Just as you predicted, today starts just the same as yesterday. You walk into the kitchen, and consider eating. The bland room around you always made everything unappetizing, not that rocks were exactly appetizing. You were about to give up on Breakfast once again, when your stomach growls from the lack of food eaten yesterday. You sit down, your flimsy pink hair draping over your face. Tucking it behind your ear, you take a bite of the food given to you, rocks.
As the second youngest in your family, with your sister Marble Pie being the youngest, you weren't required to clean your plate. But, honestly, you didn't really care that much. It just meant that you were the first to get to work out in the field. opening the door, you look out at the acres in front of you. The ground was a dull brown, and the rocks in front of you were almost all gray. Occasionally, you ran into a small rock that was tinted blue, purple, or yellow, but that was pretty much it. This life suited some ponies well. The consistency of a rock farm worker's life rarely lead to stress. But for you, each day left you with endless amounts of aching sadness and tension.
Stepping out of the house to your designated work space, you look behind you to find that your sisters had begun to file out of the house as well. Marble was pulling an old, creaky, wooden cart behind her, and Maud was holding a worn down pickaxe in her mouth. Limestone was coming over too, and, in attempt to prevent provoking her anger, you back out of the way . . . into a large pile of rocks she had set up yesterday. Rocks topple to the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I-" Limestone whips around to glare at you. Her stare fills your entire body with dread. You shut your eyes tight, but you can feel her accusing eyes burrow into you. You can hear Maud simply walk by you, and after a few moments, Marble leaves as well.
"Just great, Pinkie Pie! I can't believe-" But Limestone doesn't get a chance to finish. Your eyes had already begun to water and you canter away.
Once you'd put some distance between you and your sisters, you let the tears roll down your face. Your cheeks become stiff with the salty substance. Taking deep breaths to calm down, you slump against a large rock on the edge of the farm. You've stopped crying, but you know that if you head back now, you'll just start sobbing again. So instead you sit there, thinking. No one was going to come check on you, anyway.
"Why me? Why this? Why! Wh-" Suddenly it struck you. Maybe this was your destiny. Limestone and Maud hadn't gotten their cutie marks yet, but you were still old enough to get yours.
"Is this what I'm meant to do?" You know very well that it could be. Your eyes fill once again with tears. You were longing for an answer, but no pony ever talked to you. Especially about how you felt. No pony would ever explain to you what was supposed to happen next, or what you could do about it. Or at least, you thought no pony would, until . . .
What else would you destiny be?
What was that? It almost sounded like a voice.
You look around for the source of the noise. All you notice were some pebbles, teetering in the wind. But the the motion. It was surprisingly close to the movements of something living. It seems too alive to be caused by the breeze. It was almost as if they were moving by themselves. The world around you blurs into a mess of brown and gray as the rocks spoke again.
I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up doing this for the rest of your life.
"No . . . no! I can't do this anymore! My destiny could be something else. It should be something else. It will be!" You say, stopping your hoof to the ground.
What makes you sure?
You look behind you to see that the rock you were sitting against was moving, responding. You stand up and start pacing back and forth, uneasy. When you finally look up, you feel like the pebbles surrounding you have inched closer.
You'll be stuck slaving away here forever. You will never be happy. Ever. Always working with the people who will never understand you. You-
"So what do I do!" Tears were streaming down your face. "What do I do? How do I change my destiny? Should I run away? Where would I go! Would they take me back if I couldn't make it? What if I asked if I could leave? Would they let me? They would probably keep them in their sight at all times! WHAT DO I DO!"
Simple. A new voice. Sharper. More clear. A dagger like rock seemed to shake. Perhaps a bit more than the others. Choose not to have a destiny.
"Wh . . . What do you mean?"
You know exactly what I mean.
You did. You know how to end your destiny. But you are scared. The other voices start up again.
Do it. You don't want to be stuck here forever. So do it. This is what you want.
You take a few cautious steps towards the pointed rock. You pick it up, but hesitate.
Why are you stopping? This is your one escape. You want this. Do it.
You pick the rock up, but you were sobbing now. You were scared. But you had to do this, right? Right? Bringing the rock to your throat, you press. Blood leaks from the cut.
Do it. You want this. Do it.
Taking a deep breath, you bring the rock to your throat again.
"I . . . I want this. I want this! This is my one escape! Th-three. Two. O-" You stop. You hear what sounds like wet rags being slapped against the ground.
Do it. Do it!
The world around you came into focus. Colors, even how few they are, return. The rocks are moving less that you thought. Was it the wind? Was it you?
Do it! Do it! Do it!
The voices dissolved into the hum of the wind, and the objects around you steady. You drop the rock to the ground.
"Hello?" The sound grew louder. Your head told you to run, but your heart told you to stay put. So you did.
"Hello? Is anypony there?" You gasp. A long green snout appears from behind a rock, and two large purple eyes follow. You had never seen anything like it before. Besides you, your family, and occasionally a few crows, no other creatures had ever been found on the rock farm. Especially not so . . . full of color.
"What are you?"