Taken for Granite

“Let’s go ponies, we’ll never fill our quota at this rate!”

Things had been difficult on the rock farm ever since the Crystal Empire returned. At first business struggled as everypony rushed for crystal flowers and glittering stones courtesy of Mistmane and the Crystal Empire Tourism Board, but ever since Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz spoke with Twilight Sparkle, creatures across Equestria and beyond were placing immense orders for stones and gems. The Pies were used to large orders once or twice a month, with construction companies using them for pavement in Manehatten or Canterlot residents placing them in their gardens, for which they were paid a hefty some and given upwards of a month to gather materials. Ever since Twilight and Pinkie’s plan went into effect, the family has seen orders twice that size expected to be filled by the end of the week.

This quota took them far from their humble home, far off of the family property and closer to the mountains surrounding Rockville. As fillies Igneous warned them time and time again to avoid the mountains, “for the spirit of the mountain doth loathe the Pies, for it is the same as the mighty dragon from which Holder’s Boulder was rescued.” As fillies the sisters believed this story, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Limestone Pie, the eldest, took full control of operations while Ma and Pa went into the quarry to assess a potential feldspar growth. It was early in the morning, and with hundreds of pounds left to go, the sisters were exhausted to their cores. Marble could hardly swing her pickax to crack the softest slate, Maud’s hooves had begun to chip and break, requiring a momentary pause in operations so she could catch a train to a local doctor and be fitted with horseshoes. Limestone’s throat was raw from shouting commands to the point where even Zecora’s best brews couldn’t soothe the burning pain, yet still they pressed on. The sun high in the sky, the trio only paused as Maud spoke up after pawing at the ground with her right hoof.

“Our sweat is eroding the chalk and exposing patches of limestone. I think we're standing on a large limestone deposit with veins of shale, compromising its overall strength. We should take a break so it can evaporate before we cause any structural damage to the property.”

“There’s no time, you still have to break down that cliff face remember?! That order is due tonight,” Limestone protested despite raw vocal chords, "and you can't chicken out on us now!"

“It’s not my fault, these horseshoes are taking a majority of the shock instead of the stone. This would go quicker if I had some help.” Limestone paused and looked to Marble, the youngest of the Pies, whose knees were buckling from exhaustion. With a feeble “mmm-hm,” the two sisters approached the immense mound of calcite jutting out of the mountain's base and stood before it.

“On my mark!,” barked Limestone as the three sisters turned away from the boulder. “Ready... And...”

“Buck!”

At once the sisters’ hind hooves smashed against the stone, splitting it in two with a thunderous crack and a low rumble from below. Limestone cockily grinned to her sister, whose face was as stoic as ever. “Ya could’ve asked sooner. Now we can head inside and get something to--” Not a moment after she took her first step towards rest and relaxation did she hear a faint rumbling from high upon the mountain. Maud gazed up to the top, where an immense cloud of dust and stones rapidly approached.

“I think we triggered an avalanche.”

Marble let out a shriek before bolting towards their home, followed by Limestone and Maud who were barely ahead of the rolling wall of stones following them. Their hoofbeats rivaled the intensity of the falling stones as they ran for safety, barely reaching the fenced-in property before the stones smashed into the shut gate and- thankfully- stopped. The trio paused to take several breaths, Marble collapsing on the ground with her legs splayed out akin to a star while Limestone set her haunches on a nearby stone. Maud did not sit however, instead watching as the wooden fence vibrated down the line to where Applejack had accidentally rolled Holder’s Bolder into the quarry a previous Hearthswarming.

The fault line from that day was still present, though attempts had been made over the previous months to cover the crack with wooden boards until suitable slabs of stone could be found to repair the fissure. Sat atop an immense slab of granite was the egg-shaped boulder the farm was built around, which rumbled against the fence and shifted just enough to break through the wooden support. The boulder rolled once more off the cliff, tumbling down and casting an immense shadow over the elder Pies before slamming down with a hardy crunch.

Limestone whipped her head around towards the source of the sound with wide eyes, seeing that Holder Cobblestone's prized boulder was missing. “Maud, what did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything, the shockwave from the avalanche went through the fence line and--”

The elder sister pressed her muzzle against Maud’s, eyes filled with a lime-green flame as she snarled. “You were in charge of excavating the mountain, it was your idea that caused the avalanche, so you must've done something else! Now what did you do to Holder's Boulder?!” The two sisters continued to argue, one calm and logical and the other irrationally enraged. If Ma and Pa found out they knocked over the boulder again she would be in a world of trouble!

Marble made her way over to the fence to assess the damages, leaving her the first to witness the horrid scene below. The boulder had landed on its top and formed a large crater in the bottom of the quarry, and though there were no rubies or rhyolite in this part of the property, she was positive she saw red. Literal red. "Where are Ma and Pa?,” was all she could ask as she processed the image.

“What do you mean where are they? They went into the quarry to... To...” Limestone’s brash tone fell off as she joined her baby sister in overlooking the quarry, color draining from her face as she went back onto her haunches. She too saw the red stained stone, though found herself at a loss for words as she tightened her jaw. Maud was the last to join them, jaw hanging slightly agape as she surveyed the scene.

“Sweet Celestia, what have we done?,” Marble whispered to herself, hiding her head behind her hooves as if there were an imaginary blanket over her. “What are we gonna do with the bodies?!”

“I know what to do,” Maud claimed, starting to walk towards the house once more. Before Limestone could scold her for “running away,” she explained herself. “Ma and Pa have some old sulfuric acid in the basement from when somepony tried to sell them on chemical mining. The barrel might be a little damaged, but it should be fine. You two move the boulder and try not to spread the blood around, I’ll get somepony to repair the fence once their bodies are in the barrels. It might take a few days for everything to dissolve, we can burry the bones if it takes too long.”

“Are you crazy? We can’t hide the bodies, we have to tell somepony what happened!”

“I have a plan for that too. Trust me.”