Is it Saturday already?

Geez, this week just flew by me.

Anyway, for this week's discussion topic, I thought we might talk about Pinkie's past. Her background on the rock farm arguably affects her relationship with Applejack more than with anypony else in Ponyville. It provides a surprising bit of common ground for them that one wouldn't think was there at first glance.

So what are your headcanons regarding the Pie family? What do they do with the rocks they farm? Where is the rock farm in relation to Ponyville? Why did Pinkie leave, and does she still keep in touch?

And perhaps most importantly, how can I as a writer use it to get them to smooch?

I do enjoy many different "versions" of the rock farm so to speak but the way I see it, Pinkie Pie left when she was like 12-15 since the farm life didnt fit very well with her and she managed to get apprenticeship at the Cakes.

In terms of distance, I imagine it being quite far away, but not far enough that it would be hard to reach by train.

I do believe Pinkie does keep in touch, but not as much as she used to, maybe a letter every month or so, as (in my head) she has gained a second family in the Cakes. She still loves her biological family very much.

I'm guessing a rock form is kinda like a quarry or something, breaking up rocks part to be used for construction and part to unearth more valuable gem pieces that might be embedded in the rocks.

We did learn in the season 3 finale that Pinkie, even with her background isn't very good at farming, so I think that the main thing she'd be able to help with at the farm would be to make pies and other apple related treats.

Edit: Just realized that I started almost every sentence with "I" and it looks retarded. GG Turai, GG.

I see rock farming as having three different possible uses in basic Equestrian society. either:
a) The rocks Pinkie and her family push around are geodes that harness the sun and earth's energy to form the brilliant gems that are oddly abundant in Equestria.
b) The rocks that Pinkie and her family push around grind themselves slowly into magic dirt that they then sell to farms and farmers. The additional care and magic that goes into this dirt extends the harvest season, which is why places like Sweet Apple Acres always have shitloads of apples ripe and ready for market day.
c) The rocks that Pinkie and her family push around actually affect the flow of magic through all of Equestria's soil, a combination of zen and circuitry. The constant exposure to extra-concentrated creative energy is one of the causes of Pinkie Sense, as well as Pinkie's casual relationship with reality.

As for how these can lead to smooches (The important part)
a) Growing gems takes a lot of time and patience. Pinkie can use that to her advantage in getting AJ to lighten up a bit and slow down, take a breather, and stop working herself half to death during Applebuck season. While waiting for gems to grow, there's a lot of time left over to do chores and help out the neighbors, keep the farm ship-shape. So Pinkie is a capable farmhand at most things, although irrigation and tree care are a bit beyond her ken. Cue the smooching.

b) Pinkie may have helped sell her family's magic dirt to the Apples in the past, allowing for a childhood friends kind of relationship to build off, which is entirely plausible considering their interactions. And Pinkie knows how to get more magic dirt for cheap, and could help AJ out with that. She'd know a lot about plant nutrition and the like from being a magic dirt expert and could potentially help AJ fix a blight that threatens her crop. Cue the smooching.

c) Pinkie is a master of Earth Pony magic, as evidenced by her flow know-how and her frequent trips into the land of the bizarre. She can, once again, help AJ out with either her harvest production or perhaps getting over some kind of crippling injury. Let's say, for instance, that AJ has her leg shattered in a barn collapse or an accident while averting a stampede. She gets back on her feet after a long while spent in the hospital, but the doctors say she'll never Applebuck again. In swoops Pinkie with her magic mojo to teach AJ how to harness the earth's power itself and use that to her advantage. AJ uses the earth's magic to protdct her damaged leg and can continue running the farm, like she always has. Cue the smooching.

I see Pinkie as having a loving-yet-tense relationship with her family. She didn't exactly run away from them to Ponyville, but she left because the tension in everyday life got to be a bit much. Pinkie was too different from everypony but her Granny Pie, and so when Granny died/moved out/ stopped being such a large part of their lives/ whatever, Pinkie finally couldn't take her parents and sisters' seriousness, and they had no idea how to handle her rambunctious energy. Things got pretty bad between them and Pinkie finally decided to leave and live with her father's second cousin Cup Cake in Ponyville. She still visits occasionally, but she can't stay for too long without old tensions coming to light. Pinkie is always in awe and a little jealous of the way that Applejack's huge and diverse family is able to stay so tight-knit even when they're spread across the country, and really appreciates the way that Applejack treats all her close friends as family without a second thought. Cue the smooches

CUE. ALL. THE. SMOOCHES!!! (they make everything better)

Can you tell I think about this a lot? Insomnia has its uses.

The joker in me can't help but think Pinkie's family GROWS rocks. As in they plant a peddle, water it, and wait for it to grow. When ripe enough, they just move it to another field where they get bigger, and then move it to yet another field until it is the appropriate size.

Other than that, i always thought that they were kinda like miners. Paid by the government or company to get some type of mineral or something. Maybe they clear rocks and look for natural gases? Or they are looking for the rocks that hold gems, like rarity finds and uses?

Although, we can always go with the theory that everbody from the Pie family is just plain crazy and they do it because they THINK they are doing something important. When really, it's just them pushing rocks around.

Or maybe they are something like Amish, and just revoked modern society because they deemed it sinful? I don't know.

((Honestly, I'm loving y'alls ideas more. I'm just kind of rambling here.))

As for Pinkie's relationship with her family...I kinda get the feeling something happened. Big death in the family? Horrible accident? Maybe they considered Pinkie to be bad luck and the cause of problems on thier rock farm and kicked her out. Maybe Pinkie is secretly repressing pain from losing her family.

As for Apple Pie...

I think the subject of family will always be important to both of them. Applejack for having a big family, and maybe Pinkie always craving to have a family. One that wants her and doesn't want to change her. I can easily imagine a touching scene from the Apple family where they flat out tell pinkie she is one of them. "yer an Apple now, kid. No turnin' back."