"Lightning, that's a long distance..."
"So? It's much faster than taking the train! C'mon!" Lightning replied as he spread his wings. Limestone scrambled to find the best comeback.
"Y-you don't even know where my rock farm is! Therefore, you can't fly me there!" She replied as she folded her fore-hooves, feeling pleased with herself for a moment. Her words earned a snort from Lightning.
"Limestone, you can tell me the directions!" Lightning replied. Limestone scrunched her face up in frustration.
"Well... what if I don't want to tell you how to get there?"
Lightning folded his hooves. "I thought you wanted me to meet your family?"
Limestone stared at him for a moment before she let out a defeated sigh. "Okay. You win. You can carry me there."
Lightning smiled. "Good. And don't be afraid of me being too weak to carry you to the rock farm. You're fine. And, you know you love being in the sky."
Limestone nodded. "Of course I love the sky!" She then climbed on Lightning's back. "So... let's go!"
At these words, Lightning took off into the sky. Limestone tightened her grip around his neck for a second before loosening. She smiled as the chilly autumn breeze flowed through her mane. All the muscles in her body were now relaxed as Lightning kept a steady pace in the skies. Limestone rested her head on his shoulder and buried her snout into the crook of his neck. Lightning smiled and kissed her forehead.
"So... where are we going?" Lightning asked as he picked up the pace a little bit. Limestone looked up into the distance.
"Well... follow that railroad just below you. That's how I came here. Then, you'll find yourself in Canterlot, and I can give you a general direction then." Limestone looked down at the railroad and smiled. She remembered being on that train... confused and awkward with the current running through her body.
"Alright. That sounds good. So, just hold on till then," Lightning replied as he kept his pace, looking down at the railroad from time to time.
Limestone rested her head on his shoulder again as she closed her eyes. It was all very relaxing. She now was very happy Lightning was persistent. The train would have gone much slower, and she felt much more free in the skies.
Lightning picked up speed a little bit before turning his head. "I have the urge to go faster. Is that alright with you?" He asked as Limestone lifted her head up.
"Of course! Go as fast as you want!"
Lightning smiled. "Okay, babe," he said with a wink as Limestone felt her cheeks grow warm.
"Please... don't call me that."
Lightning chuckled. "Why not?"
Limestone scrunched her face up as she looked down to the ground. "Because I don't like it."
Lightning playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Alright, princess."
Limestone looked up to meet his glance. "That's not any better."
Lightning gave her a warm smile before turning back around. "Ready to go faster?"
Limestone nodded. "Yep!"
With that, Lightning flapped his wings a little harder, causing him to move through the skies faster. Limestone felt her eyes water for a moment from the wind, but blinked to clear them.
Lightning looked in the distance, searching. "Ah-ha!" He said as he flapped his wings harder, increasing speed. Soon, he was hovering above Canterlot.
Limestone smiled as she looked down at the city. "Alright. So... now... follow that train track," she said as she pointed to the one she rode on coming to Vanhoover. Lightning nodded.
"Alright. Will do," he replied as he started to fly again. The two let silence hang over them. Being together in the open skies made them happier than almost anything else.
After a few more minutes of flying, Limestone spotted the rock farm. She pointed down to it.
"There it is!" She said as Lightning smiled.
"Alright. Now, let's land," he replied as he tilted downwards, picking up a bit of speed. When he was near the ground, he halted his flapping and nicely landed. After he folded his wings, Limestone stepped off his back.
"Thanks for the ride. Now, let's go-"
"LIMESTONE!" Limestone looked to see a pink blur rocketing towards her. Before she had time to think, she was wrapped up in a very tight hug from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie soon separated, looking at Limestone with her uber-enthusiastic smile. She started jumping up and down.
"Oh, there you are! We were all waiting at the train station for you, and we didn't see you anywhere! But I, with my amazing vision, saw a Pegasus flying here carrying something on its back. I then knew that it must be you! I'm so happy to see you!" She said as she looked at Lightning Drift. She narrowed her eyes and walked towards him, keeping her glance on him.
"So... you're the one who's dating my sister?"
Lightning's ears folded back in fear of what the pink ball of enthusiasm was going to do to him. "Yeah... is there something wrong?"
Pinkie stepped a bit closer, her eyes still narrowed. "Yes. There is something wrong. What's wrong, you may ask? Well... it's that nothing's wrong with you!" She finished as she quickly hugged him. Limestone giggled.
"Sorry, Lightning. Pinkie is very... enthusiastic."
Pinkie pulled apart from Lightning and looked happily at Limestone. "Of course I'm enthusiastic! My sister is dating! I've also wanted to meet Lightning for a while!"
Lightning raised an eyebrow. "So... I'm guessing your name is Pinkie?"
Pinkie nodded. "Yeperooni! I am Pinkie Pie, one of the best party ponies around! I also run a bakery in Ponyville. Well, help run it, anyways!"
Lightning smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
Pinkie enthusiastically nodded. "It's nice to meet you, too! I know we're going to become the best of friends! Maybe even siblings! We could share stories, and I can plan parties for you! Ooh! Maybe-"
"Pinkie!" Limestone cut her off as Pinkie looked over at her. "Let Lightning meet everypony else."
Pinkie snorted and rolled her eyes, walking away from Lightning. "Fine, fine."
Lightning smiled as he saw four earth ponies walk up to him. They all had a grayish color scheme, much like Limestone. The brown stallion spoke first.
"Thou must be Lightning Drift. I am named Igneous Rock Pie, Limestone Pie's father. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Cloudy nodded her head. "And you may call me Cloudy Quartz. I am Limestone's mother."
Lightning smiled at them. "It is very nice to meet you two." He then saw a mare by their side look away in shyness. Limestone put her hoof around the mare.
"This is my youngest sister, Marble Pie."
Marble nodded, now looking Lightning in the eyes. "Mmhm."
"It's nice to meet you, Marble."
Limestone then stepped to her other sister. "And this is Maud Pie. She studies rocks for a living."
Maud nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lightning. I hope you are enjoying being with my sister."
Lightning nodded. "I definitely am. I wouldn't ask for a better mare."
The Pie family all exchanged smiles as a red hue filled Limestone's face. Pinkie gasped.
"Oh my gosh, you two are so cute!" She cooed, smiling brightly at them. She then started bouncing again. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Come on! I have dinner already set up!" She said as she dashed into the house. the six ponies then walked over to the small house, which looked fairly nice.
When they were all inside, they took a seat at the table. Limestone smiled as she sat at the table, remembering how she didn't want to fall in love a few months ago. Oh, how that has changed.
Limestone smiled even brighter as she saw rock soup on the table. There were also some bread, pastries, and treats from Sugarcube Corner, just in case Lightning wasn't up to trying rock soup. And, Sugarcube Corner treats are always a must to have for dessert.
Igneous Rock took a minute before smiling at them. "You may take anything you like. Don't feel like you have to be modest, Lightning."
Lightning gave him a smile. "Thank you." He said before picking up a slice of cake and a few small slices of bread. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for now.
Pinkie looked at him with a bright look of anticipation on her face as he took a bite of the cake in front of him. A smile then quickly inched its way up his cheeks.
"Oh my! This is really good!" He remarked as he took another bite.
It looked like Pinkie's excitement had reached a high point. "Thanks! I took a while to make that cake!" She then pointed her hoof at the cake. "The icing is yellow, for Lightning, and the inside is gray, for Limestone! I also have little dots of blue and yellow, representing your eye colors!"
Lightning raised an eyebrow. "How did you know all these little details about me?"
Pinkie gave him a snort. "I asked Limestone to send me every tiny detail about you, of course! I just had to know!" She then smiled brightly at him.
Limestone rolled her eyes. "You demanded me to. I couldn't really say no to you without you spamming me with letters until I tell you."
Pinkie nodded as she patted her sister's head. "That's right! I just love knowing all the small details!"
Limestone smiled at her. "Yeah."
A short period of silence filled the room before Igneous spoke up.
"So, Lightning, Limestone has written to us about you working as a weather pony. Is this true?"
Lightning nodded. "Of course. I am one of the best in Vanhoover."
Cloudy nodded before pushing her glasses closer to her face. "Say, do you have a place suitable for Limestone to work out in Vanhoover?"
Lightning's eyes filled with uncertainty. Limestone was also feeling a bit uneasy. She and Lightning had never talked about work. She couldn't just force him to move to the rock farm. She knew it would be better for him to stay in Vanhoover. Limestone's ears fell back as she bit her lip.
"Well... I'm sure there's a mining company in Vanhoover. Otherwise, I'll live here with Limestone. I understand how much she loves this rock farm, and I will do anything to make her happy."
With this, Limestone's ears perked up. She still couldn't shake the small pang of guilt from her heart, though. He might have to break from everything he's ever known; just for her.
Igneous and Cloudy gave each other a happy glance. Maud finished chewing the rock that was in her soup before speaking.
"Do you have any pets, Lightning?"
Lightning shook his head. "Nope. I never put much thought into it, honestly." He then ate a bite of bread before speaking again. "Why do you ask? Do you have one?"
Maud nodded and opened up a small pocket in her little tunic. She then took out a small rock that could very easily fit in a foal's hoof.
"This is my pet. His name is Boulder."
She set him down on the table as Lightning smiled, uncertain what he should be feeling right now. "Uh... nice to meet you... Boulder."
Maud blinked a few times. "Boulder says that it's nice to meet you, too." She then put Boulder back in her pocket. Lightning looked over to Marble, who tried to hide her face when he looked at her.
"You're the only one I have yet to hear from, Marble. What's your favorite thing to do?" He asked as Marble now pulled her mane over her eyes. Her ears flicked as she pointed to the window, her purple eyes now showing.
Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Working on the rock farm?"
Marble nodded. "Mmhm."
Igneous looked down at Marble. "You're going to have to work on your communication skills before you meet your special somepony, Marble," he said as Marble's face flushed. Her eyes nervously glanced all over as her ears now folded back.
"Mmmmmmhm." She replied, a large hint of shyness in her voice. By now, everypony was finished eating a large portion of their dinner. Igneous looked over to Lightning.
"Lightning? May Cloudy Quartz and I speak to thee in private?" He asked as Lightning nodded.
"It would be a delight, sir," Lightning replied as the three went into a nearby room. Everypony knew what this was. It was the famous do-you-truly-love-my-daughter-talk.
Maud looked at Limestone and gave a small smile. "Lightning seems really nice. I'm proud of you, Limestone. I think we can all agree."
"Mmhm."
"Yeah!" Pinkie replied as she jumped up. She then gave Limestone a teasing look.
"So...? Do you think that Maud's going to have her turn at the Stone soon?"
Limestone flushed a heavy shade of red as she hid her face. "Uh... I-I..."
Pinkie giggled as she sat back down in her chair. "Relax, Limestone. But, I do think that he's going to propose soon. Then, it'll be Maud's turn!"
Limestone's eyes widened. "P-propose?! You really thing so?"
Pinkie nodded. "Yep! I can tell passionate love when I see it~!" She then gave Limestone a wink before eating a whole slice of cake in one bite. She chewed and grew a brighter smile. "Mmmm! My cake is really good!"
At this, the three walked out of the room, looking pleased. Igneous looked at them all and smiled.
"Well? Does anypony want to share something about us with Lightning before he and Limestone go back to Vanhoover?"
Maud was the first one to nod. "Sure. I have some poems."
Lightning smiled as he tilted his head. "What are they about?"
Maud blinked before answering. "Rocks. They're all about rocks."
Everypony sat in silence for a moment as she continued.
"Rocks. These are my rocks. Sedimental. Smooth and round, on the ground, in shades of brown. And gray..."