Equestria Shorts

A Day in the Rock Farm

By

RDK

The story on a rock farm where nothing ever happens except work, work, work.  To be honest, the Pie family has been quite content on this kind of living, unlike Diane Pie, the rest just wanted to make a living working and living on the fruits of their labor, nothing could be better.  Well, that being that it was only their father who had that mindset as the rest of Pinkie's siblings would rather take something else that life would throw at them than having to turn rocks everyday.  Inkie went straight to the shower while Blinkie sat on a chair in the kitchen, laying her head on the table with an audible thud.  Today was the last day of harvest, and that meant the biggest boulders had to be decimated within the few weeks before said harvest was done with.  At this time, their father was very demanding, and his back was getting more troublesome for him to do most of said work.

Wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep.  Every day.  All year long.

Blinkie was beginning to wonder if she had joined Pinkie into a journey far away from the farm, but her sense of responsibility was higher than the pink hued sibling, and thus decided to stay behind.  Inkie had been gone as well, deciding to pursue study on a field of her choosing at the Academy of Earth Ponies in Hoofington, but would visit when said harvest was being done as stated, their father need them the most due to his aging body.  That was nice, but it was getting too monotonous.  Blinkie looked at the window contemplating Celestia's sun going under the horizon as Luna's moon was rising on the other side.  It was something to contemplate while her aching tired body stopped protesting at least.  It was not too long before her eyelids felt heavier than usual, and she began dozing off.  Within seconds she was snoring out loud, so loud that something got its attention.  That something peered through the glass of said window, blinking its yellow eyes at the light grey pony snoozing away her tiredness, watching as a sliver of drool escaped her mouth.  It kept being as such for a couple of minutes, those eyes....transfixed on her snoring.  Watching.

The door to the kitchen drew opened and said eyes were gone, hiding away as they saw Inkie coming back inside, a towel on her shoulders and some water still dripping from her mane.  She looked in disdain at Blinkie, and tapped on the chair, waking the tired sleepy sister up.  Blinkie blinked and stretched, complaining of her bad posture while she took her powernap.  She stared at Inkie who stared back, then at the pots on the stove.  Blinkie nodded and head over, preparing tonight's dinner.  As Inkie prepared the dishes setting them on said table, Blinkie opened the cupboard, taking out the seasonings to prepare their meal.  Tonight was their father's favorite, Grind Soup, with a dash of redstone pepper.  She reached to get the ground pepper can in the far corner of the cupboard, just about to get it when Inkie told her about not making said soup too spicy for the sake of their father's sensible stomach nowadays.  Blinkie turned her head to acknowledge Inkie's advise when a small critter scurried near the can of said spice.  It had two heads, one peering at the pony while the other stared at her hoof, reaching the spice.  It blinked its four eyes putting two and two together, then pushed the redstone pepper for her to reach it.  When Blinkie turned her attention back to the cupboard she noticed it was now within reach more than before, but didn't bother to notice.  She also failed to notice the critter that was already long gone, its tiny feet getting inside a crack of the old wooden cupboard.

All did not matter much to the Pie sisters if they have noticed, for dinner was being prepared.  The sound of the front door opening announcing the arrival of their parents, the sisters hug and kiss them both, Inkie taking her father's hat and setting it aside while Blinkie sets the chairs for both mother and father to sit and begin to enjoy their evening meal.  As their father steps to sit, he passes over a small rolling ball which passes by as it were of no circumstance.  It bounces off a wall and then the bookshelf, making no more noise than what a pebble would on a window, a sound lost within the chatter and the joyful talk of the Pie family.  It finally rolls away into a mouse hole on another wall, then it simply ceases to make any significant noise.  Before they begin to feast, the father asks to pray at the table, thanking the royal sisters for a bountiful day and harvest.  All while their eyes close deep in prayer, an arachnid lowers itself using its own pink colored webbing past the ear of the father, then lands all the way down on the floor as the family all say their thanks and resume by starting to eat.  Now a family would chat while eating, sharing their experiences and how their day have been going, but the Pie family has been brought up exceptionally, no talking until dinner is done with.  Said silence is golden to their father, and then abruptly stopped as a thunderous knock on their door is heard.  He looks up at Inkie, who then blinks and excuses herself to see who is the one interrupting their dinner and what business they could possible bring at this hour.  A shadow passes by and disappears to the next room as she opens the door through the kitchen and into the living room, she continues heading towards the front door without ever noticing what just passed by before she opened said door.  Just as she opens the front door it slams open, a pink blur pinning her down and giggling like a mad intern at the asylum.  Inkie opens her eyes feeling dazed at the abrupt pounce, to see a pair of blue eyes lost in a sea of vivid pink colors, a gigantic smile showing teeth of white down at her.  Her sister, Pinkamena Diane Pie.  Inkie resist the urge to protest at how she was just treated, an enormous feel of happiness overwhelming her as she hugs her sister.  Pinkie Pie hugs back and even more so, exclaiming how much she has missed visiting her family at the farm.  Later their father opens the kitchen door to see why Inkie was taking so long, a smile etching on his wrinkled lips as he sees his third and youngest daughter coming for a visit.  Pinkie is brought to the table at the kitchen, just in time to eat as she hugs Blinke and their mother.  She happily states in a toss of confetti that she brought a cake along for dessert, compliments of the Cake family back in Ponyville where she currently lives, and sets it aside until they all finished their meal, for even when Pinkie loves to be random, knows how much is important to respect her father's rules at the table.  She like her sisters, loves him dearly so.

As they finish the meal and cake is served, all rules of no talking are closed, and her father joyfully asks what has become of her lately.  Pinkie gladly obliges, if only her sisters speak of first what they been doing while in her absence.  As they talk, Pinkie suddenly turns her head staring directly at the window where the preying eyes once looked at Blinkie, staring straight at them as suddenly her face grows serious.  The being known it has been spotted, disappears in a puff of smoke, not to be seen at all after the family cheerful session.  

Pinkie is brought to her old room where she and her sisters shared since childhood, and the rolling ball simply gets squashed under her hoof, not being able to avoid it.  As they say their good nights to their parents, they close the door and Pinkie bounces on her old bed, remarkably still being able to fit on it despite her adult frame.  They chat the night away and the arachnid comes down once more to wander unseen, only this time Pinkie swats it with a flyswatter coming out of her mane and as it was meant, unseen by her sisters while said creature is splattered and tossed away forgotten.  They all take turns in going to the bathroom one last time before turning for bed, Pinkie being offered the first and reaching the toothpaste inside the bathroom's shelf, knocking away the two headed creature which happened to pass by, sending it to his doom as it splashes inside the toilet.  Pinkie looking down simply flushes it away, just something needed to be rid off.  After they all turn in finally, Pinkie opens her eyes to see the shadow which passed by the kitchen's door earlier, its featureless face glaring down at her.  She smiles.

"You can't haunt us while I am here you know." she simply says, as the same time she told it when she discovered happiness after that fateful event when the famous rainbloom showed her the gift of laughter.  Defeated, the shadow shrinks until it disappears, not to ever been seen again.

Pinkie Pie takes a deep, pleasant breath as she once again goes to sleep, knowing what to tell Luna in her dreams now that Laughter has once again been brought to the Pie's residence at the Rock Farm.

THE END