My First Day at the Rock Farm

by GoodPiggy76

Just Another Day

I wasn't expecting today to turn out the way it did. I was looking forward to another great day of laying on my bed, staring at my TV, and eating junk food. Clearly, however, that's not what my parents had in their intentions.

Slowly, the door creaked open. I had been lying in bed, trying to sleep in, minding my own business, when my mother placed her hoof on my shoulder.

"What?" I said while combining it with a groan.

"Get up, we need to talk to you." My mom said

"Can't you see that I'm sleeping in?"

"It's 1:00 PM... You can't keep doing this every day."

"Why not? It's not like I have a job." I fired back angrily.

"Just get up, we'll be waiting for you."

"Ugh," I moaned as she exited my room. After a few minutes, I decided to finally push myself off of the bed. Who's she to tell me what to do? I thought to myself. I went into my bathroom and splashed some water into my face. I then checked myself out in the mirror for a few seconds, which turned into minutes.

After some time, I heard my father yell my name down the stairs and remembered my task. Curse my absent mindedness. I opened up to door to the stairway, and trotted up to the living room. My mom and dad were standing in front of the front door.

"So why did you want me again?" I asked impatiently.

"We wanted to talk to you over some lunch-, er... I mean breakfast." My dad said.

"You had me at breakfast." I said as we exited the door and walked into the streets.

When we got to the restaurant we took our seats at a large booth, taking up more seats than we needed. I've always liked it that way. Since I don't relate to other ponies that much, I like my space.

I quickly scanned through the menu. The thing that caught my eye the most were the cherry pancakes, which was made from Equestria's best milk, straight from Trottingham.

"So... Shadow, we had something to talk to you about." My mom said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked, still having my eyes locked onto the menu.

"We wanted to talk to you about getting a job."

I sighed and dropped my menu on the table upon hearing this. "I already told you, I'm working on it."

My dad's eyes widened at this. "How? You just lay in bed all day, watching that television in our damn basement all day."

"You'd be surprised at all of the stuff you can learn from TV." I said.

We all stared at each other for a brief moment. Thankfully, the waiter broke our silence.

"Hi guys! Thanks for stopping in. Can I start you off with a drink?

"I'll just have a water," My dad said.

"Water." Said my mom.

"Could I have a glass of chocolate milk?" I asked

"Certainly." She said before leaving.

My parents we staring at me. My mom leaned in against my dad to whisper something in his ear. I detested when then did stuff like this. I don't like when people keep secrets from me.

"What?" I asked.

"You can't live in our house anymore." Said my dad.

"What? Why!?"

My mom, being a unicorn, used her magic to open up a strap on her saddlebag. She then brought up a piece of paper onto the table. I looked at it for a few seconds, switching glances between it and my parents occasionally.

I picked it up with my hoof and opened it. It was a flyer for a farm. As I looked closer at it, it said Rock Farm.

"What the hell is a rock farm?!" I asked angrily.

"Keep reading." My mom said nervously.

As I looked through the flyer for a few seconds, I think I finally understood what they were getting at. At the bottom, it read Now Hiring! This made me roll my eyes. I turned over the paper to read what was on the back. It read:

Please join us at the rock farm, where we turn rocks into gems! We're always searching for new workers. The job requires strength and discipline. It pays 12 bits per hour.

12 bits an hour? Not bad for a job like this... But I couldn't let my parents see me getting any joy out of this.

I was about to open my mouth, but that's when the waiter came back. She gave us our drinks and took our orders. I decided to go with the pancakes.

"Anyway... What makes you think that I'd be good at this sort of thing." I said.

"We don't think it's the best job... But It's the best that we could find." Said my mom.

"Well I'm not doing it, so you might as well throw it away."

"We already signed you up." My dad said.

"Why would you do that?!" I moaned

"You need to get a life beyond that basement. You start tomorrow. It starts at 7:00 AM sharp. Plus the time it takes to get there, so you'd have to wake up at 6:00 AM. We already called a taxi pony to come get you."

"Please tell me you're joking..."

The waiter came back with our dishes and set them on the table. I gave her a friendly smile. After she left, I stared at her rump for a few seconds.

"So we expect you to be in bed by 10:00." My mom said.

"Fine, I'm not seven anymore." I said. "Where do you expect me to sleep, or eat?"

"The Rock Farm has offered to take you in."

I had nothing else to say or ask, so I simply rested my head on my hoof and started eating my pancakes. We spent the rest of our time at the restaurant in silence, with me occasionally making angry glances at them. Soon, the waiter came back with our bill. We paid and she left. I couldn't tell, but I swore I saw her wink at me before she left.

I lay on my bed, knowing that this will probably be my last night here. Unable to sleep, I pick up the remote from by table and flick on the television. Light fills the room, and makes my eyes hurt for a second. I flicked through the channels. Nothing but garbage was on.

"Ugh," I said as I laid my head back.

I turned it off, throwing the remote across the room. It ended up landing dead on the power button, turning it on again. My eyes flared at this.

"One.... Two......... Three............." I said

Counting to three always helped me calm down. My short temper always hindered me in relationships in general. I got up, out of bed and threw a couple of F-bombs, and S-bombs in the process.

I rubbed my eyes while trotting over to the remote and turning it off. This time, I carefully set it down on the table.

I got in bed, pulling the covers back up to cover me. Staring up at the ceiling fan, I force my eyes to close. I take the time to think about where my life is headed, and for what the future has planned for me. Maybe I was too harsh on my parents. Maybe my job won't be as bad as expected. It's then, when I finally drifted into dreamland.

As my eyes opened, I was greeted by darkness. Being so used to waking up with the sunshine in my room, I couldn't help but be a little freaked out. I glanced over at my glow-in-the-dark clock. It read 5:33. I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom.

I looked at my dark circles in the mirror, trying to hide my morning ugliness with a smile. Before jumping into the shower, I quickly grabbed my toothbrush with my hooves. I brushed my teeth, rubbed shampoo and conditioner throughout my coat and mane, and rinsed it all out.

Hopping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel. I was trying my best to enjoy these luxuries as much as possible, because I didn't know which ones I would have on the farm with me. I rubbed a hoof through my mane and trotted into my room. 5:54 said the clock. I quickly put on some presentable clothes and grabbed a few changes of clothes, a journal, a couple of pens, and some paper, then crammed it into a suitcase, hastily. I then opened the door and trotted up the stairs.

I crept into my parents room. My mom was fast asleep, but my dad had his reading glasses on while reading the daily paper.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey... Just wanted to say bye before I left." I said.

"Oh... Well you have to be going soon. It's six o'clock"

"Yeah, I know... Tell mom I said bye."

"Okay. Goodbye, son."

I trotted out of their room, gently closing the door on the way out. I walked through the living room, trying to catch a mental picture of the house before I depart. Just outside of the window, the taxi pony was waiting patiently. I didn't want to keep him waiting, so I opened the front door and walked outside. I plopped my suitcase on a chair and hopped up on the other.

"Sorry I'm late." I said apologetically

"No problem, buddy." He said.

I'll have to remember to give him a nice tip for his friendliness.

"So you're going to the old Rock Farm? I haven't been there in ages. Why are you going?" He asked while starting at a slow pace.

"Oh, I'm just going for some business reasons."

"Ah, okay."

The cold, morning wind was in my face, and I loved it. The scent of the morning dew put me in a great mood, and I felt extremely perspective. The sun was just beginning to rise over the hills of Apple Acres Farm. It truly looked beautiful.

"Nice, isn't it?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, it's gorgeous. Celestia is doing a great job." He responded.

I nodded my head in agreement.

"Smell that wonderful air.... I should get up early more often." Or stay up even later I thought.

"It's amazing, that's exactly why I took the morning shift." He said while giving a sniff.

We were starting to go into the mountains. The scent of dew was replaced with the smell of dust and stone. When we got to the top of the trail, I got a full view of PonyVille, the place where I had lived my whole life. It looked as if it was slowly disappearing under the edge of the mountain as we were now going downward.

When we got to the bottom, the taxi pony went to a full stop.

"Why did we stop?" I asked.

"This is where you wanted to go, wasn't it?"

"I thought we were going to the rock farm."

"We're at it!"

"Where is it?"

"They own nearly all of this land. Try looking a bit over there." He pointed his hoof down the trail.

I squinted my eyes. Sure enough, I did see a few small structures which appeared to be a few cottages, and a windmill. There were also a ton of basketball sized rocks scattered all throughout the land.

"Oh... My bad." I said while slapping my face with my hoof. "Here's your fare."

I paid his fare of 30 bits with a 10 bit tip.

"Thanks bud!" He said as he turned around and started up the mountain again.

I took my suitcase and slowly trotted towards the cottages. I took the time to look at where I will be working for a while. Honestly, I'm not impressed. The flyer made it sound a lot more exciting than it actually is. The fence on the trail seemed to go on forever.

Eventually, I made it to the small patch of civilization. I assumed that the biggest house that had a, "Now Hiring!." sign on it was where I was supposed to go.

I knocked on the door a few times. I could hear some fumbling and small curses. Which what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened.

A stallion with a caramel coat, and a gray mutton chops with a black hat opened the door. His face was completely straight, and was chewing on a piece of wheat.

"Oh... I-Ummmm... Hi..." I said.

"You must be our new employee," He said in a deep voice.

"Yep," I said.

"Fantastic." He said with a lack of enthusiasm, "Let me show you around."

"Oh-Okay..."

He led me to one of the cottages.

"This is the mess hall. We have complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner here as promised in the flyer. "

"Sounds great."

He led me to another cottage which looked completely identical.

"This is the hobby room."

"The hobby room?"

"We have some stuff to do when our employees have the day off. We have books, boardgames, a radio, we even got our hands on a television." He took a long breath after this sentence which freaked me out. "This is also where the restrooms and showers are located.

"Oh, great!" I planned out what I was going to watch first on the TV.

He led me to the final cottage. I had no clue how I would remember which cottage was which.

"This is where you will be sleeping. You have the sixth and final room."

"Thanks," I said with a smile.

"Hmm, I don't think I've introduced my self. My name is Igneous Rock"

"And I'm Shadow."

"Pleased to meet you." He said while feigning a smile. "You can have the rest of the day to unpack and meet the fellow farmers."

"Okay. Thank you very much, sir."

He trotted away and left me to myself. I walked up to the porch of the cottage and slowly opened the door. I walked in and spotted door labeled No. 6. I opened the door and got a good look at my room.

Inside, was a bed, a desk, a couch and a dresser. On the dresser, there was a dried out plant. I could almost hear its pleads for water. However, there was one specific thing that got my attention. There was picture on the desk. Upon further inspection, it was Igneous, and a all pink pony. She was frowning, but Igneous was grinning. I decided not to give it too much thought.

I dropped my suitcase on the ground and opened it. I took out my clothes and organized them into the dresser. I put the pens and paper on the desk. I decided to write my first letter.

Dear Mom and Dad

Today, I arrived at the farm. I've moved into my room and unpacked my stuff. Although it seems kind of bland, I do, honestly have a good feeling about this place. I hope you guys are doing well. I miss you already. The good news about the place is that it has a television, so I won't be as bored as I thought I was going to be originally. Please get back to me and keep me up to date on what is happening in PonyVille.

With lots of love, Shadow

I quickly ran outside to place the letter into the mailbox, then raced back inside to get out of the heat that the evening sun was now beaming down on the farm. When back in the hallway, I saw a small mare who looked as if she was a teenager. She had a navy coat and a gray mane.

"Oh.. Hello, are you new here?" She asked.

"Yes, actually I just moved in today. I'm starting work tomorrow." I responded.

"Oh. That's nice." She said with a smile. "My name is Marble Pie."

"Nice to meet you, Marble, I'm Shadow."

"I'd love to talk, but I have to get to work."

"Okay, don't let me keep you."

"See ya." She said happily.

I watched as she exited the cottage. I went back to my room and jumped onto my bed. I have a lot ahead of me I thought to myself.

.

Author's Note:

How did you guys like my first ever chapter? Please give me feedback! Also, please tell me about any spelling/grammar mistakes. I'll try to get out the next chapter soon.

Comments

[Dorvarious]

This pretty good. i cant wait to see more of it!

[GoodPiggy76]

3845928 Thank you!

3845919 I wanted to keep it vague. I might give away details as the story goes on, though.