a nice, one-story home, big enough that he and his mother were able to live comfortably, but not so big that they couldn’t afford it. He had spent his days growing up there, never leaving, until now. He had to go. It was what was best for both him and his mother.

At least, that’s what his mother said, and Obsidian agreed… mostly. He just didn’t want to leave his mother. He didn’t want to be his father. His father who had disappeared when Obsidian was young. Some said that Rock Hard, that was Obsidian’s father, had been off on some grand adventure and had been killed. This theory made sense, considering Rock Hard was a famous adventurer who had been away from his home, and family, most of the time. However, Obsidian agreed with the less believed theory: Rock Hard had simply ran off, not wanting the burden of raising a family.

Obsidian didn’t necessarily want to believe this theory, but his father had stopped going on adventures when he had first learned that his wife, Obsidian’s mom Pearl, was pregnant with their foal. Also, the night that he had left, Rock Hard and Pearl had an argument, and it had been loud. The last thing that Rock Hard did before he disappeared forever was he gave his son a gift: a necklace, made of pure silver, in the shape of a wolf. Not a timber wolf, as you might expect, but an actual wolf.

Obsidian may not have liked the thought that his dad had just ran off, but the facts said that he did, and Obsidian wasn’t one to argue with the facts.

Because his dad had disappeared, Obsidian’s mom Pearl had to work twice as hard to make ends meet. She got a second job, worked late hours, and was almost never at home. Pearl’s younger sister, Silky, had volunteered to watch Obsidian while Pearl was gone.

However, as hard as it was for Pearl to make the transition from happily married to single mother, Obsidian’s transition was at least as difficult, maybe more so. The kids at school teased him more. He lost one parent, and the other was at work all the time, so he always felt out of place when it came to parent-child activities. When he got old enough, he had to work harder than any of his classmates because his mom seemed to be aging faster than she should have been, and he had to help support her. And to make matters worse, he never got his Cutie Mark.

Unfortunately, his troubles didn’t stop there.

As he got older, because of the type of city Trottingham was, and because of the high expectations they had, Obsidian wasn’t able to get a good education. Mostly because of his financial position, but also because he was a blank flank, even when he was well past the age when he should have gotten a Cutie Mark. So, he decided to educate himself using the best tools he could think of: books. He tought himself a considerable amount, becoming quite smart. In fact, he got a job at the library in Trottingham so he could be around the books as much as possible.

However, that job lasted only about a year. Unfortunately, that was the longest he could keep a job. It wasn’t because he was no good them, it was just that, wherever he worked, that place would start losing business just because they had a blank flank as an employee. He tried everything he could, from baking to making toys, but he would always be “let go,” as his bosses would always say. And no matter what job he did, even if he exceeded expectations, he didn't get his Cutie Mark.

Because of the way his life was, he became untrusting and self-conscious.

Sadly, things continued to go downhill. One day, his mother just collapsed. She was rushed to the hospital, and Obsidian and his aunt Silky had to sit in hall, waiting for what seemed like forever until a doctor came out to the hall and told them that Pearl was too overworked, which led to extreme exhaustion. She would have been completely fine, if that had been all that was wrong. She also had some other health issues that had never gotten attention, which, the doctor said, meant that she would have to undergo some surgeries.

In the end, the surgeries had been somewhat successful, but Pearl wouldn’t be able to leave the house at least for a long time, maybe permanently. In addition, the bill was really expensive, and Obsidian was only able to pay it off thanks to Silky.

This was what drove Pearl to send her son away to find work. Obsidian had already been thinking that he should go somewhere else to find work, but he had been worried about his mother. However, his mom had already made some plans. Aunt Silky would take care of Pearl while Obsidian was gone. Pearl had told her son about a place that was really far away from Trottingham where she was sure he could get a job. It was a rock farm somewhere south of Canterlot.

Just as her son was prepared to leave, Pearl gave him a letter. She told him that he wasn’t allowed to open it, and he should give it to the owner of the rock farm, a Mr. Igneous Rock Pie, as soon as he arrived. Obsidian trusted his mother, and he didn’t want to disobey her, so he quickly put it in his saddle bag.

Now, after a short boat ride, here he was, on a train to the Pie Family Rock Farm so he could get a new job that he had no experience in, which he had gotten used to by this point.

As his home shrank into a speck on the horizon, along with the sun, Obsidian began to drift off into a deep sleep. As he began to slip into the world of dreams, his mind played back an old memory, one he thought of all the time. It was the last time he ever saw his father…

- - - - - - -

Obsidian knew his parent were arguing about him. At least, that was what he had concluded, considering that his name was brought up several times. He hadn’t meant to be listening, but it was hard to not listen when your name was being brought up in your parents’ loud argument.

After about a minute, Obsidian turned in his bed so that he was facing away from his bedroom door, and he pressed a pillow over his ears in an attempt to block out the loud, angry voices. It didn’t work, and the fact that they lived in a small, one-story house didn’t help either. Tears began to steam down Obsidian’s young face, and he started to silently sob.

After a couple of minutes, which, to Obsidian, felt like forever, the voices finally quieted down. Obsidian slowly rested the pillow back on the bed, then he wiped the tears from his face.

A few more seconds passed, and Obsidian heard hoofsteps headed towards his room. He quickly tried to fake sleep. With his eyes shut, he heard his bedroom door open. More hoofsteps told him that somepony had come to his bedside.

Rock Hard gave a sigh, then he said “I know you’re awake son.”

Obsidian opened his eyes and let out a sigh of his own. Then he turned to look at his father. “Why were you and mommy arguing?” he asked his father. “Is it because of me?”

“Of course it’s not because of you. Don’t even think that!” Rock Hard’s voice came in a stern tone, which frightened the young colt still lying in bed. Rock Hard took a deep breath, then he continued in a softer voice, “Sorry son. I didn’t mean to… It’s just that your mom and I aren’t agreeing on something. It’s not that important.”

“Is it better now, dad?”

“I don’t know son, but I hope so.” There was a pause, then Rock Hard lifted something from around his neck up over his head. He held it in his hoof and just looked at it for a moment. Then, he handed it to his son. “Here son, I want you to have this.”

Obsidian reached out and took the thing from his father. It took him a moment to realize what it was, but he was soon able to make it out perfectly, even in the dark, badly-lit room. It was his father’s silver wolf necklace. “Dad, I can’t take this,” Obsidian protested. “It’s your good luck charm.”

“I want you to have it son,” Rock Hard responded. “I need you to take it. Please.”

Obsidian realized that his dad was crying, which surprised the foal. He had never seen his father cry before. “Daddy, are you okay?” he asked.

“Of course, son,” his father replied, wiping the tears from his face. “I just want you to remember one thing: when life gets you down, when you feel like you’re as low as you can possibly go, things will always get better, but you have to do something about it. Don’t let life keep you down. Promise me you’ll remember that.”

“Yes daddy,” Obsidian said, trying to hold back tears. “I’ll remember. I promise.”

Rock Hard leaned over, and kissed his son on the head. “I love you buddy,” he said.

“I love you too, daddy.”

Rock Hard turned and began heading out of the room. When he got to the door, he paused. “Son,” he said. “That necklace has always symbolized something for me. It’s told me that there is always an adventure waiting, even if it isn’t where you expect, when you expect, or even how you expect an adventure to be.”

And with that last remark, Rock Hard closed his son’s bedroom door for the last time.

- - - - - - -

The train whistle blew again and Obsidian Knight’s eyes flew open. He lifted his head from the window and took a look down at the necklace around his neck, then he shifted his gaze outside the window. The train was pulling out of an unfamiliar station, which wasn’t strange, considering Obsidian had never left his home, and the sun was still low in the sky. At first, he thought he must not have been asleep very long. Then he realized that the sun was rising, not setting.

Obsidian frantically looked around, fearing that he had missed his stop and he wanted to ask somepony where he was. The only other pony in his car was a completely pink pony with a Cutie Mark that seemed to be three balloons, who was sitting on the other side of the train car with her back to Obsidian. He quickly stood up and rushed over to her.

“Excuse me, miss,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned to look at him and he saw that her eyes were a light blue color.

“Hi there,” she said in a high pitched voice. “You must be that pony I saw when I got on. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.

But now you’re up. That means we can talk. What’s your name?”

The pink pony talked so fast, Obsidian began to get a headache just trying to keep up with her. “Um… Obsidian Knight. And I was wondering if you knew where we are,” he said. Because he was from Trottingham, he talked with an accent.

“We just left Ponyville,” the pony said in a matter-of-fact tone. “That’s where I live.”

“Sorry, I’m really not from around here, and I don’t really know where a lot of places are except from what I’ve studied on maps back home, which isn’t much because I’ve never really been that interested in geography. Anyways, I was wondering if you knew where the Pie Family Rock Farm is.”

The pony’s face seemed to light up. “Of course I know where that is. That’s my family’s rock farm. In fact, I’m going there now to go visit them. What are the odds?”

“Wait… What? What’s your name?”

“I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie, but everypony calls me Pinkie. Wait a minute. Why are you going to my family’s rock farm?”

“Well, you see, I live in a small home outside the city of Trottingham, and I can’t really get a job there because I’m a…” he somewhat struggled with the next words. “I’m a blank flank, and my mom can’t get a job of her own, so she told me about your family’s rock farm and I decided I would try to get a job there. I even have a letter for Mr. Igneous Rock Pie.”

“That’s my dad! Hey, I’ve got an idea: I’ll help you get a job there!”

“Really!?”

“Of course. Besides, I’m sure you’ll love my family, and they’ll love you.”

“Are you really sure?”

“You bet. I kind of have a thing for knowing things like that.”

“Thank you so much!” Obsidian exclaimed with a grin as he took a seat across from Pinkie Pie.

“No problem,” Pinkie replied. “By the way, I love the accent.”