About a Stone

by Arararagi

Chapter 1: Escape!

It was a cold and dark night. A lone stallion stood in the corner of a dreary stone room. His red eyes shone like rubies in the moonlight, and his brown mane lay flat againt his jet black fur. The room was his home, and the stone walls were his prison. He could not remember ever setting a hoof outside the stone fortress where he was held. Iron bars prevented his escape, and the only point of interest in the whole room was a single barred window. Night after night, the stallion would stare up at the night sky and simply marvel at its beauty. Tonight was no different, but the stallion could not help but shiver as he quitely stared at the moon. The cold was bearable; he was used to far worse torment than a little cold. What was unbearable was the silence, the longing in his heart to have somepony to talk to.

The stallion no longer knew how long he had been trapped like this. He might have had a name once, but that name belonged to a life he could no longer remember. By now, it was all he knew, yet he also knew there were other ponies out there, outside his prison cell. He wanted nothing more but to be free, to live out his days among other ponies, but he was powerless to escape. He was an earth pony. He could not use any magic to unlock the gate, nor could he fly up and try to escape through the barred window. Once, he had tried to slowly dig his way through the cell floor, but he wore down his own hooves faster than the stone floor. When his front hooves were nothing more than raw nubs, he decided to accept his fate until he came up with a new plan.

He could no longer sleep. Every minute that passed brought a sense of dread. A dread for the approaching morning, and what it meant. Eventually, those minutes became hours, and in the early hours before the sun rose, the silence was broken by hoofsteps. These hoofsteps did not bring relief to the stallion, no, they were exactly the source of his fears. It was the sound of his captor approaching. I wonder what he will do to me this time? the stallion thought to himself. No! I don't want to go with him again. I have to escape!

It was futile. He knew it was futile, and yet like every morning, he tried anyway. Beating his sore front hooves against the wall in the hopes that it would give way. Something was different this time though. Instead of a feeling of defeat when the hoofsteps finally arrived and opened the door, the stallion felt something else. Something he didn't remember feeling before. It was like there was a fire burning in his chest, and the fire wanted out. He could no longer hear the approaching hoofsteps. Harder and harder, the stallion beat against the wall before simultaneously slamming both hooves into the rock, as hard as his tired muscles would allow. Nothing. A torrent of emotions flowed through the stallion, and the taste of iron filled his mouth as he bit chunks of flesh off his own cheeks.

Then it happened. In a flash, the black pony felt a surge flow through his body and he felt a hot, dry sensation against his hooves. It was a miracle! The wall was melting away in front of his very eyes! Rock gave way, as powdery white sand poured endlessly from beneath his front hooves. This was no ordinary sand; it glistened and sparkled in the early morning light, like a million gemstones. More and more kept pouring out from the now sizable hole in the wall. The stallion was nearly captivated by what he saw, but he was soon brought back to reality.
He heard yelling and the sound of rattling keys as his captor fumbled with the lock behind him, but payed little attention to what was said. The stallion jumped forth, headfirst through the now barely large enough hole in the wall. He then stood in a long hallway, with many doors. Most of them had large locks on them, but at the end was one door that was not locked. Quickly, he sprinted down the hallway and opened the door. He had gotten incredibly lucky, it led to a balcony, and not a high one. With a small running start, he jumped off the balcony, and ran straight into the nearby forest.

It was amazing, he had escaped! After so very long, he was finally free! Branches, thorns, an
d vines cut his skin all over as he ran into an unfamiliar forest, but he didn't care. He tripped in some mud, even ran straight into a tree once, but nothing would deter him. Through the thick forest he kept running, until the sun had risen high into the sky, and he was finally sure he wasn't being followed anymore. Thank Celestia for whatever miracle that was. I'm glad to be out of there, but where in Tardarus am I now?

Sitting in an open clearing, the stallion was pondering his options, when his ears heard movement up ahead. Is that a snake? He thought, No, it's far too large to be a snake. Just to be safe, he hid in a nearby bush, waiting for whatever it was to go away.

*******

It was a little past noon. Zecora was foraging the Everfree Forest for herbs, roots, and fruit. These were things she could use for her potions, as well as food supplies. She had to stop, however, when she noticed she was being watched. Zecora had seen her fair share of creatures in the Everfree Forest; it was where she lived, after all. She could tell that this was no beast.

Zecora saw a pair of ruby colored eyes peering at her from afar. Their owner was trying to hide behind some bushes. It would not fool Zecora, who had been here countless times. She knew this part of the forest better than anypony. At first, she was afraid of her stalker, but fear gave way to curiousity as she more closely inspected the pony. It was quite obvious that he was far more afraid of her.

"What have we here?" Zecora asked aloud, "Show yourself, for you have nothing to fear."

Tension was thick in the air, but after a few moments of silence, the mysterious pony walked out into the open. It was an earth pony stallion with black fur, and a mane that was a mess of mud and tangled twigs. As the stallion walked closer, Zecora had to stifle a gasp as she saw the extent of the pony's injuries. Cuts and bruises were scattered all over his body, and his hooves were worn down nearly to the bone. It was a miracle this pony was still able to stand, let alone walk. What was even more striking though, were his eyes. They truly shone in the light, like a gemstone. It was unlike anything Zecora had seen before.

"Oh my, will you let me treat your injuries, dear? I'm afraid they're quite severe." As she said this, Zecora reached into her saddlebags and pulled out some cloth to use as bandages.

"You're not going to send me back?" The stallion asked, his gaze never leaving Zecora.

"Send you back where? To me, you've appeared out of thin air." Zecora answered firmly. "I've never seen you before. At first I thought you a wild boar." When the stallion did not respond, Zecora decided to introduce herself. "Please do not stare in awe, my name is Zecora. I am not from these lands, I come from faraway sands."

"So you don't know him then?"

"Of whom you speak I have no recollection. So to my treatment please do not have objection." Zecora said, as she moved closer, reaching out her hoof with the cloth. The stallion continued to stare at her, but nodded and did not stop her as she carefully treated his injured hooves. There was a long silence as she worked to disinfect and bandage each hoof, and then moved onto the smaller injuries he had all over his body. Finally when she finished, she dared break the silence. "I warn you I am no doctor. To Ponyville you must go and find a proper proctor."

"Pony... ville?"

"You have not heard of Ponyville? They are sure to show you goodwill. I will lead you there, I must introduce you to a mare. "

Zecora packed her things back into her saddlebag, and motioned with a hoof for the stallion to follow.

*******

Nurse Redheart had been sitting at the front desk sorting papers for hours now, and it seemed like the day would never end. Working in the Ponyville hospital was, at times, a very important job where she held the lives of her fellow ponies in her hooves. However, it was fairly rare that a real emergency actually happened. Most of the time she dealt with the more menial tasks of running a hospital. Things like cleaning the rooms, sitting at the front desk when the receptionist was on break or on holiday, or sorting through the many medical documents that had to kept very organized. Currently she was doing the latter, and somehow several entire folders had gone missing. Until she found them and returned them to their proper place, she would be stuck looking.

After so many hours of looking, it would be nice to have an emergency for a change, Nurse Redheart thought. It was then, that Zecora came walking in through the front entrance, with a very injured looking stallion limping closely behind.

"By Celestia, I didn't mean it!" Nurse Redheart exclaimed as she jumped back on her hooves to go inspect the new pony. It was a stallion with fur as black as Luna's night, and a mane that was a brown mess of mud and dirt. An entire branch the size of a golf club had gotten itself tangled up inside the disaster of a mane. His hooves had makeshift bandages covering them, and his entire body was covered in small lacerations and cuts. "Zecora, who is this, and how did they get so injured?"

"Yes, it is quite a mystery. I too, am unsure of his history. I do not know how he got lost, but within the Everfree Forest our paths crossed." Zecora answered, trying her best to explain what little she knew about the stranger.

"You found him in the Everfree Forest?" Nurse Redheart repeated, in disbelief. Zecora only nodded in response. Nurse Redheart then turned her attention back to the pony in question. "What is your name?" She asked.

"I.. I don't remember." He answered solemnly.

Amnesia. Nurse Redheart thought, biting her lip. "Follow me, I need to look at your injuries, and then I'm sure we can find you a nice warm bed."

"Okay." was the only response she got as the two of them walked into one of the examination rooms. Zecora waved a hoof goodbye as they rounded the corner. This could be a delicate case. I should be careful not to frieghten the poor stallion.

"May I see your bandages, please?" Nurse Redheart asked, in the sweetest tone possible. She wanted to first calm the pony, before trying to get any information out of him. When he nodded, she began working on his hooves first. Nurse Redheart had to hide her shock when she undid the first bandage. The stallion's hooves were worn down to sore, red, bleeding nubs. It was as if the pony had walked for weeks on end. No, not even that would cause this much damage, she thought. Trying not to think about how he got the injuries, she quietly continued her work, applying disinfectant and fresh bandages to each of his hooves. By the time she had moved onto the smaller wounds, the pony had seemed to relax quite a bit, so Nurse Redheart decided to try asking for information.

"So you don't remember your name," Nurse Redheart said, gaging his reaction, "What do you remember, then?"

"I was held prisoner in some big stone building. I don't know how long I was there. I finally escaped and Zecora found me in the forest. That's it. That's all I can remember."

"You don't know where you were held prisoner, or why?" Nurse Redheart asked. She wasn't quite sure why she had asked. Perhaps she couldn't suppress her own curiousity at the strange situation the black stallion had been in.

"No, I don't."

Silence filled the room as the awkward conversation came to an abrupt halt, so Nurse Redheart decided to continue working quietly. She took notes about what the mysterious pony had said. She wrote a full medical report as well, detailing all of his injuries. When she had finished with the task at hoof, she broke the silence.

"I'm going to go fetch the doctor now. I'll be right back." Nurse Redheart explained before briefly leaving the room.

"Okay." was once again the only responce she got.

*******

Twilight and Spike were on their usual weekly grocery shopping run when suddenly a famliar voice called to them from behind. Twilight instantly recognized the voice as Zecora's.

"Twilight Sparkle for my intrusion you must excuse, but I have important news."

"Zecora?" Spike said in a confused tone.

"What kind of news?" Twilight asked. On cue, there was an abrupt flash of pink, and suddenly Pinkie Pie stood between Twilight and the zebra pony.

"Is it a surprise?" Pinkie asked, her eyes growing large as she stared straight at Zecora. "I love surprises! Oh what is it!" Before Zecora could answer, she put her hoof on Zecora's mouth. "Wait, I can guess it!"

Zecora, Twilight, and Spike all stared at Pinkie Pie and her sudden entrance for a few moments. Pinkie stayed completely still, except her back left leg, which would not stop twitching. There the two of them stood, eyes locked. Twilight put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. She was usually very supportive of her friend's strange behaviour, but this was getting a little silly, even for Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, I'm kind of in the middle of shopping, maybe you could let her talk?" Twilight said in a pleading tone. In response, Pinkie took her hoof off of Zecora's mouth.

"Please let me explain; I do not wish to spend your time in vain. I met a strange pony in the forest, and I believe he is no tourist." Zecora finally said. "If you wish to meet him, to Ponyville hospital you must go. He seemed quite lost, but more than that I do not know. That and his wounds were quite severe, but for his health I no longer fear."

"So you're saying we need to go meet this new pony?" Twilight said, unsure if she understood.

"A new pony?" Pinkie practically shouted. Then she made a gasping noise that Twilight was quite familiar with. It was Pinkie's 'Oh no I have to plan a party very quickly!' gasp.

"Wait Pinkie! If he's in the hospital I don't think we can throw him a party just yet." Twilight cautioned.

"I agree that it would be best to wait. He requires rest in his current state." Zecora said, nodding.

"So what's his name?" Pinkie said, changing the subject without missing a beat.

"The poor pony knows not his name, nor from whence he came." Zecora answered in a pitying tone.

"He has amnesia?" Twilight asked, not able to hide her disbelief.

"Twilight, what's amnesia?" Spike asked. Twilight blinked a few times, she almost forgot she had brought Spike with her.

"I'll explain later Spike. For now, take the groceries back to the castle and then you can have the rest of the day off." Twilight answered, trying to get the baby dragon away from the converation and its possible implications.

"Fine, but you owe me." Spike nonchalantly said while waving a claw and walking off.

"Come on, Twilight, let's go meet the new pony!" Pinkie said, starting to shake again.

"Yeah," Twilight sighed as she picked up her saddlebags again, "lets go."

*******

After a quick chat with Nurse Redheart, Twilight and Pinkie casually strolled through the door to the new pony's room. On the bed, was a stallion with a jet black coat of fur, bright ruby colored eyes, and a mane that was equally red. There were bandages scattered all over his body, and he wore a forced smile on his face. Twilight immidiately recognized the sign of nervousness, and tried to ease his fears by approaching with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not a doctor." Twilight said, doing her best imitation of Fluttershy talking to an injured animal. "I'm just here to talk." She had been warned by Nurse Redheart to be cautious about what she said to the poor stallion, and Twilight didn't want to make a bad first impression.

"If you're not a doctor, then who are you?" The injured pony asked. Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but Pinkie beat her to it.

"I'm Pinkamenia Diane Pie, but you can call me Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony said, introducing herself in a sing-song tone. "I just love meeting new ponies. If I knew you were coming to Ponyville, I would have planed you a welcome party, but since you're in the hospital I guess it would have gotten postponed or turned into a get-well party instead. That's okay though because I can just throw you a party tomorrow!"

Twilight stifled a giggle. At least I talked her out of doing it today.

"And I 'm Twilight Sparkle. Technically I'm the Princess of Friendship, but I perfer to think of myself as just a normal, well-read pony with some very dependable friends." Twilight explained as she slowly approached the bed.

"So what's your name?" Pinkie asked, without any forethought.

"I.. don't know." The stallion answered, practically choking on the words. Twilight nodded, since she had already heard from Zecora and the nurse. However, Pinkie responded with a particular gasping noise Twilight had only heard her use a few times before.

"You dont know your own name?" Pinkie practically shouted at the poor pony. "That is so sad! I know, I'll can give you a name! What about Licorish? You're black and red, just like licorish!"

"Pinkie I don't think thats an appropriate name for a stallion." Twilight argued. "I agree he needs a name though."

"A stallion's name, huh?" Pinkie said thoughtfully, scratching her chin with a hoof.

"You grew up on a rock farm right, Pinkie? What about naming him after a mineral, like sulfur or onyx?"

"Well, I don't know as much as my other sisters, but Maud taught me a whole bunch about minerals. I think he looks like a Spinel or a Hematite." Pinkie scratched her head with a hoof for a few moments. "Those all sound boring though, I think he should have a fun sounding name like Pyrite!"

"Why name him after pyrite? He doesn't have a brown coat." Twilight asked.

"No, he doesn't," Pinkie responded simply, "but pyrite was always my favorite mineral as a filly, and I love the name. Besides, his mane is a golden brown, right? Just like pyrite!"

"Okay Pinkie, but shouldn't we name him something that-"Twilight started to argue, but she was interrupted by the new pony.

"I think Pyrite is a good name." He said.

"You do?" Twilight said, unable to hide her surprise in her voice.

"You do!" Pinkie was much happier to hear that. "That settles it, your name will be Pyrite from now on!"

Pyrite smiled. It felt good to have a name again. He felt like a long time ago he might have had a name, but he was no longer able to remember anything from before his captivity with any clarity. Even his captivity itself was becoming a blurry mess in his mind. When he tried to remember anything from more than a few days ago, his head started to hurt.

"What's wrong, aren't you glad to have a name?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah I am." Pyrite assured her. "I'm just tired I guess." he sighed. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either. He had every reason to be tired. Not having many memories and getting constant headaches was very exhausting and Nurse Redheart was very insistent that he got plenty of rest today. Still, he felt bad turning away these nice ponies who came to meet him.

"Okay, well take this get-well card I whipped up for you." Pinkie said, while pulling a card out of her fluffy pink mane. She handed it to Pyrite, who read the 'Get well soon!' on the front in big, bold, multicolored letters. "And we'll be back tomorrow for your party!"

"Yeah, get plenty of rest, we can sort out the details of where you will stay in Ponyville tomorrow." Twilight added. She then turned the lights out on her way out of the door. Once in the hallway, she started drafting up a letter to Princess Celestia. This 'Pyrite' is probably harmless, but his appearance was definately unusual enough that it warranted informing the Princess, just in case. Who knows, the Princess might even know something about him, or be able to help him in some way.

Meanwhile, Pinkie had bounced her way entirely out of the building in a flash. Within minutes, she was working at a speed that would impress even Rainbow Dash to plan her party for tomorrow. It was up to her to help Pyrite make new friends in Ponyville, and she wasn't going to let him down!

"Comon Gummy!" She said, grabbing various supplies from Sugarcube Corner. "We've got work to do!"