//------------------------------// // The Pies (Bonus Chapter) // Story: Boast Bypassed // by GreyGuardPony //------------------------------// A shudder ran through Pinkie's body, strong enough to make her bounce along the ground for a few feet, her Pinkie Sense kicking into overdrive for a moment. Swiftly as it snuck up on her, the sensation vanished, leaving Pinkie blinking as she stood on the empty road. “Wow! That was a real doozy!” She gasped, picking up the pace towards her family farm, “I hope that everypony is okay!” A light cover of fog was hanging over the rolling green contours of the Platinum Hills, draping over the other farms of the region like an ethereal blanket. The sound of Pinkie's hooves on the long road echoing in her ears as she ran. Normally, Pinkie wouldn't be concerned at such a reaction from her Pinkie Sense. But the events of the last few months had made her a little more weary. Not that she would let it ruin her natural cheer of course, but she would feel better once she was sure her family was fine. Cresting the next hill, Pinkie's wide smile returned to her muzzle as she saw the farm of her birth. It sat quietly, not consumed by flame, parasprites or other ickyness. The farmhouse- sporting a new light blue with white trim paint job- sat in the middle of the four fields, which were in turn surrounded by a neatly maintained rail fence. The spring back in her step, Pinkie skipped the rest of the way home, bouncing right over the rail fence in one smooth motion. Pinkie grinned as she walked through the fields, feeling the familiar way the soil churned under her hooves. Slabs of rock poked out of soil all around her; it was granite and marble, mostly sold for construction purposes. Continuing to walk closer to the farm house, she noticed that they all seemed to be small. It was like they had been planted recently, but there was no way her family would just plant the stone all at once. Coming up on the farmhouse, a strange sight (for most ponies at least) greeted her eyes. Her sisters, Marble and Limestone Pie, had assembled a collection of seemingly random items at the head of the main field. Marble was almost lost in the mist, her gray coat acting as natural camouflage. Her cutie-mark, three square blocks of her namesake stood out proudly from her flanks as she painted symbols upon each of the growing slabs with honey. Limestone's purpleish-gray coat helped her stand out from the background more, as she balanced herself on one hoof, a series of wind chimes hanging from her forelegs as her sister worked. Three rock chisels, arranged in a fan pattern was her cutie-mark. Beaming, Pinkie slid her saddlebags off and bounced to her sisters' collection of items. Without a word, she grabbed a large bag of salt, ripped it open and began to pour a winding line of the mineral through the rows of rock. Finishing up the pattern at Marble's hooves, she exchanged a warm smile with her sisters. Limestone began to hum a tune as Pinkie and Marble launched into a chant. Spirits of the earth, we call to you Bless our stone, grow it anew There was no immediate visible effect on the rows of rock. Earth pony magic was subtle, even when invoking the more advanced rituals known as “hedge magic”; at least that's what Twilight Sparkle had told Pinkie at any rate. Limestone dropped the wind chimes, joining both her sisters as they trotted through the rows again, getting a feel for the soil under their hooves and the magic that saturated the ground. Pinkie wasn't much of a rock farmer anymore, but she still remembered some things from her fillyhood. Everything felt weird, stiff and unyielding. In fact there was no indication that the hedge ritual had even worked. “Wow,” Pinkie blinked, shifting from hoof to hoof, “The ground feels all supery dupery strange.” “I know.” Marble frowned, idly kicking one of the stones, “It's been like this all week now.” “And the timing just couldn't be worse.” Limestone sighed, “Mom and Dad are coming back in for our birthday tomorrow. We were barely able to convince him to let us take over the family business and now something's stopping the stone from growing. He'll want to take over again, I just know it.” “Awww! Don't worry!” Pinkie comforted, pulling both her sisters into a full hug, “We'll fix this before mom and dad get home!” Hopping back over to the head of the field, she began to rummage through the stack of items. “Headdress!” She grinned, sliding an impressive construction of multicolored feathers and cloth streamers onto her head. “Live chicken?” Marble asked, offering the confused fowl to her sister. “Yes! Live chicken!” Grabbing the bird, Pinkie bounced back over to the edge of the field and began waving the chicken back and forth over the slabs. “Boom-swah-tee-ooooossshhhh!!!” - - - - “Boom...s-swah-tee...” A yawn momentarily interrupted the chant, “Oooosh....Anything?” Marble and Limestone did a few more laps through the rows, while the moonlight beat down upon them from its position high in the sky. Pinkie's mane and tail were flat and droopy, her eyes full of exhaustion from hours upon hours of trying hedge magic remedies on the fields. This particular one involved standing on a block of stone harvested from a previous year on one hoof...and using the chicken. Marble and Limestone were likewise exhausted, their hooves heavy as they tested the ground. Limestone lifted her tired head Pinkie's direction, shaking it. “It still feels the same, Pinkie. I don't think we're doing anything.” Pinkie frowned, shaking her own head. “I'll just have to try it again.” Marble trotted over to her sister, placing a hoof on her withers. “Pinkie...it's okay. We should get some sleep.” Pinkie shook her head. “No! We can't give up. We can fix this!” Joining her sisters, Limestone likewise put a hoof on Pinkie's back. “Come on Pinkie. It won't be that bad to have dad in charge of the farm again. You need sleep anyway, you'll need your rest if you're going to be baking tomorrow.” Pinkie dropped the chicken to the ground, nodding slowly as she let her sisters lead her into the farmhouse. - - - - Tossing and turning in bed, Pinkie could not sleep. Her sisters' plight remained firmly lodged in her mind. Rolling over onto her barrel, Pinkie took a deep breath and then hopped out of bed, heading out of her old bedroom and back to the fields. The chicken was pecking and scratching at the floor of it's cage when Pinkie returned. Sliding the headdress back on, Pinkie opened the cage and picked up the bird again. Collecting a few good luck charms, she draped them around the chickens neck and stalked back over to the edge of the fields. “Boom-swah-tee-ooooosh!” She taped the ground with a hoof. Nothing. “Boom-swah-tee-ooooossshh!” Another test. Still nothing. “BOOM-SWAH-TEE-OOOOOSSHH!” She practically shouted, trying to illicit some form of response from the fields. But yet another test of the ground revealed no change in the feel of the local magic. For once, Pinkie's usual upbeat attitude was stumped. Her older sisters were in trouble, and she couldn't help cheer them up with just a simple party. Unlike Pinkie, Marble and Limestone liked being rock farmers and watching them thrash helplessly against fields that would not grow broke her heart. “Dumb rocks!” She growled, pressing her snout right next to one of the slabs, “My family has always treated you well, and now you just sit there like lumps?” Pinkie could feel something squirming and twisting in the pit of her stomach. An angry, burning sensation that gnawed and thrashed for release. “Why don't you just GROW!” A shower of white hot sparks jumped from her body, raining and flowing over the fields in an angry cascade. A moment later one of the marble slabs shuddered, exploding up and out, scattering dirt like a clumpy rain. Bangs echoed through the fields as the process repeated itself from slab to slab, the shower of clumpy rain turning into a torrent. Pinkie's jaw dropped for a moment before she recovered. “I DID IT!” She leapt into the air, back flipping and prancing through the risen columns and pillars, beaming at the fruits of her work, her mane and tail normal again. And then she blinked. She looked at Marble's hoof-painted runes, still sitting fallow. The headdress, thrown aside when she got mad. “I...did it?” Turning, she bolted back towards the farm house, shouting the whole way. “MARBLE! LIMESTONE!” - - - - The next morning, Pinkie was whisking a full bowl of cake batter the oven preheating while Marble and Limestone prepared other snacks for the party. Pinkie nattered away happily, further elaborating on the events from last night. “I mean, it was just so weird! I was yelling at the rocks and then all of a sudden they were all 'woosh' and 'boom' and growing big!” “Probably a surge of magic down the lay-line, or all of our hedge magic rituals exploding at once.” Marble commented, taking a sip of the punch she was working on, “Mmmm. This is a good recipe Pinkie.” “Thanks! Are you sure though? I mean...it only happened once I became super-duper mad.” “Pinkie?” Limestone commented, tilting her head slightly, “We're earth ponies, remember? We don't cast like that. Even our hedge magic is just kind of tweaking what's there to begin with.” Pinkie shrugged. “Well...if you say so. I still think I'll ask Twilight about it when I get back.” A sturdy voice called from the door. “Marble, Limestone, were home!” The events of last night were pushed from Pinkie's mind as her father and mother trotted into the kitchen. Squeeing with joy, she hopped over to her parents and threw her forelegs around both of them. “Hey mom! Hey dad!” She couldn't help but grin at their appearance, still as she remembered them; her mother with her narrow glasses balanced on the end of her nose, her father with his impeccably cared for hat. The tropical flower pattern shirt was new though. Party preparation was momentarily forgotten while hugs were exchanged. Pride was etched on Igneous Rock's features as he looked over his daughters. “Mighty fine crop outside.” He said, voice full of energy, “Seems like I was concerned for no reason. The farm is doing just fine without me.” His warm gaze fell on Pinkie next. “And you're still making headlines. Glad you could pull yourself away from Ponyville for your sister's birthday.” “Like I'd ever forget it dad.” Pinkie grinned back, “Now, let's finish cooking and get this party started!” - - - - The collected Pie family sat on the front porch, taking in the warm summer afternoon sun in the aftermath of the party. With full bellies and happy hearts, Pinkie and their family enjoyed a moment of silence and unspoken approval. Had Pinkie's friends back in Ponyville seen her now, they probably would have done a double take at the sight of their exuberant companion sitting quietly. But the party had been the time for talking, laughing and dancing. Now the rest of her family wanted some time for quiet contemplation and Pinkie would oblige. The silence was suddenly shattered, however, as Pinkie began to bounce along the ground, her tail and ears twitching at the same time. The explosion of Pinkie Sense bounced Pinkie from one end of the porch to the other before it faded. “Pinkamena! Are you okay?” Cloudy Quartz gaped. “Y-yeah mom. It's just my Pinkie Sense.” Pinkie shakily responded, getting to her hooves, “I...I need to go!” “Why?” “My friends are in horrible danger!”