(Bareback Gulch) Meeting in the Mines (Private ATTN: Alanoth)

[Lux]

 

The jarring of the train as it slowed to the station awoke the sleeping Sweet Surprise, causing her to snap to attention. It had been a long journey from her home in Canterlot, longer than she had ever traveled before for anything! Looking outside she thought there would be some gritty mining town, but to her surprise the place was a cute little town with many earth ponies. It was no shock to her as earth ponies were great with their hooves working the land and creating. 

 

"This stop is Bareback Gulch," the train steward said, "All ponies wishing to depart may do so. Next stop is Las Pegasus!" 

 

The mare hopped off the seat, carrying her suitcase on wheels in case she wanted to stay more than a day here. Part of her thought it was crazy leaving her shop and her familiar city behind and go on vacation, all for a stallion she briefly met during a speed date event! But he was cute and nice and willing to show her around. Plus she was always up for a new adventure. 

 

"Now where is Brawny?" she said getting off the train and looking around as ponies shuffled around her departing, arriving and waiting for others on the station platform. 

[Alanoth]

 

Life in Bareback Gulch was typically classified as hard-work and little in the way of luxury and entertainment, at least by those who hadn't lived there very long. Sure, it was way out in Roughrider Ridge, where most ponies--back in the day at least---had once considered the area inhospitable and uninhabitable. But the ever unwavering pioneers of the small rustic town hadn't shied away from the challenge, rather they had thrived on it, fed on the hard tack that was the challenge of the terrain itself and made the best of it. For their part, it had worked out, since the many hills in the area had been found to be rich with coal and a variety of other minerals and even jewels, thus they had plenty of work for all who needed it and bits to be earned for the entire community's economy.

 

They even now had a deal with the distant Ponyville to ship small shipments of coal, silver, and assorted uncut gems to the slowly growing city, further increasing the small town's income and well-being. Tourism helped them greatly, but for Brawny Boulder and his fellow earth ponies, mining was a good, honest labor that was hard work for good income. The shift had just ended as he heard the train coming in, and for a moment he wondered if he'd forgotten something that involved the trains today. As the stallion trotted out of the mine, he was covered from nose to hoof and tail in coal and rock dust, but he wasn't bothered by his appearance, never had been really.

 

With his dirty brown vest and orange hardhat on, he headed to the station to have a look, wondering if he'd meant to meet somepony there today but not sure of whom it could be. He got onto the platform and looked around, straining his neck and mane to look over the heads of other ponies, and finally he spotted her, the more than attractive mare he had met in Canterlot some days ago. He ducked his head in embarrassment, ducking to the side behind a wall as he coughed and sputtered, attempting to recompose himself. Finally he took a deep breathe, stood up straight like a stallion with dignity, and trotted on over towards Sweet Surprise.

 

"Sweet Surprise!" He called out as loud as he could, waving a hoof over his head to help her find him.

[Lux]

For a moment she wondered if the earth pony forgot the meeting. Or was it that she should have come some other day, or that he would meet her somewhere else besides the train platform? Her mind raced as she scanned through the crowd as it moved around her. She thought she saw Brawny in the crowd but in that brief moment whoever she saw was gone.

 

"Sweet Surprise!" a voice called out to her as she saw a hoof raised over the crowd. 

 

"Brawny!" Sweet said as she tried making her way through the crowd, "Stay there, I'll get to you!" 

 

After a moment of being like a fish swimming against the current of ponies she finally reached him. 

 

"Hello again stranger! Looks like you just got off from work."  

[Alanoth]

The train platform was indeed filled with many ponies going to and from, though this was abnormally busy. Again he wondered if he'd forgotten something, but Brawny mentally shrugged it off and focused on this appointment. Having met with Sweet Surprise, he was now more than reminded that he had agreed to meet her here when they left the speed datin' event back in Canterlot.

 

He smiled and blushed a bit as she noticed his appearance, hoping she didn't mean that in a negative way. "Th-that would be correct! The mines ain't far from here so I just gandered on over from there. H-how was yer trip, if ya don't mind my askin'?"

[Lux]

As she approached the miner pony she was about to give him a big hug, but she resisted remembering that he was a little shy. Strangely though the stallion looked like that he was forgetting something although she did not know what. 

 

"Oh the trip was fine, a little long but fine. Still it was fun seeing places I've never been to by looking out the train windows. I forgot to ask you at the event in Canterlot, have you lived here all your life?" 

[Alanoth]

A part of Brawny wished that he was more confident, he knew it was silly to be acting this way just because a stallion was around a mare, but it's just how he's always been. Maybe it was due to his momma's upbringing, who could tell? In any case, he was genuinely glad she was here, just wishing that he looked better.

 

"Yes ma'am," he answered with a nod and smile, his hard hat tipping slightly, "every since I was a foal, and all through my colthood, I been 'round here. What about you? Did you always live in Canterlot?"

[Lux]

It was interesting to hear that Brawny lived his entire life in one city. Sweet Surprise always loved hearing where ponies were born and where they currently lived, and where they traveled to. Some preferred to stay in one place, others roamed. But as long as they were happy that was all that the chocolate mare cared about. 

 

"Then it must have been a real treat seeing Canterlot if you spent your whole life here! As for me, CAnterlot wasn't where I was born. That actually was Manehattan, a city kind of like Canterlot. After I got my cutie mark I decided to head towards Canterlot where I've been there ever since. Sure I thought about returning to live in Manehattan, but I already met so many nice ponies where I am I felt I had to stay. So, what made you stay here in Bareback gulch? Honestlt I don't know too much about it as I've been here... well, just a few minutes."

[Alanoth]

Brawny had never seen someone be so fascinated with him talking before, it was a bit unnerving for the bashful Stallion, but also uplifting. His parents had always been supportive growing up as a foal and colt, but this was different. Sweet Surprise seemed to be genuinely concerned about the well-being of others, no matter what pony they be. It made him wonder if he himself wasn't selfish.

 

He smiled and lifted a hoof up, motioning past him in a sort of invitational gesture. "Well, if ya'd kindly follow me, I could show ya around Bareback Gulch n' answer any questions ya have." With that, he began leading the way out of the busy station and into the town, which was actually smaller up close than it seemed at a distance. Most homes were part of businesses, or else compactly next to one another in a neighborly fashion. Minecarts, as well as saddle bags and goods carts, were hitched here and there, and the whole area had a rustic look to it, as any pony would expect from a town out in Roughrider Ridge. "Ta be honest with ya ma'am, I been here most of my life 'cause of mah parents. When I was just a colt, barely learnin' to swing a pick with mah teeth, mah pa and ma got stuck under a big ol' boulder. I had a right panic, tryin' to shove it off, and swing a pick without hurtin' them, then I began smashin' it as hard as I could, on some kinda instinct. Before I knew it, I had broken the varmint clean in two, and from then on I was Brawny Boulder. My pa can't work the mines no more, and ma can't clean the house like she used to, so I stay around to take care of 'em."

[Lux]

Sweet gladly accepted Brawny's offer to give her a tour as the two left the crowd of the station behind. The town was certainly smaller than she imagined it to be but then again she was familiar to big cities like Canterlot. It certainly looked like a neighborly city with the way the houses clumped together as it led up towards the mountains. But her thoughts quickly turned towards Brawny as he answered her question about what kept him in this town. She expected it to be simply a love of the scenery or for the mines, but it was deeper than she could imagine, going back to when he saved his parents and got his cutie mark. 

 

"Oh Brawny," Sweet said as wiped some tears that welled up in her eyes, "I'm so sorry to hear about your parents getting hurt like that. I didn't know you were staying here to help support them. I'm glad that they are still around though for you to talk to. I don't know what I'd do if something like what you described happened to my parents!"

[Alanoth]

Brawny was glad that Sweet Surprise didn't think lowly of his decision to stay and help his parents, even though as a young colt he'd wondered what the rest of Equestria looked like. Helping his parents had been and was a natural instinct, he didn't want to ever think about what he would have done without them to raise him into the stallion he was today. Sure, he wasn't smart enough to own a business, or calculate complex arithmetic, or to go off to Canterlot and be someone important, but he was strong and tough enough to make it as a miner here in Bareback Gulch, and to him that was perfectly fine for a content pony like himself. Still, having Sweet Surprise as someone to speak to other than his parents and neighbors was a nice change.

 

He shrugged modestly as he could without making it seem unimportant. "They needed me, an' so I acted. I don't know of anypony who would do any different, in a similar situation. Sure, not everypony can break a boulder in two, but I didn't know I could at the time, I just wanted that boulder gone. Ever since, folks have treated me and mah parents like family, makin' sure I got me a good wage and extra opportunities at the mine, and cleanin' the house ain't hard since it's a one room." He continued to lead her on the tour, making their way down main street past the town hall, which wasn't much bigger than a small store back in Canterlot, and up to the mines at the base of the mountain, where everypony was gone except the forepony, who was going over the charts.

[Lux]

"You know if I were in your position I would have acted too," Sweet Surprise said alternating her gaze between Brawny and the small town around her, "When it comes to friends or family, I think that anypony would help them if they in peril! Maybe I can't break a boulder in half like you can but I'd certainly try to do anything. It's no surprise though that the town now helps you. You helped save your parents and are now caring for them, and the town saw your bravery and even sacrifice. I'm glad that they did." 

 

They passed through the town, by certain stores that offered certain essentials for miners and their families. When they approached the mines Sweet noticed how empty it felt. She could imagine dozens of miners with their equipment as the sounds of picks and hammers echoed from within the opening but now it was just her and Brawny and what she believed to be the foreman of the mines.. 

 

"So this is where you work, huh Brawny? What do you mine here exactly: gold, iron, gems?" 

[Alanoth]

Brawny nodded to Sweet Surprise's question, pointing with his hoof at the mine. He noticed the foreman, Ol' Jack as they call him, and waved briefly. The old stallion nodded in return then seemed to keep going over the total labor hours chart. He was very rigid in his performance as the boss of the mines, very little ever distracted him from making sure everything was running as it should. 

 

"Why yes, Sweet Surprise, we do mind some gems. Iron and gold haven't been seen in these parts fer ages at least, I think tha last of tha gold was mined up som-in like fifty years ago. We mostly mine coal now, it's an important part of our industry. Sometimes we hit silver or gems, but it's usually just coal. I'm sorry that it isn't very excitin', it's usually bustlin with activity, but everypony's gone home for the day."

[Lux]

Sweet Surprise was no jeweler, but she loved how they looked and knew a little about where they came from and how they were made. But to her surprise this wasn't a gem or precious metal mine, it was coal. 

 

"Oh...coal," Sweet Surprise said a little disillusioned before brightening up again, "So you use it to power things then. That's neat. It's ok that there aren't any ponies working here right now. You know what that means right? We get the whole place to ourselves! So where do we go first? I mean is it safe for a non-miner pony like me to go into the mines?" 

[Alanoth]

He could tell that Sweet Surprise was disappointed in the lack of well-known, shiny minerals coming out of the mine, but he wouldn't lie to her. This was how Bareback Gulch made it's livelihood, by mining and inviting tourists to bring their bits to the stores in the area. Coal was an important natural resource, however, as it made the railroads run and kept many a pony warm at night when lumber wasn't cheap.

 

Brawny Boulder thought for a moment then trotted over to his foreman, a portly pony with a bushy mustache and a wide-brimmed hat. "Excuse me, sir, I have a friend with me who wanted ta see a bit o' the mines, would it be alright if I took her down shaft three? I know we excavated it awhile ago but it should still be pretty stable." The forepony thought for a moment, then nodded, adding that they would need to both have mining helmets just in case. Brawny nodded and grabbed his usual helmet out of the pile, and eventually found a small one for Sweet Surprise, which he placed on her head. "Now, this is just fer safety reasons, and it provides a useful lil' light too. If ya need to turn it on, tap it on the right, to turn it off ya tap tha left."

[Lux]

Sweet wondered if she would actually get to see the mines at all if the ponies had gone home, but as luck should have it the foreman was willing to let them visit it with the proper safety helmets. 

 

"Thanks," Sweet said adjusting her helmet and testing the light like Brawny instructed, "So anything i have to watch out for in this mine?" 

 

(Short post I know but hopefully I'll make a longer one in the future.) 

[Alanoth]

Brawny thought about it for a moment, then simply shook his head. "There's nothing overly dangerous down there to my knowledge, we cleared that mine ages ago. All the equipment should have been moved out, there shouldn't be any tripping hazards in regards to rocks or coal, and we have lights. Who knows? We might get lucky and see a gem or mineral that somepony overlooked, though if we did we'd have to turn it in to the forepony. Just stick with me and we shouldn't get lost, I know these mines like the back of my left hoof!"

 

At that moment, Brawny Boulder realized he had no idea where that chip in the bottom of his left hoof had come from, but he thought it best to keep that to himself. With a smile, he lead the way to the tunnel entrance, turning on his head light when they began to enter.

[Lux]

Sweet nodded enthusiastically as Brawny noted that the mine they were about to go into was already tapped of its coal supply. Of course the mare knew not to be distracted and make sure she was safe. She was excited about finding a gem, but the mare quickly realized that she couldn't keep it. It was a shame, but maybe she'd get a memento of her journey around town. 

 

"Well, I have no doubt that I'll get through the mines safely with you, so let's get going!" 

 

She approached the dark opening and switched on the light as she stepped into the tunnel. There wasn't much to look at at the moment, no carts full of ore or equipment. Perhaps deeper still something would grab her attention. 

[Alanoth]

Brawny was more than a little embarassed at this point, as he knew Sweet Surprise had been expecting a lot more from coming all the way up here from Canterlot. He thought about it, and while dishonesty wasn't in his nature, if they found something insignificant to the overall productivity of the mines themselves, he saw no reason to not let her take it home as a souveneir. After all, somepony at town hall had suggested opening a gift shop just outside the mines, and wouldn't a small, impure gem or lump of coal be considered a good item for that?

 

As they were going along, they came to a point where the path split three different ways, but the right was a clear dead-end. He looked about from one tunnel to the next, doing his best to remember the layout. "Hmm, I think that if we were to head left we should come to a pretty little cave that we found not long ago. Naturally made by the underground rivers, so the surveyors think."

[Lux]

She could see that Brawny wasn't too pleased seeing that she wasn't happy about not finding or keeping the gems. Still this wasn't the prominent reason why she came here to search for trinkets. She came here to see him and learn more about Brawny. She at the least wanted another friend in her life, and if something more happened... well she would welcome that too. The three soon came to a three way split, one of which was clearly where they didn't needed to visit. 

 

"Ooo! A cave! That would be neat to see. I have yet to visit the caves in Canterlot yet, although I heard that they are a little dangerous. I think I heard a Princess once got trapped in one, maybe two Princesses. So how do you know where everything is down here? Is it just walking these paths so many times?" 

[Alanoth]

Brawny nodded in the bright light of their headlamps, in answer to her question. "It just sorta becames natural after awhile, ya tend ta just know where everything is, without familiarity or landmarks bein' an issue. It's like my brain knows where ta go before I do, it's second nature to me now 'cause of how many times I've walked through the tunnels." He hoped he hadn't repeated himself here, and he also hoped to waylay Sweet Surprise's fears about caves, for so far they'd been harmless whenever he had been around one.

 

He lead the way along the west tunnel, the clip clop of their walk echoing in the enclosed space. It didn't take long to reach the cave, wherein their lights reflected off of the clearest pool of water one could ever imagine encountering underground. "Now this," he said while pointing to the water with his hoof, "is the cleanest water anypony could ever find anywhere, and it's just hidin' down here away from everypony. It's a little known fact that there is water, lots of it, deep underground almost everywhere, and that it even has rivers and lakes, and sometimes they leave little pools like this one. What's fantastic about them is that these are what make well digging successful, and some of the purest of minerals and gems can be found near or parallel to these pools."

[Lux]

"Hmm..." Sweet Surprise said tapping her chin while listening to Brawn talk about his sense of direction, "Guess that's how I am, though not in a mine. After getting used to Canterlot after a week, I could navigate the streets blindfolded, well maybe not as I may run into a pony that way."

 

The chocolate hued mare then saw a beautiful sight in a cave where a pool pf water stood. It was a beautiful sight but what struck her was that the water Brawny said was very clean and could be where minerals were found. 

 

"Ohhh let me try," Sweet said bending down and sipping some of the water, "You're right it is great tasting. Cool too. You said that there are gems nearby these underground pools?"