The tick tock of the old grandfather clock in the corner matched his heartbeat. The rug under his body was soft to the touch, but it didn't erase the feel of the hard floor on his back. He stared up at the ceiling with a half-lidded expression, holding both a sense of boredom and sadness.
He was home alone. Everypony else was busy, with work, a doctor's appointment, and time with friends.
Must be nice to have a friend. If only he wasn't so invisible to all but a few, and those few were those he didn't want to be around. The bruises and cuts he'd come home with were proof enough of that.
Even fewer were those he'd allow to come close. Unfortunately, they were either deceased, or in the case of one, surrounded by ponies that scared him. Sometimes they were even brought home.
The colt rubbed his eyes and yawned. Bothered whenever he wanted to be alone. Ignored whenever he wanted company. It was such a frustrating and depressing enigma.
His usual method of alleviating his boredom was in his room, in a case clasped shut and under his bed. However, he hardly felt like moving. He just wanted to lay there, lost in his thoughts, and count the ticks of the clock that would definitely ring in his ears for years to come.
He closed his eyes, hoping a nap would shake off his feeling of loneliness.
However, his eyes snapped open when he felt himself starting to sink. He attempted to bolt upward, but the rug was clinging onto him, refusing to leave the floor. Fight as he might, he couldn't escape, and the rug had turned into a ruthless combination of a tar pit and quicksand. As the rug continued to swallow him, he could only scream.
When he had been completely swallowed, he found himself in a dark void, the rug above him his only source of light, though it was very dim. Panting, he clutched and stroked his tail in a fruitless attempt to comfort himself. The low murmur of voices echoed around him, and he felt as if there was something watching him.
Above him, he could hear the door open, and the clip clop of hooves walking in the door. He could hear a mare's voice muttering under her breath, but it was unmistakable just who it was.
"Mom!" he cried. "Mom, Mom, help! I'm stuck in the floor!"
A second set of hooves walked in, and this time he heard a stallion's voice murmuring about work. Hearing this, the colt shouted, "Dad! Dad, help! Get me out of here!"
He heard a third, smaller set of hooves bouncing around, this time coming from a chattering foal. With gritted teeth, the colt jumped up and banged on the dim square above him, shouting the foal's name and demanding assistance. He jumped a second time, shouting the name again. He jumped some more times, crying for his parents and sibling to help him, but to no avail.
He landed on his rump after the final jump. He looked up one last time, and then hung his head. Tears streamed down his muzzle, and soft hiccups accompanied those tears. He hugged his tail again, and croaked, "Help…"
Suddenly, behind him a voice clucked, "Well, well, well…"
He gasped and spun around to see the silhouette of a stallion. Staring at the stallion, the colt was at a loss for words, but his eyes did the talking, asking the other pony what he was talking about.
"Your family doesn't love you."
The colt stood up and backed away, shaking his head.
"Imagine that. Now what is it about you they don't like? The way you look? The way you act? Or perhaps you're just a little wimp and crybaby. Such a poor excuse for a colt."
"Please… no more…"
"Whatever the case, you didn't belong with them. Shame that you don't belong anywhere else, either."
The colt attempted a yell, only for nothing to come out. He looked down at his hooves, and to his horror, they were fading. He turned his head, and discovered that his tail was fading as well. He was quick to realize that his entire body was fading away, and he was frozen stiff, his face etched with terror as he looked up at the other pony.
The stallion chuckled. "I guess you're better off disappearing."
"NO!" Cheese cried.
"No, what?"
Cheese's eyes snapped open, and he instinctively reached for his glasses. Once he put them on, he saw Pinkamena in the doorway. Blinking, he realized that he was back in his room at the rock farm, and he glanced at the bare wooden walls. He looked down at the quilt, and stroked it gently.
He rubbed his eye. "It was… just a dream."
"Huh." Pinkamena dragged her hoof on the floor, and then stepped on a creaky board. "You're going to town today."
"Huh? Why? What's the occasion?"
"The mice got our food, remember?"
"How could I forget? Some of those things bit me."
"I've heard your yelps from the kitchen. Anyway, we figured now's a good a time as any to get you to pull the cart, send you to town, and replace the food we lost to those rodents."
Cheese tilted his head. "Wait… I have to pull the cart?"
Pinkamena gave him a hard stare. "Did I stutter? Anyway, Marble's going to accompany you."
Cheese climbed out of bed and stretched. "Well… it's nice to know that I'm not going by myself. But does Igneous really trust me alone with one of his daughters?"
"Oh, don't worry. I think he knows now that you don't think that way."
Marble strolled beside the cart, coaching Cheese on navigating the rocky path to town. Hitched to the cart, he found himself stumbling more than weaving, and the bumping of the cart made his stomach lurch, though he was not riding in it. He felt like panicking on more than one occasion, especially after a couple of bumps that nearly tipped over the cart. However, Marble continued to remind him that panicking would only make things worse, and made sure to keep the cart right side up.
They stopped at the railroad, hearing the whistle of the train that was ready to roll out of the station. The chugging of the locomotive beginning the next leg of its journey filled the air, and soon the pair's view was filled with train car after train car.
Cheese was idly counting the cars when Marble asked, "Have you ever ridden a train?"
Cheese cursed under his breath about having lost count. He turned to the gray mare, and answered, "Plenty of times."
"Huh. Did you pay for a ticket or stow away?"
"I've done both. Unfortunately, I've done the latter more often." He put his foreleg on his forehead and tilted his head dramatically. "Curse me and my criminal ways."
Marble scrunched her muzzle in response. Cheese swore that he could see a tiny ghost of a smile on her face, but for all he knew, it could just be his eyes fooling him. After all, the Pies never smiled, and he couldn't see that changing anytime soon.
The train passed, and they crossed the tracks into town.
Their first stop was the dry goods store, and Marble went in to purchase the grains they needed, leaving Cheese to watch the cart. While left alone, Cheese looked at the scene before him. There were a lot of ponies out and about, and he could hear the chatters of several different pairs. The laughter of playing foals rang in the air, and warm smiles were upon most of the faces. He adopted the same expression, and beamed at a pair of fillies in a chase past the cart.
That's when a couple of mares, a blue pegasus and a red unicorn, made their way to him. He looked up at them in surprise, wondering why two strangers approached him out of the blue.
"Uh… can I help you?"
The two mares scanned his body up and down, and pursed their lips. Then, the blue one said to her companion, "He's awfully tall, Scarlet. Just like Blossom said."
Scarlet nodded. "Indeed, Sky. And thin as a rail."
Cheese blinked. "Um… yeah, I've known that for a while now…"
The two ignored his statement, and Sky asked him, "So, what is it like working alongside the Pie mares?"
"Oh? Well… it's kinda sorta dirty, and boring, and hard… I ache a lot… but in a strange way I can't explain, it's sort of satisfying."
"So…" Scarlet said. "Do you fancy any of the Pies?"
Cheese sighed and shook his head. Make assumptions, why don't ya? I feel like I'm in some corny romance novel, he thought.
Sky jumped, her wings spreading and keeping her aloft. "Oh! Let me guess! Is it Marble?"
Obviously the first guess had to be the Pie sister he was currently in town with. Did they not see him shake his head or did they misinterpret it? "No, I've been thinking of her as a sister of sorts. Nothing romantic there, honest."
Sky descended and touched down on the ground, a disappointed pout on her face. Scarlet chuckled and said, "Well, then, it must be Limestone."
Cheese shook his head. "Nope. Same deal as Marble."
The mares glanced at each other uneasily, and tentatively asked in unison, "…Maud?"
Cheese furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. He shook his head, although he did not know how to explain just want kind of relationship he and Maud had. It seemed like a stone-faced acquaintanceship, where it wasn't necessarily a dislike of each other, but just a mere tolerance.
"So… Pinkamena?"
He knew that name had been coming next, but the apprehension on their faces bothered him. Was this about Cortland? He figured they were worried about the Apple stallion getting jealous of "competition," even though Cheese had no interest in pursuing a romance with Pinkamena.
In fact, his actual relationship with her was… what was it? From what the past few weeks told him, it seemed like a strict mother relationship, yet it seemed also like a bossy older sister relationship as well. He felt tidbits of how he felt about Marble and Limestone, as well as how he felt about Maud, toward her. But there was something else there as well. There was something about her that produced warmth inside him, something that made her stand out. Something that he couldn't quite explain, but he could feel that it was there, hidden under that grumpy exterior.
He shook his head. "Nah, she's… she's just… ugh, she's like a sister, okay? I'm their 'temporary brother', and that's how far it'll go."
The mares glanced at each other, and Scarlet stepped forward. "All right… just as long as you don't give the town any ideas about a love triangle going on, you hear?"
Cheese groaned. "There's none of that. In fact, Pinkamena isn't even interested in Cortland. She actually finds him annoying."
"You're just saying that."
"No, I'm serious."
"Serious about what?" Marble asked as she walked out of the store, a bag of flour mounted on her back. She was followed by a couple of stallions carrying bags of other goods, who were just as curious about the conversation.
Cheese winced, not wanting to bring up the whole Cortland situation to Marble. Especially after the unpleasant encounter he had with him. He was thankful that there was minimal damage to his body and that Cortland had left his glasses intact, but Cheese had a gut feeling that the next time the Apple got violent, he wouldn't be so merciful.
Then Sky piped in, "He says that your sister's not interested in Cortland."
Marble rolled her eyes. "Well, she isn't. Don't listen to rumors, girls."
"Oh, but they're so juicy!"
"They're also lies most of the time. Now, shoo, we're grocery shopping." Marble waved her hoof forward, indicating that she had enough of their presence.
The two left with a huff, and Marble and the stallions loaded the dry goods into the cart. Once that was done, Cheese hauled the now heavier cart and followed Marble to the produce stalls.
Pinkamena and Limestone carried their buckets, their teeth having a tight hold on the handles. They traveled across the fields and into the woods. They didn't say a word as they turned to reach a closer bend of the river. After all, fetching water for the trough shouldn't be worth a mile into the forest.
The air was permeated by the melody that the birds sang. And while it was quite beautiful to Limestone's ears, it was a familiar song to Pinkamena's. Of course, telling Limestone that she recognized the tune would earn a funny look from her. It was no song that their Granny had sung to them; it was just a tune that popped into Pinkamena's head one day and had been stuck there ever since.
"What are you humming?" Limestone asked.
Oops. She hadn't even felt the hum buzz in her throat, let alone heard it. She had only meant to hum it when she was alone, and when she was sure no one else would hear.
She sighed. "It's just a random song."
Limestone tilted her head and blinked. "You were humming… I haven't heard you hum in a long time…"
Pinkamena snorted, and pointed before them to drop the subject. "There's the river, let's fetch the water."
They trotted toward the river, bent down, and drew water from it. As they turned around to bring it home, Limestone asked, "Can you sing like you used to when we were little fillies?"
"Psh, I doubt it."
"Have you tried?"
"No, but what's the point? The rock farm's no place for a song."
"I suppose so."
They were silent for the rest of the way back, as well as the subsequent trips to fetch more water. And though the subject had been dropped, Pinkamena could still hear the cheery tune in her head. For some reason, it was commanding her to do something, but she couldn't catch just what the command was.
"Whew! This thing's getting really heavy!"
"You think that's heavy? Try hauling rocks. Anyway, last stop for today."
Last stop. Cheese was glad that they were almost finished, though he hated how much weight the cart had gained with all the food that they had bought. His muscles were aching and his coat was damp with sweat. He just knew that once they were back at the rock farm, he'll be dunking his head in the trough.
Marble exchanged bits for cabbages from Mr. Green, placed them in the cart, and then they set off for the rock farm. Cheese's head was hung low, and he plodded along with a tired sway.
He picked up on Marble muttering, "3… 2… 1…" before a crash sounded behind them, and Mr. Green shouted, "D'oh, not again!"
He glanced behind the cart to find that the stall they had just left was smashed. A band of foals with a wagon grinned sheepishly at the distraught owner as he raved at them.
"Yeah…" Marble said. "That stall is wrecked every time we visit town, perhaps even more. I don't understand why Mr. Green has that constant misfortune."
"Well, that must sti—duck!"
They had been passing by the saloon, and a bottle had been ejected from the doors at breakneck speed. Both Marble and Cheese had ducked, and the bottle whizzed above their heads and shattered on the candy shop door. Moments later, Lemon Drop poked his head out, and groaned upon seeing shattered glass at the doorstep.
"Sugar, could you get the broom and dustpan? I think there's a bar brawl again!"
Cheese's eyes widened at the phrase "bar brawl." He jumped to his feet and resumed walking, attempting to put in a faster pace. Marble stood up as well, and walked beside him, telling him, "Okay, once we cross the railroad, I'll haul the cart and you make sure nothing falls out."
"Got it."
Suddenly a boisterous voice rang from the saloon. "Hey, hey, hey, it's Toothpick again!"
Cheese squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Oh no… what is he still doing here?
Marble raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Toothpick?"
Cheese rubbed one of his temples. "My nickname."
Sure enough, that familiar brown-coated, green-maned stallion made his way in front of the two, bearing an ugly grin at he stared straight at Cheese. "I haven't seen you for a long time! How is life going? Didya get a job?"
Cheese averted his gaze. "It's none of your business."
"Whaddya mean? Aren't we friends, Toothpick?"
"No."
"No? What makes you say that?"
"I don't ever recall you being friendly toward me."
"What?! You liar! You're the one avoiding my gestures! I don't even know your real name!"
"I'm not complaining."
"Aww… what, ol' Riffraff not good enough to hear the birth name of the little Toothpick?"
So his name is Riffraff? Cheese glanced at Marble, who was unsure about this smelly stallion in front of them. He silently wished that she'd just knock him under the jaw and then they could skedaddle.
Before they knew it, the rest of Riffraff's gang were blocking their way, looking upon the two with sleazy expressions. They glanced between the two and their cart of food, their eyes full of anticipation. There were dirty chuckles coming from a couple of them, and some whistled derisively.
"I wonder if these are the same scum that stole food from the cart a few weeks back," Marble grumbled.
Cheese knew that they were, but he didn't say. He was just really uncomfortable with the profane things that the group was saying in front of them. He caught some chatter about Marble being his special somepony, which frankly, she wasn't. From the annoyed look on her face, he could tell she was tired of this bunch, whether or not she heard that statement.
The group came closer, and the two backed up. It was then that their leader said, "Yanno, if she's your marefriend, why don'tcha prove it to us, right here, right now?"
Cheese turned red at that idea. "We never said we were—"
It was then that a stick from above came down hard on Riffraff's head with a whack. Riffraff cried out and fell onto his rump, groaning. The rest stared at him for a moment, and then looked up at the source of the stick. It had been a broomstick, and a pregnant pegasus, clearly straining to stay aloft, was wielding it.
Cheese heard Lemon Drop yell, "Sugar! You know what the doctor said about flying!"
The white mare touched down and was panting. She dropped her broomstick and growled to the group, "Leave them be."
Riffraff's right hand colt laughed and replied, "Or what?"
Marble stepped forward. "Trust me on this, you don't mess with a Pie."
"Uh… mess with a pie? What's so threatening about a pastry?"
"No, I mean my family. As a Pie, I can crush you easily. Let me give you a little object lesson…" She swiped a rock the size of an orange from the street, uncaring of the crowd that was gathering. She placed it in front of her, looked up to see if they were watching, and stomped on it, crushing it like it was nothing. She watched their jaws drop, and she continued, "See? Now, I'm sure you don't want me to do that to any of you."
The group of stallions shook their heads. Cheese wondered if they were thinking of when Pinkamena took one down with a simple kick, and they didn't dare mess with another mare like her. At least Marble was giving them a warning.
"Good. Now shoo," she said, her gaze falling into a glare.
And with that, the group disbanded, another mare having been added to their "must avoid" list. Marble snorted, and looked at Sugar. In seconds, Lemon had galloped to his wife's side, and was stroking her wavy red hair.
"Sweetheart, don't ever do that again!" he cried.
"I'm sorry… it's just that folks like that make me so… so… mad," Sugar replied. "I guess I wasn't thinking. I could have been caught in a big mess had this Pie Sister not given her object lesson."
"Um… my name's Marble."
"Oh, Marble, yes, thank you. So, Cheese, how's the rock farm going for you?"
Cheese rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, fine, really. Had a couple of surprises here and there, but for the most part, it's just moving rocks."
"Oh, okay, okay."
Lemon shifted his hooves. "Well, we'll just go back to the shop. Take care, you two!"
As he and Sugar left, Marble and Cheese watched them, the latter waving goodbye to them. Marble blinked, and asked, "Okay, how do they know you?"
Cheese glanced at her. "Oh, I met them when I stumbled into town. Sugar took me to their home, fed and bathed me, and then she suggested I work at the rock farm. Simple as that."
"Uh-huh…"
They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, before shrugging and heading out of town.