A stone's throw

Bleak, dismal.... boring. Pinkie-pie scuffed a hoof against the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dingy gray dust and particles of stone. She'd been so enthralled with getting a cutie mark, with discovering her special talent was spreading happiness... but it had all ended so quickly.  After the celebration she had thrown to surprise and delight her sisters and parents, everything simply went back to the way it was, only now she was a pink spot newly decorated amid the shades of gray of her life. Her mother and father had returned to their daily grind of hauling stone and she and her sisters were delegated to the smaller fields where the rocks were only half their already minuscule size.

“I want to play....” She mumbled to herself, plucking at her explosive curls of hair with a hoof and snorting noisily.

“Pinkie!” She heard her sister Inkie call out in dismay. “Hurry up, I don't want to have to be out here all day.” Pinkie bobbed her head quickly, Inkie was always the most abrupt of them, and the strongest of the triplicate. Blinkie was the pretty one, and Pinkie was well... pink. Pinkie glanced back at her current quarry and sighed, it was heavy... but they all were, heavy, gray blocks that weighed down her body and her mood. Why didn't anypony want to have another break of the monotony and have some fun?

Day passed to night and quite exhausted Pinkie wandered back to the family home, trailing in the wake of her sisters... how did they always have so much energy? It seemed like they were growing stronger lately and her own stamina was waning, especially lately.

“Hey Pinkie.” Blinkie Pie lagged a bit until she was walking at an even pace with her sister. “Want to play Dragon Tile?” Pinkie's head dropped low as she shook it from side to side, she really wasn't in the mood, or rather she was... but she was too tired and she just wanted to sleep.

“Sorry Blinkie, maybe tomorrow.” Blinkie eyed Pinkie oddly but Pinkie didn't notice her sister pause as she continued inside. Maybe tomorrow things would be a bit brighter, maybe the grays wouldn't be so... so gray...