How to Farm Rocks (in three easy steps)

by mushroompone

Rating: everyone
Tags: Limestone Pie, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Comedy, Romance
Length: 10244

Cadance journeys out to the Pie family farm to get a lesson in earth pony magic.

Cadance journeys out to the Pie family farm to get a lesson in earth pony magic.

Honorable Mention in the May 2021 Original Pairings Contest.

Published 2021-05-31 15:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-05-31 15:30:01 UTC

Step One: Plant the Seed

Princess Cadance was not in a good mood.

There wasn't any particular reason for it. Rather, there was a whole pile of little reasons adding up to a great, big, looming, sun-blocking mound of misery.

Her daughter's horn had hit another growth spurt, which meant a lot of crying and a lot of misfires. Her husband, bless his heart, was doing everything he could to help… while leaving a great mess in his wake. The Crystal Empire's weather team was changing hooves, and the resulting pressure dysfunction had given her a non-stop pounding headache for weeks.

And, to top it all off, Twilight Sparkle was in love.

It shouldn't have frustrated Cadance. It really shouldn't have. She knew that.

But to see the way Twilight was walking on air, while she herself felt as if she were trudging through quicksand, made Cadance's temples threaten to explode in frustration.

"Y'know, I feel like I'm really getting in touch with my earth pony magic," Twilight said wistfully, running her hoof in circles around the rim of her coffee mug. "Just… really grounded."

"You don't say?" Cadance grumbled. Her own mug was empty-- she had found it hard to get by without several cups of coffee first thing in the morning, and they were going by faster and faster.

Twilight let out a long, humming sigh as she stared out the window. The light of the rising sun streamed over her gentle smile, and she looked quite like an angel ringed in a halo of golden light.

Cadance slumped into the shadows. They did a bang-up job of disguising the dark circles under her eyes.

Twilight giggled and fluttered her eyes closed. "Yeah… Applejack knows so much about earth pony traditions and magic," she continued. "I just feel like I'm really becoming the alicorn I was meant to be!"

Cadance made a low sound of disgust and disinterest.

"Anyway." Twilight paused to sip daintily at her coffee. "I'm sure you felt the same with Shining Armor."

Cadance arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Oh, you know." Twilight waved an almost dismissive hoof in Cadance's direction. "I'm sure he helped you get in touch with unicorn magic."

Cadance recalled a morning during which Shining Armor had coached her on using her magic to hold his mane while he vomited up a stomach full of bar food into a hotel toilet.

"Oh, yeah," she muttered. "Definitely."

Twilight smiled, oblivious to the disgust lurking in Cadance's eyes.

"I bet there's a lot I could learn from you about being a pegasus," she chirped.

Cadance actually had to laugh out loud at that one. "Yeah… I don't know about that," she said. "I wasn't exactly the world's best pegasus. I'm sure Rainbow Dash could teach you a lot more about pegasus magic than I ever could."

"Oh, come on!" Twilight took another gulp of coffee. "I'm sure you know tons of stuff. Stuff you don't even know you know… y'know?"

Cadance struggled not to roll her eyes. "Well, if I don't know it, I'm not quite sure how you'd expect me to teach it."

Not waiting for an answer, Cadance grabbed her empty coffee cup in her magic and slid out of her seat.

Twilight's mouth gaped open like a trout for one unflattering moment before snapping shut. She watched quietly as Cadance buzzed about the room, whipping up another cup of coffee before the last one wore off. Though it was a practiced dance, Cadance still managed to look haggard and aggravated as she performed it.

Cadance grabbed the bag of coffee beans and shook them into the top of the coffee maker. She paused, examined the max fill line, and decided to throw caution to the wind by shaking in the rest of the bag.

She chucked the empty bag over her shoulder, and it rolled over the kitchen floor like a lonely tumbleweed.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Well… have you ever tried exploring earth pony magic?"

Cadance jammed the coffee pot into place with a bit too much vigor. "I really can't say that I have, Twilight," she snapped. "Frankly, I'm not convinced there is such a thing."

"I'm telling you, there is!" Twilight said. "I mean, the academic studies alone show that--"

"Well, academic and practical aren't the same thing!" Cadance argued. "There's-- there's a time and a place for academia, and this isn't it!"

Twilight's eyes narrowed. A single eyebrow crept up her forehead, almost imperceptibly

It was a different quiet than it had been some years ago. In the past, had Cadance snapped like that, it may have been quite a blow to her fragile and foal-like ego. Now, however, Twilight was more than accustomed to putting up with rowdy, misbehaved students.

As Cadance turned her back to the coffee maker to star Twilight down, she was met with a glare that made Cadance feel guilty in an instant. The glare of a teacher preparing to lecture a student.

"You know, one aspect of earth pony magic is resolution," Twilight said, her voice bright as ever despite the darkness shimmering in her eyes. "Weathering hardships, standing your ground. Those sorts of things."

"Mm-hm." Cadance folded her forelegs over her chest. "Well, then, maybe you're right. Maybe I have tapped into some of that. I'm certainly weathering my fair share of hardships lately."

"With grace," Twilight corrected.

Cadance's eye twitched. "I'm plenty graceful."

Twilight shrugged. "Okay. Maybe you're right. Maybe you don't need earth pony magic." She giggled. "What do I know? I'm just a simple alicorn!"

With that, Twilight slid out of the breakfast nook, being sure to ruffle her wings as she did.

Cadance ground her teeth as Twilight all but floated across the room on a cloud of superiority.

"I'll see you tomorrow, big sis," she said, adding a rather condescending pat on the head.

Cadance growled under her breath.

It wasn't until Twilight was gone that Cadance thought to shout, "I was an alicorn way before you, y'know!"

Arriving at the Pie family rock farm wasn't unlike being dropped off at the edge of the world itself.

Sure, there were mountains on the horizon. Trees lined portions of the property like obedient sentinels. The cottage, despite its sagging roof, seemed cozy in its own way. This place felt like home-- at least for somepony.

It was everything that surrounded it that looked like a blown-out wasteland.

Cadance wasn't sure exactly what she thought the phrase "rock farm" had meant, but these endless flatlands pocked with dark lumps… that wasn't it. It certainly wasn't making her feel any better about her choice to come here.

Despite the sinking feeling which tugged at her chest (as well as the eerie echoes of chain gang chanting which rattled about in her mind), Cadance climbed the creaking porch steps and stood before the beat-up screen door. She searched for a doorbell, but turned up nothing, and settled for tapping gently on the warped wood of the door's frame.

From deep inside the house, Cadance heard a long, rasping moan. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!"

"Um… no hurry!" Cadance called back, polite as she could muster.

The alicorn did her best to settle herself as she waited for somepony to come to the door.

For a moment, she reconsidered trying out a disguise. Luna and Celestia were always bugging her about using a cloaking spell to take vacations-- apparently it was the only way they could go out in public without being hassled.

But Cadance wasn't very good with her unicorn magic, either. She doubted that anypony would be fooled for more than a quick glance if she attempted one.

In fact, now that she thought about it, she wasn't great with any of her magic.

Just as she was rethinking this whole excursion, the heavy interior door of the farm house clicked open.

Cadance perked up, and did her best to look approachable. "Um… hello!"

The door froze open at barely a crack, and one mossy-green eye peered out at her. Or… perhaps glared was the more appropriate description.

The eye looked her up and down. "Who the hay are you?" the voice behind it asked, raspy and low.

Cadance blinked.

As worried as she was about being recognized, she hadn't considered not being recognized.

"I'm…" Cadance paused, trying to think about the best way to introduce herself. "I'm Princess Cadance?"

The voice snorted. "You askin' me or tellin' me?"

Cadance narrowed her eyes. "I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire," she announced, as royal and poised as she could muster. "I'm here to--"

"Well, who are you to me?"

The pony behind the door, at last, pushed it all the way open.

She was small, but the kind of small that was somehow even more intimidating than being large. Her mane cut was as severe as it was silky-soft and shimmery, hanging like a heavy curtain beside her head. Though she was relatively colorless, her eyes sparkled in the early-morning light.

Cadance cocked her head. "Excuse me?"

The pony chuckled lightly. "Who are you to me?" she repeated. "Y'know. How do I know you? Why should I care?"

"Uh…" Cadance's mind ground to a halt as she tried to call up a reason for her visit.

The pony at the door slumped to the side, leaning coolly against the frame and smirking as Cadance tried to jump start her mind.

"Any time, now," she said.

"I'm Twilight's sister-in-law," Cadance spluttered out.

The stranger's eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. "Uh-huh."

"She's friends with Pinkie Pie?" Cadance continued, her frustration growing by the second. "She used to live here?"

The mare chuckled. "That's not exactly a point in your favor, Cady."

"My name is--"

"I love Pinkie like a sister," the mare continued, a hoof over her heart. "Mostly because she is my sister. But she's got some pretty annoying friends."

Cadance thought back to the few times she had been caught alone with Pinkie, and nodded sympathetically.

"What exactly are you doing here?" The mare tossed her mane, then tucked it behind her ear with one hoof. "If you're lookin' for Pinkie, she's not around."

"Well…" Cadance looked down at her hooves. "Actually, I would prefer it if Pinkie didn't know I came here."

This, at last, seemed to pique the interest of the mare behind the screen door. "Oh, yeah?"

Cadance sighed wearily. "Yeah."

"Huh." The mare arched a single eyebrow, looking Cadance up and down a few times.

Cadance crossed her forehooves and looked up at the porch roof.

"Name's Limestone," the mare said, pushing open the screen door and stepping into the porch. "Pinkie Pie never has any drama, so this oughta be good. Fill me in."

"Well--" Cadance had to stumble back a few steps as Limestone pushed past her. "Well. It doesn't have a lot to do with Pinkie, per se…"

Limestone lowered herself into the wood floor of the porch, her hooves dangling above the top step. For a moment she didn't say anything, just surveyed the farm with a night emotionless stare.

"What I mean is-- well, if Pinkie finds out, it'll definitely get back to Twilight eventually." She sighed. "I've done the keeping-secrets thing with Pinkie Pie before, and it's… not a pretty sight."

Limestone made a small grumbling sound, as if disappointed that her sister wasn't a main player in this particular scandal. "And why exactly are we keeping secrets from a princess?"

Cadance rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated groan. "She's driving me nuts!" she exclaimed, gesturing strongly with one hoof. "Going on and on and on about earth pony magic this, resolution that-- it's just so-- so-- ugh!"

"So… what?" Limestone looked back over her shoulder at Cadance. "What is it you want?"

Cadance visibly deflated. "I… want to learn about earth pony magic."

"To make your annoying younger sister shut up?"

"Well… sister-in-law, but--"

"Deal," Limestone said, getting to her hooves. "We start now. Drop your stuff on the porch."

Limestone brushed past the princess again, not the least bit intimidated, and snatched a saddlebag from a hook just inside.

Once the bag was settled on her back, Limestone leapt down the porch steps and set off at an easy trot down the little dirt road. Her hoofbeats were oddly harsh, not unlike those of a royal guard, and tiny clouds of dust followed her closely.

"Um…" Cadance took a few steps forward, leaning out from under the porch roof. "I didn't bring anything!"

Limestone scoffed. "Whatever, Princess," she said, tossing a glance back to the porch. "Step to it."

For a moment, Cadance was frozen to the spot.

In the one hoof, it was rather hard to believe that this total stranger would drop everything to help her out. Especially when the mission statement was so vague.

On the other, this was Pinkie Pie's older sister.

She supposed some things were universal. In-laws or not.

The porch steps also managed to produce a significant cloud of dust as Cadance pounded down them. She broke into a light canter across the dirt and caught up to Limestone in a few strides.

Limestone did not slow down. "You sure came to the right place. Nothin' more earth pony than rock farming."

Cadance cocked her head towards Limestone. "Is that so?"

"Heck yeah, it is," Limestone said, flashing a proud smile. "And you can feel free to rub that all up in Twilight's face."

"Oh, I…" The defense died in Cadance's throat as a private smile spread over her face.

Limestone returned the grin, but only in a brief glance. "Turn here."

She took a sharp left. Cadance scrambled to keep up.

"This field is scheduled to be sown today. It'll be quartz. A few different color varieties," she explained, gesturing to the barren land on her left and right. "Colors come later, though. Today we're just planting the seeds."

"Um… seeds?" Cadance repeated.

Limestone shifted her hips and allowed her saddlebags to slide into the ground. "Yeah. Duh." She tipped the bag towards Cadance. "You plant seeds to grow vegetables, don't you?"

Cadance leaned forward to peek inside the bag.

Inside was a pile of what looked like small, jagged pebbles. Little chips of quartz all piled in together, running over each other as the bag tipped further and further. They made a soft rustling sound as they did.

"Huh." Cadance reached into the bag and lifted a hoofful of pebbles out. "But how does--"

"Plant it like this," Limestone said. "One length apart."

She picked out a quartz and, without much thought, jammed it into the dirt with a powerful blow.

Cadance looked down into the hole. There didn't seem to be anything all that special about it-- it was just a bit-sized hole in the ground with a pebble at the bottom.

Although she didn't understand it, Cadance pounded her own pebble into the ground.

Limestone sniffed. "Okay. Come back tomorrow."

"What?! But I just got here!" Cadance gestured wildly. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to--"

Limestone put a hoof to Cadance's mouth. "Hey. Patience is a big part of earth pony magic," she said. "So be patient. Come back tomorrow."

Step Two: Encourage Growth

"You came back."

Cadance furrowed her brows. "You told me to come back."

Limestone frowned at the princess through the screen door. "Yeah, but…" She scratched her temple with one hoof. "I dunno. I thought you'd give up, I guess."

She reached down to pick up her saddlebags and pushed through the screen door once more. Cadance stepped carefully out of the way.

"Okay. Where'd we leave off yesterday?" Limestone asked, trotting down the steps once more.

Cadance followed quickly. "I mean, we'd barely started when you practically chased me off the property," she said, forcing a taut laugh

"And yet you came back!" Limestone exclaimed. "Shows resilience. It'll make you a good earth pony."

"These can't possibly all be earth pony things," Cadance grumbled.

Limestone scoffed. "Shows what you know, Princess. Never said they were just earth pony things. So what if we're good at lots of things?"

Cadance opened her mouth to reply, but Limestone quickly cut her off.

"Anyway, what more do you wanna know?" she asked. "You put the stone in the ground, it makes more stone. I showed you everything."

"But how?" Cadance pressed.

Limestone arched a brow in her direction. "Oh. You want, like, that academic stuff," said muttered. "Too bad Maud isn't here. Finally put that rocktorate to good use."

Cadance didn't know how to respond to that.

Limestone to that same sharp turn into the field, but Cadance predicted it this time, hot on her heels.

"I'unno," Limestone said with a shrug. "What do I look like, a scientist?"

"But how can you teach me if you don't know?" Cadance stomped her hoof in the dirt.

Limestone's eyes narrowed as she stared up at Cadance. Her eyes had a peculiar quality to them; when she squinted, the color of the irises almost seemed to shift more towards yellow, as if the very act made them catch the light in a whole new way.

She scoffed. "You really don't listen, do you, Princess?" She laughed to herself, a harsh and cackling sound. "Just because I don't know all that geology garbage doesn't mean I don't know how it works. What, you think all farmers are botanists? You think all metalworkers are chemists? All doctors are biologists?"

Cadance blinked. "Well. I don't quite know about that last one, but--"

"You know what I mean," Limestone grumbled, waving a dismissive hoof. "I'm a craftsmare, okay? Not an academic."

She dropped her saddlebags on the ground, and a plume of dust rose up from the earth underneath them.

Cadance sneezed.

“Gesundheit,” Limestone barked.

“Don’t you know even a little bit about how it works?” Cadance asked. “I feel like it would help me understand.”

Limestone rolled her eyes. “I disagree.”

Cadance didn’t get an opportunity to argue with that before Limestone flipped open her saddlebag, revealing an array of pouches made from a variety of colors and fabrics. She started to root through the pouches, muttering to herself as she did so, and completely cutting off any chance for Cadance to get a word in edgewise.

“Here,” she said at last, tossing a pouch onto the ground in front of Cadance’s hooves. “You’re on rose quartz. ‘Cause you’re pink.”

Cadance looked down at the pouch. Using her magic, she raised it to eye-level, uncinched it, and peeked inside. Inside there was only a mound of fine, grey dust which smelled faintly of metal.

“What’s this?” she asked. “Potting soil?”

Limestone threw her head back and moaned. “It’s powdered berlinite. Try to keep up.”

“But you haven’t told me--”

“Just sprinkle it in the holes, okay?” Limestone ordered. “Only that first row, though. It’ll make the quartz turn pink. And don’t overdo it.”

Cadance looked down into the bag, eyeing the powder suspiciously. She was by no means an expert in geology herself, though she felt strongly that there was more to it than… sprinkling dust in a hole.

“You aren’t just pulling my leg, are you?’ Cadance asked. “You’re not… say, sneaking out here at night to switch out the little crystals for big crystals?”

Limestones looked up at Cadance, an eyebrow arched almost all the way into her choppy bangs. “You make a lot of assumptions about the amount of time I have on my hooves.”

Cadance sighed. “Isn’t there anything you can tell me about the process? Just to-- I don’t know, to reassure me that this isn’t a waste of my time?” she asked sweetly. “Please?”

Limestone’s cheeks tightened as she glared at Cadance. Her eyes flashed with that unfamiliar yellow-green color as she did so, a near perfect reflection of the sunlight’s hue through the dust clouds over the farm.

At long last, Limestone sighed. “Look. The seed is like… it’s like if you were trying to teach a foal how to read, right?”

Cadance furrowed her brows. “Um… is it?”

“You have a foal, right?” Limestone said, getting to her hooves and stretching out her joints. “How are you gonna teach your foal to read?”

“Read to her, of course,” Cadance said. “How else?”

“Right,” Limestone said. “The seed is the book, and we’re the parent reading the book, and the rest of the dirt is the foal we’re reading to. Make sense?”

Cadance cocked her head, looking out at the sea of tiny holes in the dirt. “So… we’re teaching the dirt how to turn into crystals?”

“And marble, granite, limestone, slate… whatever ponies are buying,” Limestone said. “It’s kinda like teaching somepony to read in different languages, though. You need different books, different grammar rules, different tutors. Those are in the bag.”

“Huh.” Cadance scooped out a hoofful of the dust in her pouch. “That would make this powder the dialect, I guess.”

“Sure. Whatever. Just don’t breathe it in, okay?” Limestone advised. “That stuff’s a little… highly toxic. Only if it gets in your mouth, lungs, or ears, though.”

Cadance dumped the powder bag into the pouch and quickly cinched it shut once more.

“Sorry. Shoulda led with that, probably,” Limestone muttered, pulling out a few more pouches of dust and dropping them on the ground in a pile. “You’ll be fine. I think.”

Cadance coughed gently into her hoof, discreetly checked for blood, then turned her attention to the pile of pouches on the ground. “What’s in those?” she asked.

Limestone looked down at the pile. “Uh… iron, tourmaline, aluminum, phosphorus-- you can make every color of the rainbow with this stuff. Plus a little heat,” she said, smirking a little at the mention of fire. “But you just focus on pink.”

Cadance looked back down at the bag.

Then at the holes in the ground.

Then back at Limestone.

Limestone wasn’t paying attention. She had given Cadance her task, and thus saw no reason to foalsit her. She had already set off on her own task, pouring powder in with her line of stones, making stranges motions with her hoof against the soil, sniffing at the air, examining the dirt, tasting it--

Tasting it?

Cadance looked back at her pouch.

She could do that, she thought. All that nonsense with the dirt. Maybe Limestone was right; maybe all she had to do was follow the steps.

The tasting might have to wait until later, though.

“So, wait-- explain to me all of the learning to read stuff, again?” Shining Armor scratched aimlessly at his temple. “This isn’t like all those ponies who sing to their plants and stuff, is it? ‘Cause, honestly, I always thought that stuff was kinda--”

“No, Shiny. I promise, I’m not reading to plants,” Cadance said with a giggle. “It’s just a metaphor.”

“Okay. I mean-- yeah. That’s what I thought,” Shining said, forcing a little chuckle of his own. “Just… checking.”

Cadance giggled again and nuzzled her husband lovingly. “Thanks for walking me out here. I’m glad Sunburst was around to watch Flurry Heart.”

“Uh-huh. Is it hot out here, or is it just me?” Shining fanned himself with one hoof, looking up at the sky for any sign of the sun. “How can it be hot when there’s no sun?!”

“I think you’re just a bit of a snow-goer by now, honey.” Cadance smiled sidelong at her husband.

“Yeah… I guess living in the Crystal Empire will do that to you…” he muttered. “Still. It’s like a desert out here.”

Cadance sighed wearily. “You’re not wrong.”

Shining looked down at her. “Tell me again why you’re doing this?” he said softly.

Cadance bit her lip. “Um… I’m just trying to learn. About earth pony magic. I am an alicorn, after all-- I supposedly have some of it.”

“Uh-huh. Sure”

Shining reached over and brushed away a lock of pink hair from his wife’s face.

Cadance looked over at him. She did her best not to look like she was telling a lie, but she guessed the effort alone gave her away.

“This is because Twilight won’t stop talking about Applejack, isn’t it?” Shining asked, a little smile already forming on his lips.

“No, no! I mean-- well maybe she gave me the idea, but I…” Cadance let out a long sigh and hung her head. “Yes.”

Shining chuckled, a full and deep sound. “Listen: if anypony knows what a sibling rivalry is like, it’s me,” he said with a sneer. “Twilight can be a real hoofful… especially when she thinks she’s right about something. Or good at something. Or has a chance at being the best at something.”

Cadance moaned softly into her hooves. “Maybe a little bit…”

“No, it’s a lot,” Shining said. “You know that. You were her foalsitter.”

“I know…”

Shining leaned over to give his wife a soft and tender kiss on the cheek. “Hey. Do what you need to do. I’m glad you’re getting a bit of a vacation from the palace.”

Cadance pressed into Shining Armor’s side for an extra moment before pulling away. “It’s stupid.”

“Not any stupider than the Sibling Supreme.”

Cadance laughed. “Touche.”

“Cute,” came another voice, and Shining and cadance were pulled out of their private moment.

Limestone was hanging on the fence at the edge of the farm, watching with mischievous glee and the condescension of sergeant in the royal guard. She clapped her hooves a few times, causing Shining to blush profusely as Cadance merely rolled her eyes.

Then, in the blink of an eye, her face went stony and humorless. “Let’s go. Lots of work to do today.”

Shining seemed baffled by the interaction, and watched in shock as Limestone turned and trotted away.

Cadance gave Shining a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks again for taking me over. I’ll be home tonight.”

“Sure…” Shining shook his head to clear it. “That’s really Pinkie’s sister?”

Cadance only laughed, giving her husband an affectionate squeeze before leaping over the rock farm’s gate and trotting out onto the dirt.

She caught up to Limestone quickly. She had already learned the path she took through the farm to reach the quartz fields, and could follow it easily-- nothing so unexpected about the turns anymore. No quick changes or wrong turns.

“More color training today,” Limestone instructed. “Plus some form stuff. We want the crystals to grow in specific shapes. Hearts have been popular lately. And spheres-- the old standby. I’ll show ya how we try to encourage useful shapes for that sorta thing.”

Cadance nodded. “Right.”

Limestone looked back over her shoulder at Cadance, a glint of surprise in her eyes. Happy surprise.

She didn’t say anything, just flashed that look of almost-pride at Cadance and kept trotting along down the dirt path between the fields.

It made Cadance suddenly think very hard about the way she was trotting. Limestone had this perfect, tight gait-- somehow both serious and roguish at once. She wanted to trot in the same way, but she couldn’t seem to make herself do it.

Perhaps it was because Limestone was so much smaller than she was.

“You should stay for lunch today,” Limestone said. “I made some carrot stew. Old family recipe. Not to brag, but I think I can finally make it as good as Marble.”

Cadance cocked her head. “How many sisters do you have, Limestone?” she asked. “It feels like you’re always mentioning somepony new.”

“There’s four of us. Me, Maud, Pinkie, and Marble,” Limestone said. “And Ma and Pa. But they’ve retired to Los Pegasus, if you can believe it.” She laughed to herself, though Cadance didn’t quite get the joke.

“And… what about Maud and Marble?” Cadance asked. “I know this isn’t exactly Pinkie’s, uh… you know.”

“Maud’s in academia, now,” Limestone explained, taking that familiar sharp left into the quartz field. “She’s a geologist. Marble actually moved out to Ponyville, too. The whole rock farm thing wasn’t really for her, either.”

“So… it’s just you?” Cadance asked softly.

That gave Limestone pause, if only a moment of it. A blink-and-you-miss-it second of sadness. “Yep,” she said. “Only really need one pony to work the farm, anyway. Especially if that pony knows rock farming as well as I do.”

Cadance smiled gently. “Right.”

There was another moment of pause, there. Gone before Cadance could say anything about it.

“Anyway,” Limestone said, waving off Cadance's more personal remarks. “Let’s talk about forming, huh? I think it’s a safe bet that pink hearts will be a big seller. I mean, I’m not an expert, but still…”

She trotted off across the field, over to where Cadance's row of rose quartz was planted in the ground.

“Huh.” She moved her hooves over the surface in those same improvised swirls, as if she were trying to seismically read the stones buried inside it. “These feel… weird.”

Cadance hurried to her side. “Good-weird, or bad-weird?”

Limestone made a face, still pressing her hooves into the dirt and feeling around for some unknown cue. “Just… weird,” she said. “Here, you feel.”

She reached out and grabbed Cadance's hoof.

Now, that felt weird.

Cadance allowed herself to be tugged along with Limestone’s will. She did her best to focus on the feeling of the hot, sandy earth beneath her hooves as Limestone pushed and pulled them around, but there was something else entirely flowing through her in that moment.

A remarkable, electric feeling which coursed through not her horn, not her wings, but her very bones. It wasn’t quite as overwhelming as she would have expected it to be; rather, it reminded her of her first time truly taking flight. Or her first time casting an effective spell. A feeling of understanding, of… for lack of a better word, rightness.

She looked over to Limestone, whose face was only contorted into a mixture of disappointment and concentration.

“You feel how it’s sort of… clumpy?” she asked. “It means the impurities are uneven. You’re gonna have blotchy crystals.”

Cadance could hardly speak, but she managed a breathless “oh?”

Limestone grumbled something to herself and sat back on her haunches. “Yeah. Good thing we caught it early. It is fixable if you catch it early,” she explained, dumping her saddlebags on the ground and rooting through an interior pocket. “We’ll have to add some re-bonding agent. This’ll be a good lesson for you, actually.”

The feeling dissipated when Limestone released her hooves, and a weight on her chest replaced it.

For a moment, there, she could have sworn she was doing it. Seeing, or feeling, or whatever earth pony magic is-- she thought she was doing it!

But it was only Limestone.

Surely that was why she felt as if she'd been punched in the sternum, right?

"Here." Limestone placed a vial of silvery liquid down in front of Cadance. "This is what we call re-bonder. It forces the crystal to break itself down and rebuild. Gives it a chance to work through the clumps."

Clearly, Cadance did not react appropriately, though it had little to do with her understanding of Limestone's explanation.

Limestone heaved a sigh. "Right, you like metaphors. I forgot," she muttered. "It's, uh… it's like reheating your oatmeal so you can stir in some more brown sugar. It doesn't work 'til it's hot again, and you can't eat it 'til it cools down. Got it?"

Cadance blinked firmly. "Uh-huh."

"Good." Limestone eyed Cadance carefully for another moment before taking back the vial. "I'll be adding the re-bonder. You're gonna keep an eye on it, okay? Tell me how it's looking?"

"Me?" Cadance repeated, a hoof to her chest.

Limestone scoffed. "No, the other princess in my quartz field. Yeah, you!" She laughed, loud and filled with snorts. "Don't worry: if you screw up, it's only quartz. You have no idea how cheap it is to grow this stuff. Any idiot could do it."

This only tightened the belt around Cadance's chest. Professional that she was, she still placed her hooves on the ground beside the hold, fighting through her nervousness.

"Uh-- course, what I meant to say was that, uh." She scratched her temple. "Y'know, any rock farmer worth her salt can grow some good-looking quartz. I-it's okay if you mess up."

It wasn't very convincing, to say the least. Cadance bit down hard on her lower lip and looked nervously at the dirt.

Limestone sighed. Not an annoyed sigh, like it usually was-- a sad sigh. A tired sigh, perhaps.

A sympathetic sigh.

She took hold of Cadance's hooves once more and pressed them down into the dirt. "I promise. Just try."

The feeling flowed through her again. Pure energy.

She couldn't tell whether it was coming from the earth below her or from Limestone's hooves on her own.

Limestone looked her right in the eye. "Concentrate, okay?" she said.

"Mm-hm." Cadance nodded once, firm as she could.

Limestone slowly withdrew her hooves.

As she pulled away, the feeling went with it. For a moment, Cadance panicked-- Limestone hadn't even begun her task, and Cadance was already behind.

She tried to force her hooves into the ground, twisting them against the dirt and concentrating as hard as she could on the way that felt. The grit, the temperature, the way it packed down… she tried to project it. To see beyond what she could feel.

Cadance made a small sound and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, deepening her focus as far as she could muster.

Nothing.

Limestone gave her an odd look as she shook up the silvery goop. It sloshed about like honey inside that tiny vial.

She didn't say anything. Just looked.

Now willing to break her concentration, Cadance only cast Limestone a quick glance out of the corner of her eye. Out of nervousness. Out of fear that she was being watched and judged.

Limestone looked back.

And, just like that, she felt it.

Like an extension of herself pushing further, deeper into the earth. For a moment she thought she was sinking into it like quicksand, but the ground held firm.

It felt as if energy was pouring out of her and down into the dirt, like thick tentacles of magic that could feel all they encompassed. Her hooves slid forward in surprise, and she felt the energy eat away at more of the earth, seeing more, feeling more--

She gasped softly.

Limestone smiled. "What do you feel, Princess?" she asked. "Tell me."

"Um… I feel…" Cadance slid her hooves about a little more, angling them just right so that their energies would cross through the quartz pebble buried in the ground. "I feel the quartz."

Limestone made a little sound, almost a laugh but… kind. "Okay, good start," she said. "What does it feel like?"

Cadance furrowed her brows and fought even harder, forcing out more energy, trying to understand the sensations therein. "It feels… ordered?" she said. "Smooth, sort of."

Limestone nodded. "Crystals are organized molecules. They're gonna feel a lot less chaotic compared to the dirt and even other stones," she explained. "What else? You might have to close your eyes."

Cadance twisted her hooves deeper into the soil and allowed her eyes to flutter shut. She made another gentle, low sound of concentration as she tried to project herself into the tendrils of magic that flowed through the earth beneath her.

There were smooth parts and rough parts. She thought she caught sight of a few other small pebbles, which were rough but also very… tight? Heavy? Close? It was a feeling that was very hard to describe.

Harder still with the sensation of color. It was a bit like eating movie candy in the dark, where each piece is almost the same, but you catch a hold of distinct bursts of lemon, sour apple, or cherry. The soil itself was, for lack of a better word, flavorless-- but the hunk of smooth crystal has a swirl of flavors in it.

Or… No. Chunks. Like rocky road ice cream.

"Ch-chunky?" Cadance said, Limestone's original question long gone from her mind. "It feels chunky."

"Yup, that's it," Limestone said, at last popping open the vial. "I'm gonna pour this in. You're gonna stir it up 'til it's all smooth. Got it?"

"Stir? Wait, I--"

But Limestone wasn't waiting.

She poured the silvery contents of the vial down into the dirt at a slow trickle.

Cadance braced herself, expecting pain or heat-- but she only felt its liquidity. It wasn't smooth or chaotic, it only flowed along with her magic, impressing that ability upon all that it touched.

By some instinct she couldn't quite understand, Cadance began to swirl her hooves through the dirt, mingling her energy with that of the liquid.

And she felt it begin to move.

To shape.

To organize itself. To draw from the earth around it. To grow.

"See?" Limestone said, calling the vial and dropping it back into her bag. "Lots of ponies--especially pegasi--are afraid to work with stone because they think it's… y'know, stubborn."

Cadance looked up at Limestone, barely disguising her foal-like glee at having conquered this challenge. She tried to say something through her breathless smile, but couldn't quite make the words come out.

"But it's not," Limestone said. "You just need to know how to make it move. Everything moves with the right push."

"You really need to stop getting up earlier than me," Limestone said, marching down the stairs with purpose.

Cadance giggled. "Why's that? Am I horning in on your territory or something?"

Limestone rolled her eyes, giving Cadance a light-hearted bump on the shoulder as she passed her. "Ha. Horn. I get it," she muttered. "Alicorn jokes."

Cadance started off at a trot beside Limestone, but rapidly overtook the rock farmer with her much longer strides.

"Huh. I like your mane like that," Limestone mumbled.

A hoof flew up to the bun at the back of Cadance's head, and she laughed breathlessly. "Oh, I just-- y'know, I thought it was… practical."

"Looks nice," Limestone said.

Cadance flushed a dark pink. "Thank you."

The pair continued on down the dirt path, taking the sharp left turn into the quartz field as always. Cadance, practically on autopilot after these past few weeks, nearly plowed right over the unexpected pony in her path.

"Oh!" Cadance did her best to skid to a halt, but unfortunately not before she sprayed some dirt onto the front of the pony standing before her. "I'm sorry, I--"

"Don't worry about it," the pony said, her voice a low and even monotone. "Believe me. I'm never not covered in dirt."

She looked remarkably like Limestone in the face-- she had the same round eyes, the same small mouth and plump cheeks, even the same very round jaw that Limestone did her very best to hide. Her mane, however, hung straight and heavy, without any of the choppiness of Limestone's lighter hairs. And her eyes, despite their similarity in shape, were lacking in Limestone's signature sparkle of mischievous yellow.

"That's right, I forgot to tell you," Limestone said, coming to stand beside this strange pony and leaning against her in a friendly embrace. "Maud was in the area, and she decided to stop by. She's gonna check out your work."

"Maud… your sister?" Cadance ask, though she knew it was a fairly stupid question.

"Yes. I'm her sister," Maud said, without a hint of comedic intent.

Or… perhaps that was sarcasm?

Cadance brushed her hoof off on her chest and held it out for a hoofshake. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Princess Cadance, I'm here learning about earth pony magic from your sister."

Maud stared at her hoof, but made no move to shake it.

Cadance smiled awkwardly.

Maud blinked once, very slowly. "Pinkie's friend's sister-in-law?" she asked.

How was that the only way anypony knew her?

"Um… yes?" Cadance said, her head cocked to one side. After another moment she withdrew her hoof. "Limestone's told me so much about you."

Maud looked over at her sister. "All good things, I hope" she said, devoid of any manner of tone or second meaning.

Cadance furrowed her brows.

Limestone, however, broke into a bout of tittering laughter and gave her sister a noogie. "Ah, sis. I can always count on you for a laugh."

Cadance frowned. "So… should we get started?" she asked.

Limestone pulled away from her sister and came back to Cadance's side. "Sure. Check shape and color. You know what to do."

She and Limestone peeled away, moving to a corner of the field to begin their sweep.

Maud watched as the pair of them walked side by side, the row of quartz between them, dragging their forehooves along the dirt as means of checking the stones within. Though Cadance had had quite a bit of practice with this process by now, the feeling of her own unfamiliar magic blending with Limestone's was always a strange experience.

The crystals felt good. Predictable pulses of perfect pink. Smaller stones (runts, Limestone called them) were given a gentle tug to expand. Lumpy or off-color stones were adjusted with the gifts from Limestone's saddlebags.

They did this quietly. Only the occasional word or look was needed.

"How's Flurry Heart doing?" Limestone asked. "With the horn thing?"

Cadance sighed. "She's alright. We're getting better at dealing with the magic-- it's the crying," she explained. "I just hate to see her in pain."

Limestone nodded. "Can't imagine if my sister's had been unicorns. They were more than enough trouble, eh?" she said, nudging Cadance in the ribs.

Cadance chuckled.

Then she bumped into Maud.

"Oh!" Cadance stumbled back a few steps. "Gosh, you just keep popping up, don't you?"

"I'd like to take a look at your crystals," Maud said.

Cadance took another step backwards. "Okay…" she murmured. "Where would you like to--"

"Here, Maud. Come take a look at this one." Limestone guided her sister towards a nearby mound. "Rose quartz. Cady, here, has been workin' these all by herself the past few days."

Maud didn't say anything, but approached the mound.

Cadance did her best to stand up tall and think royal thoughts.

"Hm." Maud laid one hoof atop the mound for a moment, considering it without much care. "Interesting. Is this a--"

"Sphere. Figured heart-shaped was gonna be a little much for her first go," Limestone finished.

Maud silently pulled a canvas roll out from her frock, unfurling it on the dirt beside the mound. It was filled with a wide variety of strange tools for which Cadance could hardly even guess the purpose.

She withdrew some sort of wobbly, pointy instrument and pushed it into the ground.

"Good clarity," Maud said, flicking the instrument with her hoof a few times. "Not perfect, but I'm not surprised. Lots of reshaping going on."

Limestone looked over at Cadance and wiggled her eyebrows expectantly.

"Um… thank you?"

Maud withdrew the instrument from the ground, selected a second, and drove this into the same small hole. "Are you aware there's a small iron deposit nearby?" She pointed to some nearby, otherwise unremarkable area. "That could be problematic when it comes to the color. What are you treating with?"

"Berilite," Limestone answered. "But I was thinking about going heavier on--"

"Phosphorus?" Maud suggested. "That could be reactive with the--"

"Iron deposit, sure," Limestone said. "You think I should use some more--"

"Aluminum," Maud finished. "Just make sure the iron doesn't--"

"Oxidize." Limestone nodded.

"Exactly," the pair said in unison.

Limestone chuckled again, that strange tittering sound like an evil little hyena. "That's why my sister's the best!" she exclaimed, clapping Maud in the shoulder with one hoof.

Maud weathered the blow, only pausing to dust off her frock. "My sister's a bit of an exaggerator. I'm really only in the top eight percent of local geologists as far as funding goes."

"That's what I said. Best of the best." Limestone locked eyes with Cadance long enough to roll hers.

It made Cadance's stomach drop.

"Well, whaddya say, Cady?" Limestone hooked her foreleg around Maud's shoulders. "Wanna check out some of the granite fields with Maud? Could learn a thing or two."

Cadance bit her lip, and looked between the two sisters.

They looked so much alike.

They were so close.

That was nice, right?

"Um… actually, I should really get back to Flurry Heart," she said carefully. "It seems like you two have some catching up to do. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that."

Limestone's brows knit together. "Huh? We were--"

"Thank you, Princess Cadance," Maud said, though her face was still as unmoving as a block of stone.

"Sure," Cadance offered, forcing a polite smile.

There was a word for this feeling, she thought.

But she couldn't say it.

Step Three: Harvest

“What are you doing home?”

Cadance lifted her head from the table and looked mournfully towards her husband. “That’s a fine way to greet your wife in the morning,” she said, only half-joking.

Shining’s face went red in an instant, and he chuckled awkwardly as he scooted across the kitchen. “Sorry, sorry. It’s great that you're home, it’s just--” He paused, looking Cadance up and down. “I… thought you were doing that rock farming thing with Pinkie’s family.”

Cadance sighed, long and weary, and put her head down on the table. “I was.”

“What happened?” Shining asked, sliding into the seat across from Cadance. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Cadance said. She couldn’t help but laugh at the worry in her husband’s voice. “Always panicking over the littlest thing… that’s something you and Twilight have in common.”

Shining blushed again and looked down at the floor. “Maybe… but, seriously, what happened?”

Cadance sat up.

Suddenly, when faced with the opportunity to explain her feelings, she was struck by how foolish they were.

She rolled her eyes and painted on a carefree smirk, as if it might soften the blow. “Maud came home.”

Shining cocked his head. “Um… okay.” He looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling, as if searching for the answer in the kitchen tile. “What, did she kick you out or something? Because, if she did, I’ll go right down there and--”

“Whoa!”’ Cadance held up a hoof. “Over-protective dad alert.”

“Over-protective husband alert…” he corrected softly.

“She didn’t kick me out.” Cadance scoffed. “She just… you know, Limestone and Maud really have this all figured out. They didn’t need me hanging around any more.”

Shining furrowed his brows. “Uh… was that the point of all this?” he asked. “I thought the point was to learn. Wouldn’t an extra mare around be helpful?”

“For me, maybe,” Cadance said.

“Okay,” Shining said with a laugh. “So who exactly is it bad for?”

Cadance threw her head back and made a long, low sound of frustration. “It was just-- I don’t know, it was awkward.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “I just felt like a third wheel.”

Shining made a face. “Okay.”

Cadance leaned across the table. “What was that face?”

“What face?”

“The face!” Cadance repeated. “I know your faces. That was a face.”

Shining shrugged. “You tell me, then.”

He smiled, a condescending I’m-your-husband-and-I-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself sort of smile.

Candace scowled at him. “You think I’m being ridiculous,” she said. “I’m not.”

“Okay.”

“I was getting in the way,” Cadance continued, though Shining hadn’t asked. “I-I’ve been falling all over myself trying to impress her, and then Maud comes in and-- and she knows what she’s doing, of course, and she knows Maud, of course, and so I’m just… extra.”

“Uh-huh…” Shining nodded slowly, encouraging Cadance to continue.

“It’s fine. It was a silly thing to be spending my time on anyway,” Cadance murmured. “Like I needed one more thing in my schedule. I have enough to deal with. I should have quit that first day-- right when she told me to ‘be patient’ and ‘come back tomorrow’.” She used her hooves for air quote, and then dropped them on the table with a groan.

Shining Armor was looking at her. Not in the way he normally did.

He looked like he was calculating something. Maybe once, long ago, he had needed to work out what his wife was thinking-- back when she was just his high school fillyfriend, and they were both awkward messes in their own ways. But not for many years, now.

And here he was, gears spinning as he looked his wife in the eyes. The harder they spun, the more he seemed to smile. A strange, knowing smile that only caused Cadance to deepen her grimace.

“Oh, what?” She finally asked. “Just quit looking at me like that.”

Shining’s face broke into a much larger grin. “Oh, nothing. Just… y’know, it’s funny.”

He showed no signs of finishing the thought.

“What’s funny?” Cadance asked.

“Just how familiar this all is,” Shining said simply. “I remember it well.”

“You remember what?” Cadance demanded.

“Having a crush on you.”

Cadance scoffed. “Don’t make this some cute thing to reminisce over, okay?” she said. “It’s not even that big of a deal, really. I just--”

“Cadance.”

She stopped.

She looked at Shining, at the way he smiled--sort of sad, and sort of amused, and definitely all love--and the way his eyes sparkled in the light of the morning sun.

Oh.

Oh.

Cadance closed her eyes and just sat there for a moment, trying desperately to slot the pieces together. Not just the way she felt about Limestone, but the things Limestone made her feel about herself. And about Shining Armor. And about Flurry Heart.

She opened her eyes.

“Oh,” was all she could say, meek and tiny.

Shining snorted. “Y’know, I gotta say: pretty fun to be on the other side of one of these things for once in my life.” He slid out from his seat at the breakfast nook and stretched. “You can thank me later. You better get moving, though-- don’t want your cool crush to think you’re some kinda slacker.”

"Oh, my gosh!" Cadance blurted out, clumsily scrabbling out of her own seat. "You're right, I--"

She paused, and looked at her husband.

He only arched his eyebrows at her.

"You're… okay with this?" she asked, soft yet frazzled.

"You're the princess of love," Shining Armor said simply. "I knew what I was signing up for. Even if you didn't, I guess."

Cadance smiled. She felt about ready to burst into tears, if she was honest.

"C'mere." Shining waved his wife in closer.

Cadance rushed in for a hug, which Shining Armor gladly gave. When they pulled apart, Shining quickly licked his hoof and tucked back a few stray hairs. Cadance leaned lovingly into his touch.

"Lookin' good," he said, and tapped her gently on the nose. "Go get her, Princess."

Princess Cadance was in a wonderful mood.

There wasn't any particular reason for it. Rather, there was a whole pile of little reasons adding up to a great, big, warm, shimmering ball of nigh explosive joy.

Her daughter was strong and talented and happy, and growing up so fast. Her husband, bless his heart, was as loving and supportive as always, even when she hadn’t expected to need it. Though the air was dry and arid, the feeling of the dusty earth beneath her hooves was invigorating in a way it had never been before.

And, to top it all off, Princess Cadance was in love.

Well, perhaps love was a strong word for it so soon. But, whatever it was, it was warm and it was happy and it felt so, so big.

And she was going to show it proudly.

She galloped down the dirt road with everything she had, feeling her mane whipping along behind her like a flag. She felt quite certain that ponies were looking out their windows at her as she ran, but she didn’t care.

Or… perhaps they weren’t. Perhaps they didn’t care that she was a princess. Perhaps they only cared about who she was to them.

And she loved it.

Just like she loved the way Limestone looked at her. Not like a princess. Like a student, or a friend-- even a frustrating or difficult one. Just as a pony. As the things she did, not the title she carried.

At last, Cadance neared the farm and took a flying leap over the broken-down fence that surrounded the property. As her hooves slammed down on the dirt of the rock farm, she swore she could feel each and every seed therein echoing back to her, like shockwaves from an earthquake.

Her hooves beat the dirt path hard and fast as she wove through the elaborate system of gates and fences, taking the gentle swells and dips of the land with grace. She tried to keep her head up, to look ahead, always searching the horizon for that familiar head of spiky grey hair.

She just barely made the turn into the quartz field. A sharp left, and--

But it was empty.

Cadance skidded to a halt.

No Limestone. No Maud, even. Just an empty field.

“Limestone?” Cadance called, turning to look over her shoulder, as if the tiny mare may have snuck up behind her. “Limestone! I’m sorry I was late, I-- where are you?”

Her voice rang out over the empty plains, to no reply.

Cadance wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly.

Was she… gone? In some other field? Was this all just busy work all along? A simple task to keep the princess busy, to get her on her way?

Cadance could feel her chest tightening, and tried to call to mind the advice she’d always given to Twilight.

Deep breath in.

Hold it.

Deep breath out.

She looked to the sky, examining the sun’s position. She couldn’t possibly be in for lunch, yet. Was she just getting a late start?

Cadance squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself even a tiny measure of concentration.

Entirely on instinct, she could feel the stones in the ground. All of those crystals she had planted, watered, dusted, and formed. All seeds she had lovingly watched and cared for, had tended with a gentleness and a carefulness that she had never thought to give to a rock.

And, as she thought about it, she began to feel more.

No longer was she feeling out the details of the rocks under her, but the way they fit into the landscape, into the pockets of earth with slightly different qualities, into the world itself, almost-- as if they were all extensions of some much greater whole, roots tying back to a single trunk at the center of the world.

She took a deep breath.

And she waited.

Patience is a big part of earth pony magic, she had said. So be patient.

She waited.

She listened.

She felt.

She watched.

And then--like a tiny pebble dropped onto the surface of a vast lake--she felt the ripples flowing towards her. The tiny, yet strong, hoofsteps of none other than Limestone Pie.

Cadance smiled, opened her eyes, and took off running once more.

Another practiced route, from the field back to the farmhouse for lunch. A few strange twists and turns that said the farm had been grown, not planned. She leapt over the swell and came to a triumphant halt at the steps of the farmhouse, just as Limestone was retreating inside to grab her bag.

She had looked up, paused in the doorframe to listen for this panicked visitor.

Though her eyes first held nothing but empathy and happiness, they quickly crumpled into her typical look of analytical displeasure. “You’re late.”

Cadance tried desperately to get control of her breath, but could not stop her heaving chest. “I know,” she managed to gasp out. “I’m sorry.”

Limestone looked her up and down. “Well, why?”

Cadance blinked. “Why?”

“Yeah. Why are you late?” Limestone asked. She let herself fall against the doorframe in a relaxed slump. “You not takin’ this seriously or somethin’?”

Cadance shook her head violently. “No! No, I… I think I was taking it a little too seriously, actually.”

“Uh-huh.” Limestone sucked at her teeth. “How do you figure, exactly?”

Cadance closed her eyes and let out a magnificent sigh. “It’s… hard to explain,” she said, laughing breathlessly.

“Try me,” Limestone said.

“Hey, isn’t this what you always scold me for?” Cadance said, smiling coyly. “Asking questions without easy answers?”

Limestone hesitated. “Yeah, but I’m allowed,” she finally said. “My farm.”

Cadance laughed. “Touche.”

Limestone fought a smile, though the battle was written all over her face. “Well, it’s a good thing you showed up. We’re harvesting today,” she said, snatching her saddlebags and pounding down the porch steps. “You wouldn’t wanna miss that.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Cadance agreed. Then, as if it had just now occurred to her: “Were you waiting for me?”

“No!” Limestone spat back. Her face went red in a heartbeat. “No, I just… got a slow start today, is all.”

Cadance smirked, but decided not to argue.

The pair trotted back out to the quartz field, Cadance taking the lead this time. Limestone seemed to be fighting that, but only barely succeeding. It was hard to beat out Cadance's long strides-- or Cadance's anything when she was determined, for that matter.

She stepped out of the way to allow Limestone to unlock the gate, smiling to herself all the while.

Limestone gave her a funny look, but said nothing.

With both ponies safely inside the gate, Limestone turned to face Cadance.

Cadance straightened up and smiled down at the mare before her.

“Okay,” Limestone began. She paused to clear her throat. “So. Harvesting. Just like vegetables, not every stone is going to be ready at once. You’re going to have to check them carefully before you start digging.”

“Alright,” Cadance said with a nod.

Limestone nodded, too. “You’re looking for stones with good shape, good color, and at an appropriate size,” she continued. “That means big enough to flip for profit. Nothing too small or we won’t make back what we spent on seeds-- quartz is cheap.”

“Mm-hm.”

Limestone sniffed. “Okay. Let’s, uh…” she looked around the field, as if searching for something. “Let’s get started.”

Cadance nodded curtly, then turned to head to her side of the field.

“W-wait a sec,” Limestone said hesitantly. “Let’s… let’s start over here, okay? In the blue row.”

Cadance cocked her head. “Those are yours,” she said.

“I know,” Limestone said. “I just… think you’re ready for ‘em, is all. Come over here.”

Though she was a bit suspicious, Cadance did as she was asked and came to Limestone’s side. Limestone did her best to suppress an obvious smile, and Cadance did her best not to notice it.

“Remember: you’re looking for big,” Limestone repeated, a strange urgency in her voice.

“Right.”

“And colorful.”

“Yep.”

“And a good shape.”

Cadance nodded. “I got it. I promise.”

“O-okay,” Limestone said, sucking in a deep breath. “Uh. Go for it, I guess.”

Cadance did as she was told, following the row with one hoof dragging along in the dirt. She felt a few crystals that gave her pause, ones that were large enough for a nice pendant or perhaps even a paperweight-- but nothing that was quite right.

Until, nearly at the end of the row, she happened upon a crystal nearly as big as her head.

She paused, and Limestone sucked in a breath.

It was smooth and clear. She could see that right away. But, more than that, it was perfect. A flawless stone with a beautiful shimmer and shine to it, even in the dark of the soil. It was a gorgeous baby blue, the color of the sky on a cloudless day-- and heart-shaped.

Cadance knew it immediately.

She looked over at Limestone, whose face was practically beet red.

“I, uh… I meant what I said,” she mumbled. “About patience. It’s… important.”

Cadance broke into a smile so wide it made her cheeks ache.

“I think I know what you mean,” Cadance said softly, gazing out the window of her breakfast nook. “About feeling grounded.”

“Mm-hm,” Twilight grumbled. She stirred her coffee with a power that bordered on frenzy. “Great.”

“It’s really wonderful. I feel so connected to… well, to everything! To magic, to the earth, to other ponies…” Cadance sighed wistfully. “I can’t thank you enough for the advice. I know I was a bit of a pill about it.”

Twilight’s eye twitched as she took a loud slurp of her coffee.

Cadance didn’t seem to notice.

“How are things with you and Applejack?” Cadance asked, smiling sweetly at her sister-in-law.

Twilight flashed a very fake smile. “They’re great. Thanks for asking.”

“So… what’s the deal with all this, then?” Cadance said, gesturing vaguely to Twilight’s dark circles and mussed mane.

“Well, as it turns out, the original earth pony settlers did not, in fact, keep in touch with their magic through bulk composting.” Her fake smile dissolved into a deep grimace. “And ‘earth pony traditions’ may have been Applejack’s clever term for ‘chores’ all along.”

Cadance giggled. “Smart girl,” she said, sipping her own coffee. “Now that you mentioned it, I thought you smelled a bit like apple cores.”