Set In Stone

by kudzuhaiku

Chapter 1

The Whitetail woods was full of life and sunshine. And three curious, if sometimes annoying, fillies, who were known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle had discovered a word. The word was frolic. After looking at the dictionary, they decided that the best way to learn the word was to practice what it had meant, so they had escaped into the Whitetail woods on this beautiful spring day, away from annoying sisters, away from chores, away from homework.

This was especially appealing to Sweetie Belle, whose sister wanted to use her as a dress model for her coming line of summer fashions for fillies. Those pins were pokey, and they hurt.

The sun shone down, warm, dappling their coats, speckling the floor of the forest. Birds chirped. Animals scurried. The day was almost a little too perfect.

Applebloom led them, walking ahead, anxious to get to a secret spot they had discovered, with a hot spring that bubbled water up from the earth that smelled like rotten eggs. And it was a little fizzy, as Scootaloo had discovered, after a dare to drink it from Sweetie Belle. The egg-water tasted awful.

It smelled awful as well, as Sweetie Belle had discovered a few days ago, after being dunked. Rarity had whined and complained to no end, and bathed Sweetie Belle repeatedly, leaving her smelling of lavender and rose soap. Sweetie Belle didn’t mind the soap smell, but Rarity was a little too rough with a scrub brush.

“This is new.” Scootaloo said, looking at a chasm in the ground before them. The earth had opened sometime over the past few days. The ground had crumbled. What had once been part of a cave loomed before them, now open, the ground below them not too far below. The forest smelled of loam. The open hole smelled of adventure.

“I’m going in!” Scootaloo replied, looking for a way down. She found none. After circling the hole several times, she settled for jumping, her tiny wings buzzing, and she landed on the stone floor of the former cave with a thud, her hooves clattering.

“Hey!” Applebloom cried. “How you gonna get out?”

“We’ll think about that later?” Scootaloo replied, her voice sounding a little shaken.

“What’s down there?” Sweetie Belle asked, peering over the edge, careful to not fall over and wind up in a hole like Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle, being Sweetie Belle, wound up in the hole like Scootaloo. She stepped on a spot of spot earth that gave way and she fell down with a cry.

She landed on Scootaloo with a thump. “Thanks for breaking my fall Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle chirped.

“Don’t… mention… it…” Scootaloo replied slowly, trying to get back on her hooves.

“There’s something down here.” Sweetie Belle said, looking forward.

“What’s that?” Applebloom asked, staying away from the soft edge. Somepony had to go for help. Somepony not silly enough to fall down the hole.

“There’s a statue!” Scootaloo replied. “A pony statue!”

Sweetie Belle stepped toward the statue, looking at it. It was remarkably detailed. “A pegasus,” she announced, “and this statue is amazing!”

“Remember that night at Fluttershy’s house?” Scootaloo asked. “I don’t think it is a statue…” Her words trailed off as she stood close to the statue, taking it all in. She could see every feather. Every strand of mane.

Sweetie Belle stood in awe. “Applebloom, quick, go get Twilight Sparkle!”

Applebloom was off, running as fast as she could after hearing Sweetie Belle’s words.

Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. “Think we’ll get a cutie mark from this?”

Later that afternoon…

Twilight Sparkle stood in her library staring at a statue. A remarkably lifelike statue. Spike stood beside her, taking it all in, the dragon taking notes on a clipboard. Three little fillies were sitting in a corner, patiently waiting for something, anything to happen.

“Spike, it is in remarkably good condition isn’t it? Nothing is broken off.” Twilight walked around the statue a few times, remembering when she had been turned to stone. “This definitely is not a statue.” She announced. She tapped it with her hoof gently.

“I hope we can fix it.” Spike said, eyes wide, his pencil scratching on paper as he drew a small sketch.

“Subject is male. Young. Early adolescent I’d say. Pegasus. Broad shoulders for age. Build is oddly more like an earth pony than a pegasus. Appears to have larger than usual wings. Ears are broad. Hooves are certainly more earth pony like. How odd.” Twilight paused, looking at the statue. “I wonder how old it is?”

Spike was scribbling all of this down on the paper with his sketch, squeezing in his notes, the paper soon covered.

For the Crusaders, something finally happened. There was a knock upon the door. It opened, revealing Celestia. She poked her head through the door, looking around, looking around before entering.

“Hi Princess!” The Crusaders chirped in unison.

“Hello.” Celestia said, somewhat absentmindedly as she began to look at the statue.

“This is a pony.” Celestia announced after a moment of study.

“I’ve reached the same conclusion.” Twilight Sparkle said.

Celestia stared, her mouth opening slightly. “This is hundreds of years old.”

Twilight paused. “Ooh.” She uttered in a small voice.

“Can he be brought back?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Gonna be an awful shock waking up a few hundred years later.” Applebloom said, her face darkening. “That makes my skin shiver.”

Scootaloo hugged her friend, her own skin shivering.

“It is going to be very difficult for him to adjust. Think about what it has been like for Luna.” Celestia looked remarkably sad. “Everything is going to have changed. The world will be very different. Everything he knows is gone.”

“We can’t leave him like this.” Twilight said, her voice wavering slightly.

“No.” Celestia agreed. “We cannot.”

“Then he is going to have to adjust.” Twilight resolved. “Who is going to undo the petrification process?”

“I will.” Celestia said. “In case there are complications. Be ready to catch him Twilight. Before we begin, we should have a comfortable place for him to rest. And water, or a cooling drink. He is going to be very thirsty.”

“I remember,” said Twilight, “after I was brought back.”

A sofa was moved near, a pitcher of iced water was brought, and, as an after thought, a bottle of apple soda. These items were placed on a small table, which was placed near the sofa.

“Ready?” Twilight asked.

“We get to watch?!” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, you found him.” Twilight said.

Celestia cleared her throat. The room fell silent.

Celestia’s horn blazed to life and a strange crackle filled the room. The statue glowed for a moment, and then cracks appeared, with glowing light streaming from the cracks. The stone began to crumble away, revealing a pony. A pegasus pony.

Freed at last, he began to wobble. Twilight caught him before he fell, and gently levitated him onto the sofa, where he lay limply.

Celestia gave him a glass of water, which she held up to his lips. He drank. And drank. And when the glass was empty, Celestia gave him more.

The dust of centuries was trapped in his throat. He finally coughed, sputtered, and wheezed.

Celestia held the bottle of apple soda to his lips. He sniffed at the odd liquid, and then drank.

“Oh for the love of apples…” came a faint guttural whisper. The pegasus drank down the rest of the bottle.

He lay on his side, his head resting on the arm of the sofa. He wheezed faintly, dust coming from his nostrils.

“I am Princess Celestia. Can you tell me who you are?” Celestia asked, her voice low.

“Forgive me Princess for not paying you due respect.” The pegasus said faintly, his voice scratchy.

“Forget about that,” said Celestia, “you are ill. Please, tell me your name.”

The pegasus coughed a few times. One wing fluttered, sending out a shower of dust. The other wing he was laying on. His tail twitched.

“My name is Sandow. My sire is named Thud, and my dam is Bailey Sweet.” He coughed, loudly, forcing dust from his lungs. “Last thing I saw was a chicken lizard.”

“Your damn what?” Twilight said, gasping.

“His mother Twilight.” Celestia explained.

“That’s even worse!” Twilight said.

“A long time ago Twilight, a mother was called dam among certain groups of ponies.” Celestia said, hoping to avoid an incident.

Twilight said nothing, but scowled.

Sandow lay there, his face contorting in pain.

“A long time ago?” He questioned. “How long have I been out?”

The room was silent.

“How long?!”

“Several hundred years.” Celestia said softly, reaching out and touching the pegasus with her wing. She could see him flinching, taking it all in, and she saw the moment when his heart broke.

“My herd is gone.” Sandow said, his voice still full of gravel. “My two little mares and my little filly. And one more was coming.”

“You… You were married?” Twilight asked in shock. “You had a herd? Those don’t exist now… But you are so young. You… You… You are barely an adolescent.”

“Twilight, enough. Those were different times. Ponies lived short lives. Ponies lived in herds. Things were so very different.” Celestia cleared her throat. “What happened Sandow?”

Sandow said nothing for a long time, his jaws clenched together.

“Water.” He said.

Celestia lifted another glass, which Sandow drank.

He remained silent.

Applebloom began to fidget.

“I was looking for a cave for us to spend the winter in. I saw the lizard chicken. I saw my hooves turning to stone. Felt it.” Sandow said, resting his head against the arm of the sofa. He blinked, his eyes watering, either from dryness or tears.

Applebloom began to sob, big tears rolling down her cheeks. Her ears dropped. She became a huddled mass of misery.

“Applebloom?’ Sweetie Belle said, wrapping a leg around her.

“Talk to us.” Scootaloo whispered.

Applebloom said nothing. Twilight Sparkle stood there confused. Celestia’s face looked befuddled for a time, but then a faint look of recognition settled in.

Applebloom said nothing, but crossed the room suddenly, throwing herself onto the sofa, climbing up on Sandow, and began to hug his neck fiercely, causing him to groan from the small filly’s loving assault.

“Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle said.

Applebloom sniffled, trying to hold in her tears. “Bailey Sweet and Sandow are Apple names.”

Sandow let out a sudden wheeze and then fell apart completely, losing whatever was left of his pride.

He wept.

Comments

[Equestrian Clock]

Wut?

[Tank the turtle]

Applebloom, calm down.

[Geminii]

Cutie Mark Crusader editors, yay!

Early adolescent I’d day.
say

[Truthseeker]

'He lay on his side, his head resting on the arm of the soda.' *sofa* :) Interesting start, reading more.

[MajesticPoniesEverywhere]

so emotional.......

[Science-Mare]

Top...fucking....ten...list. Get on there...now

[Emperor]

Applebloom led them, walking ahead, anxious to get to a secret spot they had discovered, with a hot spring that bubbled water up from the earth that smelled like rotten eggs. And it was a little fizzy, as Scootaloo had discovered, after a dare to drink it from Sweetie Belle. The egg-water tasted awful.

Hopefully that's >just< SO2 emissions, because H2S does the same at low ppm, and H2S is far, far more toxic, even to my little ponies.

“Then he is going to have to adjust.” Twilight resolved. “Who is going to undo the petrification process?”

“I will.” Celestia said.

At least you have it so petrifaction can be undone by pony magic. I've seen some fics where only the original cockatrice can unpetrify a statue, which is really pretty grimdark, especially given the show source it comes from.

“Oh for the love of apples…” came a faint guttural whisper. The pegasus drank down the rest of the bottle.

Oh dear, I can imagine what comes next...and it does. I have to wonder if his physique is due to his working hard on a farm, or if it's due to several generations of Earth pony heritage and he just happened to beat the odds to turn out to be a pegasus ala Pound Cake.

Leave it to Twilight to get hung up over a usage of words outdated by several centuries if that word in modern context is less pleasant

4409585 Someauthor certainly did the research, it seems, though he doesn't mention Sandow's coat colour post-unpetrifaction.

[Flisky]

Applebloom sniffled, trying to hold in her tears. “Bailey Sweet and Sandow are Apple names.”

Looks like somepony's in for a stay at the Acres

[Switch Swap]

This has definitely caught my attention