“No! Don't make me go down there!” A stallion whimpered, pleaded. He crawled across the rusted deck of Red Barge, dragging a limp, infected leg. “I... I-I can still be of use! I-I-I can scrape the barnacles off the eastern struts! Or assist in navigation! Or—”
“Your leg's too far gone,” Dredger Nixkit droned, looming above the stallion in the salty air. “You aren't doing anything on all fours.”
“You don't know that for sure!” The stallion stammered, hyperventilating. “Who says I-I can't be of use on the surface anymore?!”
“The Harvest is low!” Digiff growled. “We need all the help down below that we can get! It's either this or the drink, pal.”
“Please... pl-please there has to be something else I can d-do!”
“We all pull our weight around here,” Nixkit said. “It's time you pulled your own.” He gestured aside. “Digiff. Saxon. Take him under.”
“No! No!” The stallion struggled, close to sobs. “Please! I-I don't want to go down there!”
Digiff grabbed one half while Saxon got a legful of the other. “Clench your teeth, buddy!” Saxon said, a grin plastered across his dirty face. “'Cuz this is gonna make your ears pop!”
The stallion's struggles amounted to nothing. Soon, Digiff and Saxon were carrying him down a slanted corridor. At the pull of a lever, a toothed set of doors schwished open. The sound of grinding gears and billowing furnaces echoed thunderously, now accompanied by the stallin's shrieks as he was carried down to the lower levels. Steam and smog vented loose—stopping only when the doors slammed shut again, silencing everything.
Nixkit exhaled, fanning himself as he turned and shuffled towards the Skag Hole on the topmost central platform. “They don't come as obedient as they used to...”
Meanwhile, Swab shuffled past all of this, dragging a rickety cart full of rusted bits and metal nick nacks. His one good ear twitched to the sound of struggle, and he kept his dull face aimed forward.
A lot of ponies here don't enjoy working on the Red Barge. But a lot of them would do even worse if they tried going elsewhere. This is something Top Dredger Skagra reminds us about all the time. The seven seas are huge and full of scary things. We're lucky to live where we do, where we can get nibbles for our hard work.
That's food. Skagra provides it to us through Dredger Nixkit and Dredger Digiff. I work very hard so I can eat. Sometimes, though, I don't work so hard... or at least I reach the end of the day knowing that I could have worked harder. When I receive food on my lazier days, I know I could say something. I could be honest. But I hold my tongue. I lie so I can get extra nibbles. I know I'm hungry, but dishonesty is still bad. So I ask for your forgiveness, Goddess. Please don't punish my parents for it.
Swab and several other fillies and colts stood along the northern strut of Red Barge. Side by side, they painted the hull of the conjoined ships a brighter shade of crimson. Steam pipes vented mists all around them, and the extra moisture made the task a great deal more difficult.
Behind them, Quint, Whony, and a few other colts stood on a series of lattices, painting an even higher length of metal. The older colts shared a laugh or two, conversing with sweaty breaths and dirty grunts as they casually continued with their all-important task.
Swab's right ear twitched, for he heard a wheezing sound. Looking to his side, he saw a filly teetering left and right. Finally, overcome by fatigue and heat, she collapsed, spilling red paint all over herself and a portion of the deck.
With a gasp, Swab dropped his paint tools and rushed over to her. He was about to pull her up into a sitting position when he heard the booming shouts of Quint up above. Curious, he spun around, tilting his gaze skyward.
Quint's teeth showed as he snarled, gesturing for Swab to leave the filly alone. Whony made sneering faces while several other orphans simply stared at the scene.
Reluctantly, Swab backtrotted to his paint tools. He picked his brush up, dipped it in the paint, and resumed his task—albeit with occasional trembles. His eyes darted towards the side, watching as the filly's breath grew shallow and shallower.
Sometimes we all work together as a group, and whether or not we get our nibbles depends on how well we get the job done. Quint—one of the oldest kids here on the Barge—has more or less become our leader... a “little dredger,” I guess. He can be really bossy, even mean, but we all know that he's trying to keep us organized so that we can all eat at the end of the day.
Still, it isn't always easy obeying him. Like the other day when Fish Flier fainted right next to me. She had gone for three days without nibbles, and working with the group was her one chance to earn something. But her body was too weak. I wanted to help her... to care for her like every Foal of Verlaxion should care for one another, but I would have dragged the whole group down. Quint made sure I stayed in line, so I wouldn't risk the nibbles for the rest of us. Perhaps I should have disobeyed him. Perhaps all of us could have gone for an extra day without eating if it meant Fish Flier getting back to health.
Point is, I didn't try hard enough. I let Fish Flier lie there, covered in blisters and paint. And for that, I am sorry, Goddess, and I plead with you to forgive my sin.
The cart of food didn't last long. Orphans stained with sweat and paint grabbed all they could from Digiff's delivery. The hunger was intense, but the ritual of the provisions was even heavier. Each pony swiped up a single morsel of food and then galloped off to their respective habitat within the underground hovel.
A pair of colts sat beside a burning barrel, munching liberally on their meal. Fillies sat against a stack of mattresses, giggling and gabbing off the stress of the day between frenzied bites. Quint and his group—of course—had a large bevy of meal. Random orphans would shuffle up to his lamp-lit corner, offering scraps of metal and tools for trade. Whony would examine each, converse with Quint, and then the older colts would offer more nibbles in exchange.
Swab trotted past all of this, cradling a rectangular block of crumbly bread. His eyes narrowed, focused on a bunkbed positioned far ahead and against a wall. As he arrived, a group of orphans finished foraging all over the bed and the metal crate beside it. They scampered off in random directions with pilfered items in their position. Some of them returned to their own quarters to stow the objects away. Others galloped straight towards Quint's niche to bargain. Whatever the case, as they all galloped away, Swab found the bunkbed and its surrounding furnishings completely stripped of materials.
Lying on the bed, her head and legs dangling at unnatural angles, was Fish Flier. Her eyes were thin and glazed over, and she stared off into the dull shadows of the compartment.
Swab sat on the grimy mattress next to her. Exhaling, he placed his meal on the surface... then slid it over towards the filly. He rested there, smiling kindly at the other orphan. This carried on for several wordless seconds. Eventually, Swab's smile faded. Curious, he tilted his head to the side, peering closer.
Fish Flier's coat was considerably paler than usual. The flesh around her lips and eyelids had turned dark, thick, and swelling. A fly settled on her muzzle, crawled into her mouth, then flitted out. The filly made no movement whatsoever.
Swab blinked. His one ear drooped. Staring at the floor, he squirmed slightly. At last, after a full minute of this, he reached over, picked up his meal, then left the body altogether. He shuffled off to his own little corner to eat his pay for the day.
Most of us here are what the dredgers call “sea foam.” It means that we don't belong to anything but the ocean. Lots of older ponies like to think that we just crawled out of the surf and hopped aboard the Red Barge. Maybe that makes it easier for them to put us to work. It doesn't make it easier for us.
Sea Foam have no parents. Sea Foam have no future beyond nibbles. Whatever our cutie marks may have once said, it doesn't matter, because our talents are to serve the Barge. If we live long enough, we become Dredgers. If we're lucky, that means we work above deck. That's how Saxon got his job as a tower guard.
But if we're still weak or lazy when we get older, then we work down in the Harvest Chambers. Ponies don't like going down there. I doubt I would either, because that means I'd likely never come out.
I have to work hard. I have to grow up to be strong and reliable. It's not easy. I already lost my ear to a steam vent. But Top Dredger Skagra made it on top, and he had it worse. So what should I complain about? I can make it. I can live long enough to see my parents again.
I don't care what anypony says. I am not Sea Foam. My parents were once sent out to search for better harvest shelves, and they haven't come back. That's all. They're still out there, my Goddess. You must know this too, which is why I ask that you take care of them.
Please don't punish them for my sins... for the moments when I feel so angry and cold that I want to do mean things... like spit in Quint's face or grab the nibbles from sick ponies in the beds next to me. I don't do these things, of course, but only because I don't think I could get away with them. And that's not a good reason at all. I need help in not having these bad thoughts to begin with. I just need to work hard and pray. Mother always said that was enough to please you, Goddess. I really hope it's still true.
“Auggh!” A stallion grunted in the daylight.
Swab looked over from where he was rubbing the grime off a steam pipe.
A dredger regained his balance from tripping over a little filly with a light pink coat. Bags full of tools fell across the deck around him. “Grrrrgh!” He turned, snarling. “You stupid little bitch! Didn't Dredger Digiff teach you about keeping the middle struts clear?”
“I'm sorry, sir,” the filly droned, hobbling back onto all fours. “It won't happen aga—” Wham! A hoof flew across her muzzle. She spun once and fell limply to the deck.
Swab winced. He jolted to his hooves, as if wanting to rush over to her. But a glare from Quint two steam-shafts away anchored him in place.
“Now it won't happen again,” the stallion hissed. Then spat on her scarred flank. “Stupid Sea Foam! Why Skagra doesn't just flush you young shitheaps out to muck is beyond me!”
“Come on, Trent...” Another stallion patted his shoulder. “It was just an accident. Let's go.”
“Accident? They're all accidents!” The stallion hissed and wheezed. “I made it this far because I worked hard! Look at that little shrimp! She won't last another damn year! Somepony should just put her out of her misery—”
“Trent, we have work to do now,” the stallion said forcefully. “Dredger Nixkit is watching us. Don't drag behind because of some clumsy sea foam.”
Trent's nostrils flared. His eyes thinned and his ears drooped for some reason. As he turned around, Swab saw a steam scar over his flank where a cutie mark would otherwise have been.
The workers gathered their things and shuffled off. Not long after, the filly's body stirred.
Swab squinted.
She stood up, her nose leaking blood. Five fillies rushed over to her, and when they arrived she held out five pieces of metal junk that she had somehow stolen from Trent during the whole ordeal.
“Hah! Slick hooves have done it again!”
“Well done, Croche.”
“Yeah... way to go, Croche.”
“Whony's going to love these.”
“This will get us all extra nibbles for sure.”
They ruffled her mane and shared a hug or two.
Croche merely gave a limp nod. One of her sunken eyes appeared a great deal darker. With a dainty hoof, she wiped the blood off her muzzle... then glanced across the deck at Swab.
Swab bit his lip. He looked towards where Quint stood, but the older colt wasn't looking. With a shudder, Swab returned to his work.
While I try to do things right, not all foals down here think or act the same way.
For instance, I caught Croche and her friends stealing from some of the Dredgers for the fourth time this month. They're good at what they do, and in a way I kind of admire it. But it's wrong... and I know it's wrong. Not only is it bad to steal, but they could risk all of our nibbles if they were caught doing it, even if they're only looking after themselves.
If I cared at all about the rest of us, then I'd tell on them. I'd go straight to Digiff or Nixkit and let them know where all of the missing tools have gone.
But it's been a full month, and I still haven't said a word. I'm just as guilty of stealing as they are now. And you know what the worst part of that is? I haven't felt sorry about it until right this moment, as I write these words down and share with you my heart, dear Goddess.
Please, Verlaxion, forgive me for allowing this sort of a thing to continue. And I hope you have it within your gracious heart to forgive me... and to be easy on my parents... because I really don't think I'm gonna put a stop to it tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next...
Along one of the upper platforms, Swab stood, mopping up a length of grimy metal deck. He paused to wipe his brow, then leaned against his mop.
Something happened, and it forced him to squint.
He tilted his head up, gazing beyond the struts made of fused boats... the pipework and smokestacks brimming with smog.
Due west, beyond the rolling seas, the polluted clouds that orbited Red Barge had briefly lifted. A fiery red sunset loomed along the horizon, bathing the seven seas with crimson sparkle and shimmer.
Swab exhaled. He leaned his muzzle against the end of the mop's stick.
Slowly, a smile formed, lingering on the edges of his dirtied face. He closed his eyes before the moisture could bring forth a saline that rivaled the sea air's.
And just the other day, the strangest thing of all happened. I saw a piece of the sky... and I felt happy.
And ever since then, I can't help but wonder if feeling happy is a good thing. I almost feel as bad about it as I do about lying or stealing. Because it doesn't seem right, Goddess, for me to be the only foal here who's parents are still alive. I'm drowning in Sea Foam, and yet... there's always this strange place... this cloud that parts and I am there, gazing into the light, smiling.
Because I know that they will come back to me someday. They won't come for the hungry foals... the mean foals... or the dying foals. They'll be coming back for me and only me. And it almost feels wrong to know this... to know that something good will come in the end. That my parents are coming back for me and I know this and every other pony around me is just... here. And for what? What do they have to look forward to? What are they fighting for every day? Just to grow up to become like Digiff or Saxon or all the other Dredgers?
I don't feel like them, and it's starting to make me selfish. Please forgive me, Verlaxion. Is it a sin to hope? You are wise and you are gracious, and you know more about these things than I ever will. I ask that you help me get stronger... smarter... so that I may be a better pony for these other foals. That I may be a better pony for my parents. They've been gone so long... so very long. I have to be strong for them or else they'll be disappointed when they return.
And I thank you, Verlaxion, that they will return. You're so merciful, and I will continue to pray to you everyday.
Sincerely,
Swab
In the end, all the characters are sinners in one form or another...that is just the way of this side of the world.
Not much to say here. But if hope is the greatest sin then you had better be ready to sin a lot, for a life without hope is not a life worth living.
Now all we need is Hurricane Rainbow to pass through, wash everything away.
Maybe that's all she can do for this place...
Swoobie.
Hmmm, an EOP style chapter. I like it.
The redness of the sunset is the light of approaching retribution.
Rainbow Dash is coming.
I wonder if foal labor is against the law in Rohbredden, or are the barges far enough out in the ocean that laws don't matter?
Did somepony say hope?
-In the end isolation, hunted by a nation. Utaan.
Harmony nuke in 2...
So, Croche. I sense there's something deeper down there than just the sea foam you're told you are.
6539584 Ever closer the demonic angel of loyalty comes.
Ever closer does she approach on wings wreathed in natures wrath.
She is the relentless summer storm,
she is the lethal winds of fall,
she is the never ending frost of winter,
she is the rebirth of spring.
The angel of chaos and harmony approaches.
Its going to be nice when Rainbow shows up. However I think we might be too optimistic about how much she will actually care what's going on here at this point. Last we left her she really only seemed to care about getting to Applejack, and after that she will have been alone for weeks at least and half starved.
6539703
This. I know people are expecting her to enact karmic retribution for ponies like Swab if/when she finally arrives in the story, but the narrative last left her in a very sorry state. She may very well not care to do helpful, harmonic things the next time we see her.
Wow, and I thought Rust and Shoggoth were corrupt. I'm increasingly hoping this place is wiped from the face of the ocean after the workforce is allowed to escape.
6539703 That's a pretty good point, it would be a testament to how far Rainbow has fallen if she were to leave a place like this untouched.
I can only hope there's still a tiny spark of empathy inside the shell of a pony she's likely become.
6539595
Well, considering how that griffon chick said that everyone off the mainland were sinners and not worth saving ...
They're probably telling themselves the same thing you are, kid. Or variations thereof. Everyone needs something to cling to in that kind of situation.
It is a far better fate to hope and sin than to abandon hope and cease to live.
Be careful where you put your hope, Rainbow Dash. Is it in Harmony? Luna? Applejack? ...Or Verlax? Time will tell.
Faith has become a very prominent theme in this story. We see it again in Swab.
Hope, definitely my favorite sin. Well, lust is a good runner up.
Places like Red Barge always confuse me a bit. I mean, life is pretty shitty for everyone there, yet logically the Barge exists to produce some sort of valuable commodity. Now normally in places where forced labor is the norm t procure something of value there upper echelon of the pyramid live pretty damn lavishly, because they control all the wealth. Yet the top dogs at the Red Barge seem to only live marginally better than the ponies on the bottom. Is all the wealth being funneled exclusively inland?
Regardless, I'm starting to love to hate Verlax more and more. She's created a beautifully complex monstrosity of a society that can rationalize any amount of suffering through faith and prayer, and while she could have built a far better realm she allows this kind of stagnation to exist for the sole purpose of preparing Dash for the shitstorm that'll be the dark side of the world. Ostensibly. I suppose we have yet to have any real proof of Verlax's true intentions. For all we know this is all an elaborate plot to stop the Austraeoh by crushing her sense of purpose and morality... because I can see the alicorns having placed barriers at the edge of the world that can't be bypassed by a being that's has anything less than a virtuous spirit. We only have Verlax's cryptic word that she's interested in Dash succeeding on the dark side, after all.
Alright, two chapters until Dash?
6539763 It's interesting how Swab is currently Dash's Karmic opposite right now, though. I mean, last time we saw Dash she was trying to justify the horrible actions she had taken in the Quade in order to ensure her friends could be reborn; whereas Swab is begging for forgiveness for things that aren't even rightly his fault in the hope that it will mean his parents will return. Two characters with similar motivations, yet opposite means of trying to achieve them. It's safe to say that RD is going to cross paths with Swab at the very least, so it's my bet that, Karmic retribution or not, Swab is going to be crucial in putting RD back together, and she'll try her best to do the same for him when that happens.
I like this Croche lady, gimme more of that
This is shaping up to be one of the hardest books to get through because of all the feels.
inb4 Swab's a changeling.
Man this place sucks. This is where bard wanted to head when he suggested leaving the quade? I want rainbow to end this place but her last words made it seem like she's got a one track mind now..
...because it prolongs the torments of man.
I see Nietzsche did there.
Swab is a Gandhi in the making. Well, would be if his path wasn't destined to cross Rainbow's. In time he'd be cleansed of naivety, and channel that purity into wrath. He's the kind of person that could spend the rest of his days talking to the people and council of Rohbredden - frustration only fueling righteous anger everytime they reject him.
And as I said maybe, in time, when he finally accepts that his surrogate mother will never answer - he will learn to answer his own prayers.
6539703 6539763 Swab is being established as a major character for a reason.
Well...
That's okay.
I didn't feel like going to bed happy anyway.
This chapter feels very... Ebony. But in a much more sad way. Which is very sad
6539584
Brace yourselves.
Apathetic Dash wouldn't be the most welcome sight on the western horizon from where Swab's struggling, but any chance of her ending their suffering without racking up a body-count is better than a marginally less shitty future up top or outright starvation.
6540155 Hmm...
...!?
i.imgur.com/zcjic.gif
What the hell, Colon. They're painting the ship red. Yesterday you incense my working class commie blood, today you incite my Red Dwarf obsession? That's two out of three! How do you do this?! Is the next chapter going to provoke my entomophobia?
I hope all that flowery philosophy about hope was appreciated by everybody else, because my perception was tainted by a 27 year old British space sitcom. Swab is now Scouse. When the filly died painting the ship, it was from taking off her helmet and she got deatomised. Everybody said cha cha cha. Dredger Nixkit can piss champagne. Croche is actually a cat. That stallion was kicked down to maintenance because he wanted his gazpacho soup served hot. Smeg, they're even dredging coal, you could call Red Barge a mining ship! Did I mention my unhealthy obsession with Red Dwarf?
Yeah, Red
DwarBarge is pretty much ruined for me. Sorry, Colon old boy. I mean, sorry Mister Colon sir.Thanks IC, I sure wanted to feel sad and depressed today... T_T
6539507 I wonder what that says about the dark side...
6540155 6540325 6540483 6540607
All of your comments make me think.
I said before that Swab seems to be a Kera analogue, but this chapter (and some comments above) make me rethink such. The way the letter-writing style is presented certainly makes way more parallels with Ebon than Kera. I have to wonder what is going to affect Red Barge first: The Desperadoes, The Talon, or The Harbinger of Harmony[and maybe her spooky friends].
Perhaps Red Barge will serve as an example to Dash's friends that the world beyond Equestria can be a sick place, and expecting nothing but patience, understanding and turning the other cheek isn't really an option when you're on a mission to stop the world from dying and some crazy dragon keeps getting in your way just to spite you.
Man, screw all this "Holy Verlaxion our Kind and Righteous Godess" bullroar. I can't wait until she gets exposed for the cruel and mad lizard that she really is. Hopefully by Axan or something.
6540747
I agree, it's pretty easy to witlessly justify Rainbow Dash's actions in the face of the toxic ideals Verlax cultivates, since we all know Rainbow has good intentions at heart. But Rainbow is hardly infallible, and I think the Quade was a mistake that was a long time coming. All things considered, she's had a fairly easy trip so far, with the power of harmony backing her wherever she goes. Considering the supposed absence of that on the dark side, you can almost understand a little of Verlax's reasoning.
And yes, while it may have seemed otherwise, I concur that the majority of the Rohbredden residents probably think in a similar abstract way as we do. That the deplorable conditions in Mudtop and the barges aren't really their problem and they're not really in any position to do anything about it. Which is fair enough, not everybody can be the hero of multi-million word adventure dodecalogy. But that's not what I was annoyed about.
From chapter three, we overheard a discussion about a magistrate asking for "patronage" while hiring slaving scumbags and being far too dainty to go anywhere near Red Barge, hence we can infer that they're not just a bunch of dozy bureaucrats, a lot of them are likely to be corrupt as well. To me it also implies that these Rohbredden higher-ups are completely aware of what goes on in Mudtop and the barges, but because they're offshore they believe it's not their problem. What really cements this for me is in chapter six:
They all know perfectly damn well what's going on out there, but it's not Rohbredden, land of the righteous, so it's not their problem. As Skagra said, Verlaxion doesn't love sea foam. All those slaves can work themselves to death, have their cutie marks cut off and their hope destroyed because they don't deserve to be saved. The fact that they all know what's going on out there but are too craven to even speak of it is bad enough, the fact that they're extorting and exploiting those poor bastards is bad enough as well, but they have the audacity to justify it with that tripe? Yeah, that's why I was a bit impassioned with my disdainful comments.
6539786
Ah, but you must keep something in mind, reverberating consequences. The Barges are the source of fuel, and thus, warmth, for the settlements on the mainland. Crush one, and everyone feels the pinch...of frostbite.
Just thought of something - everyone seems super focused on Rainbow coming and saving everything, but I think Bard and Wildcard are feeling a lot more harmonic than Rainbow, they're moving a lot faster than her, and they're presumably heading in this direction. Just throwing that out there, but I don't think Rainbow's going to get to play hero this time.
6541131 Weren't they making to head for White Barge before Dash dismantled the Reed though?
I could swear I remember them saying something about staying as far away from Red Barge as they can.
God, this is giving me flashbacks to End of Ponies. I can't believe how much I've missed the letter-format chapters.
I. Love. The comments section.
I'm confused by the glee, displayed by a few, at the dismantling of the Reed. Dash may not have had much choice in the matter, and the alternatives may have been worse in the long run, but there's no reason the Plight of Luminard Mk 2 should be something to cheer about. Yet that's something I love about ):(... It's not the black and the white, but all the little shades of grey. And this incredible story brings out every possible kind of human response from us delightful bag of scamps. Even the current ramblings about our new cast of characters and the economic/moral quagmire of Red Barge is popcorn-worthy.
I look forward to the comments almost as much as I look forward to the story itself.
Well, between the story and the commentary these last few weeks, I'm done.
It was nice meeting some of you, no doubt I'll see you around on other stories.
Take care now.
Turns out you actually can get off this train we're on.
6541114 Very true and the thought had crossed my mind but should an institution as oppressive as this be allowed to stand because it produces a product that the mainland desires? I guess I can't objectively come to a conclusion until we find out just how much of a necessity this dredge coal is.
It seems the stuff is pretty valuable so I'd be willing to be that there are just a few ponies living opulently while the workforce suffers. A change of ownership to somebody more empathetic with the laborers would probably be the best course of action but I doubt boardroom politics are Rainbow's strong suit.
6542381
I think the reason it's so valuable is that it is so necessary. It seems like the continent is pretty cold from what we have seen so far (Not a big surprise given who is ruling it). I think the people need it to not freeze to death.
6541444 I wonder how many times a week Skirts gets asked "Are you ever gonna continue EoP?"
6542676 It would be odd though that a society advanced enough to engineer something like the Arrowfish to run off of pure magic wouldn't have developed an alternative method for something as basic as heating a home. I'm betting this stuff is just the easiest and most convenient way to heat the mainland.
6539632
hell's the buck yeah... very nice
This Red Barge is not a nice place.
Well, Verlax is sociopath, confirmed.
This line. It speaks so much about how Swab hopes.
I hope my namesakes will figure out you can get things done without being jerks.
Eh, most likely not in this little barge of sunshine...