Lost Fate

by Fluxxdog

Chapter 1: Breaking Point

Chapter 1: Breaking Point

Sledge walked over the snowy hill and looked at the scenery ahead of him. He could see the town ahead in the distance, but there was a lot of nature ahead of him. Ever since he started backpacking across Equestria, he learned to love the quiet. What bits he had, he used to buy rations in case he came across a stretch where he couldn’t forage. That only happened 3 times after he left Canterlot. He had been prepared each time and kept on hiking.

When he would visit towns, not many took notice of him. His steel gray fur and black mane and tail generally kept him from standing out, and his dark gray eyes were unremarkable. He was there and never a thought afterward. He didn’t mind at all. He liked keeping free. He would pick up a few odd jobs here and there, but nothing that would last more than a day.

He wasn’t sure where he was now, but that didn’t matter. The nearby forest was foreboding, but he didn’t intend to go in there. He walked a safe distance, so if anything came out to get him, he could run or stand his ground. Timber Wolves, easy enough to beat down. A Manticore, he’d be running.

Getting closer to the town, he heard something. Sounded like a tree falling. He chuckles as he thought of paraphrasing an old saying. “If a tree falls and nopony sees it, does anypony care?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ANGEL!” His instinct made him rush in a mad dash towards the tree fall. When he got there, he saw a yellow Pegasus trying everything she could to lift the old tree. She didn’t have the strength in her limbs or her wings to even shake it. When she saw him, she cried, “”Help! My Angel Bunny is trapped under! I can’t move it!”

Sledge ran over to the tree and sized it up. There was an odd knot near the middle of it that begged to be bucked. He reared his legs and WHAM! The tree splintered and pushed apart in half… revealing a small hole. A small white rabbit popped it head out, covered in old splintered wood. It took less than a second for the bunny to jump on the Pegasus and hug her as if he was trying to strangle her.

The tears in her eyes belied the warm smile on her face. “Oh thank you! If you hadn’t come along when you did, I don’t want to think of what could have happened!”

Sledge smiled courteously, “Not a problem. Bad luck with the tree, good luck I was there. You both gonna be okay?”

“Oh yes, we will. I just want to get home and have a nice cup of tea to relax. Um…” She suddenly seemed a little timid, catching him off guard. “Would you… would you like to join us?”

Sledge thought about it. He’d been in the cold quite some time. Spring was just a couple days away, but a little warm-up now would be nice. “You know, that sounds nice. Thank you.”

---

The gray earth pony and yellow pegasus were laughing so hard, they were almost crying. The gray one calmed down enough to finish his story. “And then… ha! And then he says, ‘If this is my pick ax, where’s my shovel!?’ HA!”

This brought a new round of laughter that just had the pegasus rolling on the floor. “Oh my, that’s funnier than the time we walked through the Poison Joke!” She suddenly noticed how late it was. “Oh goodness! Heh heh! I hate to cut this short, but I need to get up early tomorrow. I’m in charge of waking the animals for Winter Wrap-Up.”

Sledge looked out with the sun on the horizon. He never left his camp unmade before sunset. This was going to be harsh. “I better get a move on then. I gotta make camp before it’s too late?”

“Camp? You mean you don’t have a place to stay?”

“Nope. Been hoofing it across Equestria for some time. I usually have my camp set up by now, but I have been enjoying this. Thank you.”

“No, Sledge, I couldn’t send you out to sleep in the cold. I insist you stay the night. I have an extra blanket and pillow, and the couch is very comfy.”

“Thank you, I wouldn’t want to impose. It won-” She held a hoof up. It caught him off guard again.

With a determined look on her face, she ordered, “I insist you stay here. One night won’t hurt, and it’s supposed to snow heavily tonight. My friend is the weather manager and she was complaining this morning about how they had to have one last snowfall before the Wrap-Up.”

This caught him off guard again. He didn’t like this. Maybe he had been out of contact with other ponies so long; he didn’t know how to properly react. First her shyness, then her insistence, then the weather for which he usually kept an eye out. Fluttershy made sense. He couldn’t find a weak point in her argument.

“Very well, I accept on one condition. I be allowed to repay you by helping you with Winter Wrap-Up.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to be caught off guard. She didn’t want him thinking he owed her, but before she could say no, she remembered that her strong pony, Bulk Biceps, had to be transferred to Applejack’s plowers. They had to expand the fields because Ponyville was growing. She didn’t have anypony break the ice sheets quickly. “I was going to say no, but we need a strong pony who can break the ice sheets that we always come across when waking animals. If you’re willing to do that, I accept your help.” She smiled in a way that just said everything was going to be just fine.

---

Sledge was drifting off. It was nice not being out in the cold. He had never been to Ponyville, but he had been nearly every place else. He still had bits left over from an old job, one that he didn’t like, but needed in order to pay a debt for his father. Maybe he could see about finding work and settling down.

He itched the long scar on his left side. It was a reminder of an accident in a coal mine. Every time it itched before he fell asleep, he would dream of the accident.

True to habit, he heard the creaking. One of the beams was starting to give way. He had told the foreman before that it needed reinforcement. He abandoned his cart and ran down the shaft. “Everyone run! It’s collapsing!” The ponies dropped their tools and ran up the shaft. The rumbling and creaking got worse and the beam started to split.

Everypony was up the shaft and getting out… wait, one was missing. Coal Hooves! His friend was still down there! He tried to turn back, but the others grabbed him and pushed back. “NO! Coal Hooves is still down there! We gotta go back! LET ME GO!”

The crash came. Celestia only knows how many tons of rubble came crashing down and burying his best friend. His only friend. “NOOOOO!”

Sledge woke up, like he did every time. Not a single creature in the house stirred. It seems his nightmare didn’t make him shout. No, not a nightmare, a memory. One that always decided to haunt him from time to time. One that left a scar on his body and his heart.

In the investigation, there was no mention of the beam needing to be replaced or reinforced. The foreman never said he was informed. Because Sledge was in the hospital recovering from a blow to the side from a stray timber, he couldn’t let them know that he told the foreman repeatedly. The collapse was ruled as an unforeseeable accident. The inspectors would close the mine until they could go over the entire mine and ensure the safety of everyone who would enter.

When they reopened the mine a month later, Coal Hooves was found just behind the rubble.

Sledge drifted back to sleep. He wanted to forget it again. He could work on that tomorrow.

Comments

[Sunlight Blaze]

Okay, this next chapter starts out with a new pony named Sledge (as in Sledge Hammer, right?) on a snowy hill (okay, forget what I said in the last chapter about the lack of character description...that was good in this chapter) when he hears a tree fall and...

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ANGEL!”

Sledge goes to investigate, and we see Fluttershy trying (and failing) to move a fallen tree to free Angel Bunny. Wait...What's Fluttershy doing out here, anyway? Maybe they're not that far from Ponyville?

So Sledge frees Angel with a single powerful buck that would give Applejack a run for her money, and Fluttershy invites to take him to Ponyville (in her usual timid manner. Thank you for keeping her in character!)

We skip ahead to...I'm assuming Fluttershy's cottage; you don't really specify...
And it seems Sledge doesn't have a place to stay. Fluttershy invites him to stay in her home, being the pure and kind soul she is (Fluttershy is #2 on my list of best of the Mane 6 for that reason). How many Fluttershy x OC shipping fanfictions have started out this way? A lot... (observation, not complaint)
Oh! So now it's time for another Winter Wrap-up. Hence the Snow... Shoulda seen that coming...

So Sledge goes to sleep with an itch in a scar on his side which, seemingly like always, triggers him to remember the day he lost his friend to a mine cave-in. Yeah, having something like that as a constant reminder would definitely have an effect on me as well...

Man, that is one irresponsible foreman to ignore Sledge's constant warnings about the beam needing reinforcement...

Well, next chapter: Winter Wrap-up, Winter Wrap-up!!! *Slaps self* Focus!