Pistil watched mesmerized as a spout of smoke drifted over a distant mountain top. She had never seen anything like it. The tiny black cloud billowed over the white crest of the mountain and drifted off into the air, and for a second, she thought she could see a glint or two near the base of the charcoal column. But whatever it had been, it quickly moved back behind the mountain again and the smoke soon followed. She traced the trail of black up from the mountain into the sky. Nothing was on the other end of it except more, regular white clouds, and after a few minutes, the lingering plumes had dispersed into the air and all traces of the inky smog had dissipated.
She stood up bewildered but excited. So there actually was something out there. She wanted to tell someone immediately, but she resisted the temptation to run back to her living quarters and instead picked up the small bundle of firewood again. The thought crossed her mind that It didn't really matter whether she told anyone or not. No one would believe her, and certainly no one would have seen it. On the rare occasions someone did go outside the walls, it was only for work, and no one was running the saw mill today. No, this was a treat for her and her alone.
Thinking of Extacy, she remembered that she was terribly late. Her mother would probably yell at her, but she didn't care. She had always thought there was more out there than just the never ending snow, and now she had definitive proof. She began to trot bouncily back in the direction of the facility, looking back over her shoulder frequently, half hoping the smoke would return.
The small gravel path she followed curved and twisted up the hill and through a patch of trees. There It blended seamlessly into a softer dirt path before returning to gravel where it left the wooded area and snaked back up the mountain to Extacy. She knew the route well and she often followed the little road on her firewood runs.
Unusually enough, the job was usually saved for boys but she was an unusually strong little filly and her mother figured she could handle it. She had a short but stocky build with two wings folded on her back, a plain white coat, and wavy dark blue hair. Her eyes were a deep purple and her face was dotted with freckles. She wore the same loose olive green boiler suit everyone else did along with a light blue parka, and on her flank was a simple lavender flower. She snorted a little as she continued her hike back over the hill. She used to work with her mother in the bouquet stand on the fourteenth floor before her father died. Unfortunately their little stand just couldn't pull in enough money to support a family of two and they were forced to find jobs elsewhere. She still missed the simple work, arranging flowers into different vases, matching reds and yellows, and trimming stems, and often a part of her wanted that life back, but she knew it was impossible.
At least she didn't hate carrying firewood. Although she loved the time outdoors and opportunity for exploration the job offered her she still felt wrong about being forced to abandon the one thing she really loved doing. She simply wanted more out of her life than she had been given, but fortunately there was still hope for her to find another passion. With any luck that would all change soon when she turned eighteen in a month and got a real job, maybe something fun down in the boiler room or even in the kitchens. Anything to break up the monotony of the same walk to and from the mill.
Suddenly a noise snapped her out of her daydreaming and brought her thoughts quickly back to reality. Her blood ran cold. A low angry bellow came from somewhere off in the distance. She whipped around and looked back down the trail into the woods but saw nothing. For a moment she thought she had been followed by wolves, or maybe even a bear, but it didn't really sound like an animal. It was an unnatural howl, somehow loud and monstrous in the one way it seemed bears weren’t. She glanced back at the spot on the horizon but the smoke was still absent. Something was definitely out there and it didn't sound too happy. She trotted a little faster.
***
Extasy was huge. The entire facility extended three thousand feet down the peak of the mountain. It was built like an exaggerated stone and wooden longhouse, designed in an ornate blocky style with buildings connecting back to back and occasionally stacking on top of each other. It rose up like a miniature city among the snowy peaks and broke the patterns of whites and grays on the mountain range. This was where the entire settlement lived, ate, worked, went to school, and anything else they might do. Many guard towers lined the perimeter walls, so when Pistil approached the monstrous building, one of the guards stopped her.
"Pistil!" started the guard with a warm smile. "Out on one of your runs again?"
She acknowledged the guard with a nod and a grunt. She knew him well. His name was Flake and he practically lived out here. He wore the same armored navy blue jacket the other guards did but his had a shiny gold badge that said ‘gatekeeper’ on it. She thought the outfit suited him perfectly.
She flashed her dog tag and winked. Flake smiled his toothy smile again and trotted over to the wall to whisper something into one of the many brass communications tubes found regularly around the facility. Pistil had a sudden thought.
"Hey!" she called out to him, simultaneously dropping the bundle of wood. "Why do we have to prove identification if there’s no one else out here?"
"Beats me" said Flake as the huge stone gate swung open. "You'd have to ask the supervisor, she makes the rules."
"Ah," She said half-heartedly smiling at him. He was kidding of course. Very few ponies ever spoke with the supervisor and when they did, they usually didn't want to talk about it afterwards. He saluted comically as she walked through the gate.
“Say hi to Benny for me!" He called after her as the stone doors slid shut.
She spun around quickly to yell expletives at him but it was too late. “Great.” she thought. Somehow a rumor that she and some teacher’s assistant named Benny were a thing had made its way around to him. Fortunately though it was just that, a rumor. A few other guards in the area looked at her and snickered. She glared at one of them who she was also personally acquainted with. He looked back at her with a stupid grin and shrugged in a way that he thought looked casual. She decided to ignore him, for once, and pushed past a class of chattering colts and fillies and entered Extacy through the huge main archway.
***
The foyer was a madhouse. The room looked much like the exterior in that it was made of stone and wood, but unlike the exterior the inside was filled to the brim with life. Ponies everywhere were bustling about and rushing from place to place. Every inch of usable space was taken. Even the two main staircases on either side of the huge hall were crowded. But to her, It just seemed like the normal four o'clock rush, where everyone was either leaving school or work. This happened every day.
She saw a short break in the sea of ponies and made a dash for it, slithering her way through the crowd until she reached one of the elevators at the back of the hall. The second it reached the floor, she slipped inside as quickly as possible while fifty other ponies fought to get through the doors. The unsuccessful were forced to wait for the next one.
"Forty!" She called out to no one in particular and several other numbers followed. Someone at the front of the elevator pushed a button and they slowly began to rise, the old elevator creaking and moaning.
After about ten minutes, they were finally on the fortieth floor and she exited along with four other ponies. They all looked at each other for a moment before starting the long walk down the hallway. She stopped at number 4036, where she slipped her key that she kept on her dog tag chain into the keyhole and slid the door open. She dropped the firewood on the faded rug in front of the door, hung up her light blue parka on the coat rack next to it, and quietly walked down the hallway and into the living room. Just as she feared, her mother Beatrice was sitting expectantly on the couch in front of the radio. Her previously good mood visibly drained from her features.
She was a weather beaten pony with a dirty violet coat and what used to be blonde hair.
"You're late." She said coldly.
Pistil rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too." She replied and made an attempt to move past her.
Her mother stood and caught her arm before she made any progress. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to this place?" She whispered, firmly holding her back. "when you're late?"
Pistil squirmed but she only tightened her grip. "You kill it. While every one else is doing their job you're slacking off. It's ponies like you who're destroying Extacy!"
Pistil scowled. "Fuck off mom, like you ever did anything for Extacy."
Her mother stared at her, a look of utter shock on her face. For a tense moment both parties stood as silently as if a war had been declared. Then she drew back and punched Pistil squarely in the eye, knocking her back onto the coffee table with a thud and crack.
Pistil lay still for a moment, unable to believe what just happened. Something had shattered painfully beneath her. She slowly sat up . What remained of a large wine glass protruded painfully from her left wing. She lifted it carefully up off her back. It had gone straight through.
"Great." her mother said with an audible sigh. "You're paying for that."
Author's Note
Yay! I personally love this story and can't wait to write more. I not only accept, but ask for as much constructive feedback as you can give!
