Story of Diane Pie: Family Ties

by Middle Ground

Chapter 3 - Limestone Pie

After the incident at the mine, my sisters and I bathed and washed up. We were all quite dirty. There wasn't going to be any work until new supplies and tools replace the ones that were buried. After I finished bathing, I see Limestone lying on her bed making deep groans. I sat down on my bed and began brushing my mane and tail.

"Limestone, are you alright...?"

"Oh, hey Diane.... We're going to be out of work until we get replacement tools. We have to make an order and wait for them to arrive. I'll die of boredom...!" Limestone was very upset. This might actually be better for us.

"Well, maybe you and I could do something. Just the two of us. Would you like to go somewhere...?" Limestone's face then turned bright-red.

"Uh...um...well...maybe...!" She began looking back and forth. She seemed very nervous for some reason.

"Hi...! What are you guys doing?!" Pinkie, Maud, and Marble then walked inside the room. They all must have just finished.

"Mom told us to tell you that dinner will be done later. What are you talking about?" Maud then began brushing Marble's mane and tail.

"Limestone and I are planning to go somewhere tomorrow." Pinkie then suddenly sat next to me.

"Really?! Then maybe we can go to Canterlot! Or Ponyville! Or Apploosa! Or maybe-!" I then noticed Limestone making a sour face at all the suggestion. I then stopped Pinkie from talking.

"Actually, I was thinking of just Limestone and myself tomorrow. I want to get to know all of you and I think I should spend time with each of you one by one." Limestone then sat next to me.

"That's right...! I was thinking of Apploosa! I haven't visited in a while and it might be fun!" Limestone then got really excited.

"Aww...ok. You two have fun then!" Pinkie, Maud, and Marble all agreed. My plans for tomorrow with Limestone were set. We even got permission from Mom and Dad during dinner. Afterwards, we all went to bed and the night went by without any disturbance. I then woke up late again, I brushed my mane and tail that became poof-y during the night, I then went down stairs and the smell of melted butter and freshly made coffee filled my nose. I see Limestone talking with Dad at the dinner table and Mom making toast. I sat down to join them.

"Good morning, Diane. I hope you slept well." Dad then took a sip of his coffee.

"Yes, I did. Um...where are Pinkie, Maud, and Marble?" I expected Pinkie to be partying up a storm right now.

"Pinkie said she had to return to Ponyville because of a letter she got from one of her friends this morning. I think the letter she got said something about a pony named Starlight or something. So she might be gone for a little while. Maud and Marble left for Canterlot to make an order for replacement tools and supplies. They shouldn't be gone for too long." Mom then joined us at the table with a stack of freshly made toast with a plate of butter. We then made our own plates and poured our own cups of coffee.

"I believe you two are going to Apploosa today? Be careful on your way there." Dad then began reading the newspaper. Limestone and I nodded, we finished our toast and coffee, and then made our to the train station. We got on when the train arrived and then made our way to Apploosa. It was going to be a long ride since the train had to make many stops on the way to Apploosa.So we just watched the passing landscape. I wonder how Cherry Jam is doing. Maybe she wouldn't mind a visit from us. I then noticed Limestone had a serious, tense expression on her face. She must still be bothered from not working until they get replacement tools. I had to speak up.

"So Limestone, what do you do when you're out of work? Do you do anything fun?"

"Fun...? Well, not really. I can't really think of anything like that. I've always just work and work. It's really all I can do." Limestone sounded like she was...sad about that.

"Well, maybe you can have fun as you work. Like how you and our sisters made those rock dolls as fillies. Maybe you can be a sculptor." Limestone then looked at me in confusion.

"How do you know about the rock dolls we made as fillies? Did Pinkie tell you?"

"Um...well...I actually share some of Pinkie's memories because of the Mirror Pool. You know, magic stuff...." That was the best explanation I had. I'm still unsure how that pool really works....

"Oh right, that magic pool you told me about. Well, I thought about being a sculptor. It looks fun and it could keep me busy making all the statues. But there's a lot of work to be done at home right now. So I might have to put that on hold...." I guess Limestone prefers work over fun. Maybe this will good for her. We continued to talk as the train made it's way to Apploosa. I noticed that she's a very calm pony when she's not working. She must run a tight ship when she is working. After nearly three hours of train riding, we finally arrived at Apploosa. The town was as festive as I remembered. The buffalo and the ponies were enjoying their day like always.

"It certainly has been a while since I last visited. I wonder how Jam is doing?"

"Wait...you know Cherry Jam?" I never knew Limestone was friends with her.

"Yeah. I usually visit her whenever I have free time. I have other friends I visit too." Hearing that from her, I'm glad Limestone has more than just work to her life. We then left for Cherry Jam's house to pay her a visit. We then arrived and knocked on her door. There was no answer for a number of minutes.

"Is she not home...?"

"Maybe she's out in town right now. Let's go look for he-" Before Limestone could finish her sentence, the door was answered by Cherry Jam.

"I'm so sorry for not answering sooner...! I was working on some pies and I-" She stopped herself when she noticed us.

"Diane...? Limey? What are you two doing here?" Cherry Jam seemed both surprised and confused to see us together.

"Hey Jam. Long time no see. We came to visit you."

"Wait...Limey?" I chuckled at how funny that sounded.

Limestone cleared her throat, "Yeah, that's a funny nickname she gives me. Anyway, how have you been, Jam?" I saw a slight blush on her gray cheeks.

"Oh, I've been fine. But...what are you-" Before Cherry Jam could finish her question, we all noticed smoke coming from the inside of the house.

"OH NO, MY PIE...!" Cherry Jam ran back inside to go get the burning pie and we ran in with her. We weren't able to save it. The crust was almost burnt black and the inside was no different. Cherry Jam was heartbroken. We all sat down in the living room to mourn the loss of the pie.

"So...how do you two know each other? Did I miss something?"

"Oh...well, Limestone is actually my older sister. In fact, the Pie Family is technically my real family."

"What..?! No way...!" Cherry Jam was shocked to hear this.

"Yep. I don't really get it, but Diane was basically created by magic. But even so, she's still part of our family." Limestone sounded proud of that fact.

"Wh-what...?" Cherry Jam was very confused.

"Let's forget about all that. We wanted to see you. How have you been lately?" I would rather not explain everything all over again.

"Um...well, I was just making a pie like I always do, but...." Cherry Jam then became sad at the sight of the burnt pie.

"What have you been doing besides making pies? Find a nice guy yet?"

"Wait...have you been looking for a colt friend, Jam?" I guess she would feel lonely in this big house all by herself.

"No, I haven't.... Every time I meet a nice colt, he would already have a mare friend already. And I have been so busy with all the events that have been happening here in town. Like that Buck Ball game a month ago. After that, it has been pretty quiet lately...." Cherry Jam gave a deep sigh. I guess single colts are hard to come by in a small town.

"What about you two...? Do you two have a special somepony?" Cherry Jam then made a mischievous grin on her face.

"No, I don't think about that stuff."

"Colt friends only get in the way of work." From our replies, Cherry Jam gave an annoyed groan.

"You two are no fun...!" I think she was attempting to tease us. Limestone and I laughed. We continued our conversation from there. We told Cherry Jam about how we have been up to this point. Cherry Jam was impressed with how I was doing in Manehatten and with how many new minerals Limestone discovered. After a number of hours, we knew it was time for us to head back home.

"It was great to have you two visit me. Please, don't be strangers." Cherry Jam served us some leftover pie that wasn't burnt.

"Sure. We'll visit again soon." Limestone and I then left the house. It was starting to get late, so we had to leave right now.

"Take care of yourself, Cherry Jam." We began leaving for the train station.

"You too...! And get a colt friend already...!" We both left feeling bothered by what she said. We waited for the train to arrive and thankfully it arrived just as we arrived. We got on, took our seats, and we made our way back home. The sun was nearly set and night was nearly upon us. I was very tired, but Limestone looked completely unfazed.

"Hey Diane, I got a question for you...."

"What is it...?" I lifted my tired eyes to answer Limestone's question.

"What....what does Pinkie think about me?" Limestone seemed troubled.

"What do you mean...? Why ask me?"

"Well...you're sorta Pinkie, right? Or...um...well...." I think I know what she meant by that. Since I 'came from inside Pinkie', Limestone probably thinks I know what Pinkie thinks.

"Well, I can't tell you what she thinks exactly, but she really respects you, Limestone. She thinks you're really cool too." When I said that, Limestone blushed bright red.

"Oh...uh...alright then." She then looked away. Was she embarrassed?

"Limestone, what's wrong...? What brought this up?" Limestone then made a rather troubled expression on her face and gave a sigh.

"It's just that...well...I think I might be too harsh on our sisters sometimes. I always think about work and I hate things going out of order. I think I might be treating them badly...." I never knew Limestone felt that way. What if Pinkie heard her say this? What would she think? What would she think...? I then decided to sit next to her and lay my head against her left shoulder. I noticed her face then grew bright red again.

"Limestone, Pinkie thinks the world about you and our family. She thinks you're more grumpy than mean. And now that I got to know you a little more, I agree with her. And if I'm to be honest, I'm actually really jealous of her to have such reliable sisters." Limestone fell silent. She raised her right hoof up to her face and rubbed her eyes. She must be feeling much relief after hearing all that I have said.

"Thanks, Diane.... I feel...a lot better now." I'm glad to have made her happy. We continued to wait for our stop that led back home. We then arrived at the stop leading back to the rock farm. We then walked back and we arrived back home with Pinkie waiting for us at the front.

"Ah...Diane and Limestone! You're home! You had us worried!" She ran towards us. Maud, Marble, Mom, and Dad then left the house to greet us.

"What have you two been doing all this time?!" Mom and Dad rushed over to us out of worry.

"Sorry we're late. The time got away from us."

"We just went to Apploosa to meet with a friend. We didn't mean to be so late."

"I'm glad you two are alright." Maud then hugged me. She must have been the most worried.

"...welcome back..." Marble then hugged Limestone.

"Uh....it's ok. We're alright." Limestone blushed again and tried to hide it.

Dad gave a relieved, "Well, as long as you two came back safe, that is fine. Come inside. You two must be famished." We all went inside after all that happened today.

"Hey Diane, let's do this again sometime." Limestone had a strong proud smile on her face. I nodded as we went inside. We both knew we had a good home and a loving family to go to.