private Seeds of Beginning

[Klopp 2,050]

"I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Lunaris."

 

He couldn't help noticing her tears, and he assumed that it must be from the yelling he heard before from her mother. She was being very rude, after all. He sat down on the ground next to her and tried to comfort her.

 

"Hey, if you need anything, you can talk to me. I saw you getting yelled at by that other Dog earlier, is that why you are crying?"

 

He felt a bit bad, a random stranger she never met asking questions like that. But really, all he wanted to do was help her out in any way he could. But maybe she just wanted to be alone...

 

"If I'm bothering you, though... I can just leave you alone. I just want to make sure you're okay, that's all."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She didn't respond, trying to compose herself from this shameful display in front of someone she'd never even met. After a few gasps and a silence of several moments, she managed to get her throat to compose syllables again.

 

"N-no... that always h-happens. I'm used to it," Anatase choked raspily. She wasn't sure what she wanted right now. If he left, then she would be all by herself with nothing to do. But if he stayed, then... well, the discomfort of this stranger would loom over her. She didn't exactly want to reveal very much to him, but the sadness and the heart-shattering moment of what had just occurred was something she couldn't bring herself to contain. Ignoring his question, she responded with something entirely different.

 

"I'm not one of them..."

[Klopp 2,050]

"Not one of them? You mean the Ruby Dogs?"

 

Lunaris was mostly confused by her words. They were very much out of nowhere, but what else could she be talking about except them? She did seem very different from the other two that he saw.

 

"I don't really know what's going on, but you do seem different from the other two I saw. They were... I'll just say, 'not nice'. They certainly weren't treating you well at all. Sorry if I sound like I'm prying... I didn't even mean to overhear, they were just so loud I thought my ears were going to burst. Especially that one..."

 

He stopped himself. He didn't want to seem disrespectful to her mother, cause maybe she still liked her. Or maybe not, but best not to take a chance.

 

"Well... I probably should have just left. I was trying to sleep anyways."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

Anatase shook her head and snorted a bit.

 

"Not that. I've... always known that. I mean, I mean..." She hesitated again. This wasn't something she had really said aloud to anyone before, and it was rather difficult to admit. "I'm not... a pony." 

 

Although tears began to flow in more abundance after that statement, and it became harder for her to keep her eyes open. So she closed them, to try to disassociate her body and herself from the humiliation of that statement. If she just said these words, if they were just words that had nothing to do with what she was... words that floated in the wind, disconnected completely from her being.

 

"Th-they.. the ponies... they weren't... f-fond of what I am..."

[Klopp 2,050]

Lunaris was beginning to understand. Apparently the Ponies are judging her based on the attitude of her own species. They must have a bad reputation... completely expected, based on what he had seen of them so far. But clearly she was quite different from the others.

 

"Oh... I see. Well, I can see that you aren't like those two I saw. They were very... snobbish. But it's alright! You can meet other Ponies, a lot of them are actually very nice. I can show you to some of them, if you want. The ones you met were probably just angry cause of your tribe, that's all."

 

Lunaris bent down, trying to look more directly into her eyes. He was hoping maybe to see a smile pop up on her face.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She shook her head pessimistically and sighed.

 

"If my tribe has a bad reputation... then the rest of them... they likely won't accept me either. Besides... I don't know if I can... leave..." She tilted her head away from his gaze, pulling herself up to her feet and then wiping the tears off of her face. Some of them had been left behind on her coat though, as stains. 

 

In order to speak this next sentence though, she would have to disassociate herself from her body even more. She turned her back on him and shut her eyes again, trying to tell herself that nothing existed but these words. And these words were meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

 

"If there were some way... some magic out there... that could just make me not look like the way I do..."

[Klopp 2,050]

"I... don't know if that's possible. But it doesn't matter. Not everyone will judge you just because you're a Ruby Dog. I mean, I never even met you before today, and you seem like you'd make a much better friend than an enemy."

 

He didn't really know what to say. It's not like he had ever been in this kind of situation before. Everyone he had met up until this pount was just ponies. Well, sometimes donkeys, cows and such, but they all were living pretty happy lives. But this small, young, canine was not. Surely he had to do something to try and fix that, cause she surely didn't deserve being treated like that anymore.

 

"Why don't you come with me? I mean... it seems like you're not happy here. No one should have to be belittled like you were before, so why stay here and go through it again?"

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She kept looking away from him hesitantly, her mind spinning. Anatase needed time to think. Leaving her home with this stranger, of a species she'd never even seen... a Griffon, perhaps. She wasn't sure. But going back now wasn't a good idea either. Even though it was likely her mother's rage would pass... she really didn't want to deal with this all over again. Not when she didn't feel there was very much to live for in the first place. 

 

Her mind couldn't think quickly enough in those several seconds she stood there, feeling rushed by his presence. She had to make her decision now. He was standing right there.

 

"I guess... for now... I could..." 

[Klopp 2,050]

He was pleased to hear those words. He didn't want her to have to return to that dreadful Bitch again, plus it would be nice to have a companion with him on his travels.

 

"That's great! Right now I was on my way to see Neighagra Falls, then to Canterlot to meet up with a friend of mine. She's a magic teacher for Unicorns, I'm sure you would get along with her just fine."

 

He was smiling, looking forward to traveling with someone for once. Though he enjoys flying through the skies, it is rather boring not having anyone to talk to along the way. Makes a day-long trip seem like a week.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

Anatase's heart skipped several beats, the severity of what she had just said hitting her now. Leaving... this place. But there wasn't taking it back. It was already said, and... her head was just spinning. Spinning too much to really want to think. His words passed her by as she found herself unable to focus.

 

Unlike him, she wasn't smiling. Though her tears had subsided, and she had cleaned off most of her face with her right paw. Right now, she just needed to forget. To forget that all of this existed. A distraction. Oh wait a second, did he say they'd be meeting with a pony? Stop thinking, she forced her mind. From the jumbled chaos, she could only once again manage a scant few words.

 

"Okay... I guess... let's leave..."

[Klopp 2,050]

"Well, we can't leave right away. I mean, if there's anything you want to take with you, you should grab it first. But I guess if you have everything you need we can go right away."

 

He turned around and pointed down the mountain range. It was probably going to be a whole day before they reached Neighagra falls.

 

"That's the way to Neighagra falls. It's going to be a long walk, but I guess if you're used to digging so much, I'm sure you can handle it. I was planning on flying. We still can if you ride on my back, but it'll be about as fast as walking if you do, anyways."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She paused for a moment as she hurriedly stuck her paws in her chest fur, digging around for something. Oh... how could she forget...? Please, she had to have it on her... this method of communication was already getting uncomfortable. 

 

What she managed to pull out was a small piece of parchment from the fur, but nothing else. Anatase sighed stressfully, gazing off into the distance longingly. She couldn't leave without that.

 

"I'm sorry... but I have go back and get something... I'll have to go underground though... but I... I..." The Ruby Dog turned back to face him, hoping he could piece together the rest of her sentence. But she couldn't expect that, and after a few moment's hesitation, finished it embarrassingly: "I don't want to... go alone. But you probably can't... go underground... can you?"

[Klopp 2,050]

Lunaris looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Well... that depends on how big a hole you can dig, I suppose. I do prefer having access to the skies, but I am capable of going underground. I'm not... a great digger, though. These claws are sharp and thin, so I'd probably just loosen up the soil and accidentally bury myself."

 

As he spoke he sat down and did a flamboyant digging motion with his talons into the air.

 

"But if you want me to come, I will cram myself underground with you. Luckily I'm not claustrophobic."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She looked at him dubiously, wondering if this was really such a good idea. If she surfaced in the wrong area... and his body. It definitely wasn't built for subterranean travel. But she didn't want to leave him here either. What if he flew off without her? Leaving people to wait wasn't something she found particularly appealing.

 

"All right... I think I can do that. But without the... uh... thing... it'll be a bit more difficult," Without explaining that in particular, Anatase motioned to him to follow her as she made her way to a more ideal digging spot. After finding a location where soil was much more abundant, she began digging as big a hole as she could and rather rigorously. Hopefully, they would eventually connect back to one of her tunnels.. although she wasn't quite sure where she was going, it still wasn't far off from the Carbuncle Caves.

[Klopp 2,050]

He followed her to the digging spot, and watched in amazement as she dug a fairly large hole so quickly. Her expertise was clearly as refined as the gem she wore around her neck. Even though she made it fairly large for herself, is still looked a bit cramped for Lunaris. But that didn't matter. He was quite flexible and able to squeeze into tight spaces when necessary. As the cavern was being made, he started following behind her into the darkness.

 

"So, what is this 'thing' you were talking about? It helps you dig, or something?"

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

"Uh... yeah. It does that. Does a lot of things," Anatase said rather vaguely as she continued quickly moving clumps with her claws as usual. She felt her hands starting to cramp up slightly as they got deeper and deeper, probably due to having to make a bigger opening than usual, but decided to ignore it. From what she could sense, they were almost there. Maybe.

 

Wait a moment... 

 

"Oh, I never told you my name, did I? I'm Anatase... sorry it was so late," The Ruby Dog's digging became easier as she found herself colliding with a pre-existing tunnel. Likely one of hers as the others didn't usually dig this far out. She expanded the tunnel carefully, tensely making sure it wouldn't collapse in on them. Why did she agree to this again? Without her tool, this was kind of risky, wasn't it? She'd never had to escort someone so large throughout her tunnels before. Then again, no one else had really ever been through her tunnels period.

[Klopp 2,050]

Lunaris was a bit preoccupied with squeezing his body through the tunnel, so it took him a bit to realize Anatase was talking. After a somewhat lengthy pause, spoke in respone.

 

"Oh, yeah. You didn't tell me before. Anatase is a pretty cool name."

 

As they connected with the other cave things got easier for Lunaris, as well. It seemed she was able to make a bit more room for him, since most of the dirt was already out of the way from the previous excursion. He was getting a bit worried, though. They were underground and he was getting the impression that she didn't quite know where they were going.

 

"So... where is this thing you need? It's not far, is it?"

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She was concentrating deeply on maintaining her digging, so she just responded with a vague "Mmhmm." Not realizing what she had just answered, exactly. The tunnel segwayed into another tunnel... which then segwayed into another. And luckily, she found traces of her own existence within that tunnel. Little gem fragments she had scattered across it. They were getting closer to her main burrow. The Ruby Dog sighed in relief, stopping for a moment to wipe her forehead with her overly sized paw, when Lunaris following closely behind her seemed to trigger a small quake...

 

"We've got to move faster. The foundation here is... apparently weak,"

 

Anatase tried speeding up, but the quakes became more and more frequent, until the ground fell in beneath them. They didn't go tumbling down for very long until they had landed in a spacious cave.  It was mostly empty, but was oddly lit up by a strange rosey glow off in the distance. This wasn't a burrow that she recognized...

[Klopp 2,050]

It was not a very good feeling, to have the ground start shaking the way it was. He was starting to worry that the roof might collapse on them, but in fact the opposite happened. As he fell through into the cave below, he flipped forward and landed on his back with a heavy thud. He could see, sort of. The walls were barely being lit by the source of light in the distance. He rolled up onto all fours again, and looked in the direction of the light.

 

"Ouch... that was unpleasant. Is this where you were trying to take us? What is that weird light over there?"

 

He had to squint, trying to get a good look at the glow, but it could only be seen as a small speck of a blur.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

Her eyes scanned the area, still laying on the ground for several moments to rest from the enormous physical effort she had to exert and from the fall. Yes, she didn't recognize this burrow at all. It was far too large to be one of hers and was marked with a very distinctive scent, which could only mean she had stumbled across...

 

"No... this has to be a Gem Den. Uh... some Ruby Dogs apparently make a huge den for their rarest gems. I can only guess that's what that light is... we have to leave. If they find out I've been in here... well, they're very defensive about their treasures," As soon as she finished saying this in hushed tones, she quickly got to her feet, her ears alert. Anatase couldn't hear or smell the owner of the Den, just the residuals of their markings as a rare area of ownership. For now.

[Klopp 2,050]

It was rather ominous, this large open cavern, with a mysterious glow in the distance. It wasn't natural, obviously, so maybe it was one of these Gem Dens that she mentioned. Seemed a bit weird to Lunaris, that they would just make these things that any other Ruby Dog might stumble upon. But that wasn't his business. Neither was the strange glow... but he felt allured by it. His curiosity becoming stronger each second.

 

"Oh... Well, I can understand that. But are you sure we can't take a look? It certainly wouldn't do any harm to just see this gem, would it?"

 

Without waiting for a response he started to slowly walk towards it. Then he stopped himself and turned back towards her.

 

"Besides, those small tunnels were very cramped and I'd like a little time to stretch. In here I can even spread my wings without hitting the walls. Besides, you should probably rest after all that digging."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

Anatase had the feeling he'd probably say something like that. This Lunaris seemed like the type of character who just wouldn't leave well enough alone. 

 

"I really really don't think we should... this scent marking is really powerful. Somebody clearly doesn't want us here," Her tone was rather imploring, and she became more and more uncomfortable the more time they spent here. That scent was actively repelling her away from the treasure, only becoming more powerfully unpleasant as she got closer to it. He probably couldn't detect it due to not being a Ruby Dog. Dammit.

 

Deciding to take on a more active role, she began searching the ground for a more sturdy way out, one that she could cover up easily and make it look as though they had never been here. The sooner she dug a way out, the quicker she could convince him to leave.

[Klopp 2,050]

He was much to intrigued by this unusual glow, and he had to know what sort of thing might be emitting light in such a way. He continued moving towards it. "It'll be alright. I'm not going to do any harm. I'm just going to see what this thing is, that's all."

 

As he got closer to it, he could tell it appeared to be a perfect sphere. A strange pinkish sphere that certainly couldn't be something created naturally. He got really close to it, and could smell a strange soothing scent coming from it. It's not something he had ever smelled before, but it made him relax almost instantly. It was almost like he was becoming addicted to it. His curiosity continued to overpower him and he reached out and touched it with his talon.

 

The sphere reacted to his touch, turning from it's soft pink, to a much brighter, more vibrant red. He wasn't sure why it did that, but at this point he decided it best not to poke at it any further. It seemed to have some kind of magical powers and, unless he knew what he was dealing with, he didn't really like to mess with those.

 

"Woops... I guess this thing doesn't like me? I probably shouldn't have done that. Doesn't look like anything bad happened though."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

"Come on!" The Ruby Dog hissed, having found an appropriate patch of dirt to escape through and already having made a sizable tunnel hole back towards the surface. Her paws were starting to ache even more, but she just needed to find her way back to her own tunnel. The one where she had left a trail of small gem fragments. It was probably above this tunnel, parallel to it. For a moment, she wondered why she had never stumbled upon it accidentally... but that was probably due to that strong repelling smell. Coupled with the fact that nothing as heavy as Lunaris had probably ever entered these tunnels before.

[Klopp 2,050]

"Sorry... I just get distracted easily. I'm coming now!"

 

He finally followed her towards the hole, and started making his way through. This hole underground thing was completely strange to him. All these tunnels she had made, and then this weird cave with a weird sphere thing in it. He was wondering if any gophers popped up in there at all. They might ruin the tunnels, or something like that.

 

"All this spelunking is good and things, but I'd really like to get to the surface again. I hope you can find that thing of yours quickly, whatever it is."