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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Foundation
Cloudy Quartz gasped and sat up in bed.
Igneous’ eyes fluttered open, blinking blearily at his wife in the wan moonlight. “Are you okay, dear?”
“My tail started twitching again,” she said, absently rubbed her belly. “I’m due any day now, but this never happened with Maude.”
Somewhere outside a wolf howled, Igneous looked up sharply.
Besides him, she hissed. “There it comes again.”
Igneous’ eyes widened as he felt a flutter of vertigo. He looked over at Cloudy in confused disbelief before the sensation redoubled, leaving no doubt. The floor began to shake, the bed lurching as the drapes and hanging pictures swayed. Igneous reached for Cloudy and they held each other tightly, as the walls creaked and his prize rock collection rattled on the shelves. From outside came the crash of breaking pottery and a deeper rumble that seemed to resonate in their bones.
His heart was racing, and he could feel Cloudy breathing just as heavily in his embrace as the shaking continued. After a few seconds, the rumble quieted, and then the swaying began to die away. Silence soon cloaked the house, but it was much longer before he was certain that the motion had stopped completely. Igneous and Cloudy exchanged a look, then another creak sounded, and a pair of teal eyes peeked around the bedroom door.
Cloudy held out her hooves with a smile and Maud rushed forward, leaping up into her forelegs with hardly a whisper.
“Oof!” Cloudy chuckled. “Be careful, though – you don’t want to disturb your little sister.”
Maud looked up at her and nodded, eyes shining in the moonlight.
Igneous cleared his throat and levered himself out of bed. “You two calm down and try to get a bit more sleep. I’ll look around the house and clean up whatever it was that broke.”
Celestia’s sun was still just a promise on the horizon when Igneous ventured out to inspect the fields.
Prime rock farming land needed more than just an absence of vegetation. It teemed with a different sort of energy, and it took a rare sort of pony to bring forth its bounty. Igneous had earned his mark in the Canterlot quarries, but it had been a keen sense for the land that had brought him out here. When he first set hoof in the little valley he had known – this will be my legacy.
Now his ears drooped as his hoof met the earth. To the naked eye, the raked rows of gravel still marched in neat lines, making abstract patterns that precisely reflected and channeled the power beneath into the maturing rocks. Crystals formed naturally all the time, of course, wherever a bit of magic might pool long enough. But it took careful effort to form the most consistent, highest quality gems.
The sun breached the horizon, painting sharp shadows as his pacing continued, his energy rooting itself with each step. The ground still hummed with energy, but now the flow was off, shifted, drifting. It’s already going wild. Cross currents are everywhere, and the south field has flipped completely. It’s going to take months to get the eddies settled and shift all the rocks appropriately.
He shook his head as he paced further. He had planned this so carefully, sculpting the land and even deciding where to build the house. It should’ve provided steady, stable income for generations to come, with room to grow as soon as the kids were old enough to handle it.
Now? His hooves stilled. The map has been wiped clean, but the fundamentals remain. The land. My family.
His eyes narrowed and he straightened his hat.
Shadows huddled at the bases of the few skeletal trees as he doggedly drug the rake behind him. Sweat poured down his flanks as the bare stone soaked up the heat, and his head drooped as he poured his energy down through his hooves at the same time, twisting, pruning.
“Honey, it’s lunch time. You should take a break.”
Igneous trotted up to her, smiling at the cool glass of water she held out.
“How is it coming?”
“Slowly but steadily. I have shored up the most urgent areas – we might save the amethysts. The rest will take time.”
Cloudy nodded, before giving a quiet gasp, and Igneous looked over at her sharply.
“Is it another earthquake?”
She gulped, but gave him a wan smile. “No. This sensation is much more familiar. It’s time.”
Igneous’ eyes fluttered open, blinking blearily at his wife in the wan moonlight. “Are you okay, dear?”
“My tail started twitching again,” she said, absently rubbed her belly. “I’m due any day now, but this never happened with Maude.”
Somewhere outside a wolf howled, Igneous looked up sharply.
Besides him, she hissed. “There it comes again.”
Igneous’ eyes widened as he felt a flutter of vertigo. He looked over at Cloudy in confused disbelief before the sensation redoubled, leaving no doubt. The floor began to shake, the bed lurching as the drapes and hanging pictures swayed. Igneous reached for Cloudy and they held each other tightly, as the walls creaked and his prize rock collection rattled on the shelves. From outside came the crash of breaking pottery and a deeper rumble that seemed to resonate in their bones.
His heart was racing, and he could feel Cloudy breathing just as heavily in his embrace as the shaking continued. After a few seconds, the rumble quieted, and then the swaying began to die away. Silence soon cloaked the house, but it was much longer before he was certain that the motion had stopped completely. Igneous and Cloudy exchanged a look, then another creak sounded, and a pair of teal eyes peeked around the bedroom door.
Cloudy held out her hooves with a smile and Maud rushed forward, leaping up into her forelegs with hardly a whisper.
“Oof!” Cloudy chuckled. “Be careful, though – you don’t want to disturb your little sister.”
Maud looked up at her and nodded, eyes shining in the moonlight.
Igneous cleared his throat and levered himself out of bed. “You two calm down and try to get a bit more sleep. I’ll look around the house and clean up whatever it was that broke.”
Celestia’s sun was still just a promise on the horizon when Igneous ventured out to inspect the fields.
Prime rock farming land needed more than just an absence of vegetation. It teemed with a different sort of energy, and it took a rare sort of pony to bring forth its bounty. Igneous had earned his mark in the Canterlot quarries, but it had been a keen sense for the land that had brought him out here. When he first set hoof in the little valley he had known – this will be my legacy.
Now his ears drooped as his hoof met the earth. To the naked eye, the raked rows of gravel still marched in neat lines, making abstract patterns that precisely reflected and channeled the power beneath into the maturing rocks. Crystals formed naturally all the time, of course, wherever a bit of magic might pool long enough. But it took careful effort to form the most consistent, highest quality gems.
The sun breached the horizon, painting sharp shadows as his pacing continued, his energy rooting itself with each step. The ground still hummed with energy, but now the flow was off, shifted, drifting. It’s already going wild. Cross currents are everywhere, and the south field has flipped completely. It’s going to take months to get the eddies settled and shift all the rocks appropriately.
He shook his head as he paced further. He had planned this so carefully, sculpting the land and even deciding where to build the house. It should’ve provided steady, stable income for generations to come, with room to grow as soon as the kids were old enough to handle it.
Now? His hooves stilled. The map has been wiped clean, but the fundamentals remain. The land. My family.
His eyes narrowed and he straightened his hat.
Shadows huddled at the bases of the few skeletal trees as he doggedly drug the rake behind him. Sweat poured down his flanks as the bare stone soaked up the heat, and his head drooped as he poured his energy down through his hooves at the same time, twisting, pruning.
“Honey, it’s lunch time. You should take a break.”
Igneous trotted up to her, smiling at the cool glass of water she held out.
“How is it coming?”
“Slowly but steadily. I have shored up the most urgent areas – we might save the amethysts. The rest will take time.”
Cloudy nodded, before giving a quiet gasp, and Igneous looked over at her sharply.
“Is it another earthquake?”
She gulped, but gave him a wan smile. “No. This sensation is much more familiar. It’s time.”