Shards of grey scattered across the rock farm, smashing into the ground, the boulders, and the walls of the house. Thankfully the windows were not made of glass, but a transparent form of crystal; some very very tiny part of Limestone's mind was pleased that she had fictored that expense into repairs and maintenance.
The rest of her mind, however, was split between horror and utter confusion. Horror because the heart of her domain, the very reason she lived for, had just shattered into a thousand irreclaimable pieces before her eyes due to a mistake she herself made. And confusion, because... well...
...because something very strange had replaced it. Some sort of... wisteria-colored reptile, flopping to the ground around her with an odd mewling rumble. It was about five times her size, with four chubby legs ending in four-clawed feet; the head alone being as big as her whole body, and she could see her shocked expression reflecting back at her in pale silver eyes. A set of yellow-green scales ran from jaw to tail along the creature's underside, matched by the seven long flat spines extending backward from the head and the flaps of skin from the four odd limbs extending from the shoulders and hips.
It opened its toothless mouth and gave a deep, earthshaking whine as its long pink tongue flapped about. Limestone just stared at it, unable to think.
"DON'T MOVE!"
Limestone's ears perked at the unfamiliar voice--no, it was the voice of that purple winged pony from before. With that abrupt input, her thoughts began to move again, and she started to realize exactly what happened. She was tempted to yell at her, to tell the interloper that she was the one in charge, but the giant mouth in front of her convinced her not to.
The sound of hooves on wood alerted her to the arrival of her parents and other sister. "What madness hath--? LIMESTONE!"
"Everypony stay back!" the voice of the purple pony demanded. "This situation requires some delicacy. Mister Pie, I promise I will ensure your daughter's safety, but you have to trust me, okay?"
Limestone could barely hear a quick and whispered conversation between her family members as she stood still, staring into the large eye.
"...Very well, your majesty." Her father apparently backed off. "We will defer to your judgement on this matter."
"Okay," said the purple pony, still loud but not quite shouting. "Who tended to spend the most time around Holder's Boulder?"
"Limestone," Maud managed, her voice hitched just a tad.
"Oh. Oh, okay, this is probably a good thing, then."
Limestone snorted. How could this be a good thing?! Holder's Boulder exploded, and she was now a prisoner of this... boulder-exploding giant lizard thing! Some part of her mind suggested there might be a word for the creature, but most of it was too angry to go looking.
"Limestone Pie!" the purple pony enunciated. "Can you crush those crystals into crystal dust?"
Her eyes flicked to the purple pony. "...Yeah?"
"Good! What I want you to do is coat your foreleg in crystal dust, then let the hatchling suck on it."
...What. "What." What.
"Your majesty," her mother objected, "surely you cannot be suggesting--"
"Just trust me on this, okay?" The purple pony smiled awkwardly. "I have experience with dragon hatchlings."
Dragon, that was the word--oh. Limestone looked at the whimpering head in front of her, mentally swearing. Dragon, it should have been so obvious...
With great reluctance she reached for the cart behind her, pulling out a long shard of crystal and carefully shattering it between her hooves. Before long, her forelegs were glittering as much as a crystal pony's would. Spreading into a firm stance, she steeled herself and held one of them out. "...Come on, little guy, I've got num-nums--"
The large pink tongue wrapped around it and almost yanked her into the mouth, but she managed to keep herself from stumbling too far forward as the scaly lips wrapped around her shoulder. She couldn't help but morph her face into an expression of disgust as she felt her leg get slathered and tugged by that long, twisting muscle.
"That's it! You're doing good," the purple pony encouraged. "In a little bit, the dragon will have all the crystal dust off the leg, so he... or she, maybe, will relax his or her tongue. What you need to do then is slowly pull your leg out and let it suck on the other one. Keep coating your legs in crystal dust and repeating until I tell you to stop. Can you do that?"
"Ugh, my leg is getting all slimy!" Limestone grunted. "Can't somepony else do this?!"
"You spent the most time around the egg, which means you're the one it recognizes the most. Plus, you're right there," the purple pony explained. "It's in the process of imprinting on you, and it is very very dangerous to stop dragon imprinting midway."
"What happens when a dragon's imprinting is stopped?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm... not exactly sure," the purple pony admitted. "All I know is that Celestia told me it was an extremely bad thing."
Limestone's eyes snapped wide. "Imprinting on me?! You're dumping a dragon--" She paused to pull her leg out of the now still mouth, offering the other to the same slimy tongue. "--a dragon hatchling on me? UNF, ow, not so tight little guy..."
"It's not like that!" the purple pony protested.
"I have a flippin' farm to run!" Limestone protested, wincing as the suckling hatchling squeezed her leg. "I don't have time to handle a kid, let alone a giant dragon hatchling!"
"We'll all help!" Pinkie chirped brightly. "Right Marble?"
"...m...hm," Marble hesitantly agreed, staring wide eyed.
"I've always wanted to be an aunt," Maud Pie stated. "And I'm quite sure mother and father are willing to forgive you having a child out of wedlock."
Limestone flushed furiously, glaring at her. "MAAAAAAUD!"
"Oh, no, we would not disinherit our daughter for this," Cloudy agreed, a faint smile managing to grow on her face despite the worry in her eyes. "We merely wish to ensure that our progeny didst not bespoil themselves before they meet the partner of their life; the adoption of a child is a show of a large heart, not a loose one."
Limestone's eyes fell on her father, silently pleading for him to take action. He frowned in thought, contemplating the situation, before turning to the purple pony. "If we may ask, princess Twilight Sparkle, wouldst thou be willing to bring some form of assistance should we agree to handle the care and upbringing of this... dragon?"
"Oh of course," the purple pony reassured him quickly. "I hatched Spike here, and I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to raise a member of another species." She ruffled the spines of the small dragon next to her. "But it is definitely worth it."
"Hey..." Spike halfheartedly swung his claw at the hoof, trying to hide his grin. "Quit it!"
Twilight Sparkle turned back to Igneous Rock. "I'll see to it that you receive financial support for the hatchling, and I'll try to send you whatever unique objects he... or she needs. Starting with somepony who can tell us if it's a boy or girl... and I'll try to come by as often as I can to help myself, of course!" she added. "I'd like to think I have experience with this sort of thing."
"Does anybody care how I feel about this?" Limestone shouted, already reaching back for another crystal to start crushing. "Because I don't know if you've noticed, princess, but I'm not exactly all fluffiness and hugs over here!"
"You look like you're doing pretty good, all things considered!"
"You know how home-ec classes give you fake filly dolls to take care of for a week?" Limestone started lathering her forelegs up with crystal dust again. "I failed because mine came back traumatized!"
"And I failed because I accidentally starved mine! Those things aren't really good measures of parenting ability!"
"She's right!" Pinkie agreed emphatically. "I got a hundred percent on that assignment, and I wasn't at all prepared for actual foalsitting!"
Maud smiled faintly. "And you know how my attempt went...."
Her sisters and her parents all shuddered at the memory.
"Uh..." Spike raised a claw, paused, and slowly pulled it back down. "On second thought, I don't want to know."
Limestone groaned as one of her legs was again pulled into the massive maw, giving a flat glare to the large eye next to her. "Come on, little guy, back me up here. You hate me, right?"
The dragon hatchling gave a bone rattling coo, releasing her leg and rolling onto its side.
"Okay, that means he or she has had enough crystal dust for now," Twilight explained. "What you need to do now is sing the hatchling to sleep."
The rock farmer slowly turned to stare at the princess. "Sing." She raised a slimy hoof to point at herself, ignoring the way the massive child idly kicked at the air. "Me."
"It doesn't have to be too complicated," Twilight pointed out. "Pick any lullaby! Just a simple rhythm and some gentle pitch variance should do it."
"...Princess Twilight Sparkle, my voice sounds like I blend together glass shards and tar for my morning coffee," Limestone pointed out. "And that's when I'm being level headed and calm. Right now I am a mix of angry, frightened, angry, disgusted, and absolutely furious. And you. Want me. To sing a lullaby."
The alicorn stared back at her. "...yeeeeeeeeees?"
"I remember you used to sing the twins to sleep," Maud pointed out, waving a hoof at her youngest sisters. "It was adorable."
"Oh yeah!" Pinkie sighed with nostalgia. "I remember that song, it was always one of my favorites."
Twilight blinked, looking at Pinkie and Marble anew. "Wait, you two are twins?"
"That was before I hit puberty!" Limestone protested. "I sounded completely different!"
The dragon let out a plaintive whine.
Marble glanced between Pinkie and Limestone before, very hesitantly, taking a step forward. "...hmm?"
"Seriously," Twilight asked again. "Twins? You two?"
Limestone recoiled. "...I--you--this--!" She gave a resigned sigh, looking away with a blush. "FINE. Fine, but only because you asked so nicely."
With an awkward cough, she turned back to the large hatchling, awkwardly stroking the scales as she prepared her throat. "Right... how did that go again...
This world is filled with toils and strain
but wonders are all about
And though I feel some small disdain
when the day I work throughout
For now, at least, I look at you
a smile upon my face
Sleep well, dear child, and dream a few
wonders which I might grace."
The hatchling's eye fluttered slowly shut as Limestone continued her grating hum, its massive chest slowly rising and falling as a small breeze poured out its nostrils. Twilight let out a little sigh. "Huh, you were right Maud. That is... surprisingly adorable."
"And still as effective as it was in days long gone," Igneous added, nodding toward his youngest daughters... who were leaning on each other, entirely asleep.
Spike stared at them, wide-eyed. "...Huh. Pinkie Pie does have an off switch. Who knew?"
"I still can't believe she's a twin," Twilight replied. "I mean, she's always been so... singularly unique, you know?"
"Okay," Limestone called out softly. "Dragon's asleep. Are we done now?"
Twilight blinked, turning back to her with an embarrassed smile. "Um, actually, it'd be best if you stayed there for now. If the dragon wakes up without being able to smell you nearby, it could panic and... well, panicking dragons aren't ever a good thing."
Limestone growled, just barely keeping her voice low. "So how long do I have to stay here? A day? A week?"
"Um..." Twilight fidgeted. "It's usually suggested that the creature a dragon imprints one stick close for a minimum of... well... two months."
"TWO M--?!"
Limestone's eyes darted to the sleeping dragon.
"...Two months?!" she hissed harshly.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I promise I'll help out as much as I can," Twilight replied.
"If I may, your highness," Igneous managed, "we should perhaps converse about such plans of assistance. Might I be so brazen as to offer a table and seat for our discussion?"
"Oh, that would be very kind, mister Pie."
"Twould be best if we gathered blankets and pillows for her sojourn," Cloudy Quartz murmured to herself.
"I can help with that!" Spike offered brightly.
"I'll carry the twins inside," Maud offered, already heading for her sisters.
Within moments, the only pony outside was Limestone herself, standing slimy-legged next to a cart of crystals. She turned slowly to glare at the face of the oblivious dragon hatchling curled around her.
"This is all your fault, you know."
The dragon rustled its wings in its sleep.
Limestone turned away with a snarl. "....you're lucky you're so flippin' cute."