//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Between a Rock Farm and a Hard Place // Story: APP: The Fall of a Pink Pony // by Underwood //------------------------------// The Everfree Forest is a location of superstition and cautionary tales; an unnatural place where plants grow on their own and animals look after themselves. It has long been tradition that pegasi govern the weather in the skies, earth ponies plough the fields and clear the seasons, and unicorns raise the sun and the moon every day. Society has evolved since then, of course: pegasi don't simply manage the weather, but create it with the advanced technology in their floating factories; earth ponies created tools and festivals to better their working of the land, fostering strong communities and a sense of pride in a job done by hoof; while the duty of raising the sun and moon passed on from unicorns as a whole to the alicorn nobility, leaving them to develop their magic, science, and high culture. But through it all, the Everfree Forest persisted; ever creeping forward, uncontrollable and unstoppable. It would be a lie to say the ponies of Ponyville weren't worried about the forest's proximity to their village, having overrun the Castle of the Two Sisters one-thousand years ago, and grown unnoticeably closer with each passing moon. Now no more than ten minutes outside of town, the dark, dense, and foreboding vegetation looms high over anypony that dares approach it. Pinkie Pie was now one such pony. Visiting Zecora for a poison joke cure was the last time she had been in the forest, but it hadn't been the first time, and nor was it the deepest she had ventured. Back when Twilight first arrived at Ponyville, the six then-friends had ventured deep into the forest to find the Elements of Harmony within the Castle of The Two Sisters. It was quite the adventure, filled with ghosts, and monsters, and ancient ruins, and singing. The six of them had harnessed the magic within themselves to defeat the darkness of Nightmare Moon, proving that the heart was mightier than the sword, and returning Princess Luna to where she belonged, back by her sister's side. But what did that all mean now? That camaraderie, that widening of horizons, all those months of laughter and friendship leading to this point—all alone in a cold, dark, musky forest. Thick, gnarled branches clawed at the moonlit sky overhead as Pinkie cautiously pushed forward. As wild and scary as the forest was, there were still a few convenient paths that could be followed, though it didn't take long before she found herself in uncharted territory. The route was fairly simple: travel south through the forest, then follow the Ghastly Gorge until you reach the San Palomino Rockies, and home is just on the other side. While this wasn't a journey she had made before, she had once run away from home as far as the Rockies, so she was hopeful she would recognise where to turn off the road to Los Pegasus. Creaks and groans filled the windy silence of the long trek through the woods, accompanied by darting shadows and glowing eyes peering from within the darkness. The dense overhead growth made the forest gloomy even during the day, so despite the luck of tonight's bright moon—thank Luna—Pinkie could barely see ten hooves in front of her. She thought about stopping for the night, but she had neither camping equipment, the desire to stay here any longer than she had to, nor the ability to sleep with these cursed eyes always watching her. Despite her reluctance, time waits for no pony, and exhaustion soon forced her to seek shelter in a cold, damp, rotted-out tree, which looked uncomfortably like a face. Using her sack of (hard and pointy) worldly possessions as a pillow, she curled up into a ball and did the best she could to ignore the damp cold. Sleep did not come easily. The night was long, scary, and full of strange noises. She dreaded the thought of being forced to live like this; at least she had somewhere to go. It took four and a half days, but Pinkie eventually made it through the Everfree Forest, past the bulk of the Ghastly Gorge, and toward the more familiar territory of where she grew up. She didn't go back home very often, usually only for Hearth's Warming Day, and only by train and cart, not on hoof. The memory of all the decorations, blinking lights, cold air biting at her lips, and a nice, warm bowl of rock soup to stave off the chills brought a weak smile to Pinkie's face. Her stomach groaned at this thought, reminding her how long it had been since she last ate. The forest hadn't been so bad; there were berries, plants and mushrooms to forage for food, but the land around here was barren—barely a living thing in sight. A tumbleweed obnoxiously crossed her path with perfect comedic timing as she dragged her hooves onwards, sweating under the hot midday sun. Having loomed in the distance for hours, the San Palomino Rockies now towered over her—its peaks obscured by the blinding light of the sun. The Applewood Hills stretched far off to her right as she traced the edge of the Ghastly Gorge, at the bottom of which ran Longfall Stream. She had left the beaten path a little while ago, recognising the water below as the brook that flows right past the farm. Pinkie paused and looked up at the snow-covered mountaintop, shielding her eyes with a weary hoof. It was probably really cold up there. She sighed, trying to ignore her chapped lips and shaking legs. She should have rationed the apples or gathered more supplies in the forest, but right now she was wishing she had packed some drinking-water. She had never had to consider how important water was before now. What she wouldn't do for a tall glass of ice-water. Swallowing dryly, she continued her journey around the left side of the mountain range, the final obstacle separating her from the rock farm. She thought back to the last time she saw a map of Equestria... 'Not to scale' indeed. Another forty minutes of walking passed before the high cliffs of the Ghastly Gorge had tapered to a manageable height, allowing access to the stream. Pinkie desperately descended the steep decline, catching her hoof on some dried brush and tumbling the rest of the way, landing face-first into the brook. Half-drowning and half-drinking, the immersion was instant relief. The water was slightly bitter and had a metallic aftertaste, but she didn't care, it was cool and made everything feel better. With renewed strength, Pinkie pushed herself out of the knee-high water, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. Her stomach felt full for the first time in so many hours. Wiping the residual moisture from her mouth and squeezing the water out of her hair—which had needed washing for some time now—Pinkie continued down the stream towards the rock farm. “How did they do it?” she silently wondered. “How did ponies live like this, before the towns, and cities, and shops, and-” She stopped. The next word was going to be 'cakes', but even the thought of sweet things was too much to bare. It reminded her too much of what she had left behind. 'Who' she had left behind. Two more hours passed before Pinkie Pie started seeing the familiar dead, blackened trees of her foalhood home. A thin, rickety wooden fence stretched out for miles in each direction, surrounding little more than a barren wasteland of rocks and quarries, with a modest farmhouse far off in the middle. It was hard to imagine what life would be like back on the farm. There was a very good reason she ran away from home as a filly that one time, and then moved to Ponyville at such a young age. There had never been any bad blood between her and her family, though, and she loved her sisters so, so much. They had always supported her alternative lifestyle the best they could, but everypony knew that she simply wasn't built for life on the farm. Despite being so young, they gave her their blessing to pack up and go live with with the... Cakes... and live her dream as a party planner. That felt like an eternity ago... Had she wasted her life? Smiles were the only payment she had ever wanted for all her hard work, but where were those now? Lost in thought, Pinkie was surprised to find herself already at the smaller inner-fence of the Pie Family Rock Farm. It was all there, just like she remembered it: the farmhouse, the wind-thingy, the silo, Holder's Boulder. She expected this familiar scene to be a comforting sight after such a long, painful journey, but the structures stood cold and judgemental in front of her. Her heart raced. Was this what anxiety felt like? A vision of her disapproving parents filled her mind, scowling, wondering where they went wrong. Was she admitting defeat? Running home to mummy and daddy as soon as things got hard? Was this an admission that her party-pony lifestyle had been wrong all along? Was this proof of her failure? The questions berating her mind remained unanswered as the door to the farmhouse broke the solemn stillness of the barrens. Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock—her mother and father—stepped out from the interior, the picture of simple living. They moved a short distance from the house and stopped, prompting her to move forward to meet them. Pinkie swallowed hard, hoping her fears would follow the lump in her throat. They wouldn't be mad with her, right? They had always loved and supported her, despite not really understanding her... Hay, this would be like an extended vacation where she can spend all the time in the world with her BSFFs (Best Sister Friends Forever)! It'll be so much fun; the Pie sisters back together again! Well, except for Maud, who was away doing her rocktorate near Manehatten, which was a shame, but she still had two other super-duper sisters to spend time with. Wait, how long had she been thinking for? Her parents were waiting! Pinkie vigorously shook her head to dispel the thoughts, then climbed through the dilapidated fence surrounding the inner-buildings and made her way towards her parents. She trotted up to them slowly, the best her sore hooves could manage, and put on the best, weak smile she could muster. “H-Hey...” she awkwardly rasped. It had been a while since she'd last spoken out loud—especially for her—and her voice was a little hoarse, no pun intended. “Pinkamena Diane Pie, what in this land of Equestria art thou doing here?” her father replied in his old-timey drawl, a comforting reminder of more hopeful times. “It's a long story,” she weakly chuckled, “perhaps we could talk about it over some warm rock soup?” She tried smiling again, hoping for it to be returned on her parents' faces. It was not. “Alack, daughter, thou shalt not step within the homestead.” Her mother's voice was monotone and her expression sour, which was normal, but she wasn't known for her jokes. This had to be a joke, right? “What? Why?” That same hollow and dark dread she felt in Sugarcube Corner a few days ago was returning. “Simply, thou art no longer welcome here,” her father replied, turning to face Cloudy Quartz. “Your mother and I have spoken, and come to an accord that thou art too... different to remain within this family.” He turned back further to look at the farmhouse and raised his voice. “Is that not correct, daughters?” On this command, two more ponies emerged from the interior, one a dusty purple and the other a soft grey. Both were instantly recognisable to Pinkie as her sisters, Limestone Pie and Marble Pie respectively—or as they called each other during their foalhood—'Blinkie' and 'Inkie'. Pinkie was the only one to retain her nickname beyond their formative years, despite her parents' resistance to it; but this wasn't out of defiance, she just preferred the bouncy sound that 'Pinkie' has to it. Maud was the only one of them to not have a nickname, being the elder sister, and just way too Maud to change. You can't improve perfection! She made a joke once that her nickname should be 'Clyde', and that's when Pinkie knew her sister was destined for comedic greatness. “We have names y'know, Dad. Geez...” Limestone scowled, as acerbic as ever, while Marble quietly followed behind. “You- You don't want me here either?” Pinkie's voice was wispy, feeling light-headed from the emotional sucker-punch. “No, we don't want you here. We've been running this rock farm just fine without you, after you cantered off to Ponyville. You don't need us? Well we don't need you, got it?” Limestone spat, now standing with their parents. “Mhm,” Marble agreed. Even she wanted Pinkie gone? Pinkie Pie flashed back to ground floor of Sugarcube Corner, seeing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy where Lime and Marble had been a second before. She saw Gummy being held away from her again, and her eyes filled with tears. “Do not make this more trying than it need be, Pinkamena,” her father spoke up, causing the memory to streak away like the tears down her cheek. “The time of reconciliation hath long since passed.” “Okay,” she barely whispered. Her voice and body shook, but she remained quiet. Resigned. 'Okay'? How could this be 'okay'? Her friends had betrayed her and her family had disowned her. She wanted to fight for their love, refuse to leave, scream to Celestia herself about how unfair everything was... but her voice had no more words left to share. She turned, cloudy-eyed and expressionless. There was no fire left inside to fuel her, no reason to struggle anymore, no hope, no future. Igneous, Cloudy, Limestone and Marble all watched on as the pink pony shuffled away, her steps heavy and without purpose. There was nothing left to say. As Pinkie passed under the outer-fence's main archway, a wooden sign hung over her head, reading: 'PIE FAMILY ROCK FARM; The Home of Holder's Boulder'. Had she noticed or cared, the thought of 'family' would have seemed pretty laughable right now. The farm had originally been called 'Rockville Rock Farm', before their competitor, Rockville Quarry, opened up on the other side of town. The quarry operated far more efficiently than them due to their excavation machinery, so emphasis had to be made on their family values and hoof-carved rocks. Leaving the farm, you'll find yourself on a dirt track leading in opposite directions. Turning right will take you towards Rockville train station—which would certainly be running at this time of day—and beyond to the town proper, while the left path curves back around the farm and ends at Longfall Stream. Pinkie's legs continued to carry her forward without direction, turning left and back towards the path she had come from. The world was a grey blur, devoid of detail or meaning. There was nowhere left for her to go. No friends, no family, no home. So she just walked. And walked. And walked. She passed dead trees, a stream, a mountain, a gorge, a railroad. There was no purpose to her travel, no aim in sight, no destination. She was simply walking... Walking... Walking... Walking... Walki- Pinkie collapsed on the floor, exhausted, dehydrated, and malnourished. Was this the end? Did she care? The world faded from view, and she welcomed the inky black void with open hooves. A final release from this torture. No more pain, only rest.