Ch. 1 - Fears for the Farm
Ch. 1 - Fears for the Farm
Dawn broke over the landscape of the Rock Farm, casting a long shadow from Holder's Boulder all the way to the small cottage. Gems stuck in the field rocks glittered and shown in the days fresh light with a mild rainbow of colours that illuminated the usually dull ground like the walls of a dragons cave. It was this morning event that Igneous Rock Pie lived for every morning and one that he would not be able to witness except by the small cottage window for the foreseeable future. His mind well aware of this thought, he let out a sigh as he gazed out the window from his bed. His action roused his wife Cloudy Quartz from her slumber as she got up and walked over to his bedside.
"There is no need no cause for concern, my dear. The farm will manage while you recover from your injuries. Boastful though she was when Pinkamena and her friend's family arrived for Hearths Warming, our eldest was not mistaken in saying she maintains the farm."
"Tis not the management of our livelihood that weighs heavily on my shoulders. I am well aware that Limestone, though young and rash she may be; will see that our family's home is well looked after and it is that thought that fills me with pride. What places me in my mood this morning is the thought of becoming sedentary whilst my family does what I would otherwise be able to assist in."
With that, Cloudy Quartz placed a hoof on his shoulder and drew him closer to her. "Do not let your mind be troubled by these thoughts. We know that were thou in peak condition thou wouldst be out there now to assist with the harvest."
Igneous Rock reached out to embrace his wife but winced in pain as instinct prompted him to use his right hoof despite it being the one he had crushed between the mine carts. "Not a day goes by without my thankfulness to the choosing stone for providing me with such a wonderful wife." He said as he caressed her mane, which had yet to be put into a bun; with his other hoof.
"Nor is my thankfulness any less for it having provided such a caring husband for me." She said with a smile. And with that she arose from her husbands side and began to wrap her mane up. Igneous looked away as she did as it was considered rude to watch a mare prepare herself, despite them having had four children together and having been married for well over 25 years.
"There is but one thing that concerns me in regards to the farm," He said as he looked out the window. Limestone and Marble had already started chipping back the crystals that sprout up from the mine occasionally.
"What troubles you my dear?" Cloudy Quartz asked, buttoning her collar and putting her glasses on.
"The order put forth by Princess Luna, the date of pick up draws near and we still have yet to even mine half the requested crystals. I fear that we may soon fall short of our promised amount and not be able to complete the order."
"Fret not, I sent letters to both Pinkamena and Maud alerting them to our situation and requesting that they come home for the time being."
"Despite this I fear that it will not be enough. I do not like drawing Maud away from her studies nor Pinkamena from her passion. But if it must be done, it must be done. I only hope that providence casts a favorable light over us and doth not cause the summons of our daughters to be in vain." He said, his gaze slowly shifting from the window back to his wife.
"Worries will provide no aid in completing the order." She said, returning to his side and placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Rest now, we will endure just as we always have."
Having said this, she then turned and left to begin her duties on the rock farm. Leaving Igneous Rock to once again gaze out the window as the last rays of dawn rose from beyond the horizon.
Dawn had long since broken over Ponyville and even though most of the town was still asleep, there was one family that had been up well before the day had even been awoken. The chill in the air was just beginning to melt as Big Mac made his way back from harvesting the western fields. The weight of the six tubs of apples he pulled in the wagon behind him would be enough to cause any other pony immense strain should they attempt to pull it. Big Mac however, was no other pony. Having spent his whole life doing most of the heavy lifting in the family, he was able to pull the apples at a decent pace with only moderate effort on his part.
He had already harvested three other cartloads like this one this morning alone and was about to return to the fields to get another when a flash of pink darted past him towards the barn. Unsure of whether this was just another of Pinkie Pie's shenanigans or if she was meeting with AppleJack because of something to do with Twilight's magical map, he decided to follow to find out. When he entered the barn he saw AppleJack comforting a very upset Pinkie Pie. They were sitting in the middle of the room. Pinkie was leaning on AppleJack's shoulder, crying softly while AppleJack held her in her forelegs a look of sad helplessness on her face. She looked up as Big Mac walked in and the look on her face changed from one of sadness to hope.
"Ah think the answer to your problem just showed up, sugarcube." She said, turning Pinkie around to face Big Mac. This definitely is not what he was expecting when he saw Pinkie had dropped by. He hadn't noticed it before, but he realized that Pinkie's mane had been less bouncy than it normally was when he saw it re-inflate when she laid eyes on him. Without warning, the pink pony jumped up from to his face.
"Can you help me Big Mac?? Please please please please please PLEASE say you can!!!" She exclaimed, forelegs locked around his neck and eyes desperately imploring him to say yes.
Caught completely off-guard, he cast a desperate look to AppleJack in hopes that she could explain what was going on here. She caught on and stood up.
"Long story short, Pinkie Pie's Pa went and broke his leg and they need her to come back and help out on the farm for a bit until he gets back on his hooves. The only problem is that-"
"-Is that I already have a ton of party business I have to attend to in the crystal empire for Princess Cadence and Shining Armour's baby shower that can't be put off but my parents also have a huge order from Princess Luna that's coming up in a week and they aren't anywhere near finished mining the crystals needed out of the ground yet and-!" She would've continued on but AppleJack placed a hoof on her shoulder, prompting her to settle down.
"Basically, She was wantin' to see if one of us could go in her place. Ah was about ta say yes but then my cutie mark started callin' me to the map room and that's about when y'all came in here. Ah know that this would leave just Apple Bloom and Granny Smith here on the farm on their own which is why ah was gonna ask Rarity to lend a hoof while we're away, she owes me fer that one time in Canterlot anyway."
This was a dilemma. if he didn't there's no telling how badly the Pie's family rock farm would suffer. Though his own injury a few years back hadn't been as severe as a broken hoof, his absence had left a lot of work on his sister's back. On the other hoof however, there was the fact that if he did leave then the only pony left to work the orchard would be a unicorn who couldn't stand getting her mane frazzled. Though it was a ways into the harvest season and he and AppleJack had already taken care of most of the harvest, he had expected to finish the western fields before today was over anyway. All that would be left to do after that would be to organize all the apples by type and which would be saved to make cider with. Weighing all his options carefully, he said...
"Eeyup."
Again, Pinkie Pie jumped up and grabbed him in a hug, blinding him with the cloud of cotton candy that was her mane. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!" She exclaimed in a high pitched voice.
At first Big Mac chuckled and returned the hug. He soon however began flailing his forelegs as he ran out of air in an attempt to once again call on his sister to reign Pinkie in. She caught the message and, with no small amount of effort, managed to pry her friend off him.
"Now that that's all settled, ah reckon all three of us have some packin' ta do." And with that, AppleJack turned to her brother. "You be sure ta pull yer own weight while yer over there."
He knew his sister was being dead serious, even though he never slacked off with anything he did. Despite this, Big Mac couldn't help but chuckle. He had always enjoyed AppleJack's brashness, even if it did get her into trouble from time to time when they were younger. With a smile and a simple Eeyup, he went to go pack his bags for the extended stay at the Pie Family's Rock farm.
The train ride passed in silence for Big Mac. Being a quiet pony by nature, he wasn't one to start conversation to idly pass the time. He did, however, enjoy watching out the window at the scenery that passed by the train. At least for a while, that is. After they had passed the Everfree Forest, the landscape had become very barren; the most interesting things to look at were the mountain ranges in the distance and the occasional boulder that would run past. He had already gone through his suitcase twice before leaving, but seeing as how there was nothing else to do, he pulled it down from the luggage rack above him and began rummaging through it. He wasn't sure what all he would need, so in addition to his suitcase, he had also brought his toolbox, which was still up on the rack.
In his suitcase he had packed two sacks of apples, four jars of jam (the non-zap apple kind), a six pack of apple cider, the doll that everypony in town had gone nuts over a few years back (he gave it a quick nuzzle before putting it back), and a few spare yokes in case his broke from pulling what would be heavier loads than apples.
He sighed and put the suitcase back on the rack. He had considered packing some apple fritters and a few more ciders to share with the Pies, but he wasn't sure that they'd even want any cider, and the less that made its way off the farm before cider season, the better. Also, apple fritters didn't travel well, and he wasn't exactly skilled when it came to baking, unlike Granny Smith. The remainder of the trip was spent looking out at the landscape (or lack of one), clicking his hooves together in his seat, and walking around the train car until they pulled into the station. The station that was by the Pies' farm was established solely for their benefit, so very few ponies ever get off there; most trains ran on a track that bypasses the farm entirely. With this fact in mind, Big Mac was surprised to see that there was another pony stepping onto the platform from another train car. It wasn't until the steam of the engine cleared and he could see the pony's short purple mane and matching eye shadow that he recognized it as Maud.
"Hello, Big Macintosh," she said in her characteristic monotone as he walked up to her.
"Howdy," he replied.
"Have you seen my sister?"
"She's in the Crystal Empire right now taking care of important party business, so she asked me to come help out instead," he said, holding just a little pride in being able to say that.
"That's good. You seem like you're strong."
"Eeyup."
The two stood there in awkward silence for a moment before Maud spoke up again. "We should get going. We're already late as it is."
When the two ponies arrived on the farm, the sun was just beginning to set behind the small cottage, casting a long shadow over the fields to Holders Boulder. Marble and Limestone were storing some of the harvested rocks in the silo when they noticed the two ponies. Upon seeing who these ponies were, Marble's face lit up with a light that could barely be rivaled by Celestia herself. Limestone's, on the other hoof, became twisted with rage. She wasn't angry that Big Mac had shown up. In fact, she was glad he had because she was confident that it was his muscle that made possible the return of Holder's Boulder last year, and she felt he would be of great use here. What had filled her with rage was that she had been uninformed about his coming to HER Rock Farm beforehoof. As she and Marble walked up to greet them she maintained this air of hostility around her.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, glaring at him as though he had committed the most atrocious sin imaginable simply by setting hoof on the farm. Being a pony who tried to avoid conflict whenever possible, he was caught off guard when he was greeted with such hostility upon his arrival. Luckily, he did not have to endure it long before Maud stepped in on his behalf.
"He's here to help us mine out the special crystals for Princess Luna in Pinkie Pie's place."
Hearing this only served to bolster Limestone's rage further.
"That's so typical of her! I can't believe- No, I CAN believe she'd be irresponsible enough to just not show up when our own father is bedridden!"
"She was responsible enough to send somepony else in her place to help us during this difficult time."
"Stop defending her Maud, not everything Pinkie Pie does is as saintly as you see it!"
As the two of them bickered, Big Mac and Marble Pie slowly started backing away towards the cottage. They were silent as they walked, each finding the ground on the side opposite the other to be very interesting. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a voice that didn't sound stern, but did sound displeased.
"Marbella Ethel Pie! Why art thou not still outside helping your sister store the rocks?" Cloudy Quartz demanded. She had an air about her that was very similar to Limestone, the only difference being that where Limestone exuded rage, Cloudy Quartz radiated order. Nevertheless, it was still enough to cause poor Marble's lips to clamp shut and send shivers down her body as she stood in her mother's increasingly impatient stare. Seeing this, Big Mac stepped in and explained things to her.
"She wasn't meaning to shirk her duties or nothin', ma'am, Marble 'ere was just showin' me where I'll be restin' my head while I'm stayin' with y'all."
"Is this true, Marbella?" she asked. This caused the youngest of the Pies to jump before giving a hasty "Mhmm" in response. With that, a tension Cloudy Quartz did not know she had been holding was released, though she still maintained her demeanor. "Thank you Marbella, but I shall guide our guest from here. Please return to your chores," she said, causing Marble to nod quickly before she ran back out the door. Big Mac had feared that an awkward silence would form after she had gone, but he was glad when Cloudy Quartz spoke up again.
"I trust you have a reason for being here?" she asked. Big Mac had gotten used to explaining why he was here instead of Pinkie Pie. In fact, he expected that he would have to do so. He had not, however, expected to have to do so at so many intervals. After having explained his presence here and the situation that kept Pinkie away, hopefully for the final time, she seemed satisfied and led Big Mac to his room. "Thou shalt be staying here whilst in our service. Limestone and Marbella art bringing the chores for today to a close. Thou shalt be given thine chores on the morrow. Once today's chores have been completed, we shalt have dinner, then rest for the day to come," she said, leaving Big Mac to go prepare dinner.
Once she had left, Big Mac released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He had only just arrived and could already tell that life with the Pies was going to be quite different from the orchard. For some reason he felt like the Pies wouldn't be wanting any of the cider he brought, but he'd still bring it down to dinner anyway. At the very least he would have one for himself to help wash down the rock soup or whatever rock based meal had been prepared. As he unpacked his suitcase he wondered what Igneous Rock was like. He had briefly met him when the whole family came to the farm for Hearthswarming, but the two hadn't talked much since then. The only member of the Pies he felt he knew was Marble. Though the dialogue they shared was small, he felt a connection with her. An image of the two of them gathered around what Granny Smith had described as the choosing stone briefly flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it as he headed down to see if he could help Cloudy Quartz with dinner. She probably didn't feel that way about him anyway.
