//------------------------------// // 16. Curiosity // Story: The Rock Farmer's Daughters // by Sketcha-Holic //------------------------------// Igneous Rock set off on his delivery trip, heading for a town in need of some gravel for pavement and to trade some gems for bits. Cloudy had told him to take care and make sure he didn't strain himself. After all, strong as he was, he had to be reminded that his rock-breaking days were over, and though he could still haul rocks, an injury was still possible. He could have had any one of his daughters do the job, but the part of him that wanted to resist aging urged him to not take the easy way out. After all, he was still capable of making the trip, why sit it out? He briefly looked back at the others, who stood at the door and watched him as he left. He had no doubt that the girls could watch the rock farm; they've done it plenty of times before. They had the extra task of keeping the hired hoof out of trouble, which shouldn't be too hard for them. Igneous noted the increasing interest that his daughters--sans Maud--were having for Cheese. Being a pony who travelled Equestria, they were probably prodding him for stories of places they had never been. The one that he had told at the Apples' dinner table was interesting in its own right, so he couldn't blame them for wanting more. He could have sworn he had heard him singing the night before, with a strange vigor that reminded him of when Granny Pie would sing to the girls when they were small fillies. There was a part of him that still worried that the character Cheese projected was all pretense. He pushed that worry to the back of his mind, reminding himself that the colt hadn't done anything to break his trust so far. He did as he was told, managed to contribute to repelling trespassers big and small, and hardly complained about his job. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that the interest that the younger three mares were having would end up with at least one having some sort of infatuation for him. The question was who it would be if it was just one. He sighed, and continued to plod along. He hated thinking about that. He looked up at the sky, and saw the pegasi placing the first rainclouds over Nickerlite. With a furrowed brow, he was reminded that he hated rain as well. After a couple days of rock farming, the rain came down. Rock farming in the rain was not a pleasant experience. The mud tended to be slippery, and that made way for ponies to slip and injure themselves on the rocks, as well as scatter them when carrying them. The cart wasn't there that day, but if it was, then pulling it around while it showered would be no picnic either. That was without taking into account that rain disrupted the ripening of the rocks, so things would be slower even without the inconvenience of mud. So, when the rain came down, Cheese and the Pie mares were inside the house, doing housework. The floor in the kitchen and living room was swept and the furniture dusted, and as Cloudy mopped the already swept floor, the sisters dealt with sweeping the upstairs, and Cheese passed the time by checking on the grains in the cellar and putting rat poison near every hole he could find. "Shame that we have to kill the little critters," Cheese murmured, having finished placing the poison. "If only someone in this house had a talent with animals." He turned his attention to the grains, having been bought by Marble a few days back. He reviewed his mental checklist as he checked each bag and barrel a second time, searching for any mice that may have snuck in. The flour was rodent-free. As were the oats. As were the other things that were stored in the cellar. He approached the hay bales in the corner, and kicked them to scare any mice that housed themselves in there. To his relief, there were none. He backed up and bumped the shelf that held the rock collection. He turned with a jerk, his heart skipping a beat as he watched a few of the rocks tumble off. He breathed a sigh of relief when the rocks were undamaged by the fall, and he quickly set them back in their places. He caught the bookshelf in the corner of his eye. He slowly turned his head toward it as he backed away from the rocks' shelf. He turned and approached it, a curious expression gracing his features. He stopped just short of bumping into it, and glanced at each one of the few books that were resting on it. After a few moments, he reached out and pulled a book from it. He did so a little too quickly, making dust billow around him and setting off a chain of sneezes. After the dust had settled and Cheese had let out a few strong sneezes, he wiped his nose and sat down. He set the book on the cold floor, and opened to the first page. Realization that it was a photo album quickly set in as he stared at a photo of a younger Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz as a newly wedded couple. Soft subtle smiles were gracing both of their faces, and they were leaning against each other with eyes full of bliss. Seeing this was a surprise for Cheese, having mainly seen impassive faces, scowls, and every minor expression in between. He turned the page, seeing more of the couple in the early years of their marriage. They were mostly doing work with the rocks and reading books, but he could still see that love in their eyes. Scratching his head, Cheese wondered if it was still there, or it was just a lot more subtle. Were my parents like that when they first married? This question in his mind surprised him. Usually the thoughts of his own parents were about whether or not they noticed he was gone, and if they missed him. He had never thought about their marriage. He turned the page once again, finding a couple of pictures of a pregnant Cloudy Quartz, and then seeing one of her holding a newborn filly. He read the writing below it, which told him that the filly was Maud. He turned a few more pages, glancing between each picture of little Maud learning the basics of rock farming, until he came across a page where she was being introduced to her baby sister, Pinkamena. He chuckled, wondering what Igneous and Cloudy thought when that daughter came out pink. Of course, seeing a couple of older mares in the picture, one of whom was pink, he dropped the thought quickly. It was awfully strange to see any of the Pies smiling. It was especially strange to see a small Maud smiling at the sight of her newborn sister. Still, their smiles paled in comparison to baby Pinkamena's, which made her coat brighter and her blue eyes gleam. As he stared at the tiny foal in Cloudy's forelegs, he could hear her cooing, and he felt the desire to hold her. He gently stroked a hoof over the picture. "What would it look like if she smiled now?" He continued to stare at it, still enchanted by the little foal Pinkamena's apparent joy at being born and Maud's reaction to her sibling. His heart sank a little when he realized that this picture was awfully similar to one back at home. He mainly focused on the two fillies, seeing in his mind's eye himself in Maud's place and his younger brother in Pinkamena's. He sighed and stared at the wall. The last time they talked had been long ago, and it was not a pleasant memory. He wondered if he had been too harsh that day, and if he should have stuck around to at least let him apologize for that final straw, if the little colt had been willing to apologize at all. And then it hit him that his brother was not little anymore. I wonder what kind of stallion he grew up to be, he thought. How is he doing? Does he ever think of me? He shook his head. His brother most likely moved on with his life and was surely on his way to success. After all, Cheese was the nopony of the family. There was hardly chance that he'd be missed. He flipped through the pages, seeing more pictures of rocks, Maud, Pinkamena, and later on, Marble and Limestone. There was the constant presence of the two older mares, who he figured were their grandmothers. It was obvious that the fillies enjoyed them, and it was especially obvious that Pinkamena was the most elated out of all of them. Just seeing those pictures of her smiling made him smile, and he wished he could have met her when she was a happy little filly. Then, about halfway through the book, there were suddenly no more pictures. Confused, Cheese flipped through the rest, which bore absolutely nothing, with the exception of the final page. In the bottom right corner, there lay little scribbles of a couple of mares with halos over their heads, a sad little filly, and a tiny message scrawled above the drawing: "I miss you." Cheese stared at those words, and drew his hoof over them. He was silent as the implications of those scribbles sank in. He looked at the drawing of the two mares, one with wings and a curly mane and the other's mane done up in a bun. Then his sights went to the sad filly, who was without doubt the artist who drew it, and he instantly knew who she was. He sighed and shut the book. He slid it back onto the shelf, thinking about the mare that sad filly was now. He felt like going up and giving her a hug, but there was a pretty good chance that she wouldn't be happy with it. He glanced at the trunk beside the bookshelf, and discovered that it was locked. He shrugged, figuring that he snooped enough for one day. He stood up, and checked on the grains a third time. With a broom in her mouth, Pinkamena marched into Cheese Sandwich's room and began to sweep the dust and dirt that had gathered there in recent days. Part of it was due to him refusing to use the bed during the time when they were filling the holes, since those days had them ending up really dirty and too tired to even take baths. He didn't want to get dirt on his bed, so he settled for the floor during that time. As she swept, she glanced around his room, which was almost as bare as it had been when he first settled in. The only differences were his glasses case and the sack which held the bits he had gotten so far, which were from her, and perhaps it would be added to soon when her father returned. She swept the dirt into a pile, and then brushed it into the dustpan. She set aside the broom, picked up the dustpan, and then made her way to the window. She opened it and dumped out the dustpan's contents quickly before the rain made it and her head too wet. Once she shut the window and set down the dustpan, she plodded toward the nightstand, and took a look at the glasses case. She picked it up and slid her hoof on the smooth exterior. Glancing back at the door, she snapped it open and looked at the velvet inside. She stroked it, noting the mild softness of it. Then her eyes caught a note stitched on the inside of the case. Curious, she read it. "'If found, please return to Cheese Sandwich.' Hmph, wouldn't want those glasses to be homeless," she muttered. She read further, and there was an unfamiliar address below the first sentence. She was a bit surprised at coming across the name of the city where it was located. "…Manehattan? He's from Manehattan?" She had never expected to learn that Cheese was a city boy. Still, it made sense as to why he was suddenly so cold when she had mentioned wanting to hear a story about it. If there were bad memories there, of course he wouldn't want to talk about it. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what happened there. "Pinkamena? What are you doing?" She quickly shut the case and spun around. Maud was in the doorway, and Pinkamena could see a bit of suspicion in her eyes. She shifted so her older sister couldn't see the case, but she knew it was fruitless. Maud blinked. "Don't go through his stuff." Pinkamena sighed. "There's not much to go through. He only came here with that poncho, his glasses, and the glasses case. Snooping's absolutely useless when it comes to him." "You still should respect his privacy." "Maud, what if he was a criminal?" "Pa knows the smell of a criminal. Cheese wouldn't have been hired." "Still… aren't you the least bit curious about him?" "No, I'm not. It's none of our business. Why are you curious about him?" Pinkamena blew some of her mane out of her face and gazed at the floor. She wanted to retort that she was not the only one fascinated by him; Marble and Limestone had been listening to him tell stories since he arrived. Still, would either of them have tried to glean information from the few possessions he had? Not even a fascination of the places he had been to during his travels could justify that. She bit her lip, her mind drawing a blank as to why. Maud sighed. "Never mind that. Let's just sweep the next room." She picked up the broom and plodded to the next room. Pinkamena picked up the dustpan and followed, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. She thought about the small tidbit that she had learned, and thought about one way it could be useful: should Cheese meet his end in an unfortunate accident, his family or whoever else raised him should at least know. Still, she wanted to know why he had left Manehattan.