Love from a Stone

by Short-tale

Chapter 3: Unstoppable Force

“Aaaaaah! What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Your wing is broken! It’s not my fucking fault!”

“You could at least be gentler. This hurts like a bitch!”

“If you want it to heal right stop being a whiny bitch!”

Limestone probably could be gentler. But this pegasus just admitted she put a crack in Holder’s Boulder. The sacred stone of the farm. She cracked it. What kind of lame-brained Wonderbolt couldn’t see a precious stone right in front of her?

Limestone ground her teeth again as she found the right angle the wing needed to be at. She lashed it to a piece of wood that was the right size. The pegasus lay in her bed writhed in agony on her stomach.

“This is no way to treat the head of the Wonderbolts,” demanded the patient. “Show some respect to your elders!”

“From what you just told me, I’m older than you!” spat Limestone. “Now quit squirming so I can set this!”

For once, the head of the Wonderbolts relented. She laid still. Limestone was able to wrap the wing with minimal groans. The farm pony was surprised. A procedure like this should have had her screaming in pain. But the expression on her face and the way she gritted her teeth told the earth mare that she was fighting it. Limestone was momentarily impressed.

“Are you done yet? I have wet-eared cadets that could wrap this faster than you,” grumbled Spitfire. Limestone found out her name and age when she lifted the pegasus up the stairs. It was part of the distraction they both used while she took Spifire’s uniform off. Small talk to lessen the awkwardness.

“You want me to tighten it a little further, Captain?” snarked the farm mare. “Or are you done with the criticism?”

“You’re pretty sassy to somepony that’s hurt.”

“Well if somepony had some gratitude for pulling your yellow butt off a cliff in a sandstorm, maybe I wouldn’t be so salty.”

“Huh,” Spitfire finally said. “Well... I Uh...am sorry. You're right. I just don’t like being grounded.”

“What were you doing up there anyway?”

The Wonderbolt turned her head to look at her savior behind her. “We were trying to break up that storm. It’s the Wonderbolts’ job to tackle storms like that. But it was too much for us. The squad got tossed around. Luckily I found a jetstream and got the team out but a rogue crosswind knocked me off course and sent me crashing into your farm. Sorry about your rock.”

“It’s a boulder! Holder’s Boulder! It's sacred to us!”

“Look! I can’t take it back! I didn’t actually aim for it! I was thrown into it by the wind. It’s what broke my wing if that’s any consolation. And if it wasn’t for it I would have fallen off that cliff.”

Limestone held back any further comments. The pegasus was right. The wind threw her there. She didn’t do it intentionally. The earth pony ground her teeth to keep anything unpleasant from escaping.

She remembered that quilt. If she didn’t change now, then when?

“Are you warm enough?” Limestone said. “I have an old quilt you could use. You should rest.”

“Rest?! I need to get back to my squad!” protested Spitfire. She started to push herself up through the pain back onto her hooves, but a grey hoof easily knocked her flat.

“Hey!”

“Are you stupid?! That storm is still out there. It could kill you. You’re in no condition to do anything.”

“But...my team needs me.”

“Your team doesn’t need a fucking corpse, which is what you’ll be if you go out there,” growled Limestone. Rocks were less dense than this pony’s brain.

Spitfire’s face and ears dropped. There was some muttering, but the fight left the ponies muscles. “I wouldn’t say no to a blanket. If you want to get me one. Wouldn’t mind some food either.”

The sadistic grin returned to Limestone’s face. “What do you think about flapjacks?”

***

The couch was not a comfortable place to sleep. With the house empty, Limestone had the choice of any bed she wanted. None of them felt right; they weren’t hers. She wondered if she could put Spitfire on the couch, but knew it wasn’t right to treat guests that way. She flopped around uselessly on the couch. It was just as lumpy as her bed, but not the right kind of lumps.

The storm raged on outside. What the heck? Wasn’t it the pegasus’s job to stop this kind of thing from happening? Then she remembered her guest in her bed. They had tried doing just that, and now the captain of the Wonderbolts was hurt.

A small pang of guilt raced along her tortured stomach. She took a deep breath. She needed to be different—she didn’t want to end up like Granny. Perhaps offering the flapjacks hadn’t been a good idea.

Eventually, the raindrops and wind aided the farm pony to Luna’s embrace. A small twinge of fear jumped in her mind as it wondered how the rest of the family was weathering the storm. But the exhaustion stole that thought away.

***

Screams cut through the house. Screams of agony and pain. It was umpteen in the fucking morning and Limestone was nearly shook off the couch by them. That fucking shingle has had its last laugh. But it wasn’t the shingle. It was a pony voice. Marble? Pinkie? No, it was that captain! What the fuck was wrong now?!

Limestone stomped up the stairs with such force that her hooves nearly broke through the planks. Broken wing or no broken wing, Limestone was going to help her sleep. One way or another.

The earth pony opened the door wide, preparing for some Pie anesthesia, when she saw Spitfire struggling. The sleeping pegasus looked so sweet and innocent. All the furrows and wrinkles in her brow were gone. The face looked almost cute.

“Noooo!” the cute face screamed in agony. “No more… no. Don’t give me anymore.”

Spitfire was talking in her sleep. Well, a nice, gentle knock of the hoof would cure that.

“No more pancakes. I can’t take it. Stop, mean farm pony. I don’t want anymore. They hurt.”

Mean?! She was mean?! She helped carry her in and set her wing. Why was she mean? For some reason, Limestone felt her ears flop to the side.

She had just been about to bop the pegasus in the head. That was kind of mean. And she supposed she could have set the wing a little gentler. The quilt edge dangled from the edge of that wing.

She sighed. Her hoof gently touched Spitfire’s back. The pegasus started to quiet down with some gentle rocking. It felt strange to touch another pony like that. It was the softest touch she’d ever used.

Spitfire’s anguished face turned to one of peace again. Limestone returned to the couch, with her hoof oddly warmed by another pony’s body. She drifted off wondering why it felt so… good.

Comments

[stag the story teller]

Oh my god, this is to good of a story to not like

[PacifistDoodl3r]

She sighed. Her hoof gently touched Spitfire’s back. The pegasus started to quiet down with some gentle rocking. It felt strange to touch another pony like that. It was the softest touch she’d ever used.

oh, those embers and tingles are heating up inside me this is so cute! I was trying to sleep once when a—well, friend of mine done something like that to me. It was a pleasant memory. This fic makes me reflect a lot about myself unlike the others for some reason...