Limestone Pie walked to a rock, slamming a heavy pickaxe down on it. It shattered, the debris falling to the ground. She took a minute to wipe the sweat off of her brow before plopping heavily on the ground. Today had been a busy day of work for the ten-year-old filly. She enjoyed working on the rock farm, sure, but she usually was expected to do a lot of work for her age. After a minute, she stood back up and made her way to another rock. She had to break a lot rocks today, since the Appleloosa sheriff wanted some of the rocks out of his town. The Pie family usually is the one to break rocks that other ponies want out of the land. It's a pretty simple task, and they're also pretty appreciated for it.
Limestone broke a few more rocks before sitting down again. It felt like her legs were giving out. She tried her best to stand back up, and accomplished her task. Her parents had always told her to never give up on tasks, and she wasn't going to let herself fail them.
She heard hoof-steps approaching her from behind. After breaking the rock in front of her, she turned to find her father, Igneous Rock, looking down at her.
"Thou sees that you have been working with these rocks all day, Limestone," he said as Limestone gently placed the pickaxe on the ground.
"Yes, father, I have."
Igneous nodded. "Does thou want a change of work? Perhaps in the crystal mines?"
Limestone's ears perked up as her eyes widened. The crystal mines! Her parents never let her go in there! The mines are filled with... well... crystals, and many other rare and expensive minerals. Those crystals are mined and sold to whoever needs them, and the Pies are paid a lot of money for it all. Limestone, along with her sisters, are rarely ever permitted in the crystal mines because of how delicate things are. Limestone put on a bright smile as she pictured all of the beautiful crystals in the mine.
"Yes! I've always wanted to go in there!" Limestone replied as she started bouncing up and down, her smile spreading.
Igneous gave his daughter a warm smile. "Alright. Shall we be off?"
Limestone nodded her head. "Absolutely." She then started to trot away as Igneous cleared his throat.
"You're forgetting something, Limestone," he said as he motioned towards her pickaxe lying on the ground. Limestone's eyes grew even bigger.
"You're even letting me... mine the crystals?!" She asked, surprised.
Igneous nodded. "Of course. I have to teach thou one day."
Limestone smiled even brighter before looking at her flank. "Though... I don't even have my cutie mark yet! Even Pinkie got hers before me!"
Igneous pat her on the back. "It's okay. Everypony finds their special talent at different moments." He then started in the direction of the mines. "Are thy ready?"
Limestone nodded. "Of course!"
Limestone happily hit the tops of the crystals with her pickaxe. After a few small strikes, it fell from the low roof of the mines. She reached her hoof out to catch it. She then observed it very closely. The shiny pink surface felt cool to the touch. The whole cave was filled with crystals like these. They are naturally made, so it's a good, continuous supply of crystals.
Limestone looked over to see that Igneous had stopped working. His ears twitched as a look of confusion appeared on his face.
"Limestone, you stay put. I hear something in the back of thy mines," he said as he started walking towards the back of the mines.
Limestone watched him walk away for a few seconds before she continued mining. Each crystal looked different, but amazing all the same. This was a very nice change of scenery compared to the gray rocks. She continued with mining a blue crystal on the bottom of the mine. It seemed to shine even brighter than the pink ones.
Limestone picked it up, and like all the other ones, closely looked at it. She knew her sister, Maud, had hopes of researching rocks and crystals when she grew up. Maybe I could bring a few of these to her... she thought as she walked over to group the blue crystal with the others.
Her train of thought was broken when she heard a scream coming from the back of the cave. That kind of sounds like...
"Dad!" Limestone burst as she dropped her pickaxe and crystal on the ground. She took off as fast as she could, running to where she heard the scream. Her heart was pumping in her chest. She couldn't bear to think of what might have happened to her dad.
She neared a darker part of the cave, and used all the energy in her body to continue running. Her legs were sore from walking all day, but she put that behind her. She had to save her dad. She wouldn't let anything get in her way.
She came to a room where she saw a hole in the ceiling, light shining into the cave. She looked down to see a few rather tall dogs standing in an upright position. It looked like they had dug the hole, considering their large paws were all dirty. They also looked pretty scary. Limestone's ears folded back. She then looked to see Igneous holding his fore-hoof with the other. It looked like those beasts had hurt him. They were laughing as they picked up some crystals from the small room.
A spark of fury went off in Limestone. She normally doesn't get this angry, but this pushed her over the limit. She jumped in front of her dad and tried her best to look intimidating, which was pretty difficult for her size.
"Who are you and why are you here?! You have better things to do than hurting other ponies!" Limestone shouted as the dogs looked at her.
"Eh, well, you have some great crystals in 'ere. We want 'em."
Limestone's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, but you can't get away with those crystals! Especially not since you hurt my dad!"
One of the dogs pretended to be scared. "Oh no! I'm so scared of a little filly!" He said before all the dogs started to laugh.
Limestone felt a few tears swell up in her eyes. The tears quickly turned to anger.
"Get out of here!" She yelled as she charged forward, ignoring all the tears. She turned and hit one of the dogs with her hind legs, causing it to drop all the crystals in its hands. The other dogs stared at Limestone with wide eyes before picking up the crystals that were scattered on the floor.
"I don't think so!" Limestone yelled before kicking the other dog, making it fall over. Working on hooves on day really helped Limestone kick the dogs over. The two dogs who were hurt climbed out of the hole at the roof of the cave.
"Come on! We can't get anywhere with this filly blockin' the pathways!" One yelled as the dog left in the cave quickly gathered some crystals. It then jumped out as well. Limestone looked up to see them running away with a handful of crystals.
"Not today!" She yelled as she got ready to charge. However, she was halted by her dad picking her up. She turned to find him looking at her, his eyes wide with surprise.
"No. Don't chase those beasts. They're fine," Igneous said as he put her back down. Limestone's ears folded back before more tears welled up in her eyes. She let a few of them pour out before Igneous put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
"What's wrong, Limestone? You saved me, as well as thy mines. I had no idea you had that kind of assertiveness," Igneous said as Limestone looked up to him, her eyes glossy.
"Y-you're not mad at me?" She asked as Igneous nodded his head and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm not. You showed a lot of courage just then. And I'm very proud of you."
Limestone smiled as she hugged him back. "Thanks."
The two hugged for another moment before separating. They then smiled at each other before Limestone grew a look of determination in her eyes.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Limestone?"
Limestone took a breath before continuing. "I-I promise to protect the rock farm just like that for the rest of my life. It needs somepony dedicated to protect it."
Igneous gave her a warm smile. "Well, if you desire to protect it, then maybe you can be an owner of thy farm when you're older?"
Limestone looked at her father in awe before smiling brightly. "Really?! You'll let me own the rock farm?!"
Igneous nodded. "Of course. You are the oldest, after all."
Limestone smiled grew even more, if that was possible, as she hugged him again. "Thank you! I promise to not let you down, and to protect the farm no matter what!"
Igneous gasped in surprise. "Uh... Limestone..."
Limestone pulled apart from him. "Yes, dad?"
Igneous silently pointed to her flank. Limestone whipped around to see a cutie mark on her flank. It looked like a lime above two stones. Her heart jumped for joy.
"My cutie mark!" She shouted as she started jumping around her father, her face full of joy.
Bonus Chapter: Just Like I Told You
After the Hearth's Warming fun was over and the Apples had went home, Limestone and Igneous stood alone in the living room. The fire was crackling in the background, filling the room with heat. Igneous let out a sigh.
"Limestone?"
"Yeah?"
Igneous looked at her in confusion. Silence hung over the two for a few seconds. "Why?"
Limestone raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"
Igneous looked to the ground. "Why did thou treat the Apples with such... bitterness?"
Limestone stood in silence for a minute. "What?"
"Thy heard me, Limestone. Why was thou so bitter?" He asked a second time, his eyes having a small trace of a glare. Limestone looked around before sighing.
"I-I did what I told you."
Igneous raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And what was it thou told me?"
Limestone looked around the room again, remembering her past. "Do you remember... when I got my cutie mark? When I protected you from the dogs in the crystal mines?"
Igneous nodded without hesitation. "Of course I do. That was the largest change I had ever seen in you."
Limestone nodded. "Well, I also promised to protect the rock farm, just like I protecting the mines from the dogs, for the rest of my life. I-I had to make sure they knew not to mess with the rock farm. Plus, I also partially own it. I don't want something happening to my rock farm."
Igneous sighed. "Limestone, they were not going to hurt the farm. Pinkie wouldn't have invited them over if they were the type to hurt property."
Limestone's ears folded back. "I... I'm sorry, dad. I just... well... wanted to make sure the farm was alright."
Igneous smiled at these words as he pulled her into a hug. "Limestone, don't feel obligated to have to be bitter to protect thy farm. I am proud that thou doesn't want anything happening to it, but next time, don't be so rude about it."
Limestone nodded as the two pulled apart. "Okay. I'll try."
Igneous gave her a warm smile. "There's my daughter."
Limestone smiled at him. "Dad?"
"Yes, Limestone?"
Limestone flashed a small grin. "Can I still act... assertive if someone tries to touch Holder's Boulder?"
Igneous thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes. You may."
