"Here we are!" the pink pony Pinkie Pie happily exclaimed. "This is the Pie family rock farm!"
Rocks are quite selfless beings. We rocks repeatedly sacrifice our bodies and time in order to protect and aid others. But we often get a bad reputation for causing harm to others and the things they hold dear. We don't do that just for the sake of it. The reason we punish people in such a way is that they disrespect and mistreat us, even though we never did anything to them. They kick us, pick us up when we're trying to sleep, and break us apart with tools like jackhammers in order to build completely useless structures, so we do the same to them and their homes by dropping on them from above or joining together and creating rock slides.
That being said, we feel grateful when we meet people who treat us with respect and do not take our actions for granite. Therefore, I was very pleased to discover the wonderful place Pinkie Pie called her home... the rock farm.
In the distance, a navy blue Earth pony with a flat, light gray mane was carefully mining away at a natural stone wall, and a gray Earth pony with a dull teal mane was looking up at a massive, egg–shaped rock set up on a stone pedestal of some sort. The latter of the ponies was quietly whispering something, as if in prayer.
Many religions have a deity or idol of some sort that they give thanks and pray to. That rock... Could it be the Pie Family's deity? If so...
I walked towards the egg–shaped rock in awe.
"Hold it right there!" The navy blue Earth pony galloped to me, anger in her lime green eyes. "You there, yellow rock! I saw you heading towards Holder's Boulder, and I am not gonna let you vandalize it!"
"Limey, wait!" Pinkie popped up in between me and the navy blue pony. "You don't understand! This is my new friend Rocky, and I was just showing him around our farm." She nudged me ahead. "Rocky, I want you to meet my sister Limestone. Don't feel bad if she doesn't warm up to you, she just doesn't take very kindly to new creatures."
"..." I nodded to Limestone.
"Tch, whatever." Limestone narrowed her eyes. "But don't you dare even touch Holder's Boulder, or else!"
I tilted my head. "...?"
Pinkie said, "I don't think Rocky knows what Holder's Boulder is, Limey."
Limestone let out an exasperated groan. She pointed at the large rock. "There! See that? That's Holder's Boulder. It brings our family good luck. It's the pride of our family."
Ah, so Holder's Boulder wasn't a rock deity. It was merely a bringer of good luck that the Pie family took great pride in.
"...!" I nodded in understanding.
"Good." Limestone glared at me. "But I've got my eye on you, so if you even think about touching Holder's Boulder..."
"Thou hast proven thy point to the yellow rock, Limestone." An amber stallion with a gray mane and a light gray mare with a teal mane emerged from the nearby barn. The stallion continued, "Please forgive our eldest daughter, yellow rock."
"..." I nodded twice in forgiveness.
Pinkie explained, "This little guy is named Rocky. He doesn't talk very much. Probably not at all."
"A wise rock thou art," the stallion firmly said. "I am called Igneous Rock Pie, son of Feldspar Granite Pie. It doth be my pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The mare said, "And thou shalt know me as Cloudy Quartz. We hereby welcome thee to our humble abode."
I respectfully bowed to the two elder Earth ponies. "..."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Pinkie hurried over to the pony that had yet to be called by name and brought her to me. "This is my little sister, Marble!"
"Uh..." was the only response from Marble, as she was called, other than a nervous smile.
So my assumption was correct about Maud. She did live in a family which consisted of well-versed parents and four siblings, each sibling having a defining personality trait: shy, energetic, cool, and aggressive.
Igneous questioned, "Pinkamena Diane Pie, why hath thou brought this ‘Rocky’ to our residence?"
Here comes the tough part.
Pinkie Pie gave her parents the lowdown. "Well, Rocky is exploring Equestria with me so he can get to know its layout and be prepared for when Queen Chrysalis and her new friend unleash their assault in another attempt to rule over Equestria, and he doesn't know the layout of Equestria because he's actually from a different planet than ours and got warped here somehow, and that's because of a teleportation spell gone wrong, and the reason why he isn't running away or anything is because he's on a mission to defeat the new guy who's helping Queen Chrysalis rule over Equestria, which also means his mission is to defeat Chrysalis too!"
Limestone deadpanned. "That... is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. What other lies are you going to pull out of your—"
"Limestone Pie!" Igneous boomed. "Thou hast spoken enough."
Limestone folded her ears back in sorrow. "Yes, Pa..."
"Rocky." Igneous and his wife looked directly at me. "Pinkamena Diane Pie doth speak preposterous words, but thou shalt tell thy truth, without a mouth. We shalt read thy soul through thy windows to such."
I kept my eyes open as the elder ponies watched me intently. I am an honest rock who doesn't shut his windows to his soul when interrogated.
Cloudy Quartz widened her eyes. "...Pinkamena didst tell the truth. Thou art a hero who hast come from afar to strike down a threat to pony kind!"
Igneous took off his hat in sorrow. "We doth beg of thee, forgive us for wasting thy time, O Rocky." He stepped aside for me. "Thou art free to go about thy day. May the light of Celestia shine upon thee!"
I had no urgent matters to attend to, for the friendship heart within me was not calling me to Kirby. Therefore, I stayed with the Pie family and gave them my help with their labors at the rock farm until the time came that Kirby would summon me to his side.