20th Sandstone, 222The sound of splintering rock echoed through the underground chambers, the random flashes of metallic sparks mixing in with the amber glow from the lantern. Silver Rush was minding his own business, contemplating the lack of iron in the fort as continued his work.
I’ve been digging for so many months and there’s still no hematite or pyrite to be seen.As the bat pony mined away, he started to hear the sound of hard nails clanging against stone. As time went on it only got louder and louder. “Silver! Silver rush! I need you!” The voice was distinctive of a certain griffon who’d been one hell of a two days.
The interrupted pony scanned the area for Fargo, “Huh? What is it?” He sounded quite desperate, further confusing the stallion as to what he could possibly be in such need of.
Fargo kept running towards the sound of the bat pony’s voice. He was rather lost without it. He could see in the dark, but not in pitch black, and it was barely in light in the cave, even with his eyes being as sensitive as they were. “I need help!” He felt uncomfortable in the place, but at least he could run from torch to torch. “I need to hide the thing!”
“The thing? You mean the crown? I thought you said you were going to destroy it?” His eyes kept trying to pierce the darkness, “Where are you, anyway?”
“I have no clue! This is worse place than hell! At least you can see down there!” He says as he tries to head towards the pony’s voice. “And this thing will not break!”
“Stay where you are! I’ll come to you!” Silver grabbed his lantern in his hooves and hovered slowly down the rocky hall. “Just keep talking! It’ll help me figure out where you are!”
“Y-yeah! Alright... um... do you know why they call it a halberd, eh?!?” He says as he tries to think up some sort of joke. “Because eh... hal-bird? eh? ehhhhhh?” He says as loudly as he can.
Silver laughed at the cheesy joke, still homing in on him, “Ha ha, maybe even invented by a bird named Hal?”
“Who knows? Eh... you know the one about the blind swordsman? he was pretty sharp but couldn’t hit a thing.” he says, just holding still and waiting.
That’s a pretty good one. Fargo could tell by now that Silver was getting very close, his chuckling echoing less and sounding more crisp. Probably just around the corner. The glow from the lantern was beginning to turn the blackness into a dark orange.
Fargo stopped talking and runs at the lantern as soon as he sees it. “Hello! finally!” He yells, as he gets to the stallion. “I can see something now!”
“Alright. Good,” the pony stated as he gained sight of the griffon. “Now what’s this about the crown not breaking? What did you try to do to it?”
“Dropped it from a skyscraper, hit it with a sword and tried to burn it.” he says plainly. “Not a scratch.”
The bat pony turned to head back to his work area, walking slowly enough for Fargo to keep the light in his sight, “That’s… unexpected. Did you bring it down here with you?”
“Yes. In fact that’s that I need to talk to you about. I need to hide the thing somewhere where I’ll know where it is.” He said as he followed the pony.
“Have any spots in mind? It needs to be somewhere that it can’t accidentally be stumbled upon, preferably somewhere that nopony would want to go in the first place.” Silver began considering some options. Sealing it in stone or a safe before hiding it would be a good idea, he figured.
“Why not down here?” He asks, still following the bat pony in the dark space. “If you look for it in here, you might get lost forever, eh?”
Silver chuckled, “Probably not forever, but that’s not a bad idea, actually. I could dig out a small section in one of the lower tunnels, put the crown in and then collapse that section on top of it. For a better guarantee, we could seal off that whole tunnel once we’ve extracted as many minerals from it as we can. Ms. Hookbill could even put a prohibition for anyone entering that area if that would help.”
“I don’t want to bury it. I want it just blocked off in a way I can check up on it.” Fargo doesn’t chuckle and sounds cold. This was a very serious matter. “I don’t know what this thing can do, but if it can’t be burnt and breaks metal, I don’t want to see how it reacts to being buried.”
The end of the newest cavern was now in sight, the light from the lantern revealing the pick that Silver had set down earlier, “That might complicate things a bit then. I could try to carve a small hole into one of the walls for you to put it in, but I would suggest getting a safe or other securing device to put it in first. Some way to camouflage it might be need too, if you’d be concerned about others snooping down here for it. Then we have the future to consider: how long will it stay down here? What becomes of it once we are all dead?”
“I um... next person to run the guard will know about this, but I want very, very few people knowing where that thing actually is. Perhaps not even Isolde.” He says, wondering if he should have said that. “I’m having the guard say we broke the thing and that’s it is gone. As for how we hide it, we could get a suitably sized rock, hollow it out, and hide the crown under it, and then put a door or something to block entrance into that part of the mine.”
Placing the lantern down so that it illuminated the wall face that Silver was currently working on, the stallion lifted the pick in his forehooves, “Hollowing out a rock would require some precision tools. This pick of mine would be much more likely to shatter it. Ms. Dreams is a stoneworker, so she probably has the necessary tools to do something like that. If, of course, you were willing to let her in on your plan.”
“Can’t you just tell her you just tell her you want a something to hide an extra key to your house?” He says, not wanting her to know. “Though eh... I’m not sure how you’d take it if it wasn't in your yard somewhere.”
“Unless, maybe, I implied that I wanted to keep it in the mine for some reason. Or said that I wanted to give it to a friend. Do you think that would work?”
“I guess... whatever works for you.” He says, before taking a seat on the ground a few feet away from silver. “I think that covers it all, eh?”
The pony gave a nod, “I think that’s a good place to start. We can always discuss it more once I’m done with my shift. Speaking of which, do you need me to lead you out of here before I start again or do you want to hang around a while?”
“I guess I could hang around if you don’t mind. I would be nice to just sit and not do much. I’ve kinda been having to deal with a lot these days while still keeping to the night shift.” He makes himself comfortable on the ground. The cave was actually rather nice, seeing how it was a bit cooler than the above.
The bat pony smiled at the prospect of having company, “Good to hear! It’s gonna get pretty noisy, though. If it gets too be too much, just tap me on the shoulder and I’ll escort you out.” With that said, Silver Rush got back to work chipping away at the hardened shell of stone that stood before him.
“Trust me, I’ve been around far worse. I mean, I’ve stuck around whenever Lucky opens her mouth, eh?” He chuckles a little at his own joke.
Pausing every now and then, the pony continued the conversation, “Heh, maybe so.” The mention of Lucky did remind him, “I hope she’s not going to have any permanent aftereffects of that… little incident.”
Fargo let out a long sigh and got a big frown. “If that crown hurt her, I’m going to feel horrible.” He shifted around a little, clearly seeming a little uncomfortable. “I should have stopped her. I could have.”
“What’s done is done. It wasn’t your fault that it happened. It was just an accident.” He went back for a few more swings at the rock.
Fargo sighs and waits until silver is done swinging a few times before speaking again. “That doesn’t change a thing. I’m the one who has to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself or someone else. Calling it an accident is an excuse. When you are dealing with people’s lives you cannot afford to make excuses.”
“You also can’t afford to live your life blaming yourself for things that you no longer have control over,” the bat pony retorted, “Firstly, we don’t know if there are lasting effects in the first place and secondly, there may be a way to get rid of them even if there are. There’s always the possibility that you can still help her if things turn sour. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“You see, this is why I should be captain, and why I have to do this job.” He says, looking over at the bat pony. “People do this thing where they do not take responsibility for the world around them. Someone kills someone by accident, or they are ordered to do so, and it isn’t their fault, eh? Bad things happen to you and it isn’t your fault even though you could done something, eh?” He gets a big frown and looks down.
“Just use it as a lesson to improve your behavior in the future. You can do that, right?”
“But I’m already doing as good as I can.” He says matter-of-factly. “Other are not though, that is what I need to change.”
“That’s all any of us can do: our best,” the gray pony replied between two swings. “The others… well… you can always talk to Ms. Hookbill about that. Or Ms. Star. Their words do carry a lot of weight.”
“Nothing will change until something bad happens. They think we are fine. I don’t believe so.” He looks around for a moment and then down at the crown. “Lucky treats this like a part time job, the zebra can’t handle responsibility and shooting is a green horn. She almost shot me on day one.”
Silver groaned, “I know you’ve got problems with the way things are set up around here, but I really don’t have any say in it. Like I said before, the most you can do is talk to Ms. Hookbill or Ms. Star.”
Fargo ignores the fact silver is seems a bit annoyed and keeps going, but the griffon doesn’t seem to mad, as if he’s just stating facts. “You see, I do not know either, but I’m going to figure it out.”
A sigh escaped the stallion’s mouth, “At least you’re proactive about fixing things, I can say that much.” A few more sparks flew from the metal tool.
“Aye, aye, this is my life’s work. I better make sure I do a good job at it.” His head was starting to hang down and the big guy was actually pretty comfortable leaning up against the wall of the cave in the dimly lit cool place.
“Good luck with it, whatever you decide to do… but why are you always so concerned about our safety? Other than this crown thing, our lives out here have been pretty peaceful. Even the crown incident has had limited effect.”
Fargo raised an eyebrow at that and hesitated to speak. “I um.... I’ve seen a lot more than you have. I know what is good does not last.” He keeps silent for a moment. “Have ever really lost anything?”
Silver then came to remember the nature of the griffon’s original job. “Lost something? Death, you mean? The death of my grandfather, sure, but it wasn’t anything violent. I’m guessing that you’ve seen more than your fair share of that?”
“You ever do anything horrible?” He asks, ignoring the question, and looking over at the bat pony.
“Horrible? Depends on what counts as ‘horrible’. I mean, I’ve yelled at other ponies and felt bad about it before… “
“You know, eh... before I became a guard I was a soldier?” The sound a bit uncomfortable with this, but he kept talking. “People I knew and trusted were animals. I was told to do some very bad things.”
The pick stopped against the cold granite as Silver Rush glanced over his shoulder, “Bad thing? Fargo, are you… sure this is something you want to tell me about?” The bat pony didn’t want to have knowledge of criminal activities that may have gone unpunished. That would weigh heavily on his conscience.
Fargo let out a long sigh. “I’ve kept this to myself for a long time. I rather not keep it to me even longer.” His claws tap on the stone floor a few times before he speaks again. “And it wasn’t just one thing. It was a lot. Tell me, do you know what a soldier does? What do they tell you they do?”
He had a feeling that he knew where this was going, “They protect their country and those that live there, at least in principle.”
“That is a funny one. They told me the same. Then the king got greedy and declared a pointless war.” He keeps tapping on the stone and shifted around a little. “A soldier really is someone who will murder and die for a king. That is what I was, and what I did.”
A chill raced down the stallion’s back, “Okay, Fargo, I really don’t need to know any more details of that… I don’t… need this information floating around in my head.”
He’s told me too much. Too much already!“Eh, fair enough.” He says coldly, almost as if a bit angry. “Does that explain why I’m paranoid about this place being safe at all, eh?”
“I… suppose so.” Silver couldn’t keep that one sentence from running again and again through his head, ‘That is what I was, and what I did’, ‘That is what I was, and what I did’.
“Don’t think I’m a coward.” He says, almost as if he knew he’d shaken the pony. “I did not ride out the storm, so to speak. I’m proud of it.”
“I don’t… “ The pony was no longer feeling up to making detailed responses. He almost felt nauseated.
“Eh...” Fargo goes silent for a few moments. “Are you okay? what did I say?” He seemed worried now.
The pick fell to the ground, ‘Y-you just told me that you killed somepony! Murdered them! You think I’m ‘okay’ after hearing that?!”
“I was told it wasn’t murder if an officer orders it and you are in uniform.” He said quietly, the big griffon subconsciously leaning his head down and making himself look smaller. “and who that griffon was back then and who I am now two different people.”
Silver’s head thumped against the wall that he had just stopped chiseling away at, “I just… I don’t know what to think right now… about any of this. Really, the fewer details I know, the better.”
“I haven’t told you a thin-... er, eh, V-very well.” He said, still seeming a bit put off by the sudden outburst by one pony he expected to keep a level head. “I do not get why you are mad, I’m one who has to live with it...”
“I just didn’t expect to hear this kind of thing from you. You’ve always been such a model citizen since you showed up… “ The black-maned pony closed his eyes, “But then again, that’s exactly why I trust you when you say that you’ve changed your life for the better since then… that you truly regret your actions. Nopony... not Ms. Star, not Ms. Hookbill, or any of their potential future replacements... could ever make you murder again… “ He glanced out the corner of his eye, “That is true, isn’t it?”
The griffon stands up and raises his head. “I would.” He stops for a moment, trying to think of to follow up his words. “But only if I had to, and it stops someone innocent from the same fate. I can kill, it’s why I have to do this job. The difference between then and now, is that I was a pawn then but now, now I am a free griffon. I only follow orders I know are right.” He stops again for a moment. “I’d rather die, and be a dog.”
There was a pause before Silver responded, “Alright then. Fair enough,” He lifted the metal tool back up off of the floor of the mine and continued with his work.
“Sorry for talking about.” He takes his seat again on the cold rocky ground and gets comfy like he’d been before. “I thought I could talk about some things that have been picking at me for a while. Guess I was dumb and jumped at it.”
“Well, that
is really some burden to carry around. I can understand that much. Just, I can’t imagine you having ever been like that-”
“I wasn’t, I was forced.” He says quickly, with spite in his tone. “Eh, sorry. I shouldn’t cut you off.”
After getting a couple of more swings in, he amended his statement, “Okay... you were forced. I can’t pretend to know what kind of pressure you must have been under with a king breathing down your neck.”
“It wasn’t a king, it was an officer of the army.” He sighs, and looks down over into the dark. He was tired. He puffed up his chest feathers and shifted his wings around, getting a bit more comfortable, “It doesn't matter though.”
“Can we… move the topic to something less morbid?” the rib-winged horse requested.
Fargo shrugs, still looking into the dark. “Eh, what made you want to mine? is that a good topic?”
That was indeed a better line of discussion, “Hmm, that is a good question. I think it all started with my colthood fascination with rocks and minerals. One of my hobbies was digging around in the dirt looking for any kind of interesting stones I could find. My dad was actually a coal miner before he met my mom, and I was definitely influenced by the stories he had to tell about the experience. I think it all came to a head when I got my cutie mark. Ever since then, I wanted to be a part of the whole process, taking part in the thrill of discovery. That’s one of the biggest draws of the job for me, not knowing what you’re going to find.”
“Eh... You’ve been into the same thing since you were a foal?” He asks, tilting his head a little, before resting his head down on his chest fluff. “Heh, this is the funny thing about ponies.” He grins a little. “You do the same thing on day one that you do when you’re seventy...”
The bronze-eyed equine shrugged, “It’s always seemed normal to me. I think it simplifies things: nopony needs to wonder what direction their life needs to take once they get their mark. It does lack some flexibility, I admit, but few ponies I’ve known were dissatisfied with their primary talent.”
“You see,” He looks over at him. “For all the good your kind has, and the things I respect.” He pauses for a moment, looks away. “You all take simplicity, and ease over freedom and improvement. Those marks make you slaves.” He was talking slowly and softly now.
The pick came to a halt, “Ease? Slaves?” The pony gave the griffon a sideways look, “Knowing what you want to do in life has nothing to do with how easy your job is. I work hard to get this ore out of the ground… and if
we’re the slaves, then why were
you the one who took a life against your will?”
Fargo looks back at him and makes a tiny growl. “I
was a slave, and you will spend every day digging, won’t you? Lucky will soldier until she can’t walk, and wood chopper will hack wood until his back goes out. None of you, will ever be something greater than you are now.”
Silver turned around, feeling offended but not wanting to lose his composure, “That’s absolutely untrue. You assume that we can only ever do one thing with our lives? No. We do what we do because we enjoy it, not because we are forced to. It’s what we have a natural affinity for, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn to do other things as well. The job market doesn’t always allow ponies to follow their marks, so some
have to learn to do other things. Ponies have talents other than their main talent and can seek employment in those areas if they so choose to. Part of me has also wanted to be a singer, and if my experience here has taught me anything, I could probably purse that line of work if I could no longer mine.”
“But you’ll never be as good as a pony’s talent is singing, and even if you are, they will get better. What happens when you try to get a job, and a pony who’s mark is singing shows up, eh?” He says, raising an eyebrow. “Eh, screw it. I’m sounding worse than Lucky.” He closes his eyes and shifts around. “I’m going to take a cat nap.”
“It’s the exact same way for all species, not just ponies. Aren’t some griffons naturally more gifted than others in certain areas? The only difference is that we have our talents advertised on our flanks… “ the gray horse snorted, “Fine… whatever… sleep if you want.”
“No. We aren’t.” He growled again and opens his eyes up, before closing them again when silver speaks. “Stop getting mad at me, I’m even being a jerk.”
Silver was skeptical of Fargo’s claim, but he was getting too distracted from his work. He was going to fall behind schedule at this rate, so the bat pony decided to let the griffon have the last word as he concentrated on getting his quota met.
Fargo nuzzles his muzzle into his chest fluff and gets nice and comfy, not paying the conversation and all the anger much mind. He quickly falls asleep, the constant loud tapping of metal against stone doesn’t seem to stop the griffon from sleeping.
Author
Topic: Shadytrails (My Little Fortress) (Read 41069 times)