drama The Brave One - or How Earth Ponies came into Existence

[Phosphorous 135]

The Brave One

or How Earth Ponies came into Existence

by Phosphorous

 

 

Dr. F. Goodblood, a worn down mechanical engineer, was sitting with his two great-grandnieces and his great-grandnephew. “Do you want to hear something interesting?” He asked the fillies and colt.

“Of course.” Miss Purity, the oldest of the three cousins, replied.

“Once upon a time, there were no Pegasi, no Unicorns, and no Earth ponies. Life was difficult. Ponies toiled through their days. Colorful manes and fur did not exist; everypony was a shade of drab brown or grey. Cutie marks were a term that was never heard of before. Ponies, in all of their suffering, were unkind to eachother. It wasn’t like anything anyone nowadays can imagine; the situation was worse than anything anypony can dream up in their worst nightmares. Beyond the daily aches of daily manual labour, the weak-bodied ponies were placed into conflict against eachother over trivial things such as the shade of their fur. There was no energy left for mercy. If someone had a poor harvest, they would be left starving.

There were few ponies which challenged the way that things were. The ruler at that time, a cruel stallion named Ironhoof, was intolerant towards the intellectuals that toiled their minds daily, searching for solutions that would make the world a better place. The tyrant knew that his power was walking on thin ice. He was an intelligent, but evil stallion. He knew that the new technogies and ideas being developed by the intellectuals posed a risk to the current state of the world, and his own powerful seat.

One of the brave ponies that stood against him was Alloy. Alloy was a student of Proffesor Openheart, the pony who pioneered a new field of enginnering that involved modifying heriditary material. His proffesor was regularly brought into question by Ironhoof’s accomplices. Labs were broken into, materials unlawfully seized, and research was destroyed.

Several weeks after Alloy was granted his doctorate, Openheart gave him a box in secret. ‘I may not last much longer in this cruel, harsh world. Everyday, I am tormented and threatened by Ironhoof’s ever growing grip on society. But, deep in my heart, I know that this regime of fear and hatred will not last. All is not lost. I need you to continue the research in a safe space.’

Inside the box, there was a key and an adress. The address led to a secret, but high-tech laboratory in a remote area of Metallia. There, he continued the research, the hereditary material splicing which resulted in the creation of the first earth pony.”

The little filly, Rose Copper, raised her hoof. “In school, we were told that earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns have always existed. There was never a first earth pony.”

Dr. Goodblood laughed. “In school…” He adjusted his glasses. “What incentives do the teachers have to give you information that even they don’t have, information that has been supressed by Celestia.” He recalled his memories. “When I was much younger, several of my fellows found ancient artifacts of Alloy’s notes, Ironhoof’s correspondences, and etcetra. They even found Alloy’s lab by piecing together different hints found in various places. Celestia eventually caught ahold of us.” Goodblood took took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. “That tyrant! She had her cronies infiltrate our homes, seize all of the artifacts, and burn them to dust in front of our eyes.” Tears pooled up in front of his dark chocolate eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” Rose said calmly.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. That tyrant felt that her power was threatened by the same technology that once led to the overthrow of another tyrant. Neither I, nor my fellows have visited the lab since that incident, for fear that the location might be revealed, and Celestia would order it to be demolished.

Anyways, on to what happened with Alloy. Alloy was succesful at making the first Earth Pony. She was a darling that resembled most ponies back then;  with a brown fur, mane, and eye combination. Her name was Steel Alloy. Dr. Alloy kept the creation of this filly a secret, but Ironhoof somehow suspected what was done. In reaction, the Ministry of Propoganda pumped out novellas and short stories ‘exposing the danger of creating a pony powerful than most’.”

“Can you tell us what was in those stories?” Bronze, the colt, asked.

“In one of those poorly-written, mass produced propoganda pieces, a stock character mad scientists makes a group of enhanced ponies. The enhanced ponies then destroy everything in their way, capture the world, and enslave every other pony. These stories were only made to distribute negative perspectives on pony improvement to everypony. They are not worth any merit. However, luckilly, the regime’s plan failed, for it is impossible to cover up the truth no matter how many words are published.

Steel was far from the stock enhanced ponies portrayed in the dime novellas. She had a generous heart, When other ponies lacked the strength to do a task, she would aid them. I guess she had to do this, because, sooner or later, the truth about her origin would be revealed. When Ironhoof’s accomplices attempted to capture this ‘artificial freak’ by offering peasants piles of gold, the peasants refused the offer. Steel had helped them in times of need, while Ironhoof’s regime stood voluntarilly ignorant to their suffering. If it weren’t for Steel’s intuition regarding the ideal location of where to plant seeds, the labour of the peasants would have been fruitless. The peasants paid their dues by protecting Steel. They secretely snuck her and Dr. Alloy outside of the county. As he was running outside the county at the middle of the night, Dr. Alloy carried a metal box with himself. Back in the county, many peasants were slaughtered by Ironhoof’s accomplices for refusing to cooperate in the search for the ‘dangerous monster’.

The two Alloys moved to and lived comfortably in a province on the opposite side of Metallia. In that other province, Steel also helped many ponies using her intuition and Earth Pony strength. Dr. Alloy offered to give many mares a foal that would have Steel’s abilities.”

“Wouldn’t the stallions get angry at Alloy?” Miss Purity asked out loud.

Goodblood laughed. “At first they did. But he proved himself to be a good pony. The proto-foals which  were injected into the mares were stored in a frozen state within Dr. Alloy’s metal box. The foals which were born to these mares were the ancestors to all Earth Ponies. After several years, Ironhoof’s regimes caught wind of where Alloy and Steel were. The duo then fled once again, but to a place in the central region of Metallia. This time they were more inconspicuous. It was safe this way, since Steelhoof’s forces were battling a war against fellow Metallians on two fronts. The central province was a clear, safe place.

Finally, after more than a decade of waiting, the Earth Ponies became mature. Suddenly, Ironhoof’s regine suffered a large blow. His forces weren’t strong or numerous enough to withstand the sheer power of a thousand of Earth Ponies stampeding upwards from the south. The tables were turned. It was time to strike. Steel herself found Ironhoof. Guess what her last words to him were.”

The colt and the two fillies shrugged.

“It was ‘Steel is stronger than Iron.’”