Igneous Rock Pie set down his pick and slowly straightened up from his bent posture, sighing with satisfaction. “A good harvest, Mother.”
Cloudy Quartz Pie, his faithful wife, looked up from her steadfast sorting of the wheat from the chaff—or in this case, the rocks from the less desirable rocks. It was a task years of experience had more than qualified her for.
“Indeed.” There wasn’t anything else that needed to be said, so that was all.
“The sun sets now,” Igneous continued.
Mrs. Pie glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, Celestia’s golden orb was touching the peaks of the distant mountains. The long day would soon draw to its close and the Mare of the Moon would rise to begin her journey across the starry ocean above. The other members of the Pie family would continue working until the sun had completely disappeared beneath the horizon, but it was time for her to return to the house and make dinner. When the tired Pies returned from their long day of work, there would be a bowl of rock soup ready for each of them. Just as there had been yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. And every day before that for years and years.
Cloudy Quartz quickly finished sorting the last few rocks in front of her and rose to her hooves. “Remind Marble not to overtax herself—send her home early, if necessary. Her recovery from that bout of sickness is still uncertain.”
Igneous gave her a nod before bending back toward the ground to exam some fissure deep in the rock, all but invisible to an inexperienced farmer. Cloudy Quartz turned away and began her long trudge back to the house, leaving him to his work.
The gray upon grayer hues that made up the scenery of the little rock farm weren’t at all impressive to newcomers and visitors, but to Cloud nothing could be more beautiful. That same enduring sameness that made the location almost unbearable to most ponies had charmed her ever since she’d first arrived there with Igneous on the night of their wedding and it continued to weave it’s way into the corners of her heart as the years passed by. Everything about the place had become as much a part of her as her own hooves: the sights, the smells, the landscape. She couldn’t imagine calling any other place home—just as the rocks around her, she stood solidly where fate had placed her with no desire to change.
Mrs. Pie took a deep breath of the slightly metallic scented air and let it out with a sigh. Yes, every single thing around her was literally set in stone, the same now as it had been when she’d first looked out over the plain…
Well, perhaps not quite the same…
Pausing, she took a moment to look back over her shoulder. Through the softly fading light she could still see Igneous’ solid figure, bent dedicatedly over his work, as well as three other hard working figures a little ways off—their daughters. Even from this distance the gray mare could distinguish Marble’s timid chipping, Lime’s aggressive swings, and Maud’s steady strikes from one another. The Pie family had certainly grown since her first view of the place, and that was one change she couldn’t be happier about. She knew she was truly blessed to have such a family and she loved them with every faculty her heart possessed. They were her bedrock, her focus, and her one true joy.
It made her heart snag a little to see there was one form less than usual…
Sighing softly, she turned back around and continued on her way.
The house wasn’t that far away from the rock fields but it was far enough, and it seemed to get a little farther with each year that passed by. Her joints were starting to stiffen up and her breath coming out in slight puffs when she finally arrived at the doorway and made her way inside. There was a time, she reflected absently, when she could have run that distance and still had enough breath in her to climb Holder’s Boulder. Those days were long gone…
(Not that she would have done such a thing, of course—she was a practical mare, and it didn’t seem practical to run across the fields and then climb a giant boulder for no reason whatsoever—but there you have it.)
The gray mare trotted across the creaking wooden floorboards of the small two-story cottage and into the kitchen. It—like everything in the house—was small, neat, and orderly. There was a small stove, a few cupboards, a barrel full of choice rocks, and a large table the whole family could sit at during mealtimes. It wasn’t anything special, but she was sure a large, fancy kitchen would just disorient her anyway.
Following her usual routine, Cloudy Quartz picked out a few rocks from the barrel and dropped them into a tall pot kept on the stove, her ears twitching as they hit the bottom with a pleasant thonk. She would need to get water next—hopefully the pump would cooperate today. Turning, she pulled down an old rusty bucket from it’s hook on the wall and began making her way toward the back door.
Ring Ring Ring
Cloudy Quartz jumped, nearly dropping the bucket. She quickly glanced around to find the source of the sound. Eventually, her eyes came to rest upon a strange bit of black metal sitting innocently on a newly added side table in the corner of the room.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. Of course—the phone. Why in Equestria Igneous Rock had decided they needed a phone was beyond her knowledge. Sure, their nearest neighbors—the Stones—had brought one and set up the power lines a few years ago, but Igneous usually didn’t care a fig about what they did. (They were strange folk, using machines to mine their rocks for them and the like. It was all very well to say hello to them at church or in town, or even to borrow a cup of sugar every once in a while, but as for embracing their ideals…well, there were some things that were best left alone.) But Igneous had insisted the Pie family needed a phone, “for business’ sake”. Cloud disagreed—strongly. They had gotten along just fine before the phone, and they would have kept on getting on without it.
And anyway, Igneous couldn’t deny that they seemed to get more calls from sales ponies then from actual customers.
Ring Ring Ring.
Cloud dropped her bucket with a thump and stalked over to the black gadget. Picking up the receiver with a good deal of reluctance, she fervently wished that Igneous or one of the girls had come home with her—she hated being the only one home to answer the stupid thing.
“Hello, Pie’s Rock Farm.” Cloudy Quartz recited the phrase like a school filly repeating memorized poetry, preparing for a hasty but polite retreat as soon as the pony on the other end attempted to sell something.
“HI MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
An excited, high-pitched voice blasted through the speaker, causing Cloud to nearly lose her hold on the receiver. The shock was so great that it took a moment for her to register what she’d just heard and splutter a reply.
“P-pinkie?!”
“Yeper-deper! It’s me! All the way from Ponyville!! Yay!!!!”
“All the way…?” Cloudy Quartz mumbled, trying desperately to catch up with the excited yapping on the other end.
“Did I surprise you, Mommy?” bubbled Pinkie. “Oh, I just love surprising ponies! You know, I think I surprised several ponies today trying to find a phone to use! First, I went to this super tidy looking place where there were lots of desks, and each one had a typewriter and a phone on it, but when I tried to use one the really-official-looking pony said I couldn’t, and I asked why not because they really had plenty, and she said—”
“Pinkamena Diane Pie!” Cloud quickly interjected. “I understand thou art excited beyond all measure, but please try to calm thyself.”
“Oh, okay Mommy—I’ll try.”
Cloudy Quartz reached down to pick up her glasses, which had spun off her snout in the excitement, shaking her head. Pinkamena was her second youngest, and certainly the biggest surprise the family had ever experienced, even before birth. Cloud hadn’t been able to believe it when she’d gotten pregnant for the third time, and her disbelief had further increased when the doctor had told her she was going to have twins. But she’d gotten over that shock fairly quickly—it was the bouncing sensation she’d started feeling from inside her normally down-to-earth body in the months that followed that was hard to recover from. It was as if one of the unborn foals had just known whatever was outside was much, much more exciting then what was inside.
Marble, Mrs. Pie was sure, would have waited for a convenient time for her mother to be born, but Pinkie just couldn’t wait. Two weeks earlier than expected, Cloud had gone into labor—yet another surprise. Luckily, everything had gone smoothly; Pinkie sped into the world quick as a rocket and her sister had followed in just a few short, relatively painless minutes later. And ever since that first moment when Cloud had held the squirming pink bundle in her hooves, surprise after surprise had followed like a river of multicolored streamers, both good and bad. She could almost say she’d gotten used to it, but she was unsure any pony could get completely used to her daughter’s…self.
It was more then safe to say Pinkamena Diane was so very different from the rest of the family—or any pony Cloud had ever met, for that matter—that more than one pony might assume she was adopted (or a stuffed animal purchased at the local store and magically brought to life). Her own mother might have assumed the very same if she hadn’t carried her springing form for nine months and given birth to her. There was little in Pinkie’s bouncy disposition, crazy antics, or over-the-top parties that Cloud could say her no-nonsense disposition had contributed to, if anything at all. She had often supposed that the pink party pony had gotten her outrageous behavior from her Grandma Pie. Now, that pony had always been a little strange, though not quite as strange as her hyperactive bouncy ball of a daughter—or at least not in her later years, when Cloud had known her. For all the solid farming mare knew, Igneous’ mother might had been a circus pony before she put down roots on the farm…
“Mommy?”
Cloud snapped out of her thoughts and back to the present. “Yes?”
“Did you go all spacey again? You’re so silly! So I know I’m supposed to be trying to be calm…but can I just say I’ve missed you soooo much?! I can say that, right?! And I’m so excited to be talking to you, I just can’t stay calm—I just can’t!”
“Really, Pinkamena, one would assume thou hast been away from home a fortnight rather than five days!” Cloud scolded. But even as she spoke she could feel one of those rare smiles spreading across her face like sweet buttercream. Pinkie may have her quirks, but that didn’t stop her mother from loving her more than anything else, and she was secretly very excited to talk to her daughter as well.
“Now, I shouldest like to inquire a few things of thou before giving thee liberty to vocalize whatever fancies enter thy mind, is that clear?”
“Okay!! What do you want to know? How many ponies live here? Where the best place to eat is? Because that one’s sooooo easy, it’s—”
“Pinkie, I would like to know how thou art settling in,” Cloudy Quartz broke in, carefully steering the conversation in the right direction.
“Ooooh, Mom questions, okay. Well, I’m settling! I unpacked everything the day I arrived, but then I felt bad because it was over so fast, so I repacked up everything and unpacked it again today!”
“Oh?” The gray pony blinked. “That sounds extremely…fun for thee.”
“It was! Because then I had to find everything it’s place again, you know? Kind of like hide and seek but backwards, because you’re not finding the objects you’re finding a place for the objects you’ve already found!”
Cloud tactfully decided not to point out that it was a complete waste of time—it seemed to make Pinkie happy, so what of it? “Very good then. I am pleased to hear thou art doing so well.”
“Oh yeah, I’m doing great! I love, love, love it here!”
The words, said with the same enthusiasm and spirit Pinkie used for almost every sentence, were simple enough. But, like a group of stallions using a pulley to help lift a large slab of stone, those words now helped lift a great weight off the older mare’s shoulders that she’d found impossible to remove for the last five days. Her heart suddenly grew lighter, and she let out soft sigh of relief.
Her baby was safe and happy. Five days, and she hadn’t called to say she’d be coming home after accidentally blowing up the town hall with her party cannon. Perhaps she’d really be fine living on her own after all…
“And, just for the record, it’s been totally easy!” Pinkie prattled on. “I mean, when you and Daddy were talking about it you made it sound all horrible and scary and stuff that absolutely would not be fun, but moving out has been a blast!”
Cloud, unsure if her daughter was being overly optimistic or completely oblivious, felt a slight frown settle on her face at this accusation. “I do not recall suggesting that living on thine own would be ‘horrible’ or ‘scary’, as thou puts it…”
“Well, yeah, you totally did.”
“…I do recall endeavoring to give thee rational facts on the matter so thou wouldst ponder the idea more thoroughly before making a final decision. That is all.”
“But I’d already made the decision by then, so it was a bit late for that…” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Goshy Mommy, you really didn’t think I was ready to go, did ya?”
“No, I did not.” There was no point in denying it. The biggest and possibly the most heart wrenching surprise their daughter had ever given them had burst upon Igneous and Cloudy Quartz that night two months ago when Pinkie had bounced into dinner and announced she’d be moving out as soon as possible. Sometimes Cloud wished Pinkie would try being a little less sudden—the news had nearly caused her to choke on her soup, and it had taken Maud a few minutes of back pounding to resuscitate her. She had always known Pinkie was the adventurous sort, and the daily routine of mining rocks had never agreed with her the way it agreed with the rest of the family. It made sense that she would be the first to leave, and in her heart Cloud knew it would happen eventually. But all the same, the news had hit her harder than a speeding freight train.
Cloud sighed a little as she thought of this and continued. “I felt that thou wert still too young to attempt such a daunting quest and that there was still much that thou couldst learn here before galavanting on thy own.” In truth, Mother Pie still thought this. Pinkie was as green as a new bud in spring (meaning she was naive about worldly matters, of course, not that she was no longer pink. Not even the constant dust of mining could dull that shade.) and living on her own before she’d hardly been anywhere except the farm and the nearby village was more than a little rash. But Cloudy Quartz had bitten her lip and swallowed her own feelings once she’d realized her daughter wouldn’t be dissuaded. Igneous and her had agreed long ago that they wouldn’t hold their children back if the young ones decided not to follow in their hoof steps and stay on the farm. It was a promise she had been determined to keep—even if it meant sending one of her youngest out before she was ready to let her go.
“Ahhhhh, that was sweet of you to worry.” Pinkie said, sounding sincere. “But I knew I was most definitely ready because my Pinkie Sense was going whack-o—like, for real.”
Cloud blinked in confusion. “…Pinkie Sense?”
“Ya know—the twichies and itchies I get sometimes when something important’s about to happen? Like a pot falling, or a cake about to burn, or Lime’s in a really really really really really bad mood and we should all get out of the way?”
“Ah, yes,” Cloudy Quartz nodded. That she knew about.
“I decided to call it my Pinkie Sense! And it was definitely letting me know it was time to get out and start making my way in the wide world!”
Pinkie sounded so sure about the whole thing Cloud decided to just go with it. What did she know about strange sixth senses? Her own five had always worked well enough for her. “And it also told thee to make residence in a small little town of no renown or status, built next-door to one of the most deadly forests in Equestria, in which thou hast only been once as a small filly, correct?”
“Nope—my Pinkie Sense can’t do things like that!”
Cloud blinked again. “…Ah. Then, what precisely inspired thee to seek a home in…that place?”
This question had boggled Mother Pie ever since Pinkie had announced where she intended to go. She’d naturally assumed Pinkie would be drawn to the more densely populated cities, like Manehatten or Los Pegasus. The thought that she might choose a little town like Ponyville had never even crossed her mind.
Then again, she should have guessed the least suspected answer would be the right one—that was just Pinkie logic.
“Because it’s the partyist town in the whole world!”
“Yes, yes thou hast said such many a time,” Cloud cut in impatiently. “And now that thou art living there, thou art indeed qualified to pass judgment on the matter. But how couldst thou possibly have known such a thing two months past?”
“Weeeeeeelllllllll, I did come with you and Daddy and Marbles that once when we came to do something or another,” Pinkie chuckled, then added thoughtfully. “Hey Mommy, what were we doing anyway?”
“Thy father had received an interesting rumor involving a distant cousin of his.” Cloud shifted the receiver from one hoof to the other and continued. “It hinted that there might have been a branch of Pies in that area. He thought to investigate, but alas, the excursion proved fruitless.”
“I’ll say—I’m the only Pie here!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. “Whoever told you that one must have been craaaaaazy.”
“Or misinformed.” Cloud suggested graciously.
“Oh yeah—or that. Hmmmm…”
Cloud decided to steer the conversation back on track before Pinkie’s attention floated to something else. “What, pray, didst thou see during our short stay that shot the hot sparks of inspiration through thy passion?”
“What?”
Biting her lip, Cloud quickly thought of a way to reword her sentence. “What didst thou see that lodged into thy memory as the ‘partyist’?”
“Oh! Gotcha! Dee dum dee! The answer is…everything!!! It’s just a party kind of town, I guess. But if I can only pick one, I’d say I noticed how every pony really enjoyed that party I threw for them! Everyone there was smilin’ and laughin’ and talkin’ like it was thebest thing that’d ever happened to them, and that made me really happy! The parties I throw in Rockville are fine, but I get the feeling every pony wants to leave after a few minutes. But this one went on for hours and hours, and no pony said they were tired when it was time to go! Do you remember that party, Momma? Well, maybe you don’t really—you guys didn’t come until near the end, and that was only the end because Daddy said we needed to leave right then. But it was like, the best day ever anyway! You remember that, Momma? You remember that day?”
Cloudy Quartz did remember that day—though for very different reasons than her daughter. After a wild goose chase across town and a day of hunting through a very unorganized library for any family records that concerned the Pies, Cloud and her husband had decided to cut their losses and head for home before the sun set completely…only to find that Pinkamena had, during some point in the day, wandered off. The next half hour could only be described as complete chaos as a panicked search had ensued. The poor library had been ransacked and poor Marble had been checked on and ordered to stay close far more times then she needed as her parents hunted for their missing daughter in a desperate frenzy. Thankfully, Igneous had regained his wits first and suggested they all take a moment to just listen. Sure enough, bursts of riotous laughter had soon been heard drifting above the rooftops. Following the sound to the center of town, they found their missing child throwing one of her spontaneous parties, complete with balloons, streamers, and a whole lot of rubber chickens (where they had all come from was still a point of confusion for Mother Pie, particularly the chickens; Pinkie certainly hadn’t had any when they left the farm). After that, well, one might say the party was “crashed”—the Pies herded the bouncing bright bombshell into their wagon and left immediately. Everything had turned out, but to this day Mrs. Pie still had nightmares about the whole traumatic event.
“That day…” Cloud began, then hesitated. “…Twas’ certainly eventful, as I recall, yes.”
“Yeah, wasn’t it great?” Pinkie bubbled happily, then continued on before Cloud could think of a reply. “Anyway, that’s why I’ve always wanted to come back! And now I’m here, and I’m like ‘Whoazers, it’s just as amazing as I remember it!’. I bet all these ponies are just dying to have another party, and I’m the pony to do it! I’ve already ordered a ton of decorations for an I-Just-Moved-In-So-Let’s-Party party! They’re a bit late, though…it may have to be an I-Moved-In-A-Week-Ago-So-Let’s-Party-Now! party instead.”
“Very well, very good,” Cloud said quickly. Leave Pinkie to it and the party would be all they talked about for the rest of the night—time to shift the conversation again. “Art thou finding thy living quarters accommodating?”
“Accommodating?”
“Preferred, welcoming, comfortable…”
“Oh yep, sure am. Sometimes I have no clue what you’re saying, Mommy. Hey, thanks for helping me pick out this apartment—tell Daddy thanks too when he comes back! He’s still working, right? It’s super nice! And I share it with this really great pony named Ditzy! She’s a pegasus with really cool eyes! They’re like, wooOOOOoo, WoooooOOO, ya know? And then there’s this mare I met in the market this morning—she’s called Rarity, and she actually said it was nice to meet me too! Ha! Most ponies just kind of sit there staring when I introduce myself—”
“I am very glad to hear thou art making friends,” Cloud interrupted, humoring her daughter. In truth that had never been a concern—Pinkie made friends with ponies wherever she was, whether they liked it or not.
“I think she does a lot of sewing or something,” Pinkie continued. “She had a lot of clothe floating around her head—because she’s a unicorn, not because she bought floating fabric. I checked with the sales pony just to make sure. Hey, I betcha she could help with my party! I was wondering just how to fit I-Moved-In-A-Week-Ago-So-Let’s-Party-Now! on one banner, but I’m sure it’ll be easy-peasy for some pony with sewing experience, don’t you?”
“She wilt need quite a bit more than just experience to pull her through that…” Cloud murmured, mostly to herself. Cloud took pride in the little sewing she did in her spare time, and trying to imagine how in the world she’d get a mouthful like that to fit on one of Pinkie’s party banners was an interesting image. They were large, true, but not that large…
“Yeah, maybe you’re right…” Pinkie agreed. “Do you think I should get her some glitter to help jazz it up a bit?”
“Hmm?” Cloud shook herself out of the realm of thought to attend to her daughter. “Ah, perhaps thou shouldst consult thy budget on that subject, not I…”
“But if you don’t know,” Pinkie began, sounding confused. “Who will? You know everything.”
“I would not say ‘everything’, dear,” Cloud said, amused.
“That’s just ‘cause your modest,” Pinkie chirruped. “I know the truth, because every time a question pops into my head and tries to freeload there for a while, I always come to you for the answer and you always have it, so I can tell that little booger to pay up or get lost!”
Pinkie let out a high-pitched laugh. “And they usually leave me alone after that. Just need to be firm with them, ya know?”
Mother Pie slowly lifted a hoof to rub her temple. And Pinkie complained about not being able to understand what she said… “Indeed, I have more experience than thee in most areas. In this case, I merely said consult thy budget for the reason…”
“Hey, speaking of questions,” Pinkie broke in excitedly. “I just remembered I had a ton I was going to ask you when I called!”
“Oh?” Mother Pie asked, deciding to ignore Pinkie’s unintentional interruption. She probably hadn’t even realized her mother had been trying to say something—typical. There was no point in taking offense where none was intended. “Continue, then.”
She braced for an onslaught of demanding questions of debating relevance, and was rather surprised when none came immediately. In fact, the other end of the line was oddly silent.
After a few minutes, Cloud finally caught the sound of Pinkie clearing her throat nervously.
“Uh, um, well, the thing is…uh, it’s…” Pinkie stammered. “I…I did have a lot Momma, I really did! It’s just…”
She trailed off awkwardly, obviously embarrassed.
“Thou hast forgotten,” Cloud said matter-of-factly.
“Those crafty little things!!!” Pinkie burst out, nearly causing Cloud to drop the receiver again. “They knew I was calling today, so they jumped ship! Oh ho, they are going to pay when they get back, even if I don’t have the answers yet!”
Cloud listened, a bit uncomfortably, as Pinkie began laughing in a slightly maniacal way. She wasn’t really concerned…until the barely coherent muttering started.
“Ohhh, what’s that, Mr. Question? You want to stay here a little longer? Well, I got news for you—no more staying here free of charge, heh hehheh…”
“Darling,” Cloud said, slightly worried. “Art thou…well?”
Pinkie’s insane laughter stopped abruptly. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…”
She sighed, sounding frustrated. “I know as soon as I hang up they’re all going to come tumbling back! And then you’ll be gone, so I can’t get the answers I need! They were important ones too…”
“Such as why it is that there are no polar bears at the South Pole?” Cloud suggested. That was the usual range of Pinkie’s ‘important’ questions.
“No, not that…” Pinkie said, thoughtfully. “…oooh, though that’s a good one! Hey Mommy, why—?”
“Another time, dear. Try to remember what thou wast going to ask before.”
“I told you—they’re gone! Like, whoosh! zippy! zam! No more!” Pinkie paused for half a second. “Though I think they were probably something about living on my own. Just a hunch. Don’t get me wrong, moving here is great and all, but…”
Pinkie’s voice suddenly sounded very small. “…There’s a lot of new things I don’t quite get yet. Things like…like…oh, I can’t think of any right now! Just a lot, okay? And then the questions came, and then they went, and now I don’t know what to do!”
Cloud heard a slight sniffle coming through the receiver. Pinkie Pie was getting upset—her questions must have actually carried some weight. A sharp jab of guilt shot through the gray mare—she had assumed again, assumed it was just something silly and outlandish. How could she have forgotten you never assume with Pinkie?
“There there, no use crying now,” She soothed. “I am positive thou art correct and they shall return to thee in due time. But never fear—thou hast this number. Thou mayest call whenever one of these pestering queries troubles thy mind—and I, at least, shall do my utmost to be here to answer them.”
Cloudy Quartz shifted her receiver again. “However, that being said, it is known to thee my availability is limited—”
“REALLY?!!!!” Pinkie shouted, nearly blowing out her mother’s eardrum. “You mean, when a question pops into my head about all the really important stuff? I can come and call you, my amazing mom who knows about all this stuff, and get answers? Whenever?! REALLY?!!”
Cloud rubbed the inside of her ear, wincing. “Yes, as thou seest fit. I am certainly willing, and I shall try to take the time necessary to answer—”
“Oh BOY!!!” Pinkie’s mood had obviously done a one-hundred-eighty degree turn and the sound of a new thumping beat indicated she was bouncing. “OH Boy oh BOY OH BOY!!!! I’ll think of some really good ones to ask, and then—”
“Hey you!” Out of the blue, a stern sounding stallion’s voice caught Cloud’s ear. “What are you doing here!? Hang up that phone now!”
“Who, me?” Pinkie sounded confused. “Okie-dokie-lokie! Sorry Mommy—I’ll call back later! Tell Daddy and Maud and Lime and Marble I said hi!”
Cloud suddenly felt a chill of suspicion. “Pinkamena, where didst thou get ahold of this phone? Why doth that stallion sound displeased? Didst thou sneak back into the office to use one of the phones?!”
Click.
The call had ended. Pinkie had apparently not heard or not cared about her mother’s own demanding questions, and had left the gray mare both more satisfied with the state of her daughter’s affairs than before in some cases and drastically more concerned in others. Only time would tell if both her hopes and fears were justified.
Slowly, she returned the receiver to its hook. Turning her head, she caught sight of the hastily discarded bucket . She gazed at it silently for a moment, but made no move to pick it up. Her head was still spinning, and she needed a moment to recuperate. Dinner would probably be late now anyway—the family would understand. At home or abroad, Pinkamena Diane had never been the most convenient pony to have around when it came to structured mealtimes.
With a sigh, Cloudy Quartz let her head fall into her hooves. She felt exhausted, more exhausted than she had ever felt working in the rock fields—taking on Pinkie’s overbearing personality condensed into sound waves was harder than taking it on as a whole. If all Pinkie’s questioning phone calls left her this drained…perhaps she’d been a bit hasty agreeing to stand by.
Still, it was her duty as a mother to make sure her daughter was ready to live and contribute to the world around her. Whether it was to her benefit or no, she’d do her best to answer her daughter’s questions, give any extra advice she thought was necessary, and pray things would work out. There wasn’t much else she could do. It would have to be up to the world to make sure it was ready to deal with Pinkie.
Suddenly hoisting herself up with a firm determination, Cloud grabbed the bucket and resumed her journey to the pump.