//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Limes and a Side of Chris // by RomeoDKat //------------------------------// Dear Limestone, I’m happy that things have been going well for the rock farm. Heck, I bet that by the time this letter reaches you, you’ll be done supplying rocks to that aquarium that’s opening up. Hopefully they compensate you guys well. Anyway, there’s something, well, really important I need to tell you about. I just got word from the princesses that they wanted to speak with me as soon as possible. They didn’t really go into any specifics, but I have a feeling that it is about sending me home. I’m hopeful that they figured it out, but a part of me is worried too. The way that they wrote the letter just seemed off to me, if you know what I mean. I guess I’ll have to find out what she wants to talk about tomorrow, which is why I decided to write to you when I did. I just wanted to take the time to say goodbye, just in case she did find a way to bring me home. Apart of me feels like I owe you for saving my life. The sad thing is that people in my world probably won’t believe me when I tell them that this grumpy pony found me in the middle of nowhere and brought me to a hospital. At least I know that I made a really cool friend out of it. Although, if things don’t go well, I’ll make sure to write you a letter just to let you know that you aren’t rid of me yet. Well, let’s hope for the best and, as always, I hope things continue to go well for you. Your friend, Chris Limestone placed the letter on the living room table before leaning back against the couch to collect herself. She’s lost count over the amount of times she read and re-read that letter ever since she got it two weeks ago, but how she felt was still the same since the first time she read it. She was happy for him, but she still felt sad and frustrated that her first and only friend just up and left like that. Even though she had already sent him a letter to tell him her own goodbye in hopes that it would reach her, she still felt tempted to write him another one just to see how it went. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the part of the letter that told her that he’d write to her if he was still in Equestria. Which meant that, as far as she knew, he was back home. She was glad that he was back where he belonged, but she never thought that losing him would hurt her like this. Every time she read his letter, if felt like somepony had gotten a hold of her chest and squeezed it hard. Even though she wasn’t a stranger to pain, given her occupation, this pain was new. And even though she knew that Chris more than likely wasn’t going to stay in her life forever and that the day would come for him to leave, it still didn’t help dull out the pain. Even then, during the short amount of time that Chris was apart of her life, she was still able to feel a sense of joy she never thought she’d experience. Ever since his first letter, she actually had something other then her job to look forward to. She enjoyed waiting in anticipation for his letters telling her what he had been up to. These usually ranged from Princess Twilight Sparkle practically begging to study him and getting bailed out by some mare named Starlight Glimmer to having to fight of some mint green unicorn that seemed particularly obsessed with him. In return, she’d tell him about things she did on the rock farm and things that happened during deliveries. She felt like her stories weren’t as interesting as Chris’s, but there was a way that Chris responded to her that showed genuine interest into what she was doing. She folded up the letter as she said to herself. “I really do need to let him go, but nopony ever told me that it would be this hard.” She then looked out the window and noticed that the mailpony was walking away from the mailbox. She was excited at first, but then she remembered that getting a letter from Chris was less than likely. So, deciding that she might as well get the mail, she unenthusiastically walked outside and got the mail from the mailbox. Let’s see what we got here. She thought to herself as she rummaged through the mail. Special order…bill…bill…special order. She reached the halfway point of the stack when she saw a letter that caused her to pause. It was from Pinkie Pie. What does Pinkie want? She thought as she got back into the living room. She haphazardly threw the other letters on the table and opened up Pinkie’s letter. Dear Limestone, So, something happened to Chris and he wasn’t able to go back home. He’s been super sad ever since he got back from Canterlot. I’ve tried a whole bunch of things to cheer him up from trying to play games with him to throwing him a party, but he either doesn’t put any effort into anything or just sits around him room and does nothing. Twilight’s told me that I should give him some space, but I’m really worried about him. I think it would be a good idea if you came to help him out. I’m sure he’d appreciate being able to see you again. Just…don’t yell at him too much if you do, okay?” Sincerely, Pinkie Pie Once she was done reading the letter, Limestone was feeling a mixture of hurt, angry, and betrayal. “He’s still here in Equestria.” She muttered before screaming out. “He’s still in Equestria, and he didn’t write to me like he said he was going to!” As far as she knew, she needed answers and she needed answers now. So, she got the nearest piece of parchment and quill and furiously wrote a note for her family to let them know where she was going. Once the note was where somepony could see it, she ran out the front door and straight to the train station. Along the way, she began to think to herself. Why didn’t he write to me like he said he was going to? Is he feeling that bad about not being able to go home? Does he even want me to still be in his life or did he even care in the first place? Limestone was practically one of the first ponies off the train when it reached Ponyville. She was all but pushing ponies out of her way as she made a beeline to the Castle of Friendship. She remembered Chris telling her that Princess Twilight let him have a room during his stay and that, in spite of her occasional eccentric tendencies, she was pretty down to earth. It only took her a few minutes to reach the castle and give the front doors a hard knock. After many seconds of waiting, one of the doors opened to reveal the purple alicorn she recognized as Princess Twilight Sparkle. She gave Limestone a small smile as she said, “Hello there. Is there anything I can help you with?” “Uh, yes your highness.” Limestone replied, trying to remember politeness. “I was wondering if it’s possible for me to see Chris right now?” Twilight’s smile immediately changed to a surprised look before she asked, “Are you Limestone Pie?” “I am.” “Um, could you step inside please?” She asked as she stepped aside to give Limestone room to enter. Limestone gave her a curious look as she walked inside and waited for her to speak. Twilight closed the door and turned to Limestone. “Did Pinkie Pie tell you what happened with Chris?” “She did.” Limestone curtly replied. “I was afraid she would do something like that.” Twilight muttered before saying, “I know you came out here to see him and that you’re concerned about him, but we’ve tried everything we can to help him. It eventually got to the point where we believed the best thing for him would be to give him some space until he was ready.” It was taking Limestone all of her mental restraints not to go off on Twilight. She was constantly reminding herself that this wasn’t an unruly customer that wanted things to only go there way, but somepony that actually cared about Chris’s wellbeing. So, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before replying. “Look, I know you’re looking out for him, but I really need to talk to him. I might be mad at him, but I also want to see that he’s alright. “I know, but…” Twilight trailed off to think of an appropriate response. That’s when Limestone thought up of something. “Look, just let me try talking to him. If he wants to talk with me, then let him. If not, then I’ll leave him alone until he’s ready to talk to me.” She offered. Twilight pondered her offer for a moment before she nodded and said, “Alright, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. Come on, I’ll show you to his room.” She then turned around and led Limestone through the castle. Limestone was more than glad that she did. She probably would have gotten lost within seconds. After a couple of minutes, Twilight stopped at a door and knocked on it. “Chris, are you in there?” She called out. “There’s somepony here to see you.” “Yeah, I’m here. Who is it?” Limestone heard Chris’s tired voice from inside. Limestone walked up to the door and called out, “Chris, it’s me, Limestone. I need to talk to you.” “L-Limestone!” Chris blurted out before going silent. After a few seconds of silence, Limestone’s head began to hang low as she began to fear the worst. She was about to turn and walk away when she suddenly heard the door open. When she looked up, she didn’t know how to feel. Chris was standing in the doorway with a surprised look on his face. He looked like he was physically healthy and well fed, which made Limestone feel relieved. But what was causing her to feel concerned was that he looked tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping in days “Hey.” He softly said. “Hey.” Limestone simply replied back with a frown. Twilight looked awkwardly between the two of them before saying “I’ll just…give you two some privacy.” She then turned around and quickly walked away. Chris and Limestone just stood there awkwardly, neither of them not really knowing what to say to the other. Eventually, Limestone takes a deep breath before asking, “Can I come in?” Chris stood there for a few moments before replying, “Yeah, of course.” as he stepped aside. Limestone walked in and looked around the room. There wasn’t much inside, but she did find a whole bunch of crumpled up pieces of parchment on his desk and that his bed still hadn’t been made yet. She turned towards Chris when he closed the door and watched him take a seat on the bed. After a few seconds, he asked, “So, who told you that I was still here?” “Pinkie did.” She curtly answered. Chris chuckled softly before responding, “I should have known. She’s been the most persistent of my friends here.” There was silence between them again before Chris asked, “So, how mad are you at me?” “I’m pretty mad,” Limestone replied. “But I had some time to think on the way here. And the more I thought, the more I began to understand that you’ve been going through a lot right now.” She paused for a moment before asking, “So, what happened at Canterlot?” Chris just sat there for a few moments before finally answering, “Basically, everything that I didn’t want to hear from the princesses was said. They started off by saying they looked into everything we could and experimented with everything, but they couldn’t find a way to send me home. They even tried some mirror they said led to a human world, but we ruled that out on the basis of my world not having people naturally occurring green skin. They even asked some asshole named Discord to see if he could help me out, but he had a list of reasons not to help me out. Like how he didn’t know where my universe is and how long it would take to find it, not knowing how much time has passed there, and, apparently his most important reason, he didn’t really feel like it.” He placed his head in his hands and used his thumbs to message his temples. Limestone gave him a sympathetic look before saying, “Look, I know how rough this is for you-” “Do you?!” He suddenly said, interrupting her. “Do you really?!” He then stood up as he continued yelling. “Do you know what happened before I found myself in Equestria? I was just hired to be a software designer for an automation company. Do you know what I had to do to be able to get that job? I had to go to school for five years and work my ass off to get a degree. So, when they told me that I wasn’t able to go home, they might as well have told me that all the work I went through was for nothing. On top of that, I can’t see my old friends or my family. I can’t even give them a message to let them know that I’m still alive and not to put an empty casket into the ground. So, tell me Limestone, do you really understand what I’m going through?” Limestone just looked at him at him with a surprised look as he yelled at her. But some time after he was done, a frown developed as she began to speak through gritted teeth. “How dare you.” He frown deepened as he yelled, “How dare you!” Chris actually stepped back from her outburst as she continued yelling at him. “You really think I don’t understand how you’re feeling?! You really think I can’t empathize with you?!  Sure, I haven’t gone through what you’ve gone through, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how broken up you are about it. But do you know what I’ve gone through?! I had my only friend suddenly say goodbye to me by letter! So, naturally, I thought that you went back home, but it turned out at you were here the entire time. And how did I learn that you were still here?! From a letter my sister wrote! That wouldn’t have been so bad, had you didn’t tell me that you would write to me if you were still in Equestria.” Limestone paused as she started taking deep breaths to calm herself down, still glaring at him. She then calmly said. “Look, I get it. I know this has been hard on you, but why…why didn’t you tell me that you were still here?!” Chris stared back at her with a somber look before taking a deep breathe and saying, “I honestly did want to tell you that I was still here.” “Oh really?! I’ll believe it when I see it.” She said as she sat on her haunches and crossed her hooves. “Then take a look.” He said as he pointed at the desk. Limestone looked over at the desk and began scanning it again, trying to see if she could find something other the pieces of parchment. After a few seconds, her eyes widened in realization as she ran up to the desk. She uncrumpled one of the parchments and read it. Dear Limestone, So, I’m still here- The rest was scratched out. She opened another one. Dear Limestone, As you can probably tell That was all that was written. She decided to open one more. All it said was, Dear Limestone Pie, Limestone felt a tear roll down as she put the parchment down. Sure, he never sent a letter to her, but he still tired to reach out to her. He still wanted her in his life. She turned to him with a sad look and began to say, “Chris, I’m sorry-” “Don’t be.” Chris interrupted. “I honestly deserved it.” “But I still shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” “Yes, you did. You had every right to yell and be mad at me after I yelled at you for trying to help me. I just…” He paused as he began to pace around the room before sitting on the bed again and saying, “I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind lately.” Limestone just watched him sit there with his head in his hands with a somber look on her face. Eventually, she walked up to the bed and took a seat to his right. For a few minutes, the two of them just sat there, neither of them speaking or looking at each other. “Hey, Limestone?” Chris eventually spoke. “Yeah?” Limestone simply answered, still not looking at him. “Am I really your only friend?” Limestone turned to Chris to find him looking at her with a concerned and expecting look. She took a deep breath before answering, “Yeah, you are. Pretty much what happens when you don’t live near anypony. Not to mention most ponies usually don’t want anything to do with me.” Chris stared at her for a while before saying, “I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have just tried to write a letter to you when I got back from Canterlot. I just…I just don’t know why I didn’t.” “Hey, don’t worry about that right now.” Limestone reassured while rubbing his back. “Although, you were right about one thing earlier. I don’t know what you’re going through, but, like I said earlier,  that doesn’t mean I still can’t empathize with you and be a pony you can talk to when you need to let something off your chest.” Chris didn’t’ say anything, but instead he leaned up against her and rested his head on her shoulder. She felt some tears begin to soak her shoulder, so she used both of her forehooves to hold him close to her. The two of them just sat there, Limestone allowing Chris to cry on her shoulder and Chris seeking comfort in Limestone’s embrace. Eventually, once Chris had calmed down and stopped crying, Limestone asked, “Do you want to lie down for a bit?” “Yeah, do you…mind lying down with me. I haven’t seen you in a while after all.” Chris replied, wiping a few tears from his eyes. Limestone chuckled before responding, “Sure.” The both of them moved around until they both had their heads were resting on the pillows and had the covers over them. “Comfy?” She asked. “A lot more comfortable than that time we shared the sleeping bag.” Chris jokingly responded. Limestone gave a soft laugh before saying, “Hey, at least we were warm.” “True.” Chris said with a chuckle. After a few seconds, he suddenly said, “Hey, you want to know something?” “Hmm?” “I actually gave Discord a good sucker punch after he told me he didn’t feel like helping me. Actually knocked out that oversized tooth of his.” A hearty laugh came out of Limestone. “W-what happened after that?” She asked in-between breaths. “Well, his tooth immediately grew back, and he looked like he wanted to kill me. Thankfully, Princess Celestia kept him from doing so while telling him that he had it coming.” “Hey, if it’s anything to go by, if you didn’t punch him, then I would have hunted him down so that I could do it myself.” Limestone chimed in. Chris chuckled before saying, “Thanks, Limestone. At least I know  I’ve got you to watch my back.” “You know it.” Limestone responded. After a couple of minutes, Chris yawned before saying, “Hey, I think I’m going to take a nap.” “Alright, I’m not far behind you.” The two of them laid there until they both dozed off to sleep. Limestone, while still feeling sorry for her friend, was glad that he was staying in her life and that he was going to be alright.