//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: The Blueblood Chronicles // by No One and Nobody //------------------------------// Chapter 11: A Rock Farm!?!? A rock farm. Blueblood could not believe it. His aunt was sending him to work like a lowly peasant. Not that Blueblood expected to work. Show those poor ponies some bits and he would be home free, drinking champagne and lounging on a lawn chair. The chariot landed in front of the farm. It was simple and to the point. No flourishes or frills. Blueblood could smell the hard work in the air. His nose scrunched up. I detest the smell of commonfolk. "Where is the owner of this establishment?" he asked upon disembarking. "Look no further for I be right behind thee," came a voice. Oh Celestia, don't tell me it's auntie Luna, thought Blueblood, rolling his eyes and turning around. It certainly was not Luna though. Before him stood a very bland, very simple looking brown pony with a simple black hat and collar. "You?" spluttered Blueblood, "You own this establishment?" "Verily," said the pony, "Be ye the young lad our Princess sent? The colt with a sharp tongue and little sense?" "I am a PRINCE!" exclaimed Blueblood. "Title doth not hold meaning here. We value an honest day's work more than diamonds." "But you don't know how many diamonds I can give you," said Blueblood, pulling out a wallet and flashing Igneous a hoof-full of precious gems. "Bribery be a most lamentable vice young one," said Igneous, shaking his head, "As be laziness. You seem to know both quite well. My daughters Maud and Limestone shall teach you our ways." Two equally dull ponies led Blueblood out into the fields. "Well?" asked Blueblood, looking around, "What are we supposed to do?" "We're moving these rocks to the south field," said Maud in a monotone voice. She pointed to rocks that were strewn about around them. "Then we rotate them to the west field," continued Maud, "Then to the east, then back here to the north." "And the point of this would be?" Blueblood exclaimed, waving a hoof around. "Mine is not to question why," said Maud. "What a ridiculous notion!" Limestone glared at him, making Blueblood shrink back a little. "Because father said so. Maybe you should learn a little respect!" Blueblood swallowed hard. "Well... let's get on with it." "You go work over with our summer help," said Limestone, "I'm taking a shipment of rocks out and Maud will be supervising the rock moving. Get on now." Blueblood began rolling a rock with his head along the path. He tried to use his magic but Maud said that was against their earth pony ways. "Just because I was blessed with magic doesn't mean I should have to suffer for it," Blueblood said, sticking his nose in the air defiantly. "I wouldn't consider this suffering," said Maud, blinking. "Well that's because this is all you've ever known. You have no knowledge of the finer things." "To me, there's no greater joy than pleasing my father." Maud kept staring at Blueblood indifferently. "He's brainwashed you," said Blueblood, hitting his hoof on his forehead, "that explains it." "Explains what?" Blueblood stared at the boring earth pony, dumbfounded that she was willing to move these rocks three-hundred and sixty-five days a year just to please her father. "Well," said Maud, bending down and shoving a rock along the ground, "Enough talk. Back to work." She took off at a tremendous speed. Not to outdone by the rock farmer, Blueblood shoved with all his might, but barely managed half of Maud's speed. Walking along, Blueblood found himself lost in boredom. Six months. Might as well be six years. BANG!! Blueblood's head collided with another pony and they both screamed, "OW! HEY, LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" He looked up to see a lovely, blue unicorn with a light blue, almost white mane. "Hmpf, you shouldn't run into ponies like that!" he said, sticking his snout in the air, "I could have been seriously hurt!" "Ha!" said the unicorn, putting a hoof to herself, "The Great and Powerful Trixie, doesn't give a flying feather about you!" "I happen to be a PRINCE!" said Blueblood, indignantly. "Ha, if you're a prince, then what are you doing here? Trixie happens to be the Great and Powerful Trixie. The most powerful prestidigitator in all of Equestria!!! Trixie's cutie mark is said to have been so powerful that when she got it, a sonic rainboom erupted in the sky as a show of joy!!" Fireworks shot out from behind her. "Well my cutie mark signifies..." trailed off Blueblood, "Hmm." He'd never really thought about it. What did his mark signify? "Twas Trixie after all," she continued, "Who vanquished not one, but two Ursa Majors! Everypony thought that all hope was lost. Luckily for them, somepony remembered the Great and Powerful Trixie was nearby. Using Trixie's amazing magic, Trixie banished the Ursa Majors to the depths of the Everfree Forest, saving all the ponies in Hoofington, AND PONYVILLE!" Blueblood rolled his eyes. "If you are a great magician, why are you working on a rock farm?" Trixie sighed. "Prestidigitators aren't in great demand right now. That and the fact that some awful ponies were spreading lies about Trixie in her last venue. They claimed that it was not Trixie that vanquished the Ursa but some nopony named Twilight Sparkle." "Oh she's more than some nopony," said Blueblood, "I happen to know her and she's Princess Celestia's personal student. And the bearer of the element of Magic." Trixie harrumphed, not impressed. "Bah," said Trixie, "She could not beat Trixie in a magic duel! Trixie will show her that... eh, when Trixie get's enough bits to buy something." "Say," said Blueblood, his eyes lighting up, "I'll give you all the gems you need if you can get me off this rock farm." Trixie's eyes narrowed. "But aren't you a unicorn like Trixie?" Blueblood shuffled uneasily. "Magical spells have never been my forte." "Trixie is not sure about this. Magical spells cannot simply be bought." Blueblood waved a pile of gems in front of her face. "Deal." "Fine," said Blueblood, "We leave tonight." Blueblood peeked around the door of his room to see Trixie standing by the door waiting. "Glad to see you're here," he said, brushing an invisible speck of dust off his pristine coat, "I admire punctuality in mares." Trixie rolled her eyes. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has always been on time for things. It is part of her greatness and powerfulness. Now, let us be off." Trixie's horn began to glow and she and Blueblood disappeared in a flash of light. Canterlot, here I come. "Where are we?" asked Blueblood, looking around in the darkness. "Trixie is not quite sure. We were supposed to appear just outside of the property line, not... wherever here is." A light came on and Blueblood shrieked to see Maud and Igneous standing at an open doorway. Trixie and Blueblood could now see that they were in the rock cellar of the rock farm. Next to them piled high, were (you guessed it), rocks, aging before the Pie family could sell them. "Twas inspirational of the Princess to think of this," said Igneous. Blueblood rolled his eyes. "What did my aunt do now?" "She expected you'd try to escape so she cast a spell preventing that," said Maud indifferently, "Now, shouldn't you both be getting some sleep? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." I'm trapped, thought Blueblood on the verge of hysteria. "It's alright," said Maud, "Rock farming isn't as dull as it might seem." I'm trapped, AND I'm sure to die of boredom. "The Great and Powerful Trixie won't be caged like an animal!" yelled Trixie. "Of course," said Igneous, "Thou may leave when thou sees it fit. The Prince however, is bound here by law of the Celestial Princess." "Oh well," said Trixie, "Tough break." "Let's see how well you do without MY funding!" said Blueblood indignantly. "Shoot, Trixie had not considered that. Awwwww, Trixie does not want to work on a rock farm for the rest of her life!!!" Trixie and Blueblood headed back to their respective rooms, grumbling all the way. The next day, Blueblood and Trixie were back at work, this time breaking rocks up into tiny pieces. "Trixie shall have her revenge on that abominable Twilight Sparkle. She will stand no chance against Trixie's might!" Blueblood rolled his eyes. Trixie had been going on like that since breakfast. How annoying can she get? Oh well, at least I'M not like that, Blueblood reassured himself. "How much longer do we have to do this?" Maud set down her hammer and answered, "Until lunch break at noon. Then we'll be grinding these shards into gravel for use in making asphalt." "Well why does it have to be so laborious?" "It's only laborious if you keep thinking it is." What a ridiculous notion. "Don't think about it and soon it won't bother you at all." "Is that why you're so dull?" asked Blueblood, advancing towards Maud angrily, "Because you don't think about reality? Maybe you should engage and then you'd have an ounce of character!!" Maud stared at him. "I have character," she said, before turning back to her work. "What?" asked Blueblood. "I said I have character," said Maud around the hammer in her mouth. "No you don't." "I do." "Then show me." Maud looked at him and blinked several times before responding, "I don't need to prove anything to you." With that, Maud returned to her work. Blueblood stared at her for a few moments. She annoyed him, not just because she was dull at, well... rocks, but also because she wouldn't react to him. Rarity had done just what he wanted, thrown a tantrum. Maud however, responded the same all the time, with indifference. No, not indifference. More like a sleepy sort of calm. Well, whatever it was, it annoyed Blueblood. And that cutie mark, how does she deal with such a lame cutie mark? Now, feeling much like Trixie, Blueblood resumed his work. Only, he fumed inside and his anger was towards Maud, the sleepily calm earth pony. A bell sounded, signifying the beginning of the lunch hour. All the workers gathered around a table while Igneous's wife, Cloudy Quartz brought out a kettle of stone soup. Who would eat this slop? thought Blueblood, Hasn't Cloudy ever heard of Grass Marsala? "Better eat before it gets cold," Cloudy said. Blueblood rolled his eyes. It getting cold is the least of my worries. I'm just hoping not to chip a tooth. Maud and the rest of the Pie family said a reverent prayer and attacked the soup with vigor. Blueblood scrunched up his nose in disdain. He'd had enough rock soup to last a lifetime, and he's only had it once. "Doth thee find something unpleasant in thy repast?" asked Igneous. "It's Rock. Stew." "It be not rock stew," said Cloudy, "But stone soup. Eat before it grows cold." "I don't eat rock stew." "Why not?" asked Igneous, "It be sufficient for giving us strength to do our jobs." "I don't eat rock stew." "Hmpf, Ye be acting as a child." "PONIES DON'T EAT ROCKS!!" screamed Blueblood, overturning the bowl of soup and storming off. Maud watched him go, then rose from her seat and followed him. "Maud," said Igneous, "Thou hast not finished thine meal." "Please keep it warm for me." She found Blueblood sitting under a tree by the only river to flow through the Pie family estate. "That wasn't about soup back there, was it?" she asked. "Twas my fair maid," said Blueblood in a mocking Igneous impression. "I've never seen a pony get so worked up over soup. Not even my sister." "Well, you've never met me then," Maud sat down next to him. "We annoy you in our blandness." Blueblood stared at her. Her statement wasn't in the form of a question, she wasn't pestering him. It didn't seem like a forceful statement, like she was telling him what to think. She simply... said it... And she was right. "P-possibly." Blueblood was shocked by himself. He hadn't stuttered in years. "I know we seem boring, but it is who we are." "What do you mean by that?" Maud pointed to her cutie mark. "My very cutie mark says that I should be in a boring profession. Rock farming. How dull can it get?" You could be me. "Exac-" "I was always jealous of my sister. You probably don't know her, but Pinkie's the best party planner in Ponyville." "I think I might have met her once, at the Grand Galloping Gala." "See?" said Maud, "You meet my sister met you at a party and I meet you on our rock farm. My sister and I live quite different lives. She's saved Equestria and I farm rocks. She's important and I farm rocks. One could easily be jealous." Just like Auntie and I, thought Blueblood. "But," said Maud, a smile almost beginning to show on her face, "I can help Equestria in my own simple way. Without my family, we wouldn't have all these rocks. Our rocks have been used in building the First Canterlot Bank and our gravel is in countless roads in Equestria. Plus, there are certain advantages to rock farming. Come with me." Maud got up and walked to the mines. Blueblood followed her into the dark caverns. "This is an advantage?" he asked, looking at the darkness all around him. "Most other ponies would leave and forget all about the dark, boring mine. But I..." Maud lit a candle to reveal a brilliant, pink, crystal cave. The light bounced almost magically on the walls. "...I know better." "Wow," said Blueblood, looking around in awe. "But it's more than that," said Maud, "You look around and see pretty pink crystals that sparkle. I know that these are pink diamonds and they are made from compressed carbon deep in Equestria's core. The pink color means that these particular diamonds were very deep down and were put under severe pressure, which distorted the crystal lattice and caused the diamonds to absorb green light and turn a pink color. You probably don't understand what I just said, but I did. Every stone I see tells me a story. Rocks are my passion, and that is why I am happy with my cutie mark. My sister may travel more and be more famous, but I am content with myself." Blueblood stared at the pony he had once seen as dull. She may not have been the life of the party, but she was happy with who she was. "And since I am content with who I am, I have character," said Maud, "Now, do you want to go back? Mother will pour you another bowl of soup." Maud turned around and began to leave, but Blueblood caught her hoof. "Maud," he said, "What if you didn't know what your cutie mark meant?" "How so?" "My mark is my family crest. A symbol of my wealth and prestige, how am I to embrace myself when I don't know who I am?" Blueblood looked at his hooves. "I guess I'm the one with no character." Maud put a hoof on his shoulder. "I don't know who you are," said Maud, "But I do know you can find out." Blueblood and Maud headed out of the cave and back to lunch. *** "From then on, time on the rock farm seemed to fly by. Trixie was still annoying as ever, but Maud and I would just ignore her," Blueblood said. "Maud's great, isn't she?" asked Pinkie. The rest of the mane six coughed and looked at their hooves uneasily. "Yes she is Ms. Pie," said Blueblood, "Such a wonderful spirit. I really hated to leave for Canterlot, but the inevitable had to happen and quick as a flash, six months had passed."