Chisel Plow is an earth pony stallion in the radioplay series Terminal Secrets. He is one of the main characters of the fifth episode of the series, AWAKE.
Biography[]
Chisel Plow was born in Grass Valley many decades before the Great War. He belonged to the greater Wheat family, but their household was the only branch of that family that lived in Grass Valley. Many of the other farmers in the region came from fruit farming families, such as the Lemons, Tomatoes, and Oranges.
Because of their large acreage of cultivated wheat, they lived on the distant edge of town. One of the plots of land near them belonged to the Corn family. Being in such close proximity in a rural community Chisel Plow got to know the family very well... He especially got to know the oldest daughter, Maize Flour.
As young adults they married, and when their parents passed on, the homesteads and farms were combined into one large farm.
They would first have a son named Silo Hopper and then four years later a daughter named Edge Tiller (often called Tilly).
Unfortunately, when Tilly was still a toddler, there was an accident.
Maize was cleaning the upper loft of their barn when an old board gave way. She fell through the floor and landed on the hard concrete foundation below. She didn't survive the fall.
Chisel Plow was heartbroken, but the kids would not remember much of her, only her absence. He raised them as well as he could as a single father. His personality was already fairly stubborn, so Plow doubled down on some of his own inclinations to bring more grounding and stability to their young family rocked by death. It would benefit the children to some degree, but it became impossible for Plow to hide his bitterness and cynicism.
The Great War would enter the news more and more, and Plow would try to ignore it as much as he could. Only when the Kingdom began purchasing large bulks of crop did he become personally involved.
Silo Hopper, now in his twenties, wanted to volunteer but Plow forbid it. Lucky for Plow, the Army agreed, as Hopper was much more useful to Equestria being the best farmer he could be.
The years passed and the war seemed to only grow worse. Eventually, there was word that a Stable-Tec stable was being built in Grass Valley.
Chisel Plow once more tried to ignore it, but Silo and Tilly pressed him to submit an application. The kids made a similar recommendation to the Tomato family as well.
Upon being approved for the application, Plow and the family were summoned to Stable 10 for a medical examination.
Resistant at first, Plow went with his children and met with the Stable-Tec representative, Doctor Fractal.
After receiving a vitamin shot, Plow nodded off for a second in his chair before returning home.
From that point, Chisel Plow's life would branch many times as he, his children, and hundreds of other Grass Valley farmers were now unwitting subjects of the Stable 10 simulation.
Quotes[]
- "I don’t intend to die anytime soon, you think I’m scared of a bunch of striped mules? Even if the lot of potion-brained cannibals did get a bomb off somewhere, they sure as Tartarus aren’t going after Grass Valley. It’ll be the chucklefucks in Manehattan that get a wake-up call."
- "Goddess-dammit boy my heart is fine! I’ll probably outlive a soft, soy-belly like you." - Chisel Plow (to Silo Hopper)
- "I think it’s noble that we held onto the land as long as we could. And as far as I’m concerned that is still my land. I am going to stand in my farm again one day no matter what."
- "I sure did! The new wheat on Old Oak’s land is springing up like it was kissed by the heavens. Maybe all this accursed radiation can actually start working for us. Grow us some GIANT wheat and GIANT Corn."
Behind The Scenes[]
- Chisel Plow was voiced by Jack Nolan.
- Plow and the family are named after farming equipment rather than the crops themselves.
- Chisel Plow is heavily inspired by the "ornery old farmer" trope, specifically Eustace Bagge from "Courage the Cowardly Dog" and Beau Bennett, the Sam Elliott character from the Netflix series "The Ranch."