“But Limey, it’s Hearth’s Warming!!”
Limestone grumbled as she was packing her bag. The plan had been simple, but of course, Pinkie had to come home earlier than usual. She loved Pinkie, she did, but her sister was throwing a bigger fuss than her parents had. “Wow, you can read a calendar. Yes, I know it’s Hearth’s Warming.”
“But, but… why can’t you just invite her here?”
“Because she invited me there.”
“But Limmmmeeeeyyyyy.”
She stomped a hoof firmly. “Pinkie!”
Pinkie whimpered a little, ears flattened. She then moved over to and wrapped her hooves around Limestone’s neck as the pair of sisters stood in their bedroom, the one shared by all the Pie family children in their humble home. “Just… I didn’t expect to be missing two sisters this Hearth’s Warming. Maud’s visiting Mudbrair’s family, and now you’re telling me you’re visiting Spitfire? How did you even meet Spitfire?”
“I’m not telling that story to you again, Pinkie, especially when you WERE THERE!” She snapped, trying to make progress on her packing even as Pinkie kept hugging her. “Besides, Cheese Sandwich is coming here this year, but don’t you think next year he’d want you to go see his family?”
Pinkie’s hug tightened to the point of being almost suffocating. “Gasp! I hadn’t thought about that… and what if, what if one year… our schedules don’t line up. What about when Marble finds a special somepony? What if there’s a year that ma and pa are left all alone? Isn’t that so sad!?”
“It isn’t sad until it happens, and it isn’t happening this year! They have you and Marble, and the Apples are coming to the farm this year. Besides, they already said they’re okay with this. You are literally the ONLY one still making a fuss.”
“Buuuutttt Lllliimmmmeeeeyyyy.”
The last of Limestone’s patience slipped away. She shook her body firmly, like she was trying to shake off water. The sudden shudder was enough to toss Pinkie off and onto the bed. “Pinkie, this is a natural part of all of us getting older and growing up. Aren’t you happy I have a special somepony?”
Pinkie sat upright on the bed, looking at Limestone with a pouty face but, thankfully, not trying to resume her bone-crushing hug. “Yes, of course. Just… have you met Spitfire?”
Limestone felt her eyebrow twitch as she tried to focus on the last of her packing. “Yes.”
“I mean, I’ve met her, lots of times. She’s a cool Wonderbolt, like Rainbow Dash, but she is so bossy. I mean, that’s just like you, but…how do two bossiest bosses not boss themselves into a bossy mess?”
Limestone put one final item in her bag and flipped the flap shut. With a practiced hoof, she then got the saddlebag secured on her back. “How do you and Cheese Sandwich not… get too partied being a pair of party ponies? It’s the same thing. Now, I gotta go. I’m going to miss my ride.”
Pinkie cocked her head to one side, then rummaged around in her mane with one hoof. From somewhere within the pink tangle, she pulled out a bit of tri-folded paper: a train schedule from the local station. “But… there aren’t any trains leaving right now?”
Limestone left the room, calling behind her as she began to descend the stairs toward the homestead’s ground floor. “Who said anything about a train.” She heard the scramble of Pinkie’s hooves, and then some “oofs” and “ows” as Pinkie managed to trip and tumble down the stairs. Limestone glanced over her shoulder a moment, just to ensure Pinkie wasn’t hurt, and then continued to the front door.
Upon opening the door, she saw her “ride” was already waiting. A small one-person sky chariot being pulled by a rainbow-maned, Wonderbolt flight-suit-wearing pegasus.
As Limestone descended the front steps, Pinkie poked her head out the door. She then gasped and pointed an accusing hoof. “Rainbow Dash! You traitor!”
“P-pinkie! I thought you weren’t going to be here?”
“She’s not supposed to be, but since when has that stopped her.” Limestone said as she climbed into the chariot.
Pinkie walked up to Rainbow Dash, tears pulling at her eyes and her mouth turned down into a pout. “Rainbow, how could you? How could you be part of this plot to take Limestone, my eldest sister, the salty, sour, beating heart of the rock farm away on Hearth’s Warming?”
“L-listen, I owe Spitfire a favor. See, it was back during summer and–”
“Hey! She doesn’t need your excuse,” Limestone snapped as she settled into the chariot. “Now, Let’s GO!”
“But Llllliiimmmmeeeyyyy, I want to know why one of my best friends is helping to tear our family apart for Hearth’s Warming,” Pinkie whined.
“No, what you want to do is stall. I know how you work, Pinkie. I know what goes on in that cotton candy-fueled brain of yours. And Rainbow, do you really want to be late? Don’t you think Spitfire might have something to say about that?”
Rainbow grimaced, glancing between Limestone and Pinkie before finally pulling her flight goggles down and starting to flap her wings. “S-sorry, Pinkie.”
“But but but!”
“No buts!” Limestone snapped as the sky chariot began to budge. Still, Limestone reached out with a hoof, using it to hook the back of PInkie’s head and draw her in. She gave Pinkie a quick hug. “Love you, Pinkie. Try not to drive ma and pa too crazy. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Limestone released the hug as the chariot began to take off, giving a wave to her sister as she and the rock farm began to fall away below her.
“Love you too, have a wonderful time! You better be ready to tell me every detail when you get back! I mean it!!! I want to the minute accounting of how much fun you had!” Pinkie shouted, waving her hoof to the sky for as long as the sky chariot was visible.
“Limestone, so good to finally meet you.”
“Thanks,” she said, perhaps a bit too short. Still, she couldn't deny her nerves when it came to meeting Spitfire’s parents. Here she was, in Cloudsdale, wearing magic horseshoes so she could walk on the clouds like a pegasus. The whole walk here she felt like she was walking on, well… clouds. It was what she expected, but it still wasn’t a good sensation for her. She liked her ground firm. She wanted to feel something rock-solid beneath her hooves. This was like walking on a mattress. A very firm mattress, but the subtle give beneath her hooves couldn’t be ignored.
Still, Limestone tried to focus on anything else. She looked at Spitfire’s childhood home. It was a tall, three-story thing in the heart of the cloud city, packed into tight rows with a bunch of other houses. Limestone remembered Spitfire had called it a “townhouse” style home, and she had to admit the layout of the homes did appeal a bit to her sense of organization. She liked to stack the rocks in the mines in a similar fashion.
Stormy Flare, Spitfire’s mother, was smiling and seemed to be… waiting for something, glancing around a bit nervously as an awkward pause in their conversation continued ticking longer and longer. Yeah, Limestone was sure now her “Thanks” had been too short. “Uh… thank you for inviting me? You have a lovely home.”
“Oh, thank you, dear,” Stormy Flare said, the tension in her body disappearing as she quickly stepped to one side. “Please, come in. No sense for you to be standing out in the cold.”
Limestone stepped inside, instinctively cleaning off her hooves on the door mat as Stormy shut the door. The older pegasus then turned, going to the bottom of a set of stairs that lead to the home's upper floors. “Spitfire, Limestone is here.” She called up the stairs.
A few final good scrapes and Limestone had finished cleaning her hooves. She moved over to stand next to Stormy, who was looking up the stairs expectantly. After a few more silent seconds, she cleared her throat and spoke a little louder. “Spitfire!”
A few more seconds. No sound of movement. No one was coming down the stairs. Limestone rolled her eyes a little, then took in a deep breath. “SPITFIRE!” The bellow made Stormy jump, and somewhere else on the bottom floor of the house there was a resounding thud. Limestone didn’t know what that was, but she could only imagine it was someone else who lived in the house being startled by the shout.
Still, Limestone’s shout seemed to finally rouse the beast. “COMING!” came a bellow from upstairs, and soon after, Spitfire appeared at the top of the stairs. “Limestone, there you are. I was expecting you half an hour ago.”
“But this is when you told me to be here.”
“Yeah, but I was sure Rainbow Dash would try and break some speed record pulling a sky chariot or something.” Spitfire flew down the stairs and scooped Limestone up into a tight hug before trying to go in for a cheek kiss. Limestone blushed furiously at the affection, but she didn’t protest or resist at all, even though she could see Stormy Flare watching with a content, motherly smile.
“You think I’d let her fly like some crazy horse?” Limestone said once she was released from Spitfire’s embrace. “I’m still not totally sure about these magic horseshoes. The floor isn’t supposed to be… so springy.”
“Don’t worry, that’s just what walking on clouds is like. You’ll get used to it. Oh, have you met my dad yet?” Spitfire asked, only for Limestone to shake her head. Spitfire then turned and raised her voice. “DAD! MY MAREFRIEND IS HERE!”
Limestone heard another thud from another part of the house, from about the same area she heard the thud from earlier. Soon, from a door that looked like it led into the home’s kitchen, a pegasus stallion stumbled into view.
Compared to Stormy Flare, who was in so many ways just an older version of Spitfire, her father was a heavier-set stallion with thick-rimmed glasses. He had a dirty orange coat with mostly white mane and tail, maybe from age but maybe that had always been his natural color. He was currently wearing a very loud Hearth’s Warming sweater, a vibrant mix of reds, greens, and whites that made some pattern of clouds, stars, and heart shapes.
“Is that what all the shouting is about?” the stallion asked as he fixed his glasses and came walking up to the group. “You must be Limestone Pie. I’m Autumn Gale.”
“Nice to meet you, both of you,” Limestone said, trying to correct some of her poor manners from when she first met Stormy Flare. “Your house is very… fluffy.” Fluffy, everything was fluffy… even her feelings. She didn’t know how to act in front of Spitfire’s parents, just like she didn’t know how to really walk right on these cloud streets. Everything just had her feeling like she couldn’t get a firm stance.
“Well, it is all old cloud construction. Some of these clouds are a hundred years old. Solid construction.” Autumn Gale said as she patted one of the walls, the wall gently springing beneath his hoof. “I know some families like to put up wallpaper and stuff like that to hide it, but why cover such beautiful swirls.”
“Sure… solid and… swirly,” Limestone said as she felt like she had walked into a house made of Pinkie’s favorite super-soft pillows. How did someone as tough as Spitfire come from someplace so… soft? At least the furniture and shelves seem to be constructed of “real” materials. Though, Limestone found herself wondering how you attached a wooden shelf to a cloud wall.
Stormy took a few steps, starting to head for the kitchen Autumn Gale had just left. “So, dinner should be just about ready to come out of the oven. Spitfire–”
Limestone had to cock her head to one side. “Dinner, but it’s lunchtime?”
Stormy stopped and turned back to face Limestone. “Oh, right. Of course, dear. We just always have our big meal at lunch on Hearth’s Warming.”
“Then for dinner, we just nibble at the leftovers and have plenty of pie,” Autumn Gale added with a chuckle.
“Huh… guess that makes sense.” Limestone couldn’t help but remember the first time the Apples came to join them for Hearth’s Warming, and the first time they had gone to Ponyville to be with the Apples. Different families, different traditions. She had been preparing for this… if only so she didn’t make a mess like Applejack the first year. “My family almost always gets through all of our rock soup.”
Stormy and Autumn shared a glance before Stormy looked back at Limestone. “R-rock soup?”
“Oh yeah, it’s actually really good. I got to try some when I met her parents a few months ago.” Spitfire said before looking to Limestone. “You brought some with you, right?”
Limestone cracked her first smile of the evening, gently jiggling her saddle bags. “Got a thermos full of the soup and some choice rocks.”
“Nice, can’t wait.”
“Well, we shouldn’t stand here with our stomachs grumbling. Spitfire, why don’t you come and help me get dinner out of the oven? Limestone, why don’t you and Autumn set the table?”
“I was almost expecting the plates to be made out of clouds too.” Limestone was in the cozy dining room of Spitfire’s home, carrying a stack of plates with one hoof as she was working her way around the table, putting out the place settings. Autumn was following behind her, putting down drink glasses.
As she had noticed in the entryway, the house was made of cloud but the furnishings were made of more traditional materials. The table was a nice, spacious dark oak wood, a good wet dirty color that Limestone could appreciate with a good finish. The plates were… she didn’t know, but something plates were normally made of. They seemed to be fancy plates, as they had some cloud and snow patterns on them. They were probably only brought out for the holiday.
Autumn chuckled as he put another glass out on the table. “I think you can get cloud plates in some fancy restaurants, but at that point, you have to enchant the food not to fall through the cloud. Though… were these the plates Stormy asked you to put out?”
Limestone paused as she finished putting down the last plate. “Yeah… she handed them right to me.”
“Hmm… I may have grabbed the wrong glasses then.” Autumn finished putting down the last glass. It was mostly clear glass with some engraved snowflakes and gusty swirls on it.
“I think the glasses go with the plates.”
“Yeah, but we also have these other glasses that have clouds and snow. These are our snow flurry glasses. Maybe I should go ask—”
Limestone turned her head and bellowed towards the kitchen. “HEY, SPITFIRE!”
“WHAT!?” Spitfire shouted back from the kitchen.
“ARE THESE THE RIGHT GLASSES?”
“WHICH GLASSES?”
Limestone turned and looked at Autumn, who had a very tense-looking smile. “Uh… these are the snow flurry glasses.”
“THE SNOW FLURRY ONES!” Limestone repeated.
There was a moment's pause. Limestone could only guess that Spitfire was talking with Stormy Flare. About fifteen seconds later, the expected bellow of a response reverberated through the house. “YEAH, THOSE ARE FINE!”
Limestone gave a final bellow of “OKAY!” before she looked back at Autumn. “Yeah, they’re fine.”
“I… I heard,” Autumn said, forcing a smile. He quickly picked up a stack of napkins and started to place them around the table.
Dinner had been delicious. After having had her family’s rock soup dinner and then the Apples' big banquet, this meal kind of fell between the two. Not so much food that you felt stuffed afterward, but hard to say the flavors weren’t far more robust than what she was used to. She still enjoyed her family’s rock soup, but… Limestone was starting to believe more and more that the enjoyment of Rock Soup was either a family thing or an acquired taste.
After dinner they had all exchanged presents, Limestone getting out the three gifts from her saddlebags as part of the gift exchange. Once more, a family that didn’t really hide the gifts everywhere. Limestone had to wonder how many of their family traditions had been… Pinkie-ified over the years.
For Autumn, Limestone had followed Spitfire’s recommendation and gotten him a puzzle. It looked like a nice puzzle to her. A rocky riverbed beneath flowing water. Still, Limestone could read faces well enough to know that he had been initially excited, but then seemed less thrilled once he realized what the puzzle was about. At least Stormy’s gift went over better. Some new earrings: polished gemstones from the rock farm.
The one who seemed to like her gift most, thankfully, was Spitfire. It was a rock, but it was a special rock. Limestone had hoof-carved a gemstone into a training whistle, one that was going to be shriller and louder than any you could buy off the shelf. Spitfire had been keen to try it as soon as she opened it, and yeah, that whistle was an ear-splitter.
But still, as the day went on, Limestone felt strange. Frustration coiled in her gut the more she interacted with Spitfire’s family. They seemed to grimace, to force smiles whenever she and Spitfire ended up bellowing at one another.
When Limestone got lost trying to find the bathroom, she shouted downstairs for instructions from Spitfire, and Spitfire replied in equal volume. When Spitfire barked, asking what Limestone wanted for leftovers and dessert when it came to actual dinner time, Limestone had barked right back from where she was sitting, helping Autumn with the start of his new puzzle. The pair got loud, shouting out cheers for their respective teams when they listened to a Buckball match on the radio.
For Limestone, it was just a normal day with Spitfire, but around her parents… seeing their grimaces at each shout made Pinkie’s words seep back into Limestone’s brain. “How do two bossiest bosses not boss themselves into a bossy mess?”
For the moment, Limestone was trying to quiet those doubts and thoughts on the small back patio of Spitfire’s childhood home. This was one thing about city living Limestone was having trouble understanding: the lack of space. Spitfire’s parents did have a backyard, but it was small. It was barely big enough to hold Holder’s Boulder. It was a small, fenced-off square of cloud that fell in line with all the other small, fenced-off backyards of all the neighboring homes. A far cry from the acres and acres of the rock farm.
Limestone also found it strange she could feel the cold and snow drifting down from some higher clouds, but could not see any snow building up in the yard. It was all just... passing through the yard and floating down to the ground far below. Limestone supposed that was nice, as it meant you never had to shovel snow, but… it also meant you didn’t get to really see snow around your house. Just on the roof.
Still, despite the cold, Limestone was staying warm. She had a hot bowl of rock soup she was gently sipping at, the rock in the soup half eaten. She also had one of her Hearth's Warming gifts on, a festive sweater from Autumn Gale. It was very colorful. It was likely the most colorful thing she owned, but it was rock-themed. It was a sweater that looked like a densely packed crystal window, with colors that favored Hearth's Warming reds, greens, and whites. Certainly not something she'd normally buy for herself. Still, she couldn't deny she looked forward to wearing it back on the farm, at least once in a while.
“LIMESTONE!?”
The bellow came from inside the house, and Limestone could recognize Spitfire’s voice anywhere. “OUT HERE!” she shouted back, not even turning her head to face the house. Her voice echoed across the nearby homes, perhaps scaring a few other ponies and creatures. The sound of her voice breaking through the peace and quiet of the night only caused the nasty feeling in her gut to twist and grow.
“Hey, what you doing hiding out here?” Spitfire came out the home's back door, shutting it behind her and walking up beside Limestone.
Limestone sipped at her soup, grateful it was staying warm though she could tell it was starting to cool off. “Ain't hiding. Just… clearing my head.”
Spitfire raised a hoof, gesturing to the soup. Limestone gently slide it across the patio banister she had been using as a table, putting it in front of Spitfire who gladly took a long sip before smacking her lips. “I don’t know how your family makes rocks taste so good.”
“You get good at making the most of what you have, and we have a lot of rocks.”
Spitfire took another sip of the soup, then took a solid, crunchy bite out of what remained of the rock in the middle. She then gently nudged the bowl of soup back, letting Limestone gently pull the bowl closer so she could get another sip and finish off the rock with a final big bite.
“So, why do you need to clear your head?” Spitfire asked.
Limestone grumbled a moment. She didn’t normally vocalize what she was feeling, but… Spitfire was asking and she trusted her. So she had to open up, even though she didn't like how it felt. “Just my stupid sister said something stupid this morning that’s not getting out of my head.”
“Which is?”
“That… we’re both bossy.”
“Well, yeah, we both know that.”
Limestone grimaced, a bit of frustration entering her voice. “I know we know that. But that’s not all she said. She couldn’t understand how two… bossy ponies didn’t… boss ourselves into a bossy mess.”
“So... exactly what my parents were just asking me about a bit ago."
Limestone turned to look at Spitfire. “They were asking you about it?”
“While I was helping to clean up after lunch. When you were getting your presents out of your bags.”
“And what did you say?”
Spitfire glanced over at Limestone. She flashed a smile, extended a wing, and used it to hug Limestone across the back and pull her closer. “That I like it that my marefriend is a boss. She knows how to get things done, doesn’t put up with idiots, and is down to earth and realistic.”
Limestone blushed, both from Spitfire’s closeness but also the sentiment behind her words. Spitfire had always been the most forward in their relationship. The Wonderbolt Captain was far more worldly and experienced compared to the rock farm girl that had barely left the farm. “Did you really say that?”
“Maybe not those exact words, but basically.” Spitfire leaned in a little bit closer. “And what did you tell your sister?”
“I asked her how she and Cheese Sandwich didn’t… out-party themselves as party ponies. Then told her it was the same for us. Like… I get it. Sometimes they say opposites attract, but… ponies that are the same can go together well too. We’re like… two rocks. If you throw a rock at some wood or glass, it's going to cause damage. But throw two rocks together, it's at least harder for them to hurt one another.”
Spitfire leaned in, kissing Limestone on the cheek. “I love your silly rock metaphors.”
“They aren’t silly,” Limestone protested, even though she was still blushing. She tried to pull away from Spitfire, but only for a moment before she leaned into Spitfire’s embrace. “But I love that you love them. I know I don’t know how to talk about much else, but… I guess having a high-flying marefriend is making me learn more about the world.”
“So, a good Hearths Warming?” Spitfire asked as they continued to stand in a cozy embrace.
“Yeah,” Limestone said in reply, blushing more before she turned to put a kiss on Spitfire’s cheek, her first one of the day. Spitfire hugged Limestone with her wing a bit tighter, and the pair stood together out in the cold for a bit longer. They stood silently, eyes turned skyward as they enjoyed the serene beauty of the cloud city at night and the twinkling stars above.
Where others would be burned by their strong wills, they found solace and strength in one another. Both in the loud moments, where their bellowing voices could shake the walls, but also in the rare quiet moments, when the silence spoke volumes, they were two intense souls, who suffered no fools, that found warmth and comfort in one another.
Author's Note
The only story of 2022, which I feel bad about. Hope to get more personal writing done in 2023. But, if I only get one story done a year, always happy to make it part of the Jinglemas tradition.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hearths Warming, and Happy Holiday 2022 to everyone!
Also, if you notice typoes, let me know so I can address them! Thank you for reading!
