//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Colt Dudman Vs Ponyville // by Snogwritts //------------------------------// Colt Dudman Vs Ponyville Prologue Our story begins with a cute young couple, a unicorn named Crystal and an earth pony named Steve. The two first met at Manehattan High School, and over the years, they grew quite fond of each other. Fondness grew to like, and like grew into love. After their first date, the two were inseparable. A few years later, they were happily married and eventually had their own foal. They named him… Dudman. As Dudman grew up, he discovered the wonders of the world. He loved the happy ponies that trotted about the city, with all their hustle and bustle carefree attitudes. He even liked the tall buildings, big and proud and towering above the city he called home. Although on the other hoof some things as much as you love them have a dark side even at your own fair city. As much as Dudman loved watching the ponies run about their daily lives, he never really had an interest in making friends. He enjoyed being isolated from everypony, having his own quiet place away from the constant motion and noise of the city life... but in life, there's always room for change. Sometimes… These changes can be drastic, or sudden, or both. And sometimes... Change just happens, whether you're ready for it or not. But who knew anypony expected this change?... The family was grabbing their heavy bags in their efforts to run towards the Manehattan train station and unfortunately for Steve, the poor stallion was carrying the majority of the family's bags. While Dudman simply carries his school backpack and his mother with her purse. What’s the hurry one might ask? Well thanks to Steve, the family overslept and were already running late for their train to Ponyville! The station itself was cram packed, some lining up for tickets, others grabbing a bite. It was all accounts far too overcrowded the family forcefully had to push and squeeze their way through the large crowd without having their chances to apologize. “Train 4H6 is about to leave, everypony if you’re on train 4H6, your train is about to leave” The speaker's message blared through the station, adding on to the families growing panic. “Can’t you go any faster?!”, Crystal cried out, urging the stallion to move more quickly though he could barely catch his breath. Crystal was a dark blue unicorn with a beautiful brownish mane and tail. Usually proud and optimistic in nature, preferring a formal look to her liking. She was always ready to give a smile even though she can be quite sensitive at times. Which leads to her temper, but only ever showed when she’s stressed having a hard time calming herself down at the most. Thankfully, that's just one more reason she loved her husband. No matter how stressed, he was always there to help her regain her composure. Her cutie mark was a sweeping broom clearly in the process of cleaning, and it suited her quite well as she was always cleaning everything she can get her hooves on regardless of the last time she cleaned them. It was only natural to think that she chose an occupation that embraced her passion. She was a housemaid to all sorts of different families all across Manehattan tidying up houses and apartments for all the hard working mares and stallions of the busy city. It was a life and a job that she loved, and the only thing she loved more than that was her precious little colt. Steve had been panting for a good distance now, “It's not that easy -pant- to carry all these bags -pant- you know? And what exactly did you pack these things full of anyways honey?” Steve said, struggling against the weight of the bags. Needless to say, the stairs were an obstacle. Steve was a stallion that could hardly ever take things seriously, which of course lead to common glares from his wife, but he was strong and hard working none the less. His brown coat and black mane, tail, and beard were well kept, and thanks to his wife's constant fluster over things being clean he had a healthy shine. With a paintbrush as his cutie mark, he would often paint buildings, monuments, and carriages, never leaving anything looking less than stunning when he was done! He always delighted in meeting new ponies and loved starting a conversation. However, he can stay quiet when he needs to and has a keen sense of knowing when it's time to do so. One of Steve’s favorite pass times was giving people nicknames, but in the case of Dudman, he simply called him “colt”. Steve often took naps, his other favorite pass time, but he's optimistic as much as his wife, which is a big factor in their happy relationship. “Important things now hurry! We’re going to be late! Called Crystal once again running for the train. Now we come to Dudman. If you ask anyone on the street what they thought of him, they might say apathetic, aloof, or even simply uncaring… But that was just because he wasn't the type to get excited about simple things. Dudman is a unicorn, just like his mother, with a darkish blue coat with a dark brown mane and tail with streaks of lighter brown. The one thing he always wore was his brown sweater, which complimented his mane and tail nicely. Unlike his dad, and more so that his mom, he was always taking things very seriously. Jokes didn't entertain him, and drama just annoyed him. His mother always warned him not to take such views on life, but that’s just what came naturally to him. He enjoyed his solitude, doing things by himself and away from anypony else, his apathetic expression ever present regardless of his true feelings. He did, however, like his mother, have a temper that was not to be trifled with. It wasn't easy to get him mad, but you were better off not trying. He didn't smile often, but when he did... it was nice. The kind of smile that makes you feel like everything will be ok. Well... It only happens rarely, but he can give a grin or two from time to time. Dudman wasn’t particularly happy about leaving. He loved Manehattan, every single thing about it. The towers, the hotdog stands, the parts of the highways off in the distance that he could catch little glimpses of on a clear day... but now? Now it would all just be memories. Fortunately, he had one thing to keep them fresh in his memory, his sword. A while back, he got it off a traveling swordsmith, one that used to make swords for the equestrian army. He stayed in Manehattan, and over time Dudman took an interest in the craft. He got to know Dudman a bit and eventually, they became relatively good friends. Being taught how to use the forge and the blade was some of his best memories, but before the smith left, he gave Dudman one of his old training swords. It had a few impurities in the blade, it certainly wasn't a showpiece, but to Dudman, it was as much a token of friendship as anyone had ever given him. The family luckily made it to the train on time, but only just going through the doors before they closed. The stallion fell down to the floor, the bags landing awkwardly on top of him. The train conductor was surprised, but reacted quickly helping to get on his feet. “Oh my let me help you with that”, the conductor grabbed the heavy luggage and started trotting down through the main isle. “Let me lead you to your seats”, the conductor smiled as he escorted the family to their seats. When they finally arrived, Crystal fell to her seat relieved that she and her family had made it, if only just barely, relaxing her mind on the thought. Steve did the same as well even though he was sweating bullets, he was so exhausted he could hardly move and soon fell into a deep sleep. “Mom can I sit by the window?...” Dudman asked tilting his head. He wouldn’t say it, and his face wouldn’t betray it, but he wanted to look back at the city he grew up in one last time before it was out of sight... Sure, he could come back here eventually, but when you're a young colt, it eventually feels like forever away… “Well yeah sure my little Dudman,” Crystal replied getting off her seat and moving over to the next one. It was such a small and simple request, how could she say no? Dudman sat down by the window. After the long day they had getting to the train station he could finally put his mind to ease. The conductor came by after placing the family’s luggage on the back holding a hole puncher. “Tickets please?” The family took out their tickets and gave them to the conductor hole punching them as the remains fell on the floor. The conductor gave the tickets back with a smile. “Can I get you anything miss?”, the conductor asked. “No it’s alright thank you”, Crystal replied sloping her head comfortably on the seat. It wouldn't be until later that she would realize she was bursting with hunger, seeing as how they had skipped breakfast thanks to her husband's outrageous actions. “All aboard the Ponyville Express! We will now be leaving from Manehattan to Ponyville! The trip will be about 5 hours so please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” The pony at the front of the train made the announcement from the speakers as the train started to pull away. Dudman was watching the window, widening his eyes as he saw a stallion with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane with an hourglass as his cutie mark shouting and begging the train to stop. Clearly, this pony wasn’t as lucky as them. “WAIT STOP THE TRAIN! STOP!!!,” the pony yelled at the train the words muffling through the window. But unfortunately, nopony heard him and the train couldn’t stop anyways as it has a schedule to keep. The train gained speed hearing the steam pumping through the trains machinery. He watched as the stallion fell on the ground having missing his opportunity. Dudman felt bad for the stallion, but hey, he had his own problems. He glanced at Manehattan through the window one last time going over flashbacks of all his memories he had there no doubt he was going to miss his home. Crystal stretched a little, relaxing her stressed muscles and took out the latest issue of the “Foal Free Press”. Steve, however, was still fast asleep his head placed on the seat, snoring peacefully. “So honey, are you excited for our new home?” Crystal asked reading her newspaper Although Crystal noticed that her husband was fast asleep, she began to take her eyes of her newspaper and poked the stallion a few times. Steve jerked awake, having been right on the edge of a deep sleep. “Eh, what?” Steve said putting his hoof on his head, getting an angry sigh from Crystal. “For real honey, I think I'm the one that should be sleeping. Let's not forget the pony who almost made us late today!”, Crystal put her head closer to the stallion glaring at him angrily. Steve gave a small grin lowering his ears at the mare in response. “So uh… What did you say?” he asked “Ugh, are you happy we’re going to ponyville?” Crystal asked her husband once again, annoyance clearly evident in her voice. “Umm, yeah of course! As much as you are honey! I've seen plenty of pictures of the place, and it looks pretty amazing right colt?” Dudman ignored his dad's question and continued to look out the window, silently watching the trees as they passed. Dudman wasn’t totally mad, or sad, or particularly happy. His feelings at that very moment were very mixed and it was almost hard to keep his blank expression. He tightened his sword strap... It was still a wonder as to why they'd let him carry it openly on a train, but he wasn't going to bring it up if they did not. “I think he’s still upset about leaving” Steve whispered to Crystal “Well he’s going to have to deal with it, we can’t change plans now. Speaking of dealing with things I’m pretty hungry” Crystal sat looking down at her growling stomach. “We'll make sure you get something light alright? I wanna save my appetite for the bakery.” Steve said giving a big smile. “Bakery?...” Crystal questioned her husband tilting her head suspiciously at the stallion sat next to her. “I love bakeries! Oh honey, you know me too well” She said smiling and gave the stallion a gentle kiss. “But what bakery is it?” Crystal tilted her head again. "It's one of the best in equestria according to my sources! It's called the uh… ah, the "Sugar Cube Corner!”, Steve exclaimed looking at the flyer. “Oh that reminds me, you found a school for our little Dudman right?” Crystal asked. “I- uhh... Of course I did!!!” Steve flipped through the pamphlet for ponyville at a dizzying pace, "Riiiight HERE! See? The Ponyville School House." Crystal glared at the stallion angrily. "You just looked that up, didn't you?" “Hey did not! I’ll have you know that- Crystal twitched in anger causing Steve to confess. “Yes..” "Oh for the love of Celestia Steve!" “I’m sorry! I forgot!” Steve quickly said in his defense, getting a sigh from Crystal before she began discussing the next plan of action for the colts education. “Well, we’ll ask somepony if that’s the only option there.” Crystal looked over at her colt she was starting to get worried about Dudman’s emotional state. She could never tell what he was thinking, but her motherly instincts definitely knew when something was wrong. “Don't worry Honey... He’ll feel better sooner or later...” Steve whispered to his wife. Five hours passed and the family was fast asleep, snoozing their day off. Their naps were quite pleasant, right until the train horn went off. The horn startled the family awake. Well except for Dudman. He woke up rather smoothly, without being startled or shocked by the horn. Crystal put her hoof on her head, yawning opening her eyes more after her beauty sleep. Steve woke up rather ungracefully, flopping off of his chair onto the floor and standing up quickly, as though a speedy recovery might negate his momentary blunder. Crystal Smiled at that. Even with all the frustration of the day, he still found a way to make her smile. “Mares and Gentlecolts, we have arrived in Ponyville. Everypony please grab your belongings and exit the train. Thank you for choosing the Ponyville Express, we hope you ride with us again.” The speakers announced. Everypony was getting up and grabbing their belongings after a long relaxing trip through the countryside. The stallion stood up, feeling strong again as he held the bags over his back. They trotted along through the center of the train, heading towards the closest door. Because of the size of the train, The nearest door was still a good distance away. After a short while of double checking their bags on the platform, the family finally sets off into the town of Ponyville. They rounded the corner, off of the train platform and came to a sudden stop as Ponyville came fully into view. The town was beautiful! The fabulous ponies, the unique buildings, colts and fillies playing everywhere you looked... This place looked nothing like Manehattan. Dudman widened his eyes at the thought of just how different such a town was from his home. “It's... it's beautiful.” Crystal was gazing at their new hometown in awe, having never seen somewhere so... Relaxing? Gentle? Pink? All of the above? Either way, it was stunning, to say the least. The town was nothing the family had seen before, and that's only the first part of what they would come to see. They could already tell that this place was gonna be good. After a short while, the family noticed the sign on top of all the beautiful things. “Welcome To Ponyville…” Dudman read the sign giving a heavy sigh. He didn't like change. “Well let's get going everypony, we've got a bakery to go to!” Steve said with a hungry grin. Just the thought of delicious baked goods made his mouth water. “Oooh! I hope they have cream puffs!” Crystal said, excitement evident in her voice as she trotted in place happily. As the family strolled through the streets of Ponyville, they realized that they had made the perfect choice. It wasn’t long until they saw "Sugar Cube Corner", and the couple was clearly ready to take a bite out of one of their tasty treats! “So..” Steve took a look at the flyer, double checking that this was the right place. “Sugar cube corner should be right here,” Steve said as he pointed at the bakery. “Wow... The exterior sure stands out for its business.” Crystal said, looking at the extensive bright colors that made up the building’s cake resembling shape. "No kidding! I could almost take a bite out of it... Just kidding!" Steve quickly recovered, noticing the disapproving look from Crystal. The family went inside, the smell of fresh baked goods and frosting filled the air. After a few moments of enjoying the smell, they went to the counter to order, but to their notice, it doesn’t seem that anypony was here. “Helloooo? Anypony here?” Crystal called looking around the front room. Surely the owner couldn't have left the bakery unattended. In a flash of color, a mare with a pink coat, and a dark pink, poofy mane and tail, and three colorful balloons as her cutie mark showed up and greeted them with a heartwarming smile bouncing up and down in a hyperactive excitement. “Ooo! New guests New guests New gueeeests!!! Hi I'm Pinkie Pie!”, She said with a grin, seemingly ecstatic at the sight of the newcomers in the bakery. “Oh! Why, hello there.” Crystal said, greeting the pink mare. For once, Crystal was taken off guard by Pinkies almost the lightning fast appearance. “How do ya do?” Steve spoke in a well mannered and polite way. “Welcome to Ponyville! Trust me, you're gonna LOVE it here!”, Pinkie said with a grin and a high pitched and overly excited voice. Something wasn't sitting well with Dudman... The family hadn't told anyone they were new here, nor did they tell who they were, but Pinkie Pie seemed to just... know. Not only did she know, but she was planning something very special for the family. Dudman stared blankly at the strange pink pony. Her cheery disposition and constant smiles were... unnerving to Dudman. “I’m gonna plan a party for all of you! Everypony will be invited!” Pinkie nearly shouted. Dudman was worried that if she smiled any wider, her head would pop off at the jaw. Crystal smiled, slightly confused. “Oh, well that’s very kind of you, but we don’t need all that miss Pinkie. We just came here for something to eat." Crystal was still thinking about the cream puffs. “No, I insist! It’ll be lots of fun fun fun!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed “Ooo! Wait here!” Pinkie darted back to the kitchen, and within seconds, she was back with a tray of fresh baked hot cream puffs. Crystal drooled at the delicious looking cream puffs. "Freshly made and ready to eat! On the house!”, Pinkie said. She showed them to a table and set their tray down. “Here you go! Have a seat, you must have had a long day.” All this was too much for the family to take in at once! A party was way more than they could have expected, and now free cream puffs?! “Miss Pinkie Pie, this is... This is far more than we could ask for.” Steve was trying to be polite, but his grin was evident as he put down his bags. He was hungry, but happy at the same time. “Dig in!”, Pinkie gave a large smile. That was almost the breaking point. Dudman's mom had mentioned creampuffs only once or twice, and only on the train... how did this mare know exactly what she had wanted, before she had even asked? Dudman started to get suspicious on the pink mare. “Oh, that reminds me! I didn’t catch your names.” “Oh! Well, I'm Crystal, and this is my husband Steve. We just arrived here, you could say we're fresh from the streets of Manehattan.” Crystal said to the pink pony before her. "Ooooohhhh!!!! I LOOOOVE Manehattan! Then again, I love going anywhere! Hehe!" Pinkie was likable, more so than most. It was still unnerving to Dudman though… “Noponys really that happy... she's either faking it... or just... not normal… Is she this naive to everypony?...” Dudman's thoughts were more somber than usual... or maybe they just felt that way compared to a brighter atmosphere? Crystal had been eating her cream puffs, amazed of how delicious it was! Her husband wasn’t kidding when he said this bakery was the best of all Equestria. “This is delicious! Magnifique!” Crystal munching on the cream puffs quite happily, delighted by it's perfectly sweet flavor. “Best in town!” Pinkie said proudly, with a smile. Steve and Dudman were also digging into the cream puffs, and after a while, Dudman noticed that Pinkie Pie was staring at him. “And why is this little one so quiet? Usually, kids LOVE my cream puffs!” Pinkie said putting her head near Dudman. Dudman widened his eyes at the mare, he was startled by the sudden closeness and almost dropping his cream puff. Dudman chose not to speak at all. “That's our colt Dudman, isn’t he such a little sweetie?” Crystal was obviously enjoying her cream puffs too much to notice Dudman's discomfort. Dudman swallowed his cream puff. “Hey Mom... can we go home now?” Dudman looked over at his mother, hoping for a yes. Pinkie was starting to creep him out. “Dudman! Where are your manners?!” Crystal said whispering, almost hissing in anger. “I’m sorry Miss Pinkie, he’s usually not the social type,” Crystal said with a friendly but painfully fake smile. “OOHHH!!! You're just like my sister Maud! Only like 10 times quieter... You’ll never make friends like that silly filly!” Pinkie Pie was trying to cheer Dudman up, and it might have worked... If it was anyone other than Dudman. “Do I really sound like a filly?...” Dudman thought “I don’t plan to and never will be…” Dudman was honest to a fault Pinkie Pie stood in shock it was clear that pinkie wasn’t ready for an answer like that. Crystal quickly interrupted “Anyways! It was very nice meeting you Pinkie Pie, but we have to get our things to the new home! I hope you understand?” Crystal said getting off her chair in panic. “Could I trouble you to get the rest of these to go please?” She asked. “Oh, Sure thing!!!” Pinkie Pie responded with a grin, grabbed the tray, and was back in a flash. The family left the bakery, happily full from the cream puffs. Pinkie waved at the family. “Byyyyye! See you at the party!” When Pinkie Pie went back into the shop Crystal and Steve glared and Dudman angrily. they loved him, but Crystal couldn't stand being embarrassed in public. Steve wasn't really mad, but if he didn't, at least, pretend to be, he’ll end up on Crystals bad side. Dudman was confused why they were looking at him like that. “Was it something I said?...” “Yes!” They said in unison “Dudman, why would you say something like that? You know first impressions mean the world to your mother.” Steve said gruffly. Dudman tilted his head, “I was only telling the truth... you even said yourself that I'm not the social type-” “It doesn’t matter Dudman! You could have just said "ok" and been done with it!” His mother scolded. Dudman really didn’t want to hear it. He was already upset about leaving Manehattan, and now he was getting into trouble for telling the truth? “Man...my life sucks... hm? What’s that?”. Something drew Dudman's attention away from his brooding. It was a statue... a statue of the mystical figure that we all know as Discord. Dudman however, had never seen nor heard of the master of chaos. “Hmm, that’s a pretty weird monument... I wonder if it’s an abstract piece?” Dudman thoughts were interrupted by his mother's ranting. “-Came to ponyville, and reputation counts more than- Dudman, are you listening to me?!” Crystal said angrily, annoyed at the colts loss of interest. “Yup, she’s stressed alright. I wonder if her favorite carrot and dandelion stew would calm her nerves a bit? I hope we have the things we need to make it when we get to the house.” Steve was always thinking about his wife. He knew this happens often, he took it as his personal quest to make sure she was as little stressed as possible. No one could question that he was a good husband. Dudman was startled by his mother's sudden words, he wasn’t paying attention when she raised her voice because he was more focused on the strange figure. “Yeah...yeah... Sorry for not paying attention...” Dudman said looking at his mother. It was clearly just the obligatory apology, not really heartfelt, and Crystal knew it. “Hmph!” Crystal looked away in anger. Steve looked over at his wife... he was upset at the simple fact that she was upset. “I’m telling ya right now colt... please, PLEASE don’t do it again.” Steve said “Ok… My apologies dad...” Dudman actually did feel sorry for his dad. He didn’t mean to upset his mother, and he really didn’t mean for his dad to get the backlash of it, but that’s usually how it went. The family arrived at the home they had reserved prior to moving. Steve opened the door with his keys and the family went inside. “Hmm not too shabby, if I do say so myself! Can I pick 'em or what honey?” Steve smiled broadly. Crystal took one look at the kitchen and the dining room and made a quick decision. “This place is perfect! I can’t wait to clean and decorate it!" Crystal was almost giddy with excitement! Her earlier stress induced anger all but gone. Steve and Crystal were happily checking the house, deciding where to put furniture and what to put in each of the kitchen drawers. Dudman, however, was just wandering around the house, looking at the bedrooms, closets, and bathrooms... Nothing really worth getting excited over. While he was trotting through the hallway, something grazed his face. “GAH!” Dudman jumped back, sword was drawn and pointed at- “A Rope?”.... Noponys is ever to know that I was spooked by a rope." He looked at his sword, as though telling it to keep his secret. After sheathing his sword, he examined the rope, walked around it a few times, questioned its purpose. "Never seen anything like this back in the apartments... I wonder what it does-OW!" he had pulled slightly on the rope, and the stairs to the attic opened with a burst, nearly knocking the poor colt out cold! Dudman fell to the ground, holding his head. A bruise was already forming from the impact. Dudman was seriously hoping his parents didn’t hear that, especially his mother. She goes crazy when her colt gets hurt, even something as small as a papercut, and usually goes into a panic attack as a result. “Owwww... that's gonna hurt in the morning... scratch that, it’s hurting now!” Dudman looked up the stairs. It was dark, quiet, all around uninviting... "Oh cool! Another room.... Wait a minute... I think I read about this once... This must be the attic! I wonder what’s inside..." Dudman climbed up the stairway leading up into the isolated attic. The room was extremely dusty, full of spider webs, dust bunnies, and dead insects that had most likely come up here for shelter then died of boredom. Dudman had the feeling that nopony had been here for years. The wood walls were cracked and chipped, the concrete behind it was starting to crack as well, but what stood out most were the boxes. Boxes, boxes and more boxes... Aside from all the boxes, there was a shelf, but its was bit broken. There was nothing on it but a dry bucket of paint. Dudman was a little curious, to say the least, about what was inside these boxes. “Why would the last owner leave all of these here?...” Dudman questioned out loud, curiously eying a nearby box. Nevertheless, he opened the box and was greeted by a plume of dust, he coughed and waved his hoof to prevent breathing it in. Once the dust cleared up he found... nothing. “Well, second one’s the charm I guess…” Dudman went on to the next box. He opened it, and again there was nothing. In fact, after checking every box in the attic, he came to the conclusion that perhaps the last owner of this house was just an avid collector of boxes. They were all empty Dudman sighed, “Well that was an impressive waste of my time.” Disappointment evident in his voice. He found a brick and threw it onto the wall in anger resulting in another crack. Before Dudman left, he heard a shifting of stone... a little more... then more... then- "OW! DAMNIT!" A Brick had fallen from a part of the ceiling, clearly disturbed by him rummaging through the attic. "Right in the same spot the stairs hit me... just my luck... Stupid house... Stupid ponyville... STUPID BRICK!- Huh? What’s this?" First of all, the brick was a different color on the inside than the outside... almost as if the brick had been painted.”Wait... that's... the same color as the dry paint in the bucket... was this... hiding something?” And no sooner than said that he noticed that there was something sticking out of the brick. After sweeping some of the bricks debris away with his hoof, he picked up the half of the brick that was still intact. There was a gemstone inside of it. "How do I... Oh! that might work!" Dudman drew his sword once again, however, he wasn’t stupid. He raised his blade, then smacked the brick with the pommel of the handle, shattering the softer brick, and leaving the gem intact. What fell out of the crumbled brick, however, was the gem, and a golden Key with a round handle inlaid with small gems. Both of these things were showing their age quite prominently. The key missing a few gems, and the larger gem was severely scratched in several places. However, they were both still quite stunning for a simple unicorn who had never seen either before. To say that Dudman was amazed at what he found. “I guess this house... might not be so boring after all...” Dudman thought out loud. Either way, Dudman had no clue what exactly the key was to, or why exactly the pony had hidden it and the gem had gone to such great lengths to do so? “What is this thing?” Dudman pocketed the two items, forgetting about his boredom entirely for a few moments, he liked having questions that needed answers. It felt like a purpose to be fulfilled. “Dudmaaaaan!” Steve yelled out, breaking the silence and Dudman realizing how long he was staying here. Dudman was startled by his father’s sudden yell nearly dropping the gem. He quickly placed the items in his sweater pocket, rushed downstairs and pulled the rope closing the attic stairway. “Dad?...” Steve had a box on his hooves, “Would you mind giving your old man a hoof? These boxes are a lot heavier than they look, heck the moving company took off right after they dropped them off, damn hotshots…” “Ok.” Dudman grabbed the other end of the box and helped his dad move the boxes into their necessary rooms. “Ok, last box. On the count of three... one, two, three!” Both ponies picked up the last box. It was especially heavy for our Dudman, having been the unsocial intellectual type, but they were able to bring the box to his parents bedroom. “Ahh.. these boxes are heavy... I'm sure not young as I used to be.” Steve dropped the box, placing it on the bedroom floor. “Wheeew... So! Where were you colt?” “Nowhere dad... ” Dudman responded half-heartedly. It only took Steve a second to notice the bruise on Dudmans head. "Soooo did ‘nowhere’ give you that bruise colt?" Dudman immediately covered his bruise with his mane “Wha-No..” Dudman said Steve sighed “Alright, alright. Just remember, it’s better to tell me what happened rather than me finding out the hard way. Come on, we have boxes to unpack.” It took them the rest of the day, but Dudman and Steve finally got everything set up while Crystal was cleaning the house. That was her one true way of relaxing. The future of the family was uncertain, but things were happy. For now. The Dandelion Carrot soup was good, and the family slept easy. However, Dudmans dreams were of far grander things than he could ever plan for himself... right? Still the question remains, what’s up with that gemstone and its corresponding key? Only time will tell... TO BE CONTINUED…