“The Kingdom of Equestria, United by Princess Celestia,
During the long years of her reign she was able to defeat all foes of her realm.
All except one....
The war against the Horde took its toll,
And the prisoners of the kingdom were to pay the price,
The Princess needed magical gems for her army,
And every pony guilty of a crime,
No matter how insignificant,
Was forced to work the gem mines on the captured Zebra Island of Korinis.
To make it impossible for them to escape,
The Princess sent out the best unicorns in the kingdom,
To make a magical barrier around the entire valley.
I was one of them....
Ah, but something disturbed the delicate structure of magic...
We were trapped inside our own barrier...
One second of negligence was enough for the prisoners,
Korinis was now under the control of the convicts...
The Princess had no choice,
She had to negotiate,
She needed the gems.
Month after month,
The Princess supplied everything the prisoners needed,
Month after month,
They brought the gems to the edge of the barrier in exchange...
Until the present day…
Another convict was brought to the edge of the cliff,
She did not know it, but she would change everything....”
* * * * *
It was hot. Unbearably hot and after the several days tied up in the hold of a wooden sailing ship the heat just made her feel even more sick, sore and beat up than she already was. She wanted so much to sleep in a real bed, with sheets and a nice…
No, she couldn’t think about sweets, not while being lead across this zebra isle with a rope around her neck like some dog. She couldn’t let herself dwell on anything related to home. She didn’t think she could maintain her hateful glare with those memories swimming around in her head.
In fact, she was just about done staring at the pink flank of the pony in front of her. At least the guard ponies had the sense and courtesy to march beside her, but that pompous mare with the fat flank, and ugh bad B.O., in front. What she would give to be able to be able to buck the obscenely stretched cutie mark off her.
One of the guards had taken note of her change in demeanor and shot her a warning look that she noticed out of the corner of her eye. She was about to shoot daggers back at the armored stallion, but when she turned her head to him and saw the look was more pity than it was arrogance she lowered her ears in shame. It wasn’t the guard’s fault that she was here, and they made it very clear they didn’t like this work on the first day out from Manehattan.
She almost giggled despite herself, remembering the look she had seen on the pink mare’s fat arrogant face from the bottom of the hold stairs when the guard pony had made it very clear that if she assaulted their captive again during the trip there would be two new residents of the mines.
Oh yes, and there went the amusement, with the thought of where this forced march would end. Her mom was probably crying herself to death all alone in their childhood home and family business. She wished there was something she could do for her mother while she stared at the trees she was passing along the way. With Dad gone and now both of her children to be trapped laboring in the mines Mom must be dying inside.
She stared at the ground, watching the dirt and weeds pass under her hooves, as the shame and regret compounded upon her like a giant weight in her chest. She knew she had done what she had to do. She knew that Dad would be proud looking down on her and what his daughter had done, but poor Mom, she wouldn’t understand.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost ran into the fat flank of the pink mare, who had come to a stop in front of her. The only reason she hadn’t; the guards had stopped as well and the rope around her neck went taught and held her fast.
The other mare was on the edge of a cliff and looked beyond for a few silent moments before she turned, a smirk plastered on her stuffed-looking face. She was an arrogant bitch, and that stupid tiara was way too small for her fat head and made her look ridiculous. Oh, if only she could get the ring that suppressed her magic off her horn.
God she hated Diamond Tiara so much.
Diamond just continued to smirk at the orange colored unicorn. The pink earth pony enjoyed her job as Royal Lesion for the condemned far more than any pony had business enjoying the dirty work. By the looks of swallowed disgust the unicorn and two guard ponies held aimed at the oblivious earth pony mare made it quite plain that she was the only one enjoying this in any way.
The unicorn’s ears shot up and swiveled when she thought she heard… yes she did hear something galloping through the trees, approaching.
Diamond Tiara pulled a worn scroll from her saddlebags and settled on her swollen flanks as she unrolled the parchment on the ground infront of her. The pink mare shot the unicorn one last smirk before she began to read in a voice so loud and animated one might think she was speaking in a packed royal court rather than a clearing on the edge of a cliff with only three others, “In the name of Princess Celestia, bearer of the Elements of Harmony, I, Diamond Tiara, sentence this convict to-“
Rounding the nearby trees in a slowing trot a white unicorn, obviously older than the ponies already at the clearing by the streaks of grey in her carefully groomed and curled purple mane. As the new unicorn saw the gathered group in the clearing further along in the process than she had expected she called out, “Stop!”
Diamond looked up at the newcomer with disgust and spat, “This pony is a condemned criminal Rarity. Former element of harmony or not, you can’t usurp the princess’s decrees.”
The condemned unicorn was actually impressed as Rarity stood tall and shot back the same look, but where Diamond looked spoiled and arrogant, Rarity made looked regal, noble, justifiably offended. “I have no intention of trying to prevent her fate, but I have the right to speak to the condemned before her sentence is carried out.” Rarity scoffed with an air of nobility, “And as a former element of harmony and favored of the princess I recommend you keep your tongue young lady.”
That shut Diamond up, which satisfied Rarity who ignored the smoldering hateful look the pink earth pony shot at her. Rarity slowly walked up to the orange unicorn with a look of pity and sorrow, “Pumpkin Cake… I had wished the report was wrong…” Rarity had to stop and take a shuddering breath that ended in a sad sigh, “I have an offer to make you, since I cannot stop this injustice.” She began, and simultaneously her horn began to glow her trademark sapphire blue. From her saddlebag a scroll case levitated out, surrounded in the same blue magic, and floated between them while Rarity continued, “This letter must reach” She stopped for a moment as she looked at all those around her and seemed to think better of something, “it must reach the leader of the Unicorns.”
Pumpkin felt anger begin to bubble in the pit of her stomach. Here she was about to be condemned to a life of hard labor and Rarity wanted to ask her to be a mail-mare? She narrowed her eyes at the white unicorn and spat, “You’re wasting your time.”
The look that crossed Rarity’s face for a split second was wounded, badly wounded, but it was quickly replaced with a hardened mask and her voice no longer held softness as she added, “You can choose your own reward. I’m sure she’ll give you anything you ask for.”
Pumpkin was quiet for a few moments as her emotions played dodge ball inside her chest over the whole situation, but she was able to force out, perhaps a bit more haughty than she meant it, “Fine, I’ll take your letter.” With her acceptance the scroll case levitated over her and she was forced to lift her left leg to let the strap go round her securely before the magic faded away. She looked up as the magic fading turned the case invisible and Pumpkin added, “On one condition,” and pointing her hoof at Diamond she smirked, “Spare me the rest of Diamond’s nonsense.”
The pink earth pony’s face flushed suddenly a deep red and the guard turned their heads to stifle chuckles. “How dare y-“
Diamond began but was cut off by Rarity almost growling “Keep Silent,” and sparking a deep red indignation burning even brighter across Diamond’s cheeks as she glared at the older mare Rarity turned away from the whole group enough to be able to crack a smile that no one saw as she commanded, “Right, send her in.”
One guard pulled the rope off from around Pumpkin's neck while the other crowded her closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Pumpkin backed up close to the edge with a look of surprise and fear on her face.
Pumpkin was starting to panic. She already feared the fact that she would be trapped in a magical cage, condemned to hard labor, and even with the brave mask she had worn through this trip it was eating away at her resolve, but no one told her that to enter the prison would require that she survive a fall from a high cliff.
Now both of the guard were crowding her closer and closer to the edge, ignoring her frantic eyes and fidgeting tiny steps. She tried to levitate herself with all her effort, ignoring the fact that the magic dampening ring was still on her horn and nothing was happening. This was supposed to be a life sentence, not a death sentence.
By the time Pumpkin felt her hind legs give out from under her off the edge it was too late to brace and she let out a loud shriek as the clearing and the four other ponies slid suddenly from her view and were replaced with the fast falling brown of the cliff rocks and then the blue sky as she spun as she fell.
She screamed all the way down, expecting a sudden rocky death, but just as suddenly, instead of the world going black, the world went hazy and bubbly and muted and wet as she fell into the small lake below with a large splash.
Pumpkin was left disoriented for a moment as she drifted deeper into the water. She was not really getting what had happened for those first moments, but once she looked up and saw the sun simmering down at her through the ripples at the surface she at least gained enough awareness back to begin kicking and paddling her way up to the surface.
She broke the surface coughing and gasping and paddling quickly as she could to the shoreline. The panic had not completely left her as she swam and she did not take time to see what was around her, the most she did, once she felt the lake muck under her hooves, was look over her shoulder at the cliff edge from where she fell once she felt earth once again beneath her hooves. The group of ponies, if they were still up there, had moved away and she could not see them from her vantage point.
Pumpkin did not have long to think about it, however as she felt a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to snap her head forward. Before her were three stallions, all earth ponies. The one with his hoof on her shoulder had an off-yellow coat, a leather vest and a very worn looking cowboy hat.
The stallion gave her a smile that made her very uneasy as he greeted her in a voice that was too loud, too animated, fake friendly, “Well Howdy! Welcome to the colony!”
Pumpkin didn’t even have time to react as his other hoof came swinging around towards her. She felt an explosion of pain in her head and the world went black.
…
“That’s enough now!” Pumpkin could hear a voice, but it was muffled… or far off, it was like hearing someone yelling down a tunnel, “I ain’t gunna stand for it none, Braeburn!” was she in a tunnel? Pumpkin couldn’t see anything… could she even move? “Ya’ll are gunna clear off if you know what’s best for ya! NOW! Scram!” the voice was becoming clearer, and now she could even hear the trotting of hooves moving away.
Color began to bleed back into Pumpkin’s vision slowly. The world was hazy and the colors bled together, but she could begin to make up a pair of tan legs in front of her. She groaned as pain began to bleed in from the haze and with it her memories.
Her eyes shot open as she cowered and looked up the tan legs, it wasn’t the stallion that had assaulted her, this one was a mare, blonde and green eyed, but with a similar cowboy hat on her head. The new mare was dressed in a strange red and back armored barding and Pumpkin whimpered, fully expecting another beating.
“Come on sugarcube, get up, ya don’t got nothing to fear from me Pumpkin.” The mare encouraged softly. Pumpkin took a closer look at the mare thanks to her kind demeanor and it was then that she spied the cutie mark of three apples peeking out from the skirt of the armored barding and she put it all together.
“Miss Applejack?” Pumpkin asked in disbelief and was rewarded with a warm smile and a happy nod from the older former owner of Sweet Apple Acres.
Applejack replied, “Yup, it's me sugarcube, now get up so I can make sure they didn’t rough ya up too bad,” the older mare moved around to help the orange unicorn get to her shaky hooves. Pumpkin followed Applejack’s lead and slowly, with the help, was able to get herself up and steady. She stood still as Applejack trotted around her and checked her. “Well, ya got some bruises, and I expect ya’ll be sore in tha mornin’, but t’aint nothin’ permanent.”
Pumpkin had so many questions. Why was Applejack here? What kinda of life was it here? Was the work as terrible it was made out to be? But all that came out of her mouth was, “Why did you help me?” and it came in a voice much more confused than she meant it to be.
Applejack raised a brow in surprise at the question, “Because ya needed help. Braeburn ain’t the same stallion he used ta be, him and his boys might’a killed ya, and ‘ah couldn’t just stand by an’ watch. Not ta mention that ‘ah came all this way to give the newcomer a suggestion.”
“A suggestion?” Pumpkin asked, becoming even more confused by the second.
“Yeah, after this incident with Bareburn and his boys ya can be sure ya need protection. There are three camps inside the barrier, and if ya plan to survive ya are gunna havet’a join one of em’. Ah make the treck up to the exchange place every trade day to let tha new ones know the old camp is the best place for em’.”
"Well, I have a scroll for the leader of the unicorns." Pumpkin informed the older mare and lifted a hoof to pat the invisible case and make sure it was still securely strapped around her.
Applejack looked very confused by that, "Well we have lot of unicorns in the colony...." it took her a moment before suggesting, "Now if ya' mean the Celestial Empire Unicorns, well most of 'em live in tha' Old Camp."
"Rarity gave it to me before I was kicked in here."
The older mare gave the younger a sad smile, obviously fond old memories played in her mind for the few moments before a sigh escaped her and was followed by, "Sugarcube, there are alot'a things ya need ta learn ta live in tha colony safely, but one of tha first things is that ya need ta shut up about that scroll till ya meet one of the mages, and in your situation that aint likely ta happen." Applejack admitted to a dejected looking Pumpkin Cake.
Applejack offered the orange unicorn a sympathetic expression as she reached out to push the magic dampening ring off the young one's horn, the simple gold ring falling to the dirt and rolling into the nearby water. "Why is that?" Pumpkin asked, feeling more and more down by the second.
"Well, if tha wrong pony hears ya have a scroll for the Celestial Unicorns, ya may find yourself at tha ends of a knife. Ya see, tha unicorns pay thier messengers quite a bit, and most of tha ponies here don't have anything. An' 'sides, they live in tha castle, an' only Featherweight's ponies can get inta tha castle."
Pumpkin was shocked at the revelation that some pony from Ponyville was the leader of a colony camp, "And if I wanted to become one of his ponies?"
A smile of approval spread over Applejack's lips, "Then ya need ta make your way to tha Old Camp and talk to Carmel, he'll test ya, tha Old Camp is easy to find, just follow the path out of tha canyon and it'll take ya straight there, an' speakin' of, I need to get back."
Pumpkin nodded and began to look around while asking, "Thank for your help, but is there anywhere I can get some supplies?"
Applejack answered over her shoulder as she began to trot off, "Yeah, just look around. There's an old mine a few meters along the canyon; I'm sure ya'll find somethin' useful. We'll meet in tha Old Camp." and she turned the corner and disappeared behind a hill.
Pumpkin stood in the silence of the exchange place, staring out at the path that Applejack had dissappeared, the path that lead to the rest of her life. If her first few moments of the colony was any clue to that life, this was not going to be easy.