Graycoat of Everfree

Chapter 7

Graycoat was woken by a slight bump that caused him to hit his head. He opened his eyes to see the sky directly above him, abduction the clouds were moving by unusually fast.

"You're awake!" Pinkie Pie said happily, blocking his view of the sky. There was another bump causing their heads to collide, Graycoat writhed in pain, Pinkie Pie was unfazed.

Graycoat stood up rubbing his head, and realized that he was in a cart moving through a place he didn't recognize.

"Pinkie where are we, and more importantly where are you taking me?" He looked at the pink mare who was now at the front of the cart.

"We're going to my family's rock farm."

"And why are you taking... Wait what the hay is a rock farm?"

"We farm rocks, what else would a rock farm do silly?" He was baffled at how one would make a living off growing rocks, but more so the idea of growing rocks.

"Why are you taking me along?" Pinkie pie's response was a shrug, and Graycoat wondered why he was such a heavy sleeper. He turned and looked in the direction opposite of where they were going. He couldn't see Ponyville or the Everfree Forest in the distance, and could only guess at how far they had traveled.

"Pinkie Pie could you wake me up or at least ask me if I want to go somewhere, instead of moving me while I sleep?"

"But then you might not want to go and then the trip won't be as fun." She turned towards him, and was obviously upset at the idea of having less fun. Graycoat sighed, unable to express his frustration without sounding angry. He walked to the front of the cart and sat down next to her. In the distance he could make out a grain silo but was unable to make out what color it was.

"Is that the farm over there." He pointed in the direction of the grain silo.

"Yeah." Her head drooped and she started pawing at the bottom of the cart.

"Are you alright?" He asked, worried about her sudden change in emotion.

"Yep!" She smiled, but continued to paw at the cart as they arrived outside the gate to the farm. Graycoat stepped out of the cart and saw the most depressing place he has ever been. Almost everything was some shade of gray, from the barn to the rocks. Even the dirt and surrounding trees had a hint of gray to them. Oh Celestia this is depressing, He thought as he looked at the farm.

"Well we're here, the Pie Family Rock Farm." Pinkie Pie said as she pushed open the gate. The walked towards the barn and were greeted by two ponies, one was a stallion whose coat was a dull tan and wore a hat, the other was a mare with a whitish colored coat.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, it so good to see you again." Sue Pie said as her daughter hugged her. Graycoat stifled a laugh as he heard her full name.

"Who's the colt?" Clyde asked, staring at Graycoat intensely. Annoyed by being called a colt Graycoat matched Clyde's gaze.

"Clyde that is no way to talk to a guest." Sue said to her husband. "Who's your friend?"

"His name is Graycoat, he lives in the forest near Ponyville." Pinkie Pie said as she returned to his side.

"Oh so this is the young stallion who saved my daughter from the timber wolves." There was a sense on interest in Clyde's stare, along with the same animosity as before. "We've read quite a bit about you, come in and meet the family." Sue and Clyde turned around and entered the house.

"You wrote about me?" Graycoat said looking at Pinkie Pie.

"Well duh, I always write about my day." Pinkie Pie smiled and followed her parents into the house.

"Pinkamena why don't you introduce your friend." Sue Pie told her. As Pinkie Pie introduced her family, Graycoat noticed that she was the only one whose coat is colorful, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing. He soon became aware of the strange looks he was getting.

"Oh sorry I just remembered something funny, its nice meeting you all." He smiled, slightly embarrassed about his laughter.

When they had arrived the sun had already started to set, and after introductions they ate dinner. Dinner was eaten in silence, while peaceful it was extremely unnerving. He could feel Pinkie Pie struggle as she tried not to talk. After dinner Sue brought him to the room where he would be sleeping.

"This room does have access to the roof so there is a slight draft." Sue said as she left closing the door. He walked over to the window, but that proved pointless when he saw that it hadn't been cleaned in years. He walked up the ladder to the roof and was astonished by what he saw. The moonlight had removed the gray tint from everything and was being reflected off the rocks that littered the ground. He sat on the roof and looked at the beautiful scene that looked desolate earlier.

"I would come up her every night, until my parents got tired of coming up here to wake me up." Graycoat hadn't noticed Pinkie Pie sitting next to him until she spoke.

"It really is beautiful." He replied. The two sat in silence as more stars began to appear.

"Graycoat can I ask you something?" Pinkie pie said now looking at him.

"Only if I get to ask you one.”

“What was so funny earlier?” She said returning her gaze to the night sky.

“I realized we don't really fit in with our families.” Pinkie Pie looked at him, confused by his statement. “Your family seems to take things rather seriously, where as you often try to have as much fun as possible, hay even your coat doesn't match theirs.” Pinkie Pie listened intently as he spoke. “Like you my coat is different from the rest of my family, but more so that they named me for it.” He looked away from her, trying to push away memories of his childhood. “It really isn't that funny, but to me it was.”

“Oh.” She spoke quietly, realizing the pain he just caused himself. Silence crept back over them, only to be broken by the distant call of an owl.

“Why were you upset earlier?” Graycoat's voice broke the silence.

“ I wasn't up-” Before she could finish, he gave her a stern look, and she sighed. “Coming back here reminds me of when I was a filly, and how much I disliked this place.” She gained a faraway look in her eyes, as she remembered. “The only thing I enjoyed was coming up her and watching the moon until I fell asleep. But then they started to scold me for it and I no longer enjoyed coming up here.” As she recalled her youth, her hair began to droop and lose its poofiness. “Then the day that I saw the Sonic Rainboom, I wanted everyone to feel the joy that I felt when I saw it, and I threw a party hoping that it would work.” Graycoat watched the light return to her eyes as spoke of the day she got her Cutie Mark. “And it worked! Never before had I seen my parents so happy. But the next day it was like the party never happened.” Just as suddenly as her joy came, it left. “There would be no more fun after that, and every time I tried to have a party, my parents would stop it.” Her hair now hung straight just like her sister's, her coat a darker hue, and a look of defeat on her face. Graycoat realized how important fun was to her, and why she pursued it, even if it was hazardous to her health. He tried to get her attention but failed, she was too caught up in her memories to hear him.

"Pinkie Pie I'm sorry." He reached out with his hoof to touch her, bringing her back to reality. "I should have never had asked you about it." She turned her gaze away from him as he brought himself closer to her. Once again the two had grown quiet. Pinkie Pie started to rest her head on his neck, and soon she fell asleep. He drank in the scent of baked goods that still lingered in her fur, and rested his head on hers, and he joined her in sleep.