~Chapter One~
It is a well known fact that ponies can be very on-the-nose when naming their children. If you are a farmer that grows fruit, for example, you would probably name your child Applejack, Strawberry Fields or perhaps Mango. If you were the child of someone who worked on the railroad, your parents might name you Golden Ticket, Rising Steam, or even Box Car.
So it's not hard to imagine what the father of Charcoal Briquette did for a living; mining deep in the ground to keep the Equestrian wheels of progress turning. Ever forward the kingdom kept pushing and pushing, creating new things never dreamt before to make the ponies’ lives much easier.
Such wonders, of course, depended on ponies like Coal, Charcoal’s father, doing what he did best: mining. Today, he was walking with his two children to his job site. Like most fathers at some point in their lives, he was having second thoughts as to why he had wanted children so badly.
“Shut up!” growled the pitch black unicorn to his younger brother, stepping closer so he could hit him. “We’re just friends!”
“I saw you walking with Hay Storm the other day,” teased his younger brother, Diamond Shard. He was a dusky colored unicorn, a gleam of mischief glinting from his eyes. “You like her, don’t you? You gonna kiss her at the harvest dance next month?”
“It’s not like that,” Charcoal whined, his voice wavering. He hoped his younger brother wouldn’t notice.
Truth be told, he did have a small crush on her; he had ever since they started school together all those years ago. He had felt something for her. After all, what was there to dislike about her? She was young, pretty and smart. Heck, she’d won the Princess of the Fall Festival contest for the last three years. Even more surprising was the fact that when he’d asked if she would accompany him to the harvest dance, she’d said yes.
Not that he was ever going to admit that to his little snot of a brother.
“Charcoal and Hay Storm, sitting in a tree!” Diamond Shard sang, clearly enjoying himself. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a foal in a tiny carriage!”
“Shut up! Dad!” Charcoal cried, knowing that his father would stop it. He was remiss to do so earlier so as not to let his brother know he had upset him so.
“Stop teasing your brother, Diamond.” Coal said absently, not paying close attention, but instinctively knowing it was time to put his hoof down before it turned to blows. His coat was colored black, much like his eldest son, but lined with streaks of grey, his age beginning to show.
“He started it,” Diamond grumbled after a moment of silence, sticking his tongue out at his brother while his father couldn’t see.
“Did not!” argued Charcoal.
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Boys!!” The fathers voice rose exceptionally high, letting the two know they were starting to strike at his last nerve.
A pall of silence surrounded the small group as they walked onwards, the boys following their father to the coal mine. Coal enjoyed the brief respite from the arguing, knowing that the two would start up again in a moment. He often enjoyed his walks to work in silence. It was a nice day and fall was approaching, already carrying the chill of cold days ahead. Soon they would have to break out the winter wear and clean the fireplace in preparation for the cold days ahead, but right now, it was his favorite time of the year.
But still...
“You know,” said Coal, taking a moment to clear his throat and make sure they were paying attention. “You two come from a long and proud family of miners. Me, your grandfather, your great-grandfather...”
“Yeah, I know, dad,” Charcoal said, rolling his eyes. “You’ve told us the story of our family every day for the past week.”
“What would Equestria do if they didn’t have the Briquette family to mine their precious coal?” Diamond Shard mocked, jumping into the conversation. The anger of their father was instantly forgotten when the prospect of a new game to annoy somepony presented itself.
“Why, I’m sure Equestria would just shrivel up and die without us.” Charcoal chortled, joining in with an expression of feigned terror on his face.
“The horror! The horror! The tragedy and weight that is placed upon our shoulders!” Diamond Shard taunted with a better imitation of his father than Coal would like to admit.
“Today is my birthday,” pleaded Charcoal. “You can go a day without telling us, you know.”
“Well then, that makes you old enough to mine with your dear old dad,” chuckled Diamond “And when I’m old enough, I will too.”
“Yay! Equestria is saved,” smiled Charcoal, jumping in mock joy.
“You finished?” Coal interrupted, “I mean, if the both of you want to continue making fun of your dear old dad, then by all means, keep going. Then he’ll be depressed, and he’ll quit his job, and we’ll all go sleep in the gutter.”
“Oh, dad, we were just kidding,” said Charcoal, earning a harrumph from his father, who couldn’t hide the smile on his face. The truth was that he loved his boys and was very proud of them. They were the reason he kept going.
“Anyway, unless you have more comments to make...” he paused, watching the two mime zipping their mouths shut. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that mining, it’s been in our blood for generations. We are the ones who keep Equestria going…”
“You're rambling again, dad,” said Charcoal as he rolled his eyes. He never was one for long speeches.
“Okay, okay,” Coal said, defeated. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, happy birthday, son. Today is not only the day you turn ten years old, but also the beginning of you being an adult and following the family’s hoofsteps. Aren’t you excited? It's a glorious time for you.”
There were so many things Charcoal wanted to say, but he just couldn’t let them out. He couldn’t bear to tell his father that he wasn’t sure this was what he wanted out of life. Knowing how his father talked nonstop for years about him joining the family trade put a lot of pressure on the boy. It would probably break his dad’s heart to tell him about his own goals and dreams. Better to push them down deep into the depths inside his heart. “You know it,” said Charcoal, forcing his lips into a smile. “I can’t wait.”
The mine wasn’t too far away. Most would say it was a pleasant walk cutting through the edge of the forest, stopping at the foot of the nameless mountain by the town. It once had a name, long ago. Probably named after some famous pony, a mare who probably did something great enough to have a mountain named after her. But over time, newer and newer generations came about. The name and the deeds were slowly lost, trickling away until it just became known as ‘the mountain.’
To be quite honest, it wasn’t a pretty or remarkable lump of rock sticking out from the ground. As plain-looking as the outside was, however, its true beauty could only be seen from deep inside, hidden under several tons of rock. It was one of the largest deposits of coal on this side of Equestria, which countless families of ponies had built their lives around extracting.
As Charcoal entered the cave, before his eyes could adjust, a loud bellow caused him to almost jump out of his skin. “Well, well... If it isn’t the birthday boy!” It took him a second to realize that it was the foreman.
Charcoal liked him. He was a friendly and open sort of stallion, sporting a large gut and a long bristly mustache atop his matching beard. The most notable thing about him, though, was that he was loud. The one thing Charcoal remembered the most from him when he had visited the house was how his voice echoed through each and every room when he spoke.
“Are you ready to start your first big day?” the foreman asked, slapping a hard hat on the boys’ heads. “We have a big job planned for the special pony.”
“You bet,” Charcoal blushed, embarrassed at being the center of attention. Thanking the other ponies congratulating him, he didn't notice that the foreman had been holding a pickaxe in front of him for a good few minutes.
“Grab it, ya ding-dong,” his younger brother teased, “or are you just going to look at it some more?”
“Oh, right,” Charcoal chuckled sheepishly, carefully taking the tool from the foreman’s hooves. It was heavier and more unwieldy than he thought it would be. The handle was smooth, but the head was littered with scratches and chips from end to end. Holding it up made him wonder how he could possibly wield this for hours at a time, the way his dad did every day.
“You’ll grow into it, don’t worry,” replied his father with a wink, steadying his son. “A little practice is all you need.”
“And we happen to have a place for you to try it out,” interrupted the foreman. “Follow me.”
He waved, leading the group to a metallic elevator. The elevator was old; Charcoal could tell it had served many ponies up and down, far below the land of Equestria in order to bring precious ore and minerals to the surface. It was painted red, but the coat had chipped off and faded with exposure. He could see the black colouration of the metal where it had been chipped.
The four of them climbed in the old lift. Coal slid the door closed before scolding Diamond Shard to stop jumping up and down in the hope of scaring his brother. “I was just having some fun,” he whimpered, giving his father that pouty face that had cleared him of trouble multiple times prior.
Truth to be told, Charcoal didn’t need his brother to scare him as he stood silently watching the countless tons of rock seeming to move upwards as the elevator took them further and further into the bowels of Equestria. The sensation of all that stone hanging over and surrounding him was scary enough on its own. Already, his often overactive imagination was working overtime, creating images of him stuck under all that rock, unable to return to the surface.
“Steady,” his dad said with a gently reassuring pat on his shoulder, “I know this can be hard for a first-timer, going this deep underground. Try not to think about it. After you grow accustomed to it, you’ll take to the caves as a duck does to water.”
Charcoal nodded to his father. He was thankful that his brother seemed to be having the same problem as him now. He noticed that Diamond was staring at the ceiling with his mouth open, letting out a small moan as he watched the light grow fainter as they went lower and lower. Charcoal made a mental note to seek revenge on his brother using this information when the time was right.
Further and further it took them downward. Charcoal imagined it taking them past the center of the planet and through to the other side, where ponies walked upside-down. He wondered what land was on the other side of Equestria and if he would ever be able to see it someday.
It felt too long a ride, but Charcoal knew that it had probably only been a few minutes by the time it finally stopped. They were in a large chamber, branching out into seemingly countless tunnels stretching endlessly out towards the inky blackness in front of them. Stepping out slowly, he felt himself start to relax. The tunnels felt wider than the elevator, and the air from the surface pumped through special filters smelled fresh and clean. These comforts drove out the oppressive feelings from before.
“So, this is where you work?” asked Diamond Shard with a low whistle. “These go on forever. Like, all the way to the center of Equestria, I’d bet.”
“Don’t hope too hard, Diamond,” said Coal with a chuckle, leading them toward an older tributary. “We’re not even a kilometre down. This section has been mostly mined out by now, but today being Charcoal’s birthday, tradition dictates that we bring them here to try their luck. It shows what they have inside of them.”
“Guts and boogers, most likely,” Diamond joked.
Charcoal had a retort ready on the tip of his tongue; a carefully crafted one. He’d been waiting for the perfect time to use it. As he opened his mouth to unleash his newest, meanest creation upon his brother, another pony suddenly joined in the conversation.
“You really shouldn’t be taking your children down this way,” said a gravelly voice from behind the group. “It isn’t safe.”
“I authorized it. They’ll be fine,” interjected the foreman, jumping into the conversation, “The children aren’t going to be down here for that long.”
Charcoal didn’t like this stallion who randomly decided to jump into the conversation, but he couldn’t figure out why. Other than his light brown mane hanging loose against his tan fur, he looked no different than the other miners in the area. It may have been that he looked like somepony who was always ready to fight someone over anything and everything, or perhaps it was the polished horseshoe and rabbit’s foot hanging by a chain around his neck. Whatever the case may be, Charcoal just wanted him to go.
“They shouldn’t be down here,” he said glaring at the kids. ”There are ghosts in this section of the mine, and they don’t like it when ponies take what’s theirs. If they take even a single rock, they could bring doom down upon us all.”
“Do you have a problem with my kids?” Coal asked, puffing out his chest as his temper rose. “It’s his birthday today. Let him have his fun.”
Charcoal was expecting a fight to break out between the two stallions. It was well known that his father could be very stubborn when angered, and this strange pony speaking of doom and gloom was trying his dad’s patience. Instead, the pony let out a loud snort before heading away from them, muttering to himself as he disappeared into the shadows of the mine.
“Don’t let him bother you,” said the foreman, placing a reassuring hoof on Charcoal’s shoulder. “He’s just trying to scare you.”
“That pony’s a jerk,” muttered Diamond.
“We're burning daylight,“ said Coal, looking down at his son. “Why don’t you give the ol’ pickaxe a swing and see what you find.”
Charcoal’s mood had been soured by that stallion, and he just wanted to go home, eat his cake and open his presents. He was willing to bet that his father had given him mining gear. And yet, he wasn’t ready to quit just yet. The strange stallion’s words had broken something loose in him. Charcoal wanted to prove him wrong, perhaps as a result of his father’s stubborn influence rubbing off on him. He approached one of the walls, striking with his pickaxe with all the might he could muster.
“CLANG!” came the sound of the mining tool hitting the stone wall. “CLANG!” He struck again. “CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!” Again and again and again. His muscles were already starting to ache as he kept striking the rock face over and over again. Vowing to himself that he would either find something big or burrow his way to Canterlot, he continued until a massive chunk flew off and collided with his shin.
“Ow!” he cried, dropping the pick and holding his leg. “Did it cut me?”
“You're fine,” Diamond Shard said after a quick once-over, for once not teasing his older brother.
“Already found something?” asked Coal. Coming closer to check, he shined his light onto the ground where the rock had landed. It was a large piece of coal, about the size of Charcoal’s head. The inky surface seemed to absorb most of the light shining on it. “You did a good job, Charcoal,” he said proudly. “This isn’t gold, but something just as valuable. Once we bring this up to the surface, I’ll show you just how great it is.”
The world seemed to swim around Charcoal. The sensation of magic and power running through his veins shook him to his core as the feeling of some new power was unlocked from deep inside his body. It all came pouring out, overloading his mind and almost causing him to black out. It took a moment for everything to finally return to normal. When the world stopped spinning, the first thing he noticed was his father’s grin, stretching from ear to ear.
“HA! I knew it!” his father said proudly. “Mining is in your blood.”
“What?” Charcoal asked, not sure what just happened. “What’s going on?”
“Look for yourself,” said Diamond, pointing at his older brother's flank.
Slowly, Charcoal turned to see what they were talking about. Across his hip, he could just make out in the low light the outline of his cutie mark. At first, he thought it might be a smudge, but as he moved into the light of the main tunnel and wiped himself clean, it didn’t come off. It was his cutie mark, and it matched the lump of iridescent mineral he’d just pulled from out of the ground exactly.
A smile of amazement spread across his face while the approaching crowd congratulated him. He knew his dad was proud and his brother was even being nice to him for a change. But still, there was some part of him questioning if this was what he wanted. If this was something he was going to do for the rest of his life, he needed to be sure. The warmth of not just his family but the other miners as well seemed to envelope the young pony, making him forget his worrisome question for the moment. He was so overcome with congratulations and head pats ricocheting through his hard hat that he couldn’t help but smile.
The foreman came forward and took the lump of coal from Coal’s hooves and placed it in Charcoal’s. It was really big, and really heavy. “You hold onto that. I’ll show you how to process it when we haul it back to the surface.”
Deeper down, in one of the tunnel’s other tributaries, the miner that had warned them against pulling stone from that section was working his way through a vein of iron. As his pick came down across the vein, it cracked and splintered. A very large boulder shot out of the wall and flew behind him, striking the support beam. This was an uncommon occurrence, but it did sometimes happen. Usually, the support beams were strong enough to withstand the force of big rocks, but this one had a hefty knot in it. It was strong enough to support the force laterally, and even withstand the impact force of big stones like this. However, when a big enough rock hit it in just the right way…
The ceiling began to chip away as the stone couldn’t handle the tensile force coming from above. The miners had tried to vault the ceiling to help keep them safe, but there hadn’t been a chance to do so yet at this juncture. First, dirt began to rain on them. Then gravel. Before they had the chance to run, or shout out a warning, they were all buried under the collapsing earth.
It all happened so fast. Mountains of rock, gravel, and stone had been finally freed to move again. The breaking of one support put too much pressure on the others as they, too, began to collapse under the weight of all that earth.
The screams and cries of the miners filled the air. Charcoal could hear words here and there, but in the chaos, they just joined in the symphony of incoherent noises. He could feel the rough touch of somepony, possibly the foreman, grabbing and holding him while the world around Charcoal began to move away, like a movie was being played in reverse.
Five ponies, including Charcoal, had made it onto the elevator cage safely. As the cage moved up, Charcoal could see the rocks moving down around him. In a way, he was more terrified riding the elevator up to the surface than he had been on the way down. Instead of heavy boulders rising around him, they all seemed to be falling. How could he be able to determine whether or not the ceiling was about to collapse on him, too, when the walls always looked like they were trying to crush him.
As the elevator doors opened and Charcoal made his way out into the light, he couldn’t feel the sting in his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to move without the foreman pushing him forward. When he finally regained control of his body, he looked down at the large block of coal in his hooves. There was no questioning now whether or not he wanted to go into mining. The field was forever tainted.
That evening, Charcoal and his mother stood outside of the mine. A second crew had come in to search the collapsed tunnel and rescue any survivors. It had taken the better part of the day, but they’d managed to save the lives of no less than fourteen ponies that had survived somehow, whether injured or just shaken up. Unfortunately, a dozen of the bodies brought back up were already cold and lifeless. A spark of hope lit up Charcoal’s eyes as his father and brother were brought out into the evening sun, but in the lifespan of a breath did his world change forever. As the rescue team placed their mangled bodies on the ground among those lost, he knew things would never be the same again.
The words of the stallion that had warned them against going down that stretch of mine were echoing in his head. This was his fault. His father and brother were dead, and Charcoal could only think it was his own fault. He closed his eyes and began to weep. Standing there, a statue among the bedlam, a part of him wondered if he would ever stop crying. In a way, he knew he never would.