Another three days passed, and Flash and First Base had settled into a routine while staying with Shining Armor’s family. Flash would get up early and set off with Shining to fish while Base would have his lessons with Cadance and Twilight. Then, just before lunch, Flash and Shining would return with their meager catch while Night Light would return from the woods with his daily haul of firewood. After a quick lunch, everyone would take the fish and the wood to the post office and the schoolhouse to be sold.
Even though the post office and schoolhouse were serviceable as storefronts, not many people from the town would venture out to buy the family’s wares. In a strange way, that was a good thing. In their years living among the Woods and the Stones, Night Light and his family quickly learned that if someone from one clan had the misfortune of meeting someone from the other clan inside either building, the customers would start shouting at each other which would quickly escalate into an all-out brawl resulting in damaged walls, shattered windows, and ruined goods.
No, Night Light and his family learned that the best way to eke out a profit in a place like Griepsburg was to pack up the fish and firewood into crates and to go out into town selling them door-to-door. Granted, this method proved to be only marginally better than waiting around the store for customers. This method also carried the risk of getting caught in the crossfire of whatever pointless quarrel happened to be going on in town, which was especially elevated whenever someone, either out of boredom or spite, would ring the Battle Bell. During these occasions, the townspeople often just stole the goods to use as weapons. Flash had the privilege of witnessing such an occasion on the first day he helped Night Light and Shining Armor go door-to-door.
When Flash told his brother about it after he came home, the younger boy suggested sneaking into town that night to muffle the bell. Twilight had overheard them and shot the suggestion down, saying that her mother and brother had already tried that about a year into her family’s tenure. Apparently, the folks at Griepsburg were so in tune to the sound of the bell that they could hear and respond to it even when muffled. When Base suggested simply stealing it and hiding it in the woods, Twilight and Flash both gave him stern looks, telling him exactly what they thought about the idea.
By the third day, Flash was desperate to find another job. He wasn’t ungrateful to the family for all they were doing for him and his brother, and he didn’t find the work unbearably difficult or tedious. However, he and Base were only earning about two copper pieces a day, meaning they will have to work for over a year before they made enough money for the ferry alone. More importantly, even though their hosts were too gracious to say so, having two extra mouths to feed at home was negatively affecting how much Night Light and his family were able to put towards their savings, and the brothers wanted to stop burdening them as soon as possible.
That day started out just like any other. Flash and Shining went fishing in the morning and came back just before noon. After lunch, the two of them and Night Light would pack some of their wares into crates, load them into two small wagons, and pull the wagons into town to sell. However, unlike all the previous days, the three of them ended up meeting someone on the way, someone Flash had never met before.
“Hello, Limestone,” Night Light greeted the stone-faced, grey girl who had pulled up behind them. She was driving a small sledge loaded with metal ore, gemstones, and coal that was pulled by a six reindeer. “Where’s that father of yours?”
“Pa threw out his hip, so I’m going into town by myself this week,” she replied gruffly. Taking notice of Flash, she continued, “Who’s that guy?”
“Uh, hi,” Flash greeted, unsure what to make of the girl. She was dressed in some sort of animal skin like some kind of a mountain man, err, woman, which made the ferocious look on her face seem even more intimidating. “My name is Flash, Flash Sentry.”
“You’re not from here, are ya?” Limestone responded curtly. Flash shook his head in reply. “Word of advice for ya, kid. The less you’re in town, the better.”
Flash paused, waiting for her to say more. When she didn’t, he simply nodded.
“So, who is she?” he whispered to Shining Armor.
“Limestone Pie,” Shining answered. “She and her family are miners. They live out in the mountains and pretty much keep to themselves. Only Limestone and her father ever go into the town, and they only go once a week to buy and sell things.”
Flash looked back at Limestone and stared for a bit.
Without even turning to him, Limestone snapped, “Didn’t anybody tell you it’s not polite to stare?”
“Oh, sorry, miss,” Flash apologized. “Uh, I was just wondering why you and your father are the only people in your family to go to town.”
“Ha! Have you seen what town is like?” Limestone grumbled. “My sisters wouldn’t last ten seconds around those yahoos, especially the younger two. If you wanna get those crazies to buy anything, ya gotta show ‘em who’s boss.”
“We try to stay close to the Pies whenever they come into town,” Shining Armor whispered to Flash in explanation. “We’re able to sell more that way.”
“You’d be able to sell more if ya and yer folks weren’t a bunch of soft city pansies,” Limestone retorted, having heard Shining despite his whispering. Shining Armor could only sheepishly chuckle and grin awkwardly in reply.
As Shining Armor had noted, being around Limestone seemed to help them sell more. Everyone seemed to stop fighting the moment Limestone drove into town. If this had been any other day, Flash would have been celebrating, but he knew that the relative peace he and his hosts were experiencing was temporary and fake.
Flash could see everyone shaking in fear as they regarded the mountain woman, and whenever Limestone or his hosts made a sale, the customers wouldn’t even make eye contact. They would just take what they wanted, drop their money, and go. Furthermore, the people watching them from inside their houses were looking at Limestone the same way mice inside of a mousehole would look at a cat.
Shining Armor and Night Light smiled and greeted the customers as warmly as they could, but it was obvious by the way their smiles dropped every so often that they could feel the tension also. The only one who didn’t seem to notice anything amiss was Limestone, and if she did notice, she didn’t seem to care.
“Is this normal?” Flash whispered to Shining Armor.
“What? Limestone being terrifying?” Shining asked. “Oh, yeah.”
“Why is everyone afraid of her? I mean, sure, she dresses like a wild woman and never seems to smile, but there’s more to it than that isn’t there?”
“HEY!” Limestone shouted at some passers-by. “Are you gonna buy something or am I going to have to break something of yours first?!” The passers-by stopped passing by and hurriedly purchased a sack of coal and three mackerel, dropping their payment as they did so.
“Oh, yeah. There’s more to it than that,” Shining Armor bluntly replied. “I know this arrangement isn’t ideal, but Father and I need to make a living for our family somehow.”
“Even more so now with Base and me staying with you,” Flash thought to himself with a slight frown. As the sale day continued, Flash continued to silently observe Limestone as an idea formed in his mind, trying his best to make sure she didn’t notice him watching her. When their stock dwindled to half a crate of firewood, one trout, and a sack of amethysts, Flash approached the surly woman with a request.
“So, Miss Limestone,” he began, “you said earlier that your father threw out his hip, right?”
“Yeah, what of it?” Limestone snapped.
“Uh, well, I was wondering if you need help with anything while he’s recovering, maybe I could help you and your family.”
Shining Armor and Night Light heard Flash’s request, and their mouths dropped open.
“Flash, the Pies live deep in the mountains,” Night Light protested. “It will take you at least two hours to get to where they live.”
“I’ll wake up earlier. Don’t worry about it,” Flash assured.
“They’re miners. You might not be able to handle the kind of work they normally do,” Shining added.
“I used to work on a ship. I’m used to working pretty hard.”
“What’s in it for you?” Limestone asked, crossing her arms.
With a long sigh, Flash answered, “As much as I want to say that I just want to help you and your family, I actually need money for me and my brother to go back to Paardenstad, and I want to be able to earn it without burdening these two fine gentlemen.”
“You have been doing nothing of the sort,” Night retorted.
“Actually, they have,” Shining reluctantly agreed. “We just didn’t have the heart to force them to fend for themselves.”
Limestone nodded, her expression unchanging. She looked Flash over before glaring at him menacingly right in the eyes. Flash bit his lip, trying not to look uncomfortable. For a while, the two of them just stood there with their eyes locked.
Then, Limestone turned away breaking eye contact and stated, “You start tomorrow morning. If you’re late, I’ll maim you.”
Flash was so overjoyed that he instinctively hugged Limestone thanking her profusely. Limestone shoved him off roughly.
“I don’t like being touched,” she growled.
Later that night, Flash and the two men returned to the family’s cottage and told everyone the news.
“Are you crazy?!” Twilight screamed. “It’s a—”
“Two-hour journey from here to the mountains. I know,” Flash interrupted. “Your father told me.”
“Oh, really? Did Father also tell you that—”
“The Pies are miners and that they’ll probably work me pretty hard? No, but Shining Armor did. Is that why none of you told me about the Pies earlier? Because you didn’t think I could handle the work?”
“It’s not just that,” Cadance began. “It’s just that the Pies are rather standoffish.”
“Standoffish?”
“It means they like to be left alone,” Twilight explained, “so we do. I honestly can’t believe Limestone agreed to hire you.”
“Well, she also threatened to maim him if he arrived late,” Shining added.
“Now, that I can believe.”
“Look, I know the job isn’t ideal, but Base and I need to get back to the mainland and find our friends somehow, and we need to do it without cutting into your family’s money,” Flash said to his hosts, particularly to Twilight.
Twilight turned to Flash, her face changing into an expression of genuine concern. “Just be careful up there okay. You’re not going to be able to find your friends if you end up getting worked to death.”
Flash and First Base shared a confused look with one another. After how dismissive and cold Twilight had been towards the brothers when they first arrived, having Twilight show them some semblance of care was unexpected for them to say the least. However, a kindness is a kindness, no matter how small, so Flash, rather hesitantly, thanked Twilight for hers.
“Well, I better get some sleep,” Flash noted. “I’m going to have to get up pretty early.”
“Flash, wait,” First Base called, stopping his brother from going up to the attic where they had been staying. “Look, about this job and any others you might take afterwards, I need you to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“Promise me that you won’t work yourself to death. Okay?” The look on First Base’s face as he demanded that promise made Flash a bit uneasy, but mostly, it just made him deeply sad. Even though Base tried to hide it, Flash could see the fear shining in his eyes. Flash felt that same fear many times since the two of them had lost their family.
“I, uh, guess that I am not going to be able to take care of you if I’m dead, huh?” Flash replied with a sigh. Base said nothing but frowned even more deeply. “Okay, okay. I promise you that I won’t work myself to death. I’ll work as hard as I need to but not that hard, okay?”
First Base’s expression softened, and he slowly nodded. Flash nodded back and made his way to the attic to go to sleep. After Flash left the room, First Base just sat there, staring glumly ahead of him. Twilight reached her hand out to comfort him but then pulled back. She bit her lip as she searched her mind for the right words to say to the boy, but everything she could think to say felt hollow and pointless. What are you even supposed to say to someone who has lost everything and is now afraid of losing even more?
In the end, Twilight got up from the table, announced that she was going to bed early, and left the room. She went into her bedroom, got dressed in her nightgown, and tucked herself into her bed. However, instead of going to sleep like how she wanted, she found herself lying awake in the dark staring at the ceiling.