It was a stormy night when it all started...
The Abyssinian Dream
by Wanderer D
Thunder boomed overhead and the wind rattled the windows of the Pie Family Rock Farm, barely visible through the glass, the ponies inside could barely make anything out besides lightning bolts in the distance, rain flying almost horizontally and ominous rumbling.
Their home was sturdy, and beyond the groaning of the walls and the force of the winds, inside the farmhouse, things proceeded as usual.
"'tis raining Abyssinians and Diamond Dogs out there," Igneous stated from his seat at the head of the table.
Cloudy Quartz merely nodded in response, busying herself by coordinating her daughters to set up the meal at the table.
"Work in the morrow will not be easy."
"I wonder what's causing it," Marble said softly, gazing out with some worry. "Maybe Discord or Tirek got loose again?"
"Pinkie says Discord is good now," Maud said as she put down a plate in front of Marble. Her sister patted her shoulder once. "Don't worry."
"Belike those pegasi broke something up in the clouds again," Igneous added, nodding firmly.
"It seems to have calmed down." Maud walked over to the window and gazed outside. "There's snow now."
"We might have to raise a complaint," Cloudy finally said.
Igneous did not look pleased at that. "There goes another day of climbing up to see bureaucrats. I can't understand why the Princess would not have the common sense to build the thing at ground level like a sensible pony. What kind of times do we live in when a pony cannot control the weather of their own land?"
"I don't think Earth Ponies ever could," Marble stated, ignoring her mother's warning glance.
He sighed. "I know that we never could actually control our own weather. Still, we will have to head over to the local weather office downtown and see what that was all about. If it's going to be like this again anytime soon, we need to know in advance."
Cloudy Quartz grimaced but nodded. "Aye, we should at least check. Hearth's Warming is a few days from now. Everypony will be gone."
"But what about the farm?" Limestone asked, looking up from her meal at her parents. "We had some boulders already corralled and ready for a roll."
Igneous sighed. "You girls can manage that. You all know what you're supposed to do." He glanced over at Maud. "Will you be around longer? I know you and Pinkie have decided not to live here, but we could use a hoof."
"I can stay a day or two," Maud said. "But I will have to leave after that. I've talked to you about hiring help."
"You should just stay," Igneus said, blatantly ignoring Maud's comment. "Others can come here if they want to see you."
Maud gently shook her head. "I already have made plans. Maybe next year."
Marble looked down at the table, and her father immediately caught on to her mood. "What is it?" he frowned. "You know that farm work doesn't stop for a bit of snow."
Maud raised an eyebrow as the darkness past the window became almost pure white while the storm raged.
"Or a lot," Igneus granted.
Limestone sighed loudly and stirred her soup. "She's still upset about Big Mac."
Igneus looked from her back to Marble, who wilted under his gaze. "Is that so?" he shook his head. "One day you might find the right colt, Marble. For now, the best place for you is the farm."
Marble shot Limestone an annoyed look, but nodded to her father, mumbling 'I know, father,' under her breath.
Igneus, used to this, nodded in return. "Get some rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow."
Thus dismissed, the family went to their rooms to get ready for bed. As Marble lay down on hers, she wondered yet again about her future. Big Mac had been a nice fancy, but although they got along well and she was saddened that a relationship with such a gentle giant hadn't been in their future, it still weighed heavily on her… but not for the reasons Limestone kept nagging her about.
A knock on her door made Marble look up. She barely squeaked an answer, but it was enough for Maud to peek through. "Can I come in?"
Marble nodded, allowing her long mane to fall over her face as her sister walked into her room and closed the door carefully and silently. Maud took a moment to study the bookshelf in Marble's room and tilted her head at the newest volume.
"Mom, dad and Limestone are asleep," Maud said.
She should've guessed hiding it among the history books wasn't going to fool Maud, who pulled out the book with the fake 'History of Equestria" cover and slid it off to reveal the travel book to Abyssinia she had tried to hide.
Maud gave Marble a quick glance before hesitating and putting it back into place, cover and all. "How long will you keep it hidden? Forever?"
Marble nodded. She could see the concern in Maud's face, but didn't know what to say for herself.
"It's not bad to wish to visit other places."
Marble looked up at Maud. "But everypony wants me here."
Maud shrugged.
Marble's head drooped, and she hated that she couldn't be more excited about anything. "Mother, father… Limestone. They won't let me go. They want to protect me."
"Everypony wants to do what they think is best for you," Maud said. "Father and mother still see you as the young filly that needs to be watched over. But you're not a little filly anymore. You should get to decide what the best for you actually is."
Marble looked down, covering her face with her mane as she glanced under it at her sister. "What will you do?"
"I'll be going to the Ponyville Hearth's Warming Festival with Pinkie and Mudbriar." Maud studied her sister's hidden face. "You could come. It would be a good chance to explore things on your own."
Marble tapped her hooves together, looking down at them. "Big Mac will be there."
Maud nodded. "And so will Sugar Belle."
Marble pressed her lips together and turned away from her sister, but she felt her sister's gentle hoof on her shoulder. "I know you were happy for them. But Big Mac is not the only pony there. I'll be there. Pinkie will be there. Rarity and the others will all be there too."
Sniffling, Marble turned to look at her sister.
"I know you feel disappointed at that, but you can't hold onto other pony's choices as an excuse to drop the rest of your dreams." Maud carefully parted the mane out of the way and wiped the tears from Marble's eyes. "If what you want is outside the farm, that's where you need to go. Hearth's Warming is about new beginnings, after all."
"But father… and, what about Limestone?"
Maud shrugged and stood up, walking to the door. "Limestone is also not a filly anymore either, and she should at least accept you're not," she said, perhaps a little bit too loud for the time at night before opening the door and stepping out, she looked one more time at Marble. "It's your choice to decide what you want to do. Nopony else's."
Everything was white.
When winter came to Equestria, it came in hard whether the weather ponies wanted it or not. Pinkie Pie had once told Marble Pie that although the Weather Ponies had a lot of say on what happened, there were many times when the untamed forces of nature that pre-dated ponykind held sway over the world and all ponies could do was to roll with it.
Today was such an occasion. After the ice, rain and snow storm from the previous night, the expansive fields around their home were covered in deep snow. Enough to be dangerous for certain, and yet they had to work, because those rocks needed the proper care and nurture to grow into proper boulders.
Thus Marble found herself tightly wrapped in a few layers of clothing as she, Limestone, and Maud all trudged across the land towards the quarry, where their current batch of pebbles were ready to start rolling into true rocks.
"Be careful. Stay away from the western side of the farm."
"What do you mean?" Limestone asked Maud, as they all came to a halt.
"The snow is much more dense and deeper there, it makes it look like there's solid ground where there isn't. You might fall in."
"Bah," Limestone growled. (Although she did walk away from the area Maud had pointed out.) "You worry too much. We know this place like the back of our hoof!"
Did they, though? Marble wasn't sure. Normally she could navigate the area with no problem at all, but the thick blanket of snow made this whole place look… different. Unlike previous years where snow had been barely covering the ground, it was so thick after the previous night, that although she was certain a few of the family's prize-winning boulders were supposed to be straight ahead, all she could see was snow.
Not only that, but it was so thick that her hooves weren't even touching the actual rocks under her. Every step was met with a slight sinking feeling and a wet-yet-crunchy sound as her weight compressed the snow under her hooves. Still, the comforting feeling of living earth under her hooves was enough to keep her calm, even if it felt a little strange with the snow packed between them.
She sighed, her thought turning to—
"Hey, Marble, stop thinking about Big Mac and get to work, I swear, it's like that pony promised you the world and then dumped you," Limestone snapped, then after a short pause she glanced at Marble. "He… didn't, right? Because if he did—"
"No, no," Marble said, eyes wide. "There was never… no, he never did anything."
"Good. Bad enough that he broke your heart, if he had done it on purpose…"
Limestone didn't need to say more. Marble knew how strong they all were.
"Well, better get started," Limestone said. "These pebbles won't roll themselves into rocks on their own."
Marble nodded absently as she started to walk around, feeling the ground under her hooves to try and find the pebbles she had been working on just a day ago.
It was a couple of hours later that Limestone walked up to her. "Have you seen Brady? I thought he was on the Eastern side of the farm."
Marble shook her head. Brady was Limestone's current favorite rock. She had seen a more tender side than usual from her sister as Limestone worked countless hours coaxing the small pebble into rolling properly, then compressing and growing, compressing and growing.
It was Limestone's passion project at this time, and her sister had bragged that Brady would grow into an award-winning boulder like nopony had ever seen before.
"Dammit, I thought he'd be around here," Limestone stated, walking towards the center of the western field, and Marble hurried up after her, casting a worried glance over her shoulder, but she couldn't see anypony else.
"Um, Maud said we shouldn't go this way."
"And I said I know this place like the back of my hoof," Limestone countered, glaring at her. "Besides, I know Brady is around here somewhere." She continued confidently striding into the ever deeper snow.
Marble looked around once more, but Maud was nowhere to be seen. She then turned back to Limestone as her sister continued undeterred by snow or word and followed her cautiously and with more and more concern as the snow grew around their legs up to their chest before Limestone finally stopped.
"Hm. I think it's around here." Limestone starting kicking around the mounds of snow with her front hoof. "Come on. Come on!"
Marble grimaced and glanced back, noticing how far they had come. It was then that she realized that while she could feel the packed snow, she really, really couldn't feel the actual ground under it.
"Um, Limestone?"
"Hold on, I think I got it!" Limestone answered, and raised on her hind hooves. "It's stuck, a good kick will loosen it."
"No, wait!"
But it was too late. Limestone came crashing down with both hooves and all the power of a rock-farming pony added to her momentum.
Marble opened her eyes and raised a hoof to get her mane out of her face. She was lying on her back on soft, fluffy snow. Way up above, in the darkness, she could see something shimmering or glittering. But that was not important right now.
With a groan, she rolled onto her hooves. "Limestone?"
"Over here!"
She turned around, trying to figure out where the distant voice was coming from. Her memory was fuzzy, but she distinctly remembered being next to Limestone when her sister had bucked the ice under them.
She followed the muffled sounds until she came to a large mound of snow with a familiar hoof waving out of its side.
It took a few pulls, but she eventually managed to extricate Limestone from the tightly packed snow around her. Her sister was a bit shaky on her hooves, but eventually managed to stop wavering and shivering, taking a look around much like Marble herself had earlier.
"Where the hay are we?" Limestone asked, voicing exactly what Marble was too shy to ask louder than a whisper.
There was no sign of the sky above them, so they were probably inside some sort of cavern. At first, she had thought they had fallen into the quarry, but this place had more than just rocks at the bottom.
Snow covered the sides of paths and roads meticulously carved out of rocks and sanded and polished down to a firm and comfortable surface. Streetlamps followed down the winding road giving a warm, yellow light that contrasted with the almost moonlight-blue of the world around them, and in the distance…
"I-is that Canterlot Castle?"
Limestone stared at the castle in the distance for a moment. "Can't be. Look, it's not on a cliff."
Marble blinked away from the delightful sight of the moonlit spires and took a more careful look at the place. The castle and its immediate area were all at the top of the gentle slope of a hill, rather than on a cliff as Limestone pointed Canterlot would be.
The two sisters looked at each other then around again.
"I don't recognize anything around us," Limestone admitted after a moment.
Marble simply nodded.
Limestone sighed loudly. "Fine. Come on, Marble. Let's ask somepony where we are. We should be getting home anyway."
The pair made their way out of the snowy grounds and onto the stone road. They followed it down towards the castle, noticing as they went that there were a few huts and farms along the way. Unlike the farms they were used to, these did not contain rocks or even the usual plants.
Instead, large, colorful and even shiny mushrooms of all types grew in tidy rows. Some of them were little patches of concentrated fungi barely reaching above her heel, while others were as tall as Maud. Other than the mushrooms, some plants that looked oddly like seaweeds (but clearly weren't due to the lack of sea) grew here and there, taller than the farm houses themselves.
"Limestone…" Marble whispered.
"I know," her sister replied, grimacing. The farmers were not ponies. Bipedal dog-like creatures tended the farms with steady claws, pausing only to follow their passing with glowing, golden, slitted eyes.
Marble had never dealt with Diamond Dogs directly before. She knew what they looked like from pictures and stories from Pinkie Pie and Maud, and those were not always nice. But Limestone, Maud and her parents had worked with Diamond Dogs on some digs, and Maud had spent some time living among them when working on her degree.
The pair eventually made it to the gates of the castle, where two guards stood at attention.
"Halt!" said one of the guards, a diamond dog with a serious expression on his face, which was contrasted to the almost goofy one from the other guard, who was eagerly panting and swishing his tail. "I am here to take you to see the king."
"The king?" Marble whispered, alarmed. She glanced at Limestone, who simply looked irritated. As always.
"Look, all we need—"
"...Is to follow me!" the guard interrupted, motioning for the gate to open for them. "So, follow me! And be quick, we don't want any Abyssinians sneaking in!"
The guard turned around abruptly and marched inside, leaving them with the goofy-looking one.
"I don't suppose you can tell us how to get back to Rockville?" Limestone drawled.
"Woof!"
"That's what I thought." Limestone started walking. "Come on, Marble."
Marble meeped as she hurried after Limestone, keeping her eyes on the many corridors of the castle's interior. To say the place was massive would be an understatement. They walked into a hall that had twin staircases that went to another floor that had twin staircases. Several doors were visible on all levels, and she dreaded having to climb all the way up to see the King, but the guard took them straight through one of the smaller doors at ground level.
"Um… shouldn't we be going up?" Marble asked quietly.
The guard's ear was pretty good, apparently, since he snorted in response. "Why go up? It's simply common sense to keep things firmly grounded."
"Including politics?" Limestone snarked.
"Especially politics."
They eventually made it to a large hall. The ceiling was decorated with frescoes of Diamond Dogs mining and discovering wonderful gems, and even finding a titanic-sized bone. Several marble columns raised up to the ceiling, carefully cut and crafted to look like trees of some sort, with the 'branches' evolving into arcs high above their heads.
A wide and long red carpet extended all the way from the entrance to the base of the platform where the thrones of the King and Queen of the Diamond Dogs sat.
"Ah, ponies, welcome!" the King said, "I am Rex, and this is my Queen, Regina."
"Original," Limestone whispered to herself, but loud enough for everycreature in the room to hear. Not apparently caring if they took offense or not, she gestured at themselves. "This is Marble, and I am Limestone Pie. We're from the Pie Rock Farm in Rockville and we're trying to go back there."
The king tilted his head, then shook it. "Alas, it is too dangerous out there, my little ponies. Abyssinian forces might attack us any day now. Better to wait it out here until its safe."
Limestone frowned. "You want us to wait here in your castle?"
"For a little bit," the king said. "The gates are closed now, you can go once they open again."
"And when is that?"
The king smiled. "When it's safe."
Marble groaned while Limestone looked ready to explode. "Why are you at odds the Abyssinians?"
The Diamond Dog King narrowed his eyes. "They want to steal my treasure. And I can't let that one thing out of these walls."
"But… that doesn't make sense," Marble mumbled.
"It is late, however," the King added. "Even if I let you out now, you will not be able to find your way home. Once it's safe," he said gently, "I will provide you with instructions on how to get back home."
Limestone bit back whatever she was going to say, and Marble had to wonder at the level of restraint she was showing.
The Diamond Dog King seemed to sense his victory and smiled widely. "Excellent, my daughter will escort you to your rooms."
"My name is Aura Quartz," the Diamond Dog princess said as she escorted them to their room, a large affair with two double beds in there, one across the other, a balcony and even a table already set up with cookies and tea. "And I must apologize for my father. He is very protective of me, you see…"
"Hm." Limestone rudely sat down and chomped on a cookie as the princess dismissed the guards. "Nice place."
"Thank you," the princess said with an accompanying sigh as she and Marble also sat down to partake of tea and cookies. She glanced around the room with a bittersweet smile. "It's the nicest prison one could want."
"Prison?" Marble ventured.
The diamond dog princess nodded. "Haven't you wondered why he closes the castle so tightly? He wants to keep me in."
"Isn't it because of the Abyssinians?" Limestone asked, frowning.
The princess snorted.
"The Diamond Dogs haven't been at war with the Abyssinians for centuries," Marble muttered. "I read that in a book."
"And don't you wonder why all the farmers and villagers out there are not worried?" the princess added. "It's because there's nothing to fear."
"What about the treasure?" Limestone asked, glancing up from her plate at the princess.
The princess snorted. "What about me?"
"What?" Both Marble and Limestone stared at her.
"I'm this so-called treasure," the princess clarified. "He's angry with the Abyssinians because the former King MeowMeow's brother, FigPaws, asked to escort me to a ball celebrating the end of the war with the Storm King."
Limestone stared at her. "Is that all? You should just go out. It's a party, and you'd be chaperoned."
Aura Quartz nodded. "My dad didn't say anything at the time, but he closed down the borders after that."
"That's—"
"And my brothers all agreed with him," the princess continued, gripping her teacup tighter. "I wish they had spoken up for me… but no. I'm too precious and too naive to even look outside the door."
Marble reached out to put a hoof on the trembling Princess' shoulder. "I'm sorry."
The diamond dog nodded, releasing her grip on the teacup, which had thankfully not exploded into pieces. "No, I'm the one who's sorry, it's just frustrating. I just haven't had the courage to speak up because I'm afraid my brothers will just side with my father."
"So what?" Limestone asked. "If you don't speak up, how will you find out?"
The princess pursed her lips and looked away. "I… I'm afraid that if I ask, things will get worse than they are." She pulled out a small envelope with a golden seal that mimicked a cat's face on it. "The prince asked me again to visit. All but guaranteed my safety.. but I still can't bring myself to tell my family."
"I understand," Marble said, then bit her lip when Limestone shot her an unamused glare.
"What, you still want to go chase after Big Mac?" Limestone asked. "He's not a prince, and he's already made up his mind. Let it go."
"It's not about Big Mac!" Marble snapped, then opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth.
The Princess and Limestone were both looking at her in surprise, but she had already spoken, and if she didn't say anything… she'd be right where she started.
She could keep quiet. Apologize.
She could just… do the same thing instead of starting something new.
"It's not about Big Mac," she repeated, holding her temper in check as much as she could. "I'm sad for me, and happy for him, yes. But I don't want to go to Ponyville to seek him out. I want to go because—" She grimaced. It was hard to say.
"Yes?" Limestone growled.
"...because I am stuck!" Marble replied. "I'm stuck! I can't leave the farm without you and father and mother making me feel guilty or dumb!" She glared accusingly at Limestone who had lost all anger from her face and was looking at her like she was a completely different pony.
"All I know is the farm! Roll a rock here, kick a boulder, wade into the snow to freaking find a pebble!"
"It's our life—"
"But is it?" Marble asked, brushing her hair out of the way so she could look at her sister in the eye. "How is the farm not any less of a prison for me than this castle is for the princess? Everypony there tells me to stay and accept my lot… but what if I want to at least try to figure out if that's what I want?"
"Marble, you've already been hurt once," Limestone reasoned. "Father's right, you're not going to get hurt in the farm."
"I'm also not going to change my life." Marble looked down at the cookies. "How different could Amber's life be if she's just going to see the world? How different can mine be? Why do you support her going out and seeking something better, but I have to stay home and do the same thing I've done my entire life?"
Limestone bit her lip.
"I apologize," Aura Quartz said, "It seems I have brought to light a family dispute, that was not my intention."
"No… I'm sorry," Marble said quickly, her tone reverting to her more shy personality. "I um, shouldn't have snapped like that."
"I'm tired," Limestone declared, standing up without ceremony. "I'm going to bed. Maybe by the time I wake up, this will all be gone."
Amber and Marble shared an apologetic look, but soon after the princess excused herself and left Marble and Limestone alone.
Marble tossed and turned in her bed, thinking over what the Princess and Limestone and Maud and her father had said.
It was much, much later that she managed to finally fall asleep.
The morning light coming through the window woke Marble up. She stared up at the ceiling above her as her memories of going to bed and the reality around her didn't match.
She was back in her room at the farm. Next to her, Maud looked up from a book she had been reading. "You're awake."
"W-what happened?" Marble asked, not even sitting up. She was still disoriented.
"You and Limestone fell into the tunnel system below the farm." Maud's eyes were narrowed just slightly. "Exactly in the area I told you not to go to."
"Oh." Marble gulped under her sister's unamused glare. "I-is Limestone okay?"
"She's fine," Maud said. "Just feeling guilty. I'll let her know you're awake."
Marble nodded meekly as her sister put down the book—which she just noticed was her travel-book for Abyssinia—stood up and left.
Had all that just been a dream? Really? The Diamond Dogs, the castle, the cookies… even the bed had felt so real!
She settled down when she heard the hoofsteps approaching. Then she snapped her head to the bedside table where the book was still resting. She was about to try and shove it off when Limestone opened the door and stared at her quietly, then made her way up to sit on the chair Maud had just vacated a few moments earlier.
Limestone's eyes drifted from her to the book, then back. "Light reading?"
"Um… Maud was reading it."
"But it's yours, isn't it?" Limestone asked. She sighed. "You really want to leave."
"I-I don't, but I do…" Marble said softly.
Limestone sighed.
Feeling like she had to explain herself more, Marble gathered her courage and spoke. "I… want to see what's out there. I don't know if it's going to be what I want… but I want the choice. I don't want it to be decided for me." She could feel her heart beating fast. "I-I want to start by going to Ponyville with Maud."
Limestone snorted. "Just like that bratty princess."
"What?"
"Nothing." Limestone picked up the book and flipped through the pages. "Just a dream I had." She sighed and closed the book after a moment, putting it down once more on the table. "Are you going to tell father?"
Marble bit her lip and looked down, letting her mane block her face, but Limestone's hoof brushed it away and gently pushed her chin up until she was looking at her. "How will he know if you don't?"
"What if he says no?" Marble asked softly. "Maud and Pinkie have partners and friends. I'd just be there as an… an extra."
"Then I'll tell him that I'll go with you to keep an eye on you."
Marble's eyes widened. "Y-you'd do that for me?"
Limestone grinned, then stood up. "Only if you ask. But you'd better decide soon. Maud's leaving tonight."
Marble nodded eagerly, then, just as Limestone was about to reach the door, she spoke up. "Um… do you think that Aura Quartz had the courage to ask too?"
Limestone stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "The book says she did. Chapter 12, page 25. I guess you didn't read that far?" Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, leaving Marble alone and curious enough to flip through the book to where a picture of a fancily-dressed couple dancing was captioned with: 'Celebrating the End of the War, Prince FigPaws and Aura Quartz.'
Marble stared in open-mouthed astonishment at the picture for a full minute before putting the book down and drifting her gaze to the door. Her mane fell across her face once more, but she pushed it away and behind her ear as she slowly got off the bed and made sure she was presentable.
It was time for her to talk to her parents, and since her sisters would be at her side, she knew this Hearth's Warming would be a true new beginning for her. Ponyville might not be Abyssinia, but… it was as a first step.
After all, if she spoke up, the world would be now open… and she wouldn't be alone to face it.
The End
Author's Note
This was a bit tight. Writing a story FOME enjoys is far different from writing a story specifically for him, I must say.
There's some pressure here. I wanted the story to mean something... and I figured that I'd try and somehow touch a bit on what FOME does for people here, however simply and however unintentional it might be: he supports writers.
If he's commented on a story of yours, you know what I'm talking about. FOME takes the time to say something. Not just "thanks for writing" but shows however briefly that he took in what you were trying to say, however effectively you managed to do it, and then shares his thoughts on it. That is extremely welcome in a reader, and something not all of us do as much as we should.
FOME, to me is one of those people that make fimfic worth it, because he's that voice that tells you that what you're doing is reaching others and that there's is value to what you do and are trying to accomplish.
So, thank you FOME for being who you are, and merry Hearth's Warming to you my friend.
