Limes and a Side of Chris

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Epilogue

Chapter 1

If there was one thing that Limestone Pie hated about being a rock farmer, it was having to make cart deliveries. She knew that it’s an important job to do, but she preferred to stay at the rock farm mining for rocks, collecting rocks, and making sure that things were running the way they should. However, with Maud Pie still at school, her parents starting to have trouble making long cart deliveries, and Marble Pie being a nervous wreck around other ponies, it pretty much left Limestone to make the cart deliveries. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what she was doing right now.

She was making a delivery of a large shipment of granite for a countertop, which was in the cloth covered wagon she was pulling along with her tent, sleeping bag, fire wood, food, and water, to Ponyville. She knew that the trip was going to take her two and a half day’s walk there, but she also thought that Ponyville was too close to warrant paying for both a train ticket and the cost to load her cart onto the train. By the end of the day yesterday, she realized that she would have been better off taking the train.

However, there was one thing that she was looking forward to that was making the trip more tolerable for her. Being able to see her sister, Pinkie Pie, again. In spite of what other ponies thought, she truly did love and care for her sister. She even wrote to her sister to let her know that she was going to make a delivery to Ponyville. Pinkie responded back by insisting that they have their annual sister day while she was there, since Limestone had never been to Ponyville before. Pinkie even went through the extra effort of having a confetti cannon hidden in the envelope. It was a proposal that Limestone easily accepted and saw it as a chance to finally unwind. She even had her present for her stored in the cart in a way that the granite wouldn’t accidentally crush it. But even that couldn’t stop her from feeling alone in the almost barren wasteland she was traveling through.

She’ll easily admit that she’s not the most sociable of ponies and that she has problems trusting other ponies that she meets. Then again, it probably didn’t help that she comes across as overly grumpy and always has a bit of a frown on her face, even when she’s smiling. But at the same time, she wasn’t used to being all alone either. She was used to having her parents and at least one of her sisters around her almost all of the time. Even if they didn’t talk a lot when they worked, she still felt comfortable having them around. Being on a trip for multiple days by herself just felt unsettling to her.

It also didn’t help that there wasn’t much around to distract herself with. The surrounding area was just a dry wasteland with the occasional boulder and tree, both alive and dead. If she was in a forest, then she would have been able to entertain herself by watching and listening to the wildlife, but she wasn’t even going to see the forests that surrounded Ponyville until tomorrow morning and any wildlife that was living in this wasteland was probably making sure that she wouldn’t be able to spot them. As it was now, all of her attempts to find a way to distract herself just reminded her how alone she was.

“This trip is beyond boring!” She angrily yelled out loud. “It’s the mid afternoon and I’ve been sick of this trip since yesterday. I wish Maud wasn’t in school right now, then maybe I wouldn’t have to make this delivery.”

“Hey, who’s out there?” She thought she heard a distant stallion’s voice call out.

“What was that?” She said to herself as she stopped to face the direction she thought she heard the voice from. After a few seconds of silence, she began to relax a little and said, “I guess I’m so angry that I’m beginning to hear things.”

“Hey, whoever’s out there, I need help!” She heard the voice call out again from the same direction.

“Okay, now I know I’m not hearing things!” She exclaimed when she realized she didn’t imagine the voice and undid the wagon from her barrel. “Hey.” She called out. “I’m on my way! What’s wrong?”

“My right leg is broken and I don’t know where I am. Please, help me!”

“Okay, I’m on my way. Just hold on.” She called out as she detached herself from the wagon trotted quickly, yet cautiously, to where she heard the voice from. She wanted to believe that there was an injured stallion out there, but she also couldn’t help but think that it might be a thief using the empty environment to his advantage. After about a few minutes, she called out again, “Hey, where are you?”

“I think you’re close by. I’m behind a group of large rocks.” The stallion called in relief.

Limestone turned to where she heard the stallion’s voice call from. Sure enough, there was a group of large rocks, keeping her from seeing the stallion she was looking for. “Okay, I think I see the rocks. I’m coming around, okay?” She informed him.

“Oh, thank you! I’ve been here for hours. I never thought anybody would find me.” He happily replied.

Anybody? Doesn’t he mean anypony? Limestone thought to herself. She started to walk around the rock cautiously, prepared to defend herself in case it was a trap. But when she saw who was behind the rocks, she widened her eyes in surprise. The ‘pony’ behind the rocks was somepony she wasn’t expecting to see, mostly because he wasn’t a pony.

He was like nothing she’d ever seen before. He reminded her of some of the apes she’d seen at the zoos that Pinkie Pie dragged her into, but she noticed a few differences about him. One was that he didn’t have any fur covering his light-colored body, with the exception being a brown patch of hair on the top on his hair. It also looked like he was about five and a half feet tall, which was about a foot and a half taller than she was. She also easily saw that he was fully clothed, as he was wearing a red, collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He also had black colored footwear on his feet that reminded her of some sort of boot, but much more fragile looking. She scanned the area with her eyes to see if anyone else was around, but found nobody else. This realization caused her to realize that the individual she found was the voice’s owner. After recovering from her surprise, she pointed a hoof and grumpily demanded, “Alright, what in Tartarus are you?”

The individual reared back a little bit before suddenly asking in a surprised tone, “Wait, you can talk?!? You’re the person I was calling out to?!?”

Limestone hardened her glare. “Of course I can talk!” She yelled feeling slightly insulted. “Now answer my question. What are you?”

He frowned at her as he said, “What do you mean, ‘Of course I can talk.’ Last time I checked, ponies can’t talk.”

“Well, not only can this pony talk, but this pony can also leave you here to suffer.” Limestone said bitterly. “So tell me, what are you?”

He scoffed at her before answering, “Fine, if you really need to know, I’m a human. My name is Christopher Ayers, but you can call me Chris for short. So, what’s your name?”

Limestone softened her glare as she said, “My name’s Limestone Pie, I’m a rock farmer.” She pointed a hoof at his injured leg and asked, “Can I take a look at your leg?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” He responded.

Limestone walked up to Chris and took a look at his leg. It looked like a bone in his calf was misplaced and was trying to break through his skin., “Well, I hate to say this, but you might have a fractured bone. I can probably find a way to keep it still, but you’re definitely still going to go to a doctor.”

“Gee, ya think?” He sarcastically said. “So, where’s the closest hospital?”

“Probably in Ponyville, but we wouldn’t be able to get there until tomorrow morning.” Limestone responded.

Chris scoffed at her before he amusingly said, “There’s a town called Ponyville. You’re kidding me, right? I mean, what else are you going to tell me, that the town’s filled with a bunch of ponies like you?” Limestone’s deadpanned stare caused him mood to change from amused to worried. “You’re serious, the town’s actually called Ponyville.” She nodded. “And it’s populated with talking ponies.” She nodded again. “Jesus, where the the hell am I.”

Limestone scoffed at him before saying, “How can you not know where we are? We’re in Equestria. What the hay were you doing before you broke your leg?”

“I was just taking a walk around the neighborhood before I suddenly ...fell ...through ...something.” Chris said, his voice beginning to trail off as his eyes widened. “No. No. No, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me?!?” He suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it?” Limestone asked, beginning to feel worried.

“I’m in another world. I’m in fell into another fucking world.” He yelled in a panic, accidently moving his injured leg. “Ow, god dammit!” He yelled as he winced back.

“Hey, calm down! You’re just going to injure your leg further if you move it around!” She yelled as she tried to keep him still.

“And why should I?!?” He yelled back before wincing in pain from moving his leg around again. “I should have known something was wrong when I suddenly found myself in the middle of a wasteland, but I just assumed I was somewhere else on Earth. Hell, that’s what I was hoping for. But I never wanted to imagine that I was in another world entirely! Ow!” He yelled after he moved his leg again.

“Hey, I said calm down.” Limestone angrily yelled at him.

“What the hell am I going to do know?!? Everything I own is back at home. My family’s going to think that I’m dead. Hell, I might as well be dead now! Ow, god dammit.” Chris yelled.

“That does it!” Limestone yelled as she used both of her hooves to grab his head and headbutted Chris as hard she could. The impact of which knocked Chris unconscious almost immediately. She let go of his head so she could massage her forehead. “Damn, his head was harder than I thought it was going to be.” She said to herself as she looked down at Chris’s unconscious body.

Damn, now what am I going to do. Pinkie would never forgive me if she found out I let somepony out in the wasteland. She thought to herself. She sighed before she thought to herself. Guess I’ll have to load him onto the wagon so that I can bring him to Ponyville. But first, I’ll have to do something about that leg.

Limestone searched around the area until she noticed a couple of rather large branches about thirty yards away from her. She trotted out to the branches and picked up two of them in her mouth before trotting back over to her wagon. She then tossed the branches on top of the wagon. It’ll probably be better to bring the wagon to him before loading him onto it instead of dragging his body to it. She thought to herself as she hooked herself to the wagon and pulled it over to Chris.

When she made it to Chris, she unhooked herself from the wagon and walked behind it. She pulled the branches off of the the wagon and placed them next to Chris’s injured leg. She then ripped off three pieces of cloth off of the wagon’s cover before walking over to Chris. At least he’s not moving around right now. She thought to herself as she placed the two branches on either side of his leg. Both of the branches went from his ankles to the halfway point of his upper leg. She then took one of the cloth strips and carefully tied tightly around the branches at his upper leg. Next, she tied another cloth strip around the branches at his ankle, being slightly more careful about this knot than the first one. The last cloth strip she tied around tightly around his knee.

She tested the splint to see if it was taut on his leg. Once she was satisfied with his splint, she used her forelegs to pick him up from under his arms and carefully dragged him to the wagon. To get him on top of the wagon, she first lifted him up as high as she could so that the top half of his body was resting on the wagon. She then quickly climbed up on top of the wagon and carefully dragged him across it until his entire body was resting on top of the wagon. Once she was done loading him up onto the the wagon, she jumped off of the wagon and walked towards the front of the it. She the hooked herself back onto it and continued down her path.

So, helping a ...human, I believe he said, from dying out in the wasteland. Didn’t think that was going to happen today. At least I don’t have to worry Pinkie Pie giving me an earful if ...or more like when she found out. Limestone thought as she looked back at her passenger. Her eyes suddenly widened when she realized something. Wait, I only made sure that I had enough food and water for dinner and breakfast for me. Dammit, what am I going to do about him?!?

About three hours of walking later, she suddenly heard Chris groaning. She looked back to see him sit up and placed a hand on his forehead. “Ugh, what happened?”

“You were panicking and moving your leg around too much. So, I had to knock you out.” Limestone explained.

“Damn, so that wasn’t a dream?” He said disappointingly as he layed back down.

“Afraid not.” Limestone simply replied.

“Damn.” He muttered. He then looked around as he asked, “What the hell am I sitting on?”

“You’re sitting on my wagon, stupid.” Limestone harshly replied. “What did you think you were sitting on?”

“Oh give me a break, I just woke up after getting headbutted by a certain short tempered pony.” He shot back, causing Limestone to roll her eyes. “Besides, why are you even pulling this thing? Don’t tell me you pull this thing everywhere.”

She scoffed before she yelled back, “Of course I don’t pull this thing everywhere. I’m using it to deliver some granite for a counter somepony’s making. You should be happy I had this wagon with me, otherwise that leg of yours would be dragging all the way to Ponyville.”

“...Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Chris said as he layed back down on the wagon. “Hey, who are you delivering that granite to?”

“Why do you even care?” Limestone harshly asked.

“Just curious mostly.” He relied. “Are you delivering them to a stuck up rich pony?”

“I don’t know, though their last name is Rich.” Limestone replied.

“Yeah, sounds like the name for a stuck up rich pony.” Chris said. He then sat back up to face her and said, “Hey, if you bring me to hospital, can you do me a favor and tell me whether or not I was right about the pony.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Limestone half-heartedly replied as she turned her head forward to face the trail. She then looked up toward the sun to see that the sun was beginning to set. She then turned back to Chris and said, “Hey, it’s starting to get late. I think now’s a good time for me to set up camp for us.”

“Whatever, you say Limestone. I’m just along for the ride.” Chris replied.

Limestone nodded as she looked around the area to see if there was a good spot for her to set up camp. When she saw a group of rocks that was about thirty yards to her left, she turned towards them and began to walk to them until the wagon was about ten yards away from the rocks. She then unhooked herself from the wagon and walked behind it and said, “Alright, now get off of the wagon so that I can get to the supplies.”

Chris gave her a confused frown as he said, “Okay, where am I going to go?”

“To one of those rocks, obviously.” Limestone harshly replied as she pointed a hoof at the rocks.

Chris looked at the rocks before turning to Limestone and said, “Alright, but you’re going to have to help me over there.”

“W-what?!?” Limestone replied, surprised by his comment. “You’ve got to be kidding me. They’re not that far away, so just limp to them.”

“I’d rather not accidently put too much pressure, so you’re going to have to get me to them. Like you said, it’s only for a few feet. Besides, it’s not like I’m asking you to let me ride you.” Chris said.

Damn, he’s got a point. Limestone thought as she scowled up at Chris. She then gave a frustrated sigh before replying, “Alright fine, I’ll help. But don’t do anything weird, got it?!?”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Chris said as he carefully scooted himself towards the edge of the wagon until his good leg was able to make contact with the ground. He then stood up on the one leg for a second before leaning back onto the wagon and reaching his hand out to Limestone. Limestone moved until she was on Chris’s right side and allowed him to place his hand on her back. He had to lean over in order to touch her back, but when he was able to put some of his weight on her, Chris said, “Alright, I’m ready to limp to the rocks now.”

Limestone nodded as she began to walk forward and Chris started to limp beside her. He winced whenever he moved his right leg, but he didn’t complain about the pain, which was fine as far as Limestone was concerned. After about seven minutes of walking, they managed to get to the closest of the rocks and Chris began to sat down while still using Limestone Pie as support, albeit putting a lot more weight on her. When he was finally sitting down, he took his hand off of her and said, “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem, Chris.” Limestone replied. “Now relax, I’ll go get camp set up.”

“Yeah, because I was totally thinking of going for a jog right now.” Chris sarcastically said.

Limestone rolled her eyes as she said, “Oh, shut up.” She then turned back towards the wagon and walked up to it. When she got to it, she pulled the tarp partially off and dug around the wagon until she pulled out all the supplies she needed. The supplies consisted of her tent, sleeping bag, a small pile of firewood, and a box that held all of her food and water. Once she had everything, she put the part of the tarp she took off of the wagon back on and began to set up camp.

First, she set up the tent. It was a simple a-frame that was large enough to hold at most four ponies. She set it up so that it was a few feet behind Chris so that he wouldn’t have to go far to get to it. Once the tent was set up, she threw the one sleeping bag she had into the tent. Then she carried the firewood she had left over to the center of the rock group and began to make the campfire about three feet away from Chris. She decided to make a log cabin that was about a foot high for the campfire and grabbed two small rocks that were close by. Then, with little effort, Limestone struck the rocks together once which caused a few sparks to fly towards the firewood and ignite the firewood instantly.

Chris’s eyes widened in amazement as he said, “Woah, how did you learn to do that.”

“From my pa. It’s an old family technique.” Limestone proudly replied as she tossed the rocks aside. “Now I need to grab the food. You hungry?”

“Hell yeah, I’m starving right now!” Chris excitingly replied.

She sighed in frustration a little bit as she walked back over to the wagon for the crate holding her food and water. She had hoped that his answer would be that he wasn’t hungry and could go a little bit longer without food. Not out of spite towards the human, but because she knew how much food she had left for the trip. She knew that she only had three cinnamon rolls and four red delicious apples from Sweet Apple Acres in the box. She intended to eat them for dinner tonight and then breakfast tomorrow, but now it looked like she was going to have to split the food between Chris and herself for tonight and go the rest of the trip without breakfast tomorrow.

Once she had a hold on the box, she lifted it onto ther back carried it over to the campfire. When she reached the campfire, she carefully placed in onto the ground and opened it to get the food out. She pulled out two cinnamon rolls and two apples and turned to Chris. “I hope you’re not expecting breakfast tomorrow.” She said in a frustrated tone as she passed the food over to him.

“Why do you say that?” Chris asked as he accepted the food.

“Because,” she said as she pulled the rest of the food out of the box, “this is the last of the food that I have.”

“…Seriously?” He asked with slight concern.

“Afraid so. I wasn’t exactly planning on having more than one mouth to feed on this trip.” She said as she took a bite out of one of her apples.

As she ate, Chris just sat there staring at his food as though he was in deep thought. He then suddenly perked up and asked, “Hey, can you push that box over here?”

Limestone gave Chris and surprised and questioning look as she asked, “Why do you want me to do that?”

“Because I’m going to set aside some food for you to eat tomorrow morning.” Chris simply replied.

Limestone was caught off guard by what he just said. Normally she wouldn’t argue about somepony setting aside food for her to eat, but this was somepony she just met today setting aside parts of his dinner for her to eat for breakfast and leaving nothing for himself. That was something she wasn’t expecting to happen tonight. “W-what about you?!? You’re going to need something to eat too.” She tried to protest.

“But you’re going to need the energy to get the both of us to town tomorrow.” Chris argued. “Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I skipped breakfast.”

Limestone, seeing that Chris wasn’t going to back down from his decision, reluctantly passed the box over to him and said, “Fine, but I better not hear you complain about how hungry you are tomorrow!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Chris replied as he opened the box, put one cinnamon roll and an apple back into the box, closed it, and moved it aside as he began to eat the food he still had out.

The two ate their meal in silence. Limestone didn’t want to stop eating just to strike a conversation with Chris that would result in the two of them yelling at each other. Besides, she figured that Chris felt the same way. After about thirty minutes, the both of them were finished eating so Limestone got up to place a fairly large rock onto the food box to keep any animals from getting into it. She then turned to Chris and said. “I think we should get some shut eye. Do you need help getting to the tent?”

“Will you leave me here if I say no?” Chris jokingly asked.

“Yes.” She simply answered as she kicked dirt into the campfire to extinguish it.

“Well, in that case, yes I would love some help to the tent.” Chris said as he struggled to get up, using Limestone as support once she was done extinguishing the fire.

Once Chris was up, the two of them used the same tactic as before to get him to the tent and turned Chris so that his back was facing the tent when they reached it. Chris entered the tent first by sitting down and using his good leg to push himself into it and Limestone entered once he was inside. Once she was inside, she noticed that they had another problem. There was plenty of room in the tent for the two of them, but she only had one sleeping bag with her. She looked over at Chris and noticed that he was probably the least equipped for the cold weather. So, she unrolled the sleeping bag and said, “Here, you’re getting the sleeping bag.” And passed it to him.

“Are you sure?” Chris asked in concern.

“Oh, relax and get to sleep.” Limestone exclaimed. “I’m the one with a coat of fur, I’ll be fine.”

Why is it so cold! Limestone thought angrily as she shivered violently and her teeth chattered. ‘You’re getting the sleeping bag’ I said. ‘I’ll be fine’ I said. I swear, the next time I see somepony on the side of the road, I’m leaving them there if it means avoiding this torture again. She turned her head to look at Chris to see that he was sleeping comfortably in the sleeping bag and scowled at him. Oh Celestia, look at him. If only if I had the sleeping, then I’d be the one feeling warm. Then again he’d probably suffer from hypothermia faster than I would, but I’m the one that has to get us to Ponyville tomorrow. There’s got to be a way for me to get warm without having to take the sleeping bag away from him, but how?

Then an idea formed in her head, one she was hesitant to use. I could share the sleeping bag with him, but I can’t do that! I mean, what would he think. All of a sudden, a cold breeze managed to blow into the tent that not only caused her to shiver even more, but also caused her to change her mind about the idea. Screw it, it’s a better idea than just laying here to freeze to death. She then got up and began to poke Chris with her hoof. “Chris. Hey, Chris. Wake up.” She whispered.

Chris began to stir before he groggily opened his eyes and asked, “What is it?”

“Make some room in the sleeping bag, we’re sharing it. I’m freezing my butt off right now.” Limestone explained.

“W-what?!? I thought you said you were going to be fine.” Chris exclaimed.

“Well, clearly I’m not. So, make some room in there or I’m going to make to make some room.”

Chris groaned in frustration as he started to make an opening on the left side of him large enough for her to enter. “Alright, get in.” He said.

“Thanks.” Limestone said as she carefully entered the sleeping bag with her hind legs first, being mindful of Chris’s injured leg. Once she was inside, she positioned herself so that she was laying down comfortably without stretching out the sleeping bag too much. This, however, meant that she was practically cuddling Chris with her head resting on his chest. As embarrassed as she was, she wouldn’t deny that she was much more comfortable and warmer than she was a few seconds ago.

“You comfy?” Chris slyly asked when Limestone stopped moving around.

“As a matter of fact, I am. And if you do anything weird to me while I’m asleep, I’ll break the other leg. Got it?” Limestone harshly replied.

“Wouldn’t even dream of it.” Chris answered back. Then, after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, “And...thank you, by the way.”

“For what?” Limestone asked.

“For helping me. I know I’ve kinda been an ass to you, but I really do appreciate you helping me. There’s not a lot of people where I’m from that would have done what you did for me.” Chris said as his breathing become more steady, causing Limestone to assume that he drifted off to sleep.

Regardless of that, Limestone still gave him a small smile. “Glad to hear that, Chris.” She said before she too drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight." Limestone said as she looked back at the human resting on the wagon. "You and your friends actually had 'friendly' battles with a rival frat house...by using actual fireworks?"

"Yep, that's right." Chris replied. "We became best friends with the police department fairly quickly."

"I'm sure you did." Limestone said as she turned her head back towards the road. Their morning had been simple. They woke up, Limestone packed up and ate breakfast, and the two of them went off to Ponyville. Along the way, they began to talk to each other and tell stories about some of the things they've done. Not only did this allow them to pass the time, but it allowed the two of them the opportunity to get to know each other.

"Yeah, although there was one time that somebody took it too seriously and tried to use bottle rockets in one of our firework battles." Chris added.

"I take it that that's a bad thing?" Limestone asked as she looked back at Chris.

"Considering that the bottle rockets he got were able to make a pretty sizable explosion, yes it was a very bad thing." Chris said with a frown. "So, me and pretty much everyone else drew a line in the sand and called the cops on him. That was probably the only time they were happy to see us...Well, most of us."

"And did that stop the firework battles?" Limestone asked with a mixture of curiosity and hope.

"Oh, of course not." Chris happily answered. "We just made a list of fireworks we could use. And a much longer list of what we couldn't use."

"Well, at least you guys made some standards." Limestone replied, not knowing if she should feel relieved or concerned.

"Yeah, although that wasn't as bad as the time we went to Denny's and-" He suddenly stopped as he looked ahead of the road and said, "Hey, I think I see something."

Limestone turned forward to see what Chris was looking at. In front of them was what looked like a rather large spike that was made from crystal. After a few more seconds of walking, Limestone noticed that the spike was actually a part of a large crystal star. Limestone immediately recognized what the star was and began to quicken the pace. "Hold on Chris, we're almost to Ponyville." She called back.

"That's good to hear. My leg's been hurting like a bitch." Chris replied with a sense of relief.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know." Limestone rhetorically replied as she began to enter the town. Just like Pinkie described, the town was filled with rustic looking houses as well as a few unique looking buildings that Pinkie told her were some of the various shops. Once she noticed a building that looked like a multi-story gingerbread house, she let out a sigh as she unhooked herself from the wagon and began to tense up her muscles.

"Um, Limestone, what are you doing?"She heard Chris ask her. "Aren't you going to ask anybody where the hospital is?" He asked, indicating to the ponies that were walking by and staring at him with a mix of curiosity and caution.

"Don't worry, I will." Limestone replied, not moving from her spot.

"So, why aren't you?"

"I'm waiting for somepony."

"Who are you waiting for?"

"My sister." As soon as those words left Limestone's lips, a pink blur suddenly flew out of the door of the gingerbread house and slammed into Limestone with enough force to kick up a cloud of dirt that would have put a dust storm to shame. While most ponies would have been knocked off of their hooves, Limestone, who was prepared for this, stood perfectly still.

When the dust was settled, her 'assailant' was revealed to be a pink pony with a poofy pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a yellow balloon that was in between two blue balloons. The pony was Pinkie Pie, Limestone Pie's younger sister, who was hugging Limestone tightly with a cheek pressed against hers. "Oh, Limestone, I'm so happy you're here!" Pinkie cheerfully exclaimed.

"It's good to see you too, Pinkie." Limestone said as she used a foreleg to lightly return the hug.

Pinkie then separated from the hug as she began to rapidly say, "Oh, I've got some super, duper fun things for us to do while you're here."

"That's nice, Pinkie, but-" Limestone tried to say as Pinkie kept speaking.

"Of course, that's after you deliver that granite to the Rich family."

"Yes, I know, but-"

"And after you drop off the super, freaky, alien monkey thing that's riding on your wagon." Pinkie then stood there for a few seconds before letting out a long, dramatic gasp. "Oh. My. Celestia. You brought somepony new to town. Give me a few seconds, sis, I need to plan a party really quickly!" She exclaimed as she started to run back into the building.

That was, until she was stopped by Limestone simply stepping on her tail and exclaiming, "Pinkie, I don't have time for that. I have to get him to the hospital, now!" She pointed a hoof at Chris, who was just gapping wide eyed at Pinkie

"Why, he looks fine to-" Pinkie began to say as she looked over Chris, but then stopped when she noticed Chris's leg. "Oh my gosh, his leg is broken! We do have to get him to the hospital, stat!" She exclaimed as she grabbed Limestone and tossed her onto the wagon with Chris.

Limestone just groaned in frustration at her sister when she landed. She then scooched over to Chris and propped him up so that his upper back was resting on the lower part of her chest. She wrapped her hooves around Chris and held on tightly before she said, "You might want to brace yourself."

"Why do you say that?" Chris asked in concern as Pinkie grabbed the front of the wagon with her forehooves. Then, without warning, Pinkie began to pull the wagon at a blazing speed, to the point that the world around them passed by like a blur. Limestone, for the most part, was unaffected by the speed that Pinkie was pulling the wagon. Chris, on the other hand, was screaming at the top of his lungs while trying to grab onto the cloth on the wagon.

After a few seconds, Pinkie stopped pulling the wagon and Limestone looked over to the left to see that Pinkie had parked them right in front of the hospital. "Here we are!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Ponyville General Hospital. I'll let them know about your new friend."

"Yeah, sure." Limestone said as she let go of Chris. She began to help him off of the wagon as she said, "Come on, Chris, let's get you off of this thing."

"Sure, just one quick question." Chris said as he scooted towards the edge. "What the hell just happened!?" He practically screamed.

"Ugh, just Pinkie being Pinkie." Limestone said with a eyeroll before she jumped off the wagon. "You learn to deal with it...somewhat."

"Yeah, I'm sure."He said sarcastically as he got his good leg to hang off the wagon. "Ready?"

"Yeah, go for it." Limestone said as she stood on her hind legs and reached up to Chris. Chris reached his hands until he grabbed her hooves. Limestone, although feeling uncomfortable, was able to support Chris's weight as he slowly swung his leg over the side and then slowly put his good leg on the ground. Limestone let go of Chris and got back on all four legs right as Pinkie Pie returned with a couple of nurses with a stretcher.

"I'm back!" Pinkie Pie sung out. She turned to the nurses and said, "See, I told you there was a weird alien guy out here." She then suddenly went from right next to the hospital staff to right next to Chris. "And, just like I said, his leg is currently broken."

"Oh, wow, you're right, Pinkie!" The white nurse with the pink mane tied in a bun said. "And his leg does look bad. We have to treat him right away." She and the rest of the hospital staff brought the stretcher over to Chris. He turned around when they reached him and proceeded to carefully lie down on the stretcher, which was easy for him since it only went up to his waist. "Come on," the same nurse said to the rest of the staff, "Let's get him to an operating room." They then began to quickly push him into the hospital.

As the doors opened, Limestone heard Chris trying to catch the nurses' attention by saying, "Hey, wait a minute. Can't I tell Lime-" The doors closing cut Limestone off from whatever Chris was trying to tell the nurses. Limestone stared at the hospital doors for a few seconds after the doors had closed. In a way, she was glad that Chris was going to get his leg treated, but at the same time she at least wanted to say goodbye to him.

All of a sudden, she felt a foreleg wrap around her from the right. She looked over to see that Pinkie was giving her a side hug. "So, ready for our annual Pie Sisters Surprise Swap Day?" Pinkie cheerfully asked.

"Yeah, just let me deliver this granite first." Limestone said as she removed Pinkie's foreleg from around her and walked to the wagon.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. You're bringing that to the Rich family, right?"

"Yeah, should I expect any trouble from them?" Limestone asked as she started to hook herself to the wagon.

"Well, you wouldn't have too much trouble if it was Filthy Rich you had to talk to. But since he's running his store right now, then that means the one you're going to have to talk to is-"

"This is unacceptable!" A middle-aged mare that Limestone had learned was named Spoiled Rich exclaimed angrily, pointing a hoof at the stack of granite that was resting near her house. "I expected this delivery hours ago. What makes you think that I'm going to pay you full price for it now?"

Limestone was glaring daggers at the mare. Okay, Limestone, you can make her see to reason. She thought to herself. Just stay calm, don't yell at her, and don't say anything about that...muzzle of hers. She took a deep breath before she replied, "Look, I know you're frustrated, ma'am, but take some things into consideration. I made this journey on hoof and I had some unexpected events happen to me while I was on the road. Besides, we never agreed on a specific time of delivery. We agreed on a day of delivery," She said, "and I delivered it on that day. So, pay me the payment and we'll be finished with our business."

"I don't care if you didn't have a specific time to deliver the granite or not. Like I said this was something that I wanted hours ago, because I wanted my bathroom counter top at least halfway finished by now. Now, I've had to cancel all of my plans because you didn't get here earlier. Therefore, I refuse to pay you the full payment." Spoiled Rich replied with a huff.

...You know what, screw being calm and polite! She's crosses a line! Limestone thought as she jabbed a hoof at Spoiled Rich. "Listen here, stretch snout!" She yelled. "It took me days to walk to this town to get this granite here. Could I have gotten here sooner? Maybe, but part of the reason why I got here right now was because I ran into somepony that was injured. And, out what little bit of kindness I have in my heart, I decided that I didn't want to leave him there to die, so I picked him up and gave him a ride to the hospital. And how is my good deed rewarded? By having to deal with a rotten, self-absorbed bitch who's too pissy about an inconvenience to make a payment that I was promised!"

"Why, I never!" A flabbergasted Spoiled Rich exclaimed. "How dare you treat me with such rudeness. I have half a mind to not give you any form of payment at all, and to make sure that nopony ever orders anything from you agai-"

"Mother!" A young, female voice yelled out from the house. Everyone turned towards the entry way of the house to see a pink filly with a white and pink mane and tail. She also had a tiara for a cutie mark and was wearing one on her head as well. She walked up to the two mares with a frown that was mostly directed towards Spoiled Rich. "You have a lot of nerve, mother. Teaching me about how to be a 'perfect pony' while trying to scam somepony out of a service that was provided to you." She said when she was a foot away from them, adding a bit of sarcasm when she said 'perfect pony.'

"But, Diamond Tiara, dear I was-" Spoiled Rich tried to explain to her daughter before she was interrupted again.

"Especially somepony who sacrificed her time for the health and safety for another pony. I know you're frustrated that you didn't get the granite when you wanted to, but that's no excuse to take it out on her and refuse to pay her. So, pay her what you promised her, mother." She said giving Spoiled Rich a small glare.

Is this filly for real!? Limestone thought to herself as she raised an eyebrow at the filly. There's no way that her mother's going to take a lecture from her own daughter.

"Um, yes, I suppose you're right, Diamond Tiara. Let me just...get the payment then." Spoiled Rich nervously said as she walked back to the house, catching Limestone by surprise.

Wait, she actually backed off from her daughter. Damn. She thought as she looked down at the filly.

"Sorry about my mom," Diamond Tiara said as she turned to face Limestone. "She isn't exactly the nicest of ponies."

"It's alright, kid. Thanks for the help. Still can't believe that you managed to talk your mother into paying me." Limestone said with a appreciative smile.

"Oh, it was nothing. It's kinda my special talent." Diamond Tiara said nonchalantly as Spoiled Rich came back with a bag in her mouth.

She put the bag down and frowned at Limestone. "Here, this should be the payment we agreed upon."

Limestone opened the bag and looked inside to see a large number of bits inside. She dug through the bits for a while, then picked up the bag to feel its weight. "This seems like the right amount." She said. She then walked to the wagon and placed the bag in it. "Pleasure doing business with you." She told Spoiled Rich sarcastically after hooking herself to the wagon and began to walk away.

After about a minute of walking, Limestone turned back towards the wagon and said, "You can come out now, Pinkie."

Right after she said that, Pinkie Pie jumped out of the wagon, landed right next to Limestone, and began to bounce right alongside her. "Oh good, I hate dealing with that mare. By the way, you went five minutes and forty-three seconds before you lost your cool with an unreasonable customer." Pinkie exclaimed, giving Limestone a side hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"And what was my last record again?" She asked in an uninterested tone.

"Five minutes and forty-two seconds." Pinkie happily informed.

"I see." Limestone replied as she unwrapped Pinkie's leg from around her neck. "So, where are we off to now?"

"Well, first we're going to drop off this wagon at Sugarcube Corner, since you're probablye tired of pulling it around everywhere. Especially when you had to lug around all that granite and that alien guy you picked up." Pinkie responded.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Limestone said. But when Pinkie mentioned Chris, she began to think. I wonder how Chris is doing right now. Maybe they're done treating his leg. Of course, if they are, then he's probably bored out of his mind.

"Limestone. Hey, Limestone!" She heard Pinkie yell out.

"Huh, what is it?" Limestone said as she jumped up a bit, not realizing that she had that Pinkie Pie had been speaking to her.

"Are you alright? You spaced out on me for a moment." Pinkie worryingly asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something." Limestone said dismissively.

"Well, if you say so." Pinkie said. "Maybe you're going to need this more than I thought."

"Need, what exactly?" Limestone asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Here we are! The Ponyville Spa!" Pinkie announced happily as she presented a building that looked more like a circus tent then a salon.

"Are you sure I need this, Pinkie?" A frustrated Limestone asked. "I don't think I need to go somewhere to make me look like...that!" She said, pointing to the golden sign that depicted a mare with a long, wavy mane and tail.

Pinkie Pie began to laugh as she walked up to Limestone and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Oh, silly Limestone." She started to say wiping a single tear from her eye. "We're not here to give you a makeover. We're here to get you a message. Like I said earlier, I know somepony who's going to need it. Especially with all that stress you've worked up."

Then, as if Pinkie had just said the magic words, Limestone began to feel some discomfort in her right shoulder...and back...and pretty much every part of her body. "Well, I guess I could use a message, but can't I just go to a chiropractor instead?"

"Oh, come on, Limestone, no one's going to think differently of you just because you went to the spa." Pinkie happily said as she pushed Limestone into the spa, despite her attempts to stop her. "Even Rainbow Dash comes here for a massage on a regular basis."

"I have no idea who that even is." Limestone angrily said before she was shoved into the door. She glared at Pinkie as the both of them walked up to the front counter, which was being ran by a blue mare with a long, straight, pink mane and tail.

"Ah, Pinkie Pie, it'z zo good to zee you again." The mare happily said. "What can ve do for you today?"

"I'd like a massage and trip to the hot tub for me and my older sister." Pinkie said.

"Of course, vould you like your usual massage treatment?" The mare asked. Pinkie, who nodded enthusiastically. The mare then pulled out a pamphlet as she turned to Limestone. "And is zis you first time here?"

"Yes." Limestone unenthusiastically answered.

"In zat case, this pamphlet vill tell you vhat massages we offer." She said as she handed the pamphlet over to Limestone.

Limestone took the pamphlet and skimmed through it. Most of these massages are too froufrou if you ask me. She thought until she actually found one that caught her eye. "Huh, I guess I could go for the extra-strenght-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage."

"Okay zen." The mare said as she took the pamphlet back and grabbed a couple of robes from behind the counter. "If you vill follow me, please." She led Pinkie and Limestone through the spa for a while before stopping in front of an open room. "Zis shall be your room, Pinkie." Pinkie cheered out as she grabbed a robe and bounced into the room. The mare then turned around and pointed to another open room that was right next to the first room. "And zis shall be your room."

Limestone nodded as she grabbed the robe and walked into the room, closing the door when she was inside. She looked around the room for a moment and saw that the only thing inside was a massage table. She then haphazardly tossed the robe into a random corner of the room and laid belly down on the massage table. I hope that this is as relaxing as Pinkie says it is.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud crash over at the door. She looked up to see a large hole to the right of the door. Standing in said hole was a large, overly muscular white pegasus stallion. "Yeah! Let's get this massage started!" The stallion enthusiastically yelled out.

Limestone's eyes widened in fear as she thought to herself, I think I've made the biggest mistake of my life.

I've never felt so relaxed in my life. Limestone thought in bliss as she soaked in the hot tub. The massage she had was actually pleasant for her. The combination of the hot stones and that stallion's massage removed a lot of tension and knots she had built up over the years. I wonder if Chris would've liked this. Her eyes then widened when she realized what she just thought about. Damn it, why am I thinking about Chris again?.She thought as her head slightly tilted towards the water.

It was at that moment that Pinkie showed up. "Ah, finally. Hot tub time!" She excitingly exclaimed as she jumped up and attempted to cannonball into the hot tub. That was, until a pink mare with a blue mane and tail rushed in and started glaring at Pinkie, causing her to slow to a midair stop just inches above the water. Pinkie gave the mare a sheepish grin as she proceeded to slowly and smoothly enter the water from where she was hovering. The spa pony shook her head with a deadpanned look before she went off to another section of the spa. Pinkie stuck her head out of the water and said, "Sheesh, what a party pooper. So, how was your massage?"

"It was really good." Limestone said with a satisfied smile. "I don't think an issue occurred at all."

Suddenly, she heard a familiar sounding stallion yell out, "Thanks for giving me the rest of the day off, Miss Lotus!" Limestone and Pinkie turned to see the stallion that massaged Limestone talking to the blue spa pony from earlier. Although, now the stallion had very noticeable bandages around his front hooves.

"Don't vorry about it, Bulk Biceps." Lotus said. "Just rest your hooves for now and let us know if they've recovered tomorrow."

"Okay, see you later!" Bulk Biceps said before turning around and walking through the wall as though it wasn't there, leaving a large hole in the process.

Lotus groaned before muttering, "Vhy do ve even pay him anymore? He owes us more money than what we pay him on a weekly basis." She then turned around until she noticed Limestone Pie. Her eyes widened in fear as she began to back away slowly.

"Huh, I wonder what that's about?" Pinkie curiously asked.

"Probably something to do with me, since that was the stallion that massaged me." Limestone informed. "But my back couldn't have been that bad."

"Eh, it probably was." Pinkie Pie happily responded, causing Limestone to glare at her. "So, what were you thinking about?"

"W-what?!" Limestone asked she flinched back in surprise. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, c'mon Limestone, don't say that. I can tell that you were thinking about something, because you had that sad, blank look that just screams that you were thinking about something." Pinkie happily explained. She then grew a sly smile before teasingly saying, "Or maybe...somepony."

Limestone groaned in defeat as she threw her hooves in the air. "Fine, you really want to know, I was thinking about Chris! Happy!?" She yelled out and splashed her hooves back into the water.

"Oh, Limestone, there's nothing to be frustrated about." Pinkie said as she moved over to Limestone and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "You're just worried about the new friend you've made."

"I think that 'friend' is a strong word to describe the two of us, Pinkie." Limestone deadpanned.

"Yeah, but he's somepony you care about. Which is a huge step up from how you view anybody that isn't family." Pinkie said before her eyes widened in realization and gave out a big gasp. "I have the best idea ever!" She loudly exclaimed. "Why don't we go to the hospital and visit Chris and formally welcome him to Ponyville. I'll even bring a cake with me!"

"I don't know, Pinkie. Do you really think that that's a good idea? I mean, what if he's not ready for guests right now?â€ Limestone asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's either that, or we can go dress shopping at Carousel Boutique." Pinkie offered.

"I'll go to the hospital to see if he's able to accept visitors then." Limestone immediately answered as she crawled out of the hot tub. "I was just about done in there anyway."

"Okie dokie loki. I'll just get a few things after I pay for our treatment." Pinkie said as she sunk back into the hot tub. Limestone just shook her head and rolled her eyes as she made her way towards the exit.

Limestone Pie entered the hospital and looked around the lobby. It was relatively empty, mostly just the occasional pony waiting to receive treatment and two nurses behind the front desk. She then walked straight to the front desk, which caught one of the nurse's attention. "Hello, welcome to Ponyville General Hospital. How may I help you?" The nurse asked nicely.

"I was wondering if it's possible for me to visit somepony named Christopher Ayers?" Limestone asked as politely as she could.

"Christopher Ayers?" The confused nurse asked. "Do you mean that weird alien looking thing that came in with a broken leg?"

"...Yes, that's him." Limestone said, feeling somewhat peeved by the nurse's description of Chris.

"Let me see here." The nurse said as she began to look through some papers that were on the desk. "Ah, Christopher Ayers!" She exclaimed when she pulled out a single form. "It says here that his treatment is finished and that he should be able to receive visitors. So long as he accepts, of course. Would you like to see him now?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." The nurse said. She then walked out from behind the counter and said, "If you would follow me, please."

Limestone nodded before she began to follow the nurse through the hospital, passing by various doctors, nurses, and patients along the way. After a few seconds of walking the nurse stopped at a door numbered 137 and knocked on it. She then opened the door and said, "Excuse me, sir, you have somepony here who wants to see you."

"Okay, you can send 'em in." Limestone heard Chris say.

"Alrighty, then." The nurse said before turning to Limestone. "You can go on in."

"Thanks," She said before remembering something. "Oh, also expect a pink mare to come by to see him as well."

The nurse gave Limestone a deadpanned look before saying, "She'll be fine...so long as she doesn't bring that cannon of hers." She then began to walk back to the main lobby.

Limestone smirked at the nurse before opening the door the rest of the way and walking into the room. The first thing she saw was Chris lying on the hospital bed with a bit of a dopey smile on his face. He also had a hospital gown and blanket covering his body. His injured leg was wrapped in a cast that was being elevated off the mattress. He looked directly at Limestone as he said, "I knew it was you. I told the hospital staff that I didn't want to see the press."

Limestone chuckled before responding, "Well, can't blame you for that. So, how have you been holding up for the past few hours?" She asked as she hopped onto one of the chairs that was in the room.

"Oh, you know, just enjoying whatever they used to dope me up for treatment. Also, I didn't think they'd have a hospital gown in my size, but turns out they have some for minotaurs." He happily said. He then pointed to his leg and said, "Doctor said that my leg was fractured and that, so long as I stay off it, I should be able to make a full recovery. Oh, by the way, they said that the splint you used did a good job of keeping my leg from moving around too much."

Limestone smirked before saying, "That's good to hear."

"Yeah, so what did you do after dropping me off? Did you get that granite delivered?" He asked.

Limestone leaned back and let out a frustrated groan. "Yeah, I got it delivered. And, dear Celestia, was it a bigger pain in the ass than it should have been."

Chris smirked before asking, "So, the person was a self-centered, snooty, jerk?"

"That's an understatement of the century when describing that mare." Limestone answered matter of factly. "At least her daughter was there to put her straight."

"Really?" Chris asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yep. After that, my sister and I went to the spa and I got this really awesome massage." Limestone continued.

"That sound nice. So, why'd you come here then?"He asked.

"Well, for one my sister, Pinkie Pie, wanted to welcome you to Equestira in some way or another." Limestone answered. "And two," She began to say a little more bashfully, "I wanted to check up on you."

Chris stared wide eyed at Limestone for a few seconds before responding, "Um, wow, I...uh appreciate that, Limestone."

"Yeah, no problem." Limestone replied, feeling slightly relieved, before she heard the door open.

She looked at the door to see Pinkie Pie walking in with a wide smile on her face and three boxes wrapped in wrapping paper balanced on her back. One of which Limestone recognized as the present she was giving to her. Pinkie closed the door behind her as she said, "Hello, everypony! I would have gotten here earlier, but they wouldn't let me bring my party cannon."

I should have known. Limestone thought as she looked at Pinkie with a bemused look.

"But anywho." Pinkie drawled out as she placed the boxes on the floor. Then she suddenly zipped to Chris's side in a matter of a second. "It's good to see ya again, mister alien. Is your leg any better?"

Chris stared at Pinkie for a few moments before nervously saying, "Um, my leg is doing fine. Thanks for asking. And my name is Christopher Ayers, by the way."

"Well then, Christopher." Pinkie said as she grabbed one of the boxes. "Welcome to Equestria!" She happily exclaimed as she handed the box to Chris.

"Um, thanks." Chris nervously said as he politely took the box. "And just Chris is fine."

"Okie dokie loki." Pinkie happily replied as she grabbed the other box that Limestone didn't recognize. Must be my present. Limestone thought as she took the gift. Pinkie then grabbed the present that Limestone got for her.

"So, should I open it now?" Chris asked.

"Not yet." Pinkie sang out. "You see, my sisters and I have what we call a Pie Sister Swap Day where we spend the day together and give each other gifts. But since Limestone wanted to make sure that you were alright, I decided to get something for you as a 'Welcome to Equestria' gift and then I thought, 'Why don't we have the gift swap when we visit him at the hospital!?' So, I grabbed mine and Limestone's gift before coming here."

"Huh, that makes sense." He said.

"But before we do open our gifts, we first have to sing the Pie Sister Swap Day Song, The Limestone Pie Edition!" Pinkie happily exclaimed, causing an annoyed frown to appear on Limestone's face. "Are you ready, Limestone?"

"Let's just get this over with." Limestone said with a sigh.

Pinkie then sprung up as she began to dance around. "It's the Pie Sister Swap Day with Limestone!" She sang in a simple beat, pointing a hoof at Limestone when she stopped singing.

"Is the song over yet?" An annoyed Limestone simply asked, causing Chris to chuckle.

Pinkie giggled before sitting down behind her gift and said, "Okay, now we can open them."

Everybody began to unwrap their respective presents. Pinkie was the first to finish unwrapping hers as her eyes lit up with joy when she saw what was inside. "Oh, Limestone, you know me so well!" She happily said as she pulled out the contents of the box. "How did you know that I needed a new supply of joke exploding cigars!?"

"You told me that you were running out of them in one of your letters, remember?" Limestone replied, pausing from unwrapping her gift.

"Awe, you do read my letters!" Pinkie happily replied.

"...Um, of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Limestone frustratingly replied before continuing to unwrap the gift. When she finally got it opened, she peered inside and immediately smiled. Inside the box was a brand-new pickaxe with a polished wooden handle. "Thanks, Pinkie! This is awesome!" She said picking up the pickaxe.

"Yeah, I noticed that the handle of your old pickaxe was starting to look bad. So, I got you a new one to replace it." Pinkie explained.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Limestone genuinely said. She then turned to Chris and asked, "So, what did Pinkie get you?" Already having a good idea on what was in the box.

Chris finally got his gift open and looked inside. "It's a piece of chocolate cake." He said.

"Yeah, I didn't know what cake you was your favorite, so I thought that chocolate would be a safe bet." Pinkie explained.

"That's fine, I actually like it." He said as he picked up the fork that Pinkie placed inside and ate a piece. His eyes widened instantly as he chewed on it. When he swallowed it, he said, "Oh my god, this cake is amazing." Causing the two mares to smile.

So, for the rest of the time they were there, everybody was sitting around exchanging stories and telling jokes to each other. Limestone would be lying if she said that she wasn't having a good time. Then, after about an hour of talking, Chris suddenly yawned. "You know, I'm feeling kinda tired. I think I'll take a nap."

"Alright." Limestone said as she picked up her new pickaxe and placed the empty boxes on her back. "We'll make our way out then."

"Bye, Chris!" Pinkie said as she and Limestone began to walk out the room. "I'll come back to see you later. I'll even bring a few friends of mine. I'm sure one of them will really want to meet ya."

Chris chuckled before he said, "Sure thing, Pinkie. See ya later."

When the two mares left the room and closed the door behind them, Pinkie turned to Limestone and said, "Well, he seemed nice."

"Yeah, he is once you get to know him." She said as she grew a solemn look on her face. As she walked, she knew that she wouldn't be seeing him again. I knew that when I brought him to the hospital that I wasn't going to see him again, but why does that make me feel sad?.

It's been a week since Limestone visited Chris in the hospital. She left Ponyville early that next morning for her long journey back home. She didn't bother visiting Chris in the hospital, since she knew that he would've been sleeping at that time. When she made it home, life had continued on for her like normal, only now she found herself thinking about Chris on occasion. Even now, as she was mining with her new pickaxe, she couldn't help but think about him. She wiped some sweat off her face as she stopped mining. I think I'm done for the day. She thought to herself as she started to walk back to the house.

After about five minutes of walking, she reached the front door of her home and opened it. She placed her new pickaxe next to her front door and began to stretch her muscles out. "Limestone, art thou done for the day?" She heard her mother call upstairs.

"Yes, mom!" She called back.

"Very good. While you were working, a letter came in for thou. I have it sitting on the kitchen table for thou."

"Is it from Pinkie?"

"No, tis from somepony named Christopher Ayers."

Limestone's eyes widened in surprise as she immediately ran into the kitchen and found the letter on the table. She ran up to it and inspected it. Sure enough, not only was it addressed specifically to her, but it was also from Chris. She immediately opened it and began to read.

Dear Limestone Pie,

So, I heard from your sister that you left the morning after your visit. That's alright, I was asleep when you left anyway, so I asked your sister for your address and wrote you this letter. Speaking of which, your sister kept her promise and visited me with a few of her friends of hers. Did you know that she was friends with royalty!? Anyway, the real reason I wrote you this letter was because I don't think I had the opportunity to thank you for getting me into the hospital. So, thanks for that, Limestone. You really helped me out when I needed it most. I owe you a debt that I don't think I'll ever be able to pay back.

Sincerely,

Chris

P.S. That princess that's friends with your sister says that she'll try to find a way to bring me home. I hope she does.

Limestone smiled at the letter. He thought about me. He actually thought about me enough to actually write a letter to thank me. She felt a little sad that one of the princesses was finding a way to send him home, but that didn't stop her from understanding why he would want to go home. It's where he was supposed to be after all. So, wanting to let Chris know that she got the letter, she went out to the living room and grabbed a quill and parchment and began writing.

Dear Chris,

It's good to hear from you again. Yes, I know that Pinkie's friends with a princess. There's not a whole lot that she doesn't tell us. Anyway, I'm glad that she's trying to find a way to get you home. I hope it works out for you. Anyway, don't worry about trying to 'repay a debt' for helping you, I was only doing what was right. Although I hope that you get out of that hospital soon, you're probably bored out of your mind there. Anyway, just thought I'd let ya know that I get your letter and that I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say goodbye to you. Hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Limestone Pie

When she finished the letter, she looked at the last couple of words that she written down. Is it really appropriate to end the letter with, 'your friend?' She then smiled as she began to neatly fold the letter. Yeah, it is.

Chapter 3

Dear Limestone,

I’m happy that things have been going well for the rock farm. Heck, I bet that by the time this letter reaches you, you’ll be done supplying rocks to that aquarium that’s opening up. Hopefully they compensate you guys well. Anyway, there’s something, well, really important I need to tell you about.

I just got word from the princesses that they wanted to speak with me as soon as possible. They didn’t really go into any specifics, but I have a feeling that it is about sending me home. I’m hopeful that they figured it out, but a part of me is worried too. The way that they wrote the letter just seemed off to me, if you know what I mean.

I guess I’ll have to find out what she wants to talk about tomorrow, which is why I decided to write to you when I did. I just wanted to take the time to say goodbye, just in case she did find a way to bring me home. Apart of me feels like I owe you for saving my life. The sad thing is that people in my world probably won’t believe me when I tell them that this grumpy pony found me in the middle of nowhere and brought me to a hospital. At least I know that I made a really cool friend out of it. Although, if things don’t go well, I’ll make sure to write you a letter just to let you know that you aren’t rid of me yet. Well, let’s hope for the best and, as always, I hope things continue to go well for you.

Your friend,

Chris

Limestone placed the letter on the living room table before leaning back against the couch to collect herself. She’s lost count over the amount of times she read and re-read that letter ever since she got it two weeks ago, but how she felt was still the same since the first time she read it. She was happy for him, but she still felt sad and frustrated that her first and only friend just up and left like that. Even though she had already sent him a letter to tell him her own goodbye in hopes that it would reach her, she still felt tempted to write him another one just to see how it went. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the part of the letter that told her that he’d write to her if he was still in Equestria. Which meant that, as far as she knew, he was back home.

She was glad that he was back where he belonged, but she never thought that losing him would hurt her like this. Every time she read his letter, if felt like somepony had gotten a hold of her chest and squeezed it hard. Even though she wasn’t a stranger to pain, given her occupation, this pain was new. And even though she knew that Chris more than likely wasn’t going to stay in her life forever and that the day would come for him to leave, it still didn’t help dull out the pain. Even then, during the short amount of time that Chris was apart of her life, she was still able to feel a sense of joy she never thought she’d experience.

Ever since his first letter, she actually had something other then her job to look forward to. She enjoyed waiting in anticipation for his letters telling her what he had been up to. These usually ranged from Princess Twilight Sparkle practically begging to study him and getting bailed out by some mare named Starlight Glimmer to having to fight of some mint green unicorn that seemed particularly obsessed with him. In return, she’d tell him about things she did on the rock farm and things that happened during deliveries. She felt like her stories weren’t as interesting as Chris’s, but there was a way that Chris responded to her that showed genuine interest into what she was doing. She folded up the letter as she said to herself. “I really do need to let him go, but nopony ever told me that it would be this hard.”

She then looked out the window and noticed that the mailpony was walking away from the mailbox. She was excited at first, but then she remembered that getting a letter from Chris was less than likely. So, deciding that she might as well get the mail, she unenthusiastically walked outside and got the mail from the mailbox. Let’s see what we got here. She thought to herself as she rummaged through the mail. Special order…bill…bill…special order. She reached the halfway point of the stack when she saw a letter that caused her to pause. It was from Pinkie Pie. What does Pinkie want? She thought as she got back into the living room. She haphazardly threw the other letters on the table and opened up Pinkie’s letter.

Dear Limestone,

So, something happened to Chris and he wasn’t able to go back home. He’s been super sad ever since he got back from Canterlot. I’ve tried a whole bunch of things to cheer him up from trying to play games with him to throwing him a party, but he either doesn’t put any effort into anything or just sits around him room and does nothing. Twilight’s told me that I should give him some space, but I’m really worried about him. I think it would be a good idea if you came to help him out. I’m sure he’d appreciate being able to see you again. Just…don’t yell at him too much if you do, okay?”

Sincerely,

Pinkie Pie

Once she was done reading the letter, Limestone was feeling a mixture of hurt, angry, and betrayal. “He’s still here in Equestria.” She muttered before screaming out. “He’s still in Equestria, and he didn’t write to me like he said he was going to!” As far as she knew, she needed answers and she needed answers now. So, she got the nearest piece of parchment and quill and furiously wrote a note for her family to let them know where she was going. Once the note was where somepony could see it, she ran out the front door and straight to the train station. Along the way, she began to think to herself. Why didn’t he write to me like he said he was going to? Is he feeling that bad about not being able to go home? Does he even want me to still be in his life or did he even care in the first place?

Limestone was practically one of the first ponies off the train when it reached Ponyville. She was all but pushing ponies out of her way as she made a beeline to the Castle of Friendship. She remembered Chris telling her that Princess Twilight let him have a room during his stay and that, in spite of her occasional eccentric tendencies, she was pretty down to earth. It only took her a few minutes to reach the castle and give the front doors a hard knock.

After many seconds of waiting, one of the doors opened to reveal the purple alicorn she recognized as Princess Twilight Sparkle. She gave Limestone a small smile as she said, “Hello there. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Uh, yes your highness.” Limestone replied, trying to remember politeness. “I was wondering if it’s possible for me to see Chris right now?”

Twilight’s smile immediately changed to a surprised look before she asked, “Are you Limestone Pie?”

“I am.”

“Um, could you step inside please?” She asked as she stepped aside to give Limestone room to enter. Limestone gave her a curious look as she walked inside and waited for her to speak. Twilight closed the door and turned to Limestone. “Did Pinkie Pie tell you what happened with Chris?”

“She did.” Limestone curtly replied.

“I was afraid she would do something like that.” Twilight muttered before saying, “I know you came out here to see him and that you’re concerned about him, but we’ve tried everything we can to help him. It eventually got to the point where we believed the best thing for him would be to give him some space until he was ready.”

It was taking Limestone all of her mental restraints not to go off on Twilight. She was constantly reminding herself that this wasn’t an unruly customer that wanted things to only go there way, but somepony that actually cared about Chris’s wellbeing. So, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before replying. “Look, I know you’re looking out for him, but I really need to talk to him. I might be mad at him, but I also want to see that he’s alright.

“I know, but…” Twilight trailed off to think of an appropriate response.

That’s when Limestone thought up of something. “Look, just let me try talking to him. If he wants to talk with me, then let him. If not, then I’ll leave him alone until he’s ready to talk to me.” She offered.

Twilight pondered her offer for a moment before she nodded and said, “Alright, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. Come on, I’ll show you to his room.” She then turned around and led Limestone through the castle. Limestone was more than glad that she did. She probably would have gotten lost within seconds.

After a couple of minutes, Twilight stopped at a door and knocked on it. “Chris, are you in there?” She called out. “There’s somepony here to see you.”

“Yeah, I’m here. Who is it?” Limestone heard Chris’s tired voice from inside.

Limestone walked up to the door and called out, “Chris, it’s me, Limestone. I need to talk to you.”

“L-Limestone!” Chris blurted out before going silent. After a few seconds of silence, Limestone’s head began to hang low as she began to fear the worst. She was about to turn and walk away when she suddenly heard the door open. When she looked up, she didn’t know how to feel.

Chris was standing in the doorway with a surprised look on his face. He looked like he was physically healthy and well fed, which made Limestone feel relieved. But what was causing her to feel concerned was that he looked tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping in days “Hey.” He softly said.

“Hey.” Limestone simply replied back with a frown.

Twilight looked awkwardly between the two of them before saying “I’ll just…give you two some privacy.” She then turned around and quickly walked away.

Chris and Limestone just stood there awkwardly, neither of them not really knowing what to say to the other. Eventually, Limestone takes a deep breath before asking, “Can I come in?”

Chris stood there for a few moments before replying, “Yeah, of course.” as he stepped aside.

Limestone walked in and looked around the room. There wasn’t much inside, but she did find a whole bunch of crumpled up pieces of parchment on his desk and that his bed still hadn’t been made yet. She turned towards Chris when he closed the door and watched him take a seat on the bed. After a few seconds, he asked, “So, who told you that I was still here?”

“Pinkie did.” She curtly answered.

Chris chuckled softly before responding, “I should have known. She’s been the most persistent of my friends here.” There was silence between them again before Chris asked, “So, how mad are you at me?”

“I’m pretty mad,” Limestone replied. “But I had some time to think on the way here. And the more I thought, the more I began to understand that you’ve been going through a lot right now.” She paused for a moment before asking, “So, what happened at Canterlot?”

Chris just sat there for a few moments before finally answering, “Basically, everything that I didn’t want to hear from the princesses was said. They started off by saying they looked into everything we could and experimented with everything, but they couldn’t find a way to send me home. They even tried some mirror they said led to a human world, but we ruled that out on the basis of my world not having people naturally occurring green skin. They even asked some asshole named Discord to see if he could help me out, but he had a list of reasons not to help me out. Like how he didn’t know where my universe is and how long it would take to find it, not knowing how much time has passed there, and, apparently his most important reason, he didn’t really feel like it.” He placed his head in his hands and used his thumbs to message his temples.

Limestone gave him a sympathetic look before saying, “Look, I know how rough this is for you-”

“Do you?!” He suddenly said, interrupting her. “Do you really?!” He then stood up as he continued yelling. “Do you know what happened before I found myself in Equestria? I was just hired to be a software designer for an automation company. Do you know what I had to do to be able to get that job? I had to go to school for five years and work my ass off to get a degree. So, when they told me that I wasn’t able to go home, they might as well have told me that all the work I went through was for nothing. On top of that, I can’t see my old friends or my family. I can’t even give them a message to let them know that I’m still alive and not to put an empty casket into the ground. So, tell me Limestone, do you really understand what I’m going through?”

Limestone just looked at him at him with a surprised look as he yelled at her. But some time after he was done, a frown developed as she began to speak through gritted teeth. “How dare you.” He frown deepened as he yelled, “How dare you!” Chris actually stepped back from her outburst as she continued yelling at him. “You really think I don’t understand how you’re feeling?! You really think I can’t empathize with you?! Sure, I haven’t gone through what you’ve gone through, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how broken up you are about it. But do you know what I’ve gone through?! I had my only friend suddenly say goodbye to me by letter! So, naturally, I thought that you went back home, but it turned out at you were here the entire time. And how did I learn that you were still here?! From a letter my sister wrote! That wouldn’t have been so bad, had you didn’t tell me that you would write to me if you were still in Equestria.” Limestone paused as she started taking deep breaths to calm herself down, still glaring at him. She then calmly said. “Look, I get it. I know this has been hard on you, but why…why didn’t you tell me that you were still here?!”

Chris stared back at her with a somber look before taking a deep breathe and saying, “I honestly did want to tell you that I was still here.”

“Oh really?! I’ll believe it when I see it.” She said as she sat on her haunches and crossed her hooves.

“Then take a look.” He said as he pointed at the desk.

Limestone looked over at the desk and began scanning it again, trying to see if she could find something other the pieces of parchment. After a few seconds, her eyes widened in realization as she ran up to the desk. She uncrumpled one of the parchments and read it.

Dear Limestone,

So, I’m still here-

The rest was scratched out. She opened another one.

Dear Limestone,

As you can probably tell

That was all that was written. She decided to open one more. All it said was,

Dear Limestone Pie,

Limestone felt a tear roll down as she put the parchment down. Sure, he never sent a letter to her, but he still tired to reach out to her. He still wanted her in his life. She turned to him with a sad look and began to say, “Chris, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be.” Chris interrupted. “I honestly deserved it.”

“But I still shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

“Yes, you did. You had every right to yell and be mad at me after I yelled at you for trying to help me. I just…” He paused as he began to pace around the room before sitting on the bed again and saying, “I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind lately.”

Limestone just watched him sit there with his head in his hands with a somber look on her face. Eventually, she walked up to the bed and took a seat to his right. For a few minutes, the two of them just sat there, neither of them speaking or looking at each other. “Hey, Limestone?” Chris eventually spoke.

“Yeah?” Limestone simply answered, still not looking at him.

“Am I really your only friend?”

Limestone turned to Chris to find him looking at her with a concerned and expecting look. She took a deep breath before answering, “Yeah, you are. Pretty much what happens when you don’t live near anypony. Not to mention most ponies usually don’t want anything to do with me.”

Chris stared at her for a while before saying, “I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have just tried to write a letter to you when I got back from Canterlot. I just…I just don’t know why I didn’t.”

“Hey, don’t worry about that right now.” Limestone reassured while rubbing his back. “Although, you were right about one thing earlier. I don’t know what you’re going through, but, like I said earlier, that doesn’t mean I still can’t empathize with you and be a pony you can talk to when you need to let something off your chest.”

Chris didn’t’ say anything, but instead he leaned up against her and rested his head on her shoulder. She felt some tears begin to soak her shoulder, so she used both of her forehooves to hold him close to her. The two of them just sat there, Limestone allowing Chris to cry on her shoulder and Chris seeking comfort in Limestone’s embrace. Eventually, once Chris had calmed down and stopped crying, Limestone asked, “Do you want to lie down for a bit?”

“Yeah, do you…mind lying down with me. I haven’t seen you in a while after all.” Chris replied, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

Limestone chuckled before responding, “Sure.” The both of them moved around until they both had their heads were resting on the pillows and had the covers over them. “Comfy?” She asked.

“A lot more comfortable than that time we shared the sleeping bag.” Chris jokingly responded.

Limestone gave a soft laugh before saying, “Hey, at least we were warm.”

“True.” Chris said with a chuckle. After a few seconds, he suddenly said, “Hey, you want to know something?”

“Hmm?”

“I actually gave Discord a good sucker punch after he told me he didn’t feel like helping me. Actually knocked out that oversized tooth of his.”

A hearty laugh came out of Limestone. “W-what happened after that?” She asked in-between breaths.

“Well, his tooth immediately grew back, and he looked like he wanted to kill me. Thankfully, Princess Celestia kept him from doing so while telling him that he had it coming.”

“Hey, if it’s anything to go by, if you didn’t punch him, then I would have hunted him down so that I could do it myself.” Limestone chimed in.

Chris chuckled before saying, “Thanks, Limestone. At least I know I’ve got you to watch my back.”

“You know it.” Limestone responded.

After a couple of minutes, Chris yawned before saying, “Hey, I think I’m going to take a nap.”

“Alright, I’m not far behind you.”

The two of them laid there until they both dozed off to sleep. Limestone, while still feeling sorry for her friend, was glad that he was staying in her life and that he was going to be alright.

Chapter 4

Limestone practically collapsed on the couch breathing a sigh of relief. Between having to mine stones that only formed deep in the family mine, getting them out of the mine, and making sure that what she mined was usable made today a very rough for her. So, when her sister offered to get the mail for her, she was more than happy to oblige. Besides, the only thing that would make the chore worth it would be a letter from Chris.

It’s been a couple of months since she visited Chris in Ponyville. The two of them continued to write to each other regularly to keep each other updated on what they had been doing. This continued up until two weeks ago when Chris suddenly stopped writing again, though Limestone wasn’t surprised by that this time. In his last letter, Chris explained that he decided to look for a job to help keep his mind off not being able to go back home. She guessed that he was focused on trying to get a job, but that didn’t stop Limestone from feeling disheartened. Granted, a small part of her wanted to offer him a job at the rock farm, but she kept going back on it in fear that he wouldn’t want the life she lives.

When she suddenly heard the front door open and close, she looked over to see her sister, Marble Pie, walk into the living room with a stack of letters sticking out of her mouth. She placed the letters on the table before she turned to Limestone. “Wanna look through them?” She quietly asked.

“Nah, you can sort ’em. I’m too tired to lift a hoof.” Limestone lazily replied. Marble gave her a short nod before she took a seat on a chair and began to sort the mail. Limestone decided to close her eyes and rest as much as she could before dinner. She laid there for a few seconds before she suddenly heard her sister squeaked out.

“Oh, sis, this one’s addressed to you!”

“Really, who’s it from?” Limestone asked as she stretched herself out.

“It’s from Chris.” Marble chirped.

“What?!” Limestone exclaimed in excitement. With a sudden burst of energy, she tackled Marble, knocking both her and the chair over, in a mad attempt to get the letter. Once the letter was in her grasp, she hopped back on the couch and opened the letter to read it.
Dear Limestone,

Sorry it’s been a while, but you know how job searching can go, because to be honest with you it sucked! Hardly anyone in this town is hiring. And everyone I tried to apply to would turn me down for one reason or another. I even tried the spa for crying out loud! You’d think that being the one guy in this town with hands and fingers would be an instant hire for them, but they insisted that they were completely staffed. Actually, now that I think about it, just about everyone insisted that. Of course, that probably was the case for some of the shops, though I’m doubtful of that one fan store that said that they forgot to take the help wanted sign down.

Thankfully, Twilight noticed the trouble I was having and decided to offer me a job as her castle’s librarian. Wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do with myself, but she pays well, and I don’t have to worry about food or housing. So, I decided that it was better than nothing and took the job. She tries to keep me busy, but a good bit of the time I just sit around and make sure that nothing’s out of place. More productive than moping around in my room I suppose. Anyway, just thought I’d let you know how I’ve been and that I’ve pretty much finished my job searching. Hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Chris

Limestone placed the letter down feeling a little miffed. She was glad that he was able to get a job, but that still didn’t stop her from feeling annoyed by the shopkeepers in Ponyville. She snorted before turning to her sister and said, “Can you believe this crap, sis?”

Marble Pie, who had been lying on the floor the entire time, glared daggers into Limestone. “No, sis, I can’t believe that somepony who said that she was too tired to move would trample me a minute later.” She curtly replied.

Limestone flinched back before she chuckled nervously. “Sorry about that. Guess I got a little too excited.” She replied bashfully.

“Mhmm.” Marble responded in annoyance. “Now, what were you talking about?”

“Well, I just couldn’t believe that nopony would hire him.” She explained as her frustration came back. “Some of them probably even turned him away just because he’s a human, regardless of whether they needed more workers or not. He had to resort to getting a pity job with the princess. Can you believe that?! I mean, do you know how useful he could be to ponies?” She asked rhetorically.

“You know, you should have asked him to move here since you like him so much.” Marble stated matter-of-factly.

“W-what?!” Limestone exclaimed as a blush formed on her face. “What in Tartarus do you mean by that?!”

Marble flinched back after Limestone’s outburst. “W-well, you really don’t allow somepony to stay here unless they work here. So, if Chris moved here, then he would have to work at the farm with us. Right?” Marble explained as she hid part of her face behind her mane.

Limestone’s eyes widened when she realized that all her sister was suggesting was that they should offer Chris a job as she started to blush out of embarrassment. “Oh, right. I mean… I wouldn’t mind letting him move here and letting him work for us. Why else would we have him here?” She nervously tried to recover.

“Well…probably because you like him…a lot.” Marble carefully answered.

“Hmph, yeah right. As if I could like him like that. What makes you think I do?” She asked in an unconvincing tone.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never really seen you happy before you met Chris.” Marble replied.

Limestone immediately shot Marble with a confused look. “What are you talking about? I’ve been happy before.” She argued.

“Yeah, but that was over small things like Pinkie’s first surprise party or when we celebrated Heart’s Warming with the Apples. Then you’d go back to your usual grumpy self. But ever since you started being friends with Chris, you’ve looked less miserable, you’re not gruff with us, and every time you get a letter from Chris, you smile wider than what I’ve ever seen you smile before.” Marble explained.

“R-really?” Limestone bashfully asked. She never thought about how she’d been acting since she met Chris. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her sister was right.

“Hey, sis?” Marble said as she jumped on the couch and sat next to Limestone. “You said you wouldn’t mind having Chris move here, right?” Limestone nodded. “So, why is that?” Marble asked.

“Well…” Limestone trailed off as she thought about the question. “He is pretty tall, so he can reach places that none of us can. He can probably use a pickaxe better than we can. Oh, and he can carry rocks in his hands better than we can with our hooves.” She explained as she mainly thought of ways he’d be useful to the farm.

“Okay. Any other reason, sis?” Marble asked with a raised eyebrow.

Limestone frowned as she tried to think of other reasons she would want him on the farm. “Well, being able to talk to him more often would be nice. I mean, letters are nice and all, but I like being able to talk to him more. Especially if the two of us are working together. I’d probably be able to get to know him better as well. And then when we’re done working, then maybe he’d let me rest my head on him as we rant about our day. Maybe give me a message to help me feel more relaxed at the end of the day. And then we could end the day by snuggling on the couch and…and…” Limestone began to trail off as she realized something. Everything she was talking about was for her and not for the farm. And the more she talked about Chris being with her, the more her heart started to race. In that moment she realized something that made her happy and terrified her at the same time. “I…I really do like him.” She said barely above a whisper.

“Mhmm.” Marble confirmed with a small smile and a nod.

Limestone sat there with a blank look for a few moments, not really knowing how to process this realization. She suddenly turned to Marble and grabbed her by the shoulders as she exclaimed, “Marble, what am I supposed to do?!”

“Um, what do you mean?” Marble asked feeling confused and concerned.

“What do you mean, ‘what do I mean?’ I’ve never liked a stallion like this before. How do I tell him?! How is he going to react?! Is he going to want anything to do with me?! I mean…what would you do if you liked a stallion?” Limestone frantically asked.

“Hide under the bed?” Marble simply answered.

“…Okay, what would Pinkie do in this situation?” Limestone asked after giving Marble a deadpanned glare.

“Probably chase the stallion down until he relents.”

“…Okay, what would ma do in this situation?”

“I’m pretty sure she just let a rock dictate her who soulmate was going to bed?”

“…Okay, how about-” Limestone tried to ask before she was interrupted.

“Limestone, you need to stop!” Marble exclaimed. She then took a deep breath before she began to calmly speak. “Sis, you need to understand that this isn’t about Pinkie, ma, or me. This is about you. This is about you liking a stallion that you’ve cared about for months. Right now, you’re letting that affect how you’re trying to respond to those feelings. You’re worried about how somepony else is going to think of you when you’ve never been a pony who’s cared about that. You’ve always done what you wanted and speaks her mind regardless of what others think of you. And right now, you need to let this stallion know that you’re interested in him and you need to act the way you normally act when you do it.”

“But… what if he doesn’t like me like that?” Limestone sadly asked.

“Then that’s his decision to make. Although if you ask me, you’ve already been on the right track.” Marble responded.

“What do you mean?” Limestone asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, he was the one that sent the first letter and you’ve been able to know more about him.” Marble replied as she picked the letter up from the table. “The two of you have spent months staying connected through your letters. And when he was going through that rough patch, he let you come in to try to comfort him. That’s gotta mean something about how much you mean to him. As far as I’m concerned, he wants you in his life.”

Limestone sat there silently as she thought about everything her sister just told her. She’s right, he was the one that sent the first letter. And he let me comfort him when nopony else was able to. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he’s romantically interested in me, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t tell him how I feel about him. But…how can I tell him through a letter? She asked herself as she looked over to the shelves where they kept the blank parchment and writing utensils. After a few seconds, a determined frown formed on her face as she thought. No, this isn’t something I can tell him through a letter. There’s only one way that I can tell him. She then turned to her sister and asked, “Hey sis, I know this is kinda abrupt, but you don’t mind if I go to Ponyville tomorrow?”

“Mhmm.” Marble shook her head with a smile.

“Thanks sis.” Limestone said as she got off the couch. “Better make sure that I have enough bits for tomorrow.” She said as she climbed up the stairs.

When Limestone had gotten on the train late the next morning, she felt determined and confident in herself. Now, as she faced the Castle of Friendship in the early evening, all of that determination and confidence had morphed in nervousness and anxiety. This was a lot easier when I wasn’t in front of the place he lives and works. She thought to herself as she took a deep breath. Well, I’ve gotten this far, so I might as well get this over with as soon as possible. She then slowly walked up and gave the castle doors a firm knock. She only waited for a few seconds before the door suddenly opened to reveal Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, Limestone Pie, it’s good to see you again.” Twilight greeted.

“Uh, yeah you too.” Limestone nervously answered.

“I take it you’re here to see Chris again?” Twilight asked as she stepped aside.

“Yeah, I just wanted to check up on him. He told me that he became your librarian.” Limestone said as she walked in.

“Yeah.” Twilight solemnly replied. “I think that he would have like it more if he had a job outside of the castle. Heck, I would have liked it if he was able to do that too. But there’s not much we can do about that.” She then gave Limestone a small smile as she said, “Come on, I’ll show you to the library.” She then began to walk down the hall with Limestone close behind.

“So, how’s he doing?” Limestone asked along the way.

“I think he’s doing better.” Twilight responded. “I think he’s still coming to terms with the fact that he’s going to stay in Equestria for the rest of his life. Finally having a job has probably been a good distraction for him, but he’ll still need some more time to cope.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Limestone responded as she began to wonder if coming to confess her feelings to Chris was a good idea.

“Alright, here’s the library.” Twilight suddenly announced as she stopped to point at a door that, to Limestone, looked identical to all the other oversized doors in the castle. “He should be inside.”

“Thank you, princess.” Limestone said with a nod. Twilight nodded back before turning around and walking off. Limestone then turned the door and took a deep breath. Well, this is it. Limestone thought as she slowly opened the door and looked inside.

The first thing she noticed was the sheer number of books that were in the circular shaped room. Most of the shelves were so high that she’d need a ladder to reach them. “Hey Twilight, anything you need me to-” She heard a familiar male voice. She looked over to where she saw a bunch of chairs surround a table. Sitting in one of them, with a book opened in his hands, was Chris staring at her with a surprised look on his face. “L-Limestone?!” He exclaimed in disbelief.

“Uh…hey.” Limestone said with a shy smile.

“What are you doing here?” He asked as he put the book down and got up from the chair.

“Well, I uh…just wanted to see how you’re doing.” She managed to answer.

“I’m not going to complain about that.” He said as he walked over to her. “So, what’s new with you?” He asked when he was right in front of her.

Limestone shrugged her shoulders before she spoke, “Nothing much. Just the same old stuff at the family farm. What about you? How’s the job treating you?”

“Eh…” Chris began to say before shrugging his shoulders. “It’s alright. Twilight tries to find ways to keep me busy, but most of the time I’m pretty much getting paid to read books all day.”

“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing.” She responded with a small smile. There was a small silence between them before Limestone suddenly said, “Hey, why don’t we go out?” She then flinched back when she realized what she just asked. No, Limestone, you idiot. What are you doing?! You can’t just ask him out now!

“Uh, okay…why?” Chris asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh…” Limestone dragged out as she tried to think of a way to recover from her blunder. “…To celebrate you getting a job.” Limestone offered with a nervous smile.

“Um…okay, sure.” He said as he looked up at the clock. “Four fifty-five. I guess I could go for an early dinner. Let me get some bits first.” He said as he walked towards the door.

“Oh no. I’ll pay for it.’ Limestone exclaimed. Oh, come on, Limestone. Turning this into a date.

“Okay…are you sure?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course. I brought plenty of bits with me. I should have enough to cover the both of us.” She exclaimed with a nervous smile.

Chris just starred at her for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever you say. Come on, I know a good place for us to eat.” He said as he began to head towards the exit.

“Alright.” Limestone answered with a small smile as she followed him. The walk to the restaurant was quiet between the two of them. Limestone didn’t know what was going on in Chris’s head. But, if she was honest with herself, she didn’t know what was going on in her head either. Part of her was overjoyed that she was going to have dinner with Chris. Another part of her was nervous and terrified that she might do something to screw it up as a result.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, the two of them reached a restaurant that had several tables outside. Chris went up to one of the tables and said, “Let’s sit at this one. One of the waiters inside is good about watching the tables for customers. Of course, I’m usually with Twilight when I come here, and you know how everyone gets to appease their down to earth princess.” He added with a hint of sarcasm.

Limestone couldn’t help but chuckle as she took a seat at the table. “Let me guess, the first time you were here, they were all like, ‘we’ll do anything you command, princess’ before turning to you and saying, ‘what in Tartarus are you?’” She jokingly said.

“You’re honestly not far off.” Chris said with a bemused grin as he took a seat.

At that moment, a unicorn waiter showed up, two menus levitating along with him. “Thank you for dining with us this evening. May I get you something to drink?” He asked.

“Just a water is fine.” Chris replied.

“I’ll have a water too.” Limestone added in.

The waiter nodded as he walked back inside the restaurant. Limestone then picked up the menu and began to look through it. “So, uh, what are you getting?” She asked.

“Just a fruit salad. It’s like…one of three things I can eat here.” Chris stated, not even bothering to look at his menu.

Limestone gave him a confused frown at that. “Why is that?” She asked.

“Well, it’s simply because I can’t eat most of the food that ponies eat.” He explained.

“…Really?” She asked.

“Yeah. I can’t digest things like hay and daffodils.”

“Hug, you never told me that.” She stated with a bit of a frown. “Do you eat rocks?”

Chris flinched as he raised an eyebrow with a bemused smile. “No, can’t say that I do. Why? Do you?”

“Yeah, I do. Haven’t I told you that before?” She curtly asked.

“No, you haven’t.” He said. He chuckled as he said, “Guess there’s still some things we don’t know about each other, right?”

“Yeah. You’re not weirded out or anything?’ She asked, remembering how the Apple family reacted to the rock soup they had during Hearth’s Warming Eve.

“Not really, I’ve seen weirder.” Chris replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

It was at that moment that the waiter came back levitating two glasses of iced water. “Here are your waters.” He said as he placed each glass in front of them. “Are you ready to order?”

“Yeah, I’ll have the fruit salad.” Chris replied.

“Of course. And for you, ma’am?” He asked as he turned to Limestone.

“Um…” Limestone trailed on as she made one last glance at the menu. “I’ll just have a daffodil sandwich with a side of hay fries.”

“Alright. I’ll be back with your orders.” The waiter said as he took the menus and walked back inside the restaurant.

While the two of them waited for their food, Chris suddenly asked, “Hey, Limestone, wanna know something?”

“What?” She asked.

“This is probably the one place I didn’t try to apply to.” He said with an amused smile.

Limestone couldn’t believe what he said as she frowned at him. “Why didn’t you? I mean, you were desperate for a job, right?” She asked.

“I was, but I already knew that I wasn’t going to last long here.” He replied.

“Why do you say that?”

“Cause I’ve tried working in the restaurant industry when I worked at a diner back when I was working in school. Long story short, I sucked as a water and was even worse as a cook. Then when they moved me to dishwasher, they fired me for, and I quote, ‘slamming the dishwasher too hard.’” He said sarcastically.

“…That’s a thing?” She asked in disbelief.

“Apparently.” He stated with a shrug. “I don’t think the ponies here would have fired me for that, but that doesn’t mean that I’d enjoy the work.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s more ridiculous. Getting fired for that or the excuses some of the ponies made for not hiring you.” Limestone scoffed offhandedly.

“Eh, a little of both.” He replied. “Besides, they weren’t all bad. For example.” He said pointing a finger at Sugar Cube Corner. “The couple at that bakery over there told me that between their current expenses and raising their kids, they can’t really afford hiring me, no matter how much they would like the extra help. Several of the market stands were the same way.” He explained. “But still getting denied by everyone like that was still…” He solemnly trailed off.

“Disheartening.” Limestone offered.

“Yeah.” He said as his head fell slightly.

“Hey, look on the bright side. You still got that job from Twilight.” Limestone pointed out, trying to make him feel better.

He scoffed before saying, “Yeah, a pity job where I mostly just sit around and read. Maybe I’ll have a mess to clean up or reorganize the library on occasion, but that’s so far and few between that it’s plainly obvious that Twilight really doesn’t need me around.” He sarcastically stated.

There was a small silence between them before Limestone asked, “Is that how you really feel about the job?”

Chris sighed before saying, “Yeah, I do.”

Limestone just frowned at him silently for a moment. “Yeah, well look at it this way. At least you got a job. Sure, it’s not the job you were looking for and you’re not the biggest fan of how you got it, but it’s probably the best thing for you given the situation. Besides, if you really don’t like the job then you can continue looking for another job, right?” Limestone asked as she subconsciously pushed her hoof forward to rest on one of Chris’s hands.

“Yeah…I guess you’re right about that.” Chris replied with a small grin. The two of them sat there for a few moments before Chris suddenly said, “Um, Limestone?”

“Hmm.” She hummed in acknowledgment.

“How long are you planning on holding my hand?” He asked as he glanced down at the table.

Limestone gave him a confused frown before she looked down at the table. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized that she was indeed holding his hand. “Oh, sorry.” She hastily said as she quickly pulled her hoof away. What the hell was I thinking?! Why did I just do that?! She thought as a blush formed on her face.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” Chris asked.

“Yeah…” She hastily replied. “I just…uh.” She stammered out as she tried to think of an excuse.

“Here are your orders.” The waiter said as he suddenly arrived with two plates of food levitating in his magic.

“Thank you!” Limestone exclaimed as her food was put in front of her. Of course, she was more thankful about the distraction than the food arriving. After the waiter placed Chris’s salad down and walked away, Limestone asked, “Shall we dig in?” She took a bite out of her sandwich before Chris could reply.

“Alright.” Chris replied with a raised eyebrow as he began to eat his salad.

The meal was relatively quiet between the two friends, something that Limestone was thankful for that gave her the opportunity to try to think through the situation. Key word, try. Every attempt she made to start some small talk was stopped out of fear that she would make this outing more awkward than what it already was. By the time the both of them were done eating, the only word that was spoken from Limestone was to get the waiter’s attention to pay the check.

Once the bill was paid, Chris got up and asked, “So, are you staying the night or are you going home?”

“I think I’ll go home. Didn’t exactly plan on spending the night.” Limestone replied as she got up.

“Alright, want me to walk you to the train station?” He asked.

“Uh…sure.” Limestone replied with a bit of a blush on her face.

With a nod, Chris walked towards the train station with Limestone walking alongside him. The walk was quiet between them, with Limestone looking everywhere but at Chris. While she was trying to think of something, she was subconsciously moving closer to Chris. This continued until Chris suddenly said, “Uh, Limestone what are you doing?”

Limestone looked over at Chris and flinched when she was flush up against his leg. “N-nothing.” She choked out as she took a step back.

Chris suddenly grabbed Limestone’s shoulders, forcing her to stop and face him. “Alright, that’s a load of crap.” He said with a frown.

“W-what’s that supposed to mean?” Limestone exclaimed, feeling a mix between feeling flustered and frustrated.

“What I mean is that there’s something going on with you and you’re trying to hide it. I mean…the dinner, holding my hand, and now this. I…what’s going on, Limestone?” He asked.

Limestone’s eyes glanced all over the place as she tried to think about what to do next. When here eyes landed on a park bench. She took a deep breath before looking at Chris and asking, “Can we sit down first…before I tell you?”

Chris looked over to the park bench and stood there for a few seconds before saying, “Alright, come on.” The two of them walked over to the bench and took a seat. The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes before it was broken by Chris. “So, what’s going on?” He asked.

Limestone took another deep breath before she began to speak, “So, I didn’t exactly ask you to dinner to celebrate you getting that job, because I knew it was a pity job…” She began to explain before trailing off.

“Alright, so why did you ask me out to dinner?” He asked.

“…I was asking you out on a date?” Limestone finally admitted.

Chris gave her a confused frown before his eyes widened. “Wait, by date you mean-” He began to ask.

“Yes, a real date!” She exclaimed.

Chris flinched back at that. “W-wait, really?! But, why?”

“Because I like you, Chris.” Limestone began to explain. “And I mean more than a friend. I don’t know if it’s love or a fling. I don’t even know if it’s because you’re the first stallion that’s ever wanted to know me. But…but…I do know why I like you.” She then turned to Chris as she continued. “It’s because you care about me. You care about me more than anyone outside of my family ever has. I can tell you do, because you were the one who reached out to me after I left Ponyville. I mean…that’s gotta mean something, right?’ She asked hopefully.

Sh continued to stare hopefully at Chris, but the longer she stared the more that hope turned to despair. Chris was just staring at Limestone with a blank face. The longer he stayed like that, the more Limestone began to think that this was a form of rejection. “I…I shouldn’t have said anything.” She said as tears began to form in her eyes. “I just…I need to go.” She exclaimed before jumping off the bench and galloping to the train station as fast as she could.

She didn’t pay attention to the world around her. She was too heartbroken to care. She just wanted to get out as soon as possible. After a few minutes, she made it to the train station and ran up to the ticket counter. “When’s the next train? She asked in between breaths while trying to rub the tears out of her eyes.

“It comes in about twenty minutes.” The stallion behind the counter replied before giving her a concerned frown. “Uh, ma’am, are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Just give me a ticket!” Limestone snapped as she practically threw some bits at the stallion. He swiftly pulled a ticket out and gave it to her before taking the bits and retreating behind the counter. With the ticket in hoof, Limestone took a seat on a bench to wait for the train to arrive. Now that she had finally stopped running, Limestone began to sob into her hooves, thinking that her friendship with Chris was ruined.

“Limestone!” She thought she heard somepony call out. She kept an ear up to see if she could hear it again. “Limestone!” She heard again, only now she recognized the voice. She looked up and gasped when she saw Chris running towards her. She got up as she stared at him with a shocked look on her face until Chris was in front of her.

“W-what are you doing here?!” She exclaimed as Chris knelt over to catch his breath.

“You…left…before…I could respond.” He said between breaths.

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to. I think your answer was obvious.” She replied sadly as she turned away.

He frowned at her before replying, “Limestone, I didn’t reflect you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just…didn’t know how to respond to all of that.” He admitted.

Limestone perked up before turning back to him. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“I mean…I just didn’t expect anyone to have this much of an interest in me. Let alone my best friend.” He replied.

“So, what does that mean about us?” Limestone asked, feeling a little bit of hope come back to her.

Chris stood there for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. “I honestly don’t know. I still haven’t come to terms with the fact that I’ll be living in Equestria for the rest of my life. So, I haven’t really thought about dating anyone.” He admitted.

“…Oh.” Limestone solemnly replied.

Chris starred at her for a few moments before suddenly saying, “I’ll make you a promise.” Limestone look up at him with a curious look. “Give me some time to think about things. Once I come up with an answer, I’ll let you know what it is, alright?” He asked with a small smile.

Limestone returned the smile as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Guess it’s better than nothing.” She replied. She then looked over to the ticket counter and chuckled. “Y’know, I was so focused on getting out of here that I didn’t ask where the train was going.”

“That’s not good.” Chris replied with a chuckle. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine now. Let me go see where this train is going real quickly…and probably apologize to the stallion I yelled at.” She said as she walked back to the counter, feeling content that there was at least some hope for the both of them.

A little over a month has passed since that night, and Limestone hasn’t heard a thing from Chris. However, Limestone didn’t let that bother her too much. She’d admit that she was a little frustrated with how long he was taking, but she knew that he was making a pretty important decision that he couldn’t exactly rush. And she knew that no matter what that decision is, that he would let her know.

Currently, Limestone was walking out of the mine with a cart filled with precious rocks tied to her. After she climbed up the slope to the house, she took a glance at the entrance to the farm and saw something that made her turn her head. Walking through the entrance with his hands in his pockets, was Chris. Limestone smiled before yelling out, “Hey, Chris, over here!”

Chris looked over and smiled before waving to her. She slowed down as she watched Chris walk up to her. “Hey, Limestone, how’re you doing?”

“Eh, fine. Just doing some work today.” She replied, pointing a hoof at the cart.

“I can see that.” He stated as he looked around “Y’know, I was expecting your place to look more like a quarry and less like a farm.”

“Yeah, I get that from some of Pinkie’s friends sometimes.” Limestone replied. They walked for a while in silence before she suddenly asked, “Hey, have you thought about…you know?”

“Everyday, to be honest with you.” He admitted.

“…And?” She asked nervously.

“Well, let’s just say that it got to the point that Twilight, the Princess of O.C.D.s, deemed it necessary for me to see her sister in law, Cadance, the Princess of Love.” He began to explain.

“Okay,” Limestone asked as she began to wonder where this was going. “And how did that go?”

“Actually, a lot better than I thought.” He admitted. “At first, I thought that she was going to just tell me to rush into it. Instead, she just sat down and had a very lengthy conversation with me. By the end of the talk, she just left me with some advice. To think about what I want out of the relationship and the person I want to share that relationship with. It got me to think about it in a different way, which caused me to remember something that an old neighbor told me.” He said as he stopped walking.

“And what’s that?” She asked as she stood to look up at him.

“That life alone sucks.” He answered.

Limestone gave him a confused frown at the answer. “Okay, but weren’t you living with Princess Twilight and two other ponies at the castle?” She asked as she unhooked the cart from her.

“Well, yeah I am, and they’re great friends and all. But there’s some things that friends can’t exactly provide that a lover can.” He explained, causing Limestone to blush a little. “There’s a level of care they show that friends really can’t provide. Lovers provide each other constant support and compassion. They essentially provide another reason to live.”

“Is…is that what you want you of a relationship?” Limestone asked nervously.

“Well, yeah, I guess it is.” He replied with a hint of a blush forming on his cheeks.

“And what type of pony do you want to spend it with?” She asked.

“Well, probably someone who’s shown me that type of care before getting together. Someone who cares about me regardless of when I’m at my best and when I’m at my worst…someone like you.” He confessed.

Limestone actually had to hold back a squeal of delight. “Does that mean that you actually…” She began to ask in excitement.

“Yeah, I’m willing to give us a shot.” He confirmed with a nod.

Limestone happily squealed as she jumped up to give Chris an almost bone crushing hug. He flinched back at first, but soon chuckled and returned the hug. After a few minutes, Limestone leaned back so that she could look Chris in the eye. “Hey, um, I hope it’s not too much to ask if we could…kiss?” She nervously asked as a blush formed on her face.

“Yeah, I guess we could.” He replied with a small smile before he began to slowly lean forward.

Limestone began to lean in at the same pace as her heartbeat began to increase. It was only when they were inches apart did Limestone closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Soon after that, she felt their lips finally connect. It was a simple kiss that they only extended so that they could compensate for how different their faces were shaped. Nothing too passionate, but it caused her heart to flutter regardless. When they separated, Limestone looked at him before saying, “That was nice…a bit awkward, but nice.”

“Yeah, but that’s something we can work around.” He replied with a smile.

Limestone gave an amused snort as she rolled her eyes. “So, what’re going to do now?” She asked.

“Well, I guess I could move here. I don’t exactly have a good experience with long distance relationships.” He replied. “So long as you have things other than rocks to eat.” He added on jokingly.

“We can come up with some things for you.” She replied with a roll of her eyes. “But if you stay here then you have to follow two rules. You see that boulder over there.” She said as she pointed a hoof to a boulder that was a few yards from the house.

“Yeah?” He asked as he gave the boulder a curious glance.

“That’s Holder’s Boulder. The first rule is to never touch Holder’s Boulder.” She explained almost threateningly.

“Alright, got it. What’s the other rule.” He asked.

“That if you’re going to live here, then you gotta work.” She replied with a smirk.

Chris chuckled before saying, “Is that all? Heck, I can live with that.”

“Great, I’ll show you around!” She exclaimed as she walked up to the house with Chris in tow. Along the way, Limestone quickly pressed herself flush against his hip, to which he responded by wrapping an arm around her neck. She smiled as she nuzzled his side. Months ago, she was happy to call Chris her first friend. Now, she was ecstatic to all him her first boyfriend.

Epilogue

Limestone stirred from her sleep right as the sun began to rise. About a year ago, she would have silently cursed herself for getting up this late. Now, it didn’t bother her so much. Of course, that was primarily because of the person who was spooning her at the moment.

“Looks like someone’s finally awake,” she heard Chris say.

“Yeah,” she responded, turning to face him. “Have you been awake long?”

“Nah, I woke up a few minutes before you did.”

“So, you decided to watch me sleep?”

“Well, it was either that or wake your grumpy butt up. The latter of which is something I don’t exactly have fond memories of.”

“…Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t hit you right now.”

Chris gave her a smirk before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Does that work?” he asked.

“Hmm…nope,” she responded, making an exaggerated swing at Chris’s head.

Chris caught her hoof easily before leaning in. “In that case, then I know what will,” he said before gently placing his lips on hers.

She quickly melted into the kiss, her hoof sliding out of Chris’s hand so that it could wrap around his shoulder. The kiss deepened slightly before the two of them separated. “Yeah, that would do it,” she said, going in for another kiss.

They continued like this for a few minutes before separating again. “So, what do we have going on today?” Chris asked.

“We’re gathering materials from the mines today, so nothing too hard today,” Limestone replied, rolling away to stretch herself out.

“Alright,” Chris said as he got out of bed. As he put a t-shirt on, he turned to Limestone and said, “Well, it’s my turn to make breakfast. What do you want?”

“French toast,” she answered immediately.

Chris let out a chuckle. “Are you ever going to ask me to make anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Guess I should stop asking what you want then,” he teased, getting a growl in return. He raised his hands up in surrender as he walked out of the room saying, “Don’t worry. You want French toast. I’ll make you French toast.”

Limestone started to roll out of the bed as well, looking at the only photograph that stood on her night stand along the way. It was a picture of her and Chris sitting at a table in Surgarcube Corner, her head resting on his shoulder and his head resting on hers. It was a picture that Pinkie Pie practically forced them to take when she learned they were an item. In the end, she was glad that she did.

A sudden knock at the door caught her attention. “Come in,” she said. The door opened as Marble Pie came in. “Hey, Marble, did ya sleep well?”

“Mhmm,” Marble nodded before looking around the room. “Where’s Chris?”

“He gone downstairs already. He’s making breakfast.”

“Oh, okay,” Marble replied as she closed the door behind her. “So, when are you going to ask him?”

“Ask him what?” Limestone asked with a raised brow.

“Limestone, come on,” she replied, sauntering over to the night stand. She opened it and said, “Are you going to tell me that you bought this for no reason?” She then pulled a small, black box from the drawer.

Limestone’s eyes widened as she yelled, “How’d you find out about that?!”

“Limestone, please, you were parading this high up in the air as you were walking in the house. You’re lucky that Chris was working down in the mine that day,” Marble teased.

Limestone blushed in embarrassment. “Yeah, well, so what?! You’d be happy too if you had to go through that much effort to get something.”

“Yeah, but I’d be a lot more subtle about something like this.”

Limestone let out a groan as she looked down at the box. She always knew that getting a ring was going to be difficult since the day she asked how humans usually proposed, which Marble evidently overheard. It took her months just to find a jeweler who could make a custom ring. Once that was done, it was just a matter of convincing him that she needed the ring to be smaller than a normal horn ring and pay for it.

“So,” Marble piped up, passing the box over to Limestone. “When are you going to ask him?”

Limestone just stared at the box for a few seconds. She knew that that Marble was also silently asking why she hadn’t asked him yet. It certainly wasn’t because the didn’t think about it. She thought about asking him to marry her every other day. But whenever she did, crippling anxiety would hit her with a vengeance. How could it not, Chris was her first boyfriend. The first stallion she spent the night with. The first stallion that made her even think about marriage. Besides, she never thought it was a good time to ask. But, now that Marble’s getting her to think about it differently just by asking her one question, it’s gotten her to realize two things. One, she’s been really silly about the whole situation. And two, that she’s been putting it off. A lot.

With a frown, she looked her sister in the eye and said, “Today, I’ll try asking him today.”

“Alright, then you might want this on you,” Marble said with a smile, passing the box to Limestone.

“Hey, everyone!” They heard Chris yell out. “First piece of French toast is going on the pan!”

“Mine!” Limestone yelled before quickly hiding the box and running downstairs, much to Marble’s amusement.

Later on in the day, Limestone and Chris went down into the mine and started gathering limestone. There was a good amount of limestone they needed to collect, but not so much that she needed Chris’s help. The original plan was to have him go deeper to collect some other materials they needed, but having him work with her allowed her to have a more isolated spot for her to propose to him. She just needed to keep her nerves from getting the better of her.

Come on, Limestone, you can do this. She thought as she chipped away at the limestone, her eyes occasionally glancing at the saddle bags she brought with her. You went through the trouble of actually bringing the damn thing with you. Don’t start getting cold hooves now.

“Hey, Limestone!” she heard Chris call out as he dumped more rocks into the minecart. “How much limestone do we need again?”

“We need a couple of blocks to fill out the order, but we might as well fill the cart while we’re down here,” she replied, turning back to face him. “Who knows when we’ll need ‘em again.”

Chris let out a chuckle as he said, “Y’know, that’s something I love about you, babe. You occasionally think ahead of time.”

“Oh, only occasionally?” she asked almost threateningly

“…If I list the other things I love about you, do you promise not to make me sleep in the mine tonight.”

“…I’m listening.”

“Well… I love how assertive you are. I love how you don’t take crap from anyone. And you’ve got a good heart deep down…y’know, once you dig down deep enough.”

While she was giving him a deadpanned stare, she was actually having a hard time not cracking a smile as a small blush formed on her cheeks. “Alright, you’re forgiven, hun. Now, let’s get back to work.

“Awe, but I was about to finish it up by saying that I love that thing you do with your hooves where you-”

“I said get back to work!” Limestone yelled, her face a bright red.

“Heh, and you’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” he concluded as he walked off to continue mining.

She groaned at him before turning around, peering down at her saddlebags. That damn jerk, trying to embarrass me like that. A small smile formed as she began to reach into the saddle bags. And he knows how, because he knows that much about me. Because he stuck around me, through thick and thin. She pulled the box out of the box and just stared at it. Damn, how am I supposed the propose to him after that? I know he said I was assertive, but I can’t just go up to him now and ask…can I? …Maybe I should just wait awhile longer…or… she trailed off as her eyes traveled down to a cracked hole in the wall. It was just large enough to hide the box in.

It’s perfect! I can hide it in there and tell Chris that I found something strange in there. Then, I can propose to him when he pulls it out. He’ll be too surprised for it to be weird. It’s foolproof.

“Hey, Limestone!” she heard Chris call out again.

“What is it?” she called back as she inspected the hole to see how far she should push the box in.

“Why did we need the limestone again? I never got around to reading the order.”

“Apparently, some rich pony wanted to give his daughter a chess set carved out of limestone for her birthday. Ma and pa are currently working on the board right now.”

“…So, he couldn’t just get one from his local toy store?”

“That’s what I said! But, he’s paying us a lot of bits for the set, so we shouldn’t complain too much about it,” she replied, placing the box a few inches away from the hole.

“Hey, uh, Limestone?” she heard Chris again, though not as loud as before.

“What is it now?”

“I know that you love your job and all, but don’t you think that marrying it is a bit much.”

Limestone’s eyes widened slowly, her face heating up as she processed what she just heard. She quickly turned around to find Chris leaning against the minecart with a smirk on his face. “C-Chris!” Limestone stuttered in surprise. “I-uh-you see…I…It’s not what it looks like. I-”

“Calm down, Limestone. I know what you’re trying to do,” he said as he began to walk up to her. “To be honest, I didn’t think it would take you this long to make the move.”

“Y-you do, and…wait, this long? …You knew that I wanted to propose you!? When!?”

“Since the day I saw you bring the ring home. I was actually on my way back from the mine when I saw you carrying it,” he admitted as he stood a couple of feet away from her.

“Then…why didn’t you say anything?”

“Cause I knew that the only reason you’d ever ask me was when you were ready and I didn’t want you to rush into something that you didn’t feel you were ready for,” he explained. After pausing for a few moments, he went down on knee and said, “Besides, it gave me some time to think about whether or not I was ready for that next step too.”

Limestone was pleasantly surprised by his answer. She was a bit miffed at first when he admitted that he knew about the ring, but now that he admitted that he spent the time to think about what she wanted to ask him, it made feel more hopeful. “Does that mean you’ll…” she trailed off.

He smirked before replying, “Why don’t you ask and find out.”

She gave him a smirk of her own before she began to make a couple of confident steps toward him. She then sat on her haunches to present the box to him. “Christopher Ayers,” she opens the box to reveal a gold ring with a small diamond embedded on the top. “Marry me.”

Chris let out a chuckle. “You know I will,” he answered as he took the ring out of the box. Limestone watched with bated breath as he put the ring on his finger, only to be met with disappointment when it couldn’t go on. “Damn, it’s too small,” she groaned.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’d be surprised if it actually did fit,” he replied light heartedly before putting the ring in his pocket. “I’ll get a chain for it later. At the very least, we can make sure that the wedding ring fits, right?”

“Heh, yeah,” she confirmed before pushing herself up to wrap her forelegs around his neck. “Guess we’ve got some work to do, huh?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” he replied. He then pulled her in for a passionate kiss, which she happily returned. Once the kiss ended, they continued to hug each other and rest their heads on each other’s shoulder. With him by my side, I feel like I’m ready for anything. Limestone thought happily.

“I’m so not ready for this,” Limestone said nervously as she looked at herself in the mirror in her room. Even on her wedding day, the image of her wearing a dress looked alien to her.

“Thou haft nothing to fear, Limestone,” Cloudy Quartz said, making small adjustments to Limestone’s dress. “Believe me when I tell thee that this is the easy part. Especially after everything we’ve all been through the past couple of months.”

“I know, but I can’t help but think that he’ll stand me up from time to time,” she replied.

“Ah, come on, you worrywart,” Pinkie Pie jovially teased. “He put just as much work into this wedding as you did, if not more. He’d have to be crazy and stupid to stand you up now. Besides, you’d be the last of his problems if he did.”

“Heh, you got a point there, sis,” Limestone chuckled, looking back at the mirror.

Cloudy Quartz began to place the wedding veil on Limestone’s head. “Thou shouldn’t worry about such things. Thou have found thyself a wonderful stallion,” she said while making sure the veil was secure. “Though to be honest, I didn’t know what to make of him when thou brought him into our homestead. But, once I saw how much of a hard worker he was and how happy he made thou, I came to accept him as a part of our family. Even before thou asked for his hoof in marriage.” She then draped the veil over Limestone’s face and gave her a once over. “Thou look beautiful, Limestone.”

“Thanks, mom.”

There was a sudden knock at the door. It opened as Maud Pie took a step in. “Everypony’s ready,” she announced plainly.

“Thanks, Maud!” Pinkie exclaimed. She turned to Limestone before asking, “Are you ready?”

She gave her a small nod. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Well, then come on! You’ve got a stallion waiting!” Pinkie cheered before hopping out of the room, with the rest of the family in tow.

Downstairs, Igneous Rock was waiting for them by the front door. Cloudy Quartz, Pinkie Pie, and Maud Pie all went outside, while Limestone walked up to her father. “Art thou ready, Limestone?” he asked, holding his foreleg out to her.

“Mhmm,” she nodded before wrapping her hoof around her father’s. He then led her outside, where several other ponies were gathered. Among them was Chris, dressed in a tuxedo, standing beside Holder’s Boulder.

It was Limestone’s idea to have a small wedding on the rock farm among family and friends, which Chris happily agreed to. As such, the only ponies there, besides her family, were the Apple family and the small number of friends Chris made in Ponyville. Holder’s Boulder served as the stage where Marble Pie, her maid of honor, and Spike, Chris’s best “man,” stood along with Chris. Standing at the center of the stage was Princess Twilight Sparkle, serving as the officiant. According to Chris, she was more than happy to officiate the wedding at no cost to the family. In Limestone’s opinion, it was probably the easiest thing to decide.

When Limestone and Igneous Rock made it to Holder’s Boulder, he planted a kiss on his daughter’s cheek before taking a seat next to his wife. Limestone then turned to face Chris. Through the veil, she could see him smile as he silently told her that she looks beautiful.

It was then that Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat and flared her wing out as she announced, “Fillies and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness a very special union. A union between two po-… beings who ran into each other by chance. That chance meeting turned into a friendship. And finally, that friendship turned into love. A love that the two wish to share with each other for the rest of their lives.”

She then turned to Limestone as she asked, “Limestone Pie. Do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold. In sickness and in health. So long as you both shall live.”

“I do,” she replied.

She turned to Chris and asked, “Christopher Ayers. Do you take this mare as you lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold. In sickness and in health. So long as you both shall live.”

“I do,” he replied.

She gave them both of them a nod before levitating the pillow holding the rings between them. A small ring sat closer to Limestone while a larger ring was closer to Chris. “You may now exchange rings. As a symbol of your union.”

Chris picked up the larger ring first and presented it to Limestone. She raised her right hoof up to allow him to slide the wedding band on. Then, she picked up the other wedding ring and slid it on his right ring finger. “It fits,” he joked silently , to which she rolled her eyes.

As Chris began to hold Limestone’s hooves, Twilight flared her wings again. “By the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife,” she happily announces. “You may kiss the bride.”

Chris lifts the veil away from Limestone’s face and begins to lean down to kiss her. Limestone, however, sprung up and wrapped her hooves around his neck to kiss him passionately, which he gladly returned.

As everyone began to cheer, the newlywed couple separated and stared lovingly at each other. “So, was this everything you were hoping for?” Chris whispered.

“Everything and more,” Limestone whispered back. “Now, you mind walking me to the house. We’ve got a reception to start.”

“Sure thing, babe,” he replied before he began to escort her through the aisle.

“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Limestone huffed out, plopping down on the train seat.

“Hey, smashing a piece of cake in the bride’s face is tradition,” Chris jovially argued as he sat down in the seat next to her. “Besides, you got me back really good.”

“You know it,” she said proudly as she snuggled up against Chris. As Chris began to wrap an arm around her, she says, “Still, it was a good little party.”

“Yeah, still can’t believe Maud caught the bouquet.”

“What’s so weird about it? There weren’t that many mares trying to catch it.”

“Limestone, that bouquet bounced more than a bouncy ball and Maud was just standing still… in the corner of the room. Seriously, how did you pull that off?”

“Eh, it’s all in the wrist,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “Just don’t think about it too much and just enjoy the honeymoon… Mr. Pie,” she teased.

“Heh, yeah you’re right. I do have a wife that’ll work me to the bone when I get back… and I wouldn’t trade her for the world,” he said before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Well, that wife does have a pretty great husband,” she said before kissing him back as the train began to leave the station.