The unicorns have led us to the upper parts of the cave. The terrain isn't really comfortable, the place is dimly lit, the metal wagons are damn heavy to pull, and the metallic whips that the unicorns are levitating are really painful even just to look at. Ugh...
There were already several earth ponies who got whipped because they slipped, or too tired to continue moving onward. Majority of them were able to get back on their hooves and continued to pull, but for the few others who were really thin, tired and exhausted were...
I shook my head to rid of the thought, but...the poor ponies' cries for mercy, and the painful echoes of the whips and mana fire... These damn unicorns are pushing it way too far. I tried to yell at them to stop but, Applejack, with that worried look she was giving me, told me everything I needed. I sighed.
"I'm sorry," I whispered suddenly, ignoring the salty taste of my own sweat that rolled to my mouth. Applejack was hanging her head slightly lower than when we began pulling the darn heavy wagon. She gave me a side-glance that lasted for a second or two before she returned it back on the ground. "I'm really sorry for dragging you here..."
"Not your fault brownie..." she whispered back, and she soon followed it with a heavy sigh. "Ah brought this to mahself."
"I didn't do a good job of stopping you back there..." I stared at her for a long while as I tried my best to pull and ignore the heavy burden we and a few others were pulling. I sighed before returning my gaze forward, ignoring the sounds of whips from behind us. There's a unicorn walking beside me, but I didn't bother staring at the damn creature.
"I don't know why you came back..." whispered a voice that was so darn familiar, that it startled me. I turned to the unicorn, who the voice belonged to none other than Boulder himself, staring at me with a worried frown. "You shouldn't have come back."
"I needed to..." I simply replied, and I was about to add a few more when something hit my shoulder. I turned to the other direction to see a glaring Applejack. I flashed her a small smile. "Applejack, this is Boulder," I whispered, ignoring the intense glare the mare was giving me. I turned back to the unicorn. "Boulder, this here is Applejack."
Boulder arched an eyebrow. "Quite a weird situation for introductions, don't you think?"
I chuckled quietly as Applejack responded, "I ain't talkin' to unicorns."
The unicorn sighed as I spoke, "Boulder, I came back to...ow..!" I turned and glared at the mare who hit my shoulder pretty hard. "Could you let me talk, please?"
"Ah don't see that as yer brightest idea ever, brownie," she frowned at me. "If yah have't noticed, your Boulder friend's a unicorn," she hissed.
Boulder sighed. "Gold Blitz, right?" I turned to him and nodded. "Look, I understand what your marefriend is tr---"
"She's not my marefriend!" "We ain't a couple!"
Applejack and I hissed at the same time. We looked at each other for a brief moment, and I quickly turned back to the unicorn after I felt something on my cheeks. Boulder rolled his eyes before another unicorn meters ahead of us called his attention.
"What's going on there?" asked the middle-aged unicorn.
Boulder simply shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just talking sense to these earth ponies."
"Better do it well, else, this whip will do the talking for them," and to make a point, he levitated a spiky-metallic whip in front of him as his horn glowed threateningly. Applejack and I gulped and nodded. Satisfied to deliver his piece, he looked ahead as I noticed faint hammering noises of metal against metal, and sparks...?
"I suggest you two lower your voices from now on." Boulder said as he looked ahead. I nodded while Applejack rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I don't know why you're here, but you need to go away from here." He paused after a painful yelp and sounds of whipping noises from behind echoed through the tunnel. He opened his mouth to say something, but I failed to hear his voice after hammering noises started to get louder and louder the further we walked onward.
A large wagon was blocking my sight to see what was up ahead, but the sounds of metallic clangs from up ahead is already giving me an idea of what is going on there. I do remember that aside from gems, unicorns were also collecting metal. We were reaching the end of the tunnel, and we now found ourselves on a flat floor inside a very large and spacious...space, inside this mountain we were walking up or, gah...my words are failing me...
Rarity and a few unicorns, who were walking ahead of the group, gave an order for us to stop. Finally! Boulder used his magic to remove the chains that were attached on the harnesses that were attached to me and Applejack. "I saw your little speech back in that village," Boulder whispered as he began removing the harness on me. "When you get the chance, get away from here." I was about to ask him what he was saying, but that serious look he was giving me had killed the words that were still forming in my throat. I slowly nodded instead.
"Ah don't trust 'im," Applejack whispered coldly as she glared at the retreating unicorn. "But Ah'm not headin' back. Not until Ah---!" She cut herself off as she turned and saw the very same thing that took my breath away.
A distance ahead of us, almost occupying all of the space in this cave, was a giant metal. From the looks of it, the metal looks like a horizontal cylinder, I am staring at it's side, and both it's ends are stretched way beyond the dark corners of the large cave. Ponies -- both earth and unicorn ponies -- were working on it. From the faint lights the gemstones were emitting all around, I could see that the unicorns were levitating and pouring the gemstones inside the cylinder. There's probably a hole there. I'm not sure, and I'm not sure what this giant metal rod is for.
"W-what..." Applejack began, her low voice barely audible from the metallic clangs from hammer to metal and loud sparks from the unicorns' flares. "...in tarnation...is that...?"
I shook my head slowly. "I...have no idea..."
"You two!" a loud voice reached my ears. I turned and saw the very same middle-aged unicorn pony from before. "You two seem to be fit for this task," he eyed Applejack and I as I arched an eyebrow. "Right," he cleared his throat as he walked nearer to us. As he did so, I could feel Applejack's intense glare. The unicorn then turned and stared somewhere. I followed his gaze and saw a white unicorn mare giving instructions to other unicorns. "Head over to Miss Rarity for your tasks." He then turned and faced us. "Consider the two of you as lucky ponies," and he stared at whatever from behind us. Applejack and I turned and saw unicorns were installing chains to earth ponies for them to pull smaller wagons, while others began unloading the gems and putting them on the wagons. "Now move it, you two!"