//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: The Old Mine 
// Story: The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse: The Equestrian Adventure 
// by wingdingaling 
//------------------------------//






Chapter 3

The Old Mine


In a forest somewhere, far from the reaches of Ponyville, noises sounded through the trees. Noises not anyhow made by the animals, the plants, or the rivers that ran through.
It was the noises of shouting voices, clanging tools, squeaking wheels, and chugging machinery that were heard there. An industry set up beyond the reaches of civilization where ponies toiled endlessly to produce materials from the earth.
The mine workers all swung their tools, and operated their machines, cracking rocks, sluicing ore and pushing carts. This would normally be what they lived for. But today, things were different. Deep underground, misery was abound.
In the depths of the mine, a unicorn stallion swung his pickax over and over, slowing down with each swing. Normally, he was able to go all day without stopping. But that was when he had magic. Ever since his magic was stolen from him, he had to do everything by hoof, and was beginning to grow weary from the constant labor. At that point, he and the others were barely able to so much as chip the tough outer rocks of the wall, and needed assistance.
"Somepony get Short Fuse down here! We got some rocks to blow up!" the unicorn called.
"What're ya wastin' dynamite for? Just use that pick, and yer good ol' fashioned hooves," a gopher told the pony, whistling with every pronunciation of the letter 's'.
"But, I'm a unicorn! I can't keep this up without magic!"
"Yer gonna have to bulk up, then. Now, get back to work!" the gopher said
The sounds of heavy boots approached the two. In the dim lights of the lanterns that lit the mine, a shadow loomed over the pony and the gopher.
"Is there a problem here?" the shadow's owner growled.
"You know somethin', boss: there is," the gopher answered.
The pony cowered in the presence of the mine's new boss. Only days before, he and the others were under the employ of their previous boss. Until this strange creature and his underlings suddenly imposed themselves onto the work site.
These new creatures that had taken over the mine were nothing that anypony in Equestria had seen. The gophers that came so suddenly took over the operation, and drove the ponies into backbreaking labor. But, the worst one of all was their leader.
He was incredibly tall and muscular, with a fierce mouth full of sharp teeth, and two glaring eyes that could shatter stone that stood out greatly from his black and white striped face. On his belt, where most ponies carried a canteen or a flask, he carried a huge, brown jug. Scariest of all were his hands, which ended in fingers with impossibly long claws.
The boss crouched down, so that he was eye to eye with the unicorn malcontent.
"What's goin' on here, son?" the boss asked.
The unicorn felt like his mind may shatter under the boss's glare, not knowing how to answer without making him mad.
"You better start talkin' real fast, boy. 'Fore I gets impatient."
In the mine, all the other ponies stopped working, and watched in fear of what may soon become of their coworker.
Silence filled the mine, making the unicorn suddenly aware of the many eyes that were upon him. When he saw the boss's eyes, the pony's mind snapped, and he blurted out his answer.
"The rock... I've been working all day, and this stone's too tough for a unicorn like me to break. I-If you'll just let me move to a different station--"
"No one moves until I gives the signal. This is my mine, an' I runs it how I sees fit. Understand, son?" the boss said.
The unicorn nodded.
The boss offered the jug that he carried on his belt.
"Here. Take a swig o' this. Put some hair on yer chest, sissy boy."
The fumes that seeped from the mouth of the bottle reached the unicorn's nose, making him gag loudly.
"Step back, son. I'll shows ya how it's done," the boss said, as he stood up, rolled his muscular arms, flexed his fingers, and rubbed his claws together.
The unicorn ducked under the boss's first swing, and watched his claws tear effortlessly through the stone wall.
The boss swung his claws over and over, breaking the wall apart with only the sheer power of his own body. Soon, the tough outer wall was broken, and the less dense inner wall was exposed.
"Now, I don't wanna hear ya whinin' about not bein' able to work anymores. Even when yer done pullin' triple overtime,” the boss said.
It may have been from the rocks still being cracked by the boss's claws, but when he glared at the unicorn again, the rocks did crumble slightly.
"Understood, boss!" the unicorn said.
"Glad we could clears up this little indiscretion," the boss picked up his jug, and drank heavily from it, before putting it back on his belt, and yelling at the other workers. "What're you all starin' at? Get back to work! Or else I'm sendin' you all down the shaft!"
Nopony wanted to get the shaft, so they all hastily went back to their work.





"Would ya take a look at that!" Mickey said, as he and the others arrived at the edge of a hillside.
Mickey, Twilight and Rarity had been following the twinkling magic on the trails beyond Ponyville, and into the reaches of the wilderness, until they reached this place.
"It's a mining facility. Wow. I've never seen one before," Twilight said.
"I have. And I can tell you that working in one is not a task for a lady," Rarity said.
"Whatcha talkin' about? Everybody can benefit from a little bit o' hard work," Mickey reasoned.
"Well, it's a bit of a long story. But, suffice it to say, it's understandable that Rarity can't stand mine work," Twilight said.
"Most certainly, darling. I don't plan on ever going near one again if I can help it."
The twinkling light that guided them drifted down the hillside into the quarry, where it shone brightly for the others to follow.
"Looks like ya can't this time," Mickey said. "Come on, ladies. Let's go check that out."
"Wait. Mickey, we have to go around!" Twilight said.
She tried to stop the mouse from recklessly moving forward, but was too late. Mickey had already jumped down the steep hillside.
Mickey's feet slid through the loose soil on the ground, allowing him to effortlessly sail down the bank. Dirt and leaves kicked up around him as he surfed down the hill. With all the grace of an ice skater, he weaved between each of the rocks, even going so far as to turn around and wave at the mares as his body zipped out of the way of danger.
"Mickey! Look out!" Rarity gasped.
Something in Mickey's mind told him to jump, so that's exactly what he did.
The mouse's feet ended up on a fallen tree, which angled up and sent him flying the rest of the way to the ground below. He landed on a stack of rebars, caught one of them as the others bounced away, tapped it to the ground, twirled it, and leaned on it like a cane.
"Ha ha. Nothin' to it," Mickey chuckled.
Nothing to it? It looked like Mickey had only narrowly escaped serious injury. But, if they were careful, Twilight figured that maybe she and Rarity could make it down just as safely, only with less excitement.
"Well...Nothing ventured, right, Rarity?" Twilight said.
"You aren't serious, are you? Nopony could possibly do that on their first try--Twilight! Twilight!!"
Rarity was too late to stop her friend from sliding down the hill. She tried looking over the edge to watch Twilight, only to overbalance and go tumbling afterward.
Both fumbled to keep their hooves beneath themselves, instead of being beneath their hooves.
Down in the facility, all the ponies working on the ground level stopped to watch the unusual newcomers and their entertaining antics. Until the gopher who was supervising intervened.
"What're you beasts o' burden starin' at? Get back to work!" the gopher noticed that Mickey was down in the facility with the others. "Hey! You're not supposed to be down here!"
As she slid down the hill, Twilight ended up on her flank, and rolled into a pile of wood covered by a tarp.
The pins that held the tarp to the ground were pulled out, allowing Twilight to plow through the wood pile and get wrapped up in the protective canvas, as the flying lumber knocked out the gopher that had accosted Mickey.
Rarity found herself heading for the same tree that launched Mickey into the air, and tried to use her magic to slow herself. But reality struck her when she remembered she was no longer capable of such.
The fashionista screamed as she went soaring, regretting that she hadn't taken the time to go around the hill to look for a safer way down.
"Rarity!" Twilight and Mickey shouted.
The mouse and the alicorn both looked at the tarp that cocooned Twilight, and came to the same conclusion.
Mickey grabbed one end, and unraveled Twilight.
Without even time to become lucid, Twilight grabbed an end of the tarp while Mickey pulled the other end taut. They both scrambled back and forth, trying to find the exact spot their friend would land.
Success! Rarity was caught, and she didn’t stop screaming until she ran out of air.
Slowly, the fashionista opened her eyes, and found herself no worse for wear.
"'Nothing to it,' he says," Rarity said, as she slowly got to her hooves.
"Don't sweat it, Rarity. It's not somethin' most folks get on their first try,'' Mickey explained.
"And just how many times have you done this!?" Rarity asked.
"Well, it wasn't exactly like this. But, I've done a lot of stuff that was pretty close."
Twilight and Rarity exchanged a shocked expression. How could this mouse stay so upbeat and cheerful after what had happened. Even Pinkie would have been slightly shaken.
"Are you some kind of daredevil or stuntmouse back home?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Me and my pals usually just do any job that comes our way: janitors, delivery, construction. But, what I really like are the jobs where I can perform on a stage. Even if I'm just the emcee."
Their guiding light shone before them, and drifted to the mouth of the cave, where it dissipated into nothingness.
Now knowing where to go, the three travelers started toward the opening of the mine.
"You haven't done any mine work before, have you?" Twilight asked.
"I don't think so. But, hey, there's gotta be a first time for anything, right?" Mickey answered.
"I wish I could share your enthusiasm," Rarity moaned.
"It's alright, Rarity. If we have to do any work, I'll just do enough for the two of us."
After seeing the strange new creature arrive, many of the ponies had hidden, especially when they saw him travelling with a light very much like the one that had rendered them all bereft of magic. However, after seeing how amicable the strange mouse was, he didn't seem quite so bad. Especially the way that he seemed so friendly with an alicorn.
Many of the ponies murmured amongst each other, debating if the mouse could be trusted, but the gopher who was conked by lumber began to rouse from unconsciousness.
"The boss...I gotta tell the boss..." the gopher mumbled, as he staggered forward. "Outta my way, ya obnoxious little bird," the gopher said, swatting the stars and birds out of his vision.
He grabbed every one of them, stuffed them in a nearby birdcage, and addressed the pony nearest to himself, "Send those little chirpers into the mine...For buggin' me so much..."
The pony didn't know what the gopher was talking about, as there was nothing in the cage at all, but obliged the request anyway.
The gopher stumbled his way through the area, until he tripped over the stairs to the boss's office. He dragged his body to the door, and let himself in.
"What're ya doin' here? Slackin' off, boy?" the boss asked.
"He's here, boss... The mouse... He's in the mine..."
The boss had been warned that a mouse may come calling sometime in the future. He just never thought it would ever happen. Even though he had never met a mouse since he arrived in Equestria (or even before that) he was told that the rodent's arrival may spell trouble for him. That in mind, he put down his lunch and stomped toward the door.
Down in the mine, Mickey, Twilight and Rarity took in their subterranean surroundings, watching the workers as they went about their business.
"How odd. this place seems somehow cheerier than the mines I knew," Rarity said.
Instead of the barren, dull caverns she was forced to toil in, this place was equipped with rails, scaffolding, ropes, pulleys, lumbers and all manner of other workers, instead of just one dainty lady.
"Cheerier? Get a closer look at some of these workers," Twilight said.
Rarity and Mickey did so, and noticed something was quite off: every single one of the workers looked exhausted, and not in a good way. Normally, when one did hard labor such as this, it was from the love of doing it. Not one of these ponies seemed to be enjoying themselves. Worse still, many of the workers were unicorns and pegasi, both generally unsuited for physical work.
"Gosh. Even when I was in jail, nobody looked this down," Mickey observed.
"You were in prison!?" Rarity gasped.
"Uh, yeah. That's also a long story," Mickey said, somewhat uncomfortably. "Let's ask one o' these guys about what's goin' on."
"Good idea," Twilight said. As confident as ever, Twilight strode over to a unicorn who was pulling a heavy cart full of dirt and rocks to the surface. "Excuse me."
"No time to stop, lady. I gotta take this haul to the surface and--" The unicorn looked up, and saw the unusual sight before himself. "--An alicorn!?"
In his fatigued state, as well as his shock of excitement, the pony lost his footing and went sliding back down the slope under the weight of his cart.
Once again, Twilight and Rarity tried to use their magic on a reflex, only for nothing to happen, while Mickey ran as fast as he could after the stallion.
Grabbing a piece of lumber and a rope, Mickey tied the rope to the wood and threw it behind the pony's cart, halting the wheels for him.
The wheels of the cart squeaked loudly, and though the cart slowed, it did not stop.
"What's all that racket up there!? Someone stop that squeakin', before I give ya all a good bop!" the gopher foreman shouted, only to scream loudly as the cart came toward him.
With a solid hit, the gopher was knocked off his feet, and into a wall where his helmeted head cracked the stones for the ponies working there.
"Gee, one heck of a ride, huh?" Mickey said.
"You said it. Boy, I don't know how much more of this I can take," the unicorn said, before he noticed how Mickey was looking at him. "Is there something on my face?"
"No. You just remind me of someone I know," Mickey answered, noting the pony's skinny, black body, white hooves, and white face, along with his domed hat.
Twilight and Rarity came running down the slope to the others.
"Are you alright?" Twilight asked.
The unicorn's face lit up at the sight of Twilight.
"You better believe I am! I'm talking to an alicorn! An alicorn! My days of hyper-demanding bosses, and unreasonable work hours are over, now that you're here to help, your highness!"
Twilight looked at the unicorn's hopeful expression, not knowing how to let him down about the situation they were in, but knew that she had a responsibility as a princess to answer him, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. At least, not the way you're hoping. All my magic was taken from me. But me and my friends are still going to try and put things right."
"They got you too, huh? I was afraid of that," the unicorn sighed. "Just when I thought things could go back to normal."
"Perhaps if you told us, we might know how to return the state of things," Rarity said.
"You want to know. Alright. Give me a hoof with this, and I'll tell you."
Mickey got behind the cart, and started pushing, while Twilight and Rarity grabbed either side. Rarity, somewhat hesitantly.
"First of all, for formality's sake, I think I should introduce myself. Name's Copper. And I've been working this mine with my dad since I was a teenager. My dad was an earth pony, and he always told me that this kind of work wasn't for unicorns. But, I wanted to be like him since as far back as I can remember. And I wanted to take over this mine and make all these new, modern changes to the workplace. See, my dad used to be the boss here, and was one heck of a guy. Even though he was a tough boss and worked us hard, everypony loved him. The guy was never overbearing, or hyper-demanding. Nothing like the new boss here."
"What happened to him? Why would your father turn over control of the mine to these thugs?" Twilight asked.
"He...got sent down the shaft."
"The shaft?"
"Yeah. Down there."
They looked to where Copper pointed, and saw in the deepest, darkest part of the mine an elevator that went even deeper underground. Unlike the other rocky walls of the mine, the walls around the elevator were all etched smooth, and untouched by the worker's tools. Stranger still were the thin traces of veins of unnaturally colored metals in the walls.
"Dad was the first one to be sent down there. The boss says there's something in the deep parts of the mine that he wants, but he won't tell us what it is. And anypony he sends down there never comes back up,” Copper finished.
"That's terrible!" Mickey shouted from behind. "If it was me, I'd give this new boss what for!"
"You'd have your head handed to you, if you did. Believe me, this guy's not somepony you want to mess with. And as far as I can tell, me and the others are going to be working for that totalitarian for the rest of our lives, until we run off to some remote area in the surrounding wilderness, until something eats us."
"Come on, fella. That's quitter talk! What about all that inspiration to do something with your old man's mine, huh?" Mickey said.
"That's all behind me, now. All I got is a future in this horrible place."
Outside the mine, a shrill whistle sounded off.
"Oh boy! You know what that means: break time!" Mickey said cheerfully. Anything to lighten the mood in the dismal mine.
"That used to mean break time. Now, it means you just switch your station," Copper explained.
No sooner did he finish speaking, did he get bumped out of the way by another stallion, who stepped right into his harness to pull the cart.
Copper himself was bumped into where a pickax was stuck into the rocky wall.
The stallion before him clambered up a wall, where he took over manning a sluice.
A mare on a wooden board supported by a rope and pulley was lowered to the ground, before she went off to manage one of the carts. The stallion who lowered her took her place on the board, and was promptly pulled up the wall by a much more muscular stallion.
"What kind of system is this? It looks completely ludicrous," Rarity observed.
"It is. The boss says that it's made to be more efficient and keep workers from fatigue, but we all know that's a bunch of horse apples. It's just a way of keeping us even more tired and exhausted, so we don't try to do anything about these slave drivers," Copper said.
"That does it! I don't care how tough you think yer boss is. I'm gonna go and crack rocks with his face!" Mickey declared.
"WHERE'S THAT MOUSE!!!!?"
The entire mine rumbled from the sudden, forceful shout.
Mickey, Rarity, Twilight and Copper were all shaken off their feet from the sheer shock of the volume.
"Quick! Hide!" Copper said, suddenly pushing Mickey behind a pile of fallen rocks.
Looking up toward the entrance of the mine, Mickey could make out the enormous shape of the boss, silhouetted against the blinding light of the surface.
"Pete!?" Mickey wondered, noticing how large the boss was. Then, he realized that it couldn't possibly be. Pete was hugely fat, and this guy was all muscle. Also, despite being a cat, Pete had no claws.
The boss's eyes scanned the depth of the mine, looking for the ermine intruder. Then, he caught sight of a pair of round ears peeking up from behind a pile of rocks.
From where he hid, Mickey could hear the sounds of heavy boots rushing toward himself. On an instinct, Mickey ran away from the pile of rocks that were hiding him, just before they burst apart.
Mickey dove, avoiding the rocks that sailed over his head. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw in the dim light of the boss's head lamp the snarling face of an enormous badger.
"So, yer the mouse Pete's been talkin' about," the badger said.
"So, Pete is involved!" Mickey thought.
"Word has it yer bad news, son. So, I think it's in my best interest to takes ya outta the picture.”
The badger raised his claws, and rushed toward Mickey.
Mickey grabbed a two by four from a stack of wood to defend himself.
With a rapid swing of his claws and the sound of a buzzsaw, the badger reduced the lumber to sawdust, leaving Mickey with a stump in his hands.
"Heh heh. Well, whaddaya know..." Mickey chuckled nervously.
The badger snarled loudly, and Mickey threw the stub of wood into his mouth before he could attack again, and ran away.
"Not so fast, sonny boy!" the badger shouted, and plunged his fist into the rocky wall.
Where Mickey was, a hunk of rock jutted out and jabbed him in the face, the exact same size as the one the badger punched.
Using only one arm, the badger lifted an entire mine cart loaded with dirt over his head to throw at Mickey.
Mickey punched the rock that jabbed him, and sent it back into the wall.
The badger was hit by the jabbing rock in the wall, and dropped the cart on himself.
The onlookers all watched in awe of what was happening before them. Even Twilight and Rarity, who had seen Micky do such things before, were surprised by the ingenuity of the mouse.
"Well, let's not just stand here! Let's do something!" Twilight said.
Rarity was one step ahead of her friend, and started pushing a mine card down the tracks that Mickey and the badger were on.
"Wait!" Copper said.
Using what strength he had left, Copper heaved a large rock into the cart, its weight sure to add momentum and inertia to the movement.
"Okay! Now push!" he said.
Taking the miner's cue, Twilight and Rarity both started pushing the cart, slowly building up speed, until they were roaring down the track to the badger's backside.
Past his opponent's enormous form, Mickey saw a cart rapidly approaching from behind.
The badger swung his claws, just as Mickey dove off the tracks.
There was a loud crash, as Rarity and Twilight knew they had struck hard and true. Quite hard, in fact, as the entire cart was crumpled like a tin can. However, nothing was done to the badger at all.
The badger had gone completely rigid, as though he suddenly had turned to stone. His eyes remained popped wide open, as he slowly turned to face the mares.
"Yer gonna get it now," one of the nearby gophers said.
Mickey tried throwing a rock at the boss, only for the badger to catch it without even looking, and crush it in his grip.
Rarity and Twilight watched the badger's eyes gradually turn bloodshot, and slowly backed away from him. The badger took a single step toward them, and the mares screamed loudly and ran away from him.
No matter how Twilight and Rarity tried to run, it didn't seem like they were going anywhere. Looking down, they saw that the tracks were being pulled backwards underneath them.
The wooden planks of the tracks broke against the badger's chest, as he pulled the metal rails toward himself.
This was bad. Mickey needed to find a way to help his new friends, and looked frantically for a solution.
A drop of water landed on his nose, and he looked up to see a series of pipes drilled into the ceiling that led outside. The irrigation system for the sluice, most likely. Grabbing a pickax, the mouse climbed a scaffolding and set to work.
Once the mares were close enough, the badger took the two pieces of rail, and used them to tie up the mares like he was using a length of rope.
After he had bound the mares, he stooped down for a closer look at Twilight.
"Well, I'll be dipped..." The boss murmured. Twilight wrinkled her nose at the boss's breath. "Either my vision's off, or yer one o' thems alicorns."
"That's right..." Twilight coughed, "And, as Equestrian royalty, I'm going to see to it that you get what's coming to you!"
"Banish him, Twilight! Send him to the depths of his own wretched mine!" Rarity said.
"Ya two got a lotta spunk, don't ya? That's exactly the kinda spirit I want in my mine workers,” the badger said.
"No! No! I won't stay another minute in this horrible place!" Rarity shrieked.
"Ain't no army what can take ya outta here, darlin'."
"She doesn't need one when she's got me!" Mickey’s voice called out.
The badger had forgotten about Mickey, who had been busily chipping away at the supports for the pipes in the ceiling.
Without anything to hold them, the pipes began to sag, and the weight of the water they carried started taking its toll.
"We're gonna need some caps down here!" a gopher shouted up toward the surface, just before pipes burst open, sending a torrent of water into the mine.
The badger took the full brunt of it, getting knocked off his feet by the rush of liquid, while Twilight and Rarity were both showered heavily.
Panic ensued through the mine, as tools, equipment, gear, ponies and gophers were thrown about in the wash.
The water level rose, and Twilight and Rarity both lifted their chins to keep above the water.
"You mares need a hoof?" Copper asked, as he floated by in a wooden tub.
With the combined strength of the three ponies, Copper was able to free Twilight and Rarity, and help them into the tub with himself.
"Where's Mickey? We need to find him!" Twilight said.
"Hey! I'm up here!" Mickey called, waving from the top of the scaffolding.
No sooner did he announce his position did the scaffolding start shaking. With a sudden burst, the badger crawled up to the top and faced off with Mickey.
"Yer ruinin' my whole business, boy!" the badger said, as he swung his claws at Mickey. "Normally, I'd give troublemakers like you the shaft, but I'm just gonna make a fine powder outta you!"
The badger kept attacking, destroying large parts of the scaffolding as he did.
Mickey grabbed onto a stalactite, just as it was broken off by the badger.
The mouse swung it like a club, only for it to break apart on the boss's head.
"That the best you got, son? Try this on fer size."
The badger took a lantern off its hook, took a swig from the bottle off his belt, and spat into the light's flame, creating a fireball that blew Mickey backwards.
Mickey backpedaled, and fell off the scaffolding, only barely clinging to the ledge.
"Mickey! Down here!"
Looking down, Mickey saw his friends floating in a wash tub. Copper was holding fast to the scaffolding, to allow Mickey to jump into their makeshift vessel.
The current was pulling them down the mine, and pulling on the supports of the structure.
Mickey looked up, and saw the badger holding his lantern and taking another gulp from his jug.
Taking the chance, Micky let go of the scaffold, just as another fireball was spewed.
He landed in the washtub, the sudden jolt of his landing pulling it so that Copper pulled the leg of the scaffolding out.
Now, with no support beneath him, the badger fell down and splashed into the water.
The splash sent the washtub careening down the mine, back to the deepest, darkest part.
"Oh no!" Copper said.
"What is it?!" Rarity asked.
"We're going right toward the shaft!"
Looking down the way, they could all see the water draining into the deep hole. Frantically, they all started paddling against the current, hoping in vain to escape the pull.
The badger burst snarling out of the water next to Twilight, and swiped at her.
His claws only hit the side of the tub, and sent it spinning away, into the swirling vortex where the shaft drained the water.
The badger too was pulled in, and they all went spiraling about in the opening of the shaft, slowly going down, down, down, until they disappeared into the darkness with the last of the water.
The workers had capped the broken pipes, and began picking up the pieces. One thing was certain: when the boss got out of there, he wasn't going to be happy.