The Quickverse Chronicles

by Quick Fix

Bonds Strong as Stone (Maud/Limestone/Marble)

Pie Family Rock Farm
February 5th, Year 20 under the Four Princesses

---

Sitting in its own little corner on the edge of civilised Equestria, the Pie Family Rock Farm was one of those little surprise spots that ponies rarely knew existed, yet found highly charming. Located in a small hilly region between the edge of the San Palomino Desert and Macintosh Hills, the farm specialised in rare minerals and gemstones that could only be found in this part of the world. For eight generations they had traded what they mined with the wider Equestria, never charging much but making enough to get by. Over the last few decades the farm had gained extra renown as the birthplace of Pinkie Pie, though the other ponies who still lived and worked there had some renown of their own.

Ignius 'Rock' Pie, current owner of the farm, had published several books on the various uses of different rock types in modern construction in his younger days. Though now he lived in semi-retirement, still running the farm as strongly as he had thirty years ago.

Cloudy Quartz, formerly a jeweller with an eye for even the smallest of imperfections in gemstones. She had actually been part of the committee for helping the Crystal Empire integrate back into the world upon its return due to her knowledge of all things crystalline.

Dr. Maud Pie, graduate of the prestigious University of Fillydelphia and widely accepted as the best geologist in all of Equestria. She had a reputation as a somewhat strange but extremely dedicated mare, especially to those closest to her.

Limestone Pie, owner of the farm in all but name. A tough but smart pony who never let any challenge get in the way of what she saw as best for her livelihood. Ponies closer to her knew it was an façade though and that she could be as caring as any other pony.

And Marble Pie, the quiet sort who kept her head down and did the hardest work while nopony was watching her. Most of her notice by the wider world came from the fact that Limestone kept crediting her in the most important jobs they received.

Today was a day like many others for the family. Limestone and Marble had gotten up early to continue excavation on a new mining tunnel while Maud tended to the house and handled any new business before she'd join them. The mines that made up a good portion of the farm's business these days had steadily expanded over the years as the family made sure not to completely exhaust any resource the found, either of the rocks or gems that lay beneath the earth. Most ponies would need a whole excavation team and advanced mining equipment to do what they had done. They made do with each other, pickaxes, and their own hooves.

At the site of their latest work, another layer of rocks cracked and crumbled under the force of a hoof strike. Limestone Pie's eyes narrowed as she pulled her hoof back and shook it slightly, getting the dust off her blue-gray fur before swinging it again to take another chunk out of the wall. Just behind her, her lighter toned sibling was pulling chunks of loose rock away and breaking them up to be placed in a set of carrying bags for examination later. Marble was silently thankful to be hanging back here, she could see the little signs that hinted her sister was in a sour mood again. She wasn't as timid as she had been in her youth, a prime indicator being that her formerly extra-long mane had been trimmed and tucked back so she could see with both eyes, but trying to talk to Limestone about her problems was still beyond her.

Even over the sound of rock breaking, the echo of a third set of hooves became audible approaching the two ponies. If Limestone heard it, she didn't pay any attention. Marble paused and looked back down the tunnel, relaxing at the familiar shadow visible in the limited light reflected off the gems back there. As expected, the ever welcome Maud Pie appeared at the end of the tunnel, a clipboard in her mouth. Even behind that stoic look she always had, there was a glint of business in her eyes. Marble gave her a small wave, getting a nod from Maud in return as she made her way up to Limestone and placing a hoof on her shoulder.

"We have a new order." Maud explained simply as she took the clipboard and passed it to Limestone, who scowled as she looked over it.

"Marble, you think you can take care of this?" Limestone commented once she was finished, tossing the clipboard over her shoulder. Marble had just moved close enough to catch it, scrambling a little to keep a hold of it before she could look it over. The order itself wasn't anything special, slate in exchange for bits and food. It had come from Appleoosa though, a small detail that explained Limestone's reluctance to handle it further.

"Mmmhmm." Marble replied quietly, heading back to start gathering what was needed.

"Good." Limestone picked up a pickaxe and started to work a tough section of the wall ahead of her, still scowling. Marble looked down and went back into the next cavern, checking what supplies they had there. As she heard Maud coming back that way, she made a snap decision. She couldn't talk about what was bothering Limestone, but her eldest sister might be able to.

"Umm, sister. Can I ask something?" She asked, her voice gentle and slightly raspy. Maud stopped and looked back at her, silently waiting for the question. "Could you, perhaps talk to Limestone?"

"Why?" Maud asked, though there was the barest hint of a knowing tone to her voice. Marble sighed slightly as she started shifting several spare slate rocks they'd excavated into a free carrying back, wondering how to phrase it.

"Well, it's been three months now," She started, looking down slightly. "I know it was a traumatic experience but, I've never seen her so upset for so long."

"Marble, I'm worried about her too," Maud said slowly, looking as indifferent as ever. "But none of us can say we've been through anything like it. Not even mother."

"But she's working herself too hard to try to cover it up. That's how it happened in the first place. And you're the closest out of all of us to sympathising. You're the one who can't ha..." Marble's words died in her throat as Maud closed her eyes and looked down. "I-I'm sorry, that was thoughtless of me."

"I understand," Maud replied, stepping over and placing a hoof on Marble's shoulder. "I can't promise that Limestone will get better quickly, but I'll keep trying to help her through it. I always will."

"Thank you." Marble hugged Maud gently, thankful for her. Maud lifted her head slightly to let her youngest sister press closer and simply accepted the hug, letting it last for a second before carefully easing Marble off and heading back into the excavation tunnel.

By the time Maud reached her again, Limestone had carved out another foot of the rock before her, now back to punching through it with a fierce grin on her face. Maud glanced up at the rock above them, studying the composition for several seconds before looking back at Limestone.

"You should take a rest. Supports need to be put up." She told her. As expected, her darker-furred sibling only hesitated long enough to hear her before continuing on.

"No, just a few more feet. I'm this close to a new gem deposit!" She countered, grunting at another hit that cracked the rock in front of her.

"I'm being serious, stop and think." Though it didn't sound any different, Limestone could hear the shift in Maud's voice. She was in big sister mode now. With some reluctance, Limestone brought her hooves down and turned to face Maud, panting from exertion.

"What's this about? You know we've got to keep the speed up if we're gonna meet this years order from Canterlot." She panted, shifting in place.

"Limestone, I know you work harder than anypony, but that's a problem as much as a gift. You can't use it to cover up what you're feeling. This is about us, and my responsibility."

Limestone froze in place at that before flicking her head to get her mane out of her eyes. Maud knew she'd hit the issue with her, even if getting her to admit it would hurt both of them.

"Look, Maud. We've been over this a hundred times. I know the eldest sibling normally continues the family line, but it's not your fault that you couldn't." Limestone said through gritted teeth. Maud simply stared her down, almost statuesque.

"You tried to take the responsibility on top of your own duties without stopping though. There's no other reason for what you went through."

Limestone stared at Maud for several seconds, eyes widening slightly as the memories came back in full force.

---

Appleoosa medical center
Three months ago...

Limestone Pie panted as she flopped her head back onto the pillow beneath her. She'd never been through pain like that before in her life. Hell, the past eleven months had been some of the worst in her life, but she'd done it. She'd taken the pressure off Maud and helped her family like she always did. Though she'd never admit it to a single pony, she was actually looking forward to being a mother, teaching her daughter to be a Pie. Hopefully her dad would at least play some role, he'd seemed a nice enough earth pony after all. Right now, she was simply going to enjoy the last few moments of silence before she...

Silence. The books had indicated that silence was the last thing she should be hearing right now.

Something was seriously wrong.

She felt a new surge of energy and lifted her head up, trying to look back over her body to see what was happening. Almost instantly one of the doctors, a sand coloured unicorn mare, came into her view with a solemn look on her face.

"What're you doing?" Limestone asked, mounting concern starting to make her anger flare up again.

"Miss Pie, we...We did-"

"Cut the crap, why're you here and not down there?!"

"I'm sorry, we tried our everything, but she was already..."

"No. No no no. Don't you dare finish that sentence! Do something!"

Limestone tried to reach her hoof up to grab the doctor but she could barely reach her lapel before her strength faded again and she let it drop back to the bed. The world around her seemed to fade into insignificance as she simply focused on her breathing, for her own world had just collapsed around her.

---

Limestone snapped back to reality as she found herself blinking back tears. Maud was still staring at her, though her look had taken on a faint hint of sadness on realising that she may have pressed her sister too hard. She slowly stepped forward and offered a hoof to Limestone, only for her to turn away from it.

"It's easy for you to say, isn't it? You'll never have to go through the feeling of losing a foal and I'll never get to raise Sulphur!" Limestone snapped, swinging round and going back to the wall, not caring how much her words hurt anymore.

She practically yelled as she slammed her hoof straight into the rock, the force making a crack appear. Both of them watched it as the crack steadily grew up toward the roof. Maud simply gave her sister a look before they both turned and ran for the exit. Even Limestone realised she'd overstepped herself this time. The yell had drawn Marble's attention and she was running back their way, looking up as she saw the imminent cave-in above them. Even as Limestone opened her mouth to warn her away, a mighty crack drew all their attention as a section of the roof finally gave out under the strain and began to drop right into Maud and Limestone's path.

Maud saw the danger incoming and threw the two of them against the wall, shielding her sister as the roof caved in right where they had been about to run, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris around them. Thankfully the dust wasn't too thick due to how clean the mines were kept, allowing them enough air to keep breathing for now.

"Are you okay?" Maud asked as soon as the noise of the cave-in died down, concern clear in her voice as she checked her sister over.

"Y-yeah," Limestone coughed. "Sorry, I let my..."

"I was tactless. It's my fault too." Maud replied, her voice slipping back toward it's usual monotone. As she let Limestone go and turned to check the damage to the tunnel, Limestone could see that her back had been torn up by debris and falling rocks, half a dozen cuts running down the length of her back. They weren't deep though and she acted as though she didn't feel them.

"Maud! Limestone!" Marble's cries from the other side of the collapse drew their attention. "Are you alright?!"

"We're fine." Maud replied, trusting her voice would carry through. "Are you?"

"I...Yes, I wasn't close enough when the tunnel went down. What happened?"

"Limestone Pie forgot to put a support up. Marble, I need you to stay calm now."

"You're, you're not alright." Limestone commented quietly, rattled by the fact her big sister had been injured protecting her. Even more so after how she had behaved only moments before.

"You are though," Maud replied in kind before turning back toward the cave-in. "Marble, how does it look where you are?"

"Okay, I err," Marble made a few noises of seemingly gibberish as she studied things. "There's one major boulder, waste rock. It's thicker at the bottom. I can see some smaller pieces filling the gaps near the top."

"I see the same here. This is bad." Maud commented flatly, stepping back slightly.

"I'm guessing we can't just buck the rock away?" Limestone asked as she stepped next to Maud, grimacing slightly as she got a closer look at the cuts.

"No," Maud studied the rock closely. "The boulder is now load bearing. Destroying it would bring more of the roof down. Likely on us. If it was safe to move, it would take both of us, and I don't think I'd have the strength right now."

All three of them went silent at that, wondering what to do now. Limestone folded her ears back slightly as she paced round, both from Maud's choice of words and the full extent of the situation. There wasn't enough air for more than a couple of hours, probably less considering both Maud and Limestone were in the same space. Marble could be heard shifting about on the other side of the boulder, repeatedly sounding like she wanted to say something but not knowing what.

"...Maud? Limestone?" She eventually said, her voice quiet but carrying a sense of optimism. "What about a small hole at the bottom? Enough for you both to crawl through?"

"Four square feet," Maud replied, checking the rock carefully. "It would be enough to leave without risking another collapse. But, the precision needed would be-"

The sound of a hoof impacting the rock made her step back.

Then another.

"What are you doing?" Limestone exclaimed. "Sis, don't try it!"

"I have to!" Marble cried from the other side, another hoofpunch punctuating her words. "I can do this. Please, trust me for once!"

"For once?" Limestone asked, looking slightly offended. Maud looked over at her, her expression stoic but her eyes hinting that Marble had a point.

Limestone looked down slightly but before she could comment, another hit was punctuated by a crack appearing on their side of the rock, about three feet up. They both backed up slightly as it was joined by another crack by the floor, then a third and fourth. With further hits the cracks slowly spread and linked up with one another, marking a roughly three-and-a-half foot square dead center at the base of the boulder. Then one last punch saw the square it had formed cracked, splinter, then shatter into pebbles. A dusty hoof quickly pushed through the pebbles, scattering them at Maud and Limestone's hooves.

"Come on!" Marble called as she pulled her hoof back. Maud motioned for Limestone to go first and watched her clear some more rubble away and clamber through the gap. It was a slightly tight squeeze but she was able to make it through without problems. Maud was slightly larger and she had to crawl with her forelegs held out in front in order to fit, but after a minute she managed to pull herself back to her hooves and join the others on the safe side of the rock.

Marble looked a mess, she was panting hard, caked in dust and her mane was tangled and dishevelled. As soon as she was sure her siblings were safely away from the collapse though, she pulled them both into a tight hug, burying her face in their shoulders and dampening them slightly as she started to feel all the tension and fear bleeding away and coming out in tears of relief. Maud simply patted her back gently while Limestone, after a momentary hesitation, adjusted her neck so she could breathe properly and returned the hug in kind.

"H-hey, come on. We're alright, thanks to you," Limestone told Marble, her voice slightly shaky as she tried to console her sister. In truth, she was also trying to make up for earlier, and the day before, and...A lot of things in the last few months. All those times she had deflected her feelings instead of dealing with them and how it must have made everypony feel, the least she could do now was show she still cared. "How did you even manage to break that hole?"

"I...I just looked at it and saw where I needed to hit...Marble sense?" She replied, looking away slightly and gasping as she saw Maud's injuries. "Maud..."

"I'm alright, though medical attention would be nice." Maud replied calmly.

Marble quickly moved to help Maud out, only to stumble as her own exhaustion from punching through the boulder made itself apparent. Limestone caught her before she could drop and propped her back on her hooves, supporting her on her left side and Maud doing the same on her right. The three of them had no more words for each other, they didn't need them. They simply kept moving, back into the sunlight and fresh air outside the mine to go be checked over. Each of them was feeling, for the first time in too long, the same thing. That despite everything, they always had each other.

Author's Note:

Lame title is lame, I know. Behind that though, this chapter was an interesting exercise in what happens when you come up with an idea and how differently it can come out when you get a brainblast mid-writing.