i felt like the old ref pic i had for this trio needed updating. some of my old refs were really lazy like god damn. also its nearly two years old h  
 
i also wanted to make a few tweaks to the story. atm theyre minor but i am considering overhauling more  
anyway yuuuh get into it
 

 
The marriage between Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz was very much arranged. Igneous was due to inherit his mothers rock farm, and his father (a man of tradition, as was igneous) saw it fit that he should have a wife and children to help with chores. The mare chosen was Cloudy Quartz - daughter of one of the rock farms important business traders.
 
There was a concerning age gap between the two, with Cloudy in her early twenties and Igneous reaching his late thirties, but regardless the marriage went ahead - and not long after the wedding, Cloudy was pregnant with their first foal.
 
The pair had two daughters together, Maud Pie and Limestone Pie. (more pie sister info here) - and from the outside, everything seemed fairly normal.  
But it ykno. definitely wasn’t.
 
Igneous was a sour, strict man. His rules were harsh and he was incredibly controlling of what his wife could and couldn’t do. As said, he was a man of traditional beliefs, and it was very clear he thought Cloudy’s place was to be his dutiful housewife, bear his children, keep her head down, etc.  
But Cloudy detested this. She was married in incredibly young, and pregnant incredibly young. She never got to fully live her life, to be recklless or to just, yknow, exist and make mistakes. This, on top of Igneous’ controlling nature, left her forever unfullfilled and unhappy in her marriage.
 
There was one thing that Cloudy did have to enjoy, to cling onto. Though Igneous preferred her on the farm most of the time, he’d allow her, once or mouth, to go on an out of town trip to collect essential supplies for the farm. This, finally, gave Cloudy some small sense of freedom, and an escape from farm life, and a chance to explore without her husband holding onto her.
 
It was on one of these trips that Cloudy met Sky Skipper - a reckless, couch surfing mare. Though she found her rude and ignorant at first, Skipper (forever the “player” in her mind) was determined to change her mind. And she did - with just one night of exploring the city, being reckless, and enjoying herself, Cloudy was sold.  
She came back frequently, often convincing Igneous to let her go on these trips more often than once a month. Every time, Cloudy would arrange to meet up with Skipper, and they would spend the night together.
 
She loved Skipper, a lot. And it seemed like Skipper did too. Skipper knew Cloudy was married with children, and knew that her home life wasn’t happy - but when Cloudy would suggest the two of them run away from it together, she’d always brush it off and insist it wouldn’t work. Skipper did love her, it was just…. she’s pretty adverse to comittment in most forms, and the idea of running off to settle down somewhere was pretty uninviting to her. at the time, at least. She just wanted to stay in this casual, on and off setting for as long as she could… And, well, Cloudy supposed she did as well.
 
But uh oh!
 
Cloudy found herself unexpectedly pregnant - with no doubt in her mind that it was Skipper’s child, not Igneous’. She knew Skipper was adverse to the idea of running off with her, and out of fear and guilt for the affair she was having, decided that this was the time to end it. She couldn’t hide it from her husband anymore.
 
She stopped visiting, refused contact with Skipper, and eventually broke the news of her pregnancy to Igneous. He believed that the baby was his, and thought her reckless for letting this happen - but regardless, preparations were made, and for the length of the pregnancy he seemed satisfied, normal, and ready for another hand around the farm.
 
But then Pinkie Pie is born. Bright pink. Very much not his daughter, and he knew it. He never spoke of it, not directly, but held it heavily over Cloudy’s head, and refused to give any kind of love to Pinkie.
 
There was definitely a change in mood on the rock farm that day. Igneous grew much more sour and stricter, while Cloudy more absent and distant, a shell of who she was. Not long after the birth of Pinkie, in an attempt to recontrol his marriage, Igneous insisted that they try for another child. Cloudy went along with it, and soon, Marble was born - their youngest daughter (in this au marble and pinkie arent twins. just so this can work lol).
 
Marble was Igneous’ precious daughter. She was secretly his favourite, and he poured the majority of his love and attention into her. He loved Maud and Limestone too, but Marble held a special place in his heart.  
Pinkie absolutely did not. He was cold to her, hard on her, made her do the most chores. He resents her and everything that she stands for, and he was by no account going to raise this child. With Cloudy distant most days too, this left Pinkie largely alone, no loving parental figures, and only her sisters for love and support.
 
Pinkie grew up never knowing about Skipper, and it wasn’t until Igneous’ that Cloudy ever came out with the truth to her kids. Pinkie, now with a reason for her troubled childhood, feels compelled to go on a journey to find Skipper.
 

 
I’ve been asked a few times whether or not if Cloudy had told Skipper she was pregnant, if Skipper and Cloudy would raise her together and be “happy” elsewhere… And like thats def a lil AU (an au of an au lol) i want to look at a bit, I think realistically Skipper would bolt as soon as Cloudy tells her.  
I want to establish that like… Skipper is not perfect. she’s intensely afraid of commitment, and Cloudy running off with her isnt neccessarily the best thing for her. Both situations would leave her incredibly stuck…. and instead of risking heartbreak with Skipper, she chose to cut things off before she could and stay with Igneous.
 
anyway oop. I did this because i needed something to relax working on over the weekend, and ive felt super like. unmotivated with this arc. but this is sorta giving it a new life in my brain and i have new ideas i wanna try so! yay. im sorta conscious of the fact last time i drew something for this arc was liiiike nearly a year ago? and u kno. big oof.