“SOILS! Why haven’t you watered the plants today yet?” The voice was loud, piercing, Soils Gartner looked up at his so-called superior and gave her the most passive look he could muster.
“I watered them a few minutes ago, you just went out to lunch.”
A dark shade of red flushed over Junebug’s face, her voice got quiet, trailing off into mumbles and incoherent sounds. “Oh... well... as you... were. Doing... gardening and all that.” Junebug waddled off in her embarrassment. Soils only could shake his head. She tries so hard to be... inspiring. He wondered what happened to make her this way, maybe she had a bad date one time?
No, Soils, just get back to work. No use thinking of such things that won’t ever effect you.
Soils slowly walked the grounds, the Celestial Gardens were looking exactly as he planned, not a thing out of place, not a single thi- WEED! Soils rushed to the abomination and destroyed it with all his might. Never shall such ugliness grace his garden again! Mumbling, Soils sprayed the ingenious formula he created, and creatively called “Kill the ugly things while making the pretty things grow - Spray.” That dumb ugly thing. This is Princess Celestia’s garden, it should be full of great things, not... things that need to be butchered on sight.
And what a beautiful garden it was. As the weed slowly shriveled and died, Soils took the time to bask in his hard work and perspiration. Vibrant patches of red, blue, yellow, green, purple... everything just caught the eye and became this mesh of glorious eye candy. Nopony could walk by his masterwork without slowing down their busy lives at least a bit. Gardens couldn't help but bring out the joy in others, bring out the best in people, and make their day brighter. So much more beautiful than two dimensional art, so much more appeal to those who can touch and feel and smell the wonder of flowers.
As the day slowly turned into the nighttime, Junebug entered into the garden. Soils noticed her watching, but didn’t say anything. She was a curious pony, her mane braided, which seemed... less average than usual. She had vibrant red hair, yet her body was a dark turquoise, like waves of the sea at midnight. Her cutie mark had always been curious to him, a circle in a circle, and that was all it was. Her eyes were a piercing green, which now followed him uncomfortably as he went about his work.
Minutes passed. Soils became more and more squeamish, and right as he was about to say something, Junebug opened her mouth. Her words were soft, airy, ethereal, she seemed distracted at best. “Princess Celestia would like an audience with you... Good... um, luck.” She darted off, and Soils started walking calmly to the chamber. What was it Junebug did again in the castle? Soils couldn’t recall ever hearing about her official title, nor actually what she did. What he DID know was that she came to make sure he did everything right, oftentimes raising her voice unnecessarily... I guess he was told she was his boss in some way or another. Maybe she was a groundskeeper?
Well, she didn't seem to be doing a very good job if she was. The walls of the castle didn't shine as they used to, and as Soils made his way through the endless corridors of the stone castle, he noticed the wear throughout the castle. Something was wrong... the castle itself seemed... stressed.
Soils found himself staring at the door of Princess Celestia’s room. Usually, Celestia would be sleeping or relaxing at this point, as Luna did in-fact take care of the night business, and Celestia managed to get more sleep when Luna returned from her emotional episode. He knocked, softly at first. The door swung open, and he found himself being beckoned to sit at a table with ponies he didn’t know. He recognized one of them, seeing her around town a few times in the previous year, but she had left for some reason. From his understanding, she was a student here? Maybe? Celestia seemed to like her, and they were obviously very comfortable because the pony was directly under Celestia's wing.
Celestia spoke, “You’ll have to excuse us, we’re discussing some important matters, but sit, Soils.”
Soils looked around, his eyes darting to the ponies all now staring wide eyed at him. He knew he had interrupted something very important. The room was tense, tired. Junebug looked into Celestia's eyes, her face wasn't readable. She gave a deep nod, and then looked strait at Soils.
Celestia spoke, “Soils... Junebug and I will be taking an extended leave of absence, and I need you to be responsible for a few more things than you already are...”
Soils blinked twice. “Where are you going?”
“That’s not important now Soils, just know I need you to handle security around here, as that was Junebug’s assignment.”
“Alright your highness... I understand.” Soils did not understand. “What will I be doing exactly?”
Celestia, impatient, looked at Soils, "The Captain of the Guard will fill you in on your duties. You are dismissed."
Soils bowed deeply, and started to walk out the door. A voice rang out, “Soils.”
He turned around to find Junebug standing in front of him. She looked sad, guilty. Slowly, she evaluated him. What was this? She wasn't going to be gone for long, she finally mumbled “Don’t forget to tell the guards to patrol the back...” Junebug walked off.
Soils heard the door close behind him. He heard one of the unicorns shouting from inside, it was very muffled he could only make out a few words. “How are we expected to... everypony... ... suffering... ...”
He shook his head and walked away. No use getting involved of the Goddess and her counsel, though they did look a little young to be in any position of power... The purple one DID seem oh-so-familiar though... Maybe she was from Canterlot, everypony in Canterlot loved the gardens, his gardens.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. Soils groaned as the hard day's work manifested itself in his joints, sore even now as he worked diligently every day. His soft bed in his hut in the gardens was instant relief. So comfortable... so warm.
“Soils, sir, I mean all the respect in the world but as part of your new responsibilities, you must inspect every guard at every post.” It couldn’t have been morning already, the sky was still dark, he couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours. The Captain of the Guard was standing, rigid, directly in front of him. Obvious signs of stress showed on his face.
Soils walked slowly out of his hut to find that it wasn't, indeed, morning yet. Luna's beautiful night sky was still being displayed above his head. The flowers were all closed, and the colorless night did not give the vibrance to his flowers that he had grown to love in the day... Though in all fairness the night sky was alluring, hypnotic... A different kind of joy showed itself when hypnotized by it's magic.
Soils sighed and began his rounds. He did know his way around the castle quite well
As they strolled along the dying walls of the castle, Soils took a note of all the guards. Something had changed within them. They seemed... terrified. They were glancing at one another, paranoid over an invisible threat. Everything was uneasy.
Was this how the guards always were? Always on their toes to the point of absolute paranoia?
The Captain looked at Soils, every guard had been accounted for and was awake. "Sir, you may return to your bed... Try to sleep lightly."
Soils looked at the shaking Captain and nodded slowly.
Returning to his hut, he laid down in his comfortable bed, and slowly let the warm embrace of sleep take him.
A scream rang through Soils ears. He awoke quickly, darting out of the bed. He was sweating, it was so hot! The air smelled of smoke and blood.
The sky was filled with black blurs and flames. They were moving so quickly, and dropping fire all over the castle, he couldn't get a clear view. He looked to his garden... his garden. His garden was burning quickly. The petals wilting like snowflakes melt. How could they do this? How could these heartless creatures destroy something purely there for other's enjoyment? The garden shouldn't be burning, they shouldn't have done this! They can't have done this! No!
Soils, ponies are dying all around you! Stop focusing on the garden and go try and help!
Soils ran, ran with the anger and the hatred he had felt for these foul creatures. Never had he flown so fast through the crumbling walls of the once glorious castle. There was no life left, everypony around him was running, sprinting, trying anything to survive the raining hell around them, avoiding stepping on the mass amount of bodies that littered the floor.
After what seemed like years of running, dodging, screaming, Soils found the Captain among the dying. The Captain stared at him, eyes growing ever more cloudy. He dragged the Captain as quickly as he could into his safe-house next to his hut, opening a small trap door into a cellar below.
"What happened here? Why is this happening?" Soils could not stop the tears from streaming down his face. Be strong for him Soils, be strong.
"The Duskhearts... they couldn't come while Junebug was here... she left us." The Captain coughed, blood spraying over Soils' trembling body. "She left us here to die."
The Captain lurched forward and gasped as the life drained from his body. Soils turned away. He could not watch this. He could not have this memory implanted on him, he could not.
Soils waited by the door, feeling the heat of the chaos above him. The cellar was lit by the strong flames seeping through the cracks of the door, the vibrant red was overwhelming.
Hours passed. Days passed. Years passed for all he knew.
Slowly, the screams got quieter... the fire that lit the cellar died down, and blackness overtook his vision. He heard a loud thump as something landed. He heard the Duskhearts speaking to one another, but he couldn't make out the words. They seemed frustrated, annoyed. They took off.
Soils waited until the sun shone through the cracks in the door before opening it, then opened it slowly. He gasped as he emerged from his safe haven. The scene around him was one of despair. The air reeked of the dead; the walls of the castle had crumbled. He slowly stepped around the castle, looking at his garden that once was. Ash remained, nothing but ash. He walked around the crumbles of stone, where the grand hall once was...
Looking toward Canterlot, he saw ponies slowly getting out of their homes. Blood ran freely down the streets. He just walked through the streets, tears streaming easily down his face. The sound of mourning ponies filled his ears, images of pain and terror flooded his head.
Soils found the river, he needed this blood off of his body. He sighed, most of his white body had been died red in the blood of the dead, and his dark purple hair was crusty and blackened. He washed himself slowly, letting all the dirt and blood flow easily off of his body.
As he walked back through the town of Canterlot, he was stared at. He would not concern himself with these ponies, no, they did not know what pain was. He would find Celestia, he would find Junebug.
And he'd ask, ever so politely, why they had left all of his friends and loved ones to die.
Chapter 2 - The Pilgrimage
Soils was off. Canterlot was miles into the background, it's weeping skylines still pouring tears on anyone who cared to look. Do not turn back Soils, do not look upon that anymore. Your garden is gone, wasted, ash.
The closest city to Canterlot was Ponyville. The search would begin there.
As Soils walked into Ponyville as discreetly as he could muster, he couldn't help but notice the Everfree Forest adjacent to the small village... The plants seemed to be different than what he was used to. He had heard stories of the wonder of the plants inside, but never of the- WEEDS! As Soils drew closer to the forest he noticed the incredible amount of weeds, untamed, uncontrolled. They had a place and that was nowhere. Who kept these grounds? This is just unacceptable, completely unacceptable.
As Soils began to walk straight to those intruders to give them the just reward they deserved, a pink pony ran up to him and stood in front of him, obviously observing him.
The pink pony jumped up quickly, much to Soils' surprise, and jumped over his head, dashing to what seemed to be an impossible speed back to the town, finally disappearing inside what seemed to be a bakery.
Soils looked to the terrible abominations that were weeds, and then back to the bakery. Lives had to come first.
Soils reluctantly walked into the bakery, not knowing what to expect. It was very cheerful, very lively. Cakes and treats littered the tables, and many fine looking treats were on display. The pink pony was speaking very quickly to an older couple, who were nodding and smiling. Something about a party, it was hard to keep up.
Soils approached the threesome. "Excuse me..."
The pink pony turned to Soils, excitement showing in her face. She spoke, her speech was quick, without pauses, "You're new here, right? I saw you and didn't know you but I know everyone in Ponyville so if I've never seen you before that must mean you've never been here before and if you've never been here before you don't have any friends and if you-"
Soils stopped listening, waiting simply for the noise to die down. It didn't. The pony seemed content speaking for eternity. Soils, losing his patience after several minutes, finally placed a hoof on her mouth. "I'm not really here to party... Honestly, not really a fan of those things. I'm looking for Princess Celestia, did she come by this way?"
The pink one tilted her head, and then spoke, "She DID and I know right where she's going because I was in the room when she said that she was going to this place but she said I shouldn't come or tell anyone where she's going and so I was all 'Aww, I want to come though!' and she was all "No, you can't come Pinkie Pie' and I was all 'But but but' but then she interrupted me and said I couldn't go and that was it!"
Soils blinked twice. Communicating with this one was difficult, much quicker paced than anything he had seen before. "... So you can't tell me where she's going? I really do need to find her, really I do."
Pinkie Pie looked like she was deep in thought, and she smiled and seemed to explode with happy. "Oohhhhhh, she told me not to TELL anyone but I guess if it's really really really important I could SHOW you where she's going!"
"Pardon?"
"Yeah! I'll just take you there Mr...."
"Soils."
"Soily! I'll take you there Mr. Soily, we'll get this whole mess worked out!"
Great. Perfect. Fan-freaking-tastic. This will be so much fun. But... I guess if she knows where she is, she knows where she is right?
Pinkie Pie hopped happily down the stairs carrying bags full of Celestia-knows-what on her back. She grinned openly at Soils, but looked confused for a second. "Don't you have anything to pack there Soils?"
Soils stared at Pinkie Pie for a long second, "I used to... I mean, no. I don't."
Pinkie Pie just laughed, "You're silly Soils. I like you, let's go!"
It was blatantly obvious she was oblivious to everything around her.
The duo walked out of the bakery into the sunlight. It was warm and inviting. Soils got a good look at the buildings, and noticed one which was nested inside a tree... That was odd, how does the tree not rot and die? Magic? Most magic doesn't sustain that kind of life. Soils resolved to come find the owner of the tree and ask that pony how it is sustained without dying, leaves and all.
The buildings grew thin as they started on the road, a sign informed Soils that they were headed to Appleloosa; a field was all that seemed to remain for an endless expanse, yellow wheat rising higher than most ponies were tall. Pinkie had told him normally there was a train to Appleloosa, but since the castle had been destroyed, the trains were shut down as a precaution against their possible destruction on the unprotected stretches they traversed..
It was odd, she didn't seem nervous at all, as if her happiness was a shield from all that would attack her, as if her laughter and joy could protect her from anything the world could throw at her, including death. She had an aura of pleasure, an air of euphoria. How does a pony maintain that in the bleakest of times? The castle was destroyed, her Goddess's castle was destroyed, and she knew of it. How was it that she was able to maintain such a blissful nature?
Pinkie Pie talked about her life at the bakery, making cupcakes with young ones and having adventures at the gala. Soils was attentive, though he didn't find himself caring too much about Pinkie Pie's life, he was focused on simply walking, getting to the next destination. The fields were clean, no weeds to be found... So he simply just walked for what seemed like hours.
Pinkie Pie stopped suddenly, gazing forward. Soils stopped scanning the field for weeds and also stared to find a pony standing in the middle of the road, staring straight at them. His skin was an ashen black, and his hair was flaming, blowing in the gentle breeze; his piercing dragon's eyes locked on Pinkie Pie, the red growing as the black strips of pupil drew in closer and closer on Pinkie Pie's face. This was a Duskheart, this had to be. This monster was responsible for destroying his garden, his beautiful garden, and the castle. Nowhere in hell did this creature belong. It spoke, fierce and powerful, without averting his gaze, "Pinkie Pie, I'm afraid you'll have to come with me. White earth pony, if you wish to live, you will leave."
Soils stared strait back at this pony, he just stared until its eyes were no longer locked onto Pinkie Pie, but him. He would not confront this beast without its full attention.
"If you think we intend to do what you ask, filth, you are sorely, sorely mistaken."
The Duskheart laughed, just sat there and laughed, "Alright then, fine. I was hoping to try this anyway."
The sky darkened, and the Duskheart flew straight up into it's black-clouded air. The air whipped Pinkie and Soils so that it was incredibly hard to maintain balance. Soils would not die today, could not die today. This wasn't going to happen to him. Grabbing Pinkie Pie by the tail, Soils darted into the fields, randomizing his path as much as possible. Daring to look back, he saw what he hoped he wouldn't see; a flaming tornado consuming everything in it's path. The Duskheart flew at the top, commanding it's massive destruction.
Run Soils, faster. You can do better than this!
In the distance, Soils saw a boulder rising up from the grass. Turning, they pressed their bodies up against it. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. This was going to be it...
Soils felt himself falling... Blackness enveloped him. He landed in a room with Pinkie Pie, it was dark, nothing could be seen.
Soils called out, "Pinkie Pie?"
"Y-y-y-eah?"
"Where are we?"
"I don't know."
Moments of silence passed. Pinkie Pie was shaken. Her tremors could be heard and felt. Stay strong Soils, stay strong for her.
Light flooded in. Somewhere, a door had opened. Hoofsteps were heard. An alicorn filled the doorway's space. Looking down upon the two frightened ponies, it bowed, and spoke.
