Author's Note

Here's the 1st chapter of my Limestone Pie story. Another chapter is in the making right now and I hope you all enjoy the reading. Anyways, thanks for your patience and support, more chapters to come in the future so stay tuned and remember to keep bronying on.

Grouchy New Boss

Your Bitter Sweetheart on the Rock Farm

Written by Israel Yabuki

Edited and co-written by NineTailBeastBall

Optimistic, that was the word that describes you better than any other. Growing up as the youngest son and having two older sisters is a pretty difficult life, especially when it’s just you, your sisters and your mom looking after you. Your father was a great man, but he sadly passed away a week after you were born.

These days you were pretty much on your own, as your sisters treated you like a pest and wanted virtually nothing to do with you. Be that as it may, you still remained positive. Such behavior rewarded you with making some good friends at school.

Your friends understood the situation you had with your sisters and thought they were just jealous they couldn’t match up to your kindness some others do. As for your mother, she took a liking to your optimism because of how it resembles her late husband. You saw that as another reason why your sisters didn’t want you around.

Even though you had to say goodbye to your friends upon moving onto college, you managed to keep their numbers so you could stay in touch. At the same time, you had no problem making new relationships at the university. During your time there, you had decided to study to become a sculpture as you always had a fascination in artwork, especially when it came to crafting things out of clay. As you grew up, you developed the desire to create things from more complicated material.

Some time after graduating, you continued to improve your craftsmanship moving on from clay to making things out rock. You managed to sell things like garden statues and bird baths. Your name was spreading pretty fast and soon, people outside your hometown wanted to purchase your work and with the extra money, you made that possible.

Right now, you were going through your sketchbook trying to come up with a new idea for the next statue. You were debating between a statue depicting the birth of Venus or an angel reaching its arms out on each side as if using its powers to bless the property. You of course were going to make sketches of both ideas so you could decide between the two later. In addition to sculpting, it took many years of practice to learn to draw as well as you could today.

You were forced to put such sketches on hold, for as of right now, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You just remembered the request you got from your mother to create a custom-made statue of you, her, your father and your two sisters. Even if your said sisters didn’t appreciate your work, at least your mother does. Folding a corner of the paper in order to bookmark it, you flipped to a new page in your sketchbook and started by drawing your father’s face.

“Wish you were still around dad...” you said, temporarily getting depressed. You used the picture your mom sent you as a reference to help you memorize what your dad looked like when he was still alive. Though you didn’t need the picture that much, since you’ve grown to look so much like your father. You took breaks now and then, but after about an hour and a half, your family drawing was almost complete. All that was left was to put yourself into the drawing.

Just as you were about to continue where you left off, your phone began ringing. Looking at the caller ID, you saw it was none other than your mother. You couldn’t possibly ignore her calls, no matter how busy you were and immediately answered the phone.

“Hello, mom. What’s up?” you asked.

“Honey, I’m sorry to bother you like this, but I need you right away... I feel like my time is running out,” she said over the phone.

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong?” you asked, getting a little panicked.

“I’ll explain everything to you once you get here,” she said over the phone. “I’ll see you later on, okay sweetie?”

“Alright, just hold on a little longer, I’ll be there as quick as a flash,” you replied before hanging up your phone. You didn’t even mind that in your rush you accidentally stepped on your sketchpad. There were far more important things to worry about.

Despite how scared you were about that phone call, you made sure to respect the speed limit as you drove to the hospital on your motorbike. Parking upon arrival, you rushed inside and asked the woman at the front desk where your mother’s room was. She told you exactly where she was resting and gave you directions on how to get there.

Opening the door, you were horrified to see your mother laying in bed with an I.V hooked up to her and to no surprise, your sisters were there, too.

“It’s about time you arrived,” one of your sisters growled, but you ignored them and rushed over to your mother.

“Mom, what happened?” you asked, gently grabbing her hand and rubbing it tenderly.

“Sweetheart... I wish I had told you sooner, but I didn’t want to interrupt your work. My liver seems to be failing and the doctors say there aren’t any liver donors with the right blood type to perform the operation...” she answered weakly.

You looked at your sisters, who simply raised their eyebrows at you.

“Hey, don’t look at us, you little imp!” your eldest sister, Sheena scowled.

“Our livers might be the same blood type as mom’s, but there’s no way I’m giving up my liver just to make mom suffer the loss of one of her daughters,” Kerry added

“It’s fine, girls, but I’ve told you a hundred times to stop downsizing your brother! Think of how your father would feel if he could see us right now. He’d be sad and brokenhearted to see our family fall apart...” she said as weakly as before.

“Mom, stop bringing up daddy already! If he hadn’t made you give birth to this little trog, none of this would’ve happened!” Kerry argued.

“Mom, changing the subject… what blood type are you?” you asked.

“W-Well, last time I checked I... I have A-type blood, why?” she asked. In that moment, you put on a smile... of sadness.

“Then I know the perfect donor,” you said before turning to the doctor. “Excuse me, may I talk with you for a minute?”

“Uh, sure...” he replied, feeling a little hesitant. You walked with the doctor outside of the room and chatted with him.

“If I understand correctly, my mom’s liver is failing and she needs an organ donor with the same blood type as hers. Well sir, I wanted to ask you something regarding this situation,” you said.

“Yes?” he nods.

There was a sudden pause between you two until “...I want you to give my mom my liver. It’s type-A blood and it’s healthy as an ox,” you said.

“W-What? Are you sure you want to do this, I mean... “

“My mother has been my pillar of strength and for her to die like this just won’t do it for me. If I have to die to save my mother’s life, then that’s fine. Just grant me this one last request after she’s back on her feet: Put me on a life-support machine long enough for me to say goodbye,” you explained.

Tears were coming to your eyes as the doctor got everything set up. Before you knew it, a lot of time had passed after requesting to donate your liver to your mother.

You weren’t sure how long you were passed out, but man you felt numb and tired. Looking up at the wall, you notice the clock read 11:30 and outside, the city street lights were on. You were surprised to know that you were asleep for 8 hours.

“Wha... ah man... I can’t move,” you groaned to yourself.

“I see you’re finally awake, sir,” a male voice said. You look over to the foot of your bed and see a doctor with a smile on his face. “That was very noble of you to do that. And I’m happy to say that the operation was a success. Your mother is going to be okay,” he said reassuringly.

“That’s a relief. Though, I guess I should expect that I won’t be around for too long though,” you said, chuckling weakly.

“Afraid so, but-”

“I know...” you interrupted with a sad smile. “But I have no regrets. So… can you please bring my mother and my sisters into the room if it’s possible?” you asked. Getting weaker by the moment, you knew you wouldn’t last much longer.

“Sure, I’ll have a wheelchair ready for your mother,” the doctor said leaving to go get your family. You sighed and looked out the window to glimpse at the beautiful lights of the city, admiring how bright they shined. You suddenly thought your ears were playing tricks on you when you heard the sound of another male voice.

“I’m so proud of you...” the voice said. You didn’t know whether or not your weak state was causing you to hallucinate, but what the unknown voice said kept you happy.

Soon, you heard the doors open up and sure enough, there was your mom, feeling better and your two sisters, who now had looks of guilt, sadness and remorse. Kerry helped push your mother towards your bedside while Sheena ran over to the other side of the bed, sobbing wildly and hugging you.

“I... I’m so sorry for making you do something so rash,” Kerry said, gently holding your hand. It wasn’t everyday that your sisters showed sympathy to you.

“Honey, I’m happy to know you went through such lengths, but... why? Why did you have to give up your life to save me?” your mother asked in tears.

“B-Because... I... I love you too much to leave my sisters all on their own. And they’ve made it clear about... building their futures...”

“Y-You seriously...” Sheena was unable to finish her question and just said “Y-You... you had every right to snap at us for being a couple of bitches, but you went and did this! How are we supposed to live without you?!” she asked with tear-filled eyes.

“Sheena... Kerry... mom... promise me that you’ll keep smiling. Cherish your lives the way I did. My life is a small price to pay for what awaits me now,” you replied weakly. Your eyes drift from Kerry to Sheena, seeing their troubled faces. “If... If you want to get something off your chests... go right ahead.”

“It’s just… we’re so sorry. We should’ve been more kind with you, but all we did was let our pride and jealousy get the better of us. Dad always dreamed of having a son and a daughter and when mom gave birth to you on the third try, dad was overjoyed. I guess we thought he was playing favorites and we didn’t listen to reason,” Sheena explained.

“We even went so far as to blame you for his death and even now I hated when I said that. I realize now that you aren’t what we made you out to be. Despite all the times we were mean, you never stopped smiling. And for that, we just want to say… we’re sorry. And I hope you can forgive us,” Kerry confessed.

Your arms wobbled weakly as you wrapped both of them around your sisters. “How could I not forgive the two sisters I’ve loved all my life?” you whispered. “No matter how many times you shut me out... I could never bring myself to hate either of you...”

And finally, your mom pushed herself over in her wheelchair and hugged you. “Thank you so much for saving my life. I wish you could stay with us,” she said, getting choked up. “T-Tell your father I... I said...” but she didn’t finish her sentence and bursted into tears.

“G-Goodbye, mom... Sheena... Kerry... I love you all so much... I’ll... miss... y-you...” you whispered weakly until the last of your strength slipped away and a few tears of yours leaked out of your eyes and soon, their sobbing slowly faded away and what you saw next... was a white void.

What started off as a calm, still sensation was shattered by a sudden great deal of pain. And if that wasn’t enough to make things unpleasant, someone was obnoxiously yelling in your ear.

“WAKE UP ALREADY!” The yelling and another aching feeling on your forehead, brought you back to reality.

“Ugh... what’s going on here...?” you asked with a groan. Since your vision was a little blurry, you brought your arm up to rub your eyes a couple of times. That decision seemed to do the trick, but you got a good surprise once you could see clearly again. Turns out the one who woke you up in the most unpleasant way you’ve ever endured was not human, but what appeared to be some kind of humanoid horse. She was the farthest thing from happy as well.

“Oh, I’ll refresh your memory!” she snarked, pulling her fist back to hit you once again. You raised your arms to defend yourself, but you were about to find out there was no need to do so.

“Limestone Pie! Stop thine madness right now! Can thou not see this man is in no shape to even raise his fists, let alone his own body!” shouted a male voice. Opening one eye, you saw two new ponies rush over to your aid. One was an dull orange coated stallion who you assumed was the one who had demanded the one called Limestone to stop. The other was a grey mare with her mane tied in a bun as well, as a pair of glasses hanging below her eyes. Seeing how Limestone quickly obeyed the stallion’s orders, you came to the conclusion that these two were her parents.

“Our humblest apologies, young man. We do hope our daughter hast not frightened thou too bad,” the stallion said, helping you up.

Your legs wobbled as you were being brought back to your feet. “I... I’m okay. But uh... I’m trying not to sound rude, but who might you be and how did I get here?” you asked. Looking around you already got a couple of your original questions answered, as the place you were on was obviously a rock farm. However, only a few things were clear to you and was still quite a bit that you still didn’t know. Among them being why this mare, Limestone Pie was so furious with you.

Introductions were in order first. The stallion told you his name was Igneous Rock Pie while the mare beside him, introduced herself as his wife, Cloudy Quartz. After telling them you’re own name, they moved on to explain that you were no longer in your own world, but now lived in what is known as Equestria. More specifically, you were standing on their rock farm.

“So... does this mean I’m not in heaven with my dad?” you asked. While Limestone continued glaring at you, her parents gave you looks of sympathy.

“Our deepest apologies, but even if thou hast been reborn, Equestria is thine home now. If thou wants to, thou art most certainly welcome to stay in our humble home,” Igneous offered.

“I can’t stay quiet anymore pa,” Limestone grumbled coming over to poke you in the chest. “Don’t think you’ll be laying around doing nothing, buster. I may not own the rock farm, but I do keep it running. Frankly, I don’t take too kindly to punks taking a nap against Holder’s Boulder,” she growled and you finally took notice of the huge boulder that you just so happened to be laying against. “I’ll only say this once so listen! If you’re going to stay here, then you’ll have to earn your keep! If you even think of crossing me-”

“LIMESTONE!” Igneous and Cloudy Quartz yelled in unison, choosing now to finally interrupt their daughter.

“No, no, it’s fine. I didn’t know the boulder was so important. I’m not sure how I can be of use to you, but I’ll help you out in any way I can,” you replied with a smile. You were looking at the positives once again, as even though you would have to work, at least you would be offered a place to live in return. Limestone squinted her eyes, probably confused as to why you were suddenly so happy.

“We’ll see how long you’ll be smiling when you realize how difficult working on the farm can be,” she scoffed. You wondered if you should have told her you were a sculptor back in your world, but she had already began walking away.

Once inside, Cloudy Quartz’s motherly instincts seemed to kick in, as she was tending to the wounds her daughter gave you. As she treated you, you couldn’t help noticing another mare was peeking from the doorway. She had a straight mane like Limestone, but it was a darker shade of gray and much longer as well.

“Thou must forgive Limestone,” Cloudy said as she stopped dabbing your forehead with disinfectant and put a bandage on the injury. “Ever since she was just a filly, she’s never had the chance to make new friends. Other fillies would reject her just because... of the way she behaved like a colt. Dear me, look at this, she hast even given thou a black eye,” she said.

“It’ll heal in due time,” you assured, keeping a nice smile despite the pain. Hearing what Cloudy said, you began to feel the need to befriend her daughter when you began work tomorrow. “By the way, who’s this?” you asked gesturing to the long haired mare, who was still looking at you from her place at the doorway.

“Thou mustn’t be rude, Marble,” Cloudy scolded and with her ears folded back, the shy mare slowly made her way over to greet you. “This is our youngest daughter, Marble Pie,” Cloudy introduced in place of her timid daughter.

“Mm-hmm...” Marble replied quietly.

“Aww, she’s adorable. It’s so nice to meet you, Marble. So, Cloudy, if you don’t mind me asking, how does this whole rock farming thing work exactly? Could you maybe give me an example?” you asked.

“That can wait until later, surely thou must be hungry after all the grief our daughter put thou through,” the gray mare said, putting away the bandages and disinfectant. Now that she mentioned it, your stomach was rumbling pretty loudly.

“I guess I could have something to eat,” you admitted. “What’s on tonight’s menu?” you asked.

Rather than answer, Cloudy Quartz lead you into the dining room, where the rest of the family was already sitting down. You raised an eyebrow that you haven’t received a bowl yet like everybody else. For that matter, you wondered why they were eating what looked like soup with rocks in it.

“Igneous, right?” you addressed the stallion, getting his attention. “What exactly is this dish you and your family are eating?”

“This would be our traditional rock soup. Would thou care for a bowl of this?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t think it’d be a good idea. Humans can’t digest rocks properly,” you pointed out.

“Not to worry, dear. For we’ve prepared a dish that’ll be much more easier for thou to digest. But thou must be careful, this dish is very hot,” Cloudy said, coming over with a bowl of what looked like some sort of stew. “I’ve prepared for thou a hot bowl of chili con carne.”

“Hey, I’ve actually tried this dish once before when I took my mother out to dinner for her birthday. This sure looks good, thanks Cloudy,” you said.

“Thou art welcome,” she replied before sitting down next to her husband. You took her warning seriously and blew on your first spoonful of the food before taking it into your mouth. Even after blowing it off a few times, the stew was still a little spicy, but it was still tasty nonetheless.

“It’s delicious,” you said before taking your next bite. Of course, the only one who didn’t smile at your politeness was Limestone. However, no matter how harsh her glaring was, it wasn’t enough to stop you from smiling, especially since the stew was so tasty. “I don’t know how to thank you all for giving me a hand. I always believed in karma and I’d say it’s hit me hard in a good way.”

Ignoring the harsh looks from Limestone, you spent the rest of dinnertime talking about what recently happened to you back on Earth. However, you had only mentioned how you ended up outside the rock farm after you willingly gave up your life by doing a liver transplant. It was a tough decision to make, but it was worth it to save the life of your beloved mother. Igneous and Cloudy were a little concerned that you arrived in Equestria after perform an operation like that. What’s more is that they plan on taking you to the hospital to see if it’s still gone... or if it’s miraculously back inside your body.

You were allowed to stay in another of Limestone’s sisters, Pinkie Pie’s old room. Apparently Pinkie moved away to the nearby town of Ponyville to become a baker years ago, so staying here wouldn’t be much of a problem. Limestone made sure you knew that it would be best for you to get as much rest as you could, as she wouldn’t be going easy on you tomorrow.

Fortunately for you, it’s been a long day, so falling asleep wasn’t really a problem. Though, you couldn’t say that you woke up the next morning in a very pleasant way. Taking pride in her role in keeping the rock farm in business, Limestone woke you up, pounding at your door very loudly.

“Get out of bed, slacker! You don’t have long to eat, so hurry up so you can follow me outside!” she yelled, opening the door to throw a pair of clothes to you. You smiled at Cloudy Quartz’s work, as she said that she wouldn’t be satisfied giving you some of her husband’s old clothes and spent nearly all night sewing you your own pair.

After getting dressed and coming downstairs for breakfast, you greeted Igneous and Cloudy Quartz, who both smiled seeing that the clothes were a perfect fit. Limestone’s patience was nearly at an end by the time you finished eating. And quite frankly, she obviously couldn’t understand how you could be so happy.

The grouchy mare indeed intended to make you work on the rock farm, as she shoved a pickaxe into your hand. As you moved over to your very first rock, you made sure to stay away from Holder’s Boulder and started picking away. You didn’t see that much of a difference from your previous work as a sculptor and therefore you got some joy out of this job. You even began whistling a catchy tune as you tore the rock apart.

“Less whistling, more farming!” Limestone growled.

“I refuse,” you retorted with a smile. “I find that whistling while working makes the job a lot more fun and a little bit easier.” Although, you would soon find out that Limestone doesn’t take too kindly to others talking back to her, especially if they were smiling at the same time.

“GET OVER HERE!!!” she shouted, turning you around and pulling you closer to her by your shirt collar. “Now you listen here, bub! No one, and I will only say this once, NO ONE TALKS BACK TO ME LIKE THAT!!! And wipe that stupid look off your face! Whenever I tell you to do something, you don’t give me lip! YOU GOT THAT?!” For the cherry on top, she delivers a hard punch to your gut and lets go of you, causing you to drop to your knees, gripping your stomach. “Now stop slacking off and GET TO WORK!”

“I’m going to keep whistling...” you groaned, remaining defiant. This time, Limestone gripped your hair and forced you to look at her angry expression.

“You are treading on very... thin... ice... buster!” she growled, but of course, you naturally met her threatening look with your trademark grin.