//------------------------------//
// 27. One Way or Another 
// Story: The Rock Farmer's Daughters 
// by Sketcha-Holic 
//------------------------------//

Igneous stared at the sheepish grin that Cheese held. He could not believe what he had heard Cheese suggest. Shaking his head slowly, he snorted. "You're out of your mind. The answer's no."

"Aw, come on!" Cheese waved the flier in Igneous' face. "What's wrong with a carnival? I've been to plenty, and I've had a good time... though, I was usually short on money..."

Igneous shook his head and walked to the boulder he had been chipping at. "You must have forgotten how Pinkamena had been harassed, humiliated, and kissed without her consent. I'm not going to leave her vulnerable to that again."

Cheese sighed. "I haven't forgotten, Igneous."

"Well, why did you bring that carnival up?"

Cheese folded the flier and stuffed in into the pocket inside his poncho. "I... I just thought it'd be a neat bonding activity."

"We can bond just fine here on the farm."

"Yeah, but... aren't you at the least bit curious to see what a carnival's like?"

"Been to one years ago; it didn't end well." Igneous picked up his pickaxe and started chiseling the boulder once again.

"What happened? Did the dunk tank explode?"

Igneous paused and gave him a funny look. "Huh?"

"That happened at a carnival I went to. It's a long story."

"Hmph." He turned toward the rock again. "No, nothing like that. My sister got humiliated by this stallion she had a crush on and took the train to who knows where. I haven't seen her since."

"Humiliated?"

"Badly."

"How?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Oh... okay." Cheese scuffed the dirt with his hooves. "How long ago was this?"

"It was while I was still courting Cloudy." 

"Oh... wow, that's longer than I've gone without seeing my brother."

"Huh." Igneous chipped at the rock, hardly even registering what Cheese had said. He rolled his eyes at the absurdity of Cheese's request for the family to attend the carnival. Why would he surround himself with the ponies who misunderstood him enough to accuse him of abuse? Why would he put Pinkamena in a position to be scrutinized unfairly? Why would he attend an event similar to the one where he had last seen his sister, broken and upset from that awful prank? What was Cheese thinking?

"So, uh, do you miss your sister?"

"Of course. I'm still waiting for the day she decides it's safe to return. I can't send her a letter telling her that the scumbag moved out years ago if I don't know where she is."

"Well... if I ever meet her, I'll let you know where she is. So, what's her name?"

"Sedimentary Rock."

"I'll keep that in mind." Cheese bit his lip and his eyes widened slightly, as if he remembered something. "Say, um, what if she's--"

"Dead?"

"Uh, no, what if she's unwilling to contact you for some reason? Like, she's afraid her letter would get intercepted, or that maybe she's angry with you, or maybe she's ashamed--"

"She has no need to be ashamed, I'll be happy to welcome her back, although I'll hate telling her what happened to Ma." Igneous groaned. "Can't do anything about her being angry. That's up to her. Still, I have a hard time trusting carnivals thanks to that incident--and I'm trusting this one even less with those gossiping hens about and that stallion that harassed my daughter still in town."

"Okay, sir... okay. I guess taking Tommy to the carnival is not an option when he arrives." Cheese turned around. "Well, I suppose I'll just be working on the rocks like I should."

Who in the hay is Tommy? Igneous wondered. "Wait... who's coming?"

Cheese stopped and turned his head. "My brother, Tomato. I'm going to mend fences with him."

"You never mentioned a brother."

"Nopony asked until Pinkamena decided to pry."

"Good point." Igneous turned to face Cheese once again. "Let me get this straight; you invited your brother to come here so that the two of you could fix any problems that had come up between the two of you in the past."

Cheese nodded. 

"And you decided to just take him to the upcoming carnival without consulting me first?"

"Hey, I could just drag him away from it and go straight from the train station to the farm, and we could all just bond with him the same way I've bonded with your daughters." Cheese's pupils shrank to pinpricks and he covered his mouth. 

Igneous glared at him. "Bonded with them as a brother, correct?"

Cheese nodded and uncovered his mouth. "Nothing more, honest."

Igneous had an itching doubt of that, and it was worrying him. Though he didn't show it, he had grown a little fond of the stallion who had been a warm ball of sunshine who got his daughters smiling again at the otherwise dreary rock farm. On the other hoof, he loved his daughters very much, and there was still that chance that Cheese's kindness was all just a ruse, just to get close to them and take advantage of them. Igneous had no idea what to think of this brother that was coming, and whether or not they shared the same goal. 

He grunted. "I'll be keeping an eye on this brother of yours. Now get back to work."

Cheese let out a breath of relief. "I expected nothing less."





Cortland slipped into the saloon, making sure that nopony outside was watching. He looked around the room, glancing across the bar where several stallions sat, and the bunch of tables where more ponies sat. A stage was at the other end of the room, where a stallion played a simple tune on the piano. 

He found Riffraff and his gang playing cards at the far table, and weaved his way around the tables toward them. When he made it to the table, the bunch of stallions looked up, and groaned. 

"Whaddya want now, Cowboy?" Riffraff snarled. 

Cortland raised an eyebrow. "You ain't happy to see me?"

Another of the stallions piped up, "I thought we already paid your debt."

"Ya did. Ah'd just like to hear about some escapades that you ponies got into that gotcha all washed up and stuck in this here town. Like, did you murder someone? Rob a bank? Forge some kind of letter?"

The paint-coated pony of the group raised a hoof. "I've done that last one. Used it to get one of my enemies thrown in the slammer."

Cortland turned to him. "Really now?"

"Yeah... I've always been good at copying another pony's mouthwriting. Let me tell ya, when I sent that death threat to that jumpy mayor, the feller was doomed. Hmph, served him right for stealing my girlfriend." The paint gave Cortland a funny look. "You need me to send a death threat under somepony else's name?"

"Ah, no. I just want somepony to get the wrong idea about their employee and his brother. Say, now, what's yer name?"

"Scribbles." The name was met with snickers, and Scribbles shot his comrades a sharp glare. He turned to Cortland again, and asked, "Just what are you on about?"





At Cortland's treehouse, Scribbles looked over the bunch of letters written by Tomato Sandwich, and the one written by Cheese Sandwich. He studied the writing of both, and the language used in both letters, while Cortland paced behind him. He looked over every inch of every letter, and paid special attention to Cheese's letter. He read aloud:

"'Dear Tommy, 

'Yep, I've finally been found, and I'm alive and well! I'm sure you've already thanked Bluejinx for that. He just couldn't resist telling you where I was. So, I've been wondering how you are, what you've been doing these days, and I'm very curious about this sudden water-downed version of you. What happened to the energetic colt? Did Mom break you?

'Since I didn't tear the letter up, here's your answer. I had thought over your request for a bit, and when I look at my employer's daughters, who have an amazing sisterly bond, I realized I wanted that kind of bond with you again. So, go ahead, come on over to Nickerlite, and we'll sort things out.

'Thought I'd give you a briefing for the Pies just so you know what you're in for. My employer, Igneous Rock, is a very gruff stallion, but as long as you don't try to woo his daughters, he'll be agreeable. His wife, Cloudy Quartz, is one of the toughest mares you'd ever meet, but she's reasonable as well. Their oldest daughter, Maud, is not very expressive, but she loves her family. Their second oldest, Pinkamena, is a tough girl, but is also very sweet. The way she smiles just warms my heart, and her eyes are just beautiful. And then we have Limestone. She's a bit sarcastic, especially when it comes to her younger sister, but she's a good mare. And lastly, we have Marble. Don't let some dainty mannerisms of hers fool you; she can easily crush a rock beneath her hoof. Heck, they're all super strong!

'Also, they're grey. Except Igneous is brown. And Pinkamena--well, she's pink.

'Be sure to come whenever you can. The sooner we can do this, the better. 


~Your big brother, Cheese Sandwich.'"


Scribbles set down the letter, and then picked up the carnival flier. He read the P.S. note inviting him to the carnival and clucked. "Seems like you stopped a family reunion. Why?"

Cortland stopped his pacing. "Well, imagine him gettin' a letter from his brother that he didn't expect at all. Imagine Igneous readin' it, and it's evidence that neither Sandwich is any good, so he goes and fires Cheese. Only thing... Ah dunno just what'll work."

Scribbles nodded. "Well, if they present a threat to his daughters, that'll set Igneous Rock off."

"Oh... yeah. Ah got a death threat fer kissin' one of 'em."

"Hm. Well, I'll see what I can come up with and write the letter... of course, you better pay me."

Cortland groaned. "Fine."





Cheese met the girls in the field, receiving warm greetings from Pinkamena, who was pulling the cart this time, and Marble and Limestone, and a nod of acknowledgement from Maud and Cloudy, who were sorting the rocks. After being pointed to the rocks that were to be moved, he accepted without complaint. 

Still, he was bummed out over the carnival thing. He hoped his brother would understand that Igneous was just not all too fond of them, not to mention he was still wary of the townsfolk after what happened with Pinkamena. After all, with their loose tongues, they were sure to bring it up and give a wild take on it as usual. And if Cortland was there, Pinkamena would be less than comfortable.

He hoisted a large rock into the cart, and huffed. If there was some way to get the town to see just what gems the Pies were, Cheese would take it in a heartbeat. Sure, the candy shop owners were on their side, as well as Bluejinx, and most of the Apple family, but those other ponies in Nickerlite were in their silly little dreamlands about them being heartless, stone-faced abusers, and that Pinkamena, being the one who stood out, needed saving. 

And of course, Nickerlite's very own "knight in shining armor", Cortland Apple. Cheese could feel his mane bristle at the mere thought of him. Under that polished armor was nothing more than a dragon trying to hoard a treasure that wasn't even his. Despite Marble saying that Cortland had come clean, Cheese could not shake off any of his anger at him. The ways the Pies were acting, it was almost as if they were afraid of him.

Thunk!

Pinkamena jumped and turned to him. "Hey, are you okay? You threw that rock in angrily."

Cheese snapped out of his reverie. "Oh? Uh... I just... uh..."

Limestone nudged him. "Okay, what's eating you?"

Marble peeked from the other side of the cart. "You don't usually throw big rocks into the cart like that."

Cheese rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking of a certain somepony."

Pinkamena sighed. "Cheese, don't let what Tomato did get you down. Come on, I thought you were moving past that."

Marble tilted her head. "Tomato? Who's Tomato? I thought he was talking about Cortland."

"I was," Cheese snarled. 

Pinkamena scowled. "Of course. That's why your mane was a-bristling. Ugh, why were you even thinking of him?"

Cheese took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. "I'm just bummed out that we can't attend the upcoming carnival because of gossiping hens and Cortland being a reminder of that incident."

"Should've hit him harder," Pinkamena grumbled.

Limestone huffed. "I didn't know there was carnival coming."

"Well, there is." Cheese took the flier from his pocket and unfolded it. The three mares gathered around him as he pointed to the words promising "food, games, friends, and all sorts of fun". He told them about his talk with Igneous and how he had been planning to reunite with his brother and take him to the carnival. And then he got to the part where Igneous refused. 

Marble nodded. "Yeah, even before our Grandmas died he didn't go. None of us went because we didn't want to leave him home alone."

Limestone shook her head. "I think you might have bummed him out even more when you said you were taking your brother, since his sister left town after that. And of course, we can't forget the whole Cortland fiasco."

Pinkamena growled. "Well, I for one refuse to be afraid of those idiots! Just because Cortland kissed me once doesn't mean I'll let him do it again! Ugh, I'm tired all the stupid gossip and whispers that have been going on all this time. If they have anything to say about the Pie Family, they can say it straight to my face. I can handle it; if anything, they're afraid of us."

"Well, don't give them a reason to be afraid," Cheese said. 

"With us being super strong and working with rocks, they already have a reason. Still, I'd like to show those folk that we're not some hard-hearted hillbillies that'll crush any visitor's head like they were an egg. You know we're not, Lemon and Sugar know we're not, Bluejinx knows we're not, and Haralson knows we're not. Heck, if I remember correctly, we did help out with parasprites years ago!"

"Pinkamena, are you okay?" Limestone asked. 

"And you know what? I'm not going to let their silly rumors and the presence of Cortland deny us a chance to entertain our special guest in a different way than usual!"

Marble shifted uncomfortably. "Pinkamena... what are you saying?"

Pinkamena narrowed her eyes. "I'm saying that we're going to that carnival, one way or another."