//------------------------------// // Side-Finale: Actions Have Consequences // Story: Cornfield's Sour Side Story // by BSting //------------------------------// Side-Finale “Whoa! Ok ok! We surrender!” cried Cornfield, the awkward photographer earth pony, as he rose his hooves in the air at the sight of many spears pointed at his direction. He and another earth pony, Limestone Pie, are helpless against the ring of bulky Diamond Dog soldiers surrounding them. They were certainly in their territory, inside an underground cavern with tunnels all over leading out to who knows where. Sounds of pickaxes hitting cave walls echo through each cavity. Common sense made the young colt submit as fast as he could, but he wasn’t so sure about the irritable mare beside him. “RIIIIIIIGHT, Limestone?” Limestone, filled with murderous fury against her captors, rose from the ground and attempted to give as many dogs a killing glare as she could. “The HAY I do! Where’s my sister, you literal sons of bitches!” The dogs were surprised to see this equine not quiver by their numbers. Her tag-along, however, had more sense as he struggled to dissuade her. “Whoa! Easy, Limestone! There’s too many of them!” “Get back, rock pony!” One guard demanded in front of them, thrusting his spear threateningly forward to push them back. Another one laughed from behind. “HA! There too many of us and only two of you!” “Indeed. You’d best surrender quietly, lest might AND magic overwhelms you,” warned a voice from behind the wall of guards.The soldiers made room for a rather puny Diamond Dog. Though it had the usual traits, such as the spiked ball tail and oversized forelegs, he stood out more as a white chihuahua with bugged out, green eyes. He also donned an oversized magician’s hat and cloak, probably stolen from a student in magic. Peculiarly, among his wardrobe was a medallion around his neck, adorned with an obsidian spherical core and a golden frame surrounding it. Cornfield stared at the pint-sized mutt with disbelief. “What the-?” the colt couldn’t help but ask aloud. “Am I dreaming? ‘Cuz this is getting freaky.” A guard stuck his spear the perplexed camera pony’s face. “SILENCE! Show our leader some respect!” Cornfield whimpered in response. “Oh ho ho.” the small dog chuckled haughtily. “Ignore the simpleton kissing up. I’m only the Alpha’s assistant magician. However, it essentially means I’m one important pooch.” Striking a pose, he pointed to the ceiling from where the ponies fell from. “Tremble in fear at the sight of my geomancy, which made the quicksand puddle above you float in place to snare dumb ponies such as yourselves. You may call me, the Great Magician Fifi!” He spread his paws out as pebbles around him begun to levitate. The obsidian medallion also casted a lighted aura around it. Unfazed by the creature’s parlor trick, Limestone scowled at him with a stare that could cut glass. “I don’t care about you, your dumbass name, or your smokes and mirrors. I’m going to ask again and I’m not gonna be nice. Where. Is. My. SISTER?” Amused by her temperment, Fifi flicked a single digit of his paw at her direction, hitting her on the forehead with a pebble. She stood there speechless, not knowing what to make of that playful attack. “Ummm... You have to excuse my friend here.” Cornfield bowed his head as he groveled. “She’s... Not very familiar with common courtesy. What she meant to say was ‘If you would be so kind as to-’” Before he could say another word, Limestone quickly snapped back at him. “Don’t speak for me! I have a mouth and you should keep yours SHUT!” The volume of her voice reverberated about the cave and rang in the ears of each dog near her, including Fifi’s. “If it will keep you from yelling, then fine.” said the tiny magician as he stuck a claw in his ear to dull the sound. “My guards admittedly do have a low whining tolerance.” “Welcome to my world, buddy...” whispered the colt as his blonde tail whipped once from pure annoyance. “Your sister is working in our gem mines. A fair trade for the injustice done to our tribe! For our preeeecious gem traded in for your pitiful pony peace had been stolen. The Puppy Peridot!” Popping each ‘P’ made him spit a bit of slobber in the direction of the ponies. Cornfield cringed from the slimy saliva as he stood up carefully. “Look guys, I’m just a photographer studying rock farm life. Whatever it is you have against her isn’t my business. So now that we know where Marble is, I’ll leave this matter between you two.” Thinking that he had every right to leave, he turned to trot his way out only to be immediately confronted by the guards, staring down at his small stature. “Ah ah ah. No one leaves the mines until we find a gem that is just as pretty, if not moreso than the Peridot.” The mini mutt wringed his paws in devious glee. “And how fortunate we are to have new miners to join our efforts. Of course, if you and your traitorous pony kind have the Peridot, just say so and we’ll accompany you and your sister on your way to get it.” “Guilty!” A feminine playful voice once again halted Cornfield’s retelling of his story in the present day. He turned to see his hippogriff friend sitting with him on the train station and raising a single claw up after making her plea. “Coral!” He protested, annoyed that she interrupted him once again. Reaching into her one of her saddle bags where she kept her more important possessions, she pulled out a yellowish-green shining gem shaped like a paw print. She held it to the sun’s light to let it sparkle for her partner. “Didn’t think a heist like that would cause you ponies so much trouble in the past.” “Wha--!” Cornfield sat flabbergasted, almost not believing that their paths intertwined indirectly. Oh... You!” he sneered at the gem thief. “Do you realize what trouble you caused!?” “Perhaps. But what can I say? It’s a very pretty gem.” She let the sparkle of the jewel reflect in her eyes for a moment, basking in its beauty “I’m not made of stone, Cornfield. I see what I like and I take it.” The colt quickly dismissed the babble. “Maybe now that you see what the consequences of your actions are, you’ll stop stealing out of pure greed, hm?” The hippogriff ignored him, still angling the gem in the sun to get the most shine. “Poor Marble... Being made into a slave like that.” “Hmm, perhaps what I did was inconvenient for you three.” Getting her fill of the glimmer, she tucked the gem back in her bag. “But, you’re still here, so that must mean that it all worked out, right?” He thought ahead on the events after his capture for a brief moment. “It’s not that simple... But, at least I’m not sleeping with the fishes. Anyway, let me finish.” “Yes, sorry, go on.” Coral leaned a little closer to him. “Now I’m intrigued on what they did to you, after I stole a priceless artifact that turned out to be a peace treaty between a family and a tribe. Go figure.” Limestone, not fearing death for the sake of her family, lunged at the yappy little dog only to be pulled on the tail by one of the guards. He hoisted her in the air, dangling the small mare upside-down! “L-Let go!” she demanded as she swung her hooves at the guard. “Whoa, guys!” Cornfield said as he stepped forward to Fifi. “Like I said, I surrender. I’ll help with mining and stuff. But, so long as you don’t hurt her or the other sister, ok? We have a deal?” He stuck his hoof outward offering a friendly agreement. “Wait? What?! What are you doing?!” the Pie sister questioned. He glanced at her and gave his most subtle wink. Every dog in front of him saw him do it. “Hmm,” the chihuahua hummed, slowly forming a wicked smile as the gears in his head began turning. “So, that means if they get out of line, it goes to you? If they act up, you suffer? Is that what you are proposing?” “Uhhh...” Beads of sweat dripped down the colt’s face from such a sinister offer. “Pony feathers!” he cursed in his head. “I didn’t think this through.” Even though it didn’t go the way he would have wanted, he decided to roll with it regardless for the sake and favor of two pretty mares. “...Yes,” he agreed aloud, “But they’ll behave, so don’t worry about that” “Ah, excellent! I always wanted a dummy to test my magic on, but mares are too frail. Stallions, however, are more hardy.” “Oh. Great,” thought Cornfield as shook the magician’s paw half-heartedly. “So how long will it take for us to mine whatever it is you need anyway?” he asked. The trickster flashed a devious, stained, toothy grin. “If your lucky, it will take a few hours. If you’re not. It will take a few years!” With the snap of his digits, the guard holding Limestone unceremoniously dropped her to the floor. The concerned colt rushed to her side and offered his hoof to help her up. “Are you alright?” “Rrrgh,” she groaned. “Why did you do that?” She took his hoof and helped herself up with it. “Listen, we don’t have a choice,” he whispered in her ear. “This way we can reunite with your sister. Then, we come up with a plan. Perhaps Marble has learned something already about this place?” He could tell that Fifi and the guards were trying to listen in. “...AND that’s why I LOVE YOU, SWEETIE!” He abruptly shouted out, then kissed her on the cheek. Limestone wretched away, but also blushed profusely from such a dubious act. She put her hoof on her cheek with her right eyelid twitching, not knowing what to say. Before long, the prisoner duo were led by two armed guards into the depths of a tunnel. What was unusual to their senses was the soggy air layering them. It was if a popular hot spring neighbored the dismal caverns. The sounds of tireless pickaxes grew louder until the ponies witnessed that even ratty slave dogs were enslaved to the task of mining for gems. Marble Pie was amongst them, forced to toil on a vein of crystals at the dead end of their cavernous prison cell. “Marble!” Limestone slipped past the hardened guard escort to meet her dear sister. Uncharacteristically, she embraced the shy pony, hugging her with the deep affection only a beloved sister could. “You’re all right!” The soldiers glanced at each other and shrugged thoughtlessly before assuming their stationed positions. “WELP!” Cornfield shouted insensitively as he strutted his way to the sisters. “We made it this far. Aren’t you gonna introduce us, Limey baby?” Limestone’s emotional smile quickly disintegrated as she shot daggers from her eyes before sighing, just about fed up. She broke off the hug to stand between her gracious sister and the young creep. “Marble. This is perv pony. Perv pony. Marble.” “Ah ha…” he faked a laugh while scratching the hair on his neck. “I guess we never got properly introduced. I’m Cornfield, who is definitely NOT a perv.” He raised a hoof assuredly. “You think he’s a perv, right, sis?” The limey girl whispered conspicuously enough for both to hear with an evil grin. “...Mmhmm,” the shy pony agreed with anticipation. “HEY! How would you know?” “Still, as far as creeps go…” said Limestone, inching closer to Cornfield. “You at least had the stones to look out for me and Marble back there.” She playfully punched his shoulder lightly, but tho she held back, it would leave a bruise later. “Not bad, kid.” “Ow!” he cried, flinching. “Kid!? I’m almost 18!” Rubbing his physically depressed shoulder, he faced Marble, who hid under her long mane. “Besides, I think I deserve a bit more credit than that, Marble. If I hadn’t shown up, you’d be stuck above ground... Mining for… rocks… oh...” Her angrier sister had menacingly put her face between him and her sibling, shooting a glare that could strike terror even in a teenage dragon. He knew it was best to drop it now. “Uh, nevermind.” “All right, enough talking. You better get mining before you get flogged with a magic spell or something,” commanded Limestone as she helped pick up where her sister left off at the dead-end. She acquired a spare pickaxe, targeted the cavern wall next to her sister’s, and, using her hooves, swung like a batter in the last inning with bases loaded. “Hopefully, my family has a back-up plan to bail us out,” she yelled over the banging sounds of breaking the rocks. Searching around their excavation area to help them dig, Cornfield failed to spot digging equipment unchecked for. “Hey, Marble, where do they keep those tools?” he inquired. Marble pointed to a pile of junk a ways down the tunnel, past all the other dog slaves. “Uh, thanks.” He made his way over beyond the toiling mutts. As he examined the lump of supplies, the young photographer squinted and shuffled through the dimly illuminated stack of carelessly discarded scrap. While straining not to give himself tetanus, he heard muffled voices originating from somewhere outside the walls. His ears perked up and rotated in the direction of the sound like sonar dishes. “Huh?” He listened carefully for the origins of where the conversation resonated. His heart jumped once he pinpointed the prime location and zoned in on the discussion with his ear pressed into the harsh rocky wall. “So, have **** reported yet?” one voice said. Announcing orders like that, the photographer quickly deduced that voice belonged to Fifi. “It looks that way,“ another unintellectual-sounding voice answered. “Ruffer found water **** corner **** ****.” The sneaky colt struggled to make out all the words in the conversation. “Is that so? Well, **** fine that way.” “What is fine?” Cornfield thought to himself. “What are they talking about? Water?” All those years spying on mare’s thinking they were in privacy came to good use here; the peeping tom squeezed onto the hard surface to hone in on Fifi alone. Just as familiar was being caught as Limestone sensed the lack of creepiness around her and followed right behind. “What are you doing over here?” she asked aloud. He was almost scared witless by her sudden arrival, whipping his head to look back and whispered “SHHHHHHH! It’s Fifi and some other dog! Just don’t make a sound.” He resumed with his cheek flattened to the stone and Limestone at his side listening over him. “**rried about it. I hate getting wet!” the dumber voice complained. “Don’t worry your puny brain over it.” the shrill wizard commanded. “At this rate, it could take care of all our problems in one fell swoop! Including those pesky rock ponies and their esteemed stallion lover.” “L-Lover?!” the flustered mare hissed under her breath as she blushed angrily. “WAIT!” Cornfield impatiently shushed. “What’s he on about?” “Tell the miners to continue working!” the yappy magician demanded. “B-but...” The distinct sound of a stone hitting one’s cranium reverberated from the cave, accompanied with a yelp.  “...Y-yes...sir!” “Good!” Heavy pawsteps faded away as Fifi was presumably left alone to himself. “Oh well. I’d hope to keep collecting the gems sealed in the cavern walls.” He continued after a moment of contemplative silence. “But if there really is an embedded water basin next to the mines, the inevitable flood that ensues will simply drown out the mindless drones that were left with me along with those foolish ponies!” Limestone’s pupils shrunk to the size of microscopic beads, sided with gasping of despair and fright! “Thankfully, I’ll just escape into the panic room I had crafted for such an emergency. After the dust and water settles, I’ll make my way up to the surface with my magic, report to the Alpha, accuse the Rock family of their deaths, then he’ll HAVE to declare war on Equestria. With my magic, none will defy us. Then, I’ll stage a coup and every single gem in ALL of Equestria shall be MINE! MINE! MINE!” The powerful puppy laughed maniacally, losing himself from the scheme he cooked up at that moment. His cackling can be heard, gradually lower in volume, possibly on his way to put his plan into action. “Oh... My... Celestia!” exclaimed Cornfield as he lurched away from the wall. Limestone, for the first time in ages, felt real intimidation as her mouth hung open. It struck chills through her stone heart as she envisioned what the flood would do to her, Marble, and even Cornfield. “We…” Shaking her head like she downed some old family rock farm style moonshine, she mentally wrestled her emotions to remain in control of the situation. “We gotta do something! We can’t just let him drown us all!” “Ok, ok.” He shoved his hooves on her shoulders and stared deep into her lime-yellow eyes. “Let’s calm down here. First, we need to find out if this tunnel is the one holding the basin! You’re the rock expert. You can figure that one out, right?” Her ears shot up as she swiftly regained her grit. “Y-Yeah! I am! I didn’t inherit my dad’s rock farm for nothing!” She swatted his hooves off of her as if she didn’t care so much about the seriousness of the situation, as long as she’s in charge! Galloping pass the miners back to Marble, she subtly warned about their impending doom in her sister’s ear, causing her to whinny in terror. Limestone quickly followed it up with a hug, telling her that everything was going to be ok. Cornfield caught up to them, sweating profusely and scared to death. “Oh stallion, I can’t do this...” he thought as he whimpered. “Please tell me this is just a bad dream. PLEASE!” “So, yeah, Coral.” Present day colt said, chastising the treasure hunter sitting beside him. Thanks to you, Equestria could of been destroyed. NOW does it seem so harmless when you think about it?” Chuckling at the idea of such a little twerp managing to get that far with his plans for world domination, she shook her head and raised her eyebrow at him. “You honestly think he would have made it that far?” “...Well, no. I mean, there’s been a few bad guys who thought they could just beat out Equestria. Don’t forget these guys have LITERALLY lived under a rock this whole time.” He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment phrasing that statement. “I’m sure most of what they know of us ponies is outdated. They might not even realize the EUP was retired in favor of the Wonderbolts.” “True. The mutt might not realize that he’s up against more advanced units until it’s too late.” The Heart of Nature, the magical heart-shaped emerald grafted on her chest, dimmed its shine as she pulled out the Puppy Peridot and stared into its glassy beauty one more time. “I didn’t think I would risk ponies lives by stealing this, let alone the lives of many slaves...” “Exactly! See?” She breathed a heavy sigh. “I thought I was just stealing from the Alpha and Alpha alone. I didn’t mean to rope everyone into this.” “Even so, actions have consequences, Coral…” “I’m usually the one to just take something, fence it, and not look back. I have to fight to survive.” She placed the gem back safely in her bag and looked down on the wooden platform, a newfound concern of the creatures she robbed brewing inside. “If I didn’t do the things I’ve done, I would have two options. One is to simply starve. The other?” She sighed heavily. “Probably a slave in Kludgetown or a prostitute in the seedier sides of their Equestria’s cities. Pilfering is all I ever know, Cornfield. Ever since I left Mount Aris...” Tapping his hoof on his chin and staring into space, he deeply considered what his friend revealed of her trials and tribulations. “Hmmmm... Taking the gem did put others in life-threatening danger, yet if you hadn’t lived like that... You could of ended up…” His brain thoroughly racked, he scruffed his mane in frustration. “Oooooh, why does life have to be so ironic?!” The poor colt’s moral conundrum came to a halt when Coral held a single claw dead front of his face. “To be fair, the reason I still have the jewel with me now is because it’s too beautiful to let go. Instead of selling it for food or a roof over my head, I am keeping it for my own vanity. So, I’m still in the wrong no matter how you look at it.” She let her talons down gently on his lap, revealing a moment of tender humility, and gazed apologetically at him. “Cornfield. I’m sorry.” He responded with a hoof shouldering her. “No, Coral. It’s ok. After all it was in the past. No point in it anymore.” He put both hooves on his chest as if it were he was holding his heart, and breathed a longing sigh. “In fact, you enabled me to meet... An amazing girl…” Yanking her talons away in disgust, her stance quickly turned from tenderness to bitter jealousy, as she crossed her forelegs defiantly with her brows furrowed at him. “Well, the fact that you are here with me means it didn’t work out, right?” she questioned as she thought to herself. “Talking about a past crush with another mare? No tact whatsoever, as usual.” “...Yeah,” Cornfield said, finding it difficult to let go of the past. “The story is coming to a close, though. Shall I tell you about what we did after that?” “Might as well,” replied Coral as she relaxed and temporarily set aside what he said before. “I want to know what happened to that family, for my own conscience’s sake.” “Oh, they’re all dead now, but let’s talk about how I survived the whole thing!” Her face turned white as a cloud, as she reeled away from him with her feathers standing on end. “W-WHAT?!” Looking back at her, he leaned in with a big fat grin on his face. “JUST KIDDING! Hahahaha! Boy, you should see the look on your-” Unamused, a single claw of Coral’s turned into a sturdy vine and slashed the air. It resounded a frightening crack that screeched into Cornfield’s ears and led him to wince. “GAH!  Ok, I get it. Not funny. ANYWAY!” “Cornfield, get a grip!” Limestone barked as her ear focused on the cavern wall. “The slaves down here need to stop digging so we can search for the water basin! Marble and I need to listen for liquid to search for it, can you do something?” “Uh…” Cornfield hesitated and ran in place panically. “I-I’m not good in stressful situations like this! We need to alert someone from outside!” “We got guards outside in the caves.” she snapped back. “There’s no way they can allow that! Then, Marble murmured in her sister’s ear. Both dart up as her eyes sparkled with hope. “Cornfield, we got only one chance! If the Diamond Dog guards aren’t going to let us through, then we need to convince the slaves to dig upwards.” Confused but still frantic, Cornfield looked at her like she was a mental patient preaching to him about the end of the world. “Marble figured it out,” Limestone continued, “Mines and their structures are her specialty. If the basin is down here with us, that means it would drown everyone here in the lower mines, while the slaves working above are safe. Fifi must have found a basin higher up that will drown us all in one fell swoop.” “What?! You want to dig upwards to find the basin or something?!? NO WAY!” Upset that he’s not getting the picture, she smacked him across the cheek to calm him down. “OW!” he whinnied and rubbed his cheek. “Listen to me! As sad as it’s going to be, we can’t save all the slaves, but we can coerce the ones in our layer to dig in a certain direction where we can escape from the flood, up towards the surface.” “But what if the basin is down here with us anyway?” “Then, we’ll put our ears on the wall to hear the sounds of water. We just need to dig high enough so we can get a pocket of air and use whatever we have left to break out of here.” Finally, her idea clicked right with him as he nodded his head. “Oooooh... I see what you’re saying. But, how do we convince them?” “That’s on you.” the tough, stunning, and brave mare pointed at his chest. “Marble and I will start digging in a direction we know is safe.” Baffled, he stuck his hoof right over Limestone’s. “ME?!” “Who else?! If you can’t dig, then start explaining the situation. Or trick them. They’re pretty dumb.” With the game plan in mind, the Pie sisters hastily procured a pickaxe for each, and lunged upwards to break away the rock that stood against them and salvation! Meanwhile, Cornfield paused, contemplating on how in Equestria one colt could convince these enslaved dogs to follow his lead. Not only were the mutts dull as the rocks they’ve been excavating, but they were greedy as well. He might as well use that to his advantage. “Ok…” he spoke up with as much confidence he could muster, unsure how this will go. “I-I think I have something... Give me an axe.” Limestone pitched hers for the moment, following a “HERE!” and resorted to using her durable hooves to tear away at stone. He stared satisfyingly impressed before getting back to the plan with the renewed support of his friends. He secretly asked one of the sisters for another favor. “Marble, do you have any crystals or gems that I could use? Preferably a shiny one.” “Mmhmm,” Marble, with her usual mouthless dialogue, shucked out a crystal that she had faith would be grand enough to replace the peridot. “Perfect!” Toning down his excitement, he swiped it from her hooves and relocated to a significant alcove near the sisters. He swapped the axe into his mouth climbing higher and positioned to take a very good whack at a soft corner of the wall meeting the ceiling. After striking with enough force to make a sizable cavity, he handled the gem and wedged it in. Putting up his best poker face, he moved aside for the slaves to see his false bounty. “WOOHOO!” His voice loudly mirrored throughout the caverns. “JACKPOT, BABY! THERE MUST BE A LOT MORE WHERE THIS CAME FROM!” That was enough to steal the dogs’ attention, as he directed his foreleg at the showy crystal. Their eyes sparkled with lust from the beautiful reflection! “MY GEM!” one slave cried out. “NO! MINE!” cried another. “I’ll get more than all of you!” yet another dared to the rest. “Whoa-ho! H-hey guys... There’s plenty of-” Before Cornfield could finish, the dogs rudely tackled him down and mindlessly joined Limestone and Marble in fighting the walls defying them from freedom. In the blink of an eye, they already created a gaping hole to forge a passageway escaping death from the flood. Limestone, seeing the poor colt exhausting his strength to the floor, rushed over to shoulder him up. “Not bad, kid.” she chimed. “I’m impressed that you fooled them so effectively.” Cornfield felt the spark of friendship from her, generating newly reformed strength to push forward. “Heheh... I-I always knew I was good...ugh.” He pushed himself back on all fours to concentrate every fiber in his being to focus. “So, what do we do now?” “We dig. Dig as fast as we can on an incline to hopefully outpace the flood. Grab your axe and put your shoulder into it!” “Right!” Time refused to show mercy through the hard work. The ragtag mining group had made raging progress tunneling furiously on a steep yet steady incline. The Pie sisters assured dear Cornfield that soon they would breach the subsoil and hit topside at the rushing pace they threw. Unfortunately, progress stagnated as the dogs conspired against their pony partners. There were murmurings of how everything was fruitless besides that really pretty stone that the young colt found. “We dig for long time, ponies!” one miner piped up. “There no jewels here for Fifi!” Limestone growled back at them with a dictating glare and ruled over them with an iron hoof. “Be quiet and keep digging! Otherwise, you’re going to lose more than brownie points!” “What you mean by that?!” Another dog argued. At this point, their progress in the mines came to a sudden unexpected halt. “Gems are life. Gems mean food. Gems mean no beatings. We wasting time!” Cornfield was unsure where this was leading. They couldn’t stop all of a sudden when they were so close to the safety of outside world. Out of nowhere, echoes of whines and cries collectively bounced, surpassing them from every which way in the caves. Everyone instinctively checked back down the darkness before the screams went quiet. Then, without warning, they could hear rushing waves of water, flowing to swallow them whole! “Oh, please tell me we’re not too late!” the frightened colt pleaded aloud. “What is that?!” one slave cried out. “What happening?!” Determined to breach the surface, the tougher Pie sister committed to punch through the mixtures of rock and soil out of the way. “Less talking, more digging! Seriously! You use precious oxygen if you do!” Marble, once a pony who cowered behind her mane, summoned the courage to join her sibling in escaping. When the dogs discovered the raging torrent pursuing them, submerging the empty space, their need to survive trumped the need to appease the tribe magician. “Dig!” they cried out in random sync, grasping their picks and joining their equine saviors for the right for freedom. Everybody was literally running out of breath. They were exhausted, sore, and fighting for their lives. Yet, the fires of hope did not extinguish, as they gradually outpaced oncoming death. Suddenly, when the first axe finally struck topsoil, the ceiling shook and seemed intent to crush them. “Damn, It’s a cave-in!” Limestone cursed as dirt tumbled down. “NOOOOOOOOO!” screamed the distraught Cornfield before a shovel of dirt smothered his face. His life flashed before his eyes and everything went dark. Then, a bright light lit up the poor colt’s vision while he laid on his back. He squinted his eyes and slowly opened them, adjusting his sight from being underground for too long. “Ah… I see… Is it Elysium?” he faintly mumbled.  “Am… Am I dead?” “If this is the afterlife, then I’d have to say it’s really big let down.” answered a familiar aggressive-sounding voice. Limestone looked upon Cornfield’s wet and dirty body, lying on the surface of Rambling Rock Ridge, with the warm sun beating down on him. Then, after studying the hole they had made and the still waters that filled it, she faced the confused Diamond Dog slaves. Some plainly sat there, having no objectives to follow and still coming to grips with losing their chains. Others started to wander in circles, figuring out where they’ve been all this time. “You’re all lucky that you listened to this stallion over here.” she informed, pointing to the passed out pone. “Otherwise, we would have all been dead.” “I wondered if everypony else made it without me?” Cornfield muttered to himself. “I guess if they’re safe I don’t have any regrets... Except, that I never got laid...” Content that he gained his eternal rest after a grueling battle for survival, he fell asleep with a loud snore. “UGH! If he’s going to be like this, we might as well take him home and get him something to eat.” She caringly nudged under him to lift up and carry the weary hero around. Marble accompanied her on their trek back home. The dogs exchanged glances each other, wondering what they plan to do now with their newfound freedom. They failed to even recall the last time they ever saw a sun. Drool pooled around his mouth as the colt of the day snored peacefully, incoherently speaking in his sleep. “Mmmmm... Limestone Pie...Yes, I’d like another… Yum...” Marble couldn’t help but giggle as Limestone blushed beet red. “Uuugh. He’s such an immature boy!” his carrier irritably stated. In his dreams, Cornfield was at a diner, and all the pies were of the mares he’s ever met. For some reason, the Limestone Pie was especially delicious. Just as he finished a fourteenth helping, all the employees vanished, replaced by an eerie mist. Fear crept into his mind, yet something was tethering him to the bar. The air was cold, spurring a feeling of mortality. The diner formed an existence in the plane of an infinite void. For now, he sat there with blind faith somepony would find him and guide him. When that ‘pony’ came, it was an ominous creature, with a dark jagged silhouette like a demon. It latched onto his foreleg as he whinnied in panic. Just when his shoulder was about to be severe from its socket, he shot up screaming. “WAAHH!” “GAH!” Limestone jumped back, nearly spilling the rock soup she was clenching for him. Trying to contain his breath, the bed, walls and door had a familiar pattern. He realized this was the room of the Pie sisters. Sitting up perplexed in their bed and covered in covers, he put a hoof on his throbbing chest. “Ah... Huff... What happened?!” “You passed out when we hit the surface. We made it out before the water could overwhelm us.” She placed the steaming soup on the humble bedside table within his reach. “I had to drag your sorry backside back to the rock farm.” “Wha- We... Did it?” The colt’s eyes widened in disbelief. Without warning, he lunged forward, grabbing Limestone in his forelegs and hugging her with an iron tight grip. “YAY!” he celebrated with joy. “WE DID IT!!!” “Ack!” Limestone was fit, but that vice-like grapple caught her off-guard. “A-Air. N-need air.” she gasped. “Oh... S-sorry.” He released her of his grasp, much to his disappointment. “Whew…” she reaffirmed her composure after that wicked embrace. “With strength like that, you should mine rocks for a living, no problem.” “Err... What’s that stuff you set down?” “Rock soup, straight from rock family quarry. Figured you’d be hungry after saving our lives.” His face shifted between her and the strange dish with a confounded look. “Rock...soup? Ahaha... No thanks...” “Whatever. At least I offered...” Her mind began to race, hesitant on speaking from the heart, while rubbing her foreleg with her hoof. “...Hey, Cornfield, look-” “I’m your knight in shining armor?” He interrupted, brushing his mane to become suave with one swipe of the hoof. “I know!” “Don’t be so high and mighty!” she chastised boldly. “It was still your fault that I didn’t keep an eye on my sister!” Realising that perhaps she was being slightly too agitated with the whelp, she calmed herself down, losing the grace of subtlety with it. “But, you still came through for the both of us. If you didn’t overhear that conversation, we’d all be dead.” Repeating the events in his head, he considered a very particular clue about what transpired. “Yeah… now that I think about it, I wonder who on Equestria stole that Puppy Peridot? We never found out.” “Whoever that thief is, I’m going to give him, a piece of my mind, stealing my family’s gift like that.” Trying to put her boiling rage aside for her guest of honor, she looked away to censor a smirk from him. “But, until then, thank you for saving me and my sister...” “...Um... Well... You’re welcome.” Mistaking her stance as bashful arousal, a desperate idea popped in his noggin. Maybe this was the right moment! “But, HEY! You know, I think you owe me one!” Cornfield discarded the covers off himself like last week’s laundry, got out of bed, and got up in her personal space bubble. “SOOOOO, if you’d like to really show me your gratitude, may I suggest we go somewhere quieter?” The horny colt bumped up his eyebrows as he showed her his best wink. Poor Limestone’s eyes blew up like balloons with her cheeks glowing red. “W-w-WHAT?!” The awkward lapse in time was enough to recognize he’s back to being a lonely, impatient, and pathetic pervert. She planted a hoof squarely on her face. “Look. It was nice of you to help us and all that, but you’re...” Her eyes darted around, in hope of a good excuse. “...Just not my type!” Just like that, the lovesick male was destroyed via the piercing sting of rejection as his mouth left a gaping hole under his nostrils. His brain played what she said over and over like a broken record. “Wha? B-b-b-b-but I JUST SAVED YOU!” He slammed his hoof on the wooden floorboards in defiance. “I SAVED YOUR FAMILY! And it’s not even good enough? You must be joking!” Unable to tolerate any bullshit from anypony, even the stallion who risked his life for her, she stood her ground so hard in his face that he fell back on his ass. She towered over him like he was a worm wriggling in the dirt. “The reason I’m not leaving you to the dogs right now is BECAUSE you saved us! Who busted her back convincing the family that you weren’t going to do anything shifty?! I’m not ungrateful! I’m just not into you!” Getting her message across, she stepped off to let Cornfield a scrap of mercy. He delicately got up off the floor from frightening intimidation and hung his head in defeat. Overcome by the feeling of being tossed away like the covers from earlier. “Oh...I see.” Limestone caught a glimpse of a leaking tear rolling down his cheek after a few sniffles. “Thanks for that I guess. I won’t be coming around here anymore.” Using his foreleg, he concealed the distraught emotion being displayed as he moved to the exit of the room. “After all, I think it’s for the best we forget each other. Goodbye... Limestone.” “Yeah, yeah…” she said, paralyzed to the sadness. “Have a safe trip home, Cornfield...” After he left and shut the door behind him, her eyes drew circles from his lousy performance. “What a drama queen,” she commented mentally. After all that was said and done, however, she couldn’t shake the sensation that, maybe, she should have lessened the blow. Perhaps there was a fair way to pay him back, even give him a chance. Her stone cold heart softening a bit, she followed suit out of the room to catch up to him before the opportunity was forever lost. Rapid clops emerging behind him, Cornfield checked his six to see Limestone of all ponies approach. She was clearly anxious, rubbing her leg without regard for it. “So, uh…” Limestone stuttered until her brain absolutely sabotaged her train of thought. “Crap, I suck at this…” Taking a deep breath, she reset her disposition. “If you want to come over to... Help around the farm, just let me know, ok?” Despite the sudden change of heart, he was still scarred by her harsh disapproval. Instead, he lazily replied, eyeing the old, rough, neglected hardwood floor, with a still voice. “Ok,” he softly mouthed. Just before he overstayed his visit, never to return to the only mare he grew this close to, Maud unceremoniously whipped open the door and gently collided into him. “Oh,” she said plainly, completely unfazed. “Hey.” Her other sister, Marble Pie, followed behind her, as Cornfield’s camera looped around her neck. The youth’s attention ignited like a firework, and he grinned widely with glee. “My camera!” the eulated photographer celebrated as he happily yanked it off of Marble’s neck, driving her to cower like a foal traumatized by his aggressive nature. He checked it thoroughly to ensure it was all in good working order. It was still as good as he left it, thankfully. “I nearly forgot about this!” “We found it when Marble led our parents and I to where she got kidnapped.” Maud stoically informed. “She was so happy to find it and bring it back to you. Right, Marble?” “Mmhmm...” confirmed her shivering sister, still wary of any other attacks from the colt. After obtaining his prized possession, a wicked idea donned on Cornfield’s mind. It was at long last, time to finish the job he worked this hard for. “Maud? What’s that rock behind you on the soil?” he asked innocently. “Where?” The neutral-stated mare rotated her entire being and lowered her head to identify the object in question. “Did Boulder leave to play without-” With a click and a flash, both Limestone and Marble gasped in disbelief, witnessing the horrendous sin committed by their former ally. The randy shutterbug effortlessly snapped a pure view of Maud’s shapely ass. Although she was clothed, her dress conformed to its curves nicely and left nothing to imagination. She turned around with her face as bland as ever, but more pink in embarrassment, and eyes considerably magnified. “Covered or not, a butt’s a butt.” “SCUM!” Limestone fumed behind him. “YOU FETID PILE OF PONY TRASH!” “Excuse me!? Wh-” Before he knew what was happening, Limestone socked a hoof at the poor unsuspecting colt, blacking his eye. Never before has Cornfield ever felt such a haymaker of a smack that “rocked” him to his roots. He tumbled down and curled up into a ball from the sharp blow, wincing in pain. “If this is what you are going to be like, I’m going to do you and Equestria a favor!” The camera had fallen away from him on the floor, and she set her foreleg over it for him to see. “I’m gonna crunch this piece of junk into scrap!” “N-no!” Cornfield pleaded, sobbing uncontrollably for sympathy. “Please DON’T!” She primed herself to press her full weight into a megaton stomp, set to fulfill her promise. “I’m looking at a sparkling bright blue and white rock,” Maud calmly interjected. That phrase hit a nerve, as Limestone stared at her sister like she had three heads. “See it?” Helplessly, the furious sibling’s hoof quaked as it hovered menacingly over his most treasured object. “And I’m about to make him a black and blue one!” she announced to the household. “Don’t tell me that you actually pity this little bucker, after all he did to scare and endanger us!” “He is not all bad if he selflessly helped this family afterward.” Maud wisely highlighted. “There’s a voice in his heart telling him to do the right thing. He just needs to grow up and listen to it more. He’ll get over these obsessions sooner or later and learn from his mistakes.” Her lackluster expression targeted her baby sister, requesting an inclination to agree. “Right, Marble?” Upset by the pathetic colt’s actions, but not withholding forgiveness, the introverted pony nodded her head with a simple “Mmhmm”. Limestone, on the other hoof, was holding her breath. Anger and confusion swirled in her psyche like a raging typhoon, a typhoon that had to be bottled up for everypony’s sake. Ultimately, she pushed out a heavy defeated sigh and slid the camera along the floor back to its rightful owner. Cornfield, still terrified of the beast that assaulted him, carefully reached for his camera and brought it instantly to his chest, hugging it for dear life. “You’re just lucky my sister is SOMEHOW gifted to see the best in stallions. Until you can learn to be more mature,” she said as she rose a hoof in declaration, “You are not welcome back at this farm.” “After that, I took my camera… along with a bag of ice and boarded the train back to Ponyville. And that was that.” He looked back at Coral, prepared for a snide remark as the hippogriff often  did. “Smooth move, Casanova,” she delivered, stifling a giggle. She also released a sigh, secretly relieved for the happy ending. “At least they are safe and sound, I suppose, thanks in part to your quick thinking. But, damn, do you have trouble keeping it in your sheath…” “Hey! Let’s not forget some of this was YOUR fault, Coral!” Crestfallen, the avian creature slouched on the bench, eyes closed. “Yeah, Yeah... I know... And a lot of those dogs, dumb as they are, probably died when the flood came around. Fifi is probably still on the loose, but he’s practically a non-issue, considering the state of Equestria’s current military in charge...” Silence enveloped the duo as they patiently sat and listened to the billowing of tranquil winds. “...Do you…” Coral asked consciously. “Do you think we can see the Pie family at some point, after we secure The Mind of Water?” “...I don’t know.” Cornfield audibly messaged back, covering his left eye once more to refresh the memories. “Such an angry mare, you really think she’d tolerate me after what happened?” In the blink of a bruised eye, she asserted herself upright to support her trusty sidekick and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I think the next time she sees you, she’ll find that you aren’t QUITE the stallion she pummelled…” The Heart of Nature beamed on her chest, glimmering with a newfound promise she adamantly committed to. “Either way, if I have to face them alone to give them back what’s rightfully theirs, I will.” “Pummeled…” he chuckled a little, demonstrating a silly grin. “That’s putting it delicately.” Cutting the isolated breezing sound of the wind, the tell-tale blowing of a train whistle alerted all awaiting passengers within range. Expectantly, Coral locked her view down the endless tracks. The colorful train was on its way, right on the verge of sundown. “Finally...”