Digger's Journal

by Russell Dickson

First Journal

Author's Note:

Always looking for an editor.
Enjoy the story.

It is dark. Dark and wet. I can not feel my left hoof.

“Hay! ---- Hay! Pickax?”

I hear her. She hurt bad. My own voice is only coming out as low groan.

“Hay! Pickax, come on. I can hear them. The rescues team is coming. Just hold on.”

I am lying. I not sure how long we have been hear. I not sure how bad the cave in was. I start licking the wet rocks around me to keep hydrated. Got to stay awake. Awake is alive, sleep is death.

“Say, Pickax, why don’t we sing. Just to help pass the time.”

I got to keep Pickax awake. If she is awake then she is alive.

“Come on sing with me. I know you hate this one.”

I start to sing about the magic dragons that live in caves.

“The only way to get me to stop is to sing something better. Do you hear me, Pickax?”

I hear some low moan. Then nothing. That is bad.

“Come on, Pickax! You still own me a drink. We found that vain of quarts. I told you we were close.”

Still, I hear nothing form Pickax. I hear nothing. Quite was bad, very bad.

Now it is dark, wet, and quite. On top of that the cold is starting to seep into my bones. I have to say awake. But, I am so sleepy. I can not close my eyes, or I will never open them again.

Then I hear the groan. Pickax is still with me.

“Do not do that again, Pickax! You scared me.”

It goes quite once more.

“I’m sorry, Pickax! We can talk about what ever you want. Sing what ever you want. We can even forget about the drinking bet.”

Quite

“Pickax?”

Quite

I weep.

“Say, Picky….If you don’t mind…I would like to join you. I am real sleepy. It is okay?”

Quite.
****
Digger’s Journal

Day 1

I remember.
Wind.
Light.
I open my eyes and look down upon the world. I must have die, because you only see the world for this high up after your dead.

Then the bumping started. That hurts a lot. I think I hear something, but can not make it out. I recall the word “Hospital”.

I wake up a little more. I am flying, but on the back of a Pegasus. I am going to the hospital, by air care Pegasus.

I am alive. But, now I feel sick. I am an earth pony, and being this high up in the air scares me. After all I am a miner. That alone should tell you how much I hate being up in the sky.

Between being scared to death, and being in a lot of pain, I must have pass out again. Because the next thing I know I hear crying.

I know I am in a bed, but it feels like it is going round and round. I look over to a blue pony Pegasus with a rainbow mane. She keeps saying the same thing over and over. That she went as fast as she could? What does that mean?

Moving my head a little more I see Pickax. She in the bed next to me. I see the doctor checking her over. Then….“NO! NO! Don’t cover her up like that! Don’t cover up her face! She can not be dead! She my friend. I need her. Don’t do that. Please.”

The room starts to spin even faster then before. It like I am going down a drain. I fall away into the darkness. I am really starting to hate the dark.

Day 2
***
My name is Digger. I am a miner. Well, I was a miner. See, the doctors had to take half my front left leg. They said that my leg was too badly mangled to ever heal. Now I got a stump where my knee use to be.

So, now I have to find something new to do. Some new way to make a living. My cutie mark is not going to be able to help me now. After all it is a shovel.

Some say we earth ponies are made out of mud.
I tell you we are made out of muscle and blood.

My name is Digger and I just lost my best friend, my leg, my job, and my way of life. And, all the worry and work in the world is not going to bring them back to me. I am lost.

I am made out of muscle and blood; with skin and bones.
My mind is weak, but my back is strong.

All the crying will not put food in my gut, or pay my hospital bill. I got to push down my fears and get to work. I am still an Earth Pony. I still have my pride.

But, for right now. I need to rest, and heal. I need to sleep.

Death Pony don’t call be for I can’t Go.
I owe my soul the government Lords.
***
Day 3

That Pegasus pony came back today. Introduced herself as Rainbow Dash. And, she still all upset about not being able to help save my friend, Pickax. I got the feeling she was looking for forgiveness. So, I gave it to her. Not like I have the power to do that sort of thing.

Besides, I am the one that let, Pickax, die. If I had not given up and went to sleep, then she would have made it. But, all the tears in the world will not bring back my friend. I got to get myself well and back to work doing something.

A short time after Rainbow Dash leaves, I get another visitor. Two in fact. She introduced herself as Derpy Whooves, a bluish-gray Pegasus with sunlight mane and eyes. True that one of these sunlight eyes was set a little higher than the other, but her smile fill my hear with joy it has not felt in years. And, her mate, Time Turner, was a wise pony for coming with her. I may had try to steal a little kiss form that little filly. Guess it is true what they say, all the good ones are taken.

Seem that Derpy wanted to check up on this old use up pony, after flying me all the way form the mine. She even said she was sorry about hitting some air bumps along the way. She just did not know what went wrong. I just could not stop laughing, the two of them made me feel so much better. And, their time with me seem so short, but the nurse came by and told us that visitor hours were over.

They said they would come back soon. I sure hope they do. Time Turner, he an earth pony like me. Maybe he could help me figure out what I need to do in my life. Help find some new work. Something I can do with my life. I know that is asking a lot of some pony you just meet, but I need something to hold on to. Even if I not sure what I am grabbing for.

***
Week 1, Day 2

Been working up to being able to stand once more. I sure there is a joke about a three legged pony in a race.
The fake leg they made for me is very strong. I wish I could say it is ‘good’, but it is a constant reminder of every thing that I just now lost. I mean, I am getting stronger, and healing up. But, I am still at a lost for what I am going to with my life and how I going to pay my bills.

Rainbow Dish came by the cheer me on, as I took my fist steeps on my new leg. The stub has to grow a callus, over the bottom part. That way I can still walk up right with some comfort.

The real head scarcer for me is the fact that I still feel my leg. The doctor said it is called a phantom pain. Seem the nerve ending just do not understand that the leg is gone for good. So, the nerves just keep sending signals to my brain that my hoof is cold, or hot, or that my shoe is not nailed on just right. I am told that, it going to be that way for the rest of my life.

Well, now I have something to work on. Even if it is learning how to walk once more.
***

Week 1, Day 6

I got to say this is the most friendly place I have ever been. I was always happy to see Derpy, Time Turner, and Rainbow Dash. But, they have started being there friends around.

That Pinky Pie pony stick out the most in my mind. I am still picking confetti out of my mane and tail. I mean who puts a party cannon at the end of a walking therapy track? Then she past out cake, to every pony around her once I got to the end.

However, I also got to meet a little filly name Applejack. I do not know what is in the food around the parts, but it sure make for some nice look mares. Also I was wrong, seem like all the nice looking fillies are not all taken.

But, what beats all is Rainbow Dash. Who keep pushing her friends on me. I guessing that she is trying to make up for the death of Pickax, by giving me a new filly friend, but what she does not understand is that Pickax and I were just friends. True, she is --- was-- my best friend. But, she was just a pony I like a lot. More like she is -- was -- my sister, and not my some pony special.
***

Week 2 day 2

Got me another new friend today. Only fair, being we both lost our legs. We got a lot of the same doctors, so they put us in the same room.

Now, I got a strong stomach. But, this poor pony has been thought something bad, and just to look at him made my stomach heave. He is rapped up in all sorts of bandages and splints. The doctors even have tubes running in and out of him. He is one mess up pony. I hope he will be okay.

Week 2 day 3

I am never going to curse no more. Because, I just meet with the Royal Sisters. I still can not believe it myself. There I was resting in bed, after my walking exercises for the day.

When two royal guards came into the room and stood on ether side of the door way. Then Princess Celestia come right on in, as big as you please.

Well, I try to jump out of bed and bow like a good pony should. But, she tell me to lay still. As I trying to get over the shock of seeing Princess Celestia. That when Princess Luna walk in also. My jaw hit the floor all over again.

The two most powerful ponies in all the world and they came into my hospital room.

Next comes along about bunch of doctors, and Time Turner. And, the group of them close the curtain around the next bed with that real sick pony. And, then I hear a lot of talking. Not sure what was being said. Not because they are being quite. But, they were all talking and asking questions that had to do with “time displacement”, and “reality cracks” even something about “The War?” Luck for me Derpy came into the room.

The strange thing, them royal guard ponies never even gave Derpy a second glance. Like they knew she going to show up, or that she just belonged with the Sisters.

But, like I said, I am sure lucky Derpy show up when she did. Seem that sick pony in the next bed, woke up form his nap. And, he went crazy. He started screaming and begging for forgiveness.

It did not last long. Time Turner talked him down, and Princess Luna also help the sick pony to get hold of himself.

About that time another Pegasus pony show up. I had seen her before, she was the friend of the sick pony, and she started to cry real hard when the royal guard ponies would not let her into the room right away.

Derpy put a stop to that right now. And it was the right thing to do. Once that little yellow pony with a pink mane got next to the sick pony’s side. He stop most of his fussing.

I have never felt so sorry for another pony as I do they one next to me in the other bed. I mean he hurt and sick to start with, and then he gets the attention of the most royal of ponies on top of that? I don’t know what he has done. But, I glad not to be in his shoes.
***

Week 2 day 4

Learned the name of that sick pony today. His name is Pudding Good Soldier. Seems he is in the army, and he got hurt in action. Sort of? Seems him and his commanding officers had a defiance of interruption of orders. Of curse being a good soldier, Pudding followed orders. Even thou they were bad orders.

But, that when thing get sort of confusing in his story. Seem he had to cut the legs off of other ponies, to get to something he call a pip buck?

Some of the ponies were not dead that he was cutting on, and he could not make himself kill another pony. So, his commanding officer started to stomp on wounded ponies until they were dead.

This is when Pudding ran away form the army.

As he was running away he made an Ursae Minor mad. And then the Ursae Minor attacked the Steel Rangers?

Now I never hear of the Steel Rangers before. But, if they go stomping on wounded ponies, then I don’t blame Pudding for running away. He needed to tell the Sisters what went wrong in his unit. I sure hope he will be okay.
***

Week 2 day 6
More royalty, today. This time, Princess Twilight Sparkly, and she came to see me. Seems, Princess Twilight Sparkly is friends with Rainbow Dash. Dash, is still trying to get me a friend replacement, and she held out the best for last.

Lucky for me. The Company lawyers came by at about the same time. Wanted me to read and sine a bunch of legal papers. And, they wanted them right now.

But, Princess Twilight Sparkly was not having it. She even said that she would be my lawyer. I may be the first minor in history to get a fair shake out of the system.
***

Week 3

Well, Today I am a out patient. My head is clear up, and what is left of my body is, more or less, healed up. And, Thank the Sisters, I got some new friends. Time Turner said that I could say with him and Derpy until I got back on my hooves. He says they got lots of room.

Princess Twilight Sparkly, who told me to just call her Twilight, is going over my legal papers. She said that the Company can not refuse to pay my medical bills unless I sine away my rights. We may even have to go to court. But, that things will work out.

As for Pudding. The sick pony in the next bed. He is looking a lot better. I plan on come around to check up on him. Thou, I thing that Fluttershy pony has her eye on him.

For now I going to close out this journal that Doctor Wolf asked me to keep. He said to would help, and it may just have done that. I still have a lot hard times ahead, but I got friends to help me. That what counts.

Comments

[Commissar Holt]

Who would want to read a FUCKING MINER'S JOURNAL?!

[Russell Dickson]

you did.