//------------------------------//
// 24. The Old and the New 
// Story: The Rock Farmer's Daughters 
// by Sketcha-Holic 
//------------------------------//

"Why in Equestria is birth so painful?!" Sugar snapped.

Cloudy was dabbing the wet cloth on Sugar's face. "I've been through it four times. Still haven't figured out why it was designed to be painful." She looked at the nervous Lemon Drop, who was being coached by Maud in breathing exercises. She could sense that he was thinking "I told you so," straight at Sugar, but knew better than to say it aloud during foaling. Saying the wrong thing to a mare in labor would give a pony the harshest tongue-lashing of their life. 

At least she wasn't in labor in the middle of the road, halfway between Nickerlite and the Pie Farm. Giving birth on the dirt wasn't exactly the best for both dam and foal. And she was sure that Lemon's panicking would have been worse.

Pinkamena and Limestone sat nearby, their legs wrapped in bandages holding a paste to soothe their ant stings. Both looked at a loss as to how they could help, and could only watch as their guest laid on the floor, grinding her teeth to make it through a contraction. She released a breath and snorted, and looked at her belly. 

"Why must you make Mommy suffer?"

Cloudy fluffed the pillow that Sugar's head was laying on, and asked, "Besides the obvious, are you comfortable?"

The pegasus merely nodded, and held the wet cloth to her forehead. Cloudy was wondering if the nod was a lie, but decided not to question it, since Sugar didn't want to move. With a sigh, she looked at the door, and then to Limestone. 

"How long ago did Marble leave?"

"Uh... I haven't really been keeping track."

Cloudy snorted. "Great. She better be back as soon as possible."





Get the midwife, get the midwife. Marble's thoughts and heart were racing as fast as her hooves were, knowing the implication of what Limestone had yelled to her. She recalled the horror that both Igneous and Cheese had on their faces upon realizing what was happening, and they didn't hesitate to echo Limestone's order. 

She had sped along the path to town, her hooves rapidly weaving around stray rocks like they had been conditioned to do since she was small. The number of rocks lessened as she galloped along, and soon enough, Nickerlite was in sight, With a final burst of speed, she carried herself across the railroad and skidded to a halt. 

That's when it dawned on her: she didn't know who the midwife was! 

It had been years since the Pies had a visit from the midwife, and Maud was the one who would most likely recognize her. Unfortunately, Maud was still back at the farm, and Marble had hardly any time to retrieve her and ask for her help in finding the midwife. 

Noticing the townsfolk staring at her, due to her being the rare sight of a Pie in town, she decided to make her search quicker. So, she threw her head back, and hollered, "Does anypony know where the midwife is?!"

The ponies all simultaneously raised eyebrows and tilted their heads, wondering why in the hay she asked that. With a snort, she repeated, "I need to find the midwife!" 

After a few moments of confused blinking, somepony yelled, "Nopony told us your mother was pregnant!"

"She's not! She was done at four of us!" 

"Well, of course not!" somepony else shouted. "Cloudy's certainly not having any more! It's obviously one of her sisters!" 

"What? No! It's--"

"I bet it's Pinkamena! She probably had a fling with Cortland eleven months back!" The same pony who interrupted Marble was pelted with an apple not five seconds after he finished that sentence. 

An annoyed Cortland stood there, glaring at the pony with the crazy idea. "Pardon, but Ah'm not willin' to go that far 'til Ah'm married, thank you very much. 'Sides, Ah came clean about the whole gossip, remember?"

The pony sighed. "Shame she had to make you resort to lying."

Marble's brow furrowed and she ground her teeth. Why was this town full of idiots? The whole rumor wasn't Pinkamena's fault; why couldn't Cortland have accepted that Pinkamena wasn't interested sooner? At least there would have been much less of a mess to clean up. 

"Wait, what if it was that Cheese guy who's the father?!" another pony interjected. "I knew he was no good!"

Marble gave the pony a funny look and answered, "He's only been with us for two months! Not ample time for a foal to mature after being conceived. And I shouldn't even need to mention how Pa would have his head for something like that. Besides, it's the candy shop owners! They're at our house and the wife started going into labor!"

"What are they doing there?" a mare asked. 

"Just visiting because the wife felt like it, even though it was a bad idea, and for crying out loud, won't somepony just help me find the midwife?"

Bluejinx walked out of the bakery as she said that, with a roll stuffed in his mouth. He tilted his head, and sounded a muffled, "Huh?"

Marble spotted him, and then galloped toward him. She startled him when she stopped short of slamming into him, causing the roll to fall out of his mouth and land in the dirt. He looked at it sadly for a moment before looking up at Marble to hear what she had to say. 

With heavy breathing, Marble sputtered, "So, the candy shop owners are visiting and the wife went into labor and none of us really know what to do so I was sent here to find the midwife but I don't know what she looks like and nopony's helping so maybe you could help me find--wait a minute I just remembered that you're new in town so you won't know--"

"Aunt Purple would know," Bluejinx interrupted. "She's been here for years."

"Oh, thank goodness!"

Purple Prose came out of the bakery shortly after. "I would know what?"

"Where to find the midwife."

"Oh? Well, I do recall she's the neighbor of the candy shop owners." Purple giggled, and beckoned for the two to follow her. "Well, whatever you need her for, hopefully it won't take too long, in case Sugar goes into labor."

As they headed to the midwife's house, all Marble could do was furrow her brow and hold a slack-jawed expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"





Cortland tried to remain unsuspicious as he leaned against the wall of the print shop, casually guarding the alleyway beside it with his body and a couple of barrels. He held a few apples in his saddlebag, in case he needed a snack, though in one case, he used one as a projectile against a pony that made a stupid assumption. Although it was strange how Marble Pie just came into town and demanded the midwife, at least it kept Purple Prose and Bluejinx away longer. 

Hopefully those idiots would stay quiet so they didn't attract attention from the other print employees inside. 

All that pony that had been slipped through the window--by way of climbing his stacked friends to the second floor--needed to do was just find some letters from this Tomato pony and then slip back out. Stood to reason that if Purple Prose boarded the second floor of the shop, Bluejinx would too. He wondered if they had slipped the pony--was his name Slim?--into the wrong room. 

However, soon enough, from the alley he heard a cry and a bunch of stallions collectively yell "Oophm!" As they groaned, Cortland noticed the rest of the townsfolk were looking around, wondering what that sound was. He looked around as well, hoping to pass off as being just as confused as the rest of the ponies. 

One of the thugs had gotten up, and he tapped Cortland with a stack of papers, pointed to the "Dear Bluejinx" and "Your friend, Tomato Sandwich" on one of them, and then slipped them into the saddlebag. With a thankful smirk, Cortland casually left the premises, glancing at the confused townsponies still looking for that sound. 





Cheese perked up when he heard the sound of galloping from the hills. Looking at the path, it wasn't too long before Marble appeared, with another pony with her. Cheese started bouncing in place. "Hey, Igneous, Marble's back! She found the midwife... I think!"

Igneous lifted his head, took one look at the other pony, and nodded. "Yep, that's her all right. Haven't seen her in years. Gee, how is she still so spry...?"

They watched as Marble threw open the front door, and breathlessly announce the arrival before collapsing. Cheese winced, recalling the time he had to outrun Hank the Diamond Dog and ended up too tired to move. He could see that Marble was going to have a trip straight to her bed, and be allowed to rest for however long she needed. 

Marble was carried inside by Maud, while the midwife was invited in by Cloudy, who Cheese could tell was relieved that somepony else was going to take charge of the foaling. Even though he was outside, he felt awkward knowing that somepony was giving birth in the house. It would have been more awkward if he was inside the house. He was sure he would faint upon witnessing a foaling, having heard it was messy and painful for the mother. 

Was he going to have to help clean up after this?

Limestone and Pinkamena trotted out of the house not long afterwards, looking half-relieved and half-disappointed. They made their way toward the stallions, dirtying the bandages on their legs. They stopped in front of them, and looked at Igneous with a touch of awkwardness. However, Pinkamena briefly glanced at Cheese, and a ghost of a smile appeared before she looked back at her father. 

"The midwife said that there should be as few ponies as possible when there's a mare foaling," Limestone said. "Since there was hardly anything we could do, we were sent away while Ma helps with the birth and Maud looks after Marble and coaches Lemon on his breathing."

"Say, isn't the mare supposed to be coached with the breathing?" Cheese asked. 

"Lemon's panicking."

"Anyway, we have more to do out here," Pinkamena said. "Might as well shatter that boulder we dug out earlier. Dumb ants interrupted us."

"As long as you stay out of the hole, they won't bother you again." Igneous picked up his pickaxe. "Come on, let's get back to work."





More grueling work had been done, and before they knew it, it was time for a water break. As usual, Igneous and Pinkamena guzzled, Limestone sipped, and Cheese dunked his entire head in. Upon finishing, the others pulled Cheese out of the trough, unfortunately leaving his glasses behind once again. Pinkamena fished them out, and stuck them on his muzzle. Scrunching his muzzle and making a silly face at her, he wiped his glasses dry with the cloth he kept on his inside pocket. 

Now, Igneous found it strange that most of his daughters had suddenly started smiling after they went on that hike. Not that it was bad; in fact, he was certain that his mother and his mother-in-law would have loved to see those smiles on their granddaughters' faces. But he couldn't help but wonder if they would have smiled if Cheese had been absent. 

He wanted to believe that he was just filling in his temporary brother role a little too much to be just, well, temporary. After all, Cheese did say that he loved Igneous' daughters like they were his sisters. Whatever that said about Cheese's actual family--whether they were dead or not--was not his business, but he couldn't help but wonder about it. 

But another possibility was nagging at his mind, that one of his daughters was falling in love with Cheese. Or worse, three of them were. Igneous ruled out Maud, who obviously had little interest in the young stallion, so that left Pinkamena, Limestone, and Marble.  They had developed an interest in him during the past two months, and while it started out innocently enough, their interest in him had only been growing. It didn't help that the residents of Nickerlite had already begun incorporating him into their rumors. 

If the three of them were falling for him, that would create a mess, especially when the day came that Cheese decided to move on. And if it was only one, who was it? 

Looking at Cheese squeezing water out of his mane, Igneous sighed. Perhaps he was just overthinking, and there wasn't really anything there. His daughters were just happy to have a friend, that was all. Cheese had been nothing but nice and helpful to them, and never complained about his job being beneath him like plenty of employees before him. It was enough to get Pinkamena to treat  him nicely, and for the younger three daughters to smile. 

And he wasn't going to admit it, but he was being tempted to smile as well.

And then his stomach rumbled. 

"Oh, darn it," he grumbled. "I'm hungry, but we can't go inside until the whole foaling process is through. That's an inconvenience I never thought I'd face."

"You want one of us to get an update?" Pinkamena asked. 

"Nah, interrupting them's not a good idea. Take it from a stallion who had to sit out while his wife gave birth four times. Made that mistake when Cloudy was bringing Maud into the world. Had a horseshoe thrown at me."

Cheese's eyes widened. "Did it make contact, Igneous?"

Igneous lifted his hat, and pointed to a scar on his forehead. "What does this tell you?"

"...tells me it did."

"Looks like it hurt," Limestone said. 

Igneous gave her a funny look as he set his hat back on his head. "It did. Still, despite the stinging of the wound, I can say that I was a proud papa upon meeting Maud for the first time. It's one thing to hold a tiny foal; it's another to hold yours."

Pinkamena blinked. "Does it even beat holding a baby sibling?"

Igneous looked at her. "Well... they're different. When I first held my sister, it was the greatest gift that my parents had given me... despite the fighting that came as we grew older. When I first held Maud, there was this sense of awe as I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that this new life was half of me. It's impossible to describe, you'd have to experience it to know what I'm talking about."

"Well, I know what the sibling thing's like," Pinkamena said, softly smiling at him. 

"Of course you do," Igneous replied with a gentle tone and a nod.

Limestone sighed. "I can't remember meeting Marble."

Cheese merely looked away and kicked at the dust. He gazed at the ground for a moment before looking up at the clouds, lost in thought. Pinkamena looked at him, and seemed to show concern over Cheese's somber daydreaming.

Before she could address it, Maud had come out of the house, staring at the group. After waiting a few moments as all four noticed her, she said, "All right. It's safe to come in now."





The filly looked a lot like her father. The only differences were that she was a pegasus like her mother, and when her eyes opened, they were teal. She sucked on her hoof as she set eyes on her mother, and as she was given to her father to meet him. 

Pinkamena was disappointed that she couldn't hold little Butterscotch, thanks to those ant bites and dirty bandages, but seeing the apparent awe and joy that her father had described earlier on Sugar and Lemon's faces was good enough. She smiled warmly at them, and for a moment, she swore that she saw the baby look at her and smile back. 

The whole Pie Family was silent as they watched the new parents introduce their daughter to them. Butterscotch was making pathetically adorable whinnies at each one, and especially expressed a fondness for Pinkamena and Cheese--though it helped that the latter had been making a silly face at her.

It was for this very reason that Cloudy had taken Igneous aside and whispered, "I swear, that mare was planning this."

Still, even they had to admit that it was kind of nice having a newborn in their home once again, despite the circumstances. Sugar allowed Cheese to hold Butterscotch, and Pinkamena sat next to him as he did so. He was tousling the filly's light brown hair, and Pinkamena was speaking in a squeaky baby voice. 

Cheese chuckled. "You know, a couple months ago, I would never have thought you'd dissolve into baby talk."

"What? Are you saying that you thought I didn't like foals? You are sadly mistaken."

"Oh, no, no, I just assumed you'd keep the monotone at all times. Though, truthfully, I had never thought about how you'd act around a baby."

"Well, now you have an answer for a question you didn't ask."

"Uh-huh." He adjusted his position on the couch to make himself more comfortable. "How long ago has it been since you've held a tiny foal such as little Butterscotch?"

Pinkamena glared at him. "Are you teasing me?"

"Maaaybe."

"Ugh... well, not since Marble was a foal. And here I have another chance to hold one, but the ants sabotaged it."

Cheese sniffed. "Such a tragedy."

"Well, how about you? Have you even held a foal before Butterscotch?"

Cheese's eyes widened. "Uh.... uh... well, I..."

"Don't tell me you haven't held May Flowers' colt."

"You remember that story? Well, yeah, he was cute, but I never personally visited May's house. She brought him to work one day and as such I got to see him. She didn't let anypony hold him. But really, nopony would let a drifter hold their foal, to be honest. So... haven't really held one in my years of travelling."

Pinkamena tilted her head. "Did you have any relatives you've held? Like a cousin? A niece or nephew? Or... a sibling?"

Cheese froze once again, and exhaled sharply, yet silently through his nostrils. Butterscotch started to get restless, and started letting out a wail. Taking that as the cue to return her to her mother, he did so, and then headed for the stairs. 

"Cheese, wait!" Pinkamena jumped off the couch and blocked his path. "Okay, what's your deal? Every time we mention your family or ask about your home, you just turn cold and ignore us. What happened to make you act like this?"

"Pinkamena, leave him be," Igneous said. 

"Okay, no, I'm tired of not knowing what's wrong! Cheese, this is hurting you, and I want to help."

Cheese gave her a cold, hard glare. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I care for you, that's why. Not just as a helping hoof around the farm, but for the pony you are. I like considering you as a brother and a friend, and to see you like this concerns me. Heck, I even think Bluejinx knows something, so if you don't spill it, I'll just ask him what your problem is."

Cheese snorted. "He doesn't know the whole problem, and frankly, nopony needs to. It's none of your business, Pinkamena. Let's not forget, I'm not going to be here forever, so don't bother getting attached to me! You'll only hurt yourself."

"So, you want to wallow in your pain by yourself?"

"Pinkamena!" Cloudy exclaimed. "Why is this so important?"

By then, Butterscotch was throwing a full on tantrum, and Sugar and Lemon looked at each other worriedly. The other Pie sisters were only watching the argument, looking between each other with a sense of dread. Maud was ready to jump in, just in case things took a turn for the worse.

Pinkamena and Cheese's noses were touching now, their eyes locked in mutual glares. Cheese's mane was beginning to bristle, and Pinkamena had her eyes set to icy mode. 

The mare growled, "I suppose you think that nopony can help you with this problem? Just because you're too used to travelling? Or are you a drifter because you just plain refuse to face it?"

"I thought the Pies were supposed to be ponies who minded their own business," Cheese snarled back. "I guess the one who stood out the most turned out to be the nosiest! Can't you just let me be content and do my job here?"

"Ignoring the problem won't make it go away!"

"Being a snoop won't get you your answers!"

"Stop being stubborn and just tell me what's wrong!"

"No! It's none of your business, it's mine and mine alone! I'll handle it on my own terms. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room. This atmosphere has been soured; you can tell by Butterscotch's crying." With that, Cheese walked around Pinkamena and stormed up the stairs. Not long after, a door could be heard slamming. 

Pinkamena stood there, her breaths coming out in angry snorts. She growled in frustration, and headed for the front door. 

"Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Cloudy said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm finding a boulder to buck into pieces!" And with that, she shut the door behind her. 

Cloudy sighed and looked at Sugar and her wailing filly. "I'm so sorry about that... they seemed to have forgotten that you're supposed to be quiet around a newborn. What was that ridiculous quarrel all about, anyway?"

Igneous shook his head. "This is why I don't like getting into other ponies' business."





Cheese glared at the envelope, still unopened, and still containing the letter from his brother. His breaths were heavy, his mane was a bristled mess, and all he could think about was what Pinkamena had confronted him with. He could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. 

"This is your fault... if you hadn't been such an annoying and selfish little twerp that only saw me as a plaything, maybe I would have had less reason to run away..."

He held it in his hooves, the desire to rip it to shreds burning in his heart. He imagined the sharp ripping sound and the fluttering of tiny paper flakes down to the floor that was to be once he did the job. However, his front legs felt weak, and he could only bend it several times with little damage before giving up. Trembling, he dropped the letter, and then used his tail to sweep it back under the bed. 

He didn't know who to blame. Tomato for the final push in his leaving? Bluejinx for writing the letter letting Tomato know where he was? Pinkamena for even bringing up that he had a problem and expressing desire to help?

Or himself, for avoiding the problem for years, pretending his brother didn't exist, and letting his bitterness fester?

He laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He squeezed his eyes shut and tears leaked out. He felt a hole within him, not only for the brother that he hadn't seen in a long time, but for the mare that he had just quarreled with. Once again, he felt like he was nothing but a huge disappointment to everypony he ever knew.