The sound of rusty steel tires screeching to a halt entered the tunnel network of Dimondia as the minecart stopped at my current destination. I got off the vehicle and was met with an eager salutation, just as expected.
“Welcome to Dimondia!” said a cheerful, white mare. She looked a little more pale, though. “Right this way please.”
Caramel appeared to be fixing something in the minecart but I went ahead, figuring he knows the area better than I do; I followed the mare to who-knows-where. We moved through the numerous wood and straw and steel huts around town, some of which were the blacksmith huts that the town is known for. Heat and noise dominated the town’s ambiance. The clanging of metal against metal is one sound that I would learn to deal with. Along the end of the winding path was a little scrap metal hut with a lone stallion working inside. Strangely, this stallion shouldn't be here in the first place.
I approached the hut and took a peek at its occupant. While I wished it could be somepony else, I was wrong.
Prince Blueblood?
The once famed prince of Canterlot now works as a blacksmith. Soot covered his hooves and the sight of multiple scars all over his legs reveal much about his past without even asking him. I walked in, wiping sweat from my forehead, and approached the stallion.
“Prince? Is that really you?”
The stallion looked up from his workstation and faced me with bloodshot eyes, an indicator that he has been at his work for quite a long time now and hasn’t gotten enough sleep.
“Not anymore, boy.” he replied. “Look at me! All this dirt and muck! Eughh!” He stopped to wipe some sweat off his forehead with a dirt-stained handkerchief. “Still, if this... job is meant to put some bread on the table, it’s better than nothing. By the way, it’s just Blueblood now. The title of prince is long gone. ”
“How did this happen?”
“After Celestia was betrayed and the king invaded Canterlot, Equestrian royalty disintegrated, displacing myself and Aunt Luna. I wasn’t paying much attention to the specifics but I heard that somepony from her envoy betrayed her and sided with the King. Oh when I find out who did it, I’ll make sure to make him pay his debt to Equestria ten times over!”
I decided to keep my knowledge from him. He sounded threatening enough to scare me. I’ll definitely stay far away from Blueblood for a while.
“Hey!” a voice sounded from the entrance, calling my attention. I turned around to see Caramel standing by one of anvils placed by the entrance. “We’re going to see somepony important! You don’t want to keep her waiting!”
I quickly turned back to Blueblood, gave him my thanks for his time. He didn’t seem interested in me anymore as he nodded his head before resuming his work. I walked outside to meet with my guide and we were off once again.
We didn’t talk for sometime. Aside from the occasional head scratching and nose picking Caramel did, we didn’t engage in anything meaningful. All he said was that we were off to see somepony who is really close to the leader of the resistance. At the end of a long stretch of elaborately constructed blacksmith workshops on the elevated portions of the camp, we reached the foundry, the central hub where mass production of weapons and armor took place. Just outside is a unicorn mare looking very unhappy to see me.
This probably isn’t going to end well...
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I slowly approached the mare, following my guide. Seeing her made me feel both relieved and uncertain. I know this pony well but she doesn’t know me.
“Madam,” Caramel began. “this is the stallion I found stranded in the Crystal Empire. He wants to find out what happened to Equestria. I think his memory’s been wiped clean or something.”
“Normal breathing, a few bumps, no broken bones... I say, you’re one lucky stallion,” said the mare, grabbing my hooves, pelt, and other body parts as if she was running a routine inspection back in the corps. “You look familiar... but anywho, I’m Rarity, the mare in charge of Dimondia. And you are?”
I can’t reveal my true identity to her. Need to think of something fast!
“Umm... i..it’s Blue.”
“Blue?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. What the hay?! I think I just blew it! Who would call their child Blue in the first place?!
“I’d rather not tell anyone my real name,” I continued. “I just go by my nickname.”
The mare simply shook her head.
“Well, Blue, if you’re looking for a place to stay, you’re more than welcome here in Dimondia. You could also choose to go to Ponyville but it’s quite rumbustious there because of the constant chatter of rebels arming themselves for battle.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am but I’m only stopping by for a little while; I’m actually on my way to Ponyville right now.”
“Well in that case, you could, at least, rest for a while, good sir. If you need a place to stay for a few hours, you’re more than welcome to accompany me in my quarters and maybe, I can answer some of those questions you’ve been wondering about.”
I can’t deny an offer from somepony important. This is Rarity I’m confronting and with my knowledge from my world, it isn’t right to keep a lady waiting.
We travelled along the stony roads that lead to a manor overlooking most of the large camp. Along the way, Rarity offered to tell me about Dimondia’s history. Though times are difficult in this alternate Equestria, her generosity shines through, even with the simplest of acts.
“Dimondia didn’t start out as a hub of blacksmiths and artisans. See, all this didn’t exist until everypony was forced into a new life of hardship. A lot of talented architects and miners decided to excavate an empty cave and found a large complex hidden underneath it. The complex was used as a sanctuary for ponies who didn’t want to get involved in the rebellion but as time went on, everypony was instructed by Celestia to do their part in defending Equestria. Soon enough, the first miners and carpenters made this whole town in a short period of time and was able to train enough ponies to set up the first guilds. These guilds grew and grew until all the guilds decided to share their secrets with each other and the whole population of Dimondia became specialists of multiple crafts. Today, we each do our part in helping the resistance by providing weapons and armor and the resistance leader, a good friend of mine, entrusted me with the camp itself.”
An interesting history lesson summed up in just under five minutes. I don’t see why history classes back in Canterlot had to be an hour long.
I followed the unicorn to a hut much larger than any I’ve seen in Dimondia. It has that dull look that was prominent in Stoneborough's identically constructed slums but the inside was completely different; it was like a castle built with parts salvaged from many industrial blowers. Still, the expertly crafted ornaments that filled the manor's interior made it feel less of a junkyard.
I found myself a seat on the mare's stained satin couch while my companion stood by the living room's sole window. Rarity came in with some water in transparent plastic cups. I took one and had a few sips to relieve my thirst.
“So,” Rarity began, “what do you need to know?”
“First, what happened to Equestria? How did all of this start?”
The unicorn mare made her way to the window opposite Caramel and closed her eyes, possibly thinking of the best way to explain a turn of unfortunate events.
“The King, who currently resides in the Crystal Empire, did all of this; forced us ponies out of our homes and taking all of our lands. It began with his attack on the empire itself, taking Princess Cadance, the would-be ruler of the empire, as his hostage. With a foothold in her domain, he used that as a launching point for his conquest on Equestria. City after city fell with many ponies either living under martial law or fleeing to the countryside and setting up small pockets of resistance wherever possible.”
“And what does Shining Armor have to do with all of this?” I asked, careful of my use of words. Anything I say from here could blow my cover.
“Shining Armor? He... betrayed the princess, the rebels, everypony. Reports say that a small group of rebels went on a reconnaissance mission to the Crystal Empire while protecting Princess Celestia’s envoy. The princess was ambushed and all of her guards mysteriously disappeared after an unknown attacker raided the group. Celestia disappeared too, leaving her jewelry behind in the area they were attacked in. A second group from Ponyville was nearby and found a stallion on a hill overlooking the group and suspected that he cast the spell. All members of that group said Shining Armor was to blame because he wore a gilded lavender suit of armor exactly like the stallion wore. I don’t know the whole truth but I like to remain unbiased to speculation until further proven.”
Looking back to the previous nightmare, I found myself in that very same situation but not all the events happened the way Rarity explained them. A stallion was in the group that was attacked but survived and I was the one standing on the hill in the nightmare. What the hay was going on?
I stood from the stained couch, now determined to find answers from a different source. I thanked Rarity for her time and walked out of the room. Strangely, Caramel was staring at me with a scared look while following me at a distance. Rarity accompanied us out of her abode but stopped us on the way out.
“You can’t take the minecart to Ponyville,” Rarity said. “you will need to walk the rest of the way there.”
“Alright then.” I replied, turning around once more and resumed my journey. One little detail about the town bothered me, though. As I left the town and saw my first glimpse of the dark, dystopian environment, the smoke rising from the ground didn’t show any sign of an underground camp despite being the complete opposite when seen from the other side.
Surely there was something strange about Dimondia. If the top of the foundry was jutting out of the ground, then why hasn’t the King’s army attacked the camp? With a smokestack rising at least fifteen feet from the ground, it shouldn’t be difficult to locate this area. I definitely need to ask Caramel about this when we stop at Ponyville.
Ponyville wasn’t too far away now. With the town hall’s roof just within sight, a short stroll through the barren dirt road passing by Sweet Apple Acres will get me there in no less than fifteen minutes. Caramel lead the way, this time, silently. Unlike the previous trips, he didn’t make note of any important changes to the town. I kept this in mind but didn’t prioritize it; there are other things to worry about.
The empty fields of Sweet Apple Acres were the first things to catch my attention. Each field had rows of withered corn plants and apple trees didn’t bear fruit. Not a single leaf was present on those deep brown branches. As I moved on, the first houses of Ponyville were derelict and in poor condition. Roofs partially caved in on the top floors and windows boarded shut were a common sight among the houses along the town’s perimeter. Even from a distance, I can see what appears to be Sugarcube corner, or at least, what’s left of it: broken roof, shattered windows, smashed appliances, and even missing walls. It really makes me wonder why ponies would continue to live in a place like this.
“You wouldn’t like what’s coming,” Caramel said, his voice now monotone. “Everypony here won’t be happy to see you and you know it.” Caramel dashed off into the distance without warning, leaving me with a grave warning and a problem to deal with on my own.
A grave warning indeed. As I walked into the town, everypony who saw me either shut the windows and locked the doors in fear or followed me at a distance, armed with torches and pitchforks. All this commotion stirred up the whole town and at the foot of the town hall’s staircase was the ironclad leader of the resistance.
With eyes wide open as if they were about to pop right out of my sockets, I was caught by surprise when the leader stepped forward to greet me with a very dissatisfied look on her face.
“Finally come to turn yourself in?” said the resistance leader, taking off the helmet and revealing her identity.
Twiley?
I didn’t get a chance to respond as she walked away, raising her right hoof just as she turned around. I was quickly picked up and carried away by armored earth ponies wearing makeshift armor.
“Wait! Let me explain everything! You don’t know the truth!”
And she turned around to look in my direction.
“Oh you’ll get your chance to explain, alright. We’ll see if anypony will side with you.”