Marble by the Roadside

by Glen Gorewood

A Wanderer's Road

As Silver Trails spots the exit she speeds up, freedom at her hooves. Upon reaching it she stops, slowing suddenly to a halt as if sensing something. Glancing around she smiles and sighs.
"Thank you Wanderers of the Roads, you saved us."

With these words ,Rarity watches her father move away from the exit and towards her. Strong and proud, yet kind, he stops in front of her.
In her mind she hears words echoed, from a voice she had forgotten. One who now stands before her with a smile on his face.
"You have grown up my little Gem, I know you forgot about me."

Tears fall upon Rarity's cheeks at these words, how could she have forgotten him?

"It's alright, your Mother was right to do what she did," her father; now a being of amorphous silver sheen, says with a smile.

"You were a little filly, you deserved happy memories. You deserved and needed to forget what happened out here. And for you to grow to be the generous, artistic, brilliant mare I see before me.. My beautiful little Rarity you had to forget about me."

Tears are not left to cry, though Rarity still sniffles, as her memory of the event hangs fresh in her mind. As the memories of what her first father and her had return, she can't help but ask.

"Daddy, you can't come back can you?"

Her father shifts, phasing out a bit, before returning to the form she knows well. Or did, before her memories were blocked and rewritten by her mother. He bows his head, a single silver tear on his cheek.

"My little Gem, you know I can't. Your daddy is in a state where he can never come back, or move on. Grey back there can't either, anymore than I can. We are bound to the roads."

Rarity sniffles as her father moves closer and nuzzles her with a silver cheek. It feels like liquid mist, or what silver would feel like if it was mixed with silk. Backing up he smiles once more at his daughter, who deep down he always missed.

Standing tall and regal, he turns his head back to the road, horn more brilliant than it had been in life.
In a sorrowful tone he says, "My little gem, I love you, but we can't meet again. You must not wander down roads like these again, Terminus wants you. And It will find you; unless you avoid them."

Rarity gulps, remembering that monster. And what it had done to her father, and that poor earth pony. What it had almost done tonight.
With a sad smile, she sniffles and responds
"I guess this is good bye Daddy.. isn't it."

Her father, Silver Bell, nods slowly in response; before walking down the road away from the carriage.
"Yes this is good bye my little Gem, I love you Rarity."

Rarity bows her head and whispers. "I love you too Daddy."

As if those words had broken a spell, Silver Trails moves forward beyond the exit and onto the main road.

Upon getting the carriage fully on the pavement, she neighs to the heavens, and the moon far above. Those neighs turn to chitters and clicks, as she lets out her joy at having escaped that horrible road. Turning her head she freezes. Where there had been an exit, there is now none; there is no road they could have come from. The mare gulps slowly, she had really been on a Lost Wanderer Road. She had escaped something few had, and that would cause a normal pony to swear off short cuts and byways for life.

Glancing at the main road, she chuckles under her breathe as she mutters "Thank the hive I'm a change..."

Rarity still posed with her head out of the carriage window, turns her head towards the dapple grey mare.
"Did you say something Darling?" Her eyes looking at Silver Trails curiously.

Silver Trails smiles back, "I was just saying we better get a move on. Before we can't make it on time anymore."

Rarity nods her head, too busy thinking about what happened. She is still too caught up by fear to notice the obvious twitching tell in Silver Trails eye. Pulling her head back into the carriage, she removes Pearl Song from her saddle bag and opens her box.

Using her magic, she lifts the new seapony statue out of her saddle bags and places him next to her in the box. Making sure he is nicely settled in, securely by his sister, she smiles.
"Pearl Song, I found your brother Hidden Reverie. He's going to be staying by you from now on. Rest well my old friend."

As she closes the box, and turns to straighten out her magazines, books, and portfolio from the mad rush on the road. She could have sworn she heard two voices say in sync.

"Thank you Rarity, get some rest too.."

Outside the moon shone it's guiding light on the lucky travelers, who had gone down a byway of the lost and come back. Those who had faced a legend of the byways and lived. Who had escaped the clutches of gods older than Equestria, and fiends who were once gods.
And those who faced varied futures, but would now share one section of their pasts.
The past written on that night on a wanderers lost road.

Author's Note:

So final notes on this story.
Somebody was a changeling the entire time, as for why she's pulling a carriage it's very depressing.

Pearl Song got her brother to be by her side, even though they are both statues indefinitely. And her mom and siblings are sort of eldritch monsters, unless someone can manage to undo what a fallen god can do.

Rarity is officially bad ass for escaping Terminus Langoliesier fallen god of stone, boundaries between time, boundary markers, and souls lost between time twice. In case you are wondering the road they took exists between time, in the boundary between day and night. You can only be trapped there if you stay till sunset or sunrise. That is what the two merged circles represented.

Rarity remembering Sweet Streams is important, I may play on that more later.

Oh and every single thing that's a statue in The Statuary Stop was at one point a living thing. Over time their spirits or souls merge with the malicious creature in their body and become one, at which point saving them is next to impossible. If their spirit is separate from the statue, they can be freed but it's hard to do. They get turned into statues a multitude of ways, from the living stone, to infection and forced integration (like Rarity's father), to getting baked alive in something, to being put in that church where crazy rituals occur and statue abomination do things. Yeah let your mind go wild, they even have a serum to turn you into a marble statue. An evil, bloodthirsty, eldritch abomination of a statue.

Those Alicorns in The Statue Stop were actual Alicorns, same for the Draconequi and others. Unique species like that are not going to become monsters. Why there are there well that's another story.

The end of this chapter took days to write due to having to flesh it out.
Yes there is a Steven King reference in there.

If you want to write backstories for the statues in The Statuary Stop feel free to do so, just reference my story and I'll add you to a story collection.

Comments

[ConcordOfEnigma]

Story is absolutely awesome!
Also that fallen god's name. I see what you did there!
By the way, what happened to the deity of boundaries so that it fell? Or it's up to our imagination also?

[Glen Gorewood]

7908259
Why thank you, that is very kind of you to say.
Yes! Somebody gets the inside reference in the name, that is also referenced in the description of the fallen deity itself.
As for what happened to the deity of boundaries, that will be explained in the Prequel I've been stuck on for a few months. It also explains why Rarity was able to get away twice, and might go just a little bit Greek style tragedy. I will hand out one hint or two though, that fallen deity has been at this a very long time. Longer than the current wielders of the sun and moon have been around, in fact he might predate more than just them. Since he is the fallen deity of boundaries, who's to say he only has byways that lead to Equestria?

My apologies for not responding right away, real life vehicular issues occurred and had to take priority.

Glen Gorewood

[ConcordOfEnigma]

>>Glen Gorewood That's all right. I understand that people have things to do. Well it will be super awesome to see the prequel one day, especially if there will be a taste of a classic tragedy to it.

This make me shudder since what you said makes PERFECT sense if we take, say, Dark Tower Verse - why worlds moved and why everything is falling apart. But even more sense it makes with that story about that one lady who just LOVED using byways.

[Glen Gorewood]

7924584
Car problems sadly, are not something you can put off in the middle of Winter.

Indeed the premise terrifying, especially if I happen to mention that I hadn't read the Dark Tower series yet when the original idea for a story like this came into existence when I was a little kid. Though similarities exist, the basis for it is different and inherently more mortifying due to that little bit of information.

The entire concept is based off a nightmare I had as a kid after visiting a creepy statuary shop in the middle of nowhere with my parents. While there I purchased a realistic looking unicorn statue, it has barely aged to this day.[/spoiler] The fiendish burning kiln was in the nightmare, as were the statues themselves, and the fallen deity of boundaries; which kept repeating for over three months. This was long before I had seen a particular movie or managed to read a certain book. Though I do make Steven King references and do admit to being inspired by his work, and open references in being put in names; the description and setting is from my demented mind.

Having read most of The Dark Tower Series, and many of Steven King's other works; inevitably some of his terms may find their way into this story series. Expect references to itsy bitsy hoofsies and feetsies in the future, mostly because I can't not use that "Kingfisher" reference eventually. There is also a short story series related to all the types of Byways and Back roads, and the victims/survivors of them in the works. As for the tragic prequel, you will feel bad for the fallen deity by the end of it; and even worse for Rarity.

I'm hoping if things go well with my car to get chapter one of the prequel out by the middle of the week. Since it's based off the Greek Tragedy concept the format will be different than my usual writing style. But it, like all the others in this particular story series will be tied together by one very obvious common link. Disturbing lyrics and rhymes that say more than they appear to. If you want a hint about what will be in the prequel, I suggest reading the song Rarity's biological father sang at the end of the last chapter.

Beware low ponies in yellow coats, and fear the ones in suits whose faces blur in focus. But those you must fear most of all, are the ones whose forms long ago did fall. Those who take shape as they desire, with goals to bake you in the fire.
Byways and back roads will lead you astray, to darkness or safety no one can say. Many have been lost, few will escape. Beware the markers of boundaries this day, or risk your existence you may.

Glen Gorewood

[PaulAsaran]

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