The rumbling of the Friendship Express across Rockville's notoriously rough terrain shook the passengers in each car, from the stoic farmers in the fourth car going to Rambling Rock Ridge to the young Filly Guides in the second bouncing off the walls in excitement as they waited for Fillydelphia to appear in the distance. In the last car, closest to the baggage, sat the three Pie sisters.

Maud sat closest to the window, holding up Boulder so he could watch the moving landscape. Limestone begrudgingly read out the names of various Pie relatives, seeing if any of them triggered a memory or obvious reaction from either sibling. She had easily gone over hundreds of names by this point, from Sulfur Pie in Hollow Shades to Holder Cobblestone's third wife Fieldhoof the Brash.

"We've gone over everyone so far and they're all dead or living Celestia knows where! This is pointless Maud, we should just go back to the farm and send a letter to Pinkie about Ma and Pa," Limestone said slamming down the list onto the seat next to her. "Why are we out here on a train to nowhere when we could be making hundreds of bits in the field?!"

"You didn't read every name on the list."

"I went over every Pie, what are you talking about?!"

"That's what I'm saying. Every Pie. Granny wasn't born a pie, neither was Ma. They married into the family." Marble perked her head up at the mention of Granny Pie, a pony she hasn't seen since her and Pinkie were fillies. She was always so perky and cheerful, if anyone could help lift their spirits it was her! "I have a letter for Uncle Oak. Once we get into town I'll stop by the post office and have it mailed. That's one less stop to make."

"Can we go see Granny?! Um... Please?" Marble practically jumped to her hooves in excitement, though controlled herself and looked away as color filled her cheeks. When life on the farm got too much, Granny was always there to help and talk her out of running off. She wasn't made for manual labor, but neither was Granny. She loved that old mare with all her heart.

"I would say yes, but we don't know where she is nowadays. The only pony who would know is..." Maud hesitated, lowering Boulder for a moment and gazing down at the floor of the train. "...Pinkie Pie." The three sisters avoided eye contact for a while, each coming to the same realization. Telling Pinkie would be difficult, she might take it as a joke or ignore them. It would take some tact to handle, something that none of them had at this moment. They should avoid going to Ponyville just in case they ran into Pinkie, which was a simple task seeing as she was the only Pie who lived there.

Marble was the first to break the awkward silence with a light gasp, rushing into the baggage car to rummage around her pack for an old postcard sent for her tenth birthday. Once she found it the mare rushed back to the group like an excited dog, smiling as Limestone took it from between her teeth.

"'Wish you were here. From the annual Rainbow Festival in... Hope Hollow.' Signed, Granny Pie! She moved to Hope Hollow!.. Wherever that is." Limestone's enthusiasm dropped upon realizing that she hadn't any idea where this Hope Hollow place was. Looking at the postcard of the town there didn't seem to be any train tracks, though this was from several moons ago all things considered.

"Pinkie told me about that place. They took a balloon they rented out, so we'll get off at the next stop and find one. She might know more about where the rest of the Pies are."

The next several hours were spent traveling in silence, save for purchasing the hot air balloon and finding somepony to pilot it, a young unicorn named Nook. They arrived in Hope Hollow just before sunset, stepping out of the balloon and onto the dirt path once the basket made contact with the ground. Before the trio could begin their search a jovial voice piped up from down the road, soon revealing its source to be a blue unicorn stallion with a large grin on his face.

"Well I'll be tickled pink, I wasn't expecting any visitors today! Welcome to Hope Hollow! My name is Sunny Skies and I'm the mayor of this little slice of paradise! What brings you three lovely ladies here?" Mayor Skies spoke with a slight accent which reminded Maud of her now deceased mother, though she refused to let this correlation distract her from her goal.

"I'm Maud. These are my sisters, Limestone and Marble. We're looking for our grandmother. We have this postcard from a few moons ago saying she might have moved here. Her last name is Quartz." As she spoke another mare, an earth pony with a vibrant purple mane and white freckles, stepped next to the mayor and gave him a brief, loving glance.

"Ope, sounds like you're lookin' for Rosewater! I was just headin' her way doncha know, I'd be happier than a sot in a river o' cider to show ya the way!" The mare spoke with a similar accent to Mayor Skies, who appeared momentarily surprised when she made her presence known. "The name's Petunia Petals, or Petunia Skies if ya wanna be all fancy about it." Both her and the mayor giggled before she went on her way, gesturing for the other mares to follow.

Due south from the town center sat a small cottage, a small overhang by the front door sporting a pink-and-white pattern similar to raindrops swirling down from the sky. "Here we are, old Rosewater's teahouse! Ya know she has the best tea this side of Rainbow Falls, don't get me started on her tea cakes, I could talk 'fer hours about them doncha know!" With a small laugh and a roll of Limestone's eyes, the mayor's wife held open the door with the hollow sound of wooden windchimes. "I'll give you mares some privacy, I have work to do back at the office anyhoo."

Standing in the small hallway as the door closed behind them, the three Pie sisters steeled themselves for the confrontation in their own ways. Limestone tightened up his face and stomped her hoof once of twice on the white wood floor to release some tension in her body, Marble let out a small squeak and put on a large smile, and Maud took in a slightly larger breath than usual before parting some beads in the doorway ahead of them. "Granny Rosewater, are you in here?," she asked with a quirked brow.

Sat in front of a kotatsu table with a lavender blanket as an elderly mare with a pale pink coat, rose red mane with pink tips, lime eyes and a cup of tea on her flank. She was fairly tall and thin despite her age, red-tinted glasses sat on the edge of her muzzle. Her mane was tied up into a long braid going down the back of her neck alongside her tail, which was pulled into a loose bun. Rosewater Quartz looked over as she heard the rattling of the beads and was nearly brought to tears by the sight.

"Well I'll be, you little fillies didn't tell me you were coming by!" She hopped off of her haunches and trotted over to the group, wrapping the sisters in a hug tight enough to choke the life out of an Ursa Major. "Oh how are you girls, I haven't seen you three since you were foals!" Granny Rosewater rushed around to each sister with the same energy she had as a much younger mare, squishing and pulling on their cheeks like it was going out of style.

"Maudy Pie, how you've grown! Or should I say Doctor Pie now hm? So sorry I missed your graduation dearie, congratulations on your Rocktorate! Your Grandpa Rusty would be so proud of he were still alive, Celestia bless him."

"Oh Limestone you were always such a cute little filly, you haven't changed a day! Look at those muscles dearie, oh I knew your father would work you hard but you're practically bursting! No boulder can stand up to you eh?"

The elder paused as she got to Marble, who interrupted her grandmother with a tight hug of comparable strength. "Baby Marble... You look just like your mother, it's like looking into a mirror."

"Mmhm," replied Marble through her tears.

"As nice as this is granny, we have something we need to talk to you about. It's-" Maud hesitated, glancing to her two sisters before continuing- "Very urgent. Do you have a minute?"

The elder laughed at the idea, sitting back down at the covered table and pouring several cups of tea, one for herself and three for the sisters. "I always have time for my favorite grandfillies! Come, sit, make yourselves comfortable!" She offered a full grin as the three sat, Limestone hesitating and avoiding eye contact on the way down. "So, this must be pretty important for you three to come all the way out to Hope Hollow!"

The three went silent as they looked across the table at each other, though it was Limestone who finally broke the near minute-long silence. "It's Ma and Pa. There was an accident at the farm and..." Granny Rosewater slowly set down her cup, excitement draining from her body as the silence returned. "...They didn't make it, Granny."

"Oh. Oh dear that's..." Granny Rosewater stood up and excused herself for a moment to pace back and forth across the back of the room. "I'm so sorry girls. I always thought something like this would happen, it was part of the job of course but so soon?" She struggled to fight back tears, occasionally glancing up to the popcorn ceiling as if using gravity to keep her eyes dry.

"We didn't mean to!," Marble barked out in a panic, drawing all eyes towards her. "We were trying to finish an order and there was an avalanche and the fence broke the fault line and--" She was silenced by Maud's hoof covering her mouth, who was the first to begin properly crying.

At her confession Rosewater looked over, shaking her head and looking up to a picture hanging on the wall before going on to speak. "Rock farming is a dangerous job, little fillies. Your ma and pa knew what they were getting into when they bought that farm, there's no need to feel guilty." She finally returned to the table, gently holding the teacup in her hooves. "I appreciate you three telling me face to face."

Maud sipped at the floral tea in front of her before taking her turn to speak. "That's not entirely why we came here, granny. We want to get the entire Pie family together. At least, everypony close to ma and pa. Could you help?" She paused for a moment to savor the tea one more time before watching as Rosewater stood up and left the room.

She stayed out for a solid three minutes before coming back with a sack full of old letters and pictures, standing to the side while the three sorted through the pictures. "Leave the old mules to me, but there's something you fillies should know. Or rather, someponies. You see, Cloudy and Igneous..."

"They had a few other foals before the farm."

Author's Note

This chapter was completed a few days after my grandfather passed away. Writing has always been a coping strategy for me. Rest in peace, papa.