//------------------------------// // Forge // Story: Paintings // by Bud Grazer //------------------------------// Forge --- Crystalline walls. Rough and unpredictable angles. Light glinting and reflecting on every facet. Higher, black. Soot. Thich layer on the brilliant surfaces. An open window near the top of the wall. A piece of blue sky. Thick gray smoke escaping towards the outside. Light and shadows, smoke, clouds, half-hidden sun. Bright rays stopped, absorbed by the filth. Rays dancing on clean edges, shining in every possible color. At the rightmost end, a crystalline table, a large gem cut into a broad horizontal surface. On the table, tools. Pieces of metal : shovels, picks, spades, hoes, sickles... A pony, female, in front of the table. Crystalline coat, translucent, pale green. An emerald cut into the shape of a mare. A bright red tail and mane, rubies socketed on her head, waving along her neck and crowning her croup. On her flank, the picture of a whetstone. In her mouth, the blade of a scythe, the edge shining in a ray of sun. Sapphire eyes shining in turn. Behind her, a clear beige grindstone and a pile of other blades. To the left, a barrel, cut into a clear azure crystal. A column of steam rising from inside. A big stallion next to it, large tongs gripped to his hooves, the end hidden, dug into the barrel. A thick brown apron tied around his chest. A clear coat, a pure piece of glass. Black and short mane and tail, shards of obsidian. On his haunches, the image of a hammer. Large rivulets of sweat on his brow, on his neck, on his sides. Sunlight glinting in the liquid and in his dark brown eyes. More to the left, a large anvil, unattended. In the background behind it, a furnace. Coal, ash and metal. Black, gray and red. Tools leaning against the furnace. Tongs, shovels, pokers, all of them black and matte, coated in coal and soot. A big bellow to the side. A mare, her hooves around the handle. Purple coat, yellow mane and tail. Amethyst and topaz. A circle of flames drawn on her flank. Red-orange reflections on her body. Light playing in the facets of her gemstone fur. Light dancing in the pearls of sweat and in her amethyst eyes. Ahead, another anvil. A red bar of metal. A stallion rearing behind. Tall, thick neck, broad shoulders. A brown apron. Blue coat, green eyes, his mane and tail a lighter shade of blue. Lapis lazuli, jade and sapphire. Tongs to hold the glowing piece of metal, two hoops tied around his forehooves. In his muzzle, a hammer. Teeth clamped around the handle, head about to strike the bar. Glints of red light shining on his face, orange from the furnace glowing faintly through him. Purple shades, barely visible, ghostly. To the left, another pony. Male, young. Orangey mane and tail. Grey coat. Amber and quartz. Emerald eyes. Black stains all over his body, concealing his cutie mark. Turned towards the furnace, a hoof in the air, mid-stride. On his back, a beige canvas sack, bulging from its contents. A hole near the bottom, a little piece of coal escaping. On the ground, a few other pieces drawing a path. At the end of the track, a huge pile of coal, several shovels planted into the heap. Next to it, a small, crystalline wheelbarrow. Sun rays glinting on bars of metal, clear, smooth and shiny, ready to be forged. At the forefront, another crystalline table. Several clear glasses, a jug. Light dancing in all directions, reflecting on the crystalline container and the water inside of it. A stallion sitting behind the table, brown coat and blond mane. His face hidden behind a rag, slick with sweat. To his side, a mare, blond coat and brown mane. Tiger's eye colors. The mare's eyes closed, sweat on her face, one rivulet going down her temples, a drop in mid-air below the end of the stream. A glass of water held in her hooves to her mouth. Behind them, a gargantuan crystal block, completely black, almost cylindrical, but with many facets. Dull, covered in coal and soot. Near the bottom, a half pipe crystal, making an open channel and sloping down. A heavy crystal gate closing the opening at its higher end. Below, a block of crystal, also black and with a dozen empty holes. Negative ingots in the mould. At the foot of the huge furnace, on the side, a pair of small crystalline doors, opened. A stallion, a layer of black all over his fur and hair. A few traces and red shining through the gaps. A shovel in his muzzle. Lumps of coal in the air, between the shovel and the fire. Red, orange, yellow, white, coming out of the furnace. Light attempting to color his stained face. Shadows mixing with the coal on his back. A pair of golden irises glinting brightly. Near the top of the furnace, another stallion at the top of a ladder. White coat, golden mane and tail, a series of topazes studded into a diamond. A trio of sparks adorning his flank, a thick piece of cloth wrapped around his muzzle. The bottom side of his face shining in reddish shades from the inside of the vat. A basket in his hooves, upturned and emptied into the furnace. A large black lid, waiting to be closed. Thick smoke coming out. At the foot of the ladder, a mare. Pale blue coat, a sapphire. Pink mane, rose quartz. Standing face to us, blocking her cutie mark. Reflections of the furnace's blaze in her hair, yellow and gold, like a miniature sun. In her coat, purple glints. Red and orange in the beads of sweat. Two red eyes, twin rubies turned towards the left. At her hooves, a basket, a piece of pitch-black metal barely poking out. A proud smile on her lips. At the leftmost end, a large pile of dark metal. Several empty baskets at the base. Shackles, manacles and chains.