Chapter 1: Prestigious Ponies
Country: Equestria (wastelands)
Time: Approximately 200 years after the great war.
Location: Tall Tale city’s stable; stable 86.
Ice.
Ice is beautiful. Ice is terrifying. Ice is water. Ice is pain. Ice is pure. Ice is blinding. Ice is life.
Ice is death.
Chapter 1: Prestigious Ponies
Red irises glanced up briefly as a waiter pony grinned and spoke.
“Table six wants one glass of iced water and four fresh croissants,” said the dark cream colored pony, swiping away his bangs from his eyes.
“Well, you can tell table six that a few more pastries and their hind quarters will be as big as the moon,” answered the owner of the deep red eyes. Her focus went back to the work she was doing, which was folding dough with her magic. The unicorn mare had a disinterested expression on her pretty face as she sighed and levitated a few items to herself.
The chocolate-maned stallion chuckled. “You can go tell her that yourself, Dice, I ain’t no messenger pony. Those ‘uns get shot, from what I hear,” he said cheerfully, watching the unicorn work her magic in the kitchen.
“You are no messenger pony, and they get shot from what you have heard,” the unicorn corrected him, not even sparing a glance the earth pony’s way.
The stallion did not mind the lack of focus he was given by the mare and just continued grinning at her. “That’s what I said!” he paused for a brief moment, his voice calming down. “Lighten up, Dice. I dunno who told ya this, but life ain’t gonna get better if you scowl long enough, yanno.”
The unicorn’s calm, yet dull, expression did not change as she levitated a glass towards herself. She filled it up with the water from the tap and placed it down on a table next to her. “I do not scowl, Tipped Tray, I simply do not smile when I see no need for it. You, on the other hand, smile a bit too often, do you not think? Surely your mouth must be in some sort of pain because of the constant strain on your muscles.” Finally the unicorn’s expression changed; a small smirk curled up on her soft lips, eyebrow rising curiously.
“Got me there, miss!” he let out a little laugh then dropped the grin, only a small smile remaining. “Sides of my face sure are achin’, but I ain’t gonna get tipped if I ain’t lookin’ pleasant enough,” the earth pony admitted and the last of his smile faded, taking away the unicorn’s with it.
She quickly went back to her neutral face, sighing softly. As the lovely mare closed her eyes, she concentrated her magic on the glass she had in front of her. Quickly, two icecubes popped into existence. She stirred the water, using the cubes and her levitation magic, before calmly pushing the glass towards her friend. “Here, have a drink, Tray. You earned a glass,” she offered.
“Well I’ll be!~” Tray gave her a little smirk. “Iced water from head chef’s own magic. I say, If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re bein’ sweet on me there, Dice!” his smirk returned to the usual grin.
The mare lost her composure for a moment as she let out an amused little snort. “Oh please, the day I fancy somepony will be the day the stable freezes over,” she scoffed, not hiding her amused smile.
“Knowing ya, m’lady, I’m surprised it hasn’t already,” Tray then pulled the glass closer and took a drink, downing it in a few gulps. He finished it with a satisfied ‘ahh’ and placed the glass down. “That hit the spot. Thank ya Dice, nice to have folk like ya in the tops. Warms my heart to know not all of ‘em are crazy,”
Dice went silent. She looked away from the other, levitating the now empty glass to the sink. Before the stallion could ask her if she was okay, the mare spoke up quietly. “You know that is not true, Tray.” She glanced at the other through her alice blue mane. “My prestige is the lowest from their ranks. I am no longer one of them. Surely I will be next on their chopping block.” Dice closed her eyes with a heavy sigh and went back to work, levitating a mold tray towards the dough.
The earth pony looked very concerned about his friend. As soon as she was done levitating things, he quickly reached out for her face and turned it towards him, making their eyes meet; deep red gazing at light blue. “Now listen ‘ere, Dice. Yer the kindest, most generous pony I know, and I ain’t sayin’ that just to get in yer good graces. Yer a skilled cook, a good looker and your ice magic is the most unique magic I’ve ever seen.” He offered a comforting smile. “And if they can’t see how valuable ya are, then… well… they really are crazy,”
Dice pulled her head away from the hoof, letting a small sad smile curl on her lips. “Thank you Tray, but you know just as well as I how the stable works… It is not fair, but it is what keeps this place running,” the stallion nickered in disapproval but stayed silent. He knew it was the truth, but he didn’t have to like it.
Stable 86. The stable was built with the money of very many wealthy ponies, making it one luxurious-looking stable. To the surprise of these ponies, however, Stable-tec added one extra feature they were not prepared for; the stable came with a farm. Cows and chickens included. It felt almost like a cruel joke, had stable-tec not provided a few farmer families to teach the upper class ponies how to work the land and take care of themselves. The initial intention of the stable was to raise ponies with high class and education but also capable of working the lands, to preserve the best of both worlds from the pony society. That was the sentiment at least, but they made one fatal flaw in this; they assigned a high-class pony as an overmare. The sentiment was not shared by the upper class ponies. None of them wished to mingle with the farmers, nor did they wish to do their fair share. That is when the prestige system was introduced.
Hanging her apron, Ice Dice left the kitchen for the night, locking it up. The cafeteria was quiet and dim; last of the staff had left half an hour ago. Dice liked taking her time cleaning up the kitchen, enjoying the rare silence in her work place. When she’d manage to get the cafeteria all to herself, Dice would take strolls from table to table, appreciating the aesthetics of the place other ponies took for granted. The echoing hoofsteps in the room were like music to her ears. It was difficult to feel alone in a stable, lonely perhaps, but never alone. A moment like this was comforting for some odd reason. Sadly, these moments couldn’t last for too long, as no one; not even the staff; were allowed in some parts of the stable during certain hours. Dice left the cafeteria, locking it up before taking a look at her pipbuck. “ Only twenty two today…” She sighed in slight annoyance and continued on her way, heading to the sleeping quarters of the low class ponies.
“Icey! Daaarling~!” a deep but female voice called out as Dice had turned a corner.
The sound of her name being said in such a manner made Dice wince for a brief moment before she put on a little smile and turned to face the pony. “Oh, good evening Feather Note,” she nodded her head, greeting the coral-pink pegasus in a turquoise dress.
“Oh, how lovely it is to meet you here! I was hoping to have a little chat with you~ You have the time, do you not~?” her tone was a sickly sweet one, her words spoken in sing song even though she seemed to be tone deaf. When it came to singing, anyway.
“I have just finished work, Feather. I can spare a minute,” Dice widened her smile a bit. Although the pony had an unbearable voice, she was usually more kind to Dice than the rest of the higher-class ponies. It might be because she used to be close friends with the unicorn’s mother before the incident.
“Good good~ See, my young filly’s birthday is coming up and I would absolutely love it if you could perhaps cook up an extra special looking cake for her, hmm~? I’ll throw in extra prestige for you if you do, and some extra extra if it becomes a hit in the party~!” she winked happily.
Dice’s ears stood up in surprise at the sound of extra prestige. “Umm… how much do you think you would spare?” Dice asked hesitantly, not wanting to sound desperate.
“Normally it’d be four hundred for the custom cake, but since you’re the best chef we have and… um… because of your situation… five hundred for the cake, a thousand in total if it’s a hit~ how does that sound, dearie~?” the cerise-maned pegasus asked with a bright smile.
Dice opened her mouth in surprise, but quickly closed it and smiled with a definite nod. “Oh yes, that would be lovely! When do you need it by?” she asked, sounding a bit excited.
“Two weeks from now, dearest~ I’ll contact you again when the date draws closer,“ she smiled happily, pleased by the situation. “I must go now, sweetie~ It’s almost time for my piano solo! Ah… I’m sorry you cannot make it,” she looked at her with a sincerely apologetic smile before hurrying away into the grand hall, the place where all great events take place and also the place where all the high class ponies come most evenings to enjoy themselves. The events always have a fee and a proper attire requirement, so no low-class ponies could even dream of attending.
“I used to…” Dice whispered silently to herself and looked at her pipbuck, bright green letters flashing: 22 PRESTIGE REDUCED. FINE NOT PAID.
Prestige became the virtual currency of the stable, numbers of which were logged in their pipbucks. The more prestige you had, the more things you were allowed to do and have. The system seemed fair on the surface; a set amount of prestige was awarded for doing your assigned job, but the system had been rigged in such a way that farmer ponies would never be able to reach the high society life. Each week a certain amount of prestige would be deducted from a pony, a form of tax. Naturally, the higher you were in the ranks, the less prestige you had to pay, and some didn’t have to pay at all. The farmer ponies had to struggle to keep their prestige at an even amount while the high class ponies just kept hoarding theirs. Although reaching high ranks for a low-class pony was almost impossible, a high class pony getting downgraded was not quite out of the question.
Stables sleeping quarters.
The poor district.
12:04 a.m.
Dice was laying on her bed, staring at the faintly glowing screen of her pipbuck. Her bed squeaked every time she moved, so Dice was extra careful not to budge too much. The sound was annoying and only made her remember the old bed. Oh, yes, the dear ol’ bed she once had. Just a year ago Dice had lived in the upper class district. The unicorn’s current room was barely a fourth of what her room used to be.
“Honestly, they say up to three ponies can live here…” Dice mumbled, glancing at the darker corners of her room, trying to figure out how one would fit two more beds in this already cramped space.
“At least it’s free,” she sighed and went back to looking at her pipbuck. A list of recordings was visible. Because of her class demotion, she was no longer allowed access to the live radio. Dice really missed listening to the songs; every now and then they’d play a Feather Note original piano solo or let some of the stable’s foals sing their own creations. Not many of them were actually any good, but they had a charm to them that Dice could appreciate. She never recorded any of them though. Feather Note’s piano solos were also missing. The yale blue pony took the radio for granted, as a thought that she might end up without it one day never even occurred to her.
On the very small list of recordings she did have were two radio ones. Dice recorded those ages ago, during her first week after getting a pipbuck. Those recordings were just tests; the songs recorded weren’t even the ones she liked all that much. The rest, a total of three, were recordings of her surroundings. The first one was when she and her ex-best friend, Golden Gloss, were singing a duet back at her old room. Golden was so drunk and out of key that even Dice’s smooth melody couldn’t save them.
The unicorn scowled at her pipbuck, remembering the other pony. Golden dropped Dice like a hot potato the moment news had hit her ears. The betrayal struck her deep, as Dice has avoided eye contact with that pony ever since.
The second recording was a compilation of Dice’s singing lessons. Not full lessons, but small snippets of what she believed to have been her best work at that time.
Dice’s scowl eased up, taking on a melancholic gaze. She had wanted to be a singer once; a show pony on the stage, singing her heart out for all others to praise and enjoy.
“How foolish…” Dice dismissed the thought and looked at the last recording.
Dice paused. This was an old one, her very first recording, in fact. The unicorn hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should listen to this now. The temptation was too great to handle,
it seemed, as she hit the play button and listened:
“Dear guests! Thank you all for coming to such a momentous occasion! Tonight, my dear daughter has finally received her pipbuck. I couldn’t be more proud! My dearest daughter is the pride and joy of my life and I cannot wait to see her shine bright in our stable. Wherever her path will take her, my heart will go with her. From this day on, she is our equal.” There was some cheering after that and music started to play. Voices flooded from all corners of the room as the ponies started to make small talk. Dice remembered she couldn’t figure out how to stop recording back then, so the audio played for a bit longer. You could hear shuffling noises, young Dice’s attempts at turning off the recording. With one last crackle of the audio everything stopped. The loud music, the happy voices, the silent little huffs of Dice died in the now cold silence of the room. Only echoes of the audio still rang in Dice’s ears, slowly fading out as well. As those vanished too, Dice closed her eyes and turned away from her pipbuck.
“Mother…” She whispered, her voice trembling somewhat. Just a moment ago, Dice didn’t even remember this recording, but now it became her most treasured possession; the last thing she had left of her mother.
Dice curled up on her bed now, making the darn thing squeak yet again. She hid her face under the cover as small sobs started to escape. The unicorn’s heart ached as she remembered her dearest mother, the only parent figure she ever had.
A year ago. A year ago she still had it all; prestige, fame, friends in high places and her loving mother, who was also her most trusted friend. All it took was one day. One stallion’s words, one announcement by the overtwins and everything she knew was gone.
A year ago, according to the overtwins, her dearest mother attempted an escape to the surface. She did not listen to reason and used violence, but the overtwins claimed that they tried their very best to bring her back to her senses, even promising that they will not demote her class if she gave up then. Apparently, Dice’s mother did not listen. In the end, the mare escaped, leaving behind her daughter. From that moment on, Dice’s perfect life started descending into hell as she knew it. Ruby Frost, Dice’s mother, was fined one of the highest prestige fines in the stable’s history, and because the rules state that the fine will apply to all living members of the immediate family, Dice inherited the fine. It was an enormous amount to repay and with a reputation like that, Dice was no longer welcomed among the high class ponies. She got demoted to mid-high class and then bumped down once more to mid-class, her prestige number suffering accordingly. Dice asked, pleaded and begged for assistance or even a reduction of the fine, but her great efforts were only wasted. Ponies she had once called friends abandoned her, even straight out mocking her, not showing any sign of sympathy for the poor mare. Only Feather Note stepped up and donated a bit to the fallen unicorn. It was not enough by a long shot, but that was all she could spare without endangering her own reputation. Dice understood. She understood far too well now. The higher class ponies were merciless creatures that only looked after their own. As the daughter of a traitor, Dice was an undesirable, so she had to be gotten rid of. And yet, with all that betrayal and unfairness weighing down her heavy heart, there was still one thought that was the heaviest to bear. A year ago, had it happened to some other mare, Dice would’ve reacted exactly the same as those monsters.
It hurt. All these thoughts hurt. Loss hurt. Betrayal hurt. Abandonment hurt… And all Dice could do was cry about it. Cry to herself at night and repeatedly ask why. Why did mother choose to abandon me, why didn’t she take me with? What is so good about the outside that made her risk so much?
Dice’s bitter sobs were interrupted by quiet but rapid knocking on her door.
“Dice? You there? It’s Tray,” a male voice whispered, sounding extremely flustered.
The unicorn quickly wiped away her tears and cleared her throat before getting out of the creaky bed. “T-tray? What are you doing here at this hour?” she whispered back but before the other could explain himself, Dice opened the door.
Tray quickly jumped in, closing the door immediately. He was panting heavily, shock evident on his face. “D-dice, they’re takin’ him away…”
“Calm down, catch your breath first, then we will talk,” Dice approached the trembling earth pony and gently patted his head. “Deep breaths.” she whispered calmly. Her own problems seemed to have vanished as she now felt concern for her new best friend.
After a minute or two, Tray finally calmed himself. His face flushed a shade darker than his coat as he looked at the mare. “I’m sorry Dice, I shouldnt’ve barged in like this, but I just… I just had to get away somewhere, tell somepony… and you’re the first that came to mind.” He offered a faint smile before looking away.
Dice said nothing as she kept stroking the back of the other’s neck, calming her friend. After another moment of silence, Tray took a deep breath and began to talk.
“Night Lighter… “ he frowned slightly. “I was headin’ for the showers when she was leavin’ the grand hall with that buck of hers. I heard her talkin’ ‘bout arrangin’ a Send Away this year and she mentioned mah brother’s name.“ Tray paused, biting his lower lip for a moment. The pony’s eyes were glossy as he was trying to fight away the tears. “They’re gonna send him away, Dice. He ain’t been doin’ so good with the prestige lately, but he’s a fine work pony! You won’t find a better heavy-lifter than him in the whole stable! It’s not just because he’s mah brother either, the farm needs him. Ever since I went up to mid class he’s been doin’ both of our jobs. He took ‘em on because he could handle the load alone, but if we lose him…” He let out a trembling sigh, closing his eyes. The hot, salty tears ran down the stallion’s face as his breath trembled. “I-it’s mah fault, Dice… If I hadn’t moved up a class, he’d be fine. I’d be fine! We’d all be fine,“
“Shhh…” Dice hummed soothingly, still stroking his neck. “Calm down, calm down. I am sure that Lighter said such things only because she saw you and decided to have some fun at your expense. The High class may be out of touch a little, but I am certain they would not do anything so foolish as to send away a valuable worker,” she tried to comfort her friend, giving him a light hug.
Tray sniffled a little, accepting the hug, although briefly. He then pulled away from her, drying his eyes. “I didn't want ya to see me cry like this, Dice. I bet ya think I’m weak, now,“ he offered a faint smile.
Dice looked at him sadly. Crying for his family, for the idea of losing those closest to you, fear for yourself and the ponies you love. Dice understood it completely. “I do not, Tray,” she spoke ever so calmly, a small but sincere smile spread on her face. “I think you are very strong. Strong enough to care for more than yourself. Strong enough to trust somepony else with your feelings. Not everypony could pour their heart out like you did, Tray.”
“Heh,” the buck scoffed, rubbing his eye. “Now you’re just makin’ fun of me, aren’cha, miss?” Tray smiled, a bit more sincerely this time. Although he still seemed shaken, his mood lightened up and his mind had calmed down. “Thank ya, Dice,” he whispered, looking up at the mare softly.
“You have nothing to be thankful for, Tray, all I did was sit here and pat your neck,” Dice smiled at him ever so sweetly. “Will you be okay now? You are welcomed to stay here for longer if you wish. I am here for you.” She nodded, reinforcing her statement.
The cream coated pony shook his head a little and stood up, wiping away the last of his tears. “Thank ya, Dice, but I think I’ve been a nuisance to ya for long enough. I should go. Besides, if I don’t return fast enough, my ma might get concerned,” He smiled at the mare and turned to the door, carefully opening it.
As Dice watched the other leave through the doorway she took a step forward and spoke without thinking. “Tray, wait-”
The chocolate-maned one turned to look towards Dice, silently waiting for her to speak.
Dice instantly avoided eye contact, but before things could get awkward she spoke up. “Have a good night.”
Tray smiled kindly at the mare and nodded. “Ya too, Dice,” He whispered and closed the door behind him, leaving the unicorn alone again.
Dice sat quietly as the sound hoofsteps faded away. She watched the door for a moment, letting out a little sigh before getting up and back into her creaky bed. Curling up, Dice pondered on what had just happened. It was stressful to see her friend in that state, but it also made Dice feel relieved; she was the first pony he ran to. He opened up to her… she mattered to him. Dice no longer felt as lonely as she had just a few minutes ago, but now her mind wandered to a different place. First moment she’s free tomorrow, she’ll have to go do a housecall.
The prestige system has served well for many years and life seemed fine at the stable, but a few decades ago the Overmare at that time and her council decided to introduce a new feature; The Sendaway. This feature was as the name suggested. Every now and then the stable council would choose one of the lower prestige ranking ponies and send them out of the stable. The Sendaway is built up to be the greatest honor a low-scoring pony could receive, as they were granted an important task; make contact with the outside civilisation and bring home good news. If a pony succeeds, they are granted a top tier status; the status that only the overmares and stallions are granted. The chosen pony is given a going away celebration and are sent off like a hero, but despite all the cheers and smiles, every pony knew the truth. Those who leave, never return. The Sendaway was a death sentence. Most ponies believe it to be the council’s way of getting rid of the undesirables, be it low class ponies that are slacking off or high class ponies that have fallen from their good graces. Ponies would oppose this rule if not for one persistent doubt at the back of everypony’s mind; What if the next pony returns.