Normally, Pound and Pumpkin Cake would be all too happy to share in Pinkie Pie's excitement. The pony very much like a big sister to them seemed to make everything seem fun, even when it shouldn't be. So whenever she was excited about something, it was usually something worth being excited about it.
This was not one of those occasions, however. Given the circumstances, the twins were more than a little bit nervous. And who could blame them? They were currently on a train with Pinkie Pie, journeying out to a place that was apparently "just outside Ponyville" and known as Ponypalooza. It was said to be a place populated entirely by ponies of one particular profession: Rock farming. And this is apparently where Pinkie had lived prior to getting her cutie mark.
Now, the twins were not only going to see Ponypalooza and the Pie family rock farm for the first time, they were going to be meeting the farm's inhabitants: Pinkie Pie's mother and father. To say they were worried about such an encounter would be an understatement, especially since it seemed clear to them that their big sister figure was so utterly excited about the whole thing! She seemed to be practically bursting with energy, even more so than the energy she usually displayed.
"Ooh! I am so so SO excited you guys are coming with me!" Pinkie Pie squealed in joyful proclamation. "I just know you're going to love getting to meet my mom and dad, and my sisters. Heck, Maud's going to be bringing her special somepony over so you can meet him too! Are you guys excited or what?!"
Pound Cake was the first of the two to speak up. He and his sister had never been outside Ponyville without their parents before. This was uncharted territory for him and his sister. So he swallowed hard and admitted. "Well... it's kind of hard for us to be excited, Pinkie. From what Mom and Dad told us about your parents, they're kind of..." He paused and frowned, trying to think of a good word. He seemed unable to find the one he wanted, so he settled for. "Strange, I guess."
If that comment phased the pink party pony, she showed no signs outwardly of that being the case. "Well, family is family, no matter what. And since I'm practically family to you two, that means my mom and dad are technically your family too," She giggled. "I really love using that word now that Mudbriar introduced me to it. Can you believe I used to get annoyed by him saying it all the time?"
"Is Mr. Mudbriar Maud's special somepony that you talked about earlier, big sis?" Pumpkin Cake spoke up, her tone of voice sounding just as concerned as her brother's.
"Yes indeedy!" Pinkie proudly proclaimed with a happy nod! "And I just know he's been looking forward to meeting you two! And so has Maud for that matter. I don't think she's been this excited since she became best friends with all of my best friends from Ponyville," Then she said to the twins. "So there's no need to be nervous. You're gonna love my family as much as I do!"
Pound was still puzzled by Pinkie's proclamations. "But they sound so... different from you. And you've been living with our mom and dad for a lot longer than you lived with your mom and dad."
Pinkie just beamed. "That's what makes family special: Family is family, no matter how far away you might be. Just because I don't live with them anymore doesn't mean they don't love me or I don't love them. It's because they loved me so much that they let me move to Ponyville full time. Do you guys get it yet?"
Pumpkin hesitantly nodded. "I guess we do, Pinkie. You've hardly ever been wrong before."
The earth pony mare with a curly pink mane and tail nodded once again. "Of course I haven't. So throw all those troubles and worries away. We'll be arriving in Ponypalooza any minute now. And once we do, it's only a matter of time until you meet my family."
So it was that the twins found themselves more or less going along with what the pony they looked up to as a big sister wanted. They could still remember when Pinkie had first proposed taking them with her to visit her family. How shocking the decision had been.
It had only been a few days prior that Pinkie Pie came practically bouncing into Sugarcube Corner with an opened letter held in her hooves! "Mom and Dad want me to come back to the rock farm and see them! And Maud and Mud Briar are coming home too! It's a Pie family reunion!" She'd excitedly exclaimed!
"That's very nice, Pinkie." Mrs. Cake had replied, smiling as she did so.
Then, Pinkie had let out a gasp as a sudden inspiration seemed to come to her! "Wait, I just had the most brilliant, super-duper, terrific idea ever!" Putting her hooves to her face as her eyes went wide, she had declared! "I'll take Pound and Pumpkin Cake with me! I've always wanted to introduce them to my family. And now I have the perfect opportunity to do so."
Mr. Cake initially seemed to be rather hesitant about the idea. "Pinkie, are you sure they're up for it? They don't know your parents the way Cup Cake and I do. And you know how hard it was for us to win their approval to take you in when you were a filly."
But Pinkie being Pinkie, she had waved a hoof and brushed off the concern. "Don't worry, Mr. Cake. You know it's just a short train ride to my family's farm. Pound and Pumpkin Cake won't be gone for more than a day. And I'll be sure to keep an eye on them. Don't forget, I foalsat them all the time when they were babies. This will be no different."
"Well, you should ask them if that's what they want." Mr. Cake had insisted.
"Ask us what, Father?" Pound and Pumpkin had asked as they had come stumbling onto the scene at that very moment (only later would they learn what had taken place just before their arrival).
Rather than let Mr. Cake explain, Pinkie had rushed right up to the twins and said in a rapid fast statement. "I wanna take you two out to Ponypalooza to meet my family: Including my mom and dad. It'll be totally fun, I promise!"
"You really want us to come with you, big sis?" Pound Cake had questioned, being understandably hesitant.
The pink party pony had nodded back. "Of course I do. It'll be totally fun! You guys do like to make new friends, right?"
Pumpkin Cake had hesitantly responded with. "Yeah... I guess we do."
And Pound had then asked. "How long will we be gone for if we go with you on this trip, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie's smile grew brighter as she had then told the twins. "Just for a day. Ponypalooza's practically a hop, skip, and a jump from here. I even wrote a song about it: A hop, skip, and a jump!" Then she'd all but pleaded! "Please, please, PLEASE come with me! I don't know when I'll next have an opportunity like this to introduce you to my family, or introduce them to you."
The twins naturally couldn't say to their big sister figure when she put it like that. For whatever reason, they just hated to see her when she wasn't her usual joyful, cheerful, smiling self (or on the verge of not being that way). "Okay, I guess we can go." Pound had decided as his twin sister nodded her head in approval.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake had then nodded their own heads, making it clear that they were onboard with the idea as well. "Try to have a good time, you two," Mrs. Cake had encouraged to the twins. "Mr. and Mrs. Pie are certainly... different from Pinkie, but they're nice ponies once you get to know them."
And so it had all been arranged.
The flashback ended right as the train screeched to a halt with the application of the brakes and a puff of steam. "Ponypalooza Junction!" The conductor pony called out as he made his way through the train cars one by one. "Watch your step and collect your baggage as you depart."
Pinkie quickly led the twins off the train and onto the platform, making sure they had their saddlebags stocked with their supplies for spending the night at the rock farm: Toothbrushes, tooth paste, hair combs, and of course snacks. Once satisfied that all was accounted for, she happily led them away, practically bouncing and pronking as she did so. "Come on, you guys! The Pie family farm isn't far from here. We mustn't keep everypony waiting, that would be a huge no no."
Pound and Pumpkin Cake followed the pony they so often looked up to as best they could. Despite her assurances to the contrary, they couldn't help but feel the butterflies fluttering throughout their stomach. There was no turning back now. Ready or not, they were about to meet the ponies that had apparently lived on and established the rock farm to which they were now being led.
The rock farm itself was nothing impressive to look at from the outside. There was a small farmhouse of earthly shades of grey and brown that blended in perfectly with the surrounding drab landscape, a huge silo, a windmill, a path leading down to a mine, and most interestingly of all a huge rock that looked roughly like a giant egg. Throughout the length of the farm ran a fence that more or less defined the farm's boundaries. It hardly seemed like the sort of place where somepony as cheerful and chipper as Pinkie Pie could've once lived.
"I know what you're thinking:" Pinkie Pie smiled as she looked at the twins, her cheerful demeanor not changing in the slightest. "'It doesn't look like much.' But hey, a home is still a home."
"You really grew up on a farm like this?" Pound Cake pondered aloud.
Pinkie nodded back. "Yup. Right up until I got my cutie mark," She gestured a hoof to the silo. "In fact, that silo over there is where I threw my first party ever. And the whole family was there to celebrate, especially once I got my cutie mark. Oh, you should've seen the looks on their faces! It was the first time I'd ever seen them so happy and so full of life! Even Maud and Limestone were happy, and that's not an easy thing to do."
"So, why did you leave it, Pinkie?" Pumpkin Cake saw fit to ask the nagging question.
"Didn't I tell you? I could've sworn I did once upon a time," Pinkie Pie remarked, briefly seeming to frown, before her face reverted back to a smile. "All you need to know is that I felt like life on a rock farm just wouldn't be cheerful and happy anymore, not even if I could throw a party everyday. And Mom and Dad said I couldn't, they said my parties weren't as important as working in the fields with everypony else," She sheepishly blushed. "So I more or less wrote a note, left the farm, and hopped on the first train I saw. It took me to Ponyville, where I met your mom and dad. And the rest is history."
Pound had to pause and gasp! "What?! You ran away from home?! And your parents let you stay in Ponyville even after that?! I know Mom and Dad would be terrified if Pumpkin and I ever left home without telling them first."
Pinkie giggled. "Yeah, that wasn't exactly my finest moment. Mom and Dad were kind of mad with me. But they realized that Ponyville was better for me, because there I could spread my cheer to far more ponies. So it all worked out in the end," Then she nudged them closer. "Now come on, everypony's waiting for us inside. We've kept them waiting long enough."
So the twins followed Pinkie as she led them right up to the farmhouse's front door and knocked on it in an energetic way.
A persian bluish-gray hoof opened the door but a moment later. And there, wrapped in a green tunic, was an earth pony mare with a grayish-blue mane and tail that hung flat against her sides. Her eyes were light turquoise and seemed to convey no emotion at all. Her cutie mark was hidden from view by the tunic she wore. "Hello Pinkie Pie," She greeted in what sounded like a flat and emotionless tone. "I'm very happy to see you again." Her tone of voice did not change in the slightest as she spoke those words.
Pinkie immediately threw her hooves around the tunic wearing earth pony and wrapped her in a tight hug! "I'm very happy to see you too, Maud!" She declared as her smile grew wider. "I'm glad you could come back to the rock farm at the same time as me," She then turned to the twins. "Now I'd like to officially introduce you to Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake! They're the twins I told you about before, the ones I used to foalsit for."
Maud nodded and turned her attention to the pegasus colt and unicorn filly. "It's nice to finally meet you," She said to the twins even as her tone of voice remained overall flat and emotionless. "Pinkie Pie has told me a lot about you two: Including the time you nearly drove her crazy when she was first foalsitting you. I'm Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie's older sister. Although technically, I am Dr. Maud Pie because I got my rocktorate."
"You're a doctor?" Pound Cake blinked in surprise. "Does that mean you work at a hospital?"
"I'm not that kind of doctor." Maud Pie explained in a matter of fact tone.
"Oh." Pound replied, his cheeks turning a faint hue of pink. How silly of him to have assumed.
Maud's expression seemed to change ever so faintly. It looked almost as if she seemed to be smiling. "It's okay, I get that a lot. I'm only a doctor when I'm out taking field samples as part of my rock studies. Right now, I am not at work, so I'm just Maud Pie. Or Maudalina Daisy Pie according to my parents. But you can just call me Maud, we're basically family now."
Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, looked all around as she finally ended the hug of her big sister. "Hey, where's Mudbriar?" She asked Maud. "You said he was coming with you."
"I am right here," An overly formal and very matter of fact tone of voice called out. "Although technically, I just arrived here a short while ago." And then, who should come trotting up on the scene but an earth pony stallion of medium build? He had a grayish coat, moderate green eyes, a light and medium brown mane and tail, and a cutie mark depicting a stick in a mud puddle.
Maud smiled as the stallion trotted up to her. "Hello, dear," She greeted him. "I was just introducing myself to the twins. You remember them, right? The ones my sister used to foalsit?"
The stallion was silent for a moment, eyeing the twins very carefully while he had a hoof placed to his chin. Then at last he declared. "Ah yes, Pound and Pumpkin Cake. Technically, they are family because of Pinkie Pie and because of the Cakes that she lives with in Ponyville," He cleared his throat. "Please allow me to introduce myself, even though technically I feel there is no need. I am Mr. Mudbriar, Maud Pie's special somepony. But you technically don't have to call me Mr. Mudbriar, just Mudbriar will do. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Same here, Mr. Mudbriar. I mean, Mudbriar," Pound Cake corrected as he extended a hoof. "And this is my twin sister, Pumpkin Cake."
"H-hello, Mudbriar." Pumpkin Cake greeted, but said nothing more.
Maud spoke up but a moment later. "I apologize if Mudbriar's way of speaking put you off. He doesn't mean anything by it. He just likes to be very formal and correct about his way of speaking," She smiled again. "It's something I really like about him, though."
Mudbriar smiled. "I am honored and happy that you feel that way, Maud. And I am glad that your family has accepted me in spite of the way I choose to express myself. It is nice to see the place in which you grew up. It is about what I expected when you said it was a rock farm. I can easily see why your sister did not want to live here after getting her cutie mark. If I were as joyful as she is all the time, I imagine I would find this rock farm to not be very vibrant or joyful. Still, it seems like a fine place for a family of rock farmers to call home."
Pinkie Pie beamed happily! "Yup! A home is a home, no matter where or what it is!" Then she turned to the twins! "And you haven't even met the rest of my family yet! I just know they're all gonna love you the same way Maud and Mudbriar do!"
Pound and Pumpkin could only silently hope that such was indeed the case. They had only Pinkie's impressions of what her family was like to go on. And with Pinkie, it was anypony's guess as to how accurate those impressions were.
With the introductions between Maud, Mudbriar, and the twins now out of the way, Pinkie once again took the lead in ushering the twins into the farmhouse proper. The interior seemed just as drab and dull looking as the outside, full of earthly hues of brown and grey.
And who should be waiting within the first room of the farmhouse but four earth ponies that included three mares and one full grown stallion. The stallion had an amber coat, a two tone grey mane and tail alternatively styled bushy (for the mane) and straight (for the tail), eyes the most brilliant shade of amber, a cutie mark depicting a pickax, a black stetson hat and a grey collar with a black tie. The mare standing next to the stallion had a light cobalt bluish gray coat, eyes a peaceful light arctic blue, a grayish opal mane and tail styled like a mop, a cutie mark depicting three rocks, yellow trim glasses with similarly colored bead chains, and a black scarf with white lines and a small gold locket underneath it.
On the other side of the black stetson wearing stallion were two earth pony mares who looked almost completely identical. One had a bluish-grey coat, an opalish gray mane and tail styled similarly to Maud's, eyes the same moderate amber as Igneous', and a cutie mark depicting a lime between two rocks. The other had a turquoiseish grey coat, a dark grey mane styled into bangs with lighter grey streaks shining throughout, greyish violet eyes (with the right eye hidden behind the mane), and a cutie mark depicting three purple marbles.
The expressions of these four earth ponies was hard to judge. They weren't smiling (aside from maybe the mare with the grey bangs that hid her right eye). But at the same time they weren't exactly frowning (though it seemed like the bluish-grey coated mare was rather impatient if her narrowed eyes were any indication).
Pound and Pumpkin Cake eyed the earth ponies and the earth ponies eyed them. But none spoke a word, as if daring the other to speak first.
When nopony would take the initiative, Pinkie Pie took it upon herself to officially break the ice. "Hi Mom, Hi Dad!" She waved a hoof in greeting as she trotted up to the stallion and the mare standing to his left! "Sorry if I kept you waiting. I just wanted to make sure Pound and Pumpkin Cake didn't get lost on their way to the rock farm."
The stallion cleared his throat and spoke up. "Tis okay, Pinkamina. We knowst thou enough to know thou wouldst never intentionally keep us waiting. We art honored to have thou in our presence once again," He then lifted his hat off his head and bowed to the twins. "Humble greetings to thou, honored guests of Pinkamina. Tis good that thou art here at last. Allowst me to officially introduce mineself: I am Igneous Rock, father of Limamina, Maudalina, Pinkamina, and Marblina."
The glasses wearing earth pony mare spoke next. "Thou shalt have the honor of knowing me as Cloudy Quartz, the humble wife of Igneous and the mother of the aforementioned four daughters mine husband referred to."
"About time you guys showed up!" The bluish-grey coated earth pony mare declared in a grumpy and sort of rude sounding way. "We've been waiting for hours now! How is it possible it took you so long when our farm's just a short walk from the train station?"
"Take it easy on them, Limestone," A soft sounding voice spoke up. It was soon revealed to be coming from the earth pony mare with the bangs, who had blown them away so that her right eye was no longer hidden. "I'm sure they were just a little nervous to meet us, that's all. I know I was nervous the first time we met Mr. and Mrs. Cake after Pinkie moved in with them," She then added. "I'm Marble Pie, by the way. And you've just met my sister, Limestone. She's a bit bossy sometimes."
Limestone huffed and snorted. "You call it bossy, I say it's just me making sure this rock farm runs smoothly. It's my responsibility as the eldest child of the family. Besides, I also have my own mine to run. I have to make sure it and the farm are in tip top shape."
"Now Limeamina," Cloudy appeared to scold with a shake of her head. "Tis rude to conduct thyself in such fashion to our guests. Thou would not want to scare them off."
Limestone sighed and groaned, but nevertheless seemed to back off and apologize. "Sorry, sorry. I guess old habits just die hard," In a somewhat sheepish tone of voice she then seemed to correct. "Well, you know who I am now. Just... please don't think I'm trying to be mean. I'm just under a lot of pressure running the farm. I mean, I can handle it, don't get me wrong. But if you had to work as hard as I do every day, you'll forgive me if I can't help being a little bit... grumpy, I guess."
Pumpkin Cake hesitantly answered. "W-we never said anything about you being grumpy, Limestone. And we're sorry if we made you wait."
Pound Cake stuttered. "Y-yeah. We didn't think we took that long to get here. We just... wanted to come prepared since we're spending the night here, that's all."
"Tis all well and good," Igneous Rock declared as he adjusted his stetson. "Thou art here now with us, and thou art are the Pound and Pumpkin Cake we werest told would be accompanying Pinkamina, art thou not?"
"Yes." Pound and Pumpkin said in unison.
Cloudy Quartz smiled. "Splendid. We art honored to have thou as our guests for the day. We hast heard so much about thou from our daughter. We hast been looking forward to the day whenst we would meet thou face to face. How have thy father and mother been?"
"Mom and Dad?" Pound blinked in surprise. "They're doing well, I guess. They're even letting us help them run the bakery from time to time, and help Pinkie Pie too."
"And yet, thou do not yet have thy cutie marks?" Cloudy questioned, sounding more surprised than anything else.
Pumpkin slowly nodded back. "Yeah. I mean, we're only about seven years old and just started attending school a year prior. Mom and Dad say most ponies don't get their cutie marks until they're a little bit older, so we're not worried."
"Indeed, thou should not. Thou art lucky to be free to explore thy own paths in life," Igneous chimed in with his own sentiments. "Mine wife and I have been blessed with the honor to see each of our own daughters seek out their own destinies. Pinkamina has made a fine life for herself in Ponyville, as has Maudalina with her special somepony. Limeamina stays here on the rock farm to manage it, and Marbalina is attending college. We art certain thou shall get thy cutie marks eventually."
Even Mud Briar seemed to be in agreement. "It is not unusual for ponies not to get their cutie marks before they are your age. I was one of the last ponies in my class to get my cutie mark, and it is my understanding that Maud and Pinkie did not get their cutie marks until they were at least eight or nine."
"Exactly!" Pinkie Pie concluded! "So there's no need to worry! A cutie mark happens when a cutie mark happens, and that's all there is to it! You two will find your special talents someday, and whatever they may be I know they'll fit you both perfectly!" Then she commented. "Now let's talk about something else: Like when we're gonna have dinner, because I don't know about the rest of you, but I am starving!"
Maud seemed to giggle and smile ever so faintly. "Oh Pinkie, never change."
Cloudy then cleared her throat. "Well, now that we art all here, I shalt taketh the liberty of preparing supper for us. I hope thou will all enjoy mine special recipe rock soup. Twas taught to me by mine mother when I was but a filly."
"Great! And while you do that, I'll help the twins get settled in upstairs!" Pinkie eagerly spoke up! And before anypony could stop her, she whisked Pound and Pumpkin Cake away to do just that.
A short time later, as the sun began to cast its gaze as it set off in the west, Pinkie Pie had gotten Pound and Pumpkin Cake settled in quite nicely on two separate bunk beds tucked away into a loft within the farmhouse. She helped them to unpack their things and get them set up on a nearby night stand. "So, be honest," She said to the two. "Is my family the greatest family ever or what?!"
"They sure are... interesting, big sis." Pumpkin admitted.
Pound nodded ever so slowly. "Yeah, that's more or less what I think too. I mean, they do seem nice. And they let you come live with our mom and dad all those years ago. So anypony who would do that has to have cared about you a lot."
"Yes indeedy! I was so glad when they realized how much happier I was in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie told the twins. "But no matter what, I will always be a Pie at heart. And my family will always be my family! I'm glad they all learned from me that just because we live on a rock farm it doesn't mean we have to be so serious all the time. Life is like one big party. You never know for sure where you're gonna go or who you'll meet. But it's out there, just waiting for you to join the fun."
Pumpkin Cake, however, saw fit to ask about something that had been nagging at her ever since she'd heard Igneous and Cloudy speak. "What's with the way your parents talk, Pinkie? Nopony else in the family talks like that. It's really hard to understand what they're saying sometimes."
The pink party pony waved a hoof and brushed off the remark. "Oh, that's just them speaking in the ways that their parents taught them. Apparently, it's called 'Ye Olde Equestrian' or something like that. Princess Luna used to talk like that. Apparently, it's how ponies used to speak way, way, way back. Luckily for me and for my sisters, we had Granny Pie to teach us how ponies talk nowadays, because she traveled all over Equestria before she came to live with us on the rock farm," She paused and wiped a lone tear from her eyes. "I miss her every day. She taught me so much. And I wish more than anything she could be here to see you two. I know she'd have loved you even more than my family does."
"You really think your family loves us as much as they seem to love you?" Pound questioned with understandable skepticism.
Pinkie smiled ever so faintly. "I know so! It may not seem like it, because they don't tend to express themselves the way I do. But I can tell what they mean even when it may not seem like it. You felt it too, right? That spark deep down inside?"
The twins blinked. They didn't seem to have considered such a thing until now. Yet upon careful consideration, they seemed to agree that it was there (however faintly). "Now that you mention it, I think we did, just for a moment." They said together.
Pinkie Pie's smile grew ever brighter! Without warning, she reached out and pulled the twins close, embracing them in a hug just as warm and welcoming as the one she'd given Maud! "See?! I told you you guys would love my family if you got to know them! When have I ever steered you guys wrong?"
"You never have, big sis. You've always been right, even when it seems you might not be." Pound nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for bringing us along, Pinkie," Pumpkin chimed in. "I hope we can get to know your family even better before we have to go back to Ponyville tomorrow."
Pinkie was about to reply, but she paused to sniff the air as a certain aroma started to reach her nostrils. "Well, we can start by going down for rock soup! Because it sounds like dinner is ready! Come on, you guys! Everypony's sure to be waiting for us!" And she zoomed away in a pink colored blur.
The twins just smiled. Pinkie Pie always seemed to know things better than they did. And this had turned out to be no exception.
Author's Note
Once again, my apologies if my take on "Ye Olde Elizabthian English" is a little off. I did receive some tips on it a few years back, and have been trying to implement ever since. I also came up with my own headcanon for how even Limestone and Marble don't speak in such a way despite the fact that (presumably) neither of them has left the rock farm.
Marble going to college is a nod to the IDW comics, which is what happens to her during the comics exclusive "Season 10". As for when exactly this fic might be taking place, I'd say it's about four years after Twilight takes the throne. Assuming the twins were three years old at the time of Twilight's coronation (their exact age is a bit of a mystery since we never saw their models updated even after Flurry Heart entered the picture, but we did see them without diapers from "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" onward), that would make them seven years old during the timespan of this fic. Old enough for elementary school, but not necessarily old enough to get their cutie marks.
