The silance was so great you could hear a pin drop. The two ponies, Sunny Knight and Limestone Pie, stood at attention by Holder's Boulder for what seemed like hours, when in reality it had only been about five minutes or so. They had both remained silent as the rest of their families hunted for the flag. While Sunny went back and forth with himself on weather to try and strike up a conversation or to just let the silence continue, Limestone actually shattered the awkward silence between the two.
"What's with your cutie mark?" She asked, curiosity more present in her voice then her usual venom, but still hidden deep beneath her jagged tone.
Sunny then looked at the grey, almost circular mark in his flank, ten awkwardly laughed as his eyes darted up to Limestone. "I... Don't really know."
"And that's funny, how?" Her frozen words sent a chill into Sunny. The ice queen was no long curious.
"Well I wouldn't say 'funny' like a joke, more like, funny like an awkward situation." The yellow stallion admitted.
"Like you puking up my signature rock soup?" Limestone snapped. Which made the awkward situation even more awkward.
Sunny cleared his throat again, "well, ya see, it all began a couple of months ago, on a road that would eventually lead to Ponyville..."
Sunny began to tell Limestone Pie about how he met Goldie Delicious, how she suggested he go to Ponyville to find her grandniece, Applejack, who might have been able to help him. Then he began talking about all his adventures in Ponyville, including the race challenge Rainbow Dash faced with Lighting Dust, the party Pinkie three for Cranky, and everything leading up to him and the Apples coming to the Pie family farm for Hearths Warming.
The expression on Limestone Pie didn't change though. Her muzzle remained as judgmental and cold as ever as she replied with "hmmm."
Needless to say, that caused Sunny to recoil inside a little. He had such grand adventures just from living in a small town for a few months, and all Limestone could say was 'hmmm'?! The yellow unicorn sighed and returned his attention to the rocky area surrounding them, wondering who would be the first ones back.
It nearly spooked him out of his fur when Limestone actually spoke and broke the silence again. Maybe she waited for just that moment to do so. "So you have no idea who you are? Or where your family is?"
After collecting himself, Sunny turned to the normally very cold mare, half expecting to see a more relaxed look on her face, maybe a warmer, kinder one. But he was wrong. Her eyes were as sharp as ever as she glared at him with a questioning gaze. He sighed and answered her. "No idea... I do have a potion at home I got from a shaman in the Everfree Forest. She said it would unlock whatever memories I'm suppressing, but i haven't taken it yet. Partly because it knocks me out cold, and I don't want to sleep in when there is work to be done... But mostly.... I'm kinda afraid..."
"Afraid of what?" Limestone's tone lightened up a little with her curiosity overlapping her harsh coldness.
"Well.... To be honest..." Sunny began to say, but found the words were harder to spit out then they were to say in his head.
"Come on!" Line stone snapped, anger flaring up. "Out with it already!"
"I'm afraid I'll lose them!" Sunny yelled out loud, then paused when he realized it echoed and carried more then he had hopped, his face turning red. As he hung his head slightly he explained a little further. "When Chrysalis came to the farm and posed as my mother, she wanted to take me away, and bring me back to my 'old life'. Yeah, she was lying, but..."
"You're worried you'll have to say good bye to Applejack and her family" Limestone got annoyed with the stallion's dramatic pausing and finished his sentence at a much faster pace, that made it more then obvious that her heart wasn't in it.
Sunny couldn't take it anymore, he now snapped as his eyes shot back at Limestone. "Yes! I'm worried that I will have to leave them! I'm scared that my entire world will be flipped upside down! I'm worried that I'll have to say good bye to the ponies who have become family to me, as well as all my friends in Ponyville! Yes! I'm scared! Happy?!"
But the mare's expression never faded, her inner flame still burned as she shot a hard glance right back at the yellow stallion. "Are you done?"
Sunny releases his anger and frustration in a huff as he exhaled so much he became light headed. As he sat down and looked away at the rocky setting, not even wanting to so much glance at Limestone right now, he eventually replied to her. "Yeah. I'm done. In more ways then one."
"Good" she simply replied. "Feel better?"
"About?" He answered her question with a question, a harsh tone in his voice.
"Now that you know what's stopping you, and how stupid it actually is" she explained. "When you go home and drink that stuff and get your memory back."
Sunny was more then confused as he turned to face the butter and over cautious mare. "What?!"
"You're really dumb if you think that finding out who you are, or who your parents even are, would tear you from the Apples or your friends" she began to explain. "If you're like this with them, minus the temper tantrum, then they all must really like you. Especially that orange one with the freckles."
"Applejack?" Sunny asked, his anger now dissipated completely at the thought of her missing him. "W-what makes you think she's miss me the most?"
Limestone sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes. "Ma always told me stallion's heads were as thick as rocks, but I never knew their heads were full of them too." She turned to Sunny, still glaring. "Haven't you noticed whenever she hesitates, she looks over at you for support? How she always seems to keep you in her sights? And when you were puking up my rock soup, all she did was mutter to herself 'ah hope he's ok in there...'. Seriously, it's like her whole world revolves around you."
Sunny's muzzle turned a bright red, redder then it raver had before as he turned his eyes to the ground. "Y-you really think so?"
"Don't let it go to your head" Limestone then snapped. "You still are a doofus, a pig, and a puke machine."
But sill, the smile remained on Sunny's muzzle for quite some time. The silence Limestone could deal with, but the stupid grin on the stallion's face as bothering her. Her mind quickly jumped to something that might make the atmosphere a little more tolerable.
"So you know how ponies give gifts on Hearths Warming day?" She asked Sunny, pulling him out of his daze.
"Oh, ugh, yeah. I think Applejack said something about that" Sunny said, thinking back to the train ride over and the lecture Applejack had to give Apple Bloom.
"Well, we Pies have our own tradition about that" Limestone smirked. "We hide our gifts. But nopony's ever found one. Pinkie's really good at hiding them."
"Really?" Sunny said surprised, wrapping his mind around the concept.
"Yep" Limestone confirmed as she smugly smiled at the stallion. "Not ever."
"Well that kinda stinks" Sunny replies, sounding sympathetic. "But the holiday is mainly about being together right? That's what I've really been looking forward to, ever since I read about how Applejack and Pinkie might be related."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard all about that" Limestone snapped. "Just don't think you can weasel in on our farm or anything."
"Your rock farm is nice" Sunny stated, looking around at the snow coated terrane. "But the only place I think I could call home is Sweet Apple acres."
Limestone just rolled her eyes and started off into the distance, hopping somepony would find that stupid drawing of a rock that Pinkie had her make and hide. Being around Sunny was making her sick. He was really sickeningly sweet, and she felt on the verge of gagging.
"You know Limestone" Sunny broke the silence. "If Pinkie and Applejack are distant cousins, that also means you and The rest of the Pies are also members of the Apple family."
"Ok, yeah, so? What's so special about that?" She snapped, getting that sickening feeling again, guessing he was going to say something stupid like 'we should get together for another holiday' or 'we should have a family reunion' or something to that effects. 'Ugh!!!' She thought. 'What is this guy's deal?!'
"Well, that means if you ever need anything, I'll be there" he plainly said. "The Pies and Apples do things differently, but that doesn't make it bad. Pinkie was the first friend I ever made in Ponyville, and without her, I might not have ever met Applejack and her family. "
"Yeah yeah, mushy, feel good stuff and whatever" Limestone spat out, then looked away from the yellow stallion, the sight of him was making her want to hurl.
Sunny sighed and just looked away, feeling as though he might never be able to thaw the ice queen's frozen heart.
Pinkie and Applejack were the first group to return, carrying with them the picture of a rock. Why a picture and not an actual rock, confused both Applejack and Sunny. The rest of the groups were informed that Pinkie and Applejack had found the 'rock' and Pinkie would be the one to place the flag on holder's Boulder tomorrow.
That night, as everypony was turning in for the night, Sunny once again hound himself muzzle first in the toilet that was down the hall from where the Apple family was sleeping, wishing that he didn't try and eat so much rock soup at dinner. After he felt his stomach had been emptied and he finished cleaning himself up, the yellow stallion left the bathroom only to run into Marble Pie, who stood awkwardly at the door.
"Oh, ugh, s-sorry Marble" Sunny apologized to the timid, grey earth pony. "Bathroom is free."
But before he could walk back to the bedroom and plop down into bed, he felt a tug on his tail. Looking back he saw Marble had stopped him and moved aside, revealing some stomach medicine and a glass of water. Sunny was shocked. He looked from the shy mare, to the medicine and back. Then he gave Marble a small smile, to which she returned with a small smile of her own, still half hidden behind her mane.
Sunny had been around Big Mac and Fluttershy enough to know a pony's body language. And what Marble Pie had told him was something to the effect of 'here... I hope you feel better... Sorry the soup doesn't agree with you.'
"Thank you, Marble" Sunny said as he downed the medicine and followed it up with the full glass of water. As soon as he placed the glass down, Marble took it without another word and went down stairs.
Sunny then rejoined the Apples in the room try all shared. Everypony had already gone to sleep. Well, almost everypony. Applejack was still awake, looking very worried. Sunny quietly walked across the room, not wanting to wake anypony up, and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Everything ok Applejack?"
She nearly jumped from his touch, but after she saw who it was, Applejack began to relax. "Ah'm just.... Ah feel bad for them' Pies, Sunny." She began, looking out the window. "They ain't ever had a real Hearths Warming. They eat rock soup, their Hearths Warming dolls are rocks, they don't let the youngest family member raise the flag, they don't even raise the flag at all! And on top of all that, they don't even get their presents of Hearths Warming! They hide them but never find them!"
"Yeah that's what Limestone said" Sunny admitted. "You would think after a few years they would come across at least one. Or maybe around winter wrap up or something. But still..."
"Ah just want them to have a good Hearths Warming, like the ones we have back at the farm" Appljack admitted, worry and strife coated in her voice.
"Their Hearths Warming is a bit different" Sunny admitted, but smiles as he looked Applejack in the eye. "But remember the point of Hearths Warming, Applejack...Maybe you'll feel better after a night of rest."
"Ah'll turn in shortly, ya go on ahead" Applejack replied as the yellow stallion gave her one final glance before climbing into bed.
Applejack just stood there, looking out onto the snow covered rock farm, her heart strings still being pulled. "I know they have their traditions and we have ours, but I just want them to see how much better theirs could be..."