//------------------------------// // Meetings // Story: Pieces of The Pie // by Wolfsong6913 //------------------------------// Pinkie sprioged gleefully along the cobblestone street. BOINK went her hooves on the stones. SQUEE! went her smile as she basked in the brilliant morning sun of another delightful day. “Hello, hello!” went her voice as she waved to the ponies who were out enjoying the day along with her. “Hi, Lyra!” she called as she bounced into the shop, and continued bobbing in front of the counter. The pale green mare behind the cash register grinned as she waved back. “Hi, Pinkie,” she said. “What do you want today? Bonbon made some caramel truffles this morning.” “Ooh! A box of those would be lovely! And three bags of mints too, please. Minuette’s birthday is tomorrow!” “Better keep those teeth shiny,” laughed Lyra as she boxed the candies and rang up the bill. “That’ll be two bits.” “Here you go!” Pinkie flung the coins out of her mane as she scooped the boxes onto her back and sprang out the door. “Have a great day!” “You too, Pinkie!” Lyra’s voice followed her out the door. Pinkie continued rebounding along the street. “Hi, Doctor Hooves!” she called to the brown-furred Earth Pony. “Hi, Derpy! Hi, Dinky!” The grey coated pair waved back, Derpy narrowly avoided running into a streetlight while she was distracted. Pinkie winced, but she was unhurt, so she vaulted on her way. “Hi, Doctor Hooves!” She froze in mid air at the apex of her leap, squinting at the dusty brown stallion. It couldn’t be… “Hi, Pinkie!” the stallion called back, nodding before moving on his way. Oh. He recognised her. That was okay then. She landed back on the earth and bounced away again. Suddenly, a pony came over the rise. A stallion, no, a colt, really, with a pale green coat and soft-looking light brown mane. He wore a pale of saddlebags, and looked around uncertainly at Ponyville’s thatched roofs and cobblestone streets. Pinkie sucked in a deep, deep, deep, deep, DEEP breath. Was it actually… In a blur of movement, she careened across the crowded street, vaulted over a sofa, ducked a pair of flying pegasi, and skidded to halt in front of the strange colt. She seized his hoof between hers and shook it, up and down, up and down violently. “HIIIII!!!!” she squealed excitedly. “Are you new here? You must be new here, because I know EVERYONE in town, and I don’t know you, so you have to be new, and HUUUU!” She sucked in a deep gasp of air. “IneedtogoplanapartyforyourightnowsoBYE!” She released his leg and blurred away in a streak of movement, leaving the colt in the middle of the street, his jaw nearly touching the stones, the sudden loss of support on his front leg leaving him half-fallen in the road, clearly having no clue what had just happened to him. ________ Months later, Maud ambled on her daily walk to the train station and back to pick up the mail being delivered to the rock farm. She took her time as she went, pausing here and there to greet the neighbors. “Hi,” she greeted the lovely chunk of granite which rested next to the tiny tree. “Hi,” she said to the pebble of feldspar, which changed locations daily. “Hello,” she commented to the shale strips beside the path. “You’re looking fine,” she told the pale green-brown stallion coming up the path. Wait. What? Maud clamped her jaws shut tight at the sight of the slightly-bewildered stallion she had just greeted in an overly familiar way, and opted for simply dipping her head a bit and hoping he hadn’t heard. “Um, hi,” the stallion said, looking confused. He had heard, Maud was sure of it. “I… um... what are you doing?” “Talking to you,’ Maud said automatically. Would that actually help the situation? Probably not. “But I was planning to get the mail.” He was more of a colt, actually. He likely had left home not more than a year prior to this meeting. “Oh.” The colt shuffled his hooves on the dirt path. “Um, would you happen to know where the Pie rock farm is?” Maud raised a hoof to point back the way she’d come. “Go that way for 200 yards. Turn left at the pink silica, then right at the quartz patch. If you see the mica-speckled boulder, you need to double back until you find the shale cliff. Climb down to the ledge with the three geodes, then go through the gem cave until you come out in the quarry. You can’t miss it. I hope that helps.” She stepped around the colt, and trotted up the steps of the station, disappearing inside the wooden building before she had to talk to him more, and make a complete fool of herself, leaving the colt in the middle of the path, his mouth half open, eyes distant and unfocused, clearly having no clue what had just happened to him. ________ Marble turned the small rock over in her hoof, examining it for sign of wear. She carefully arranged it just so in its spot again, then moved over to the next rock. Before she could touch it, a vibration rattled through the earth, alerting her to incoming hoofsteps - hoofsteps which did not match either of her sister’s. Her head shot up, her forelock falling in its accustomed place in front of her eye. She quickly abandoned her usual pre-work yard inspection, and retreated to a safer position around the corner of the house. Curiousity made her unable to hide herself completely, however, and she peered cautiously around the corner. A young stallion was just coming around the bend in the road, his light brown mane and greenish coat marking him as a stranger - not from around these parts. Marble was about to run and get Limestone, or Ma, or Pa, whoever she found first, when the stranger spotted her. “Hey!” he called in greeting. “Is this the Pie rock farm?” Sand and gravel. He was talking to her. Now there was no chance to run away. Nervously, Marble advanced just far enough from her hiding place to appear like she was talking to him, and nodded faintly. “Mm-hmm.” “I..um…” the stallion stammered. He was more of a colt, really. “Do you work here?” Personal questions? Seriousuly? Marble nodded again. “Mm-hmm.” Her tail twitched nervously. “What’s your name?” the colt asked. Marble’s hind hoof stomped in terror. She glanced frantically around the yard, searching for some sign of a relative to take the attention off her. She nodded mechanically. “Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm!!” Unable to bear the stress any longer, she wheeled and fled into the safety of the house, leaving the colt staring, confused, after her, clearly having no idea what had just happened to him. “Was it something I said?” he asked the empty yard. ________ Limestone had just finished her last bite of pebble cereal when Marble came flying into the house, eyes wide with terror, every hair on her coat bristling. Limestone was on the alert at once. “What is it?” she barked. “Fire? Avalanche? Is something wrong with Holder’s Boulder?” Marble shook her head frantically. Crouching in fear, she pointed a trembling hoof at the front door. Limestone followed her gaze, and saw a brown-green stallion standing in their front yard, looking at Holder’s Boulder. She was out the door in a flash, planting her hooves and snarling into the young stallion’s face. “What did you do?” she shouted at him viciously. “What are you here for?” “I..” the stallion stammered. He was more of a colt really. “I…” “I don’t wanna hear it!” Limestone growled. “No pony, and I mean NO PONY, tresspasses on MY farm, scares MY sister, OR LOOKS AT HOLDER’S BOULDER! OUT! OUT!” The colt wasted no time in gathering his shaking hooves under him and sprinting out the gates and as far away from the rock farm as fast as possible, clearly having NO IDEA whatsoever as to what had just happened to him.