When somepony else's life is dark and gray, it's up to you to bring a little color into it.
{2nd/second person/reader insert X Maud Pie}
You are a Pegasus that works in the Rainbow Factory. So, you work with colors a lot. One day, you get tasked by Your manager to bring a little color to a place that almost nopony knows about. There, you meet the love of your life, but... She seems so... colorless...
You wipe the sweat off your brow, and let out a long held breath as you look over the steaming Rainbow-colored concoction below you. You flap your wings at a certain rate to stay hovering in the air, but, with this heat, you were quickly tiring out.
"This one's good! Send it down!" You shout to a Pegasus working the machinery, who nods and pushes a lever, making the conveyor belt move, and bringing the next cauldron of Rainbow towards you. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, and held it when you felt some water droplets form on your face. You open your eyes, and examine the concoction below you. You see that the color is right, save for one color missing. You bring up the spoon you're holding in your hoof, and you put it into the steaming pot, making sure not to spray any of the hot liquid onto yourself. This stuff burns when you get it on you, and, it stains. You shudder at a memory of getting multiple droplets all over your body, and the stinging sensation after impact. What sucked is that it didn't come off your fur, so you learned your lesson about experimenting with hot liquified rainbows.
You swirl your spoon around the liquid, only to find chunks of solidified rainbow in the concoction. You let out the breath you were holding.
"This one has Violet missing! Chunky! Needs re-do!!" You shout to the Pegasus working the machinery, and, again, he nods, but pulls a different lever, and the cauldron below you gets transferred into a different trail, where the ones in need of a re-do go. A line of pegasi go along that line, following the pot sent down it, special tools in hoof. You wait for the next pot to be sent towards you, but you don't pay attention as A buff Pegasus with dark fur flies into the room with a megaphone.
"Alright, pegasi! That's the end of this work day!" He shouts into the megaphone, sighs of relief done in unison filled the room soon afterwards, one by you included.
"Ahh, quittin' time!" The Pegasus working the machinery says, throwing his hard-hat on the ground, flying off to the exit. You chuckle at that Pegasus. He did come from the south, and was more of an outsider here than anypony else. You fly off to the nearest form of ground, and sigh happily once you touchdown and give your wings a rest. You have to stay suspended for long hours, only two breaks throughout your work day. Most pegasi would turn down your job instantly, mostly because their wings aren't strong enough to go on for so long. Luckily you trained for long periods of time before applying for this job. Sure, your job was tiring, but, hey, at least if you can get some money, you'll be fine, eh?
You find some pegs where the workers would hang their hard hats, and you put yours up on a random peg. You walk out of the room, find your way through the factory, and walk out into cold afternoon air. Well, it would be cold to nopony except for the ponies who worked in the same room as you. It was the moments like this you relished: walking out of the hot room and out into the cool air, feeling the breeze come over you, a buddy from work fly towards you–
Wait, that's not right. You barely hung out with your friends from work, and you only do so during the weekends. Since tomorrow was a weekday, it made no sense to you.
"Hey! Hey, buddy!" She says as she lands next to you. You take in the mare's features; white coat, yellow mane, green eyes. Her wings are slightly tinted a yellow at their tip, and she had a cauldron with rainbow sparks coming out of it for a cutie mark.
"Liquified Rainbow? What are you doing here?" You ask, giving the mare a quizzical look.
"I'm asking you to come for a fly around, duh. Cmon, it'll be nice compared to that hot room you're always stuck in," she says, giving your shoulder a bump with her elbow.
"Uhh.. I dunno...." You say, looking away, feeling unsure.
"Hey, it won't be for hours on end like the way you spend in that factory. It'll just be a short fly, to, y'know, cool off and stuff." She looks at you with puppy dog eyes that you struggle to resist.
"Uhh... Okay. I surrender. Let's go for a fly." Liquified Rainbow's face instantly lights up, and you can't help get get her infectious smile. You flap your wings once to make sure they're all good, and you take off, Liquified following soon after. You fly forward at a reasonable speed, and the breeze you felt before intensified as you went along. You smile contentedly.
"So... Rae-Rae..." You say, trying to engage in conversation.
"Hmm?" She asks, looking over to you.
"How was work today?" You ask, not knowing what else to ask, tilting your head at her slightly.
"Oh, the usual. But, there was a Pegasus who tried to dye his mane like Rainbow Dash's by dunking the top part of his head, as well as his neck and plot, into the Rainbow solution. I forgot the name of that guy..." Rae says, scratching her head with a wing, but soon loses a bit of altitude after. When she regained her altitude, she chuckled slightly, and, her infectious laugh made you chuckle too.
"Do you mean FaahrtFeathers? He was always a bit of a derp. I feel sorry for him too, what kind of parents would name their son something that sounds like FartFeathers?" You say, chuckling slightly.
"Yeah, those parents must've been derps themselves to name their son that," she says, chuckling a tad louder than you. A beeping sound is heard, and she pulls a phone (one of the first!) out of her uniform's pocket.
"Oh shoot, I gotta go. I have a hot date," she says, smirking slightly.
"Go for it, Rae-Rae. Have fun!" You shout out to her as she flies off for her home. You fly around for a little while longer before approaching your home and pulling out your keys from out a pocket in your uniform. You unlock your home and trot inside. You strip yourself of your uniform, hang it on a coat rack by the front door, and walk outside again. You check your mailbox, knowing that Wednesday's are usually the day your mail gets delivered. You open it up, and you're met with a few envelopes and such.
You take your mail, close the mailbox, walk inside and close the door. You plop yourself on a couch and go through your mail.
"Bill, advert, paycheck—" you notice a rainbow-colored envelope that has the words 'Paycheck :D' adorned on it, "wait, Paycheck?? Sweet!" You say, happy that your hard work at the Rainbow Factory paid off. You plop the rest of your mail on the nearest coffee table and rip open your paycheck, and see a cheque fall out.
"I'll trade this for a bag of bits later today at Cloudsdale Bank." You say to yourself, looking at the number on the cheque. You get up and stick the cheque in a secret hiding place, and get back onto your couch. You still had some mail to go through.
"I'll throw away the advert and pay the bill," you say as you pick up your small pile of mail. Other than the advert and bill, another ad, coupons for your favorite book store, there was a certain envelope that caught your eye. It was pure white, and had a rainbow-colored seal keeping it closed. You gulp, it was a letter from your manager. You shakily remove the seal and remove the letter inside.
"Dear worker," you say, reading the letter out loud, "You have impressed me with your skill. You have been assigned to bring some color to a gray town with no confirmed name. See me in my office tomorrow, 9 o' clock sharp. Don't let the Rainbow Factory or the inhabitants of this town down. Sincerely, Your Manager, Dark Colors." You look up to...
Hey, stop looking at me.
STOP.
YOU'RE BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL.
Look at the fireplace or something! Just not here!
Thank you.
You look over to the fireplace with a questioning face. "A town without a name? Bring some color to it?" You scratch your head with a hoof. "I need to see what my manager has in mind. Until then, time for dinner! I'm starved!" You say to no one in particular, walking over to a phone that was built into your home. You pick up the phone, dialing in a number you memorized using the tip of a wing. You bring the phone up to your ear, and wait for a pony on the other side to pick up.
"Hello?" A bored feminine voice says on the other side.
"Uh, hi. I'd like to order a large Cheese and Tomato Pizza with some hay to the side, please?" You say, making sure to be polite. Some typing is heard on the other side.
"Address?"
"9th Albatross street, house number 337."
"Your meal will arrive in an hour. We have a lot of orders coming in. Sorry for the inconvenience." Dang, this mare sounds like a robot or something. She sounds so bored!
"No trouble. I have an errand I need to run anyway," you say.
"Thank you for ordering from Pizza Shack. Your order will come soon."
You hang up, and find your cheque. You hold it tightly in your mouth. You walk to the door, open it, lock it once you were outside, and fly off to Cloudsdale Bank. You quickly arrived with an extra strain on your wings, and walk inside. You smiled to see that there were only about seven ponies, each in different lines. You walk up to the front of an empty queue, and wait patiently for a worker to attend to you.
A stallion with a coat, mane, and eyes all different shades of gold pops up in front of you with a big smile on his face. You also smile. You quickly stick the cheque under your wing.
"Stephanooooooo!!!!" You say, giving the stallion a hoofbump.
"Ahhh, there's my Rainbow checker! How's work been?" Stephano says, giving you a noogie.
"Ah, the usual. Steam, a re-do or two, just, a normal day overall," you say casually, causing Stephano to burst out laughing.
"Ahahahha! There's no such thing as a normal day in my world! Say, did ya hang out with that cute mare, Liquified Rainbow?" He says, giving your chest a nudge.
"I did, but, she has a date. Sorry Stephano, I'm afraid she's taken," you say. You silently mutter, "But she probably will be single again soon, she's moving from stallion to stallion faster than I can check rainbow concoctions..." This got another moment of glee out of the bright stallion, which made you roll your eyes.
"Ohohohooooooooohhhh...... Okay, so, what can I do for ya?" Stephano says, propping up his head on the desk using an elbow.
"Oh! Can I trade this in for the allocated amount of bits?" You say, some of your speech muffled by grabbed the cheque and having it in your mouth. You put it down on a desk, and Stephano examines it.
"Hmmm, yeah, yeah, I could do that. Just as long as you don't spend it all at once," he says, giving you a wink, causing you to roll your eyes again. Stephano walks off with the cheque in his mouth, leaving your eyes to wander. You look around the surprisingly big room, and take in it's amazing architecture.
"Uh, ahem," you hear somepony say, and quickly turn back around, to see Stephano standing back behind the desk, a bag of bits on the aforementioned desk.
"Hey, thanks bro," you say, grabbing the bag with your mouth.
"Hey, take care now," Your golden buddy says as you walk out of the Bank. You fly home, and put your bits into a mini safe you have somewhere in your house once you were inside. You hear your doorbell ring soon after, and you lick your lips in anticipation.
"Mmmmmm, Dinner's here!" You say as you head towards the door. You open it and you are greeted by a mare with a dark red, messy mane and a yellow coat, in a Pizza Shack uniform.
"Enjoy your dinner sir," the mare says in a bored voice you recognized. You thank the mare and pay her, take your food, and close the door. You sit down on the couch, turn on the TV, and eat your food.
Ah, what a peaceful day. Still kinda anxious for tomorrow, though...
Your eyes flutter open, and you smack your lips a couple of times. You slowly get up, groaning in satisfaction as you stretch your sleeping muscles. You twist your head on your neck, allowing it to loosen, as well as stretching out your wings and legs. You take in a deep breath and stop stretching. You slowly allow you hind hooves to land on the floor before allowing your forehooves clearance for landing. You look to your alarm clock, and your eyes widen out of shock and surprise, as well as fear. The clock read 8:40, and you had to be at work in ten minutes.
"I SLEPT THROUGH MY ALARM!?!? OH BUCK OH BUCK OH BUCK!!!!" You scream, running downstairs into the living room at an alarmingly dangerous speed. You quickly gallop to your coat rack, and sloppily put on your Rainbow Factory uniform. It was strange, the uniform is pure white, yet white can get stained easily. Hmm. You quickly go around the room, trying to find your keys, and when you do, you quickly unlock your door, run outside, lock it again, and fly off to work, afraid that you'll get punished for arriving at work late.
When you arrive at the factory, you arrive just in time for registration. The facility does this to see who is sick and needs to be replaced for the day. The stallion who is doing registration holds up his paper, looking through the names. He asks to see if you are here first, to which you reply with a shaky, "Present." The stallion puts a tick next to your name, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, sighing of relief soon after. Since you were marked off, you headed inside the factory, casually making your way to the room you worked in, despite your totally not casual start.
Just as you were about to make it to the entrance of your work place, you saw your manager approaching, the buff Pegasus with dark fur, known as Dark Colors.
"Ahhh, there's that Rainbow Checker I was lookin' for. Remember our appointment?" Dark Colors, nicknamed Cole, asked, stopping in front of you.
"A-appointment?" Your mind shot a blank. 'Think... Appointment... Oh.' You mentally facehoof as you remember the letter you got from the manager the day before. Your face gets an embarrassed blush, and you smile sheepishly.
"Hehe... Sorry, manager—"
"Heheh, this guy's got humor!" Cole interrupts, laughing whole heartedly. "Just call me Cole, buddy!" He says, giving you a hard (and very painful) slap on the back, making you clench your teeth and your eyes go wide slightly.
"Ehehehhhh.... Sorry, Cole, I guess I was in such a rush this morning that the memory flew right over my head, as if I was the target in archery, and the archer missed by a mile."
"OHhhhh, getting all metaphorical now, eh?" He smiles widely at you, causing you to smile back, but, nervously. Even though you weren't in the immense heat of your work room, you still began to sweat.
"Come on, champ, we have a meeting. Come with me to my office," Cole says, turning and walking towards his aforementioned office. You stand in place, not knowing what to say. Your manager turns around and stops to look at you, noticing that he hasn't been followed by you yet.
"You comin'?" He asks, giving you a small smile. You shake your head, getting you out of your stupor, and you quickly trot up to you manager.
"Hehe, that's the spirit, sport!" He chuckles, and continues on to the office, and you actually follow this time. After a few minutes of navigating through the various work areas, you both finally get to the manager's office. Cole unlocks it, and walks inside, you following behind soon after. As you step in, anxiety gets replaced with downright fear, as your boss motions you to take a seat, you get more terrified than you've ever been in your adult life, as you sit down, you feel like passing out.
"So, I've been told recently that a town without a name has been unable to receive any rainbow or color in general, so it's grey and tasteless. So, I have chosen you, dear worker, to allow some color get into this poor town," your manager states, his merry tone replaced with a serious one. There was still one thing you were confused about. I wasn't the why you had to do it, because this was understandable, a town without color? That must be terrible! It wasn't how long you had to do this, because you probably had plenty of time to bring some color to the town, but it was this:
"Why did you choose me?" You ask, only realizing after you said it that the question slipped out of your mouth without your permission, like a sly fox who tricked you into drinking poisoned water, or a slithery snake that slipped out of your grip.
"Why?" Your manager quoted you, standing up from his seat, putting his hooves onto the desk and leaning in close to you, giving you a sinister stare, "I chose you because you are the most trustworthy Pegasus in this whole factory. Pop quiz: how many Rainbow related incidents have happened all across Equestria since you started working here?"
You gulp. You close your eyes and think back. You started working at the facility so long ago... But recalled... Something.... You open your eyes.
"Uhm, two?" You say, unsure of yourself, clamping your eyes shut, preparing for the worst.
"That's right, two. Question two, no pun intended, why did these incidents happen?"
You think back again, and things became more clear.
"The first one happened during my first week, when I was still a rookie checker. The second time one happened was when I was sick, so I was really out of it that day," you say, more sure of yourself this time.
"Yes... That's right. And, has one happened ever since?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow at you, leaning in closer.
"No," you state, pure confidence in every aspect your voice.
"Correct. Everypony that works in the facility trusts you to make sure the Rainbows are perfect. In fact, the whole fate of the factory rests on your wingtips, and you need to be able to balance it all the while, to make sure we don't end up in flames."
You gulp. You hadn't looked at your simple job at that perspective before. Everypony... Counting on you... The fate rests on you... That's a lot to take in.
"So," Cole says, leaning back in his chair, pressing his forehooves together and closing his eyes, "Do you know understand the main reason why I've chosen you?"
Your heart stops, "There's MORE!?"
"Hey hey hey, calm down! The last reason is very simple, but I'm gonna keep it a surprise," your manager says, giving you a playful wink. Now you were completely confused. Your face turns to one of complete confusion, and your manager bursts out laughing.
"Ohh, your face! Your face! It's beautiful! AHHAHAHHAAAAAAA!!!!" Your manager says, causing your face to turn red from embarrassment.
"So was that last reason a lie?" You ask, looking up to Cole, giving him a questioning face.
He manages to calm down enough to say, "No. That last reason is real all right. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you have all the time in the world to do this assignment. Just don't finish it with your dying breath, okay?" Cole says, chuckling lightly soon after. "Oh yeah, the town is located west of Canterlot, a rock farm its main attraction."
"Okay, sir. I won't let you down!" You say, getting a face of determination.
"Now, go home and pack all the things you need for a long term stay. That is, if you're planning to stay long term," he winks at you again.
"Thanks, Cole." You smile at him before leaving the room. You navigate through the factory, exit, and fly home. You get everything you need for a trip away from home: toothbrush, a phone, a comb, an old family picture, as well as a snack or two. You stick these in your Rainbow colored saddlebags (props to the factory for giving that to you) and look at yourself in the mirror.
"My journey starts today. And I will not fail." You smile at the mirror as determination fills every aspect of your appearance. You go outside, lock your home, stick your keys into your saddlebags, and fly off to Canterlot before turning west.
Your body filled with determination, you were ready for this mission.
You were heading west a long time, so much so that you were struggling to stay awake. Your head kept drooping down and your eyelids kept falling, but your determination was still at large. But, then again, it was slowly withering get way, even as a small town with a rock farm to the side comes into view. Wait...
"There it is!" You shout triumphantly, speeding up your pace. You didn't notice how low you got as you tried not to fall asleep, so you accidentally landed face-first in a tall tree. After you get your face off of the cartoonishly sticky tree, you shake your head and say to yourself, "I have to remember to look where I'm going." After that little accident, you continue to your destination, observing the surroundings in front of you instead of behind you this time. As you do a quick fly-by of the town, you realized that your manager wasn't joking when he said that the place was devoid of color.
"Wow... Everything looks so lifeless," you say to yourself as you slowly land by the edge of the rock farm located to the side of the town. You start looking around, turning away from the small house at the one end of the rock farm. You take in all the dead trees, no sign of green plant life in sight. How do these ponies get their food? The don't have any crops, so, do they export it all? you randomly thought, feeling a small sadness wash over you as you turn back to the small house, only to see a gray mare with a straight, purple mane in front of you. You scream out of surprise, standing up on your hindlegs before falling over onto your back.
"Hello," she says in a completely emotionless and monotone voice. You wriggle onto your stomach before standing back up and shaking yourself off, much like a dog does after having a swim.
"Uh.. Hi," you say, looking down on yourself and wiping away any stray dirt left on your slightly rainbow specked coat. As you look up, your heart stops. The mare looked beautiful; her perfectly straight mane, her amazing eyelashes, heck, even the sweater she's wearing. You stare into her beautiful light turquoise eyes, and you can't look away. There was something about them that made you all fuzzy inside, and you hate the feeling, but simultaneously love it.
"Are you okay?" She asks, her voice deadpan. Your brain registers what she said a few seconds after she said it, and you start blushing from embarrassment before nodding like crazy.
"Okay. Welcome to Rockville. It has rocks. You're on a rock farm. I'm Maud Pie. My father owns the farm, but my sister runs it. Want me to show you around?" She says. You shake your head again, only to get you out of your trance. This time, your head started to hurt slightly, so you slightly regretted shaking your head more than you needed to. You clear your throat before saying a squeaking out a quiet, "Yes please."
"Okay. Follow me." She starts walking away from where she was before to show you around the strangely gray town. You quickly follow behind, and, as she talks about the town, you can't help but take in everything about her. Her coat; her mane; her cutie mark; and her eyes. Those brilliant eyes.
"And over there is the rock museum. It has the most famous rocks in the history of Equestria. Say, I didn't catch your name," she says, her voice unchanging, stopping in her tracks. You stop beside her, and look down to the ground beneath your hooves.
"I... I don't have a name. I was abandoned as a foal. But, from then on, I was determined to do my best. I made a few friends when I was at flight school. Thank goodness flight school is free, then I would have been screwed," you say, chuckling after that remark," A few years later, I trained to work at the Rainbow Factory. And then, I got the job as a Rainbow Checker. Which gave me the nickname Checker." Maud didn't interrupt once during your small story, even sitting down and nodding her head as you went along.
"So, just call me Checker, I guess," you say, shrugging you shoulders. Maud gets back to her hooves and nods.
"Okay, Checker." Her voice stays deadpan. You feel saddened to see such a beautiful mare so, well... colorless. You had to help the town somehow. You look around to the homes and small businesses that surround you, and see a few other ponies like Maud Pie walking around lazily, like there is no hope for them to see a brighter day. You look back to Maud, and see her looking at you with a bored expression on her face. At least, you thought she looked bored. But, as you basked in her beauty once again, you realized something...
Is she the surprise reason my manager was talking about?
"So, Checker," Maud says, looking at you, her voice as expressionless as ever, "Why did you come to Rockville?" You think back to the letter in the mail as well as your meeting with the manager. You now know that he wasn't kidding about this place needing some color... It was just so lifeless, it was saddening to see.
"My manager entrusted me with bringing some co—"
"Stop right there. You should go home. We have all the color we need," she interrupts, her voice unchanging. You look around again, and see many ways to disagree with her.
"Nope, looks pretty devoid to me," you say, looking around the town as you say it.
"Okay Checker. If you really want to try, you can stay at my house." You blush at her suggestion, knowing that being at her house is being in her privacy, and you both just met. No, no. Don't think like that. I just stay professional. "I doubt the ponies of this town will cooperate anyway." Your blush fades at her statement, and a slight twang of hope is lost in your soul. You slouch slightly, thinking about what she just said. But, then you remembered; you are the most trusted Pegasus in the facility. Your manager trusts you to bring color to this town, and, by Celestia, you were not gonna let him down!
"No." You say it firmly, standing up tall.
"Excuse me?" Even though the question is usually said with some amount of emotion, Maud somehow managed to make it deadpan.
"No," you repeat, looking her straight in the eye. "I'll make these ponies cooperate, and I'll let them witness true color!" You shout triumphantly, causing a few raised eyebrows and stares from some of the ponies viewing the scene.
A TRUE TRUE FRIEND HELPS A FRIEND IN NEED, A FRIEND WILL BE THERE TO HELP THEM SEEEEE!!!!!
You blush as the song starts playing. "Oh, for crying out loud!" You take off your saddlebags and start digging through one, trying desperately in vain to find your phone.
A TRUE TRUE FRE-END HELPS A FRIEND IN NEED, TO SEE THE LIIIGGGHHHHTTT THAT SHINES FROM A TRUE TRUEEEE FRIIIEEEENNDDDD!!!!!!
You pull out your phone, and a few gasps were heard from the ponies around you. You quickly answer the call to stop your ringtone (a bad cover by you of a True True Friend) and bring it up to your ear.
"H-hello?" You say into the phone, sweating nervously, your eyes darting about everywhere.
Hey, buddy! How are ya? I didn't catch you at work. Where are you?
"Oh, Rae-Rae! Now's a bad time!" You say through clenched teeth to your work buddy.
Why? Are you sick? Hanging out with a long lost family member? On a special assignment?
"YES!!!" You shout into the phone, causing some of the surrounding ponies to whisper to each other and give you suspicious looks. You look to Maud, lower the phone for a minute and chuckle nervously while holding up one hoof to say, "give me a minute, please." She nods, and sits down.
Oh, which one? Sick? Family member? Special Assign—
"SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT!!!!"
Oh, I'm sorry. I'll let you get back to it. Byeeeeeeeee!
You hear a beep at the other end and let out a satisfied sigh. You put your phone back in your saddlebags and let out a long breath.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Friends from work, yknow?" You say, trying to be smooth, despite your sudden outburst with Liquified Rainbow.
"I don't have friends from work. Just rocks," Maud says, getting up. "Let me show you to my house." She starts walking towards the rock farm you landed at. On the way back, you thought about your feelings for Maud.
Is she really who I'll ultimately end up being in a couple with? But... I'm a pony who's seen true color, yet she hasn't. Maybe that's one of the things I admire about her? No, it can't be. I've always lived in a world of immense color, yet she must've always lived in grayscale. I have to share my gift with her. you look up to her, and take in her colorless features. Maybe... If I show her true color, she'll become happier; actually express emotion? You smile slightly at that thought. Maud stops suddenly, but you didn't notice it, so you walk straight into her. When your brain registers what happened, you blush, apologize profusely, and step a good amount away so that you're out of her personal area.
"We're here," she says, completely unaware of you're little accident. You look up to her house: a small home, and it fits in perfectly with the whole 'rock farm' thing. You look around again, and see a giant egg-shaped Rock. Your mouth forms in a perfect 'o' and you slowly walk up to it. You were in complete awe; not only at its massive size, but also at its perfect egg shape. You slowly bring up a hoof, and slowly reach out to touch it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Limestone gets brutal when it comes to ponies touching Holder's Boulder." You quickly bring your hoof back in,mane turn around to see Maud watching you. "You might as well consider yourself dead if you lay a hair on it." You gulp and say, "I'll keep that in mind."
"Come with me," Maud says, leading you back to her house. You follow her, and she opens up the door.
"Checker, met my family." She motions to four ponies standing behind the door.
"I am Igneous Rock Pie. I welcome the to thine humble abode," the only stallion in the family says, having a straight face all the while.
"And I'm Cloudy Quartz," the older mare with her mane in a bun says, some small glasses resting on her muzzle.
"I'm Limestone! I run this farm. And if you even think about touching Holder's Boulder.." A grayish-blue mare with a light bluish-gray mane says, walking up to you and giving you the evil eye. Her stare is so intense it would be enough to make an entire army flinch. You gulp and start sweating as she finishes, "Consider it to be your end."
"My other sister is Marble. We mostly do the talking for her," Maud says, pointing to the last pony in the room; a mare with a long mare that covers most of her face, who quickly shrinks once your attention was brought to her.
"I have another sister. Her name is Pinkie. She lives in Ponyville," Maud says, walking in. You follow closely behind.
"Oh, you mean Pinkie Pie? As in, the most famous party planner in Equestria? I've heard of her," you say, looking at at each member of the dull family before looking back to Maud Pie.
"Yeah. That's her. Let me show you your room," She says, walking up some stairs near the front door. Before you follow, you're stopped by Limestone.
"Just because you've been invited into my home doesn't mean you have the 'okay' for you to go for me or my sisters. Especially Marble... Touch one of us, and consider it your end, got it?" There's that intense stare again. You gulp again, and nod your head crazily.
"Good." She says, walking away from her and walking into a different room, followed by the rest of the family. You shakily trot up the stairs after that close encounter, nearly stumbling once or twice due to your legs giving out. You just manage to catch up with Maud, though, and see her waiting patiently for you.
"Here's your room. Get comfortable. We'll be having dinner soon." You nod and she leaves, leaving you to your own devices. You look around the room, and smile slightly. Hmm, cozy. you put down your saddlebags and take out what you took, putting them in what you thought were the necessary places to put them. Just before you put down your phone on the bed-side table, you stop and think. Maybe I should leave it in my bag. The ponies around here acted weirdly when I pulled it out, what if they find it and freak out? Yeah, I'd better keep it in my bag. After preventing a small disaster, you hang your saddlebags on a coat rack that was conveniently hanging around. You smile contentedly and trot down the stairs, looking around until you walked into the dining room.
"You came just in time for dinner. Have fun trying to eat it with your softie Pegasus teeth," Limestone taunts, smiling at you evilly as you take a seat. You gulp for the third time this chapter, and sweat nervously.
"Limestone!" Cloudy says, appalled, "is that how we treatest thine guests?" Even though Igneous was sitting at the table, he didn't bother trying to stop what was unfolding.
"Ugh, sorry," Limestone says, grumpy.
Maud and Marble walk in, Maud carrying a big bowl of soup, your were presuming, and Marble carrying six bowls, both on their backs. Maud sets the bowl on the table, and Marble puts a bowl in front of the ponies seated at the table, putting two in front of two empty seats for herself and her sister. Maud goes around with a spoon, pouring soup into everypony's bowl, including yours. As she turned away, she lifted up her tail and let it go under your chin, causing you to blush hard at the very flirty (and silky) moment. It's like she knew of your crush. Limestone raises an agitated eyebrow at you two, and you could already see your life flashing in front of your eyes. But, she doesn't do anything, instead looks at you, waiting for you to try the soup. Marble and Maud sit down in unison, and all the members of the family that are currently present all wait for you to try.
You look down to the meal, not knowing what it was until now. Your eyes are met with boiling green liquid, small rock chunks riddled throughout.
"Uhm, what is this?" You ask, bringing up a hoof and pointing to the soup. You didn't mean to be rude, but were they actually expecting you to eat it? Rocks included?
"It's Rock-a-Bet Soup. Like Alphabet soup, but with rocks." Maud looks over to you, not a single change in her... Well, everything.
"Well? Try it!" Limestone says, giving you a demonic look.
You look down to the boiling mixture of solid and liquid and take a deep breath. You gain enough confidence in yourself to go down and take a sip, letting the soup fill your mouth. Despite the fact that it looked like it was boiling, it was actually a pleasant temperature. It also had a moderately good taste. You swallow, and are surprised by the fact that you didn't even feel the rocks go down your throat.
"Hey, this isn't that bad!" You say, leaning back down for another sip. Again, it was a pleasant temperature and moderately good.
"HUH?" Limestone says, confused by the fact that you weren't completely disgusted by the food. You finish your soup quickly, and hold out your bowl and say, "Seconds, please!" Maud obliges, grabbing the spoon in between her teeth and pouring more of the soup into your bowl. You enjoy that bowl too, and after that you were full, leaving Limestone flabbergasted.
"Ahh, that was wonderful! Thank you to the chef," Marble shies away slightly, giving you the idea that she was the cook, "Can I depart from the family's wonderful company?" Hey, it always pays to be polite. And that was something you seemed to be very good at.
"Yes, you may," Igneous says, waving you off with a hoof. You give a little bow to the parents, and trot back up to your room.
What a day! I'm ready to hit the hay. Hey! That rhymed, heh. so it did, so it did. You flop onto your bed, and pull the blanket over you. The area is actually a lot colder at night. You fall asleep in a matter of minutes, a content smile adorning your face.
You wake up to the peaceful sound of some birds tweeting, having a conversation only they could understand. You open your eyes, and see half of your body hanging off the bed.you turn over so that you're facing the wall closest to your bed, and you bring your body back onto the bed. You snuggle deeper into your bed and blanket, almost not wanting to open your eyes again. You hear hoofsteps coming from the stairs, and they slowly get louder as they get closer, like how a... Uh... Manticore rubs its belly! Yeah, that's... Totally.. A proper... Thing. Ahem.
As the hoofsteps grew louder, you snuggled into your bed even more and groaned unhappily, much like how a foal would when they don't want to get up for school in the morning. As the hoofsteps inevitably reached the top, AKA teh room you were in, you steeled yourself for the motherly voice you've dreamt about for so long.
"No, mom.... Just five more... Minutes..." You say, hoping that your mom wouldn't throw off your blanket in a silly attempt to get you out of bed.
"We're having breakfast soon. Get up or you'll miss it," you hear a deadpan voice say, completely unlike the voice you've dreamt about for so long. Your eyes snap open immediately, and you look over to the owner of the voice. You see Maud standing there, expressionless as always, obviously waiting for you to get out of bed to come join the family for breakfast. You shout out of surprise and fall out of the bed, landing on the hard wooden boards beneath. You land on one of the most sensitive parts of your body; a wing. This is unfortunate, due to the fact that wings are very fragile; mare's wings more so than stallions. But, that still doesn't mean stallion's wings aren't sensitive. You even heard once that princess wings are the most fragile out of them all.
You shout out in pain as your wing gets caught under the weight of your body. You weren't that heavy, but you weren't that light either. So, you felt your wing get crushed; you swear you heard the bones breaking. So, you quickly turn over and examine your wing. Many feathers stood out of place; some even broken in half. You felt pain when you tried to fold your wing back in place, so you groan because of it, and you sigh unhappily.
"Great... Now I can't fly for a while..." during the hassle, you had completely forgotten about the fact that Maud was still there, watching the ordeal. Well, nopony can blame you, your wings were the things that made a Pegasus a Pegasus. Your knowledge of Maud being there was thrown out the window after your little fall. You carefully get up, making sure not to brush your still outstretched and now injured wing against your bed.
"Hey, let me see that." You jump out of surprise at the voice of the mare present. This caused your wing to rub ferociously against the wall, so you scream out in pain. The pain seemed like too much, and you could feel tears welling up in your eyes. You didn't bother trying to stop them, and you let them flow out while the pain slowly subsided.
"Calm down, it's alright." Maud's voice was gentle, caring, compassionate, yet, she still managed to maintain the deadpan-ness for the most part. You close your eyes and sob, frustrated about how the morning has been, no matter how little time you've been awake so far. Your eyes open up when you feel hooves and legs wrap around your neck. You see purple, and you recognize it to be Maud's mane, and you instantly start blushing, and you subconsciously gain a cute surprised face. Her touch is so gentle, and her mane is so silky. Her forelegs around you create a warmth; not the horrible unwelcoming warmth, but, a calming warmth that soothes you to the very core. Maud shifts her position, and you feel a pressure by the base of your wing. I... Is she massaging my wing? you Blush even harder at the thought.
You feel her delicately examine your wing, making sure not to be rough with it as not to hurt you even more. Her gentle touch soothes you, and you smile happily and close your eyes as she continued her examination. She carefully folds your wing back to the side, managing not to hurt you in the process.
"You won't be able to fly with this one for about a week. Just be sure not to move it, or it will be really painful." Your eyes open up with that, and you gain a saddened look when she pulls away.
"Uhm... Thank you," you quietly say, looking to the floor. Your face was still burning with a bright red blush, and it was starting to make you sweat.
"Maud! Darling, breakfast! Get down here!" Cloudy Quartz calls down from the room below, a slight hint of impatience in her tone.
"Coming, ma," Maud calls down in a way that seems more like muttering. You get to your hooves, and follow the mare you loved so. She pateintly walks down the wtairs and heads in to the room you were called into. You and Maud walk in to see bowls practically filled to the brim with rocks. You see Limestone staring at you with the most demonic look you've ever seen.
"Hey! I made this meal, so, have fun with it!" Limestone says evilly as you take a seat. Her tone sends shivers down your spine as she says, "Its Rock Cereal. Have fun eating it!" You look down to the bowl before you, and gulp. Qt further inspection, the rock cereal isnt actually just rocks. It also had water, and that's what the rocks were floating in, causing the bowl to look like it was filled to the brim. Wait... How can rocks float?
"I'm pretty sure I can eat this," you say casually, smirking at Limestone. You bring your muzzle down to the bowl, sip up some of the rock and water, casually letting it fill your mouth. Unfortunately for you, the rocks were too big to swallow, so, you had to take extreme action! Taking in a deep breathe, you begin to start chewing on the rocks.
Well, you tried to.
Your teeth were having a tough time breaking through the rock, and you felt like you were going to lose all of your teeth by chewing them. So, you try to swallow the 'food' in your mouth in small bits, though, you did struggle getting each batch down your esophagus. You see Limestone smirk out the corner of your eye, and you quickly decide to finish you mouthful. Tears were gathering in the corners of your eyes when you finished, and you felt really relieved that that horrible experience was over.
"Well, that breakfast was really nice and all, but, I, ah... Need to do something! Yeah, that's, totally... What I... Ahem," you say, before quickly running off to your room, to try and recover from the horrible breakfast experience you just had. You fell onto your bed, and didn't even bother to change your position after falling onto it. Quickly feeling tired, you just closed your eyes and rolled with it.
You were asleep until about noon, and it was one of the best naps you've ever had, and you haven't had a lot. You woke up because of some loud rqpping at the front door of the house, and, you felt inside that the pony wanting to get in was going to break down the door. You groaned before sitting up in your bed, pressing your forehooves against your back and strestcing it out. You smack your lips before rearing up onto the ground and landing on all fours. You groggily walk down the stairs, happy that you were able to hold onto the barrier that seperated you from the small fall below. You wouldn't be able to help yourself due to your wing, and, you were still groggy as all heck.
You see Limestone get to the door before you, and you see a pink pony with a poofy pink mane and tail standing outside with a genuine smile. She looks... kind of familiar. The mare hopped in and hugged an irritated Limestone, who pushed away instantly and grunted, "Not when others are watching, Pinkie!"
You mouth the name as you process it, and a confused look crosses your face for a second before you realize who this mare is.
You trot down the remainder of the stairs and she notices you almost instantly. She waves at you energetically, "Hi there! Who are you?"
"I'm Checker," you state, reaching out your hoof to the mare. "Are you the mare known as Pinkie Pie?"
She gasped, bringing a hoof up to her mouth, "Are you psyichic?"
You chuckle. "No, but I have heard Rainbow Dash talking about you. I think I saw you passing through the Rainbow Factory once, sometime around the Young Fliers competition, but, I'm unsure," you state, running a hoof through your mane.
"Oh! What did Dashie say about me??" she asked, her energy seeming to make you energetic inside as well.
"She said that you were the best party planner in Equestria, of course!" you say matter-of-factly, giving her a wink and a swing of your arm, as if you were doing a salespony slogan. Pinkie gasped, and smiled widely. Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock was walking towards the entrance area, presumably to greet their daughter. But where is Maud?
The thought went right out of the window when you saw her enter after the pink pony, and you breathe out a sigh of relief. Maud looked the same as she always did: monotone yet still beautiful. Pinkie hugged her older sister before the parents spoke up.
"Dear Pinkamena, what brings you back home?" Igneous asked, giving Pinkie a worried look. Pinkie's happy smile was replaced with one of stress.
"A lot of stressful things have happened lately at Ponyville: a whole lot of orders have come in, way too many for the Cakes and I to finish quickly. And, another thing... my crush has lost his memory and now thinks he's a baby. I've been taking care of him but the stress is just.. Aghfjdkkfll." Pinkie slumps down onto the floor and stares at it sadly, her hair drooping slightly. Your face goes to one of concern and sympathy, and Maud is quick to give Pinkie a hug.
"Pinkamena, have you forgotten about the Choosing Stone? You haven't used it, have you?" Igneous asked, truly worried about his daughter.
"Uh.. I don't think so?" She replied, unsure of herself. You did not expect to see that.
"Pinkamena, we have much to discuss over lunch. Come along, family, time for lunch!" The father calls out as he starts walking toward the dining room. Maud lets go of Pinkie, and the rest of the family follows. You follow after them, but the dining room door slams shut just before you enter. You stare at the door with a face that says, "What the heck?" Before you knock on the door to ask to let you in, the door opens a crack an d'you see a small amount of Igneous, who glares at you. He says sternly, "Family discussion," before slamming the door again.