"Did you hear?" came Igneous's voice.
The china made a small clinking noise as Cloudy turned from the sink, glancing back at her husband standing in the doorway. Her glasses hung low on the bridge of her nose, so she scrunched up her face in a vain attempt to move them farther up her face. She would've moved them up with her hooves, but they were currently submerged in the lukewarm water with the china, working on the monotonous task of cleaning the plates from dinner.
"No, dear," she said, eyeing the letter he was looking down at in his hooves. "What happened now?"
Igneous read a couple more lines of the letter before speaking.
"Wow. You're not going to believe this, but Inky and Blinky were just named master quarrymares at the crystal mines!" he said, a wide smile splitting the familiar frown he wore.
"No way!" Cloudy said, sudden elation filling her chest. "They got there less than two weeks ago!"
"According to this, the head miner from the Empire was so impressed with their knowledge of stone cutting and element composition, he had them named quarrymares in the newest tunnels," Igneous read, scanning the page again. "They now report directly to Prince Shining Armor!"
"Oh, good for them," Cloudy said with a wide grin. "I'm so proud of them!"
"As am I," Igneous added, beaming back. "I need to go tell Limestone and Marble Brick. They'll go nuts!"
Igneous turned to go out the door and took a step before pausing and turning back to Cloudy, a sober expression on his face.
"It can wait, though," he said. "I should help you with the dishes."
"No, no. I'm fine," Cloudy said, still smiling. "You go run along and tell everypony the good news. Maud's almost got her rocktoriate, Pinkie's an Element of Harmony and now Inky and Blinky are quarrymares! That's something worth sharing around here."
A mix of elation and concern swirled about Igneous's face as Cloudy turned back to the sink, a satisfied smile on her muzzle as she renewed her efforts to clean the dishes.
"Are you sure, Cloudy?" he asked. "It would be no trouble at all to help."
"I insist," Cloudy replied as she pulled a soapy plate emblazoned with a gray diamond in the center out of the water. "What kind of wife would I be if I couldn't handle washing dishes all by myself?"
"Well, if you're sure," Igneous said, his smile returning.
A rustle of hooves came from behind her and soon, she heard the front door open and the ever familiar sound of his hat being removed from the peg on the wall.
"I'll be back in a jiffy!" he called before the door shut.
With him gone, the gentle sound of water sloshing about filled the home as Cloudy remained rooted in her spot, looking down at the plate. The suds from the soap covered most of it, but she slowly pulled it out of the water to reveal another white china plate with a dark gray diamond-shaped rock in the middle. She stared at the center of the plate, allowing a deafening silence to fill the room. There was a small chip on the rim, right at the two o'clock mark if it were a clock. She had washed this plate many times in her life, but something seemed different now. She could recall the day the chip was made with eerie clarity, remembering Maud playing with a rock at the table while Inky and Blinky chewed on their spinach. Pinkie had wanted to play with Maud as well, so she brought in her own rock and thought it would be funny if she could get it to fly.
Needless to say, rocks were not allowed at the dinner table after that. Thankfully, all that wound up happening was the telltale chip the plate still bore, but Cloudy felt a strange urge to touch it. Lifting her hoof from the side of the plate, she gently rubbed it against the coarse porcelain and the familiar small frown she had worn for many years reemerged. Even though the plate was ruined and most likely would be thrown out eventually, she felt an odd closeness to it. All four of her daughter's voices began to echo around her head as she rubbed the rough spot, causing her frown to droop even more.
The four of them were the best daughters she could ask for. Maud was practically glued to her side for the first six years of her life while Pinkie had taught the family to smile again. Inky and Blinky were little prodigies in rock farming, listening to Igneous as he taught them the skills they were putting to use now. They had all grown up, though, from the adorable little fillies who followed her around, calling her 'momma' and kissing her on the cheek when she tucked them in at night, to wonderful mares who were taking charge of their lives. Maud was set to be the first Pie in about fifty years to earn a rocktoriate, following in the hoofsteps of her great aunt Onyx Pie. Pinkie was, incredibly, an Element of Harmony, working directly with the Princesses to save Equestria from all sorts of disasters and, with the letter they received today, it seemed Inky and Blinky were set to become members of the Crystal Harvesters who worked directly for Princess Cadance and the Crystal Empire.
Yes, they all had wonderful lives with endless opportunities in front of them and Cloudy couldn't be happier for them. Even as the thought passed through her mind, though, her bottom lip began to quiver as an intense sadness hit her like a brick wall. Her hooves began to shake as she dropped the plate back into the water, steadying herself with a hoof on the edge of the sink and the other pressed against her forehead. Suds and water ran down her foreleg and her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to hold back a wave of tears she was unprepared for. Despite her best efforts, though, they broke through the cracks in her eyelids and rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the suds and water as they journeyed.
As the tears came, so did the sobs. Cloudy did her best to make them stop as well, holding her breath and remaining as still as she could, but a cold shiver ran up her back and they tumbled out, becoming more numerous as she tried to fight back. Unwelcome images of Maud, Pinkie, Inky and Blinky stormed into her mind, each one depicting them as she had wanted to remember them. Maud hugged her leg with a bright smile as Cloudy patted her mane while Pinkie beamed with all her might in front of the table of punch. Inky and Blinky smiled widely as Cloudy handed them two fragments of red quartz she had found when she was their age and many more memories poured in behind those.
Pulling herself away from the sink, Cloudy stumbled across the wooden floor, wiping away tears as she made her way to the table. Only two chairs remained of the five that once surrounded the table, but Cloudy pushed one of them back and planted her rump into it before burying her head into her forelegs. Once securely inside the fortress of her legs, she allowed the tears and sobs to take hold. Countless groups of both made themselves known as she let loose, reflecting on the memories of each of her precious daughters. As she did, the overwhelming sadness that had hit her began to wrap around her like a wet blanket, smothering any warm spot she had. The room turned ice cold and all Cloudy could allow herself to do was keep crying. Countless minutes passed before she could hear the front door open and Igneous frantically calling her name.
"Cloudy? Cloudy!" he shouted as he ran into the house. "Cloudy, where are you!"
Cloudy tried to lift her head, but the instant she saw him bolt into the doorway, the weight became too great and it fell back into the comforting darkness of her forelegs.
"Cloudy!" he shouted again as he rushed over to her.
He immediately wrapped his forelegs around her and tried to pick her up, but she pushed away from him, causing a spike of terror to build in his chest.
"What happened?" he asked, hoping she would at least speak to him. "Are you hurt? Did somepony come by while I was gone? Tell me!"
Cloudy shook her head without lifting it, smearing her tears into her fur.
"Why are you crying? Was it something I said? I'm sorry if I upset you!" Igneous shouted, desperation building in his voice.
Cloudy shook her head again, silencing Igneous's apologies.
"What is it then? You can tell me. You can tell me anything, remember?" Igneous said, his voice taking on a pleading tone. "Are you unhappy with this life? If you are, we can leave tomorrow and I'll sell the farm. Just talk to me, please."
Cloudy shook once again, still refusing to lift her head.
"Is everypony alright? Did you hear something about Maud or Pinkie? Are they hurt?"
The genuine terror in Igneous's voice, mixed with the mention of her daughters's names, finally got Cloudy to lift her head and look at him. Through her blurry vision, she could still see his golden eyes quivering, as if he was afraid he had gotten the problem right.
"No," he mumbled. "No. What happened? Is Pinkie hurt? Did Maud get her leg crushed by a boulder? Did they need to amputate it?" he asked.
Cloudy shook her head once more and drew a breath as she did. Once she had one, she looked Igneous in the eyes and managed to suppress a sob.
"I miss them!" she cried, throwing her forelegs around him and burying her face into his neck.
Renewed sobbing rang out in the room as Igneous put his forelegs around her and squeezed gently, nuzzling his wife on the back of her neck.
"Oh, I see," he said is a calm and low voice. "It's okay. I miss them, too."
"T-They all have l-lives and j-jobs a-a-away from us!" Cloudy wailed into his neck. "I w-wish they would j-just c-come home!"
Igneous said nothing as he squeezed his wife closer to him, gently stroking her back.
"I know, Cloudy, I know," he cooed. "And they will, but they grew up and made their own decisions. Nothing we could do would stop them from doing that."
"B-But they are all a-alone!" Cloudy cried. "A-Alone and w-without their M-Momma and P-Papa to guide them!"
She shoved her face deeper into his neck and cried even harder, making Igneous wince. Cloudy had never cried like this, at least not since her father's funeral when Maud could barely walk and Pinkie was still drinking bottles of milk. He remembered holding Cloudy as she cried, pressing Pinkie between them while Maud held onto his hoof, watching the procession despite not knowing anything about it. He grit his teeth as he hugged Cloudy more firmly, determined to let her know he wasn't going to let her go until she stopped crying.
"Cloudy," he said, his voice gentle. "We did what we could for them. We raised them right and look at what they became. I'm sure they will be fine without us."
"B-But that doesn't m-make me miss them any l-less!" Cloudy replied.
Igneous tightened his grip on her even more, careful not to hurt her.
"I know, Cloudy. I know better than anypony else," he mumbled. "But all we can do now is hope they remember what we taught them. They're grown mares and they need to make their own decisions and we, as their parents, should be supporting in every way."
"I-I just w-want my little f-fillies back!" she wailed before renewed sobs took her over.
Igneous kept his mouth shut after that, remembering an old idiom his father always told him: be seen and not heard. The weight of those words seemed to take on new meanings as he held onto Cloudy, knowing she had to get this out without his interference. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. Celestia knew he agreed with her. He wanted those little fillies back almost as much as he wanted them to grow up into fine young mares. He could recall the wide smile Pinkie had given him at her first party, Maud playing hide-and-seek with her pet rock and Inky and Blinky following him around as he worked the rock farm, asking questions that he would have to think about. They were his fillies as much as they were Cloudy's.
Together, the two of them sat at the table, hugging each other as tightly as they could until Cloudy's sobs eventually subsided into small hiccups. When she pulled back from him, he let her go and offered his hat to her. She gulped, but took it and dabbed her eyes with its brim as he gave her a small smile.
"Cloudy, I love you and so do your daughters," he said in the most caring tone he could make himself speak. "Just because they moved away and have lives now doesn't mean they don't love you any less."
"But, *hic* why did they h-have to go s-so far away?" she asked, her eyes puffy.
Igneous shook his head, but kept his smile.
"There's a whole big world out there for them to discover," he said. "What kind of parents would we be if we kept them here?"
"I-I just w-want to see them again," Cloudy said, her hiccups becoming the hasty breaths that warned of incoming sobs.
"You will, sweetie. You will," Igneous said, brushing a loose strand of mane from her face. "Pie's always come back to this farm, even if they move away."
Cloudy looked at him with her bloodshot and puffy eyes, the sadness still evident on her face. Igneous, deciding it was now time for him to be seen and heard, placed one hoof on the side of her head and the other on the opposite side, focusing her gaze on his.
"That letter from Inky and Blinky was addressed to you, Cloudy," he said. "They didn't mention me in it until I was halfway through it. The whole thing was addressed to you and you alone, sweetie. I think that says how much they care about their Momma."
"B-But why go?" Cloudy asked. "We h-have a p-perfectly good rock farm here and y-you can't tend it forever."
Igneous shook his head and smiled once again. "You're right, I can't. But that doesn't mean we need to have them condemned to work here for the rest of their lives. We'll manage, Cloudy. If I have to hire some help, I will, but for now, we can manage while they enjoy the world."
Cloudy adverted her gaze, looking down at the floor. Igneous took that as his cue to release her gaze and pulled his hooves back, leaving her to sit alone while he stayed with her. A long silence ensued as Cloudy stared at the floor and Igneous stared at her. Eventually, though, she glanced back up at him and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Igneous," she said in a hushed tone. "I shouldn't have done that."
Igneous smiled again and placed a hoof under her chin. Gently, he lifted her head up until her muzzle was parallel with his and stared into her bright blue eyes, the same ones Pinkie had inherited.
"No, I'm glad you did," he responded. "Tell you what. The harvest will be here in a couple weeks, so after I get the fresh crop out,we'll take a small vacation to Ponyville and then to the Crystal Empire."
Cloudy's eyes shrunk and quivered, but they regrew to an enormous size and her lip quivered again, as if she was about to cry. Before he could react, he found himself embraced into a firm hug as she held onto him, much like Pinkie used to.
"I love you," she whispered.
Igneous smiled and hugged her back, placing his chin on the crown of her head.
"I love you, too," he said.
Author's Note
Written in a bout of loneliness I had one night. It's surprising how well this works to alleviate depression.
And Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock need their own character tags.
