My First Day at the Rock Farm

by GoodPiggy76

Meeting the Rest of the Crew

I woke up as the sunshine was just beginning to pour into the room. I stared at the ceiling for a while, then decided to get out of bed. Looking over at the analogue clock, it read 6:47. No sound could be heard in the hallway except for the soft creak my door made as I opened it. Peaking my head outside, nothing was to be seen either.

Leaving the door open, I went to my suitcase and got my toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and placing them in my saddlebag. I then walked into the hallway, closing the door on my way out. As I was just about to open the door to the outside world, a door behind me opens up. Out of room number four, a stallion appears with a black coat and a spiky red mane, and he had a fire cutie mark. He almost looked deprived of sleep, until he saw me.

"Oh.. Hey..." He said with a surprised facial expression.

"Hey." I said.

"You must be that new pony they were talking about."

"Probably."

"Well, It's nice to meet you. My name is Pyrospread."

"You have an interesting cutie mark, Pyrospread."

"Thanks, I got it when I burned down my dad's coffee table."

"Oh... That's nice."

"Speaking of cutie marks... Can I see yours?" His eyes shot down to my saddlebags which blocked my mark.

"Oh... I-I would show you, but I have to go. Sorry!" I said as I shrunk down and hastily opened the door. The glare of the now rising sun nearly blinded me. I trotted down to the cottage which contained the showers. I opened the door slowly to not disturb any ponies that may be in there. Peeking my head in, I was only greeted by loneliness.

I opened up the door to the bathrooms and went to the shower. The curtains were quite dirty. I turned on the water, and nearly screamed because of how cold it was. I did, however jump out of the shower, slip and fall on my shoulder which got cut in the process.

Shit I thought. Just one more thing to wash, I guess. I went back into the shower, thankfully the water was warmer now. Hastily, I rinsed water through my mane, spreading shampoo then conditioner throughout it, doing the same with my coat, and rinsing it out once again..

I stopped the shower, and stepped out. Grabbing a towel from the rack and drying myself up, I threw it into one of the bins. I brushed my teeth and then raced back over to my room to put my stuff away. Then I walked back to the outside.

Igneous was on the bench behind the main cottage. He was reading a book that was titled, "Small Town Values." He set it down on his lap and looked up at me.

"Hello, Shadow." He said with a grin.

"Hi, Igneous." I said while returning the smile.

"I suppose you would want me to teach you how to farm with rocks?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay. Basically, you move rocks to where we tell you to move rocks."

"Okay..."

"It all depends on the pressure of the wind at the time."

"Oh." There was a small silence between us. "Is that all?"

"Yep. We're currently moving all the rocks to the north east. Here's a compass." He pinned it on my saddlebag.

"Thanks, I'll get to work right away."

I started moving to the south direction. Following the fence back like when I first came to the farm. I finally found a rock that I could move, and climbed over the fence. I looked at my compass to see where I should move it. I lifted my muzzle down to the rock and gave it a small nudge. It didn't budge, so I decided to nudge it a bit harder. The rock fell over to its other side. I kept doing this until I was about half way there.

I lifted my head up to look to see how much more I had to go. That's when I saw an interesting pony in the north direction. She had a pink mane and coat, just like the one in the picture. Maybe I should go talk to her. Her colors were a lot more vibrant than the boring scenery at the farm.

I convinced myself to continue my job. I eventually got to where I was supposed to put and went to go find another rock. I continued doing this for about 80 rocks. It took me about 7 hours. By the time I was done, I was panting like hell. Eventually Igneous called us in for gathering all the rocks. He thanked us, then went into his cottage.

Since all of us workers were together, I felt like this was a good time to meet the rest of them. I finally got a good look at the pink pony. Yep, she looked identical to the one in the picture. Straight hair, and a frown. I began to approach her.

"Hey." I said.

"What? Oh.. Hi..." She said in a shy tone.

I got a good look at her cutie mark. Three balloons. This puzzled me because I couldn't think of a reason a pony as vibrant as this would be at a place such as this.

"I'm Shadow, who are you?" I asked in pure curiosity.

"My name is Pinkemena Diane Pie... Or just Pinkie Pie."

"Oh, are you and Marble Pie sisters?"

"Yes... Me, Marble, and Limestone are all sisters."

I looked over at the other workers. I assumed the gray pony with the darker mane was Limestone.

"Oh...." I tried to think of something to say. "How did you get your cutie mark?"

She looked at her mark and then back at me. "I got it when I threw a party for my family. Back when it was just my parents, me, and my sisters."

She looked down at the ground. I couldn't help but feel that there was more that she wasn't telling me.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"What?"

"What happened next?"

"Oh... I-It's nothing."

I just stared at her for a few seconds. "Oh. Well, I guess catch you some other time, then."

"Bye..."

I noticed something on her foreleg as she turned around. A scar. A scar going up from her leg starting from her hoof. I felt like it was my job to know more. But, I still have more of the workers to meet. I think I'll start with Limestone. I approached the gray mane'd pony and opened my mouth.

"Hey, you must be Limestone." I said.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Your sister told me."

"Oh."

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did Pinkie get that scar going up her leg?"

A frown appeared on her face. "I-I not allowed to say."

I didn't say anything else. She simply put her head down as if she was about to cry. Then she ran into the residential cottage and into her room. All eyes were one her. Thankfully, I don't think they blamed me for making her cry.

The other pony I didn't know was another mare. She had orange fur and a brown, sleek mane with a picture of an iron bar for her cutie mark. I decided to talk to her next.

"Hello, I'm Shadow." I said.

"Hello, I'm Ferossium." She smiled at me.

"Maybe I shouldn't be asking this... But, do you know where Pinkie got her scar?" I closed one eye, afraid to see her reaction.

"Oh. I heard she just got it when she was helping her dad build the fence."

"Oh... Well, thank you." I said with a smile.

I decided to just go hang out in the hobby room. I opened up the door and got a good look at the place. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the television with the remote. I flipped to the Comedy Colt channel. A re-run of one of my favorite shows, Stallion Park was on so I decided to watch that.

About 10 minutes into the show, I hear the door open. Ferossium and Pyrospread walked in. I could overhear Pyrospread flirting with her, and her giggling at it every once in a while. I assumed they were in a relationship.

When he noticed that the TV was on, Pyrospread looked over at me.

"Hey, Shad." He said.

Shad? Is that my name now?

"Hi, Pyro."

"So you watch this show?"

"Yeah! Do you?"

"Yeah, I've seen it a few times."

Ferossium spoke up in the middle of our conversation. "Hey, Pyro, I'm gonna go to my room for a bit, join me later..." She said with a wink.

"Okay, hun." Pyrospread replied while grinning.

After she closed the door to the outside, we sat there for a while watching the episode. We watched it for about ten more minutes. Eventually, Pyro broke the silence.

"So I heard you had a little crush on Pinkie."

I looked over at him to make sure he was talking to me. He was smiling at me.

"W-What?"

"Ferossium told me you were asking about her."

"So what? I can't be interested in somepony?" I realized how those words sounded after they left my mouth. "Curious about somepony?"

He smiled at me. "It's fine with me... I don't care who you like."

"But I don't have any feelings for her..."

"Mhmm..." He simply sat there, staring at the TV with that stupid grin on his face. I wanted to clobber him with my hoof. I crossed my forelegs on my lap and we watched the rest of the episode, and the one that followed it in silence. When it was over, the time was about 4:00 PM, and I was getting hungry and thirsty.

I got off the couch, and Pyro followed me. I opened the door to the outside and he closed it on his way out. We made our way to the mess hall, and I opened the door, allowing him to follow me again. Sitting at one of the tables, alone was Pinkie. Of course, Pyro had to nudge me. I mouthed the words: Shut, the, fuck, and up to him.

I saw a water fountain and raced over to it, taking big gulps of water and air in at the same time, which made me cough. Pyro was following me, and he took a few slurps himself.

We trotted over to the mare behind the counter with a gray mane, and a coat of white fur. She had golden rimmed glasses which were resting on the top of her muzzle.

"Hello, dearie." She said. "You must be our newest worker."

"Yep." I said with a smile

"My name is Cloudy, and you're Shadow, correct?"

"Yeah."

She offered us both dandelion sandwiches, and we took them, thanked her, and found the nearest table. Pinkie was still sitting there, she appeared to be eating the same thing as us. Pyro was looking at her. We took off our plastic wraps and took our first bites.

"You know... I think you should really go talk to her..." He said with sandwich in his mouth.

"I already told you, I'm not interested in her." I said while rolling my eyes.

"Either way, I think you two would make good friends."

"Why?" I said, taking another bite of my sandwich.

"I know she seems boring, but you should see her when here parents aren't around."

"Oh yeah? What's she like then?"

"Well... J-Just look at her cutie mark, It doesn't match her current personality."

"I guess you have a point."

I looked back down at my sandwich. Eventually, Pinkie got up to throw away her plastic wrap. I watched her as she went to the door. Me and Pyro just sat there for a while in an awkward silence. Soon after, I finished mine as well.

"I guess I'll catch you later, then." I said as I got up.

"Yep, I have to go check on Ferossium anyway."

I dropped my wrap off in the trash can on my way to the outside.

When I opened the door, I saw Pinkie sitting on the bench, alone. I approached her.

"Hey." I said with a friendly smile.

She looked up to see who it was. "Hi." She said.

"What are you doing here, alone?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm just curious."

"I just want to be alone."

"Maybe we could be alone, together." I said with a smile.

She looked up at me and stared for a few seconds. Eventually, a small but noticeable grin appeared on her face. But, she just quickly put her head back down.

Pyrospread was opening the door soon after that. As soon as he saw us, a wide, toothy grin appeared on his face. He mouthed some words over to me as he made his way to the residential cottage. I ignored him and turned my attention back to Pinkie.

I just stood there in silence and wished for her to make conversation with me. The only sound that could be heard were the crickets that were beginning to come out along with the moon. I looked down at her scar, and then back up to her.

"Well... Bye..." I said.

"Bye." She said.

I turned to look back at the cottage, and approached it. I opened the door and way immediately was ambushed by Pyrospread.

"How did it go? Are you two... You know... Together?" He asked impatiently.

"Shut the hell up. Go talk to your marefriend."

He frowned at me, then trotted away to Ferrosium's room. He closed the door and I was left to myself. I let out a long sigh and slowly went into my room.

I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today, I began my first work day, which was extremely tiring. I met the rest of the workers and I think that I'm going to like them. I've started hanging out with a stallion called Pyrospread. Although, I do have mixed feeling about him. It's turning out to be a lot better than I expected. Eagerly, I'm waiting for my first week's paycheck. I'm surprised at how good the money is honestly. Maybe in a few weeks I can come visit again.

Your son, Shadow

I set down the pen, folded the paper up, and crammed it into an envelope and brought it out to the mailbox. Pinkie was no longer there. I went over to the hobby room and took another shower. On my way back to the cottage I stopped to look up at the sky. It was getting dark, and the stars were starting to pop out. I took in a large breath of the fresh, cold air.

When I got back to my room, I threw my saddlebag on the ground, turned off the lights, and jumped into bed. I pulled the covers over me and let out a long sigh, just happy that today is over.

Who would've thought my life could've changed so quickly? I thought to myself.

As I laid in bed, I thought about my day. From waking up, to taking a shower, to going to work, to that awkward talk with Pyrospread, to talking with Pinkie... I stopped at that moment. I realized how much I couldn't stop thinking about her, and started thinking to myself. Oh Celestia... Maybe I do like her... I stared up at the ceiling for a few decades, just thinking.

Eventually, however, I heard somepony knocking hastily on my door. I swore to myself, threw the covers off, and got out of bed. Opening the door, It was Pyro.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked angrily. He was looking into my room, surprised that the lights were out.

"You're seriously going to bed already?" He asked.

"Ummm... Yeah." I said with an obvious expression.

"Not without a drink! Follow me."

I sighed, and said told him that I'll be right out. I put on my saddlebag, and walked into the hallway, closing my door on the way out. I followed him and Ferossium outside, and into the mess hall.

Upon opening the door, I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I was seeing. Literally gallons of hard cider were sitting on a table.

"What the..." I said in awe.

"Yeah, we get free cider every Friday."

I didn't even know today was Friday, let alone being able to get free cider today. He leaded me to the cider and gave me a cup. I poured myself some cider, just after Pyro did. We found a table nearby and began to drink. Pinkie and her sisters were talking and giggling occasionally over at another table. Desprately, I wanted to go talk to her. But, I felt that I've did enough talking today.

I switched my attention back to Pyrospread and Ferossium.

"So, Shadow," Pyro began, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for another stallion to come along. Sure, being surrounded by mares is great, but it's still nice to have colts for friends, right?"

I nodded my head in agreement. With my eyes half closed, I took another sip from my cup.

"I know that we're going to be great friends..." He said.

I tried to make a friendly smile.

"You don't talk much." Ferrosium blurted out.

"No, I do. I'm just tired." I said as if it was obvious. I always get a little bit angry when I'm tired. Or at least more angry than usual.

"Well, it looks like those girls are having fun." Pyro said, looking over to the Pie sisters.

"Yup," I said, looking over at them, but one of them in particular. I almost could sense that they could notice this, but I began not to care.

We got up to get another round from the gallons and sat back down. I chugged down the cup in five seconds, watching as my table mates made that so-called adorable talk when in a relationship

I got up to get another cup of cider, but realized that I was already getting a bit woozy. Damn, that stuff is strong.

"Sorry, but I'm tired, and don't want to wake up with a headache tomorrow. So I'm going to hit the sack." I said with a yawn.

"Oh. Okay. Sure, goodnight." Pyro said.

After I threw my cup away, I glanced over to Pinkie. I could almost sense that she was looking at my in the corner of her eye. And, the fact that she might switch her attention over to me any second scarred me.

I decided not to go straight to bed. Instead, I went outside, took in a huge breath of air and looked at the sky and the stars. The lack of light pollution out here made it truly beautiful.

I walked all the way to the end of the fence, to where I had first entered. I plopped up on the fence, taking a seat while looking out into the empty land of dirt and sand. I watched as the cold, night wind blew blankets of sand and soil across the emptiness. I didn't realize how cold the night was compared to the day. Not that it's bad, it feels really good against my fur.

For a while, I just sat there, being happy to be away from everypony for a while. After a while, however, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit lonely, as If I wanted to spend this time with somepony. Before I hopped off the fence, I sucked in another big breath of fresh air. I walked back to the cottages, this time more slowly as I felt so attached to the environment here.

I opened the door while yawning, slowly lumbering to my room. None of the workers were anywhere in sight, most likely sleeping, or still in the mess hall. I walked through my door, closing it while entering. I threw off my saddlebag, turned off the light, and jumped into bed again.

As I laid in bed, I resumed my thoughts. About the workers, about my parents... And most of all, one specific somepony.

And, dear reader, I think you know who that somepony is.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why exactly does this have a "dark" tag?

[Starlight Nova]

3846033

I wanted to keep it vague.

Why?

[GoodPiggy76]

3861382 I plan on making it darker

[insanebronyman]

Why do I get the feeling that scar on Pinkie's leg was some sort of punishment or from some really horrible accident. My mind keeps leaning towards the punishment explanation because of the dark tag. Please make Pinkie happy soon, I hate to see Pinkie sad.