Reticence

by Fire Gazer the Alchemist

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Limestone Pie, Slice of Life, Colgate, Marble Pie
Length: 61804

Marble Pie is forced to hold a conversation with a cute stranger. It's basically her worst nightmare.

While visiting Canterlot with Limestone, Marble runs into an energetic pony who could match her twin in cheerfulness. And she's cute. And wants to talk to her. And cute.

Naturally, Marble explodes from shyness.

Pre-read by: Timaeus
Ch. 1 Audio Reading by TheCaptainSand - Scarlett Blade

Published 2016-01-05 20:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-02-09 03:53:37 UTC

Shy Pie and the Cute One

Marble Pie shrouded her face behind her mane, refusing to glimpse at the outside world unless it was pleasantly obscured by hundreds of gray hairs. She’d only just stepped off the train and into Canterlot and she hated it.

It was so loud. From the whistle of the parked locomotive to the tidal wave of background chatter from dozens—dozens—of ponies flooding past her into the terminal. The stamping of hooves, the clacking of metal wheels on tracks, the hiss the doors made as they shut behind her… it was all just too much.

She wanted to be back on the rock farm, growing rocks, breaking them into smaller rocks and then hauling the smaller rocks across the field. There it was simple, quiet, lonely. All of the things Marble loved. But Canterlot was a whole other universe compared to her home and not in a good way.

“L-Limestone?” she whispered through her veil made of mane.

In front of her, her older sister stopped and whirled around, ears finely tuned to detect the soft sound of her voice. She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, sis?”

“I… wanna go home.”

Limestone Pie waited until the last of the exiting passengers passed her before taking a step closer. “Already? We’ve been here for two seconds, Marble.”

“I know,” she mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.

Limestone pressed her lips into a thin line, rolling her green irises to the ceiling and back. “Look, I don’t like being away from the farm either, but we have a job to do, okay? The sooner it's done the sooner we can leave.”

“Mmmhmm,” Marble replied, slipping into her defensive speaking habits.

Last week, their father had gotten a tip that a wealthy mining company based in Canterlot had been putting out feelers for any new product ideas. Seeing a chance to help keep the farm afloat, he’d decided to try pitching the rock candy recipe that Maud had created. Unfortunately with Maud returning to her university to continue her studies and Pinkie Pie being… never around, the duty had fallen to Limestone and Marble to travel to Canterlot and make the sales pitch.

Marble just wished she knew what she’d done to deserve such a punishment.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be in and out before you know it,” Limestone assured her.

“Mmmhmm,” Marble mumbled. She poked at the ground, but made no effort to continue into the hell that was undoubtedly Canterlot.

“Well come on then,” Limestone turned and started walking.

Marble adjusted her saddlebags, the rock candy inside clacking together, and rushed to her sister’s side. She didn’t want to get separated for an instant, fearing that she’d be swallowed up by the city otherwise.

They made their way out of the train station, Marble taking great care not to bump into anypony and Limestone taking great care not to care about bumping into ponies. Whenever she did the offender would earn themselves a heated glare that sent them scurrying in another direction, which was just fine by Marble. Less ponies coming her way was a good thing as far as she was concerned.

Unfortunately, the second they stepped outside she was bombarded by ponies in all directions. And she’d thought the train station was crowded. There must have been hundreds—nay, thousands—of ponies in the city alone and those were just the ones her mask of hair didn’t leave out. The streets were packed! Everywhere she looked ponies were shoulder to shoulder as they scuttled about.

Her years of reclusion on the farm made the scenario before her seem impossible. She knew a lot of ponies could fit into a town but she never knew this many could. Hustle and bustle the likes of which her worst nightmares couldn’t imagine must’ve been a daily occurrence here.

Marble’s heart stopped.

It started again, of course, the moment after her brain became unfried. Then it started beating double time, followed swiftly by hyperventilation. She’d been drifting deeper into new levels of uncomfortableness since stepping off the train, but now she was doing a ninety degree nosedive into distress.

Limestone sensed this shift in her demeanor and stopped. “Marble? You okay?”

“Mmm mmm.” She shook her head. Everything was decidedly not okay. In fact, it was about as far away from okay as you could possible be.

Limestone stopped walking and put her hoof on Marble’s shoulder. “You gonna live?”

“...” Marble genuinely didn’t know the answer to that. She probably wouldn’t die out of pure social anxiety, but she was a long way from stable.

Biting on her lip, Limestone looked around and pulled her sister off the crowded street and onto the grassy side where less Canterlotians bothered to travel. “Okay, look. I get it, all right? Big city, lots of ponies, it’s not your thing.”

Marble nodded along, agreeing so far.

“But do you want to know why Pa asked you to come with me?”

Marble hesitated, but nodded again. She needed to know.

Limestone sighed. “It’s cause he wants you to come out of your shell a little. And you know what, so do I. It’s ridiculous that you can barely talk to anyone outside your own family, Marble.”

She bowed her head, shame flooding her. She hated being reminded of that.

Sighing again, Limestone brushed her mane out of her eyes. “Look, I know you aren’t exactly happy about this, but give it a shot. Try to talk to somepony here. There’s like a million ponies in this city, one of them will listen to you, all right?”

Marble blinked, her pupils shrinking. “A m-m-m-million?”

“Oh geeze.”

She felt light-headed. She felt weary. Why was her vision blurry? She couldn’t tell if it was from the world spinning around her, or the fact that she was about to pass out. Oh Celestia, she was about to pass out!

“Marble, calm down! It was an exaggeration, okay?” Limestone grabbed her by the sides, holding her upright. “Relax a little bit, everything’s fine.”

“M...Mmmhmm.” Marble took deep breaths. Through her nose. She couldn’t quite bring herself to breathe out of her mouth, or even open it for that matter.

“Okay, okay good.” Limestone breathed a sigh of relief with the knowledge that she hadn’t sent her sister into shock. “...You need a minute?”

Marble nodded slowly.

“Fine.”

They stood in silence, Marble doing her best to calm down and Limestone doing her best to be patient. Neither of them were in their element, but they managed through it. Once Marble felt a little better, they started walking again.

She decided it was best to not look at the potential million ponies of the city and kept her head down, only focusing on the rhythmic stepping of Limestone’s hooves. To her surprise, she actually managed to keep this up for the duration of the walk, which gave her a little time to reflect on what she’d been told.

Pa wants me to… come out of my shell? While her father had expressed a desire for her to talk more, it usually came in the form of ‘Speak up, Marble!’ or ‘Say something, Marble’, not ‘Marble, go to your own personal worst nightmare and live out your biggest fears’.

Had something changed his mind? Or had Pinkie Pie’s visit at Hearth’s Warming just remind him of how sheltered he’d kept his other daughters. After all, between the four of them none could be considered normal. Pinkie was, well, Pinkie. Maud loved rocks so much she built her very existence around them. Marble couldn’t speak more than two sentences at a time even on her best days. And Limestone…

She looked up at her sister, who was currently yelling at a food vendor for accidentally squirting a drop of ketchup in her general direction.

Okay, so none of them were the textbook definition of normal, but why was he suddenly trying to change her? Was it because she needed it the most? Or was it just that he saw an opportunity by sending her here?

As they rounded their last corner and came up to the building for the Canterlot Mining Co. Marble decided she didn’t want to know. She just wanted this to be over and done with.

“Here we are,” Limestone said, stopping in front of the modest four-story office building. “You ready?”

Marble stared up at the building and folded her ears down. Limestone groaned.

“I assume that means no?”

Marble nodded.

“Figures.” Limestone unstrapped her own saddlebags and opened one of the pockets. “Here, just dump some of your rock candy in here. I can do the presentation on my own.”

Pausing only for an instant, Marble unhooked one of her pouches and loaded her flavors into Limestone’s pocket.

“Uh… w-what should I do while you’re in there?” she asked.

“I dunno, whatever you want.” Limestone muttered as she readjusted her saddlebags.

“I want to go home,” Marble whispered.

“Yeah well, I’m gonna ask that you wait for me before doing that.” She looked around and pointed across the street. “Look, there’s a cafe over there. Just go get some lunch and maybe talk to somepony while you’re at it.”

“B-By myself?”

“Yeah,” Limestone replied like it was the easiest thing in the world. “Look, you don’t have to find a date or anything—that’s the Pairing Stone’s job. Just open your mouth and make words happen.” She tightened the strap on her saddlebags and turned. “I gotta go. See you in about an hour-ish.”

“Bye.”

Limestone disappeared into the lobby of the building, leaving Marble alone.

Well, not entirely alone. All around her ponies were still surging in all directions. Almost immediately a few shoved past her, impatient to get to whatever destination they had in mind.

Dropping her mane in front of her face again, Marble fled from the street and over to the cafe Limestone had pointed out. Within seconds she had successfully sealed herself away from the outside world.

As soon as the door closed, Marble realized just what a big mistake she’d made. The cafe, despite having a nice atmosphere, soft jazz music and a granite floor, was crowded.

Ponies swarmed every table in the place. There didn’t seem to be an open seat to speak of. Even the tiny bar area near the front was crowded.

“Hello.” Marble nearly leapt out of her coat as a cream colored waitress approached her. “Would you like a table?”

Marble was frozen for a moment, before finally mustering up the courage to utter an “Mmmhmm.”

The waitress smiled. “Right this way.” Her purple bob swished as she turned around. “Unfortunately, we only have a table out on the patio right now. I hope that’s okay.”

“Mmmhmm,” Marble managed. Anywhere that was away from this crowded room was fine with her, even if it was back outside.

“Great!”

She was led through a meandering path that eventually brought them both onto the patio. It had an admittedly nice view of a nearby garden and while there were ponies, the tables were much more spread out then they were inside. Marble managed to relax a smidge. Just a smidge.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” The waitress asked, sitting Marble down and passing her a menu.

“Uh...w-water.”

“Coming right up.” And just like that, she was gone.

Marble breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be left alone. She poked at the menu a little, but found herself more taken by the garden just on the edge of the patio. As it turned out, it was in the backyard of one of the upscale looking houses that plagued Canterlot. Fairly convenient location for this cafe, at least.

She was so engrossed in the garden that she hadn’t noticed the waitress return until the glass of water was placed in front of her. However, Marble was quick to note the extra pony she’d brought along.

“I hope you don’t mind,” the waitress said. “But we’re pretty crowded right now. Do you think you could share a table with her?”

Marble’s gaze darted over to the pony in question. Her coat was one of the brightest of blue’s she’d ever seen, which wasn’t saying much given the muted landscape of the rock farm. Still it was bright. Her hair was a mix of silver and a much darker shade of blue than her coat. The two colors waved in tandem and curved down her neck. Her eyes were like little pools of water, irises matching her hair.

The next thing that stuck out was her smile. It was so… wide. Ear-splitting almost. And it radiated with a desperation that said “oh please, noble stranger, allow me to dine with you so that I might not be evicted from this establishment for I promise my chit chat skills are most excellent and this will definitely not be awkward in the slightest”.

The mare herself was… actually really pretty. Her features weren’t very pronounced, yet cute all the same. And that smile certainly did wonders to make her go from cute to beautiful. Marble felt the faintest of heat rise up under her cheeks.

“Uh… Mmmhmm,” Marble mumbled after she finished staring. Shy as she was, she couldn’t say no to that smile. And that was the only reason she was letting this mare sit with her. It had absolutely nothing to do with how pretty she was. Nothing at all.

Probably.

“Oh thank you so much!” The mare slid into her seat and held up a hoof to decline a menu. Though, she did turn to the waitress. “I’ll have a vanilla-banana milkshake to start.”

The waitress nodded. “I’ll give you both some more time to decide what you want to eat.” She vanished back inside, leaving Marble alone with the pretty stranger.

“Thank you again for letting me sit here. I always come here on my lunch break but it has never, I mean never, been this crowded before. But it’s a good thing it is because otherwise we never would’ve met. I’m Minuette by the way, dentist extraordinaire. Lived in Canterlot my whole life and love it with every fiber of my being. Oh, but look at me, I’m rambling. Please, tell me your name.”

Marble blinked, realizing that she’d been staring again. After a healthy dose of blushing, she stammered out. “M-Marble Pie.”

Now it was Minuette’s turn to blink. “Pie? Hmmm, you wouldn’t happen to know a Pinkie Pie would you?”

Marble brushed her mane over her eyes. How did this mare know Pinkie? “Mmmhmm… She’s… my s-sister.”

Minuette’s eyes widened. “Oh my Celestia. You’re Pinkie Pie’s sister?” Her voice climbed a few octaves on that last word. “That’s wonderful! Pinkie is kind of like my sister too, only not literally. She’s more of this really close friend I hang out with all the time. You know, I really should’ve recognized your name, now that I think about it. Pinkie’s told me so much about you!”

Marble’s face full on flushed. Pinkie was friends this mare? And she talked about her? Well the first one was a given. Her twin was friends with every pony, griffon and semi-sentient plant on the continent. But the fact that she actually mentioned Marble on a regular basis and to Minuette no less?

“W-what has s-she b-been telling y-you?” Marble stuttered out.

“Only about how you’re the bestest little sister ever!” Minuette giggled. “But also about how you’re shy, reclusive, basically a hermit, you know?”

Marble shrunk into her mane. Great, now this beautiful mare thought she was a weird anti-socialite. How… accurate…

“Oh, wait wait wait!” Minuette pulled out a camera. “I’ve got to get a picture with you really quick.” She slammed the camera on the table to face the garden off the patio and pulled Marble up. Minuette positioned them right in front of the camera and wrapped one foreleg around her.

“My friends will just not believe how cute you are!”

She thinks I’m... cute?

Marble’s face exploded into a blush the exact second the camera went off. She was blinded for a moment and Minuette removed her hoof from her side. Marble was a little upset when she regained her sight; she normally didn’t like being touched by strangers, but this was a little different. It was nice.

“Hey, Marble… is your face okay? You look really red.”

“Eep!” Marble slapped away her blush as best she could, eventually managing to calm down slightly. “I’m f-fine.”

“Okay, great! So, what brings you to Canterlot?” Minuette asked as she tucked away her camera and took her seat. “Come here to see the sights?”

“Uh…” Marble slinked back to her seat, unsure of how to respond. “W-we… my sis… L-Limestone… r-rocks…”

You’re ruining it! Marble yelled at herself. Do something before she hates you forever!

Suddenly, Marble remembered her saddlebags were still mostly filled with her reason for visiting. She reached inside them and yanked out a hoof-ful of rock candy, depositing it on the table.

“What’s this?” Minuette asked, tilting her head.

“C-candy. W-we’re p-pitching the idea.” Marble mumbled. “...You can t-try some.”

Minuette smiled and sparked her horn to life. A piece of candy flew into her mouth and she bit down.

And then bit down again, harder.

And then even harder.

On her fourth try the rock finally split. She closed her eyes, putting as much force into her jaw as she could. After chewing it down a little bit, Minuette looked up. “It’s… crunchy.”

Marble looked away. “...yeah.”

Minuette swallowed. “But it’s also very sweet. I like it.” Marble’s face brightened. “You said you were pitching the idea to someone?”

Marble started to nod, but then remembered Minuette said something about being a dentist. This was bad. Candy was probably the last thing she wanted catching on.

“That’s great.” Minuette smiled, punching holes in her theory. “You’ll probably be sending a lot more business my way. Hey,” she giggled. “Maybe we should team up and get a conspiracy going. You give people cavities and then I fix ‘em up. Hehehe.”

Her laughter was infectious and Marble released a single chuckle. Her first laugh in… well, months.

“Ready to order?” The waitress was back, cutting into the conversation Marble was actually starting to enjoy.

It was then that she realized that she’d been talking so much she’d forgotten to even look at the menu.

“Two honeycomb salads, please.” Minuette said. She winked to Marble, which just made her blush more. “Hope you don’t mind me ordering for you, but I eat here all the time. I know you’ll love it.”

“Mmmhmm.” Marble nodded. “I-I doubt it’ll be better than rock soup though.”

Minuette snorted with laughter. It was the most adorable thing Marble had ever heard. “Hahaha! Oh gosh, you’re a real riot, Marble.”

“I-I am?” she squeaked out.

“Absolutely. And here I thought Pinkie Pie snapped up all the funny genes in your family.” Minuette paused, then winced. “And I just now heard how potentially insulting that was. Sorry.”

Marble blinked in confusion. She hadn’t really been offended, but it was nice to have her feelings considered, especially by somepony she’d just met. “Uh… Mmmhmm.”

“So Pinkie’s told me you live on a rock farm. Naturally, I have about a bazillion questions about that.”

Marble Pie pushed her finished, admittedly-better-than-rock-soup honeycomb salad away. The waitress was back, exchanging a few words with them, but Marble wasn’t really hearing them.

She was in utter shock that for the past hour she’d actually managed to hold a conversation with somepony. Who wasn’t even a member of her family. And also very, very cute.

Had it actually been an hour? There wasn’t a clock on the patio, but Minuette did say she only had about an hour for lunch before she needed to get back to the dentist office. Since she’d been winding down the conversation it must be getting close to that time.

An odd feeling bubbled up inside Marble when she realized this. It took her a while to work out the foreign sensation, but eventually she figured it out; she didn’t want to stop talking to this fascinating mare.

Minuette was just so vibrant and full of energy, not unlike Pinkie Pie. Though, unlike Pinkie, Marble never felt that like energy was being forced onto her. Minuette just had a more relaxed, warm demeanor about her that Marble couldn’t help but open up a bit. Sure, she’d failed to get beyond her two sentences at a time limit, but after all, it was only their first date.

Wait, d-date? Marble’s cheeks burned as she realized what she’d been thinking about. T-this isn’t a date! We just met by chance! And talked… and laughed… and she thinks I’m cute... and I think she’s beautiful… and… and…

This was totally a date.

Right?

No. No, there’s no way Minuette is seeing me in the same light. She’s just so… amazing. Why would she ever want to date a pony like me? Marble’s mane slid in front of her face for the first time in nearly an hour.

“Well, I hope you two enjoyed your meal.” Their waitress set the check down on the table, only for Minuette to immediately scoop it up. Marble reached for her money, but was cut off.

“Not today, Marble.” Minuette gave a hoofful of bits to the waitress. “This one’s all on me.”

“W-what? But I…”

“You can just make it up to me next time.” Minuette winked.

Next time? So this was a date. Sure, Minuette might just be paying for everything out of kindness, and maybe it was Marble’s hopefulness talking, but it certainly sounded like she was seeing this in a romantic light. And she wanted to do this again, which meant…

Second date.

“O-okay.” Marble smiled and brushed her mane out of her eyes.

Minuette stood up. “Well, as much as I hate to say it, I have to go. Teeth don’t clean themselves, you know.”

“Mmmhmm…” Marble felt her heart sink at the thought saying goodbye. She looked at the table, unable to bring herself to say the word.

“Hey, before I head out...”

Her head shot back up.

“My friend Moon Dancer is throwing a party today for the first time in like, forever. You should totally come.”

“M-me?” Marble’s pupils shrunk. “A p-party?”

“I know that look, Shy Pie, but don’t worry. It’s only a couple of friends hanging out together with some punch and a piñata.” She smiled comfortingly. “Trust me, it’ll be great. And you’ll get to meet all my friends!

Meet more ponies? Marble’s knees shook at the thought. But as long as Minuette was there it would be all right. She just knew it. “Okay,” she whispered.

“Great!” She practically leapt across the table and wrapped Marble in a hug.

For a moment, Marble was utterly paralyzed. Minuette’s embrace was so sudden and warm that she didn’t quite know what to do. Eventually she did bring her hooves around Minuette, who in turn gave her a squeeze.

Marble bit her lip as Minuette pulled away. “Just stop by my office around closing time and we can walk to the party together, okay?”

“Okay,” Marble agreed, unable to stop a giddy smile from breaking out on her face. It did fade when Minuette waved goodbye and walked away, leaving Marble alone at the table.

Faced without Minuette’s companionship, Marble felt lonely, and not in a good way. She wasn’t really sure what to do besides wait, so she left the table and just stood at the patio for a few minutes.

“There you are.” Marble turned at the voice of Limestone, who was worming her way through tables to catch up to her. “‘Bout time I found you.”

“Hi Limestone. Uh…. how did it go?”

Limestone flopped her empty saddlebags in front of her, grinning. “They ate it up. Literally. And maybe broke a few teeth, but they didn’t seem to mind, so… eh.”

“That’s nice,” Marble said softly.

“Yep. So, what happened with you?” Limestone asked.

“I’m not sure,” Marble admitted. A tiny smile and matching blush formed on her face. “But… I think I have a marefriend now.”

Not a Party Pony

“All right.” Limestone tapped her hoof anxiously against the concrete ground. She stood just outside the restaurant, back turned to the entrance. Before her, Marble Pie gnawed on her lip, her face creased with worry. Sure, Limestone sounded more confused than angry now, but knowing her sister it was just a matter of time before the balance shifted.

“All right,” Limestone repeated for about the eleventh time since Marble had dropped her bombshell. The only difference this time around was that she kept talking. “Can you… explain to me how this happened?” She pointed to Marble. “How you, possibly the shyest pony in Equestria, managed to not only meet somepony in the hour I was gone, but also made them your marefriend?”

Marble swallowed. “Uh… well… I w-went to get lunch like you said and… this really cute Minuette— I-I mean pony needed a place to sit and I… and she… and we…” Marble pushed her hooves together and looked to the ground. She could feel the blush radiating off her face, but was powerless to stop it.

Limestone pressed her lips together. “You uh... wanna run that last bit by me again, Casanova?”

Shuffling her hooves, Marble looked back up. “I met a really cute mare and we had lunch together.”

“And this constitutes her being your marefriend because…?”

Marble bit her lip. “Well… she… thinks I’m cute.”

A soft groan escaped Limestone’s lips as understanding dawned on her. “That’s not how marefriends work, Marble.”

“Uh… I-I know, but…” Hair fell over Marble’s face. “I like her.”

Limestone’s jaw firmly set in place. Marble could see the teeth clenching even from where she was standing. She prepared herself for whatever her sister was about to say, not anticipating the softened expression that appeared a moment before she spoke.

“Good for you, Marble.”

What? Her eyes widened at the sudden positive reinforcement from Limestone of all ponies. She glanced at her sister, noting the encouraging smile she wore. Limestone is actually… happy for me? But I thought…

“Aren’t you upset?”

Limestone rolled her eyes. “Over the fact that you’ve found somepony you want to spend time with? Hardly. I am still confused as to why you want a freakin’ relationship all of a sudden with a stranger.”

“S-she’s not a stranger, she’s Minuette!”

Limestone rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. So why do you want a relationship all of a sudden with Minuette? It’s just not like you.”

“I-I don’t know…” Marble blushed inwardly. “She’s just so wonderful.”

“Okay…” Limestone chewed the inside of her cheek. “Her charming personality aside, why this stranger? I mean, it’s not like you were out of options back home. And what about that stallion who came over for Hearth’s Warming?”

“B-Big Mac?”

Limestone nodded. “Yeah, why not him instead?”

Marble shuffled her hooves. “Well, he was sweet and all… but also very gay.”

With a blink, Limestone tightened her lips. “Oh yeah… guess that would be hard to work around.”

Marble nodded.

“But still, you just met this pony, Marble.”

“Y-you told me to come out of my s-shell,” she pointed out.

Limestone opened her mouth for a retort, but her brain wasn’t fast enough. She pressed her lips together to give it more thought. “Yeah… I guess I did.

Marble breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that Limestone was finally agreeing with her.

The relief fizzled when Limestone put a hoof on Marble’s shoulder. “But…”

Oh no.

“You know what Pa’s gonna say.”

Marble winced. Yep, here it comes.

“If you wanted to start a relationship,” Limestone said with a gruff impersonation of their father’s voice. “You should’ve just gone to the Pairing Stone.”

And there it is.

The Pairing Stone. The gosh-darn Pairing Stone.

Now there was an anvil that had been hanging over her head since childhood. Ever since Marble had decided she didn’t like being around other ponies, which had pretty much been day one, she’d hated the fact that a random rock would one day pair her up with a stranger for the rest of her life.

And she knew the second her father caught wind of her ‘relationship’ he’d march her right off to the Pairing Stone to see whether or not it was worth pursuing.

“Please don’t tell him,” Marble whimpered.

“What, you want me to lie to Pa?” The grit in Limestone’s voice told her that was not an option.

“N-no, of course not. I would never ask you to do t-that. Just… if he doesn’t ask, don’t tell him… please.” Marble tried to look even meeker than she already was—which was no small feat—hoping her sister would comply.

Limestone’s cheeks bulged slightly as she rolled her tongue over in her mouth—a habit she had developed whenever thinking something over. After a long, hard stare, she finally sighed and nodded. “…Okay.”

Marble’s face brightened with an ear-splitting grin. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” With a nod, Limestone rolled her eyes. “Now let’s—Oof!”

Limestone couldn’t finish her next breath, much less her next word, as Marble tackled her into a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Marble exclaimed as they both stumbled back a little.

“...Ack! ...welcome,” Limestone coughed out.

Marble released her sibling before she blacked out, sheepish. “Uh… Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Limestone told her after recovering her breath. “Now come on, we should get back to the train station.”

Marble blinked, giving Limestone just enough time to turn. She was already walking into the Canterlot after-lunch-rush traffic by the time Marble found her courage to speak again.

“Uh… M-maybe we don’t have to leave just yet? ...maybe.”

Limestone paused and turned back to face Marble. Her features were scrunched in confusion and she shot her younger sister a curious glance. “Uh, no we do have to leave. Ma and Pa are gonna want us back on the farm as soon as physically possible. Besides, wasn’t the first thing you said when we got off the train was that you want to go home?”

“Well… yes.” Marble shrunk behind her mane as ponies walked past them, not stopping to apologize when they bumped into them. She still very much disliked Canterlot, but leaving now would just mean missing the party she was invited to. And miss seeing Minuette again…

“So why do you want to stay?” Limestone demanded to know.

“Because…” The words died at her lips. Would Limestone allow her to stay? Knowing her sister, she doubted her reasoning would make much of an impact on the final choice. But what else could she say? It was the truth, or nothing. “...I got invited to a party!” she rushed out.

Limestone’s ears flicked at the words, likely doubting what they just heard. Limestone herself seemed to have taken her previous confusion and multiplied it by a hundred. “Excuse me?”

Marble retreated behind her mane, unsure of how to proceed.

Limestone stared at the ground, raising a hoof up to request a minute of silence, which Marble was all too happy to provide. “Did I… hear you correctly? You got invited to a party?”

Marble nodded. “Mmhmm.”

Limestone blinked, still processing. “And this party… you actually want to go?

“Mmhmm.”

Raising an eyebrow, Limestone tapped her hoof to the ground. “Why?”

Marble looked to the ground, poking at the cracks in the concrete road. “B-Because Minuette is going to be there.”

Understanding dawned on Limestone’s face, though she remained silent for a moment. “Geeze… You must really like this pony, huh?”

Marble bobbed her head up and down, freeing her vision from her mane’s grasp. “S-she’s so sweet and warm a-and comfortable to be around. I really… I just want to see her again, Limestone.

Her sister rubbed the back of her head. “I dunno, Marble…”

Marble’s lip quivered. “Please, please, please let me stay! It’ll only be for a few hours, I promise.”

Blinking back her surprise, Limestone gave her sister a serious once over. “You’re sure you want to go to a party?”

In all honesty, no. Marble deflated a little at the question. The party would be borderline miserable, even with the way it had described to her. But still, if it gave her the chance to be around Minuette again then there was nothing more in the world Marble wanted to go to. “Yes.”

Limestone took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Marble assaulted her sister with another hug, but Limestone had enough foresight this time to be prepared. “Thank you,” Marble whispered.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Limestone patted her sister’s back and they pulled away from the hug. “So where are we going for this party?”

“Well, Minuette is supposed to show me after—” Marble froze, her eyes shrinking until they were little more than purple specks in a sea of white. “W-wait, you want to c-come t-too?”

“Obviously,” Limestone huffed. “What, did you expect me to just wait around Canterlot doing nothing for hours?”

“N-no,” Marble admitted. She hadn’t really been thinking about Limestone at all when she made the decision to go to the party, which made her feel a little awful.

“Besides,” Limestone hooked an arm around Marble’s shoulder. “I need to meet this marefriend of yours. You know, make sure she’s good enough for you and all that.”

Marble gulped. The spark in Limestone’s eyes told a very different story than what she was saying. She didn’t know if her sister was just being overprotective or if she had already taken a disliking to Minuette. What she did know was that now she would honestly prefer it now if Limestone just stood around Canterlot doing nothing for the next few hours. That was much less… explosive than her coming to the party.

“Everything all right, sis?” Limestone asked, jostling Marble out of her miniature panic stupor.

“...Mmhmm…”

Sparkling Teeth Dentistry was a relatively modest building. Relative to Canterlot’s standards, of course. To Marble’s standards, it was practically a mansion. She’d never lived in a building with more than two stories before and here was Minuette’s place of work, a towering five story building, stretching even higher up with a large billboard on the roof. In fact, the only thing modest about it was how narrow it was: just enough to squeeze into the packed street corner.

They were in a much less populated section of Canterlot now, though Marble would have a hard time pointing that out. Crowds were crowds, no matter how thin they were. Though luckily, her anxiety about what her sister was planning overshadowed her anxiety about the populace.

She fidgeted, turning to Limestone. “P-please don’t yell at her.”

Nodding, Limestone rolled her eyes. “Okay.”

“A-and please don’t g-get really angry.”

“No promises.”

Marble winced and stayed silent for a moment. Then a horrifying thought flashed across her head. “And don’t tell her I c-called her my marefriend. Please.”

“Geesh, Marble, okay. I got it.” Limestone tapped her hoof impatiently against the ground. “Are you sure she said she got off work at five?”

Marble glanced at the clock that lived just a few buildings down. Quarter past five. “Y-yes,” she mumbled.

Limestone’s face scrunched into annoyance. “If she stood you up I swear I’ll—”

“P-please don’t! I’m sure she’ll be here…” Marble bit her lip. Was she really so sure? What if this was the wrong dentist office? Or what if Minuette had given her a fake address because she didn’t want Marble to come to the party at all? What if she hated Marble and never wanted to see her again? What if she was at the party right now, laughing about the pathetic shy mare she’d met at lunch with all of her real friends?

Blinking back tears, Marble looked away and folded her ears down. Maybe Limestone was right; they should’ve just gone home.

“Whoa, Marble are you cr—”

Click.

Marble’s ears perked up. She turned back just in time to see a blue mare bounce out of the dentist’s office.

“Hey Marble!”

There she was. Honeyed voice, blinding smile and a presence that just made the day better. Marble hurriedly wiped her eyes as Minuette bounded over and wrapped her in a hug.

“M-Minuette,” Marble whispered as she was enveloped in the warmth of the other mare. She was really here.

“I’m so sorry for being late. I completely blanked on the fact that it was my turn to clean the x-ray machine. Pretty silly of me, huh?”

“I-It’s fine.” Marble smiled softly as she leaned deeper into the hug. How could she have overreacted like that? There was no way Minuette would have ever have done those things. Nestling her face into Minuette’s mane she sighed with content. If only this moment could last forever.

“Erhem.” Limestone coughed loudly into her hoof, ruining the moment forever.

“Hmm?” Minuette pulled away from the hug, attention snatched by this new interloper. Marble paused, the lingering feeling of Minuette’s hold staying with her for barely an instant.

“U-uh,” she snapped back to reality, realizing introductions were in order. “Minuette, this is my sister, L-Limestone.”

“Holy cow!” Minuette’s grin widened. “I get to meet two Pie’s in one day?”

“Yep. But don’t expect me to be like the last one.” Limestone grinned. Marble gulped, not sure she liked the mischief rising behind those emerald eyes.

“Oh, I don’t think anypony’s quite like Shy Pie.” Minuette nudged Marble playfully.

Limestone’s eyes slashed between the two, eventually settling on Minuette with a hard gaze. “Yeah…”

“So how are you doing?” Minuette asked, her tone refusing to acknowledge the tension Limestone was spewing.

“Good,” came Limestone’s curt reply.

Silence of the awkward variety descended upon the group. Minuette didn’t really have much of a choice this time but to acknowledge it. As Limestone’s eyes scrutinized her every which way, Minuette tried to salvage the conversation.

“So how’s life on the rock farm?”

“Good.”

“...How do you like Canterlot so far?”

“Good.”

Minuette blinked. “Uh...huh.”

Limestone continued to stare, making Marble wish she had added ‘no excessive eye contact’ to the list of promises.

Eventually, Minuette turned back to face her. “Hey, so we should head to the party. If we hurry we’ll still be on time.”

“O-okay.” Marble nodded, hoping that Minuette wouldn’t—

“Did you want to come too?” Minuette looked back to Limestone, who finally stopped burning a hole into the back of her head.

“Sure.” Limestone smiled. “I’d like to get to know the pony my little sister is so… talkative about.”

Marble whimpered. Of course Limestone had gone into overprotective mode. And now she had an open invitation to come to the party. Well, she would’ve gone anyway, but still...

“Sounds like fun,” Minuette said, likely just happy that the awkward phase was supposedly over.

“Y-yeah…” Marble mumbled.

Minuette turned and pointed down the road. “Well, since we’re ready, let’s shove off!” She started walking, with Limestone not far behind. Marble, still wrapped up in worry over her big sister’s motives, didn’t notice them walking right away and scrambled to catch up.

They walked in silence for a little while through the streets of Canterlot. Marble found that she liked walking in a group; it gave them more of a presence on the road and got other ponies to avoid walking so closely. Now if only their voices had a bit more presence…

Sure, Marble enjoyed silences. In fact, she likely appreciated them more than anypony else she knew, bar Maud. But walking next to Minuette just made her feel… something. More talkative. Like she would be heard if she spoke.

If only she could think of something to say.

“Oh, before I forget.” Minuette paused in her step. Marble’s gaze darted over to her, but she deflated slightly when she saw Minuette looking at Limestone instead. “How did the rock candy sales pitch go?”

“Oh, you… know about that?” Limestone blinked. “Well it went… pretty good.”

Minuette flashed her flawless smile and Marble felt herself melt a little bit, even though it wasn’t aimed at her. “That’s great news!”

“Yeah, it is.” Limestone kicked a pebble down the sidewalk. “So what’s the deal with this party?”

Minuette cocked her head slightly. “Deal?”

“Yeah. What kind of party is this supposed to be?” Limestone fixed Minuette with another look, kicking the stone as they caught up to it.

“Oh, well, I guess it’s really only a party in spirit. And in piñata. It’s really just a couple of my friends having a little get together.”

Limestone looked over at Marble, who was doing her best to blend into her mane. “Define a few.”

“Oh, well let’s see.” Minuette raised her hoof, flicking it as she counted up her tally of friends. “There’s Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Moon Dancer ‘cause it’s her party, and… well I believe Lyra said she couldn’t make it, so that’s it.”

“I see.” Limestone narrowed her eyes, but didn’t press anything further.

Is she… just trying to make sure I won’t be uncomfortable? Marble thought. That’s certainly what it seemed like. Maybe she’d overreacted regarding her sister as well.

“So are you excited, Marble?” Minuette suddenly asked, turning to her.

“Uh… huh?” Being snapped out of her train of thought was usually enough to derail Marble, but being looked at by those sparkling blue eyes only served to magnify the effect. “W-what?”

“I was just wondering if you were excited for the party,” Minuette repeated. “I mean, I know you’ve probably been to a lot considering that Pinkie Pie is your sister and all, but still.”

Marble blinked. “I… I almost never go to my sister’s parties.”

Now it was Minuette’s turn to blink. “What?”

Streaks of gray hair flew in front of Marble’s face, fearing she’d just upset her. “I… I went to the one she threw when she got her Cutie Mark, but that’s because it was at our house. After that I… well, she left.”

“Oh…” Minuette bit her lip, seeing what a sore subject it was. “I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

Marble’s eyes widened. “Uh, y-you don’t have to be sorry!” she quickly stammered out. Making Minuette feel bad was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Scratch that, it wasn’t something she wanted to do, period. “It’s okay, really.”

“You sure?”

Marble bobbed her head up and down. “I’m… not much of a party goer anyway… I-I guess.”

“Well yeah, I guess kind of figured that out about you, Shy Pie.” Minuette stopped walking for a brief moment and looked over at Marble. “Did you… not want to go to the party?”

“N-no!” Marble stammered out. Maybe.

She wanted to spend time with Minuette above all else. The party was just the place that had been chosen for their second date… or maybe just second hang out? Marble was still unsure where they stood on that, but she was too nervous to broach the topic.

Minuette smiled. “Okay, I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m comfortable around you!” Marble insisted. She scrunched her face, realizing how awkward that sounded and tried again. “I-I mean… I’m not uncomfortable.”

“That’s good to hear,” Minuette replied.

“Yeah…” Limestone agreed vaguely. Marble glanced over to her sister and was given a curious gaze in return. She didn’t know what was going on through her sister’s mind, but it certainly seemed like she wasn’t fully convinced about any of this.

“Come on!” Minuette trotted forward. “The park’s just around this corner. Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!”

Marble was about to quicken her pace, but a sudden hoof on her back stopped her. And made her squeak in surprise.

“You sure you want to do this?” Limestone asked.

“O-of course,” Marble tried to assert.

“Really? Because it feels like you’re forcing yourself to do this just because of Minuette.” Limestone’s eyes were firm, yet sympathetic. “If you’re trying to change yourself to be what you think she wants just because of your crush—”

“N-no!” Marble slapped away her blush. “I just… I…”

Limestone frowned. It was a simple action, but it made Marble’s stomach flop anyway. “I don’t like this, Marble. If you—”

“I’m not!” Marble cried as loudly as she dared. “P-please, don’t ruin this for me!”

Blinking in retort, Limestone opened her mouth and let it hang there for a moment. Marble swallowed and felt the need to run and hide. She’d never raised her voice to Limestone before—one does not poke a bear after all—and now she had to deal with the potential fallout of that.

Thankfully, a chipper voice cut into the tension. “Hey you two, what’s the hold up?”

Marble turned to see Minuette standing at the corner and hastened after her. “C-coming!” After a moment, she heard Limestone follow.

When they rounded the corner, Marble felt her heart skip a beat.

As promised, three ponies were waiting for her. They all stood amidst a few tables set up in one of the areas of the city where the buildings bled away into grass and trees. The piñata that Minuette had been building up could also be seen hanging from an adjacent tree, though Marble’s unfathomable excitement regarding a paper mache pineapple wrapped around candy was overshadowed by the fact that now she actually had to meet more ponies.

And then the fact that she had to meet more ponies was overshadowed by Minuette draping her foreleg over her shoulder.

“Hey girls!” Minuette called out to them. Three heads turned their way, followed by three matching smiles and three warm waves.

Marble whimpered and tried to sink deeper into Minuette’s hold.

It didn’t work.

Minuette started walking them forward. Marble shot a glance back, catching her sister’s eye. The look on Limestone’s face was dubious at best as they marched forward to the impending meet and greet.

Marble swallowed. She already thinks I’m trying to change myself—a-and I’m not. I can’t let her think I hate this or else she might want to leave!

Putting on a brave-ish face, Marble stopped dragging her heels and walked alongside Minuette to meet her friends.

“Hey, Minny,” one of them—a white unicorn with a pink mane—said. She took brief notice of Marble and Limestone. “Who’re they?”

Marble winced, fearing she might melt. Sure, ask about us right off the bat. Why not?

Minuette beamed. “This is Marble and her sister Limestone. The two of us shared a lunch table, so naturally I had to invite them. I hope that’s okay.”

“The more the merrier,” the unicorn with a tied back mane assured her.

“All right, so introductions are in order.” Withdrawing her foreleg, Minuette stepped in the center of the two groups and began an elaborate series of gestures that nopony had a hope of following. “Marble, meet Moon Dancer. Moon Dancer, Marble. Twinkleshine, Marble. Marble, Twinkleshine. Marble, Lemon Hearts. Lemon Hearts, Marble. Limestone meet Twinkleshine, Twinkleshine, Limestone. Limestone, Moon Dancer. Moon Dancer, Limestone. Lemon Hearts meet Limestone and,” Minuette paused to take in a massive breath. “Limestone meet Lemon Hearts.”

The yellow unicorn—Lemon Hearts—waved. “Uh, heh, hi.”

Limestone grunted.

Marble was doing her best not to hyperventilate. She looked to the three intimidating smiles of Minuette’s friends, to the warm smile of Minuette herself.

I-I can do this. After all, they’re just… ponies

Marble swallowed. New, unknown ponies… Who expected to meet her… To talk to her…

Oh boy.

As if she could sense Marble’s discomfort, and she probably could, Minuette gave her a reassuring pat on the back. It helped.

“Well now that that mouthful is out of the way…” Minuette grinned widely. “Let’s party!”

Still Not a Party Pony (But Getting a Little Better at It... Maybe...)

Marble’s legs were too stiff to walk forward. She made a few cursory attempts to move them, which probably came off as little more than a pitiful wobble to the mares in front of her.

Come on, move already, she berated herself. It’s only three extra pairs of eyes on you, why are you so scared?

She gulped, glancing around at each of the smiling faces with utter terror. Before Marble could work up the nerve to pass out, she felt a tug at her foreleg. Looking over, she saw Minuette’s comforting smile and for a moment everything was okay.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine, Shy Pie.” Minuette nudged her head toward the group and started over to it, inviting Marble to walk with her.

Marble felt her stomach drop. Her legs still refused to work and she ended up watching Minuette walk halfway to the party table while doing absolutely nothing.

“You okay?” Marble felt her sister’s hoof go around her shoulder and she flinched slightly. Limestone gave her a serious look, all but asking her if she wanted to go home.

“I-I’m fine,” Marble retorted, her brief moment of shock jolting her legs into motion. She hurried after Minuette, unable to look her sister in the eye.

Unfortunately, her walking propelled her right into the conversation zone of the three mares. Marble knew it was too late to stop, backpedal, or pretend she wasn’t able to speak, so the best she could hope for was that these mares weren’t the talkative type.

...Then again, they’re friends with Minuette, so… oh Celestia please help me.

Marble swallowed shakily as she finished her approach. Her legs felt like jelly, and the fact that she hadn’t toppled over yet from the crushing weight of her own fear amazed her. It helped that Minuette was right next to her, at least.

The party’s host was the first to offer her a warm wave and smile. A combo move that almost knocked her out on the spot. “It’s nice to meet you, Marble.”

Marble forced a smile. Okay… don’t hyperventilate… don’t pass out… just talk.

“It’s Moon Dancer to meet you too, nice.” She flinched. Darn it!

Moon Dancer cocked her head slightly. “Uh… what?”

Marble retreated behind her mane. “I-I’m s-sorry…” No, don’t apologize! Just… say something not stupid. “I… uh… um…”

At this point, only about all of Marble's face was obstructed by hair. Not that it did her much good, but it was better than mumbling incoherently at the ground. Thank goodness Minuette was draping her foreleg around her or she would’ve been stuck like that for hours.

Wait…

A blush wormed its way onto Marble’s face as Minuette finished wrapping her in a semi-hug. “You hanging in there, Shy Pie?” she asked in a whisper.

Marble swallowed. “N-No…”

Minuette gave her a loving pat. Was it loving? Marble wanted to believe so. It could’ve just been a friendly one, but maybe Minuette meant for it to mean more because she secretly wanted to date Marble just as much as Marble wanted to date her. Maybe?

Or maybe she was reading too much into it.

“Sorry, Moon Dancer,” Minuette said to the host. “Marble’s really shy. Like, really really shy. She only came as a favor to me, so just give her a sec to warm up to this whole thing.”

“Oh, sure thing.” Moon Dancer gave an understanding smile. “I know what it’s like to be uncomfortable at a party. Just take your time, Marble.”

“...okay…” Marble resented how meek that came out, but it was too late to change it.

Moon Dancer looked over to Limestone. “You’re not shy too, are you?”

“No.” Limestone flicked her head to the side. “I’m just not that big on parties.”

Moon Dancer grinned. “Heh, yeah, I know what that’s like too.” She nudged her head to the nearest table, which was overflowing with pretzels, chips, cake, and the like. “When you’re feeling up to it, we’ve got plenty of food, so feel free to dig in.”

Limestone made a face of indifference, but was betrayed by a rumbling of her stomach. She’d skipped lunch for the rock candy meeting and now had to suffer the consequences of it: eating snacks at a party.

“Food sounds fine, I guess.” She walked over to the table and Moon Dancer followed, grabbing a handful of chips with her magic.

Marble had yet to move, mostly because she didn’t want to risk Minuette taking her foreleg away.

“You all right?” she asked.

Marble poked her head out from her curtain of hair. “I’m f-fine.”

Minuette frowned; an action that punched Marble in the heart. “You sure? Because it looks like you might pass out.”

Marble offered the tiniest smile in existence. “Yeah, heh… ‘might’.”

Minuette brought up a hoof to cover her laugh. Sweet Celestia, that laugh. It made Marble want to melt at just the sound.

“Well, if you’re aren’t up for it, just let me know. I don’t want to force you to be here or anything.” Her hoof started to slowly slip away.

“W-wait!” Marble swallowed as Minuette’s hoof slowed. “I want to be here… really! I just…” Her eyes darted over to Minuette’s friends. “...don’t like strangers.”

Minuette frowned. “Well wasn’t I a stranger to you just a few hours ago? Heck, someponies might say we’re still strangers since we’ve only had a hoofful of conversations.”

“B-But…” Marble’s eyes widened as she realized the implications of what she just said. There was absolutely no way she wanted Minutte to think she didn’t like her.“I-I mean… you’re different. I t-think you’re wonderful.”

“Aww.” Minuette smiled and Marble thought--thought--there might’ve been a hint of pink hidden in those cheeks. “That’s sweet of you, Marble.”

Heart fluttering, Marble tried her hardest to not let her response squeak out. “You’re welcome.”

Minuette’s hoof finished slipping away and its owner took a step toward the party. “Don’t worry, I know you’ll think my friends are just as wonderful as me.”

Oh, I doubt that.

Not to discount the potential wonderfulness of the mares currently stuffing their faces with chips, but as far as Marble was concerned Minuette couldn’t be beat in that category.

Despite her doubt, Marble knew she still had to give Minuette’s friends a chance. After all, she’d practically promised at this point. Not to mention she may actually like these mares after taking the opportubity to get to know them.

It was just that pesky ‘getting to know them’ part Marble wasn’t so keen on.

With each step screaming hesitation, Marble made her way over to the snack table. Moon Dancer sent a smile her way, grateful that she seemed to be feeling up to participating.

As she neared the table, a bowl of potato chips floated her way, courtesy of Twinkleshine.

“Wan thum?” she asked, tantalizing her by shaking the bowl.

Marble’s ears folded down. What was she supposed to say to that? She wasn’t hungry because she’d had lunch earlier, but if she turned down the offer would Twinkleshine be upset? Mad? Would she want to kick her out of the party?

Don’t be silly, Marble. You won’t get kicked out for not wanting to eat chips. You’ll just be ostracized to the point of becoming a wallflower at a party of six.

Well that didn’t help.

Marble bit her lip. Maybe pretending she was hungry was for the best? No, she was a terrible liar. If they found out then she definitely would be kicked out, no question about it.

So…

Uh…

Eaehhh…

Sweat crawled down the back of her neck as she struggled to think of a response that wouldn’t ruin everything.

“Uh… Marble?” Twinkleshine swallowed and waved a hoof in front of the paralyzed pony’s face. “What’s wrong? You’re not allergic to chips, are you?”

“Marble?” And now Limestone was looking at her. Great, just great!

Just say something! Marble swallowed, feeling all of two feet tall. “I-I’m fine, t-thanks”

Twinkleshine blinked and Marble’s entire body clenched in anticipation for the worst.

“Okay then.” Twinkleshine returned the chips to their resting place with no complaints.

Marble let out a sigh of relief, only shaking a lot. Disaster averted.

“So tell us a little bit about yourselves,” Moon Dancer asked, catching both Limestone and Marble in her gaze.

Marble froze. Disaster unaverted.

“Yeah,” Lemon Hearts offered a smile, but thankfully for Marble this one was directed at her sister. “I—That is to say, we—would like to get to know you a little better.”

“Uh, okay…” Limestone gave Marble a brief glance and a nod, silently letting her sister know that she’d take this one. She turned to everypony else and cleared her throat. “We live on a rock farm.”

Everypony leaned in, expecting more. Limestone, however, simply popped another chip in her mouth and started chewing, signifying the end of her backstory.

“That’s it?” Lemon Hearts asked.

“Yup.” Limestone swallowed.

Confused glances were traded between the four mares who had known Limestone the least. Marble, on the other hoof, couldn’t say she was all that surprised at her sister’s curtness.

“Surely there’s more to your personality than the fact that you grew up on a rock farm,” Moon Dancer insisted.

“Are you saying I don’t have personality?” Limestone’s eyes narrowed.

Moon Dancer blinked. “U-Uh, no! Of course not!”

Marble winced, hoping her sister wouldn’t explode, but knowing she probably would now all the same. Limestone’s short fuse had been lit and the rage was already building behind her eyes.

In an instant, Marble ran through the list of the worst-case scenarios in her mind. She figured at best, they’d both be kicked out of the party and go home, never to see Minuette again. At worst her sister would leave them all in tears and Minuette would be mad at both of them for even showing up and then she would never want to see Marble again.

Whimpering, Marble’s ears folded down and her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the inevitable.

“Okay, let’s all calm down.”

Marble opened her eyes to see Minuette standing in front of Limestone with a gentle, yet commanding look in her eye.

“I’m sure Moon Dancer didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t have any personality, Limestone.” Minuette shot a glance back to her friend. “Right?”

Moon Dancer nodded, grateful the tension was being defused. “Right. I never meant to say that, sorry Limestone.”

Minuette turned, looking the bomb right in the eyes. “Are we good?”

Limestone still looked ready to go off, but her eyes wandered over to Marble and her whole expression softened. “Yeah, fine. Whatever.”

And just like that, the bomb was deactivated.

Marble gaped in awe. No one short of Pa had ever been able to force Limestone to calm down and that was only in very rare circumstances. Yet Minuette had done it with ease.

“Well.” The smile returned to Minuette’s face. “Now that that’s over, how about we just get back to the party?”

She looked back at her with an encouraging smile, and Marble was quick to return it. However, on the inside her heart was thumping wildly against her chest. Already this party had been the victim of two almost-disasters and it probably wasn’t even half over! Marble doubted she had the fortitude to survive the rest.

“So, uh, about the whole ‘living on a rock farm’ thing,” Lemon Hearts began.

Limestone glared at her. “What about it?”

“You wouldn’t happen to live in Nickerlite, then, would you?”

Both Limestone and Marble blinked in confusion at that one. Rock farming was about the rarest form of agriculture there was and Nickerlite was so small that it didn’t even show up on most maps. To connect the dots between the two wasn’t exactly something the average pony could do.

“Uh, yeah.” Limestone looked at Lemon Hearts with renewed interest. “How’d you know that?”

Lemon’s face flushed for a moment and she failed to respond immediately. “Oh well… you know, I…”

Twinkleshine stepped forward to help her flailing friend. “It’s cause she’s a big rock nerd.”

Limestone’s eyebrow rose. “Really?”

“Twinkleshine,” Lemon begged.

“Well it’s true.” Twinkleshine turned back to Limestone. “You see, we all went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and out of all the majors she could have picked, you know what she chose? Out of all the crazy fields of magic she could have gone into? Magical crystal studies. Crystal studies for Celestia’s sake.”

“Twinkleshine.” Lemon’s face was bright pink now.

Twinkle grinned. “With a minor in geology.”

“Stop it!” Lemon Hearts shoved her friend, who laughed in turn. “She doesn’t want to hear about all that…”

Limestone regarded the two of them for a moment and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I mean it’s not like you have a rocktorate or anything.”

Marble thought she saw Lemon Hearts deflate a little bit at that, but doubted it.

“So what brings you guys all the way to Canterlot?” Moon Dancer asked, directing the question Marble’s way.

Swallowing, she mustered up the courage to mumble. “U-uh, w-w-we’re… rock-k candy.”

Moon Dancer cocked her head. “What?”

“Uh…” Marble swallowed. Try harder! You are not going to ruin this. “We came for a… a r-r-rock c-candy… t-thing.”

...Nope, I’ve ruined it.

“Oh, that’s… neat?” Moon Dancer showed clear signs of miscomprehension.

“She means they were here for a sales pitch about rock candy,” Minuette said, stepping into the conversation. “Hey, did you still have any leftover?”

Confidence returned to Marble—a feeling completely foreign to her—and she nodded. “Uh, y-yeah, I should.” She dug into her saddlebags and came back up with a hoofful of ruby-colored treats.

“Hey, those look pretty good!”

Marble let out an ‘eep’ of surprise, realizing that she had forgotten Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts, both of whom now eyed the sweets in her hoof.

“You don’t mind if we have some, do you?” Moon Dancer asked.

Marble breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a safe question. She had no qualms about parting with the rest of her rock candy and giving it up certainly wouldn’t result in her getting thrown out of the party. She nodded.

The candy was magically snatched from her hoof a moment later. It wasn’t long after that she had to refrain from giggling slightly as all three mares were struggling to bite down on their treats.

She felt a nudge at her side and turned to Minuette.

“Mind if I have some too?” she asked with a smile.

Marble blushed, but quickly recovered by ripping off her saddlebags and holding up the exposed pouch. “Y-you can have all of it if you want.”

Minuette giggled. “Aw, thanks, but I probably shouldn’t take that much.” Two small pieces levitated free. “I am a dentist after all. Me and candy are supposed to be bitter enemies.” She winked.

“I-I won’t tell anyone,” Marble promised, causing Minuette to giggle again.

A loud crunch suddenly tore their attention back to everyone else.

“Geeze,” Moon Dancer gasped, the shattered remains of her candy still in her mouth. “What’s in these things? Rocks?”

“Yes,” Limestone replied simply.

Moon Dancer froze. “You’re kidding.”

With a snap, Twinkleshine’s candy finally broke, freeing her up to talk again. “I don’t think she is.”

Minuette rolled her piece on her tongue for a moment, pondering if it was a good idea to bite down. Eventually she pushed it to one side of her mouth and looked at Marble. “Is it made out of rocks?”

Marble paled. Was eating rocks a bad thing in Canterlot? She didn’t know, but didn’t want to risk saying the truth, otherwise—

“Yeah, they are,” Limestone replied for her.

Marble cringed. Then cringed harder. And then wished she was invisible. It was only a matter of time now before they all got mad at her now. She even saw Minuette shooting her a concerned glance, obviously a preview of what was to come.

Twinkleshine looked at Limestone, face contorted in confusion. It was clear she was torn between the fact that she was eating a rock and the fact that it tasted so good. “Why exactly did you put rocks in rock candy?”

“It’s not just any old rock if that’s what you’re worried about.” Limestone casually waved away Twinkle’s concern. “We use a special type of mineral in these things. They’re perfectly edible.”

“Oh, well in that case.” Minuette bit into her candy with practiced finesse and started chewing. It wasn’t long before everypony else followed suit.

Marble breathed a sigh of relief for the umpteenth time since the party started. She was getting really good at dodging bullets.

Lemon Hearts finally crunched into her candy too. “I’ve heard about a bunch of kinds of edible rocks before. Which did you use for these?”

Limestone served her a glance with a side of raised eyebrow. “You asking me to give away the secret recipe?”

“Oh, no, of course not.” Lemon Hearts looked away, mumbling as she chewed. “I just wanted to make conversation with you.”

Limestone blinked twice, considering her words. She ended up just shrugging them off, however.

Moon Dancer finally swallowed her candy, smacking her lips. “Hey, anypony ready for the piñata?”

Faces brightened all around them. “Sure,” Twinkleshine said.

“Sounds good,” Lemon Hearts agreed.

“Yeah, I could go for hitting something.” Limestone grinned.

Minuette looked to Marble and then turned back to Moon Dancer with a half smile on her face. “You guys go on ahead, we’ll catch up in a second.”

Marble blinked and opened her mouth, wanting to say something. The words died in the back of her throat, however, killed by a rising concern. As everypony else moved past them towards the piñata, Marble struggled to figure out what this meant.

Naturally, the first thing she did was worry.

After all, that was the appropriate response, right? Minuette randomly wanted to talk to her alone; obviously she wanted to tell Marble that things weren’t working out and that she should just go home before she ruined the party any more.

But the deceptively warm smile on Minuette’s face told a different story entirely. As she drew near, she put a hoof on Marble’s shoulder, sending a jolt through her body.

“Marble, are you all right?” Minuette asked.

She swallowed. So Minuette wasn’t going to kick her out. Maybe. “W-why wouldn’t I be?” Marble struggled out as her emotions tried to level off.

“Because every five seconds you look like somepony’s punched you in the gut.” Minuette’s smile dropped in favor of a more serious look. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Marble’s mouth twitched and she lowered her eyes, not wanting to respond.

“Is it the party?” Minuette asked.

Marble bit her lip and looked away. Her eyes fell on the rest of the party goers as they were coming down from a laughing fit. Limestone was wearing a white blindfold, swinging a stick wildly at a neon-colored, book-shaped piñata. Minuette followed her line of sight.

“Is it my friends? Do you not like them?”

“They’re f-fine,” she mumbled. “E-everything’s f-fine.”

Minuette frowned. “Come on, Marble. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Shuffling her hooves, Marble finally sighed. “I… I don’t want to ruin everything.”

“What?” Minuette tilted her head back in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t…” Marble sniffled. “I don’t want to make them m-mad, cause they m-might kick me out and then you might h-hate me and… and…” She struggled to put words to her inhibitions, but it still came out sounding a lot more pathetic than she meant to.

Minuette blinked in surprise as tears started welling up behind Marble’s eyes. Marble wished she could stop them, but they were pretty much passed the point of no return. She sank into a sitting position and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t even a second after the words left her lips that a pair of blue hooves wrapped her in a hug. Marble felt her breath catch in her throat and her face heated up.

“Oh, Shy Pie,” Minuette whispered. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

Marble blinked back her tears, still not able to breath. Despite this, she tried to say something, but it ended up coming out as a whimper.

“If anypony should be apologizing, it’s me. I didn’t realize just how bad your social anxiety is.” Minuette patted her back. “But trust me, my friends aren’t going to get mad at you for you being you. They’re like, some of the nicest mares I know. They just want to be your friend.”

Marble swallowed and forced herself to take a breath. “O-okay.”

Minuette had no trouble detecting the uncertainty in her voice. “You don’t have to worry about messing anything up, you hear me? I wouldn’t kick you out and I won’t get mad at you. I promise.”

Marble sniffled. “R-really?”

Minuette shifted back, revealing the massive grin on her face. “Totally.”

Marble tried really, really hard not to blush. Emphasis on the word tried.

“T-t-thank you…” She whispered. Her eyes darted to the ground, to the right, to the sky, and then back to Minuette.

She’d be lying if she said this talk had completely washed away all of her worries, but she did feel at least a little better. The assurance that she wasn’t going to ruin her chances with Minuette did bolster her confidence a little bit.

Maybe even enough to… no. No, she wasn’t ready to ask Minuette out on a date. Or even ask Minuette if this qualified as a date. As terrified as she was about potentially screwing up this party, her fear of making things awkward with her crush dwarfed that.

And yet, Marble knew that once she stepped on that train to return home, the odds that she’d ever be sent back to Canterlot were very slim. If she wanted to see Minuette again, they would have to make plans. But if Minuette didn’t say anything then that would mean… that would mean…

She’d have to ask her out.

Oh Celestia...

“Feeling better?” Minuette asked. Her head tilted slightly at the obvious paling of Marble’s face.

Pushing down the butterflies in her stomach, Marble nodded. She’d worry about the fact that she might have to ask Minuette out a little later. “A little bit.”

Minuette flashed her sparkly smile. “Think you might wanna take a few swings at the piñata now? If you don’t it’s totally okay. I understand.”

Marble swallowed and glanced over at piñata side of the party. Limestone was furiously swinging at air, screaming out curses at the paper mache book, which was directly above her head.

“I-I guess so, s-sure.”

“Cool.” Minuette stood up and Marble followed her to all fours. “I think your sister’s had a long enough turn anyway.”

Marble couldn’t deny that. If Limestone spent any longer trying to swing down that piñata the veins on her forehead might burst.

She followed Minuette over to the rest of the party goers, her heart only thumping half as wildly as before. It really did help to know they weren’t going to excommunicate her from the party if she made a mistake.

As they got closer, Limestone threw down her stick in frustration and ripped off the blindfold.

“Ah, forget it!” Limestone yelled, venomously glaring down the piñata. “Stupid thing must be broken.”

“Uh, actually it isn’t,” Twinkleshine said. “You see, if you had actually managed to hit it, then it would be broken and we’d get the candy inside.”

Limestone glared at her, face red from frustration and her eyelid twitching faster than the laws of agitation should allow. She opened her mouth, both ready and willing to vent out all of her piñata-based scorn on the unicorn before her. Marble tensed up when she saw this.

“Okay, why don’t we just calm down a bit.” Moon Dancer stepped between the two and gave Limestone a glance. “No need to get angry over one little piñata, right?”

Limestone huffed, but at least didn’t explode. She turned her head away, mumbling under her breath.

“Uh… I’m sorry you weren’t able to hit it,” Lemon Hearts said to her, likely hoping to calm her down.

“Whatever,” Limestone gruffly grunted. She stalked back over to the snack table, grumbling to herself.

“Well then…” Moon Dancer pressed her lips together and frowned, but eventually shook it off and turned back to the rest of her party guests. “Anyway, who’s next?”

Marble glanced over at Minuette, who gave her an encouraging nod. “U-uh… I would…” she quietly murmured.

Moon Dancer smiled. “Really? Awesome!” Her magic sparked into existence, picking the piñata back up and levitating a blindfold over to Marble.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the stick Limestone had been using also levitating close to her. She tentatively grasped it in her hoof and ‘eep’ed in surprise as the blindfold sealed off her field of vision.

“Ready when you are,” Moon Dancer told her. The piñata jiggled, rustling the candy inside as an indication for her.

Marble’s hoof shook as she held the stick. She just decided that she hated being blindfolded. Seeing nothing but darkness was really uncomfortable, but even so she was determined to at least try. Who knew, maybe if she broke open the piñata she’d have enough courage to ask Minuette out.

Knees wobbling, she took a step forward and swung the stick, slicing through air but not much else.

Taking a deep breath, Marble tried again. Her swing sailed through the air again, but completely missed the piñata.

“Come on, Marble!” Minuette’s voice hit her ears. “You’re so close!”

A blush rose up on Marble’s cheeks and she prayed that her blindfold was wide enough to cover it. Spurred on by Minuette’s words, she took a step forward and swung with all of her might.

THWACK!

“Ow!”

Marble flinched, winced, and cried out all at once. She’d just hit somepony!

No no no no no, oh please Celestia no!

She dropped the stick, letting it clamor to the ground as she ripped off her blindfold. Light flooded into her vision and she blinked to alleviate the stress of it.

As focus came back to her world, she desperately looked around for whoever it had been that she’d whacked. An apology would only go so far, but it was the best she could offer. Though, at this point it probably didn’t matter. Despite Minuette’s earlier assurance, Marble was definitely getting kicked out now.

“I’m so sorr—” The words lurched in her throat as she finally took in the sight before her.

Nopony looked hurt. In fact, nopony was even close enough to her to have been hurt.

“W-What?” Marble looked around and saw Twinkleshine snickering into her hoof.

“Twinkle!” Minuette exclaimed, an annoyed look on her face.

“S-Sorry,” Twinkleshine gasped, breaking out into all out laughter. “I just… haha! Oh gosh, the look on her face!” She fell on her back, rolling with laughter “It was priceless!”

Marble blinked and frowned. “I don’t… what?”

Minuette sighed at her friend and crossed to Marble. “She faked getting hit as a prank.” Minuette turned to her friend. “Even though it was definitely not funny to scare you like that!”

Twinkle calmed down enough to sit back up. “Sorry, Marble.”

Still perplexed, Marble glanced from her to Minuette. “But then… what did I hit?”

Now, Minuette smiled. Without saying a word she nudged her head down. Marble blinked and looked to the ground. Sitting before her was the book piñata, with a massive hole in the center that had candy spilling out all around.

“Congratulations, Marble!” Moon Dancer trotted forward with a smile. “Sorry about Twinkleshine. She’s uh… she’s a bit of a joker.”

“I-It’s all right,” Marble assured her. Her heart rate had finally slowed down enough to be considered ‘fast’ now.

Minuette’s horn lit up and she dragged a still snickering Twinkleshine over by her tail. “All right, now apologize for real.”

“Okay, okay.” Twinkleshine stood up and dusted herself off. Her giggles had finally faded, so she took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, Marble. That wasn’t cool of me.”

Marble was able to give a tiny smile in return. “Really, it’s f-fine.”

“In that case…” Twinkleshine’s horn sparked to life and snatched up a bunch of the piñata’s innards. “Better get your candy while you can!”

Marble blinked in surprise as the rest of the horns in the group lit up. The candy on the ground was scooped up seconds later, leaving only a little behind. Although she didn’t really need any, Marble bent down and grabbed a hoofful or two, just as a souvenir from her first duel with a piñata. She slipped them in her saddlebags.

“So out of curiosity, where did you even find a book-shaped piñata anyway, Moon Dancer?” Minuette asked.

Moon Dancer smiled. “Oh, Pinkie Pie made it for me. Apparently she makes book-themed ones all the time for Twilight’s parties.”

Marble’s ears flicked at the mention of her sister’s name. “Y-You know Pinkie Pie too?”

Everypony nodded and Minuette’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I forgot.” Her foreleg snaked over Marble’s back. “Girls, you’re looking at Pinkie Pie’s twin sister!”

“Wait, what?”

“Holy cow, that’s so cool!”

“You’re serious?”

Marble squirmed at the sudden burst of attention. The realization that her sister had met all of these ponies on top of Minuette was pretty crazy. She knew Pinkie Pie was social, but this was insane!

“That’s pretty awesome.” Moon Dancer grinned. “I never would’ve guessed you two were twins just based on appearances.”

Marble shrugged. “I guess we do look kind of different.”

Lemon Hearts laughed. “‘Kind of’ is an understatement. Still, pretty neat. So I guess this means Limestone is also related to Pinkie?”

Marble nodded. “She’s our big sister.”

Twinkleshine snickered into her hoof again. “Big sister, huh? Well that explains it. Lemon always was interested in older mares.”

Marble tilted her head. “Huh?”

Lemon Hearts drove her fetlock into her friend’s side. “Shut up!”

“Oh, don’t deny it, Hearts. Besides, everypony’s already figured out you’ve got the hots for—”

“I said shut up!” Lemon Hearts pushed Twinkleshine, who retaliated in kind.

Marble watched the exchange curiously before turning to Minuette and Moon Dancer. “Umm… d-do either of you know what that’s all about?”

Minuette rolled her eyes at the two of them. “Don’t worry too much about it.”

Moon Dancer nodded. “Yeah, it’s no big deal.”

Marble blinked. “Oh, um… okay.”

“So who’s up for a little pin the tail on the pony?”

It was late afternoon when Moon Dancer finally ran out of party games.

Marble was actually a little exhausted from it all. Especially the water balloon fight. The instant Limestone had gotten wet, everything had turned much more violent than intended.

Still, that was all over now. Reflecting on it all, Marble did have to admit that she’d had fun. Once Minuette had gotten her to ease up a little—a lot—she was able to stop worrying and enjoy herself for the second time since arriving in Canterlot.

As the party began winding down Marble excused herself away from the group in favor of her own thoughts. She knew they would have to leave soon if they wanted to catch a train home.

And even with that deadline in mind, she still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask Minuette out.

How could she? Minuette had never said that this or their lunch together were dates, which meant she probably didn’t consider them to be dating which meant that Marble would have to ask. Not helping was the fact that Minuette was still the most amazingest, wonderful, beautiful mare she’d ever met.

Also not helping was her hyperventilation.

“Are you okay?”

Marble’s eyes darted to her left to see Lemon Hearts giving her a concerned look. She slowed her raspy breaths long enough to speak. “F-fine. J-just fine.”

Lemon regarded her with disbelief for a moment, but as Marble’s breathing started to return to normal she seemed to accept her answer.

For a moment, neither said anything, but then Lemon Hearts kicked at the ground and took a breath. “Can I ask you something?”

Marble bit her lip, hesitant, but not unwilling. “Okay…”

“Your sister…” Lemon Hearts looked back to Limestone, who was stomping the remnants of the piñata into the ground with a satisfied smile. “...is she single?”

Marble reacted like the words were slaps. “What?”

Lemon Hearts flinched. “I… uh…” She blushed. “I just wanted to know if Limestone was seeing anypony or not.”

“Uh…” Marble still failed to process the question.

“I’m not trying to be weird about it!” Lemon stressed. “I just…” Her face went red. “I kinda… like her… you know?”

Marble couldn’t deny that she understood the feeling. “Uhm… she doesn’t have a marefriend.”

Lemon Hearts whole demeanor brightened. “Do you think… I mean… hypothetically… say I asked her out. Would she say yes?”

Knowing Limestone... “N-Not likely”

Lemon deflated. “Oh…”

Marble bit her lip. She knew that wasn’t the easiest thing to hear. Just imagining being on the other end of this conversation made her stomach flopped and she found herself wishing she could’ve re-worded that last bit. Not that it was untrue; the odds Limestone would return anypony’s feelings were pretty small, but that didn’t mean Lemon Hearts had to be shot down so harshly.

“I’m sorry… I—”

“Don’t sweat it.” Lemon Hearts put on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I didn’t really think my chances were that high anyway. She seems pretty… independent.”

Marble frowned. She was surprised Lemon Hearts was so… accepting of Limestone’s hypothetical—although very likely—rejection. If Marble had been in her spot she’d be bawling her eyes out.

Lemon Hearts started to walk away, but paused and turned back around. “Oh, uh, in case you were wondering: Minuette is single too. And you didn’t hear this from me, but she is looking for a relationship.”

Marble’s face flushed. “U-Uh, w-w-w-what are y-you t-trying to imply?”

Lemon Hearts smiled. “You aren’t exactly subtle, Marble Pie.” With that, she winked and resumed walking off.

Marble turned to face the ground as her blush expanded. She knows? Who else knows? Moon Dancer? Twinkleshine? Limestone?

Well, obviously Limestone, but…

What if Minuette knows?

Marble shook with utter terror at that thought. Was it possible that Minuette knew about her crush? If so, why hadn’t she said anything? Was she just too nice to tell Marble no? Did she not want to risk their friendship? Was she overthinking this as much as Marble was?

“Hey, sis.”

“Eep!” Marble jolted from her thoughts to see Limestone standing next to her. “W-what is it?”

“Time to go.” Limestone pointed over her shoulder to the road. “We gotta catch a train home soon.”

Marble’s eyes widened. They were leaving already? But she still hadn’t worked up the courage to ask Minuette out! Lemon Hearts’ little ‘pep talk’ had just left her at the crossroads of confused and anxious.

“B-But I…” Marble shot a glance over to Minuette.

Limestone rolled her eyes. “Well of course you can say goodbye. Just try and make it quick, okay?”

Marble nodded. Her legs felt like lead, but she still forced them to start moving in the direction of everypony.

What am I going to do? She thought. They were about to leave, which meant she wouldn’t be coming back to Canterlot for a long time. Unless she could work up the nerve to ask Minuette out, they might not see each other again.

But how was she supposed to ask Minuette out? It was like asking a rock to climb a tree! An impossible task that could never—

Well, Boulder managed to do it that one time, but that’s beside the point.

As Marble drew nearer to everypony she felt a lump form in her throat. By the time she was right in front of them, the lump was so big she was surprised she could still breathe.

Minuette looked at her and smiled. “Hey, Shy Pie.”

And just like that Marble’s breath was taken away.

“H-Hi…” She prodded the ground. “I… I have to leave.”

“Aww, really?” Moon Dancer asked, to which Marble could only nod. “Oh well, it was nice having you here, Marble. The party wouldn’t have been the same without you and Limestone.”

Twinkleshine nodded. “Same here; I had a blast.”

Lemon Hearts smiled. “Me too.”

Marble turned up the corners of her mouth just a little bit. “Mmhmm…” She nervously made eye contact with Minuette and prodded the ground.

Lemon Hearts nudged Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer. “Hey, we better go say goodbye to Limestone too.”

“Sure thing.”

As they walked off, Lemon Hearts gave Marble another wink, one that undoubtedly meant ‘go for it’.

Marble turned back to Minuette. “I… um...”

Minuette just kept giving her same breath-stealing smile. “Got something on your mind, Marble?”

“...Mmhmm…”

“I can give you a minute if you need it.”

Marble nodded gratefully. She took a deep breath and pushed down the lump as far as she could. “I… I wanted to… if maybe… I mean…”

Her heart was thumping wildly now. Why couldn't she finish a simple sentence? Why couldn’t she just ask—

“Will you go on another date with me?”

The words slipped out of Marble’s mouth before she even knew what she was saying. She caught the exiting breath with a hurried gasp, but it was too late to unsay anything.

Marble squeezed her eyes shut. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“Of course I will!”

What?

Her eyes shot open. “What?”

Minuette flashed her another smile. “I said of course I’ll go out with you, Marble.”

It was like a choir of angels singing in her ears. “R-Really?”

Minuette giggled. “Yeah, really. I’ve had a great time with you today, Shy Pie. And let’s face it, you’re super cute. So yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

Marble blushed, her heart racing. This was actually happening!

“I just have one question.”

“Yeah?” Marble blinked. “What is it?”

Minuette furrowed her brow in thought. “What did you mean by ‘another date’?”

Marble’s jaw hit the ground as she realized she had said that. “U-uh… I… I kinda…” She sighed, knowing there is no way she could talk around it. “I guess I just considered our lunch together to be our first date.”

“Oh Marble…”

She cringed, not knowing how Minuette would react.

“That wasn’t first date material.”

Marble un-cringed. “I-It wasn’t?”

Minuette giggled. “No, silly.” She put her hoof on Marble’s shoulder. “Okay, so can you make it back to Canterlot next Friday?”

Marble nodded without even thinking about it.

“Great, cause that’s when I’ll show you what a real first date is like. Sound good?”

In an instant, Marble wrapped her hooves and Minuette and squeezed her in a tight hug, forcing her to take a step back. “Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes!”

Minuette laughed and returned her hug. “Okay then. Friday it is.”

Marble blinked back tears of happiness. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening! Not only had she worked up the nerve to ask Minuette out, but she said yes too!

She felt so light-headed and giddy that it almost felt like she might pass out. Marble clung to Minuette a little tighter, just to be on the safe side.

In the midst of her overwhelming joy, something caught her eye. Not too far off was Lemon Hearts fighting back her dejection as she said goodbye to Limestone. The sad look on the pony’s face sent a twinge through Marble’s heart. She wished there was some way to cheer her up; especially seeing as how Marble's pessimism was the reason Lemon wasn't trying to pursue her crush. If only there was a way to...

An idea suddenly popped into her mind.

“Uhm… Minuette?” Marble pulled away so she could look her in the eye.

“Yeah, Shy Pie? What’s up?”

Marble pulled out her sweetest possible smile. “D-Do you think we could make it a double date?”

What Sisters Are For

Marble sat uncomfortably in her seat. The dull gray rocks of Nickerlite whizzed across her eyes through the window of the train, letting her know the ride would be over soon enough. She fidgeted in her seat as she tried to sift through a whirlwind of emotions that hadn’t left her alone since leaving Canterlot.

She felt relief from finally being away from all the ponies in the big city. She felt somehow empty inside now that she was so far away from Minuette. She felt butterflies in her stomach, fluttering up a flurry over anticipation for their date next week. But most of all, she felt like an idiot because she hadn’t told Limestone about her double date plan.

Stupid stupid stupid! She wanted to bang her head against the window of the train car. The ride home was almost over and she hadn’t breathed a word to her sister about the commitment she’d blindly made for her.

And how could she? Limestone had a tendency to freak out if somepony looked at Holder’s Boulder the wrong way. How would she react to being set up on a date with a mare she barely knew?

Not well, probably.

Still, telling her now would probably be better than telling her the day of. Best to get it over with now.

She turned to her sister, who was resting against the seat next to her, probably trying to get a nap in or at least pretending to.

“L-Limestone…”

One of her sister’s eyes popped open. “Yeah?”

Marble’s hooves fidgeted as she looked to the floor. “Um… I-I was just wondering… Uh…”

“About what I thought about your marefriend?”

Marble’s face went crimson. “U-Uh…”

Limestone rolled her eyes. “She’s fine, Marble. I don’t exactly get why you’ve fallen head over heels for her, but she’s fine. A little in-your-face though…”

“That wasn’t what I was going to ask!” Marble exclaimed. She covered her mouth a second later, worried her outburst would draw out Limestone’s wrath.

“Okay then, what?” Limestone opened her other eye and sat up.

Marble lowered her hooves and looked back to the ground. “I… I’m going to see again her next F-Friday and… I… uh…”

“You want the day off?” Limestone guessed. “You know that’s more Pa’s decision than mine.”

“N-No—Well, yes, but that wasn’t what I was going to say.” Marble bit her lip. “U-Uh… w-what did you t-think of Lemon Hearts?”

Limestone tapped her hoof before narrowing her eyes. “Pink hair, white coat?”

Marble shook her head. “T-that was Twinkleshine. Lemon Hearts was the yellow one.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, they just look kinda similar.” Limestone reclined again, seemingly ready to go back to sleep. “Anyway, she was fine, I guess. Why?”

“I, uh…” Marble prematurely winced before ripping off the band-aid. “I might’ve… set you up on a date… with her.”

Limestone rocketed upright. “What?” The word was icy enough to send a chill down Marble’s spine.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!” Marble slid back, trying her hardest to blend in with the wall. “I didn’t mean— I was just trying to— I—” Her whole body shook, afraid of Limestone’s inevitable outburst.

“Why would you do something like that?” Limestone hissed, keeping her voice low for the sake of the other passengers, or intimidation, or both.

“I… I…” Marble’s pupil’s shrunk. What should she say? Lemon Hearts probably wouldn’t want her feelings ousted like this, but what other excuse was there? Unless… “I’m really nervous about spending more time with Minuette and I didn’t want to be on my own in Canterlot, so I thought maybe if you were there…” It was a truth, in a sense.

She stopped there, seeing Limestone pressing a hoof to her face. “Marble,” she groaned.

“I’m sorry.” Marble cowered in the corner. “P-Please don’t be mad…”

“I’m not sure that’s possible.” Limestone’s eyelid twitched. “Just… how could you think it’s okay to set me up with somepony?”

“I didn’t! I mean… I did, but…” Marble whimpered. “I’m so sorry. I guess I thought, maybe, you’d like to go on a date with somepony?”

Limestone narrowed her eyes, face scrunched up and red. She turned away indignantly. “If I wanted a relationship, I would go to the Pairing Stone, not you.”

Marble’s ears folded down. “Does… does that mean you won’t go on the date?”

A grunt was her only reply. Marble lowered her head, a frown creasing her face. This was terrible, entirely expected, but nonetheless terrible. How was Lemon Hearts going to feel on Friday when Limestone didn’t show up for their date? Marble gave it some thought, before comparing it to how she would probably feel if Minuette didn’t show:

Awful.

Shattered.

Devastated.

Marble didn’t want Lemon Hearts feeling like any of that. She would have to convince Limestone to give her a shot before Friday and resolved to do just that as their train pulled into the station.

But first, she would have to survive her parents.

Marble was not going to survive her parents.

The four of them—Marble, Limestone, Cloudy Quartz, and Igneous—were sitting around the table, varying the amount of poking they were doing at the rock stews before them.

Silence was normally a welcome friend to Marble, but tonight it felt more like a hostile interrogator, staring her down and waiting for a confession. All the things she’d done from skipping the presentation, to meeting Minuette, to delaying coming home in favor of a party, all felt like crimes she now had to answer for. And the court of law was her parent’s judgement.

Igneous cleared his throat. “So, how didst the sales pitch fare?”

Marble winced internally; the first line of questioning had begun.

“Fine,” Limestone replied gruffly, not looking up from her stew. Marble blinked across the table and looked at her sister with surprise. It was the first thing she said since she’d found about the double date idea.

“Is that all thou wish-ith to say, daughter?” Cloudy Quartz asked.

“Yup.” Limestone ran her spoon through the stew and glanced up at Marble. “I don’t have anything else to say.” Marble gulped.

Igneous nodded, accepting her answer. “Verily. And what of you, Marble? Didst thou find Canterlot to be enjoyable?”

“Uh… Mmmhmm.” Marble whipped her head back to her stew. Her thoughts leapt to Minuette and she wasn’t able to beat back a blush before her mother saw.

“What manner of enjoyment didst thou find?” Cloudy asked, scrutinizing her daughter.

Marble dipped into silence, biting her lip with anxiety. She had to find a way to nip this conversation the in bud, fast. At this rate, her… relationship? Her whatever-it-was with Minuette would be exposed.

“Marble?” Cloudy jutted her back to reality.

“Oh… um…” Marble shrouded her face with her mane. “T-there were nice… p-ponies.”

“Thou exchanged words with Canterlotians?” Igneous asked, surprised.

“A… A little.”

Limestone scoffed. “More like a lot.”

Cloudy and Igneous shared a look, neither quite sure what to make of this. Marble talking to strangers was as bizarre to them as a farm without rocks. Marble talking a lot to strangers was a sure sign of the apocalypse.

“Er… How hath this come about?” Igneous asked, looking directly at Marble.

She chewed the inside of her cheek.. This would undoubtedly be the question that broke her. She couldn’t lie—she never lied to her parents—but she also wasn’t ready to say the truth. Her parent's reaction to Marble developing a crush would undoubtedly be to drag her to the Pairing Stone.

And Marble just wasn’t ready for that.

“I, uh… um… eh…”

“You might as well tell them, Marble,” Limestone interjected.

Marble wanted to whimper. Of course Limestone wasn’t going to help her out right now, angry as she was. Marble was honestly surprised her sister hadn’t spilled the beans already.

As her parents gazes settled on her, Marble knew she was running out of options. In a last ditch effort, she stuffed her mouth with a spoonful of rock stew and tried to sink below the table. “C-Can I be excused?”

Cloudy shook her head. “Nay, daughter. Thou shalt answer the question first.”

“Marble, thou must have some reason for this. Pray tell, what is it?” Igneous’ concern for his daughter was palpable.

Marble sighed. There was no getting around this was there? Out of excuses to delay, she cleared her throat and whispered in her smallest possible voice. “I might… have a crush on somepony.”

Her parents leaned in, ears first, and strained to hear. “Pardon?”

Gulping, Marble sat up and tried again, a little louder and a little bolder. “I have a crush on somepony I met… in Canterlot. A-And I asked her on a date for next week.”

Oh yeah, they heard that one. Cloudy’s jaw hit the table, while Igneous reclined back into his chair, face stricken with confusion. Marble found herself a little insulted; was it really so hard to believe she asked somepony out?

...Okay, knowing me, no. I can still hardly believe it.

“This is the truth, Marble?” Igneous asked her.

She nodded her head, too afraid to speak. Igneous took a moment to ponder this, his expression unreadable. Then he took his napkin and calmly wiped his face before standing up.

“Very well, we must’nt dawdle then. Come, Marble.”

“Uh… t-to where?”

“Why, the Pairing Stone of course.” Igneous was already walking to the front door. “We shall visit before the sun sets.”

Marble’s pupils shrunk. She glanced to her mother, hoping that she might talk him out of this. Cloudy Quartz merely offered her a smile, as if this was a proud moment. “Hurry along, Marble. Thou shouldn’t delay an event as important as this.”

Marble swallowed, before reluctantly prying herself from her seat. She turned her face to the ground, more comfortable studying the floorboards than she was with making eye contact with any of her family members.

She walked forward, her hooffalls heavy as she dragged herself to the front door. Anxiety burned in her chest, as the realization of what was about to happen began weighing down on her.

She was about to learn whether or not Minuette was her soulmate. Was that terrifying or exciting? Both?

If Minuette turned out to be her soulmate… well, Marble’s heart fluttered at the thought. She’d only known Minuette for such a short time, but she felt so strongly about her already. But… would her parents try to arrange a marriage between them so soon? Her mother often liked to joke about how she went to the Pairing Stone on Monday, married Igneous on Tuesday, and began expecting Limestone on Wednesday.

Change, especially rapid change like that, was not something Marble liked. At all.

Not to mention if Minuette was her soulmate, what was Marble supposed to do? How was she ever supposed to feel comfortable around Minuette again if the whole time she would only worry about ruining her one shot at true love? The stress would probably give her gray hairs.

Er… gray-er hairs.

“Do not look so downcast, Marble,” Igneous told her. Their walk was taking them through the eastern fields, but she hadn’t even noticed until now. “Thou must simply trust in the Pairing Stone. It hath never been wrong before.”

Forcing a smile, Marble nodded. He was right; the Pairing Stone had never gotten it wrong before. Every family in Nickerlite had been using it for the last half-dozen generations, and never had one of the marriages it predicted fallen apart. It was infallible.

But what if it doesn’t pair me with her?

That probably terrified Marble more than the alternative. If she wasn’t meant to be with Minuette, why did she have such strong feelings for her? How was she supposed to deal with it? Just… forget the cute, bubbly mare that had bounced into her life and turned her world rightside up?

The mere thought made her want to whimper.

“P-Pa?” she whispered.

Igneous stopped and looked back to her. “Yes, daughter?”

Marble swallowed, lips quivering as she stuttered out, “I-I d-don’t w-want to g-go to the P-Pairing Stone.”

Her father’s eyebrow rose. “Why not? You hath become infatuated with somepony, yes?”

“Yes…”

“Then do you not wish to know whether they are worth pursuing or not?”

Marble kicked at the ground, unable to make eye contact. “I…”

Igneous turned to his daughter and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Marble, I know thou must retain some reservations about this, but it is most important that you visit the Pairing Stone. Trust me, knowing who your true soulmate is will make you feel better.”

Marble hesitantly nodded. It was nice to know her father was trying to make her feel better, but the fact that he was still going through with this undercut that.

“Now make haste,” he said, whirling around and targeting the quartz mines. “We are nearing our destination.”

As he picked up the pace, Marble lagged behind. She was still so unsure about this and was fighting the desire to run away and hide in her room.

Deep breaths, Marble, she told herself. Deep, deep breaths.

She followed after her father as they finally made it to the entrance to the quartz mines. Marble had visited them plenty of times before, almost directly after the entrance there were two tunnels that stretch to opposite directions. The one of the right led to the mines, but Marble had never gone down the left one before. Now she had a pretty good idea why.

“Here is where we part,” Igneous told her as they approached the left tunnel.

“W-What?” Marble asked. “You mean you aren’t coming with me?”

“Nay, it is not my place to intrude on such a private moment. It should be for you and you alone.”

“B-But… how will I know…” Marble’s legs shook anxiously.

Igneous gave her a soft smile. “The Pairing Stone will let you know. Now go on.”

One gentle nudge later, Marble found herself walking down the tunnel. Her heart thumped in her chest as she slowly walked, descending into an increasingly darker tunnel. She glanced nervously to the quartz crystals lining the wall and then back to her father as he waved her on.

Sighing, Marble picked up her pace. As the last of the light from outside faded, it was replaced by a new light. A soft, pinkish glow coming from the end of the tunnel. Uneasy already, Marble slowed down again, taking at least a couple of minutes to finally reach it.

As she came out of the tunnel, all she found was a small room. That, and the enormous crystal that dominated it.

Marble gaped and had to take a step back just to see the whole thing. It was easily the size of Holder’s Boulder, pointy and jagged, and giving off the pink glow that had guided her through the tunnel.

She looked around, seeing nothing else in the room, and was only able to guess that this was the Pairing Stone.

Heart racing, legs wobbling, she approached the stone completely unsure of what to do. Her reflection appeared before her on the massive quartz, letting her see just how afraid she felt.

She swallowed. “U-Uh… h-hello, mister, uh… Pairing Stone. I g-guess I’m here to f-find my soulmate?”

She waited, the sounds of her hesitant greeting echoing of the walls of the cavern.

Nothing.

The thought raced across her mind that now would be a good time to leave. She could tell her father that it was broken, or something, and wouldn’t have to worry about this ever again. Yeah, that was a good idea.

Just then, however, her reflection shimmered. Marble blinked, unsure what was happening. As her reflection began changing shape, it hit her what the Pairing Stone was about to do. It was going to show her who her special somepony was.

Marble slammed her eyes shut before the picture could form. Her heart was pounding and her legs felt like jelly. She didn’t want to look. She couldn’t look. She wasn’t ready to know.

But she had to all the same.

With a shaky breath to steady herself, Marble slowly opened her eyes to see the face of her special somepony staring back at her.

Her heart stopped.

Limestone sat her head against the back of the living room sofa and closed her eyes as she relaxed into a sigh. Today had been one of those days that seemed to never end, culminating in the discovery that her own sister had been trying to set her up with somepony she hardly knew. It was just one headache after another, with no breathing room at all. Though to be fair, with her short temper most days felt like that, but still. It was nice to just slow it down for change and take a break.

SLAM!

Limestone’s eye popped open at the sound of the front door flying open and she turned around to see what was happening. The violent outburst was quickly followed by Marble, who ran past her field of vision and up the stairs in the blink of an eye, chased down by a couple of choked sobs. A moment later Limestone heard another door slam, this one likely for their shared bedroom.

Confusion and concern hit her in equal amounts and she turned back around to see her father walking through the door.

“What’s wrong with Marble?” she asked.

Igneous offered her a heavy sigh before gently shutting the front door. “It wouldst appear that yonder Pairing Stone failed to grace young Marble with the partner she desired.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in and when they did, Limestone bit her lip. “Oh… geeze.” She glanced back to the stairs, hearing a faint but sure sobbing.

“She is most sad about this development, but it would be wise if thou wouldst allow her to ruminate alone. Eventually she shall accept the Pairing Stone’s decision on the matter.”

As her father walked into the other room, his peace on the issue spoken, Limestone’s brow creased with worry. On most occasions she would go along with what her father said, but this time would have to be an exception.

Setting aside her anger at Marble’s earlier actions, she marched up the stairs and to the door of her bedroom. Marble’s intense sobbing was dying down, but still very noticeable. Not wanting to agitate her sister anymore than she already was, Limestone did something she wasn’t exactly known for and exercised restraint as she turned to the knob and pushed the door open.

What she saw was definitely a punch to the heart.

Marble was sprawled out on her bed, face buried in a pillow that was already visibly damp from tears. Every few seconds she would shake as a new wave of crying hit her and in between she settled for sniffling into her bedspread pitifully.

Limestone realized at that instant that she had come up here without even giving what she was going to say a passing thought. Now that she needed to speak, the words struggled to move beyond the back of her throat.

Eventually she had to do something, so she took a seat at the end of the bed and gave her sister a pat on the back that basically said ‘hey, I don’t know what to say so I’m hoping that this will help’.

“Marble…” Limestone said when she saw her sisterly pat—surprisingly—fail to make an impact. “Do… do you want to talk about it?”

The offer to fling her feelings on to waiting ears was enough to get Marble to turn her head from the pillow. She sniffled, looking at Limestone with red, doleful eyes as she rubbed away the tears running down her cheek. She whimpered and nodded.

“Okay… so…” Limestone realized the idiocy of what she’d said immediately. She didn’t know how to talk about feelings. Even Maud was better than her at that stuff. Maud for Celestia’s sake! “Uh… I take it the… Pairing Stone visit didn’t go so well.”

The instant the words left her mouth she wanted to slap herself. She couldn’t have said anything dumber if she tried.

Marble whined a little before slowly nodding and curling up into the fetal position. “Mmmhmm…”

Limestone sighed. “So, Minuette’s not your soulmate then.”

“Mmmhmm…”

“Well… that’s not all bad. I mean—”

Marble pressed the side of her head back into the pillow and whimpered again, letting Limestone know what a horrible job she was doing at cheering her up.

Sighing, Limestone decided on a different approach. “Marble, no offense or anything, but why is it such a big deal if Minuette isn’t your soulmate? You’ve known her for only a day.”

Marble sniffled and wiped her eyes as her head rose up. She eventually worked her way into a sitting position and gave Limestone a dull, sad look. “L-Limestone, do you remember when Loose Gravel invited me to his eighth birthday party?”

Limestone blinked in confusion, wondering why her sister was bringing up something from years ago. “Uh… yeah. He handed you an invitation and you threw up on his face before passing out.”

Marble nodded ruefully. “I… I’m not good with socializing. I feel like that all the time. Like I’m gonna throw up and pass out around everypony.” Limestone opened her mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say, so Marble continued. “You, Maud, Pinkie, Ma, Pa, anypony from Nickerlite, I just… I don’t feel comfortable around any of them. I’ve gotten better around you all because we’re family, but other ponies in general just make me feel all sick and woozy. But…” She wiped her eyes again. “Minuette is the first pony I’ve ever met who doesn’t give me that feeling.”

She struggled to figure out what to do with her hooves, eventually settling on resting her head in them before sobbing again. “And if Minuette isn’t my soulmate then…” she was interrupted by a sniffling fit.

Limestone didn’t need her to finish though. It was pretty obvious; Marble couldn’t imagine being with anypony else.

Feeling a sisterly urge to comfort Marble, Limestone put her hoof around her and drew her close. Marble shifted from crying into her hooves to pressing her face into Limestone’s side. Limestone let her.

“Did you know the pony the Pairing Stone showed you?” Limestone asked.

Marble took a moment to calm down before responding. “N-no… I didn’t recognize them at all.”

Limestone gave her a firm pat. “So Pa probably didn’t know them either, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

“So then it’s not like he’ll be arranging your marriage in the next couple of days or anything.”

She sniffled. “I guess not…”

Limestone nodded. “So, why don’t you just go on your date with Minuette then?” Marble whimpered at the mere mention of the idea. “What?”

“How can I?” Marble asked, tearing her face from Limestone’s side to look her in the eye. “How am I supposed to go on a date with her, knowing it’s not meant to be? Knowing it’s pointless to even try if I’m not…” She winced. “...not her soulmate?”

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Limestone studied the floorboards with a sigh. “Look, Marble, I don’t have an answer for that, okay? But, you clearly like this mare. A lot. And she makes you the happiest I’ve ever seen you. So… spend time with her. Date her. What have you got to lose?”

Marble sniffled again, but softer this time. “B-but how can I face her, knowing what I know? How am I supposed to have fun if every time I see her now, I see her as the wrong pony?” Tears ran down her cheek and chased each other to the floor. “How am I supposed to tell her we aren’t meant to be?”

Limestone was at a loss for words as Marble dove back into her side. For a while, all she could offer was a soothing pat on the back, until an idea came to her.

Except… this idea wasn’t the best. In fact, Limestone had to wrestle with herself over it for a few moments to decide if it was even a good idea. It made her want to clench her jaw till her teeth cracked, but at the same time, if it cheered Marble up…

“What if I went with you?”

Marble caught her newest sob in the back of her throat and looked up at Limestone with red, puffy eyes. “W-what?”

“What if I went with you on the date?” Limestone clarified, more for herself than Marble. She couldn’t believe the offer she was making. “You know, try and take the tension out of it all and remind you to just have fun and junk.”

“You’d do that?” Marble asked, her voice not quite as sad.

“Sure. You said you were already setting me up with somepony right? Lemon Hearts?”

Marble blinked away her tears. “Y-yes… but I thought you didn’t like her.”

Limestone scrunched up her muzzle and looked away, forcing down a blush. “I-It’s not like I want to date her or anything… but if it’ll make you feel better, then I’ll do it.”

Marble wiped her eyes and sat up. “You’d really come?”

“Do you think it’d help?”

Marble looked to the ground, biting her lip in uncertainty. "I-I don’t know if it’ll be better, but I think it would help if I’m not alone.”

Limestone smiled. “Then I’ll come.”

Tears were still streaking down Marble’s face, but they couldn’t stop a smile from erupting on Marble’s face. She ambushed Limestone with a hug, nuzzling her big sister with gratitude even as tears still ran down her face. “Thank you! Thank you so, so much!”

“Heh, no problem.” Limestone replied, bringing her forelegs around Marble. She estimated that she had about half a minute before the intense squeezing caused her to black out, so she was going to make every last second count. “After all, what are sisters for?”

Anxiety

Five hours. Her date with Minuette was only five short hours away.

Marble felt like throwing up. She couldn’t tell if it was because of nerves, or fear, or both.

Probably both.

She paced around her room, anxiously trotting from wall to wall as she breathed heavily. Her mind raced, trying to come up with ways to calm herself down, or at the very least not have a record breaking heart beat for the rest of the day.

No matter what she tried to do to encourage herself, she simply wasn’t ready. Despite Limestone’s pep talk earlier in the week and subsequent promise to come with her, Marble still wasn’t ready to go. She was just too afraid. The Pairing Stone’s prediction that Minuette wasn’t her soulmate only piled on to an already hefty heap of stress and worry. Said pile wasn’t particularly unusual for Marble, but it was here at the worst possible time.

Maybe you should just stay home. A tiny voice in the back of her head told her.

N-No! No, don’t be stupid! Not showing up would be worse than any conceivable horror that could happen during the date. Minuette would be crushed!

...Would she really be crushed, though?

She’d probably be hurt. Or maybe just mildly inconvenienced. It’s not like you are important to her or anything. Minuette would probably be just fine if you never showed up for your date. And Lemon Hearts… well… she’d bounce back.

Marble furiously shook her head. No, you are not going to stand Minuette up. You have to go on this date. You’ll hate yourself if you don’t. She’ll hate you if you don’t.

Her pacing slowed as her decision was finalized. But just because she was now certain she was going didn’t mean her nerves were gone.

“What am I supposed to tell her?” The words leaked from her lips before she had the chance to stop them. All week she’d been trying so hard to not think about this, but it had just been delaying the inevitable, unfortunately.

Now that Marble knew Minuette and her weren’t soulmates, how was she supposed to break the news? Just show up to the date and say “Hey Minuette, guess what? We’re not meant to be together. Bye now!”

The mere idea made her shiver with disgust. She didn’t want to say that to Minuette. She didn’t even believe it herself. Or rather, she couldn’t accept it.

But acceptance or no, what was she supposed to do? Keep it a secret from her? Sure, that might work for a little while, but what would happen when the day came that she met her actual special somepony?

Marble whimpered, the thought making her stomach ache. At this point, she was dreading the date more than she was looking forward to it, which was not how she wanted to view spending time with Minuette. But it wasn’t like there was any hope of changing that. Unless the Pairing Stone was somehow wrong…

...But the Pairing Stone is never wrong. Never ever. Marble sighed, turned to her bed, and flopped down on it into a defeated heap.

She felt like crying all over again. It didn’t matter if Limestone was going to be there with her. It didn’t matter if the date went perfectly. It didn’t matter if she got to hold Minuette’s hoof, or hug her, or kiss her, or anything! No matter what, dating her would only feel… wrong now.

Marble sniffled into her pillow, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

“Don’t tell me you need another pep talk.”

She gasped, tearing her head off of her bed and looking up to see Limestone standing in the middle of the doorway.

“Seriously,” her big sister said. “I am not good with feelings. Please don’t make me try them again.”

“Haha.” Marble’s laugh was weak, but she still managed one.

“So…” Limestone rocked on her heels, words on the tip of her tongue. “Ready to go?”

Marble clenched her jaw. “U-Uh…”

Limestone took a few steps into the room and knelt down to be eye level with her little sister. “I’m cool with you taking some time, sis, but we don’t have too much of it until we need to catch a train.”

She nodded. “Yeah… I know…”

Limestone gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “That means you have ten seconds before I drag you to Canterlot, got it?”

Marble paled. Her ears folded down and her pupils shrunk within the time it took for Limestone to finish her consolatory pat. “W-What?”

Her sister stood back up. “Well, I’m not letting you talk me into to going on a double date only for you to chicken out at the last second. You’re coming to Canterlot again whether you like it or not.”

She swallowed, almost choking on her fear. “B-But…” Her voice trailed off, unable to find the words.

“Three… two… one.” Limestone grunted. “Okay, here we go.”

Before Marble could react, she felt Limestone lifting her up. Her body was stuck in limp-noodle mode, so it wasn’t hard for her older sister to rip her from the bed and let her flop to the ground. Marble started to rise, but Limestone already hooked her leg to Marble’s and was dragging her out of the room without any trouble.

“L-Limestone!” Marble was lucky enough to stumble to her hooves before they reached the stairs, but wasn’t exactly graceful in her descent. Limestone was moving faster with each step and Marble was just trying to keep her legs from twisting into a knot.

Touching ground on the first floor, Limestone’s laser focus set its sights on the door. They were moving again, but Marble still couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the house.

She finally wiggled her leg free of Limestone’s grip and stopped just before they could make it to the door. “Limestone, please w-wait!”

Her sister paused, hoof on the doorknob, and turned back around. “Are you serious right now?”

Marble whimpered, ears folding down. She could hear the annoyance slipping into her sister’s tone. “I’m s-sorry… I just…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t know what to do…”

Limestone’s expression softened immediately. “Whoa, Marble...”

She sniffled. “I… I can’t just lead her on if we aren’t soulmates… but how am I supposed to tell her that we shouldn’t be together?” Tears were already streaming down her face, so she wiped them away and sniffled. “I like her so much… I want her to like me… I want so badly for this to work, but now I know it never will.”

New tears took the place of the old ones and silence permeated the room, save for her sniffling.

She could’ve spent thirty seconds or thirty hours wallowing in that pit of her own sadness, Marble wasn’t sure. Time just kind of slipped away, along with her happiness and what little self-confidence she had accrued over the last week.

After some amount of time passed—probably closer to thirty seconds than thirty hours, though—Limestone sat down next to her, one hoof on her shoulder. “Marble… you could just not tell her.”

“W-What?”

To be perfectly honest, she’d been expecting another pep talk. Or words of wisdom. Or anything that would make her feel better. Maybe Limestone was just joking?

When she looked up at her sister, though, she didn’t get that intention from her at all. Limestone’s face was serious; her brows were creased and her mouth folded into a thin line.

Definitely not joking.

“Y-You can’t be serious…”

“Marble, this is your first date with Minuette, okay? She’s not looking for her soulmate, she's looking to have a fun time with a mare she likes. Why screw that up for her?” Limestone gave her a firm pat on the back before standing up. “I know it won’t feel good to keep it to yourself, but seriously, just forget about it for tonight, okay? Maybe it’ll work out.”

Marble frowned, blinking back more tears. She stayed planted on the ground for a while longer, pondering her sister’s advice. It wasn’t a bad idea… but she still didn’t think she could do it.

“You really think I shouldn’t tell her?” Her voice was such a soft whisper, that a gentle breeze could have knocked her words to pieces.

Limestone nodded. “Yeah. I think it’d be better for both of you.”

If Limestone thinks that then…

Slowly, Marble stood back up to meet her sister at eye level. She wiped away the remaining tears and gave a shaky, firm nod. “O-okay… I guess.”

Limestone smiled. “Great, then we should go.” Marble nodded again.

Limestone turned around, hoof outstretched to grab the doorknob. Right before she could touch it, however, it clicked, and the door swung open. Marble immediately shrunk back, recognizing the imposing figure of her father.

The older stallion blinked in surprise upon seeing them and after a moment’s hesitation he cleared his throat. “Greetings, daughters. Didst thou need to travel to the fields for something?”

Marble shook, that sliver of confidence she had just gotten back was now slinking off into the distance again. “U-U-U-Uh…”

“No,” Limestone said, coming to her rescue. “We have… somewhere else to go.” Marble could tell by the sweat forming on her forehead that she hadn’t planned on running into Pa at all on their way out and wasn’t looking forward to choking out the truth in front of him.

“Thou hast business to attend to in Nickerlite?” Their father guessed.

“Ehhhhh… further out.” Limestone was wincing now, and that act alone earned her a serious glare. She sighed. “We’re going to Canterlot.”

Igneous knitted his brows together. “Didst thou receive a letter from the mining company?”

Limestone’s eyes darted everywhere in an attempt to avoid contact with her father’s. “No…”

Igneous turned his attention to Marble, who was still shaking. Slowly, his brows knit as understanding dawned on him. “Is this pertaining to the mare thou wished to court, Marble?”

She swallowed what just so happened to be the world’s biggest lump in her throat before giving her answer. “I-I-I-I-I...y-yes…” A premature wince struck her, but Marble was more worried about the threat of tears returning. It wasn’t fair! She was so close to being able to go and now…

“Very well.”

Her father stepped aside, opening up the doorway to them. This gesture was unfortunately overshadowed by the sounds of Limestone and Marble’s jaws hitting the floor.

“Wait, what?” Limestone pushed her jaw back into place, only to start using it again immediately. “You’re actually okay with letting her go?”

“I’ve yet to become blind, Limestone,” Igneous said. “I can tell that Marble needs closure on the matter. If meeting with this mare once more shall provide it, then go ahead.”

Marble’s eyes widened in disbelief. Could this actually be happening? Her father was going to let her go on a date with somepony he knew wasn’t her soulmate? Granted he was assuming this was the last Marble was ever going to see of Minuette, but it was still a decision that baffled her.

“O...kay then.” Limestone looked to her sister, her father, and her sister again. “Let’s go… I guess?”

Marble’s head jittered in what could be considered a nod; she didn’t take her eyes off of her father. “T-Thank you.”

The faintest of smiles creased his lips, and then Marble was yanked out of the house by Limestone.

Stepping off the train and onto the platform at Canterlot Station was very reminiscent for Marble. Just like last time, a crowd of ponies flooded the place, the noise was deafening, and her anxiety was approaching all time highs.

But unlike last time, this time she wasn’t so eager to turn around and run home, tail between her legs. Sure, she wasn’t ecstatic about the way things were going, but it could be a lot worse.

One thing that was nagging her was what her father had said. Did he really think that this date was supposed to be closure for her?

Marble hadn’t been entertaining the thought in between imagining various doomsday scenarios for the evening and trying not to die of stress. But now, it was a little different. What if while on the date, she simply found her fondness of Minuette fade to the point of disinterest? Would she move on, just like that?

It was hard to imagine, but it was possible all the same. As she followed Limestone out of the train station, Marble couldn’t help but feel dread for that potential situation. She didn’t want to lose interest in Minuette; she really liked her. A lot.

I wouldn’t just… not care about her because of who the Pairing Stone showed me, would I?

At this point, she had no idea. All she was certain of was that this date was going to go awry, one way or another.

“Okay, where to now?”

Marble raised her head, just now noticing they were out of the train station. Turning off auto-pilot, she stopped walking and saw her sister’s expectant gaze. “Huh?”

“We’re meeting them at Minuette’s office right? ‘Cause I don’t know how to get there.”

“Oh.” Marble looked around, getting her bearings. The rippling crowds made her stomach flop, but aside from that figuring out where to go wasn’t too hard. “T-This way.”

They started down the street, Marble taking the lead for probably the first time in her life. She wished she could say that fact made her even a little confident, but the truth was that it only revved up her nerves even more.

Shaking slightly with each step, Marble led her sister down the street, worming and squirming to avoid the throng of ponies heading in the opposite direction of them. Based on the grunts and offended gasps behind her, she could tell Limestone was using a more… direct approach to get through the crowd.

Marble just kept her head down and didn’t say anything about it. She just hoped that Limestone was taking the opportunity to vent her frustrations and not build them. The less angry she was on the date, the better.

Not that it would help anything.

As Marble rounded the corner, she felt the butterflies in her stomach flap up a flurry. She felt so close to throwing up, but just kept walking with the faint hope that she wouldn’t.

The streets seemed to fly by as the two sisters moved ever closer to the impending date. Marble barely paid attention to the turns she was making, but knew they were getting close when she saw the billboard that hung above Minuette’s dentistry.

They reached the last turn and Marble had to swallow a lump in her throat. She peered around the corner, just to check and see if their dates were there. When she did, her heart skipped a beat.

Minuette was standing just outside her office, chatting with Lemon Hearts. Hugging her body was a beautiful, sleek, purple dress. It flowed with her movements, its tight hold on Minuette’s body exemplified her curves and its lavender color complimented her coat perfectly.

Time seemed stuck in slow motion as Marble stared and drank in every detail of her date. The way Minuette’s hair bounced in the wind, the way her snout scrunched up when she laughed, her sparkly eyes twinkling with vibrancy. She looked radiant. Stunning.

It was safe to say Marble hadn’t lost interest in Minuette.

A blush exploded on her face and she ducked back behind the corner. Her heart was pounding like a hammer against her ribcage. All of her nerves returned with a vengeance and she just about did throw up this time.

“Whoa, Marble are you okay?” Limestone asked as her sister heaved and doubled over.

“I can’t go out there.”

Limestone furrowed her brow. “What?”

Marble shook. “She’s… She’s beautiful. She’s wearing a d-dress and I... I didn’t k-know this date was supposed to be f-fancy. I can’t m-meet her like this. I should just g-go before I embarrass myself and h-her.”

With a roll of her eyes, Limestone grunted. “Don’t be stupid, Marble.”

“B-But— Eep!” Marble suddenly lurched forward. She looked down to see her sister’s hoof wrapped around hers, then glanced up to see that they were rounding the corner and heading straight for their dates.

Marble found it hard to breathe as her hooves dragged on the cobblestone. They were rapidly approaching the two mares. Any second now they—

“Marble!” Minuette’s bright gaze trained on her, making the shy mare’s heart melt.

She rushed up to them, and Limestone let go of Marble just in time for Minuette to throw her hooves around her and squeeze. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

Marble’s face was burning. Hesitantly, she draped her own forelegs around her, nuzzling Minuette’s mane. She was baffled; not even five seconds with this mare and already she’d forgotten all her worries. “Me too.”

She looked over to see Lemon Hearts running up to Limestone. It looked like she was about to go for a hug, like Minuette, but she slowed down when she saw Limestone’s less than ecstatic expression. Coming to a standstill, Lemon Hearts poked at the ground and blushed. “H-Hi, Limestone.”

“Hey.”

Lemon looked like her spirits were a little dampened by that non-chalant greeting, but she put on a hopeful smile regardless.

Marble took notice that the yellow mare had dressed up too. She wore a seafoam green dress that was a little less modest than her friend’s. Where Minuette had simple straps, Lemon had puffed sleeves. Minuette’s outfit was rather understated, while Lemon’s seemed rather flashy with a sash tied around her midsection that culminated with a bow on her back, and sparkles dotting the skirt.

Also, Lemon appeared to have put on makeup for the evening, where Minuette seemed to be going all natural. There was a hint of pink lipstick on her, as well as traces of eyeliner.

The difference in intentions between the two were clear. One was here to have fun, and the other was looking to catch somepony’s fancy.

“All right.” Minuette released Marble from the hug. “So are you ready for that ‘real’ first date I promised you?”

“Yes,” Marble replied without hesitation, still too captivated to remember why she’d been so scared a few moments ago.

Minuette giggled at her eagerness. “All right then, gang!” She turned, striking a pose to point down the street. “To Restaurant Row!”

Lemon Hearts smiled. “Oh boy, you two are in for a treat.”

“Yeah, a tasty treat.” Minuette giggled and Lemon soon joined in.

“...I don’t get it,” Limestone said. Marble nodded, just as lost as her big sister.

“Don’t worry, you will!” Minuette waved them forward and started walking.

Limestone started off too, likely in the mood for something to eat after their long train ride. A loud rumbling from her stomach a second later confirmed this.

Marble was about to follow them when Lemon Hearts cleared her throat. She blinked, and turned to her. “U-uh… Yes?”

Lemon gave her a soft smile. “I just wanted to say thanks, for setting this up. I… I never thought Limestone would’ve agreed to go out with me…”

Marble smiled. “You’re welcome.” She decided it was best not to tell Lemon that Limestone was only here to ease her little sister’s worries.

Lemon laughed softly to herself as they started walking. “I guess I’m just really nervous about messing this up. I mean, I know it’s just a first date and all, but at the same time it's the first date. If something were to go wrong, then it could ruin everything going forward, you know?”

Oh Celestia… Marble suddenly remembered why she'd been so nervous about this. Lemon was right; just about anything could go wrong tonight. Especially considering what the Pairing Stone had told her…

Her stomach flopped and suddenly Marble didn’t have such a good appetite anymore. She fell behind Lemon, her pace slowing to a crawl as a million billion worst-case scenarios flashed across her mind. So much could go wrong, so much could happen—

“Whoops, silly me.”

Marble blinked back to reality as she saw Minuette right next to her. “What?”

Minuette just smiled her bright, happy smile. “Sorry, I was so eager to get to our restaurant that I didn’t even think to walk with my date.” She flashed Marble a doleful pair of puppy-dog eyes. “Can you ever forgive me for being so rude?”

Marble took a moment to remember how to use words. “O-Of course.”

Minuette perked up. “Great, so let’s go Shy Pie.” She laced her front hoof around Marble’s, causing both to blush.

“O-Okay.” For the second time that night, Marble couldn’t remember why she had ever been so worried.

But even as she walked side by side with Minuette, holding hooves, and smiling, everything wasn’t perfect. No matter what, there was still a nagging voice in the back of her head, whispering to her, telling her that everything wasn’t okay.

And that it never would be.

Warming Up

“Ta-da!” Minuette leapt forward, twirling her hoof into the air to present to the group their restaurant for the evening.

Marble followed the blue hoof to see her next panic attack. Not the restaurant, no. It was actually quite nice looking, with its deep purple paint job and golden drawings, brightly colored window frames and even the elephant crest above the door was pretty. It really gave the whole thing a pleasant New Felhi feel.

No, what made this restaurant a potential Marble-slayer was the crowd.

Sweet Celestia above, the crowd. The restaurant looked like it was about to burst, with ponies even pouring out into the street from the sheer lack of space. Their impatient chatter dominated over the sounds of Canterlot’s nighttime, and their constant shuffling gave the whole body of the crowd a restless feeling.

And they would have to eat here? As in, spend an entire meal surrounded by all the ponies?

Sure, the cafe Marble had met Minuette at had been crowded, but this one was on a whole other level. It didn’t even look like they would be able to get in.

Her heart racing, Marble’s eyes darted around, trying to find somewhere for her to pass out should it come to that.

Limestone wasn’t nearly as perturbed as she was though. Her sister simply glanced up at the name scrawled on the top of the building. “The Tasty Treat… hmph.”

“You get the joke now, huh?” Lemon nudged Limestone’s side, an eager grin on her face.

Limestone responded with narrowed eyes and a grunt. “Yeah.”

Lemon stopped her prodding, hoof lowering and smile dropping. “Uh… g-good.” They dropped into silence for a moment, allowing Marble the chance to start hyperventilating.

And then Minuette’s hoof found hers again.

This didn’t exactly stop her pounding heart, but when Marble blushed, looking from their entangled hooves up to Minuette’s sparkly eyes, she did feel a little better.

“Too much, too soon?” Minuette asked, referring to the throng of ponies in front of them.

Marble swallowed, unsure of what to say. If Minuette knew this was a problem, this would be the end of their date, right? So… lie?

One look back into those wonderful eyes and Marble’s legs quivered. Lying was no good.

But she didn’t want the date to end…

“I-I… uhm…” Marble chewed the inside of her cheek.

Minuette squeezed her hoof. “We don’t have to go here if you don’t want to, Marble.”

And risk ruining what might be their only date? “N-No.” She swallowed, her voice less shaky. “I don’t mind eating here.” Crowd or no, Marble figured if she just kept focusing on Minuette then none of it would matter.

“Well, that’s nice and all, but I don’t see exactly how we’re going to eat here. The place is packed,” Limestone said.

Minuette grinned. “Worry not, I came prepared.” Gesturing for them all to follow her, Minuette pushed through the crowd with stealthy weaving and hastily thrown out apologies.

Limestone was the first to follow, even if she didn’t quite follow Minuette’s example. Marble watched as her older sister cut through the crowd with her trademark grunt-glare combo. It didn’t make her all that comfortable for so many ponies to be so rudely displaced, but it did leave a nice path for her and Lemon Hearts to walk down.

“Heh… so far, so good, huh?” Lemon said. Though her words were confident, her tone was… less so. Marble could tell that Lemon had had expectations for tonight—probably along the lines of wow-ing Limestone speechless with her appearance alone—and so far it hadn’t been going her way, leaving only a crippling fear of screwing everything up.

Marble could relate.

“Don’t worry. I know Limestone is… a-abrasive and all, but she’s really sweet once you get her to open up. Kinda like rock candy, only she yells more.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Lemon Hearts lips. “Well then, I guess I just have to work on opening her up tonight.” She raised her head, confidence returning. “You know, you’re lucky. Minny’s sweet, open or closed.”

“Yeah…” Marble smiled reflexively just thinking about the mare.

They reached her and Limestone just seconds later, the parted sea of ponies behind them quickly closing up, ensuring they wouldn’t have an easy time backing out. Hopefully they could get in the restaurant before that.

“Hey, Coriander!” Minuette waved to a pudgy, mustached stallion who was guarding the door from the masses.

“Ah, Miss Minuette! Here for your reservation?” Coriander nodded a greeting to the rest of the group, which was returned with a grunt, a smile and a wave, and a face shrinking behind a mane.

Minuette nodded. “You betcha. Thanks for saving a table for us.”

“You’re lucky I was even able to. I’ve practically been beating back ponies with a stick to keep it clear.” He chuckled to himself, his horn sparking to life and opening the door. “Just head for the booth near the kitchen. My daughter will be with you in a moment.”

“Thanks a ton!” Minuette motioned for them to come up. She waited, letting Limestone and Lemon Hearts pass her, as Marble ascended the steps. Minuette took her hoof and smiled. “Ready?”

Marble swallowed again, but nodded. Best to exchange the crowded outside with the crowded inside. After all, if Marble was going to lose consciousness, she’d prefer to do it sitting down.

Minuette headed inside, taking Marble with her. As the door shut behind them, a lot of the background noise faded away. Granted, the restaurant was still loud in its own right with the patron’s casual chatter mixing with the clinking of silverware, but it was a more expected noise.

She followed her date—Celestia above that felt wonderful to think—across the room to chase her sister and Lemon Hearts. They all had their eyes locked on the one empty booth in the whole place, which rested right where Coriander said it would be. Passing a pair of ponies that had their heads buried in the menus, the group reached their spot, relieved to find it hadn’t been stolen before their arrival.

Limestone paused as they arrived at the booth, likely unsure about seating arrangements. Minuette took the lead, though, and dropped onto the far side of the booth, scooting over and nudging her head at Marble, who got the message.

She ensconced herself on the cushy seat, pressing up against Minuette ever so gently. Blood rushed to her cheeks and Marble didn’t really bother with trying to hide it, save for a tiny smile. Their intermingling fur sent a shiver down her spine, but she refused to pull away.

Lemon Hearts was the next to sit down, practically pouncing onto the booth. She wasn’t being too subtle about her enthusiasm about sitting next to Limestone.

And Limestone wasn’t too subtle about her apathy to the fact.

“Hmph.” She dropped down on the seat without so much as making eye contact with her date.

Marble swallowed, seeing Lemon Hearts deflate yet again. After chewing the inside of her cheek for a few seconds, she worked up the nerve to speak. “So… uh, how did you two find out about this place?”

“Oh man, is that a story,” Minuette said with a smile.

“Heh, yeah.” Lemon Hearts seemed to cheer up a little at the memory. “Actually, when we first heard about this place we completely snubbed it.”

“Really?” Marble looked to Minuette for confirmation and her date nodded.

“Yeah. You see, it used to be that if a restaurant didn’t have three hooves, then nopony should eat there.”

Limestone raised her eyebrow. “Hooves?”

Minuette nodded. “It’s how this food critic, Zesty Gourmand, rates a restaurant. Basically, three hooves meant it was supposed to be the best food in town.”

“Except Zesty has terrible taste,” Lemon Hearts interjected.

“Well… yeah.” Minuette nodded. “But we all went along with it anyway ‘cause her opinion carried a lot of weight, you know? So even when Pinkie recommended this place to us we didn’t give it a shot.”

“P-Pinkie’s been here?” Marble asked.

Lemon nodded. “Yeah. And even after she asked us to give it a try twice, we still didn’t eat here.” She laughed softly to herself. “Gosh, saying it out loud kinda makes us seem pretty shallow.”

“Yeah,” Limestone agreed.

Lemon’s pupils shrank and her ears folded down. “N-No, wait! I wasn’t trying to… I-I...”

“Uh, I think what Lemon’s trying to say is, it was pretty silly of us to just follow somepony’s opinion just ‘cause she was popular,” Minuette interjected.

“I’m just glad you two finally came around.”

Marble squeaked, practically jumping out of her seat as a new voice intruded upon their conversation. She turned to the interloper hesitantly and saw an orange pony with a massive black, curly mane.

“Saffron!” Minuette smiled. “It’s great to see you again.”

“How’s it going?” Lemon asked

Saffron returned their smiles. “Great. Business has been booming lately… for better or worse.”

For the first time, Marble took notice of the bags under this pony’s eye, and the frazzle in her mane.

Likewise, Saffron took notice of Marble and Limestone. “Hi!”

Marble froze up, jaw locking. Surprise of all surprises, she still sucked at talking to strangers.

“Oh my gosh! Manners, Minuette!” A blue hoof wrapped around Marble’s shoulder, igniting a blush on her face. She could practically hear Minuette's grin widen. “Saffron, this is my date, Marble Pie.”

Lemon Hearts mirrored Minuette’s movements with her own date. “And this is Limestone.”

Limestone’s eyes narrowed, cutting from the hoof on her shoulder to its pony of origin. The yellow leg retracted in a heartbeat.

Saffron just kept her smile. “Nice to… Wait a moment, Pie?” She glanced from Marble to Limestone. “Your last name is Pie, as in—”

“Pinkie Pie?” Limestone filled in. Saffron nodded. “Figures.”

“So you’re her... cousins, I’m guessing?” Saffron asked.

“Do we look like apple farmers to you?” Limestone returned, her voice gruff at best.

Saffron knitted her brows together. “I’m… sorry?”

“They’re all sisters,” Minuette interjected before Limestone could say something that would get their food spat in.

“Oh, okay.” Saffron nodded. It was clear to Marble that the unicorn before her didn’t quite see the family resemblance. “So, would you like to see the menu?”

“No need. Four specials, please.” Minuette looked to Marble and—the more likely to complain—Limestone. “Trust me guys; the special is always to die for.”

“O-okay,” Marble whispered.

Limestone grunted. “Fine.”

“Great.” Saffron’s horn sparked to life and brought up a note pad and jotted down their order. “I’ll have it out as soon as I can.”

Minuette waved her hoof dismissively. “Take your time; I know it’s busy tonight.”

“Thank you.” Saffron tucked away her notepad, nodded a goodbye and trotted back to the kitchen.

Now alone, the group floundered for something to talk about. A silence descended upon them, one Marble wasn’t too keen on breaking. Minuette and Lemon Hearts seemed in a rut, trying to think of something to talk about.

Finally, Limestone opened her mouth. “We forgot to order drinks.”

“Oh crap!” Minuette smacked her forehead. “I knew I was forgetting something. Sorry girls.”

“I-It’s okay,” Marble mumbled.

“Yeah, we’ll just ask for some when Saffron gets back.” Lemon said.

“Okay, sure that’s no… problem…” Minuette trailed off, squinting as she looked just over Limestone’s head. Marble followed her line of sight, just in time to see a white blur ducking below the booth’s horizon.

“What’s the matter?” Lemon Hearts asked. She turned to see, but was already too late.

“It’s nothing.” Minuette shook her head, brushing off the odd occurrence and looking back at Marble. “So how’s the rock farm been this week?”

“G-Good,” Marble stammered.

Lemon Hearts nudged Limestone for attention. “What’s it like on a rock farm? I’ve never actually been to one before.”

“Never?”

“No.”

Limestone rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s pretty simple. We have rocks—”

“Yeah?” Lemon leaned in.

“—and we farm them.”

Lemon leaned back out. “Oh. That’s… neat?”

Marble bit her lip. She didn’t want Lemon Hearts struck down so easily, not to mention she would prefer it if the topic of conversation stayed on something she knew about. “C-Come on, L-Limestone. We do more than just that.”

Her sister tilted her head, giving it some thought. “I guess we do punch rocks a lot, too.”

“Punch rocks?” Lemon knitted her brows together.

Limestone nodded. “You gotta get smaller rocks somehow.”

“You mean you two actually—”

“—Break rocks in half with our hooves? Yeah.”

Lemon and Minuette both dropped into silence, eyes widening. Whether it was in shock or disbelief, Marble didn’t know.

“T-That’s… incredible!” Stars sparkled in Lemon Hearts' eyes. “You can actually break rocks with your bare hooves? Any kind, like andesite or granite? Well, I guess Nickerlite wouldn’t have too many igneous rocks just lying around, but even if it’s only sandstones that’s still really impressive. Do you think it’s a latent power based in your natural earth pony strength or are you using mineral mitigation magic to assist you? I bet—”

Minuette nudged Marble, mercifully distracting her from Lemon’s rambles. “You see, Shy Pie. This is what happens when you mix magic and rocks. You get this nerd.”

Marble couldn’t stop a little giggle from escaping her lips.

“—Either way, you must be really strong. I bet your muscles are… uh…” Lemon trailed off as her yellow face became splashed with crimson.

“Are what?” Limestone narrowed her eyes.

“R-Really, really… toned.” That last word barely squeaked out past the blush.

“Oh.” Limestone blinked and let her eyes dart around for a moment before looking back to Lemon. “Uh… thanks?”

“You must be pretty strong too, Marble,” Minuette said, giving her a nudge.

“I wouldn’t say that,” she murmured in response. It was true; she was by far the weakest of the Pie family. Limestone and Maud could decimate large rocks without even trying. Usually it took a couple of punches before they could smash a rock in half. Marble wasn’t as good; most of the time it took her a few solid minutes of chipping away at a boulder to break it in two.

“Aw, stop being modest and let me feel those rippling muscles of yours.” Minuette leaned against Marble, her hooves slowly snaking up her foreleg. Blood burned under Marble’s cheeks, but she let her date give her foreleg a good test squeeze regardless. “Oh wow…”

“W-What’s wrong?” Marble asked. She hoped Minuette hadn’t gotten her hopes up too high.

In response, her date squeezed her biceps again, reveling in the feel. “Sorry, just wasn’t expecting you to be this strong!” She paused before withdrawing, then giggled.

“What?”

Minuette broke off her laugh for a moment. “I was just thinking your muscles were… rock hard.”

A snort blasted out of Marble’s mouth. She slapped her hoof to her face, embarrassed, but unable to stop herself from chuckling at the pun. It wasn’t even that funny; it was just… the way she said it. Confident, but not brash. Simple, but not stupid. Carefree, but not reckless. Minuette was unconcerned with over-analyzing the situation and chose to simply have a little fun, knowing it couldn’t possibly hurt.

Marble wished she could be a little more like that.

Lemon Hearts eyed Limestone and tapped her hooves together. Tentatively, she said, “Uh… can I—”

“No.”

Lemon pressed her lips together, disappointed, but at the same time she seemed to have expected that answer. Or at least, she should have.

Even so, Marble could tell a change of conversation was in order. She turned to Minuette and cleared her throat. “S-So… what’s it like being a dentist?”

“Hm?” Minuette looked to her as she processed the question. “It’s great! Though, at times it can be quite a hoofful. Or, should I say, mouthful.”

Marble giggled. Minuette sure was punny tonight.

Her date smiled. “But yeah, cleaning teeth is probably the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.”

Even more than rock farming? Well, duh. Minuette had never even been to a rock farm before. But that didn’t stop Marble from wondering how or if a job could be more rewarding than spending all day smashing and hauling rocks. “Why’s that?”

“‘Cause I get to make pony’s smiles the best they can possibly be!” A certain air of pride seemed to surround Minuette when she talked about her work. She even sat up straighter. “As far as I’m concerned, no job is better for me.”

Marble smiled. “Sounds like you really like it.”

“Well of course, it’s important to love what you do and do what you love.” She wrapped her hoof around Marble. “I bet you feel the same way about rock farming.”

“Y-Yup.” Marble practically melted into Minuette’s hold, barely able to pay attention when her date’s hold was so soft and comforting.

Limestone rolled her eyes at the mushiness before turning to Lemon Hearts. “What about you? Please tell me the reason you like your job isn’t as corny as hers.”

“Oh… uh…” Lemon’s eyes darted to Minuette, as if to ask permission to answer lest she offend her friend. Minuette just smiled, accepting that Limestone wasn’t intending to be rude, she just was. “I like my work just fine,” she finally mumbled.

Marble tilted her head. “What do you do?”

“I’m, well…” Lemon caught sight of Limestone’s disinterest and slumped. “...it’s not important.”

Minuette scoffed. “Not important? Lemon, you can’t be serious. You work under the head geoscientist at The Canterlot Museum of Petriculture for Celestia’s sake!”

Limestone raised an eyebrow. “Really?” It may have been Marble’s imagination, but did her sister sound… impressed?

Lemon seemed to pick up on that too, because her demeanor brightened. “O-oh, yeah! I mean, I’m just an assistant right now, but I get to do a lot of important things. Like take notes! And… get coffee…” She swallowed those last words, embarrassment dominating her face.

“Oh. That’s… nice?” Limestone shrugged. Lemon’s ears folded down and she began to study the intricate details of the plain brown table in front of them.

Marble bit her lip, feeling bad for Lemon Hearts. She even thought she heard somepony groan at the whole ordeal, but looking around it didn’t seem like anypony at their table had.

“Your specials are ready!”

“Eep!” Marble’s rear end leapt from the seat, airborne for a few seconds before plopping back down at the booth.

Saffron had practically materialized next to her and the mini panic attack that had followed sent Marble’s tiny heart throbbing wildly.

Four plates and their respective silverware levitated onto the table as Marble took deep breaths to calm down. With the aftermath of her startle fading, she managed to at least see what their meal for the night would be. And it was…

Was…

“Uhm, what is it?” Marble stared down at the dish before her, eyes darting all over the plate and her muzzle involuntarily scrunching up at it. The food was a hodgepodge of ingredients, each vying for attention from beneath a layer of broth. Among them Marble could tell there was squash, peppers, potatoes and possibly a hundred other things she’d never heard of.

Giving it a sniff, she almost squeaked. It burned! One whiff of the mystery concoction sent Marble’s nose a flame from the spices it sent wafting through the air.

The only thing remotely familiar about the meal was the modest pile of rice resting one the other side of her plate. It contrasted pretty heavily with the mysterious food; instead of overflowing with bits of food and color and smells… it was just plain old rice.

“Well don’t hold us in suspense, Saffron!” Minuette said, her eagerness bringing Marble back to reality. “What is it?”

“This is called curry,” their chef explained. “It’s a traditional dish where I’m from, but I made it just a bit special for tonight.”

Limestone picked up her spoon with all the enthusiasm of a shrug and plunged it into the concoction. “Well it better be worth it.”

Saffron’s pupils shrank. “Oh, wait! You should—”

Too late. Limestone’s mouth closed around a spoonful of the curry.

Saffron’s muzzle scrunched up in a premature wince, leaving Marble head-scratchingly confused as to what was wrong.

Luckily, Limestone was able to clear that up rather quickly. Not even a second after the curry entered her mouth, her eyes bulged outward, tearing up. Face igniting into a bright red hue, Limestone coughed and punched her chest as the curry slithered down her throat. Gasping, she let her tongue dangle out of her mouth to cool down as she took deep breaths

Watching the whole scene, Minuette giggled a little, but Marble just tensed up. As Limestone recovered, she reacted… predictably.

It only took a few seconds for Limestone’s face to run the gamut of possible emotions in this situation. First her eyes flicked over to Minuette’s giggle fit and embarrassment hit her. Next spite took over, and she glanced down accusingly at her food. It wasn’t long before that turned to all out anger, as her head whipped around to Saffron.

“Why didn’t you warn me how spicy it was?” she demanded.

Saffron seemed taken aback at the sheer force of Limestone’s voice. “Uh… I-I was trying to—”

“But you didn’t!” Limestone had both hooves on the table now, as if she was about to stand up.

Marble shrunk back, pressing herself into the cushion of the booth in a vain attempt to disappear. Minuette had stopped her giggling in the wake of the impending explosion, but her wide eyes suggested that she didn’t know what to do to defuse the situation.

Lemon at least gave it a shot. “I-It’s okay, Limestone. I know Saffron didn’t not tell you that on purpose…”

Limestone’s eyes sliced back to her, giving off one heck of a death glare. Every part of Marble shook; she always forgot how scary Limestone could be.

As Lemon backed off, Limestone turned her attention back to Saffron, foiling the unicorn’s attempts to shrink away. “Got anything to say for yourself, Saffron?” Limestone slammed her hoof on the table at that last word. A rattled Marble let fly a nervous ‘eep’ that she’d been trying to hold back, and Limestone’s ears flicked in response.

Her gaze shifting yet again, Limestone’s expression softened the tiniest bit when she saw her sister.

“I-I’m sure we can, uhm,” Saffron stumbled over her words, a nervous grin flashing across her face every few seconds.

“Forget it.” A much cooler tone was behind Limestone’s words now, but it still held a layer of anger to it. “Just get me some water or something.”

Saffron’s pupils were specks that Marble could barely register as they darted from Limestone to Minuette. “Uh…”

“We all could use some drinks, actually,” Minuette clarified, mouthing ‘sorry’ once she was sure Limestone wasn’t looking.

“I’ll… get right on that, then.” Marble could practically feel Saffron’s sigh of relief as the orange unicorn slinked away from their table. “In the meantime, try eating the curry with rice; it should help with the spiciness.”

“Now she tells me,” Limestone grumbled, poking at her food.

Silence.

Uncomfortable, unbearable silence.

Marble swallowed, silently praying that the night wasn’t ruined. Across the table, Lemon seemed to be doing the same thing right before she cleared her throat.

“So… was the curry any good?” she asked.

“Oh yeah.” Limestone flicked her spoon across the plate. “While it was burning me alive I couldn’t help but think through the pain: Golly, this sure is delicious!”

“Well that’s great news!” Minuette said, ignoring the sarcasm and picking up her spoon. She scooped up a helping of curry, making sure to balance it out with some rice, and took a bite. “Mmmm! Marble, you gotta try this.”

“...Mmhmm.” Marble almost winced as her old habit reared its head. To cover, she swooped down on her meal. As the first bite landed on her tongue she couldn’t help but squeak. If one whiff lit up her nostrils, one spoonful scorched her tongue. She was lucky the rice was there to lessen the impact.

“Doing okay?” Minuette asked.

Marble nodded, flinging sweat around. Wait, she was sweating? One bite had that effect on her?

She hurried up and swallowed the curry, the spicy flavor lingering in her mouth as she silently begged the water to arrive sooner. Though, she couldn’t deny that through the fire, there was a great taste on her tongue.

“Like it?” Minuette had scooted closer to her...

“Y-Yeah.” Marble’s face was still hot, and not from the curry.

“Oh!”

They both turned to see Lemon Hearts' with a spoon jutting out of her mouth. Her yellow face turning red for a moment, she pounded her hoof onto the booth, likely in an effort to distract from the pain.

“Hot enough for ya?” Minutte giggled, and Marble joined in.

Lemon swallowed, her magic lifting the spoon from her mouth. “Haha. Feel free to laugh at my expense.”

Minuette snorted. “Okay, then. If that’s the case I’ll just have tell The Beaker Story.”

Lemon stiffened, mistake realized. “Uh, n-no.”

Two pairs of eyebrows raised. Before Marble could ask, Limestone beat her to it. “The Beaker Story?”

It took all of a millisecond for Lemon’s face to revert to red. “No no no no no no no!”

Minuette just laughed. “Oh, I’m telling it now.”

“Nooo!”

Limestone observed the back and forth for a second, grinning now that the source of amusement wasn’t her. “I’ve got to hear this.”

Marble could only nod. She had to know what all the fuss was about. She’d apologize to Lemon Hearts after.

“Okay, so one day in science class, like… ten, eleven years ago? Lemon, which was it?”

“No no no…”

“Eleven, right. I remember now. Anyway, we were just messing around, and Lemon got the bright idea to juggle some beakers with her magic.”

Lemon Hearts' hooves met her face and she groaned.

Minuette just kept going, delighting in retelling the story. “So she starts with just one, right? But the problem is she throws it so high up that she loses track of it. So she looks up to see where it went—”

“Please no.”

“—And the beaker falls onto her so fast that her head slid right into it.”

Marble’s eyes widened. Limestone snorted. “You’re kidding!”

Lemon’s face met the table. “Nooooo…”

Minuette just shook her head. “I’m not joking. Her whole head was in a beaker. Well, technically an Erlenneigher Flask, but we always just called it a beaker for simplicity’s sake.”

The thought of filly Lemon Hearts with her head scrunched into a beaker dominated Marble’s mind. She couldn’t help it; she giggled.

And then she burst out laughing.

“That’s not even the best part!” Minuette said. “Once she realized what happened, she freaked out and started running around like crazy! Everypony in the class stopped what they were doing just because they were so surprised. Oh man, Twinkleshine and I had to hold her down while the teacher went to grab a stick of butter to get her free.”

Marble almost choked. She covered her mouth, trying to spare what little of Lemon’s dignity she could.

Limestone didn’t seem to care about that as much. Her head rested on the back of the booth as her laugh boomed throughout the restaurant.

Through her humiliation, Lemon Hearts looked up at Minuette, her face begging to know the answer to one, simple question: why?

To answer, Minuette just pointed her to Limestone.

Her laughter was finally slowing down. She clapped Lemon Hearts on the back, knocking some surprise into the unicorn. “Celestia, you were one crazy kid.”

“U-Uh… yeah.” At this rate, Lemon Hearts was going to beat Marble for most blushes per minute.

Minuette took note, and picked up her fork. Her work done, she shot Marble a wink before diving into her curry.

She didn’t… plan that, did she? Marble blinked in awe, realizing Minuette had.

After a lifetime of living with her, Marble knew Limestone hated to be the butt of jokes. Her ego and temper went hand in hand; an attack on the former meant the latter would lash out. Though she was perfectly fine to laugh at somepony else’s expense, however hypocritical that might be. So when the curry incident plunged the table into a bad mood, what better way to diffuse the tension than to tell an old, embarrassing story of Lemon’s? It was the perfect way to wipe away the memory of the humiliation and get her to warm up to her date at the same time.

Marble was floored. Minuette had known Limestone for what, less than a week? And already she knew enough about her to diffuse a toxic situation and turn it around in Lemon’s favor?

Her ability to read ponies was impressive. At least, it was to the introvert, Marble Pie.

Limestone’s laughter finally died down and she let her hoof fall from Lemon’s back. Lemon bit her lip, as though holding back on asking Limestone to hold her longer. Probably a smart move.

“...hehehe…” Marble’s ears flicked. Somepony was… still laughing?

She searched around their table, but came up empty. Minuette was eating, Lemon was still blushing, and Limestone was catching up on missed breath. So who was—?

“Shhh! Keep it down.”

Minuette raised her head from her food, brow raised.

So she heard it too… Before Marble could relish the fact that she wasn’t going crazy, her date swallowed and cleared her throat.

“Hey, did you guys—”

“Here we go! Four waters.” Saffron ripped them from their conversation as she appeared at the table. Following her words were four glasses, which her magic rushed onto the table.

“Oh, thanks, Saffron,” Minuette said, resigned to tuck away whatever it was she’d been talking about. She scooped hers up to chase down her last bite of curry, and Marble was quick to follow suit.

Their chef offered a smile with a touch of nervousness. She glanced over to Limestone, probably hoping she wasn’t about to get yelled out. Luckily for her, Limestone was busy gulping down her water. It took less than a second for her to set the empty glass back on the table, followed by a sigh of relief.

Minuette giggled. “You know you still have a whole meal to get through, right?”

Limestone froze and shot a glance at her curry. “Oh… crap.”

“I can get you a refill,” Saffron blurted out. She snatched up the glass and was off before any yelling could begin.

With a raised eyebrow, Limestone watched her go and turned back to the group. “Geeze, what’s her problem?”

“No idea,” Minuette deadpanned.

Limestone shrugged and went back to poking at her meal with a fork as she waited for her refill.

Without much else going on, Marble feared that the group would slip back into silence. That was… a little weird for her. Usually she preferred silence. Just not when Minuette was around, at least.

“S-So,” she asked, earning the attention of the table. “You said you were a student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, right? What was that like?”

It wasn’t her best conversation starter, but it did the trick.

“It wasn’t that bad, actually,” Minuette said, setting down her spoon for a moment. “The worst part was the homework, but classes were pretty fun.”

“So long as you didn’t get your head stuck in a beaker,” Lemon grumbled, causing Limestone to snort. Marble furrowed her brow, worried her sister was offending her date, but then she caught the faintest of smiles on her lips.

“I wasn’t really successful with a lot of magic though,” Minuette continued, tapping her chin. “Found a pretty good plaque removal spell after I got my Cutie Mark and that’s about it.”

“Fascinating,” Came Limestone’s sarcastic response.

Minuette just rolled her eyes. Marble chewed her lip. “I thought it was nice.”

“Aww, thanks Shy Pie.” Minuette lightly booped her nose, eliciting one of the night’s biggest blushes yet. “Though, I think my attempts at teleporting are more interesting.”

“Y-You can teleport?” Marble stammered. While she didn’t know much about magic it was practically common knowledge that teleportation was the sign of a powerful unicorn. To think that Minuette was that skilled… it was a little disarming.

“Not exactly.” Minuette adopted a sheepish grin. “I mean, I can entangle the necessary magical fields to allow for a small rift in the aether that will transport me, but I never seem to reassemble in—” She paused for just a second to take in the looks of the two befuddled ponies before her. “Sorry, that was a lot magic mumbo jumbo to take it at once, huh?”

Marble could only nod, suddenly feeling very stupid.

“Well, the bottom line is I’m very, very bad at ending up where I want to. It always seems to be between a rock and a hard place.”

“Or between a shower curtain and an unsuspecting stallion,” Lemon muttered under her breath.

“Lemon!” Minuette cried, her cheeks now dotted red.

“Hey, if you can tell the Beaker Story to my— t-to Limestone, then I think it’s only fair that Marble hears about the time you teleported into the guy’s locker room!”

“Y-You did w-what?” Marble stammered, while Limestone snickered across the table.

“It was an accident, I swear!” Minuette said, giggling at the memory herself. “Oh man. I hadn’t thought about that day in years.”

“Ponies have been known to block out memories of trauma,” Lemon said. “And sometimes it’s better left blocked out. Like when your head gets stuck in a beaker for example.”

Minuette snorted into her hoof. “I think it was more traumatizing for Sunburst than it was for me. Poor guy just about fainted then and there.”

Marble swallowed, unsure of how to feel about this. It was kind of funny, but should she laugh at Minuette’s past misfortune? Everypony else was, so it probably wasn’t a big deal. Even so, Marble didn’t really feel like laughing.

“You know, at this rate all of our embarrassing stories are gonna be spilled tonight,” Minuette said as the giggling died down. “Hey, Limestone, you wanna go next?”

Limestone’s chuckling melted away as her brow creased and her mouth folded into a frown. “No.”

“Okay, okay.” Minuette held up a hoof as she backed off the topic. She took another bite of the curry and chewed slowly, giving somepony else a turn to talk.

That would've be fine, except that Lemon was eating too, and there was no way Limestone was going to start up a pleasant, civilized chat anytime soon, which meant the burden of conversation fell on Marble yet again.

She swallowed uneasily, her mind drawing a blank. She didn’t know what to talk about; she’d never been on a date before. Anything she could think to ask had been asked!

Well, I have to say something! Marble thought. What do ponies normally talk about on first dates?

“Uh… W-what’s your favorite color?” she squeaked out.

Minuette grinned. “Asking the important questions, huh Shy Pie?”

Marble’s ears folded down. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“Blue.” Minuette’s hoof wrapped around Marble’s shoulder, whose ears leapt up at the touch.

“O-Oh… heh, right,” Marble smiled and tried in vain to keep her face’s usual coloring.

“What about you?” Minuette asked.

“H-Huh?” Marble felt like she couldn’t hear anything over the sound of her heart thumping wildly.

“Your favorite color, silly.” Minuette gave a teasing giggle. “Come on, I gotta know now.”

“O-o-okay…” Marble forced her heart to settle down some. It wasn’t easy; Minuette’s warm smile was a drug Marble was addicted to. “I… I like blue, too.”

Minuette tilted her head, her smile now a bit more coquettish. “Oh really?”

“Heh… well, you know…” Marble poked at the seat of the booth. “It’s a nice color.”

Across the table, Lemon watched the two practically snuggle up to each other and then shifted her gaze to Limestone. “So… what’s your favorite color?”

“Gray.” Limestone took a bite of curry, putting up with the spiciness so long as it kept her free of talking.

“Oh… neat.” Lemon rested a hoof on her cheek and sighed.

As Marble watched their exchange she frowned a little. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw something just above her sister’s head. Before she could even blink, it was gone in a white blur.

“Something wrong, Shy Pie?”

Marble turned back to Minuette, meeting her concerned gaze with a confused one. “I… I don’t know. I thought I saw something.”

“By the other booth?” Minuette guessed.

She nodded. “How’d you kno—”

“Hey!”

As Limestone’s voice cut through the restaurant, Marble and Minuette whipped their heads forward, only to get an eyeful of the most surprising moment of the night.

Limestone’s body was pressed up against Lemon Hearts, hoof wrapped around her lower body and a blue aura quickly fading from view. Lemon Hearts' face was lost under all the blushing. Her jaw quivered as she tried to say something, or perhaps she was desperately holding back a squeal.

Limestone’s face wasn't as joyful.

As soon as the aura dissipated, she pushed away from Lemon Hearts, her features compressed in a scowl and her face boiling with anger. “What the heck was that?”

Lemon’s face dropped from joy to confusion. “I… I don’t know. Didn’t you… we…”

“I did not do that!” Limestone yelled. “Was it you? ‘Cause I felt a push.”

“I… I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!” Lemon ears drooped as her voice cracked. Marble couldn’t blame her; she would hate to be at the receiving end of Limestone’s anger too.

“Well I didn’t just fall all over you if that’s what you’re implying!”

“Hold on.” Minuette’s firm voice entered the fray.

Limestone turned to her. “What?”

“Shy Pie, could you let me out for a moment?” Minuette gave her a polite nudge to get her attention.

“O-Oh… sure.” Marble scooted free of the table, and Minuette was soon to follow. Marble watched as her date crossed to the other side of the booth, and she was worried about what her plan was. Did she want to talk face to face with Limestone?

Nope.

Minuette walked right past her, which seemed to even confuse Limestone. Her sister turned around, brow raised, to watch Minuette strut right past her.

Watching this, Marble felt a lump form in her throat. Minuette was leaving? But… But I…

“W-Wait!” Marble leapt out of her seat and scrambled forward. She chased after Minuette, who had only gotten as far as the next booth before she stopped. She didn’t turn around to face Marble, though. Instead, her focus was all on the ponies at that booth.

As Marble slowed down, she heard talking.

“What was that for? Are you trying to ruin everything?”

“Aw come on, all she needed was one little nudge.”

“You’re not supposed to be drawing attention to us!”

She blinked. Those voices sounded awfully familiar. As Marble pulled up alongside Minuette, she got a good look at who was talking.

Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer.

Marble opened her mouth to say something, but was at a loss for words. Instead, she just watched in open-mouthed surprise as the two unicorns before her bickered obliviously.

“Excuse me for trying to help Lemon out.” Twinkleshine folded her hooves indignantly.

“You could’ve done it in a much subtler way!” Moon Dancer hissed back. “What if you’d blown our cover?”

“Yeah,” Minuette cut in. “That’d be pretty bad.”

“See?” Moondancer pointed. “Even Minuette agrees with me.”

Marble’s eyes fluttered with confusion. “U-Uh…”

“Give it a second.” Minuette’s tone was... scary even.

A moment passed before both Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine went rigid. Moon Dancer turned, wincing as she realized who was standing before her. “Hi, Minuette.”

“Okay, what is going on over here?” Limestone appeared next to Marble, with Lemon Hearts not far behind.

“Moon Dancer? Twinkleshine?” Lemon’s jaw dropped. “What are you two doing here?”

“Yeah, what are you two doing here?” Minuette asked.

Moon Dancer clenched her jaw. “Uh… well… you see…”

“We’re on a date!” Twinkleshine shouted.

Moon Dancer flinched. “What?”

Minuette raised her eyebrow. “What?”

Marble and Lemon’s eyes widened. “What?”

Limestone grunted.

“So, when did this happen?” Minuette asked, voice oozing with how unconvinced she was.

“Oh, we’ve been dating for a while, right, Moonie?” Twinkleshine winked.

Moon Dancer looked about four seconds away from vomiting. “Moonie?”

Twinkleshine reached across the table and held her hooves. “Yes.” Wink. “We’ve been dating.” Wink. “For a long time now.” Wink. “Moonie.”

“You got something in your eye?” Limestone asked.

“Twinkle, I’m not going to lie—”

“—About your feelings any longer? Oh, Moonie!” Twinkleshine pulled her in, puckering her lips.

“Sweet Celestia!” Moon Dancer pushed away. “We’re not dating! We were spying on you, okay?”

Twinkleshine groaned, throwing her hooves up. “Well now who blew our cover?”

“...I don’t even know what’s happening right now,” Marble said.

Minuette lowered her brows at her friends. “Why?”

Moon Dancer winced. “Sorry. We… that is to say, Twinkleshine, thought it wouldn’t hurt to check in on your date.”

“You know, to make sure they were good enough for you,” Twinkleshine added.

The way Minuette narrowed her eyes at her told Marble Twinkleshine was also just a little bit nosey.

“Excuse me?” Limestone growled. She slammed her hoof on the table, and Twinkleshine retreated to the booth’s corner. “You don’t think my sister is good enough for Minuette?”

Uh oh…

“I-I didn’t mean that exactly…” Twinkleshine said as she tried in vain to shrink out of sight.

“So what did you mean?” Limestone drilled Twinkleshine with her eyes. “Were you trying to say something about me then?”

“Uh, well… Hey, Moon Dancer, wanna help me out?” Twinkleshine smiled desperately, sweat running down her forehead..

“I think you both should go,” Minuette said.

At that cue, Twinkleshine scrambled out of her booth and passed Limestone. “Sure thing, Minny.”

Moon Dancer slid out of her seat just slightly more hesitantly. “Sorry for ruining your evening…”

Minuette watched as the two of them left the restaurant, before hanging her head and sighing. “Sorry about that, Marble.”

“I-It’s okay.” Marble bit her lip. She could tell that Minuette had planned for a lot tonight, but that surprise visit had been… well, a bad surprise.

When Moon Dancer finished ducking out of the restaurant, they all finally returned to their seats. They were relatively silent, even as Saffron returned with Limestone’s refill, which was again finished off in a few seconds.

“You guys wanna finish our food and get out of here?” Lemon Hearts asked.

Limestone set her glass down, sighing with relief. “Sounds good to me.”

Marble stiffened. Their date was ending? So soon? But it had just been getting started. She’d only just learned Minuette’s favorite color for pity’s sake.

“Yeah, why don’t we. It’ll be good to move on.” Minuette said. Marble wanted to whimper.

“M-Move on to what?” She asked, praying in her head that it didn’t mean the end of the night.

“You didn’t think this was it, did you Shy Pie?” Minuette winked at her, her light-hearted attitude returning. “It takes more than a couple of nosey friends to stop this first date.”

“O-oh… good.” Marble felt a smile return to her face. “S-So where are we going, then?”

Minuette just smiled. “Trust me, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Icebreakers

The streets of Canterlot were surprisingly quiet at night. Marble liked that.

They were walking downtown, past a park that was probably named after a long-dead famous pony. The leaves of its trees reached over the sidewalk, and were kept company by the occasional street lamp, which gave the four mares pockets of light as they strode down it.

Every so often, a pony would pass their little party, but always parted to one side or the other to let them by. It was a nice change of pace from the constant battle that was walking Canterlot’s streets during the day. Marble liked that, too.

But most of all, Marble liked walking next to Minuette.

She moved at her own pace and her date would match it easily. Right now, they were strolling leisurely as they made their way to their next location… where ever it was.

Whenever Marble glanced over, she could always count on seeing Minuette. If the two happened to make eye contact, Minuette’s face would brighten to a smile that would send Marble’s heart fluttering. They were even close enough that their forelegs would brush against each other from time to time. It was wonderful.

Behind them, Limestone and Lemon Hearts had paired up. Whenever Marble glanced back at them, she always saw Lemon Hearts with a conversation on the tip of her tongue, and Limestone looking grumbly at the concrete. They were quiet for the most part.

So was Marble. And even Minuette.

...Maybe the quiet isn’t so nice, Marble thought.

They hadn’t really talked since leaving the restaurant. If Marble had to guess why, she’d say it was due to their surprise guests leaving a bad taste in everypony’s mouth. To be honest, she was a little rattled by it. The fact that ponies had been watching her, spying on her that whole time made her unnerved.

But it was probably a lot worse for Minuette and Lemon. To be spied on was one thing, but to have it be by such close friends must be a huge violation of trust. Like if one of Marble’s friends had…

Oh wait…

Her chest tightened at the realization that she didn’t have any friends who could lose her trust by doing something like that. In all honesty, Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer were the closest she had to that.

Marble looked over to Minuette, who was keeping her eyes on the sidewalk ahead of them. She took care to note that now that Minuette thought nopony was watching, she’d elected to keep her face stern.

“A-Are you okay?”

Minuette tilted her head towards Marble, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Marble’s eyes darted to the ground, the sky, and to the right before finally summoning enough courage to meet Minuette’s. “I… I just wanted to make sure you weren’t really upset about Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine. I-If you wanted to s-stop then—”

“Oh, Shy Pie.” Minuette nudged her playfully. “It’ll take more than a couple nosey friends to ruin our date.”

“B-But don’t you feel b-betrayed?” Marble stuttered. “T-they’re your friends and they went behind your back and you looked so mad and—”

“And they aren’t going to be a problem anymore.” Minuette said. “Trust me, I’m fine. Lemon and I will have a long chat with those two on the importance of respecting each other’s privacy and that will be that.”

“Are you sure?” Marble asked.

Minuette just smiled. “If you’re still worried they might be following us, then don’t be. I know those two. They’ll stay far away from us if they think they ruined the date.”

“A-And you’re sure they didn’t?” Marble asked

Minuette gave a soft giggle, before nuzzling her nose against Marble’s cheek. “I’m sure.”

Marble’s face burned, her lips involuntarily twitching up. Her heart thumped wildly, even after Minuette pulled away. She really needed to try and get that under control.

The chilly nighttime air helped force her blush down. She looked off to the side until she was sure that her face was a more manageable color before turning back to Minuette.

“Are we almost there yet?” A grumbly voice called out from behind them.

Minuette glanced back with Marble following. Limestone’s lowered brow look of annoyance seemed to indicate that she was sick of walking by now. To be fair, they had been hoofing it for the past few blocks. Marble wouldn’t complain if they were close to their destination.

“Only one more block now,” Minuette told her. Limestone grunted in mild approval.

“Are you sure we’ll like… whatever this is?” Marble asked. The last thing she wanted was for Limestone to cause another scene. She knew her sister meant well… or, wanted to mean well, but blowing up in public wasn’t helping anypony.

“I think you will. It’s something that’s really easy to love.” Minuette winked.

Marble offered a shaky smile, still unsure.

As they continued down the sidewalk, the faintest sounds of pulsating music hit her ears. Even at a distance, Marble could feel the force of the beat as it sent a tingle crawling across her skin.

Her ears flicked as she realized the source of the sound was close to where ever they were heading. She swallowed nervously. Music late at night in the city… Marble could only draw one conclusion from that: they were going to a club.

She really, really hoped that wasn’t the case. She hated clubs.

Granted, Marble had never been to one before, but that didn’t stop her from disliking it based on what she knew about them. Loud, frenzied, crowded, sweaty and smelly… yeah, experience wasn’t necessary for her to know she wouldn’t like them. Which is why she prayed that Minuette wasn’t bringing them to one.

They reached the edge of the street a few minutes later and rounded the corner. The pumping music only grew in volume, causing Marble to bite her lip. Right across the street, she saw it.

It was a small, rectangular shaped building, with a row of windows lined so closely to one another that they may as well have been continuous. Escaping from these windows was a flurry of red, green, and blue lights, each bouncing in and out of existence to the beat of the music, causing seizures for epileptics miles away, no doubt.

The whooping and hollering of ponies was also present, though drowned out by the much heavier noise of the electronic song. Outside the club, ponies lined up outside the corner, hugging the walls of the club as they waited to get inside.

Marble swallowed at the sight, her knees locking up.

“Come on.” Minuette gave her a tug and a smile, jutting Marble forward.

“O-Okay.” Marble must’ve let some worry leak into her voice, because she heard Limestone grunt from behind.

Minuette continued dragging her forward, closer and closer to the club. Marble’s mouth twitched with anxiety as she tried to say something, to explain that she didn’t want to do this. But Minuette had such a wide smile on her face… she was really excited.

Marble didn’t know what to do.

She glanced back, catching a glimpse of Lemon Hearts and Limestone. Her sister was eyeing the club dubiously, shooting her a glance that basically said ‘are you sure?’. Lemon had a small smile on her face, and only gave Marble an encouraging nod.

The noise from the club was so loud now that Marble’s coat rippled from the force of the music. The bright lights danced across her vision, blocked only by a silhouette of her date. Minuette glowed in the light, making her only more beautiful. And harder to talk to.

They’d already crossed the street. By now they were practically at the club door. It was too late to mention her reservations, Marble knew that much. They were going to do… whatever it is ponies did in clubs.

Clenching her jaw, Marble shut her eyes, waiting for the inevitability of the music to become deafening, the lights to become blinding, and the date to become horrible.

Except none of that happened. Minuette strolled right past the club.

Marble opened her eyes, just so she could blink in surprise. The club building was already receding behind them by the time she realized what was happening. Shocked, she turned to Minuette. “W-Wait!”

“Yeah?” Minuette glanced back curiously.

“Uh…” Marble gave the club another look. “W-Weren’t we going there?”

Minuette furrowed her brows, looking past Marble to see the club. “Really? It doesn’t look like your type of place. Did you want to check it out?”

Marble stiffened. “U-Uh… no! I just thought that… well…”

“Relax, Shy Pie.” Minuette gave her an endearing smile. “I’m not an idiot. I wouldn’t do that to you, okay?”

Fire ignited on Marble’s cheeks. “R-R-R-Right…”

She couldn’t believe how dense she was. Of course Minuette knew her well enough not to take her to a club. She had Limestone figured out so easily, after all. It only stood to reason that she also understood Marble very well.

She probably knows me better than I know me, Marble reasoned.

“So where are we actually going then?” Limestone asked.

“Right next door.” Minuette nudged her head over. Marble followed with her eyes, coming across the club’s neighboring establishment.

Limestone narrowed her eyes. “Uh… Icy Skate’s Ice Skating?”

Lemon Hearts gave a hopeful smile. “Yeah. It’s couple’s night, so they play a lot of slow songs and have this disco ball and lower the lights and…”

Limestone’s eyebrow rose. “And… what?”

Burying her face off to the side, Lemon Heart’s coughed. “Andit’sveryromantic… erhem.”

Minuette’s eyes met Marble’s. “So, what do you think?”

“Oh… well…” The way Lemon Hearts described it made it seem very nice. There was just one problem. “I’ve never ice skated before.”

Minuette just smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you. It’s super fun.”

“B-But what if I fall?” Marble really didn’t want to look stupid in front of everypony, least of all her date.

“Then I’ll catch you.” Minuette nuzzled her cheek again, doing wonders for Marble’s blush.

“O-o-okay.” For whatever reason she couldn’t seem to stop smiling, not that she wanted to.

“All right then!” Minuette pushed open the door to the ice rink.

A blast of chilled air rushed free, smacking them all across the face. Marble shivered; it was almost like she had jumped into a pool in the dead of winter.

“I’ll go grab us some skates,” Minuette said. “Lemon can show you two where the rink’s entrance is.”

Minuette disappeared off to the left just as Marble finally got through enough of the teeth-chattering air to take in her surroundings.

The door opened up almost right in front of the rink. There was a chest high guard that surrounded the ice, but Marble could easily see above it. What she saw was a massive expanse of ice, easily twice the area of her house.

Some ponies were already out there, skating around. In pairs, of course. The lighting was soft, but still enough for her to see clearly. As for the promised disco ball, it was already dangling from the ceiling, spinning slowly and causing a hundred little lights all around the room to dance around.

Marble even briefly saw Minuette as she made her way to the other side of the building that housed a counter.

“Come on,” Lemon suddenly said, snapping up their attention. Marble turned to see her already moving to the opposite end of the rink. “We can meet Minuette over by the gate once she has our skates.”

Marble nodded and started walking after her, with Limestone not far behind. They were quiet for only a moment.

“So, you guys have never skated before?” Lemon asked. Marble could tell there was genuine curiosity in her voice.

“No,” she said. “I-Is that bad?”

She could almost feel Limestone narrow her eyes. “Yeah, is that bad?”

Lemon hopped right into a smile, likely hoping to ease their worries. “No, not at all. I’m just a little surprised. Do they not have a skating rink back at Nickerlite?”

Marble didn’t even need to think about it. “There isn’t much of anything in Nickerlite.”

“Oh, well then you guys are in for some fun!” Lemon said.

Marble gave a hopeful smile. Limestone grunted.

They made their way around the edge of the rink, the chill from the ice now concentrating on her side. Marble’s ears twitched as she heard the scratching of metal against ice as couples gracefully—or not-so gracefully—glided in circles beside her.

She knew she wouldn’t be nearly as good as even the worst skater out there, but she had hope that she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself, which is a better mentality then when the date first started.

As they reached a small opening, Lemon stopped walking and turned, her dress swishing daintily.

Limestone raised an eyebrow. “You sure you’re going to be able to skate in that?”

Lemon blinked, pinpricks of pink forming on her cheeks. “Aw, what’s the matter? Are you worried about me, Limestone?”

Had it been anypony else, that little bit of flirtatious teasing might have gotten a blush out of them. Or any reaction for that matter. Sadly, Limestone either didn’t care, or was oblivious to the remark. In fact, it was probably both.

“I just don’t want you falling down when you’re supposed to be teaching me how to skate,” Limestone replied.

“Oh.” Lemon Heart’s ears started to fold down, but suddenly perked back up. “You mean I get to teach you how to skate?” There was a squeak of excitement in her voice.

“Uh, yeah? Who did you think was going to?” Limestone asked.

Lemon’s mouth stretched into an ear splitting grin. She looked as though any second she might start squealing with pure delight while dancing in place. Marble guessed she was hoping for an… intimate skating lesson.

Just like you are with Minuette.

Marble blushed as the thought came to her. At least, so far that is, her earlier fear of losing interest in Minuette was completely unfounded. Whether it was talking with her, or being close to her, Marble could safely say that she still wanted to be with Minuette.

...If only—

“Got ‘em!” Minuette suddenly popped into the group, right by Marble.

Had it been anypony else, Marble might’ve leapt high into the air, squeaking with surprise as she entered low Earth orbit. It was a reflex whenever somepony invaded her personal space without her knowing, but maybe that was precisely why it didn’t happen this time.

Minuette didn’t feel like an invader. She felt… welcome.

As Minuette levitated four sets of skates for everypony’s eyes to grope, Marble found herself in awe. The hairs on the back of her neck weren’t standing up, her heart hadn’t skipped a beat, even her muscles hadn’t gone rigid. Minuette had just walked up beside her and started talking and Marble had taken it like a normal interaction.

And that was what was so incredible about it!

How many times in her life had she had a normal interaction. Marble could think of maybe a handful. Maybe. And they were all with either her sisters, her parents, or Boulder.

But here, in a situation where Marble would have—should have—jumped with fright, nothing of the sort happened. She was fine.

She looked at Minuette’s profile as her date began passing out the skates. Now over her surprise about not being surprised, Marble realized just how comfortable she was around Minuette. It was to the point where she could practically sneak up on her and everything would still be fine.

How could she not be her special somepony?

“Marble?”

She snapped out of her thoughts, head shaking. Reality fell into place around her, Minuette standing front and center as she levitated forward a set of skates for Marble.

“Uh, yes?” she asked, sheepish at the realization that she had zoned out for so long.

“I was wondering if you wanted help putting on your skates,” Minuette said.

“Oh.” Marble briefly looked past her to see the rest of their party already sitting down at some nearby benches.

Lemon Hearts was happily humming to herself as she magically tied the laces of her skates. All four were pulled tight with one swift yank, and Lemon cut off her magic to inspect her work.

Next to her, Limestone was having… issues. She’d put the first two skates on her forelegs, and was quickly coming to a realization of why that was a bad idea. Limestone struggled to even hold the next skate in the blades of the first two, untied laces flinging and tangling every which way as she desperately tried to get the skate on her hoof.

Marble turned her focus back to Minuette. “Uh… yes please.”

Minuette nudged her head over to indicate a spot they could take on the opposite bench and they made their way over to it.

Marble sat down first and tentatively outstretched her hooves for Minuette. She’d never worn skates before, but as her set was levitated over her hooves found that they were, unsurprisingly, a lot like shoes.

She watched as the laces rose up, wrapped in Minuette’s aura, crossed, tightened, looped, and pulled their way into four knots.

“There you go,” Minuette said.

Curious, Marble moved her fore hooves around some, getting used to the skates. She placed her forelegs down by her side, the blades touching the bench as she prepared to push off.

“Oh!” Minuette’s voice caused her to stop dead. “Sorry, just don’t try standing until you have me to brace against.”

Minuette planted herself right by Marble so their sides were touching. Her magic now turned to her own skates, which she started wiggling onto her hooves.

“Grrr!”

Marble looked across from them to see Limestone wrestling with her third skate still. The blades of her skates pinched and crushed the heel as she furiously tried to shove her hoof inside.

“Um… would you like some help?” Lemon Hearts’ horn sparked to life, following a hopeful smile.

“I got it,” Limestone grunted. She shifted, biting the blade of the unworn skate and trying to shove her hoof into it.

It was… kind of akin to a puppy trying to chew its paw.

Marble tried—and failed—not to laugh at her sister’s actions. It was just so goofy that she couldn’t stop a sharp snort from exiting her mouth.

Limestone glared upwards, eyes narrowed, and Marble clamped her mouth shut. Her sister looked from her over to Lemon, whose horn was still alight; offer still on the table.

She spat out the skate. “Fine.”

Her smile growing ever wider, Lemon scooped up the last two skates and got to work. Marble was surprised to see her sister actually accept somepony's offer to help. She could count on one hoof the number of times she’d seen that happen before.

“There we go.” Minuette gave her laces one last tug and lowered her hooves.

Marble looked back to her, just as Minuette started to get up. Even with all four hooves on the ground, she still wobbled in response to the skates. Instinctively, Marble bit her lip in fear that Minuette would fall over and get hurt.

But Minuette’s experience saved her and she regained her balance after just a few seconds. She took a few cursory steps as Marble breathed a sigh of relief.

“Okay,” Minuette said. “Wanna try standing now?”

“Uh… sure.” Marble prepared herself as best she could and let her hind legs touch the ground.

It was a weird feeling when the edges of the skates hit the ground. Marble didn’t really know how to describe it. It was sort of like trying to balance on very thin rocks, something she hadn’t ever tried after watching Pinkie fall and chip her tooth in an attempt.

Nervous, she put a little weight on the skates and felt her legs wobble. She tried to grip the edges of the bench with her forehooves, but considering they were inhibited by more skates that didn’t happen.

She bit her lip and looked up at Minuette, who was now standing as normally as ever. Her date gave her a little nod of encouragement and Marble took a deep breath.

In one quick motion, she stood.

And promptly fell.

She squeaked as the blades slipped underneath her, taking her legs and eventually her whole body with them. Bracing herself to hit the floor, Marble slammed her eyes shut as she jerked to a stop.

Wait a minute…

Her eyes popped back open to find that she was bent over at an angle, only halfway to her face-mashing meeting with the ground. A brief glance at her body revealed the soft gold of Minuette’s aura holding her in place.

She looked back up at her date, who merely smiled. “Told ya I’d catch you.”

Marble returned her smile as her body shifted back into place. Minuette took a step closer, bringing her into physical catching range now. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Marble who blushed to acknowledge it.

“You think you’re ready to try again?” Minuette asked. Marble nodded.

The magic keeping Marble in place dissipated in a puff of sparkles. Her legs, though perfectly positioned on the skates, returned to wobbling like it was a bad habit. Marble took solace in the fact that she had lasted a good second longer this time as she plummeted back towards the ground.

Minuette intercepted her tumble, catching Marble against the side of her body. Marble could only continue to blush as her cheek buried itself against Minuette’s neck.

“Okay, I think maybe you should just stick close to me until you can stand on your own,” she suggested.

“Y-Yeah…” Marble was a little embarrassed at her inability to even stand up with the skates on, but getting to be this close to Minuette was a good trade off.

What she really had to be concerned about was going on the ice.

With Minuette’s help, Marble was propped upright yet again, though still braced against the blue body of her date.

“Okay, steady?” Minuette asked.

Marble wobbled in response.

“It’s okay, just take your time.” Minuette continued to support her while Marble struggled on.

Her legs were acting like jelly, possibly because she was pressed up against Minuette, but she still tried to stand up straight. As tempting as it was to spend the rest of the night leaning against her date, Marble knew that probably wasn’t the best idea.

Taking a deep breath, Marble tentatively pulled away and gave balancing another shot. She felt Minuette’s leg against hers to help keep her steady as she trembled in place.

Slowly, Minuette brought her leg away and Marble’s body stopped shaking. Though she wasn’t free from the occasional tremor, she found that her body was finally stable on skates.

“There we go!” Minuette gave her a smile of congratulations, which Marble returned even though they both knew this mini-celebration was a bit premature. After all, Marble still had to walk to the ice rink and then actually skate on the ice. But standing was still a good first step.

She heard a sudden clang and turned her head around to see the aftermath of her sister slamming her front hooves down on the metal bench. She could see Limestone’s legs wobbling just as badly as hers had been, maybe even worse now that she finally had all of her skates on.

The blades of her skates slid across the bench, generating a wince-worthy grinding noise as Limestone clamored to not fall over.

“D-Do you need help?” Lemon asked.

“I got it!” Limestone growled. She demonstrated just how much she ‘got it’ by trying to take her hooves off the bench and promptly falling over. “Gah!”

“Oh my gosh! Are you—?”

“I’m fine,” Limestone growled from the floor. Or at the floor. She was at such an awkward angle that it was a little hard to tell where her aggravation was directed.

“Here, let me—” Lemon’s horn sparked to life, wrapping Limestone in her aura.

Limestone repressed a scowl as she floated upright and was set down. Her legs were still unstable, so Lemon took a step forward, silently offering her help. Limestone grunted, apparently frustrated by the fact that Lemon couldn’t figure out she didn’t like accepting help.

“Thanks,” Limestone reluctantly growled.

“All right, now that we can all stand, who’s ready to get out onto the ice?” Minuette smiled jokingly.

Marble bit her lip. She’d only just sort-of mastered standing with skates. Going on the ice might be too big of a step right now.

“M-maybe not yet?” she whispered.

Minuette turned back to her with the most understanding smile imaginable. “No problem.”

Marble paled. She didn’t want to disappoint her. “W-well, I g-guess I’m ready…”

With a tilt of her head, Minuette furrowed her brow. “Are you sure? If you need some time before hitting the ice that’s totally fine, Marble.”

She didn’t call me Shy Pie. Marble swallowed. “Y-Yes, I’m sure.”

Minuette pursed her lips with hesitation. “All right then.” She hooked her foreleg around Marble’s and held her tightly. “One step at a time, okay?”

Marble trembled.

“Okay.”

Minuette moved first, taking the hoof that wasn’t stopping Marble from falling over and stepping forward. With a glance back she indicated that it was her turn.

It wasn’t easy, but Marble worked up the nerve to scoot her hoof forward just a tad. The skate screeched across the floor, cutting into the notes of the soft song that was playing. With an encouraging smile from Minuette and a deep breath, Marble lifted her hoof from to floor to try again.

She wobbled.

And took a step.

“There you go.” Minuette graced her with a ambush nuzzle. “You’re getting it.”

Marble tried not to explode half-way through her next sentence. “Th-th-th-th-thank y-you.”

Their intertwined hooves moved forward as well, this time with much less wobbling. Though, it became relatively clear that Minuette was providing all the stability. Marble couldn’t stop her body’s tremors as they moved closer and closer to the ice rink, but her date was a far cry from her level of ineptitude.

Before too long they were standing inches away from where floor met ice. Marble bit her lip with worry, partly afraid that the sheer heat radiating from her face would melt the ice if the two touched. Her other worry was that it would only take one step before she fell flat on her face, lending credence to her first worry.

Minuette glanced back and Marble followed her gaze so they were both looking back at Lemon and Limestone. The latter was still fighting both her skates and gravity for her right to stand up straight, while the former was still standing there in all her awkward-smile glory, horn illuminated and ready to help should Limestone say the word.

Limestone wasn’t going to say the word, though.

“We’ll be out on the ice if you need us,” Minuette called back to them.

“Okay,” Lemon Hearts said.

“Uragh!” Limestone slipped again, barely catching herself on the bench. She turned their way, and forced down her frustration in order to smile her way. “Have fun, Marble.”

“Thank you.”

They turned their attention back to the ice. Minuette gripped her hoof tightly and smiled.“Here goes nothing.”

“R-Right.” Marble was doing her best to look eager.

Minuette moved their joined hooves forward, the metal skates settling on the ice and slipping back and forth slightly. Whether this was from Marble’s own shakiness, or the inherent property of ice being difficult to stand on, it was hard to say. What it did tell Marble was that if she wasn’t holding on to Minuette, she’d have fallen by now.

She watched as Minuette put her second hoof out onto the ice, but faltered when her turn came up. Thankfully, Minuette just pulled her along, knowing experience could assuage her worries better than any words.

Marble squeaked at a frequency pony ears couldn’t detect. She knew this was a fact, because if Minuette had heard the sheer fear in her voice, they would’ve stopped immediately.

They went from zero to gliding in a heartbeat. Marble couldn’t follow it too well, but she knew one second they were still and the next they were flying across the ice. Wind whipped by her mane as the grinding sound of her skates slicing the rink hit her ears.

There was a solid ten or twenty seconds where Marble tried to scream. Her jaw fell open and air pushed its way out of her lungs, but no sound could escape as they rushed onto the ice.

Immediately, Marble’s limbs began shaking. The ice looked unforgiving, even as it rushed underneath her, and Marble knew she had a good chance of finding that out firsthoof.

She pressed her body up against Minuette, too scared to blush as she let her date take the lead. Her trembling at least slowed down as she got a cheekful of blue fur, but her tiny heart was racing beyond belief. She couldn’t process the music, the disco lights bouncing around the room, or even the other couple's skating by. It was just fear, plain and simple.

Keeping her body pressed up against Minuette, Marble just hyperventilated as their time on the rink really began. Even though she effectively had some dead weight to carry around, Minuette was graceful as she glided across the ice. Which, thanks to the transitive powers of holding on for dear life, meant Marble was somewhat graceful as well.

They swooped over the the curved top of the rink, and Minuette took the time to turn around slowly, eventually coming to a stop at the head of the ice.

With their speed dropping, Marble was able to panic a little less. Inhaling deeply, she found herself calm enough to take in her surroundings.

The gentle cutting of skates against ice could barely be heard over the music. The room was so dim that she had a hard time making out the back half of the rink, even with the disco ball’s fleeting specks of light. When Marble squinted, she was able to get a better glimpse of the couple's out on the ice. Most were skating in pairs, but none were clinging for dear life to their partners like she was.

Embarrassed, she tried to pull back and stand on her own, but Minuette was just so… comfortable. It was like gravity, she tried to pull away, but just couldn’t.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Minuette told her.

“Heh…” Marble struggled to make words happen. “I-I-I guess n-not…” She pulled away more successfully this time to be eye level with her date, wobbling only slightly on top of the ice.

Minuette leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek. “Sorry for going so fast. I just got a little excited. Don’t worry, you’ll start loving it in just a second.”

Marble opened her mouth to ask what she meant by that, but before she knew it they were already off again. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for another rush of fear.

Except…

Marble peeked an eye open to see the ice sluggishly moving below them. It took her a moment to realize, but she figured out that they were moving at a much leisurely pace than before.

Without the terrifying adrenaline rush attacking her, Marble felt a lot better about taking in the feeling of skating now. It was, calm. And peaceful. And… kind of easy.

Granted, she was still attached to Minuette, who was doing most of the work, but now that she had gotten used to standing on the ice it wasn’t so bad anymore.

A gentle breeze tugged her mane back, and Marble felt a smile creep onto her face. Minuette kept them on the outer edge of the rink as they skated, keeping the room always in full view. The soft lighting and romantic music really started to take their full effect, and Marble could see why Minuette had chosen this spot for the second half of their date. It was perfect.

She’s perfect. Just… not for me…

Marble swallowed. The Pairing Stone’s choice coming back to her once more, raining on her parade with the reminder that Minuette was the perfect match for some other pony, and Marble was just… nothing.

“Something on your mind, Shy Pie?” Minuette suddenly asked.

Marble jolted back to reality. Minuette really could read her like a book. “I… I was just thinking.”

“What about?”

Marble bit her lip. Her heart ached at the realization that she should tell Minuette the truth… just, not now. Not while the night was so perfect.

“I-I was just thinking… that I don’t know a lot about you,” Marble said. It was a half-truth of sorts, not to mention the first thing that rolled off her tongue, so she went with it.

“Ah.” Minuette looked to her, smiling. “So is that why you asked about my favorite color earlier?”

Marble nodded.

“I getcha.” Minuette brushed her skates across the ice, propelling them forward. “After all, dates are about getting to know each other.”

They are? Marble was honestly surprised by this. Considering this was her first date she wasn’t too shocked that there were things about them she didn’t know, but at the same time she’d been under the impression that a date was just a time to be romantic.

“So what do you want to know about me?” Minuette asked.

“Uh…” Marble tried to think. There was so much she wanted to know about Minuette, but with so many options to choose from it almost felt like nothing stood out. She settled on something topical. “Where did you learn to skate?”

“Right here, actually.” Minuette looked up in memory. “It was right after my first week at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I had so much homework. Like, stacks of it. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I’d believe you,” Marble whispered.

Minuette just flashed her trademark smile. “Anyway, I was kicking myself trying to learn some dumb magic theory, when Twinkle and Lemon stopped by and asked if I wanted to get away from it all and just have some fun.

“We tried a bunch of different things, Twinkle suggested an arcade, Lemon wanted to check out the museum, and I wanted to just grab some milkshakes and hit the park. We… uh, we didn’t really end up liking each other’s plans too much.”

“So you came here?” Marble guessed.

“Bingo.” Minuette grinned. “We spent some time walking around and bickering until we stumbled upon this place, so we gave it a shot. Though, I wasn’t exactly very good at skating back then.”

Marble looked down at the way Minuette’s hooves danced over the ice. Expertly precise, yet casual. How could she not have been a natural?

Minuette seemed to guess what she was thinking. “Oh yeah, I sucked. Like, really sucked. I must’ve fallen on my face a dozen times right off the bat.”

“Really?” Marble couldn’t even picture it. “And you still came back?”

“Well yeah.” Minuette giggled to herself. “We had a blast laughing at each other falling down. And naturally we all wanted to get better, so we kept trying.”

“...I probably would’ve given up,” Marble admitted.

“Well that’s silly,” Minuette said very matter of factly. Marble looked up at her. “You never know what you’ll miss if you don’t try. I mean, if I’d given up after my first time skating, I wouldn’t be here with the cutest girl ever, now would I?”

Marble’s brain exploded. Everything seemed to short circuit at once, including her legs. She flailed, slipping and plummeting toward the ice, but too shocked to do anything about it. She didn’t even brace for the inevitable face-slam.

“Whoa!” A veil of magical aura wrapped around her, catching her mid-fall. Marble turned around to see Minuette’s worried face as they came to a stop by the wall of the rink. “Are you okay, Marble?”

“Y-y-y-y-you think… I-I-I’m... c-c-c-c…” The remnants of Marble’s brain was having a tough time forming sentences. Luckily, the part of her brain that made her blush had survived the explosion and was working in full force. Marble couldn’t even begin to imagine how red she was, but she guessed it might even be enough to change her natural coat color.

Minuette just giggled. “Yes, you are cute. Especially when you’re all flustered like this.”

She brought Marble in closer and rubbed their noses together, triggering explosion number two.

Marble forgot what words were and just squeaked now. Minuette thankfully pulled away and set her down, interlocking their hooves again. She gave Marble a minute to stop trembling with joy before launching back into their peaceful skating again.

Even though other couples whizzed by, Marble could barely register them. She was paralyzed with happiness right now. She never imagined anypony could have this effect on her, but here it was.

Marble wasn’t sure if she was about to pass out, or explode a third time, or even something in between those two extremes. But it didn’t matter, not really. The frigid air suddenly felt warm, the slow song bouncing around the room was a choir of angels. They weren’t skating, they were floating.

Maybe it wouldn’t last. Maybe the Pairing Stone would rip this feeling away from her. Maybe it would just be that the night would end. Right now, Marble didn’t care about any of that. She was just happy. Happier than she’d ever been before.

She nestled her head against Minuette and closed her eyes. Everything was perfect.

“What the—Ack!”

Marble’s eyes shot back open. Ahead of her, Limestone was swiping at the ice, trying to keep her footing without falling over. Marble realized that they had made it back around to the gate, just in time for her sister and Lemon Hearts to step in.

“I got you!” Lemon Hearts rushed onto the rink, horn igniting as she grabbed Limestone mid-fall. Setting her upright, Lemon skated in close. “Uh… are you all right?”

Limestone looked away, likely embarrassed that she had needed help right out of the gate. “I’m fine.”

Lemon looked around, seeing Minuette and Marble approach. She observed them for a moment, before reaching forward and hooking her leg around Limestone’s to mirror them. “H-Here…” Her face flushed. “Y-You should stick close to m-me.”

“Whatever,” Limestone grumbled to herself, wobbling.

Minuette nodded at them as they approached. “Glad to see ya on the ice. Ready for the fun to really start?”

“Totally,” Lemon said, hugging Limestone’s leg with the widest possible smile.

“Sure,” Limestone quipped. She looked to her sister, seemingly taking comfort in the fact that Marble hadn’t gotten hurt during her first lap.

“Awesome!” Minuette pushed forward, twirling them around the pair. “See if you can keep up with us! Marble’s already got this down.”

“Uh… yeah.” Marble smiled as they took off. The sound of Lemon and Limestone’s skates were soon to follow them. She just gripped Minuette as their speed picked up to an almost strolling pace.

She was glad Minuette had taken them here. Ice skating was fun.

What isn’t fun with Minuette? Marble thought to herself. I love everything she suggests. I love honeycomb salads, piñatas, curry, her…

Marble flinched. I-I love Minuette?

Oh no...

Ice... Breaker...

Marble had barely said a word in the last half-hour. Given the sum total of her life, that was hardly relevant to say, but given the last few hours that was a big, big outlier.

She would give out smiles that wouldn’t reach her eyes, she would sigh, she would squeak, she would skate.

She would say, “Mmmhmm”. Sometimes, anyway.

But she wasn’t talking, not anymore.

And maybe that was because her brain was exploding all over again.

But it wasn’t like the last few times, though. The last ones had been fireworks. Passionate, blazing, wonderful fireworks. They were explosions of sheer joy.

Now, the explosion was a fiery, all-consuming burn. In slow motion.

It was the ‘everything that could go wrong was going wrong’ scenario in her mind right now. The realization that she was screwed, in no uncertain terms.

She loved Minuette.

How could something so innocent be so wrong? Here she was with a mare who made her feel like the center of the universe without having a spotlight thrown on her, and all she wanted to do was have a nice first date. Except she couldn’t, not anymore.

I wish I’d never heard of the Pairing Stone, Marble bemoaned.

Her spine shuddered at the thought of the root of her problems. If she’d just never gone to the Pairing Stone then this wouldn’t be a problem! If she’d never told Pa then this wouldn’t be a problem.

But she had. And she had. And it was her problem now. As much as she wanted to pretend it wasn’t an issue, there was no denying that she was falling in love with the perfect perky pony holding her hoof. The pony of her dreams.

The pony who wasn’t her soulmate…

Marble felt like she was choking. Her skates slipped awkwardly across the ice as she tried desperately to hold onto her composure. Now that the pure shock factor was wearing off, the panic was beginning to set in.

What am I going to do?

Marble gulped, her throat a desert. The right thing to do would be to tell Minuette they had no future together, right? After all, the Pairing Stone had told her they weren’t soulmates; there was nothing she could do about that. It was pointless to continue, especially with her real soul mate out there, somewhere.

But then, why did that make her feel like throwing up?

Marble shouldn’t be feeling the way she felt about Minuette in the first place; this night was supposed to be her closure. It was a way to move on and close the book on any relationship with Minuette. But at the same time Marble’s stomach flopped at the mere thought of that.

She didn’t want to call it off with Minuette. She didn’t want their first date to be their only date. She wanted to keep being around her. She wanted to eat at the Tasty Treat again, and see movies with her, and go to another party with her. She wanted to hold her hoof some more, and hug her, and cuddle with her, and… kiss her.

Yet, Marble didn’t think she had the strength to defy fate. If it was doomed to never work out between them, why even bother?

Not to mention that wasn’t fair to Minuette, too.

Marble had been avoiding the thought, but she knew Minuette had her own soulmate, too. A pony she was destined to be with, and spend the rest of her life with, and be happy with. As much as thinking about that other pony made Marble’s blood boil with jealousy, it wouldn’t be right for her to deprive Minuette of the pony she was meant to be with.

So that’s it… Marble's heart broke with a whimper. I can’t date her after tonight. I-I should tell her soon too. Maybe once we’re done here?

...Sure.

Her skate scraped limply against the ice, any and all enthusiasm drained. Skating wasn’t fun anymore, and probably never would be again.

Even so, she didn’t want to stop. If the date ended after this, she was obligated to tell Minuette the truth. Maybe she could just prolong it as much as possible. At least pretend everything was fine.

Just then Minuette sensed the lack of effort from her and slowed down. They came to a rough stop by the wall of the rink, Minuette giving her extra support.

“Hey, is everything all right?” She asked.

No.

“Mmmhmm,” Marble said, putting on a brave face that shrank behind her mane.

Shrouding the world away with her hair should’ve been a familiar comfort, but it just… wasn’t. Marble felt so isolated all of a sudden. So alone.

She was grateful when Minuette’s aura appeared to nudge her mane out of the way, even if she was greeted by a frown.

“Are you sure?” Minuette’s concern was like a gut punch.

“I’m f-fine, really.” Marble mustered up a lopsided smile.

Minuette’s subsequent frown gave away how little she believed her. “You know if something’s wrong you can tell me about it, right?”

As the soft dots of disco light danced across Minuette’s face, Marble felt her heart leap into her throat. With that in the way the best she could push out was a soft whimper.

“Marble…”

“Hey, slow down!”

Breathing a sigh of relief that Minuette was interrupted, Marble turned in the direction of the gruff voice of her sister.

Limestone skated into view wobble-legged as she gripped tightly to Lemon’s leg. Her face was contorted in fear as she looked down at the unforgiving ice, her teeth clenched.

Lemon on the other hoof was stone-legged her whole trip over. Blasted across her face was a blush that said she was trying to hold back a space-time shattering squeal as she gripped just as tightly to Limestone as Limestone was to her.

They slid into a stop right by Minuette and Marble, Limestone calming down slightly now that they weren’t moving.

“Hello,” Marble said, eager to change subjects. “H-How’s the skating going?”

With her peripherals, she saw Minuette’s brow crinkle but was relieved when her date didn’t try to interject.

Lemon smiled, beating back her imminent squeal to say something. “It’s going pretty great! Right Limestone?”

“I hate ice,” Limestone growled. Her hind legs wobbled, threatening to send her spiraling.

Lemon’s horn flicked to life, grabbing Limestone’s hooves with a practiced quickness. She giggled lightly. “I guess ice doesn’t like you too.”

Limestone frowned, eyes narrowing.

Clearing her throat, Lemon looked away from her. “So, uh… how’ve you guys been doing?”

“Fine,” Marble jumped in before Minuette could even open her mouth. “Just fine.”

Though she clearly knew that to be untrue, Minuette put on a facade just for the sake of the group and smiled. “Yup. Marble’s gotten so much better at skating already!”

“Well that makes one of us,” Limestone grumbled.

“I-I’m n-not that good,” Marble sputtered. Instinct made her tighten her hold on Minuette.

“We can take a break if you want to then,” Minuette suggested.

Marble gulped, feeling her stomach flopped. She had a sinking feeling that if they got off the ice, they wouldn’t get back on. And then…

“N-No, I’m having too much fun to stop now.” She forced out a smile she hoped didn’t look too… well, forced. She tugged at Minuette’s hoof, launching them back into skating forward. “Come on, one more time around the rink?”

“Marble…” Minuette tugged back, silently begging her to stop. Concern clearly lined her voice.

“P-Please?” Marble swallowed. She pulled on Minuette’s hoof again. “Just one more— Eep!”

Their hooves untangled so suddenly that Marble could barely react. She had plenty of time to regret all her tugging, however, when she found herself stranded on the ice.

Flailing wildly, Marble shut her eyes in fear when she realized she was completely on her own.

Instincts took over, ready to propel her to safety, get her to stand still, or help with balance. Or at least, they would if Marble’s instincts weren’t awful.

Instead, she floundered and slipped across the ice, accidentally pushing herself further and further from the group without even realizing it. Finally, the panic became too much for her. The next time her foreleg left the ground, she slammed it back down as forcefully as she could.

CRACK!

Marble jutted to a stop before she even realized what she’d done. Three of her hooves still slipped and glided about, but now they were firmly anchored by her foreleg at least.

Peeking her eyes open, she got her first look at the damage she’d done.

Her hoof, armed with a blade at the end of it, had cut right through the ice. All the way up to a few inches of her skate were now buried in the rink. And that wasn’t all.

The force of punching through the ice had done lasting damage. Giant spider web-like cracks extended outward from the point of impact and reached out across the greater expanse of the rink.

Couples had now all stopped from the commotion, some even slipped and fell in surprise. But most, if not all, had their eyes directly on her.

Her ears folded and her pupils shrank from the sudden attention. She could feel her heart pulsate against her chest as she overdosed on anxiety.

Suddenly, nothing mattered besides getting out of the limelight. Marble yanked her foreleg back, but it was caught in the ice. She squeaked, barely able to keep her other hooves still enough to pull with any meaningful strength. She still tried anyway, desperately hoping to rip her hoof free.

Instead, her back hooves slipped on the ice. Marble flopped down, feeling a chilling rush hit her backside and she yelped. Still kept trying to tear her hoof free of the ice, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she only continued to embarrass herself.

“Marble!” Minuette slid into view, effortlessly dodging all the cracks to get right next to her date.

Limestone and Lemon Hearts followed suit, appearing in front of her a few seconds later to block the crowd’s view.

“Are you okay?” Minuette asked, bending over as best she could to be eye level with her. Marble could only sniffle in response.

Limestone narrowed her eyes and turned to the crowd as they ambled closer. “What? You losers have nothing better to do?”

The crowd shuffled to a stop, ponies sharing looks, before they all scuttled away to continue skating on the other side of the rink.

Without them around, Marble felt just a bit better, which meant she felt awful instead of horrible. She kept tugging at her hoof, voice catching in the back of her throat as she choked on sobs whenever she tried to explain herself.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Minuette brought her hooves awkwardly around Marble, doing her best to avoid falling herself. “Don’t worry.”

“B-But I—” Marble could even form the words.

“I know. But it’s okay, really.” Minuette held her tighter. “Nopony’s upset, so please don’t cry.”

Marble sniffled, trying in vain to think of a reply while she continued to tug at her hoof. Eventually, she gave up on both fronts and just sank into the warm hug.

“Here.” Limestone sliced with the blade of her skate, chopping a new crack in the rink right beside Marble’s hoof.

She wiggled, now able to with the extra space, and slowly pulled her hoof free of the ice chasm she’d created. While that was one problem solved, really her biggest concern was that she’d ruined the date for everypony. “I-I’m s-s-sorry…”

“No worries, Shy Pie. You don’t have to apologize.” Minuette nuzzled her cheek before pulling away and wrapping her body in a magical aura.

“Yeah, totally. We know an accident when we see one,” Lemon said.

Limestone nodded.

As Marble levitated upright, she found herself able to blink back her tears. Not much, but it was a start.

“Come on.” Minuette entwined her hoof with Marble’s to give her support. “I think we’ve skated enough for one night.”

Marble's breath caught in the back of her throat. “B-But—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to Icy Skates,” Minuette told her, kicking off and sending them weaving through the cracks in the ice and towards the gate. “She’ll understand.”

Marble couldn’t really say much to that. Minuette had guessed completely wrong regarding the source of her nerves. She wasn’t so much concerned with what the owner of the ice rink would think more so than she was worried that now she was running out of time before she had to tell Minuette the truth.

They reached the gate moments later, Minuette being ever cautious as they stepped off, likely to avoid punching through any more ice. The shuffled over to the nearest bench and sat down.

Following their lead, Limestone and Lemon made their way back to solid ground. As soon as she could stand without falling on her face, Limestone didn’t hesitate to pull her hoof out of the tangled knot it had formed with Lemon’s. Marble caught her frown for a half second before her face morphed to a happy mask. There was no denying she would’ve like to hold Limestone’s hoof a little longer.

“Here,” Minuette said, lifting Marble’s hooves up. “I’ll get these off you.”

Marble tried to smile. “T-Thanks…”

She waited as the laces to her skates danced to untangle themselves. Beside her, Lemon and Limestone worked on their own skates. One with magic, the other with… teeth.

Marble barely had time to sigh before the first skate slipped of her hoof, shortly followed by the other three. Looking down, she wiggled her freed hooves, noting how much warmer they felt in comparison to the rest of her.

Minuette slid her skates off too, causing Marble to just now realize she’d been untying all eight at once. She’s so amazing...

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Minuette slid from of the bench, lifting all of their skates by her magic. “See you in a bit, okay?”

Marble nodded, holding back a frown. She watched Minuette trot away, only to lower her head once she was gone.

Now that her stupidity had cut their skating short, there was nothing left to do but… tell the truth. She shut her eyes, shaking a little.

No matter how sure she was that it was the right choice, Marble still really, really didn’t want to end it. Even taking the good with the bad, when she thought about everything that had happened tonight, she couldn’t help but find it to be the best time she’d had in awhile. And it was all thanks to Minuette.

She sniffled, unable to help it.

“Hey, don’t worry.”

Marble glanced up, looking in the direction of her sister’s voice. Limestone’s face was creased with sympathetic folds.

“Minuette isn’t mad at you. Trust me, I know anger when I see it,” Limestone said, giving her sister an encouraging smile.

Marble blinked back tears. “I-I know that.” She wiped her eyes. “I just…” Her next words came out as a low whine.

Limestone’s hoof found her back and gave her the trademark ‘I have no idea what to say to help you’ pat. Marble understood that it was the best she could offer, but it didn’t exactly help.

“You don’t have to beat yourself up over the ice, Marble,” Lemon Hearts said.

Marble swallowed. While she did feel guilty about ruining the rink, that feeling paled in comparison to the aches the real problem gave her. What’s more, Lemon didn’t even know the truth, and it wasn’t like Marble was eager to go into the details again.

“I’m fine, r-really,” Marble said as she bit back more sobs.

The subsequent frowns sent her way let her know how effective her lie had been. It also told her neither was eager to pour salt on a fresh wound and keep talking about it. They both let the subject drop, turning their eyes elsewhere. Curling upon the bench, Marble resigned herself to silence until Minuette returned.

“So…” Lemon scooted closer to Limestone, earning herself a sharp glance. “Uh, did you like skating with me? O-or, just skating in general, you know.”

Limestone narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “It was okay.”

Lemon’s smile faltered, but didn’t drop. “Yeah, I guess it could’ve gone better.” She inched close enough to have her body gingerly press against Limestone’s. “Maybe when the rink gets fixed I can give you a private skating lesson. What do you say?”

There was a beat of silence. Then, Limestone pulled away. “I don’t know if I want to try ice skating again.”

This time Lemon’s smile fell. “Oh.”

Marble held back a whimper. She couldn’t help but blame herself for that. If she hadn’t cracked the ice like an idiot, maybe Limestone would’ve had time to enjoy skating.

I’m just ruining everything tonight.

They didn’t talk again until Minuette bounced back into view. She paused at the sight of the three of them sitting with an atmosphere of forlorn quietness.

Minuette cocked her head to the side. “Why so glum, everypony?”

Marble flinched to attention. “U-uh… W-what did Icy Skate say about… You know…”

“I told you it was fine, Shy Pie. Fixing the rink isn’t a big problem for Icy.” She motioned for them to get up. “Now come on, this date isn’t over yet.”

But it will be once I… Marble masked her frown by standing up, still unable to finish the thought. The dreaded question of ‘how am I going to tell her?’ had been hanging over her head all night and she still wasn’t prepared with an answer.

Minuette ensconced herself at Marble’s side, pushing a blush onto both their faces. But for Marble, it held a somber overtone. No longer was she excited to be beside Minuette; now she was just sad that this might be their last time to do this.

Lemon and Limestone trotted up behind them, neither trying to imitate the closeness the couple before them displayed. Lemon for fear that Limestone wasn’t in the mood for that, and Limestone out of indifference.

They made their way out of the building, once again greeting silent streets with more silence. Nopony made a move to go anywhere, so they just stood on the sidewalk in front of the rink.

Finally, Lemon Hearts cleared her throat. “So where to next?”

Minuette tapped her chin. “Well, I was thinking maybe we could split up.”

The color drained from Marble’s face. “W-what?”

Minuette hooked a foreleg around her drawing a blush. “Yeah. I was hoping we could walk around Canterlot for a bit; just us. The two of you don’t mind, right?”

Marble squeaked. She couldn’t be alone with Minuette when she told her the truth! She doubted she’d be able to say ‘we aren’t soulmates’ to Minuette and just leave. Of course she would want an explanation. Marble just hadn’t put any thought into what she’d say; she kind of just expected Limestone to handle that part for her. But if they split up then…

“I think that’s a great idea!” Lemon perked up, sliding in close to Limestone as she assented. Her spark of hope for the night seemed to finally turn into a fire.

Limestone seemed less sure. Her gaze turned to Marble, eyebrow raised. Marble did her best to project as many of her inhibitions as possible onto her face at that moment. Years of experience paid off, as Limestone’s face morphed into worry.

“Just a sec,” she said, whipping past Minuette as she grabbed Marble and pulled her out of earshot. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t… I c-can’t…” Marble forced back her hyperventilation. “I have to tell her… but I wanna throw up.” Her voice cracked.

Limestone's hard look of worry melted into something much softer. “Whoa, hey…”

“It’s not fair!” Marble sniffled. “I have to but… I don’t want to!”

Her next cry was muffled when she found her face shoved into a fluff of fur. Marble tried not to ‘eep’ as her sister wrapped her into a hug.

“It’s okay, Marble.” Limestone awkwardly said as she attempted a comforting pat. “I get it… I mean, I don’t know what you’re dealing with. But I know this isn’t easy for you.”

Marble sniffled.

Limestone sighed heavily. “You don’t have to tell her tonight if it’s really that hard.”

Marble shook her head. “No, I… It isn’t fair to her if I don’t. And Pa will be mad, and…” ...And I think I love her but I shouldn’t and I’m scared. Her mouth hung open, leaving that part unsaid.

“Okay.” Limestone broke apart the hug and looked her in the eye. “I’ll walk around with Lemon for a bit so you two can talk.”

Marble nodded, blinking back hot tears. “O-okay.” She took a deep breath, knowing she couldn’t lose her composure now. Minuette deserved to not have to deal with a sniveling wreck.

“Still, if you don’t think you can handle this, just tell me,” Limestone said.

Wiping her eyes, Marble took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’ve got this,” she said with all the confidence and poise of a pony who definitely didn’t have this.

Limestone gave her a nod anyway, knowing she couldn’t talk her little sister out of this. She turned back to their dates and motioned for them to go back. Marble couldn’t stop another sniffle from escaping her at the sight of Minuette, but it was just one.

They walked back and she sighed. I have to do this! I have to do this.

A gust of wind brushed passed her ears. Minuette’s dress swished wistfully and her bright, bouncy smile came into view.

I have to do this…

Marble felt queasy.

Minuette extended her hoof, silently asking Marble to take it. Once they intertwined their gray and blue legs, the sick feeling in her stomach evaporated into butterflies. Somehow it was better and worse all at once.

“You guys wanna meet back up at the train station?” Minuette asked. “I’d hate for you to miss your ride home.”

Limestone nodded. “Then we have about an hour.”

Lemon blinked into tiny pupils, before straightening her brow with determination. She went from ‘I only have an hour?’ to ‘that’s all the time I need’ in a single look.

Marble wasn’t able to adopt her confidence.

“Come on, Shy Pie, I know the perfect place we can go.” Minuette gave her a gentle nudge to the left. Operating on autopilot, Marble moved with her as they started walking.

Lemon skipped next to Limestone. “Ready?”

“I guess.”

They started down the other way, Limestone giving her younger sister a wave of good bye. Marble swallowed, throat dry.

She didn’t know whether she should hold on tighter to Minuette or not. The last thing she should be doing is get clingy right before she told Minuette the truth.

Turning back to where they were walking, Marble saw the vacant sidewalk dimly lit by street lamps. They slipped by the amber glows, Minuette’s beauty highlighted by the soft caress of the lights.

“So what do you think of Canterlot at night?” Minuette asked, nudging her to attention.

“Oh, uh… It’s very nice,” Marble whispered.

Minuette smiled. “Good. I figured you would prefer this to the daytime.”

Flashes of crowds surged in Marble’s mind. “Y-Yeah.”

The sounds of their hoofsteps filled in the dead space of their conversation. Before long, the pulsating sounds of the club overpowered them. Marble looked up to realize they were walking back the way they came. Even so, they still passed by the nightclub without a second glance.

“Uh, where are we going?” Marble asked, suddenly curious.

“We passed a park on our way here. I was thinking we could check it out if that’s okay with you.”

“S-Sure.” Marble vaguely remembered a park, but it wasn’t exactly high on her priority list at that moment.

They crossed the street, Marble dipping out of the conversation and into her thoughts. She still hadn’t figured out what she’d say to her, or if she’d even be able to say it.

“Oh, there it is!” Minuette tugged her hoof, pointing off to the side.

Marble glanced up to be greeted by a set of trees guarding the brick entrance to a park. Right on the inside she could see the concrete sidewalk melt away into cobblestone, as well as a bench or two and an iron gate behind them.

Her heart thumped with anxiety, knowing she had to tell Minuette the truth. Should she do it now, or wait until they were a good ways into their walk? She couldn’t delay it until right before she had to get on the train, could she?

“Hey, Marble?” Minuette’s soft voice gently poked Marble back to reality.

“W-what?”

Minuette nudged her head over to the bench, eyes conveying everything for her. Marble just nodded and they sat down.

She crossed her legs, fore hooves together as she looked down and tried to think of what to say.

“Marble?” Minuette beat her to the punch. “Can I ask you something?”

Marble’s heartbeat was pounding. “Y-yeah.”

Minuette pressed her lips together, for the first time that night looking unsure of herself. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Yes! I-I mean, of course I did. You...It was amazing.”

Minuette looked like she had to pry a smile out of her face. “Really? Because all night it… Well, it just kind of felt like something was wrong with you.”

Marble swallowed. No sense in lying. “There’s something, actually.” Her heart felt like it was being squeezed as she said the words. The pressure was so tight she could barely breathe.

Minuette frowned, brows crinkling with worry. “Was it something I did?”

Her eyes just about popped out of her skull. Minuette thought this was her fault? “No!”

“Because I didn’t mean—”

“No! Minuette…” Marble found herself grasping two blue hooves, staring deeply into the pupils of their owner. “You… You’ve been perfect.”

Minuette’s eyes sparkled. “Marble…” She blinked slowly, then started to lean forward.

It didn’t take a genius to figure what was about to happen. Excitement whirred Marble’s systems into overdrive, but fizzled when she remembered the Pairing Stone. When she remembered the inescapable truth.

She let out a pained squeak, cutting Minuette off midway.

Her date stiffened, caught completely off guard. “Marble? What’s wrong?”

Hot tears leaked out of Marble’s eyes, spilling down her face as she struggled to say something in answer to Minuette’s worry.

But through her sniffling, shaky words took form as they lifted a massive weight from her shoulders and shoved it on top of her heart. “Minuette… I can’t be with you.”

Heart of Stone

Sweet Celestia, this is awkward. Limestone chewed the inside of her cheek as she walked through the sleepy streets of Canterlot. Silence permeated the air around her as the lack of conversation was palpable. Only the sounds of hoofsteps filled the void. Awkward, stilted hoofsteps.

Limestone huffed to herself. It was one thing to spend time with a total stranger so you could make your sister feel better while she was on her date. It was a whole other thing to be left alone with that total stranger.

Speaking of, Lemon Hearts was walking right next to her, all but personifying the awkwardness Limestone felt right now. From her jittery hooves, eyes that couldn’t focus, and slightly frazzled mane, it was clear she'd been expecting this situation about as much as Limestone.

Though to be fair, it must be worse for her. Limestone was here for Marble’s sake, but who knew what Minuette had said to get Lemon to waste her evening on this ‘date’.

If the previous few hours were any indication, Lemon sure didn’t want to be here. She’d been nothing but an awkward mess since minute one just trying to keep up the act of this being an actual date. Everything from the stuttering, to the weird noises she kept making when they were skating together, right down to the rushed way she spoke tonight made it clear doing this was not something she wanted to deal with. In all honesty, Limestone kind of felt bad for her.

Though, with their audience gone, why should either of them continue with this? Limestone knew Marble would be miserable on the train home after she explained the situation to Minuette. She figured a better use of her time would be thinking of ways to cheer her sister up rather than wandering aimlessly through Canterlot.

She cleared her throat, drawing Lemon’s attention. “So… we can just end this here if you don’t mind.”

“W-What?” Lemon’s pupils shrank.

“We’re not doing anything,” Limestone put it bluntly. “So I—”

“We can do something!” Lemon squeaked.

Limestone stopped walking. She hadn’t been expecting that.

Lemon needed a few steps of reaction time before she realized Limestone wasn’t moving. She jutted to a stop and slid in front of Limestone. “Whatever you want. I— We— Uh…” She pointed the tips of her hooves together, looking down to study the cracks in the sidewalk. “Y-You can decide, I mean.”

Limestone’s eyes squinted. Just what is she trying to do? They didn’t have to pretend anymore. This ‘date’ could finally end and yet she wanted to keep going? Why?

Though it was their natural state, Limestone’s eyes found themselves even more narrowed than usual. She scrutinized Lemon’s face, trying to find a crack in her armor of innocent smiles and cold sweat.

Is she just doing this because she’s bored or something? That theory was as good as any, mostly because it made her mad. Limestone did not like being used for entertainment.

I can’t waste my time on this anyway! I have to think of a way to make Marble feel better. Limestone wanted to growl.

She turned her head away, tsking in annoyance. “As if I know what to do in this city.”

From the corner of her eye, she caught Lemon deflate a little, only to perk right back up. “Oh, right! I’m sorry. I should be showing you a good time, not the other way around.” Lemon tapped her chin, delving into thought. “Hmmm…”

Limestone turned her head back, grunting in further annoyance. Well, she’s persistent, I’ll give her that much. I should have just turned down her offer right away. Now it’ll just look weird if I try to back out.

Lemon was rubbing her temples now, snout scrunched in pure concentration. “Come oooooonnnnn! Think! Think! Think!”

Then again, I really don’t care if she thinks I’m weird. Inhaling, Limestone opened her mouth to speak.

“I’ve got it!” Lemon smiled, face unscrunchifying.

Limestone almost choked on her breath. So close…

The grin on Lemon Hearts’ face looked like it might split her head in two. “We can go to the Petriculture Museum!”

That actually caused Limestone’s ears to flick with interest. She hid her involuntary action with a grunt even as she found herself giving the idea genuine thought.

I guess it would be kind of cool to see the fancy rocks cityponies farm. Limestone couldn’t fight back her curiosity now that the idea was in her mind. As long as we don’t spend too much time there then it won’t be too late… With the corner of her eye she caught Lemon’s blinding smile and immediately assumed something was off. Then it hit her:

“It’s late.”

Lemon blinked. “Uh… yeah?”

Limestone scowled. Either she was too stupid to see the obvious or she was deliberately messing with her. “So the museum’s probably closed now.”

“Oh, it is. But I work there, remember?” Lemon raised her hoof, horn flashing. Limestone shut her eyes to avoid the light. When she opened them again, she was greeted by a hovering key ring. “So I’m treating you to a private tour… if you want.”

Limestone allowed the tension in her shoulders to relax slightly. At least she could take comfort in the fact that Lemon knew what she was doing. And she had to admit that the prospect of having the whole museum to herself was a tantalizing one.

As long as I don’t waste a lot of time, I can still think of some ways to make Marble feel better when we’re done. She arched an eyebrow at Lemon. As long as she doesn’t waste my time, she amended.

“Okay,” she said.

Specks of red dotted Lemon’s cheeks and her eyelids fluttered with shock. “W-Wait, really? You mean it?”

“I said it didn’t I?” Geeze, why do you have to drag everything out.

Lemon bounced on her hooves, dancing in place. “EEEEEEhehehe! Yes! Yes!”

Limestone winced. And there are those weird noises again. If the whole tour ended up being full of that then she was going to leave.

It was then that Lemon seemed to realize that what she was doing wasn’t happening in her head, because she stopped suddenly and blushed. “Uh… heh... okay, let’s just go now.”

Lemon Hearts wrapped her hoof around Limestone’s, and pulled her forward, eventually kicking up into a trot.

Limestone’s hooves scuttled across the concrete before she could match Lemon’s speed. Wind whipped by her mane as their pace picked up, fueled by Lemon’s excitement.

Oh Celestia, I’m going to regret this.

The doors to the Canterlot Museum of Petriculture creaked open. Wayward beams of moonlight rushed inside, illuminating faint outlines and twinkling dimly as they hit various glass cases.

Lemon slipped inside, before nudging the door open further for Limestone. As more of the night’s light poured in more solid figures appeared, but they lacked much of their substance beyond shape.

Limestone stepped in and waited for her eyes to adjust to the low light. It was a short wait, because Lemon flicked a switch, flooding the Museum with bright light.

“Ah!” Limestone squeezed her eyes shut. Shocked by the sudden change, she defaulted to anger. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Lemon wincing by a nearby light switch. “A little warning would be nice!”

“Sorry! My bad.” Lemon moved back over to her side and waited for Limestone’s eyes to readjust. “So… what do you think?”

Blinking, Limestone let the blurry world around her sharpen into clarity. Even though they were only at the entrance to the museum, several glass cases dotted the room each filled with specimens and samples used to make a first impression on visitors. The museum’s front desk almost felt like an afterthought, shoved into a corner just to make room for more rocks that geologists apparently couldn’t fit into any wing of the museum.

Instead of answering Lemon’s question, Limestone walked forward, head tilting in curiousity. The nearest case was a simple glass cube surrounding a chunk of purple crystals resting on a velvet cushion. There was also a tiny card on the edge of the glass and Limestone glanced down to read it.

Amorphous Amethyst

Donated by: Dr. Red Clay

Limestone’s breath caught in the back of her throat. “That’s— You actually have a—” Surprise overloaded her senses to the point where she didn’t even notice Lemon Hearts had pulled in beside her.

Anypony who worked with rocks worth their salt knew what an Amorphous Amethyst was. It was a magical gem that could never stay in one shape. The reasons why are a mystery to even the best esoteric geoscientists at the moment, but the gem itself was captivating. Word of mouth said that every day it was in a new, unique shape that it would never be in again.

Just looking at the dazzling spread of purple stones, Limestone could tell that fact was true. Subtle, but detectable shifts in the rock were present, a testament to its nature of never being able to sit still. It almost looked the the crystals were bobbing independently of each other in a purple ocean.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Lemon appeared at Limestone’s side.

Limestone opened her mouth, only to nod. “How in the world did anypony find one of these?”

“They are pretty rare.” Lemon smiled. “But you’d have to ask Dr. Clay for a real answer. He was the one who dug it up a few months ago. You should’ve seen his face when he got back; he just couldn’t stop smiling.”

Turning to her, Limestone raised her brow. “You know him?”

Lemon puffed out her chest with pride. “He’s my boss.”

“The guy you get coffee for?”

Her chest unpuffed at record speed. “Uh— Well— I mean— Pffft, what even is coffee, am I right?” Lemon sputtered out. Any remaining confidence drained out of her a second later and she paled, realizing what was just said.

Limestone’s slid away to avoid hers. “O-kay?”

“Uhh… W-Well, I mean, I get to go on digs with him sometimes, so… you know.” Lemon fumbled for something to say, while Limestone fumbled to come up with a facial expression that was less pity and more impressed. “S-So, if you liked this, then we should totally start the tour with the Magical Sediments wing. There’s a Grassy Quartz, and a geode that can make rainbows, and we even just got a Hearthstone in.”

“You have a Hearthstone?” Limestone asked, excitement creeping into her voice. When she saw Lemon softly giggle, she tempered her enthusiasm with a sharp cough. “Uh, sure, sounds good.” Limestone took a step back from the case, turning her head to look around the room. “So… where is that?”

“Oh right.” Lemon bounced away from the display case and pointed herself to the right. “Over here.”

She reached for Limestone’s hoof, but hesitated. Eyes darting to the ground, she pulled her hoof back and used it to gesture her forward instead. “C-Come on then.”

Limestone arched an eyebrow as she watched Lemon scamper across the room. She walked after her at a more leisurely place, mouth contorted in a confused frown.

So weird.

Shaking her head, Limestone matched Lemon’s pace to avoid falling behind. They made their way into the Magical Sediments wing, the museum’s interior shifting to reflect the fact. Carpets gave way to stone floors. Electrical lamps were replaced by glowing crystals dangling from the ceiling in chandelier form. Even the walls were redesigned to give the appearance of walking through a cave, rather than a museum.

The only constant seemed to be the display cases, which were mostly consistent to the front of the museum in that they were a series of glass cases. Only a few deviated from the norm, by being built into the walls for their exhibits.

When they walked into the wing, Limestone couldn’t help but let out an impressed, low whistle.

Lemon turned to her, smiling again. “L-Like what you see?”

Limestone nodded simply. “Yeah, it isn’t half-bad. I mean, I guess.”

“W-Well you haven’t even seen the best part!” Lemon trotted ahead, beckoning her to follow.

“I’ve barely seen any part,” Limestone muttered as she followed.

They passed plenty of unseen parts as they made their way through the wing. Limestone found her attention pulled to the left and right by levitating crystals, psychedelic rocks, and stones that smelled like flowers. She kept straight, staying right behind Lemon as her expectations grew

Eventually they found themselves near the edge of the wing. Lemon Hearts stopped just short of a wall so she could turn a full one-eighty and proudly hold up her hoof to display the nearest case. “Tada!”

Limestone directed her gaze to the rock inside. It was a polished, dark opal that glided across the floor of its case in an attempt to defy physics. Whenever it bumped into the padded edges of the square box, its direction would change effortlessly.

It was clear to Limestone right away what this was, so much so that she didn’t even bother looking at the little card on the case. It was a Frictionless Opal; a somewhat uncommon rock that, when mined in its usual, coarse state, wasn’t anything special. However, when sanded down to a smoother form, it acted as though Neighton’s second law didn’t apply to it.

Technically it did. Limestone remembered that the opal theoretically slowed down over time, it was just not even Princess Celestia was old enough to have witnessed one stopping yet.

But despite its ability to constantly move, the Frictionless Opal wasn’t all that new. Limestone had run across this type of rock herself back in Nickerlite’s mines, and had even met a few ponies around town with smoothed ones. While she could respect the time that went into making this stone realize its potential, that potential just wasn’t that interesting.

“So, what do you think?” Lemon smiled expectantly.

Limestone tried in vain to stop her eyes from rolling over to the side. “It’s… nice?”

The expectant smile died. Rising from the ashes of it like a confused phoenix was a twitching mess of frowns and lines as Lemon tried to maintain one emotion. “O-Oh. I mean, I know it’s not—”

“Was this really the best in the museum? ‘Cause there was like a dozen cooler things on our way up here.”

Lemon’s face finally decided on a half-frown. “Bu— You’re right. Sorry, I just wanted you to see… nevermind.” She brushed past Limestone, tail between her legs. “Come on, there’s better stuff than this piece of junk, I promise.”

As Limestone watched Lemon dart down the hall, she found her eyes drifting back to the opal. As it knocked itself back and forth within the case, Limestone finally took note of the tag on the front.

Frictionless Opal

Donated by: Lemon Hearts

...Oh.

Limestone bit down on the insides of her cheek. Now she felt like a jerk.

But… she shouldn’t. It wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t known. And it wasn’t like Lemon corrected her or anything. She probably put in a lot of work to smoothen and polish that opal, why didn’t she demand some more respect? Surely she must’ve earned it after all the hours she put into it.

Why didn’t she say something? She didn’t have to listen to me… basically call it garbage.

Limestone sighed. No, there really was no way around it; she had to apologize.

Lemon was already walking away, but a brisk trot closed the gap between them.

She coughed to clear her throat. “Look, I didn’t know that was your—”

“It’s fine!” Lemon interjected. She kept facing forward to shield her face, but the red tinge on her cheeks exposed just how much she was beating herself up inside. “Y-You were right, okay? I shouldn’t have built that up at all…” Her ears dipped.

“It’s not like it was terrible or anything,” Limestone said. Her jaw clenched. Yep, cause that’s how you say sorry. The words weren’t exactly coming easy to her, but she was sure she could do better. “Uh… All right, about what I said—”

“Hey look! A reason to talk about something else!” Lemon darted over to a new exhibit, ignoring what Limestone was trying to say.

But ignoring Limestone wasn’t a very good idea.

“Geeze, do you want a stupid apology or not?” She yelled.

Lemon froze, then looked to the ground. She nudged her hooves together and bit her lip. “You don’t have to.”

“What, do you not care about your Opal then? Because that makes no sense.”

Lemon frowned. “I-I just don’t want you to be mad.”

“I’m always mad,” Limestone replied.

Lemon crossed her hooves, struggling with eye contact. “I-I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she amended.

“Then let me apologize,” Limestone demanded. Lemon nodded slowly, so Limestone cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, all right?”

“I forgive you,” Lemon softly squeaked.

“Good.” Limestone finally relaxed a little, glad to have that behind her. Her eyebrow arched when she saw Lemon just staring at her, with no indication that the tour would continue. She coughed awkwardly into her hoof and Lemon’s trance shattered.

“U-U-Uh, right!” She whipped her head around in an effort to reorient herself. “This way.”

They moved down the wall of cases, stopping at far more than before. It took Lemon a while, but by the fourth or fifth display she seemed to have shaken off her funk and got back in the swing of things. Limestone barely spoke, and just listened to Lemon ramble on about each new rock, whether she knew about them or not.

The entire topic of the Frictionless Opal seemed to have dropped, which Limestone was grateful for. As long as awkwardness like that can be buried under a ton of rocks, then this night would turn out fine as far as she was concerned.

“Anyway, that’s basically why the Spider Stone needs to eat,” Lemon said, finishing up her latest list of rock facts.

Limestone nodded along, only half paying attention. Spider Stones were interesting, but she already knew about their feeding habits. Her gaze wandered around the room before landing on something that furrowed her eyebrows.

Down the line, a case built into the wall held a jagged chunk of orange-red quartz shaped like a fireplace, but strangely no glass to separate it from the museum proper like just about every other rock in the building.

She pointed over towards it. “Hey, what’s that?”

Lemon looked over, her face brightening. “Oh, you have to check this one out.”

She bounded over, Limestone following behind but with less enthusiasm and more curiosity. As she neared the glassless exhibit, she felt warmth trickle over her body. It was an uncomfortable sensation of sudden comfort, only serving to pique her curiosity further.

The closer she got, the more all-consuming the warmth was, right up until she stood right in front of the rock.

“This is the Hearthstone I was telling you about,” Lemon proudly said.

“Whoa,” Limestone whispered, the puzzle pieces clicking into place. The heat she felt all around her body was emanating from that quartz. Hearthstone was a rare sub-category of pyro-enchanted stones that basically acted as a rocky fireplace. However, they were rare enough that hardly anypony could afford to have them instead of a traditional fireplace. Between this and the Amorphous Amethyst, Limestone had to admit that the museum detour had been worth it.

As the heat continued to wash over Limestone’s face, she was forced to wipe away sweat dripping down her forehead. “Geeze, run out of glass for this thing or something?”

“Heh, no.” Lemon smirked for a brief second. “It, uh… it kept melting, so we just stopped putting it in.”

“Ah.” Limestone took a step back. Doing so gave her a good view of the info card pinned just underneath.

Hearthstone

Donated by: Maud Pie

“Whoa, what?” Limestone did a double-take.

“What?” Lemon asked.

Limestone pointed to the card. “That’s my sister!”

Lemon looked to the card, her eyes widening. “Really? Wow, that’s so cool! Did she tell you any cool stories about the dig she found it on.”

“I—” Limestone stopped short. She couldn't remember anything from Maud’s infrequent letters about a Hearthstone. Had her sister not even told her? Why?

Well, knowing Maud the deadpan answer to that would be ‘nopony ever asked’, but still. Maud had unearthed a Hearthstone and hadn’t even mentioned that her find was in a museum? That was crazy.

As much as Limestone wanted to feel pride for her sister’s accomplishment, the moment was undercut by the feeling of being left out. Maud was apparently getting noticed in the geology world before she’d even finished getting her rocktorate. At this rate, who knew where she’d be in a couple of years.

“Did ya get it?” Lemon asked, drawing a look from the freshly-ripped-from-her-thoughts Limestone. “Her cool story. About the… Hearthstone… Because it’s not cool, y’know? Heh...”

“Hilarious,” Limestone growled. She suddenly was less in the mood for bad jokes than normal.

Lemon’s ears flopped down. “Uh... s-sorry?”

“Let’s just go,” Limestone grumbled. She needed to put some distance between her and the Hearthstone.

Lemon trotted to catch up to her. She pulled up alongside Limestone and gave her a worried look. “Uh… is something wrong?”

“No.”

Lemon frowned. They walked in silence for a beat or two, before the echoing hoofsteps became too much to bare on their own. “I didn’t think my pun was that bad.”

“It wasn’t the joke,” Limestone growled.

Lemon’s brow scrunched in confusion. “Then… what was it?”

Limestone bit the inside of her cheek, angry for even implying something was ‘it’. Rather than acknowledge it further, she decided to change the subject. Stopping in front of a vaguely interesting rock that she didn’t care about, Limestone turned and pointed to it. “Hey, tell me about this one, I’m curious.”

Lemon’s forehead wrinkled. “You know, if something’s bothering you then you can talk to me about it. I don’t want you to be upset.”

“I don’t talk about things when I’m upset,” Limestone grumbled. “And I’m not upset about anything anyways!”

Lemon’s eyes dropped to the floor, climbed over to the side, and hopped to the other side of the room before finally settling back on Limestone. “You sure?”

Limestone growled in the back of her throat. Why’s she even asking? Let’s just hurry up and finish the stupid tour already.

Instead, the tour was put on hold as Lemon inched closer, empathetic eyes staring into hers. “You can open up to me, Limestone.”

Realizing that Lemon wasn’t going to be dropping this anytime soon, Limestone groaned internally. Great. Just great. What does this mare want from me? I’m not going to pour my heart out to somepony I barely know.

...Then again, I won’t see her again after tonight, won’t I? I guess I don’t have anything to lose by talking to her...

Limestone shook the thought from her head. Nothing to lose wasn’t the same as something to gain. Regardless, she would prefer getting through the night without having to talk about her feelings. Was that really too much to ask?

“Look, if you’re done talking about the rocks here, then I’m—”

“Is it about your sister?”

Limestone hit the brakes so fast she swore she heard screeching sounds. Her head whipped around, eyes narrowing. “Are you saying I have something against my sister?” Her face compressed in a glare that all but hissed, ‘choose your next words very carefully’.

Lemon seemed to take that advice, zipping her lips shut in favor of consideration for what she was about to say. Limestone waited impatiently, ready to snap no matter what she said.

After a pregnant pause, Lemon finally gave birth to the words on the tip of her tongue. “Well, you suddenly got kinda… moody after you saw her Hearthstone. What was I supposed to take from that?”

“Not that I hate my sister!” Limestone yelled. She could feel the veins on her neck become visible from the tension in her voice.

“I didn’t say that!” Lemon threw up her hooves defensively. “I-I didn’t even mean to imply that.”

The realization that she was being over-defensive smacked her across the face. “W-Well good,” she stumbled. “Keep not implying that, then.” Great, now I sound like an idiot.

Clearly Limestone was not well suited for the intricate subtleties of convincing somepony that nothing was wrong. Between her mood and her outburst, she doubted Lemon would give up now.

With a heavy sigh, Limestone turned her head, refusing to make eye contact. No words were exchanged, but she could feel Lemon’s eyes on her.

“It’s okay to talk about it, Limestone. It won’t ruin our night or anything.” Lemon offered a hopeful, yet gentle smile. “Really, I don’t mind.”

The inclusion of ‘our night’ flew right over Limestone’s head. It was overshadowed by the open invitation to talk about her feelings. Though it wasn’t the first she’d received that night, it was the first she found herself considering. If it would make the misery of this awkwardness end so she could leave, then it may even be worth it.

“Fine,” Limestone huffed.

Lemon’s smile grew. She brought herself down to sit on the floor, shifting her dress along with her. Once she was situated, she patted the ground beside her, inviting Limestone to join her.

Reluctantly, Limestone sank to the floor. She still refused to meet Lemon’s eyes, instead focusing on the cave designs on the ground.

“So… you don’t hate your sister,” Lemon started for her.

“Of course I don’t,” Limestone said. “I… I miss her.”

Lemon nearly squealed with glee, then caught herself with the realization that that would be easily misinterpreted. She was just so overcome with joy that Limestone was finally showing some emotion other than anger, that she just about forgot to provide some comfort to her over those emotion. “Uh… is she gone a lot?”

“Ever since she left to get her rocktorate.” Limestone said.

“Well, that’s not so bad. I mean, if she’s just studying then she can come back and visit.”

“Maud visiting is pretty rare. Last time she stopped by it was Hearth’s Warming. I’d always assumed it was just cause she was busy, but...” Limestone frowned.

“Well… hey, she can still write letters to you, right?” Lemon asked.

“Apparently not. Not if she’s got a find in a freaking museum and I find out about it like this.” Limestone’s chin sank into her hooves. “Geeze, when did I even get her last letter?”

“Well…” Lemon started with for about the third time in a row. “I’m sure there’s some reason why. Maybe it’s like you said, she could just be super busy with, umm… rocktorate stuff.”

Limestone shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m being left behind.”

“Huh?” Lemon’s eyelids fluttered in confusion. “What makes you think that?”

Her jaw clenched.

“Limestone?” Lemon inched a little closer, unsure if she should be pressing this much. “Hey, if you don’t want to—”

“It’s because they’re all leaving!” Limestone shouted. Lemon flinched, nearly landing on her back from the sheer force of the outburst.

Every muscle in Limestone’s body remained tightly wound as Lemon wobbled in her effort not to fall. Strangely enough, she didn’t back away once she became stable, not even slightly.

“Is— who’s all leaving?” Lemon asked.

That question didn’t do much to soothe Limestone’s nerves. In fact, being asked to dig up feelings better left buried only added to the pressure that was already coming dangerously close to popping the veins on her forehead.

But Limestone was able to channel most of that into a dispersing huff. As mad as she wanted to be in that moment, she just couldn’t. All of her energy was drained by just how sad she was.

“My sisters.” Limestone spoke softly, staring at the ground. She wasn’t even sure Lemon Hearts had heard her because there was another tense moment of silence between them.

When she finally looked up out of curiosity, she saw Lemon’s patient gaze silently pester her to continue.

“Pinkie Pie left the rock farm years ago. She got her Mark, knew what she wanted to do, and was gone.” The corners of her mouth quivered as she tried to keep her face neutral. “She writes… she doesn’t visit all that much.”

“And that’s—”

“Maud’s only been gone for a few months,” Limestone continued, barreling over what Lemon was about to say. “But it feels like it’s been a lot longer. And considering how ambitious she is, I don’t think she’ll be coming back once she has her degree.”

Lemon waited a moment to make sure Limestone was done talking this time. “I’m really sorry, Limestone. It sounds like this is really getting to you.”

Limestone started to curl her hind legs up, eyes shooting to the ground. “Ye—” She actually felt heat rise up under her face at the realization that Lemon Hearts was pitying her. With a grunt, she turned away to hide her vulnerability. “N-No! I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh!” Lemon seemingly realized how little Limestone wanted sympathy right now and decided to back off. “Right, I mean you still have Marble anyways. It’s not like you’re desperate for sisters or anything.” She laughed awkwardly, but snapped her mouth shut when she saw Limestone wasn’t chiming in.

Instead, Limestone felt her lips quivering. “Mmmhmm,” she managed, trying to keep her tone pretty neutral.

Lemon tilted her head in confusion. “What? Don’t tell me Marble is leaving the rock farm too.”

Limestone could tell that was meant to be a bit of a playful joke, but she still didn’t feel like laughing. “I think she wants to.”

“Wait, really?” Lemon’s surprise almost overshadowed her fear that she’d brought up a sore topic.

Reluctantly, Limestone turned her body back to face Lemon. “I think I scare her sometimes. And seeing how much she likes Minuette it makes me think she’d be happier spending the rest of her life with somepony she really cares about rather than me.”

“Whoa,” Lemon put a hoof on Limestone’s shoulder, ignoring the small glare she got from it. “I think you’re being a little harsh on yourself. There’s no way Marble would just leave you because she likes Minuette.”

Maybe not Minuette, Limestone thought, recalling Marble’s resolve to end their fledgling relationship. But for her soulmate... probably.

To Lemon, she simply frowned. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Lemon just blinked, and lowered her hoof. “So… what about you?”

“What about me?” Limestone growled, preparing her walls to be raised yet again.

“Well… what do you want to do?” Lemon asked. “If all your sisters are leaving, then will you too?”

The question actually struck Limestone pretty hard. What she wanted to do? That was something nopony had ever asked her. That was something she had never asked. The course of her life had been so obvious that nopony had even needed to say anything about it.

“What do you mean?” Limestone asked.

The fact that clarification was needed seemed to confuse Lemon. She scrunched her brows together and tightened her lips. “I… I mean what do you want to do with your life? If Pinkie and Maud left and you’re sure Marble will too, then do you want to leave?”

Limestone offered a surly frown. “No, of course not. I love the farm.”

“But you love your sisters a lot too, huh?” Lemon guessed.

Limestone lowered her head. “Obviously.” She closed her eyes, breathing a heavy sigh. “If one day, it’s just me on the farm all by myself… I don’t know.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Sweet Celestia, why am I even telling her this? I don’t want her pity. I don’t want any of that ‘it’ll be all right’ bullcrap. I just… Limestone could feel tears welling up behind her closed eyelids.

In the end, she hadn’t even wanted to admit she was feeling all this. It… hurt to say it out loud. She didn’t even know if there was a way to feel better again after laying it all out.

Her emotions were a tangled whirlwind of a mess, with no direction for them to go. They just bounced around inside, threatening to release as tears.

Just then, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “You don’t have to be alone, Limestone.”

Opening her eyes, Limestone turned to face Lemon.

Just in time for their lips to touch.

It was a light, gentle kiss. Their lips only briefly brushed against each other. But even so, there was no mistaking what it was.

As Lemon pulled away, a look of shock on her face revealed that she hadn’t quite meant for that to happen. Limestone managed to pair her look with one of her own, though with a little more surprise behind it.

When she realized what had happened, all of her feelings banded together and latched on to something familiar to fall back on: Anger.

The tears that had been building up evaporated, and Limestone’s face folded into an angry glare.

“What the heck was that for?” Limestone yelled. She wiped her mouth, and saw a smudge of pink lipstick on her hoof. “You did not just—”

Lemon shrunk back, looking like she wanted to disappear. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… I… I thought we were having a moment.”

“A moment? You— I—” Limestone could still feel Lemon’s lips against hers, and was unable to stop her face from flushing. “What are you even talking about? How was me talking about my family a good signal for you to do that?”

“I’m sorry!” Lemon squeaked. “You were finally opening up to me and I… I thought you just needed to be comforted.”

Limestone couldn’t stop shaking with rage. Now that she had an opportunity to cover up the vulnerable mare that had taken over for the past few minutes, she was latching onto it and not letting go. Standing up, she drilled Lemon with her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I wanted you to kiss me!”

Lemon stood up to get eye level with her. “I thought it would be romantic. But I just meant to kiss your cheek, I swear!”

“Romantic?” Limestone squinted. “Why would you try to be romantic?”

“Uh… b-because we’re on a date. R-Right?”

Sweet Celestia, don’t tell me. Limestone drew in a sharp, pained breath. “What did Minuette tell you?”

“What did she—” Lemon swallowed. “T-That you wanted to go on a date with me.”

Limestone’s teeth ground together so hard there was a fear of shattering them. “Are you kidding me?” Lemon’s face fell. “I only came tonight because Marble was too scared to go by herself.”

“What?” Lemon shook her head. “N-No. S-She— But you—”

Limestone could feel her muscles tighten. “So you thought this was supposed to be a real date?”

Lemon could only nod helplessly.

Limestone groaned. “Well you were wrong, okay? I’m here because I care about my sister. I was never trying to get a marefriend; I’d let the Pairing Stone handle that for me.”

“The Pairing…” Lemon’s face scrunched in confusion, but let that comment drop. “S-So, at the party, you never… not even a little bit? Not even this whole night?”

“No!” Limestone cried. She couldn’t believe this mare had yet to get it through her head.

What, was she just supposed to have spontaneously felt something when they were eating dinner? So what if that story about the beaker had been hilarious? So what if she’d gotten to ice skate for the first time? So what if she’d kind of liked the thrill of it? So what if they both geeked out over rocks and so what if she'd gotten part of a private tour… at one of the most prestigious museums… in Equestria.

So what if Lemon cared enough to listen when she got sappy. So what if she cared at all.

She shook her head. It meant nothing!

“Geeze, why do you even care?” Limestone asked. “It’s not like we even know each other all that well or anything.”

“Why do I care?” Lemon blinked. “B-Because I like you. You’re so cool, and tough, and independent. A-And really pretty.”

Limestone actually blushed, completely disarmed by that wave of compliments.

“And I really wanted to see your sensitive side,” Lemon continued, smiling briefly. “And it turns out you’re really sweet deep down, because you care so much about your family.” She met Limestone’s eyes, with her own, watery ones. “Is it wrong that I want you to care about me too?”

There was still a lot of anger left in Limestone, but it suddenly felt like it had nowhere to go. What was she supposed to say to that?

“I… guess not?”

Lemon deflated at that answer.

Limestone bit her lip, knowing she probably just said the wrong thing. “Look, I don’t get to choose stuff like that, all right?” Lemon looked up, her attention caught. “So don’t try to make me. I came to Canterlot to be there for my little sister, and I shouldn’t have let myself be distracted from that. I know she’s going to need me tonight, so I need to get back to her.”

She turned, ready to leave it at that.

“Wait.”

Limestone jutted to a stop and turned back to Lemon. “What?”

“I—” Lemon frowned. “I don’t know what you mean by you don’t get to choose, or anything, but Marble’s my friend. And Minuette is practically my sister. If you think something might happen, then I should be there for both of them.” She walked forward to be next to Limestone, face adopting a little determination. “And you aren’t running away from our talk, either.”

“Excuse you?” Limestone let some irritation slip back into her voice. “I’m not running from anything.”

“Then you should have no problem explaining why ‘you don’t get to choose’,” Lemon said. Her expression softened a bit. “Uh, p-please?”

Limestone only managed to withstand her doe-eyes for so long, too emotionally exhausted already. “Fine,” Limestone grumbled. “But we’re going now.” She started walking again, with Lemon right beside her.

“Thank you.” Lemon allowed herself to smile. Just a little.

What it Means to be Soulmates

The air was still. The nighttime atmosphere of the park had all but faded away into nothingness. At the moment, none of it mattered. It was all overshadowed by the crippling truth that Marble had just laid bare.

Her date was looking at her with an expression that was slowly falling deeper and deeper into confusion. It was clear right away that Marble’s words would need more explanation. Painful, slowly-ripping-off-a-band-aid style explanation.

“What?” Minuette’s brow furrowed in disbelief. Marble let her words hang in the air for a moment, before several shaky sobs wracked her body.

“I’m s-sorry,” she struggled out. Every word now felt like a gut punch to her heart.

Minuette blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand. What do you mean you can’t be with me?”

Marble struggles not to choke on sobs. “I… We… can’t…” It was no use, her crying was overpowering her words and they soon devolved into pitiful whimpering.

She moved to wipe her eyes, but couldn’t stop her hoof from shaking so much.

“Hey, talk to me.” Minuette moved to place a hoof on her cheek, but Marble retreated behind her mane.

She couldn’t bare Minuette’s gentle, familiar touch. It would be too tempting to back out now, even if that wasn’t an option anymore. She just watched her from behind a curtain of gray hairs and hoped this would all be over soon.

“Marble, please just tell me what’s wrong,” Minuette said, every molecule of her seemed to be begging for an answer.

Marble’s lip quivered. She knew Minuette deserved an explanation, but she didn’t know if she could give one coherently.

But she had to try.

“W-we aren’t s-s-soulmates,” she whimpered out.

“Soulmates?” Minuette pursed her lips in confusion. Her eyes darted left to right, a clear indication that she had no idea what was going on. “What are you talking about?”

Marble sniffled. She had to muster up the courage to elaborate, she just had to. “A-At Nickerlite, we h-have a r-rock called the P-P-P-Pairing S-Stone and…” It was no use. She was a stuttering, incomprehensible mess.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Minuette brushed away her mane, letting her hoof fall to Marble’s shoulder before wrapping her into a hug.

Marble pushed away. As much as it stung, as much as her body begged her to just let that hug last, she couldn’t let it go on. All it did was give her more incentive to back down from saying what she had to say.

“It’s not okay! T-the Pairing Stone… It s-shows you who your s-special somepony is supposed to be when you look at it.” Marble whimpered in the back of her throat. “A-And when I looked, I didn’t see you!”

Marble put her head in her hooves, unable to bear Minuette’s reaction to the news. She knew it must’ve incorporated speechlessness at least, because in between her sobs she didn’t hear anything for a while.

But then, Minuette brought her hooves back around her. Marble put up a weak protest struggle, but didn’t have the courage to push Minuette away again. She just buried her face into her blue shoulder and heaved up a couple more sobs.

Minuette patted her back, though it was a futile effort. Marble wasn’t on track to calming down anytime in this century. But thankfully, Minuette was willing to wait.

They sat on the park bench, embracing, as the still night was filled with Marble’s sad cries. Then, her sad whimpers. Finally, her sad sniffling.

In the end, it didn’t take a century, but Marble was able to get it out of her system nonetheless.

As she calmed down, Marble noticed just how tightly she was gripping on to Minuette. She knew she should pull away, but still couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Are you ready to talk about it now?” Minuette asked her.

Marble stopped breathing. But only for a moment.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said limply. The defeated tone in her voice did not go unnoticed.

“Well I think there is.” Minuette placed her hoof on the back of Marble’s head and pushed her in closer. “I mean, you clearly don’t want to stop.”

“...” Marble swallowed, knowing that answering would be pointless.

“And I don’t want to either,” Minuette whispered.

Marble’s lip quivered, but she still didn’t speak.

Minuette stroked Marble’s mane, taking a deep breath. “So why are you taking dating advice from a rock, exactly?”

That was a question Marble knew she had to answer. Despite her achy heart and the fact that she could probably cry some more if she really tried, she choked down her sadness long enough to say something coherent.

“It’s tradition,” she explained. “The P-Pairing S-Stone has always chosen the marriages of Nickerlite. It always knows who everypony’s soulmates is going to be.”

“I see.” Marble could feel Minuette’s frown. “So, you’re going to marry your soulmate then?”

Marble pressed her lips together. “I don’t know.”

“What?” Minuette looked at her. “What do you mean you don’t know? They’re your soulmate, right? That’s why you can’t go on another date with me, isn’t it?”

Marble shrank behind her mane. “I...I don’t know who my soulmate is. I never met them before.”

Minuette’s brow knitted together. “But… wait… If you don’t know who your soulmate is, then why can’t you date me anymore?”

Marble shook. Why couldn’t Minuette just accept the truth? Why did she have to keep asking questions? Couldn’t she see how hard this was already? “B-Because we can’t!”

Minuette frowned and a dagger found its way into Marble’s heart.

“But if you don’t know who your soulmate is, why should you have to stop dating me?” Minuette asked. “Can’t we—”

Marble shook her head, barely managing a whimper. “It’s not r-right. W-We both have ponies we’re destined to be w-with. We can’t… not when… it’s not right!” She tried so hard to convey her feelings, but knew she failed when she saw Minuette’s face twist with confusion.

“So just because there might be somepony, somewhere that’s perfect for you, you can’t give anypony else a chance?” Minuette asked.

“Y-Yes.” Marble did her best to not cry again. With some effort, she pulled away from her date and wiped her eyes. Her body still trembled, desperate for the touch of the pony before her, but she resisted.

That was it. The truth was out, and it seemed like Minuette understood. Now all Marble had to do was get on a train, leave Canterlot, and never, ever come back.

No matter how much it made her heart clench.

“I-I have to go now,” Marble’s voice was cracking more than the ice rink she decimated. Now she really needed to leave. At any moment she’d break down in the fetal position into a mess of sobs, and she would prefer to be alone for that.

Prying her body from the bench, Marble pushed herself away and started

“Wait!”

Tears slipped out of Marble’s eyes. Minuette’s voice sounded so pained. Her walk slowed and the desire to turn around hit her like a train at full force.

It would be easy to go back, wouldn’t it? Nopony was here to make her leave. Limestone, Ma, Pa, the Pairing Stone… It was just her. This was her choice.

For the briefest moment, she stopped.

No… I can’t… Marble wiped her eyes and kept going. She couldn’t fight destiny; Minuette deserved her real special somepony.

The sound of hoofsteps behind her jolted Marble from her thoughts. Minuette was coming after her.

A gut punch of happiness hit Marble; the realization that Minuette still cared enough to follow her managed to bring a flash of a smile to her face. But at the same time, alarm bells jarred her systems.

Minuette was following her. Minuette was refusing her destiny. Minuette was risking her happiness just to be near Marble again.

T-This is all wrong. Marble broke out into a sprint, tearing herself from the ground in an effort get away.

“Marble, wait!”

She can’t stop this! Marble yelled in her head. I can’t stop this. She shouldn’t even be trying.

“Marble, please slow down!”

Marble bit her lip, eyes squeezing shut. She lowered her head as she ran, determined to put as much distance as possible between them, both physically and mentally.

This has to stop. She has to stop. We have to stop.

The Pairing Stone had spoken. It knew there wasn’t true love to be found between them. Marble’s feelings were just wrong. They were reactionary. Of course she had attached herself to the first pretty mare who paid attention to her. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. Not when destiny said otherwise.

Then why does it hurt so much?

Minuette’s hoofsteps were further away now. Marble could see the park’s exit up ahead. She could slip out into the city and disappear after that. Then she could cry. Then she could try and forget. She just had to make it a few more steps...

FLASH!

A blue burst of magical light engulfed Marble’s side before fading away. In what was formerly empty space, Minuette now existed. Suspended in mid-air, diving towards her uncontrollably, but definitely Minuette.

“Eep!” Was all Marble could get out before their bodies connected.

The force of the collision knocked them both to the side. The park’s path, and subsequently the exit, flew from view as the two of them tumbled into the nearby grass.

Marble felt her breath knocked out of her as the shock from the impact really took hold. Minuette’s body was squished up against hers as they rolled across the ground, whipping up blades of grass in their wake.

When they finally came to a stop, Minuette had flipped free from her and landed off to the side. Marble found herself face up, staring at the night’s sky as her brain tried to process what had just happened.

Once she realized that the mare she needed to get away from was right next to her all of a sudden, Marble started to push herself back up, only for Minuette to pop into her peripherals first.

“Oh my gosh! Marble, are you okay? You’re not hurt, right?” Minuette’s panicked expression matched her tone pretty well. “I’m so, so sorry! I just kept thinking about how I couldn’t let you run off like that and before I knew it I was trying to teleport, even though I’m terrible at it, and then I— and you were— and… Marble?”

She felt the tears streaming down her face right before a sob fought it’s way past her lips. Marble couldn’t fight back a steady trickle of water from leaking out.

Minuette looked battered from their tumble. Her mane was a frazzled mess now. Her dress was stained with grass smudges and dirt, probably ruined beyond repair. Yet, inspite of that, she only cared about her.

Suddenly Minuette’s fore legs were draped around Marble. “I’m so, so sorry.”

The pain from the fall was already fading and it paled in comparison to Marble’s heart right now. Even after everything that had just happened, Minuette was more concerned with Marble than anything else. And Marble had just been about to run away. How badly had that stung? All because she didn’t want to face the truth anymore than Minuette.

She sniffled, trying to get some words out. Any words. She just needed to let Minuette know she wasn’t hurt. “I-I-I-I’m-m f-f-f-f-fine…”

“No you aren’t!” Minuette insisted. “I just crashed into you! I didn’t even factor in my velocity when I reassembled! I could’ve really hurt you.”

B...But… “But I already hurt you!” Marble wailed. Her face found Minuette’s shoulder again and buried itself deep within. “I’m so stupid! I just couldn’t… I didn’t want to stay after that.”

“Hey, there, there.” She felt gentle, comforting hooves pat her back. “Marble… you didn’t hurt me.”

A moment of clarity broke through Marble’s hurricane of emotions. “I… I didn’t?”

“Celestia no.” Minuette held her tightly. “I was too worried about you. You seemed devastated. And you didn’t even let me say anything.”

Marble’s sniffles took their sweet time winding down. When she finally felt able to speak again, she didn’t even know how to respond. “But… I-It doesn’t matter what you say. We—”

“We aren’t soulmates,” Minuette answered. Marble shivered. It felt so much worse when she said it.

“Yeah…”

“But I don’t care about that.”

Marble snapped to attention, pulling her head back to look Minuette in the eye. “W-What?”

“I don’t care about soulmates,” Minuette said, rephrasing herself. “I care about you.”

It was like her storm of bad feelings had suddenly been brushed aside. The warmth that exploded inside her just from hearing those words dwarfed anything else she had felt the whole night.

But it couldn’t last. Confusion and doubt suddenly reared their ugly heads, tainting Minuette’s words.

“You do? B-But…” She looked down. “I-I want you to be happy though. You deserve to be the happiest mare in the universe. A-And the only pony who can make that happen is your soulmate…”

An empathetic gaze fell over Minuette’s face. “So you only want me to be happy?” Minuette asked. Marble nodded. “Then you have a pretty funny way of going about it.”

Marble’s ears folded down. “But it’s for the best. You deserve to be with your soulmate, Minuette.”

“And you?”

Marble wiped her eyes, unable to meet Minuette’s. “I… I just can’t stop wishing that it was me.”

Minuette frowned, her eyes not holding back when it came to doling out sympathy. “You know, I still haven’t changed my mind. I don’t care about soulmates.”

Marble’s eyelids fluttered. “B-But…”

“Marble,” Minuette cut her off. “I might never meet my soulmate. And you might never meet yours. I don’t want to live my whole life holding out for the one pony who might be perfect. Especially when I’ve got a pretty amazing mare sitting right in front of me.” Minuette brushed Marble’s mane behind her ears, almost earning a glance. “I just wish she could feel the same way about me.”

“I-I do!” Marble finally met Minuette’s eyes. “I want to! I really, really want to keep dating you. I… I want to be your marefriend. And hold your hoof. And hug you. A-And k-kiss you. I just… I’ll never be able to. My parents will arrange my marriage with my special somepony once they know who it is. A-And then we wouldn’t be able to be together ever again. And that’ll hurt.” Her voice cracked, bleeding into a long silence.

But after what felt like an eternity, Minuette finally took a breath. “Maybe it would hurt. But if you’d been successful in running away just now, don’t you think that would’ve hurt too?”

“You would’ve moved on,” Marble whimpered. “You’re too incredible to stay sad over somepony like me.”

“Don’t put me on a pedestal like that.” Minuette grabbed Marble by the shoulders. “You think I’m incredible?”

“I-I think you’re perfect,” Marble whispered.

“I’m anything but!” Minuette cried. “I kept bringing you to crowded places when you hate them. I just didn’t consider how it would make you feel when I was planning out our night. And I lost it dealing with Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine and made you worry about me. And just now my stupid teleporting could’ve given you a concussion! Or worse!”

Marble was speechless, her jaw hanging open in pure shock. Had Minuette really been worrying about stuff like that this whole night?

“Marble, I’m just a pony. And what’s more, I like you. A lot. I wouldn’t have just rebounded if you’d gotten away. I would’ve been really hurt.” Water lined the rims of Minuette’s eyes. The tears shimmered as moonlight bounced off of them. “I would’ve missed you.”

Every part of Marble seized at once. What had she done? What had she been trying to do? What was wrong with her? “I’m sorry…”

Minuette pulled her back into a hug. “Apology accepted. Just please don’t do it again.”

“O-Okay…”

They were quiet again, each just taking a moment to experience their embrace. Marble limply, still unable to believe this was all happening, and Minuette firmly, like she never wanted it to end.

“Look, about this Pairing Stone,” Minuette said.

“Yeah?”

“Barely anypony knows about it outside of Nickerlite, right?”

“Uh… I think so.”

“So that means most ponies don’t get to see it and probably never get together with their soulmate in the end. Couples settle down, get married, start families, all with the wrong pony, and they’re happy, together.” She brushed her hoof along Marble’s back, considering her next words carefully.

“As for us… I don’t know. Maybe we’ll fall in love and live happily ever after, or maybe we’ll break up next week. No pony can say for sure what’s going to happen, Marble, so why don’t we just enjoy ourselves?” Minuette squeezed her softly. “Because I really like you.”

“I really like you too,” Marble said. “B-But my parents…”

“I’ll talk to them,” Minuette decided. “I’ll see to it that they make an exception for you. Don’t worry.”

Wow… she’s really willing to do all that for me. Granted, Minuette didn’t know Marble’s parents all that well, so she had no idea what she’d be getting into. But even so, if she was sure she could convince them then, then she wouldn’t stop.

But that also means all of the burden would be placed on her. Her parent’s anger… would they ever accept Minuette if they thought she was stealing Marble away from her true soulmate? Would they hate her?

Marble stiffened. “I… no…”

“No?” Minuette’s voice cracked with worry.

Before she could put words to her concern, Marble piped up. “I-I should be the one to talk with them. They’re my parents after all. This… I should tell them.”

“...Okay.” Minuette stroked Marble’s mane silently for a moment. “Do you want me to at least be there when you do?”

Marble thought about it for a moment, really thought about it. What would her parents say to Minuette if she showed up right when their daughter told them she’d decided to go against the Paring Stone’s choice. Would they blame her? Maybe. Probably.

She squeezed Minuette, perhaps a little too tightly. “I can do it by myself.”

“Oh.” Minuette didn’t mask her surprise. “Are you sure?”

Marble nuzzled the fluff of Minuette’s chest. She didn’t want to be apart from the warmth and comfort it provided… but at the same time, she could do this by herself. She didn’t deserve Minuette if she couldn’t. “I’ll be fine.”

“All righty then.” Minuette kept stroking Marble’s mane, as they simply enjoyed each other’s embrace for a little while longer. Then, “We should probably think about meeting up with Limestone and Lemon soon. I would hate for you to miss your train.”

Marble nodded. In all this time, she hadn’t even considered what those two had been up to. She hoped Lemon was doing okay, considering Limestone’s… personality.

But… “Can we stay like this for a little longer… please?” Marble ensconced herself deep in Minuette’s chest, threatening to cause a cave in of chest fluff that would bury her alive.

“Of course, Shy Pie. Of course.” Minuette nuzzled her cheek into the top of Marble’s mane, letting go of a comfortable sigh in the process.

All of the pressure of her emotions was finally relieved. Marble couldn’t believe how easy it had been to just talk to Minuette about everything. If she had just done so in the beginning, then the night would have been much better.

But, Marble could hardly complain right now. Minuette was warm and fuzzy; like the perfect pillow to cuddle up with.

The couple stayed pressed against each other for a long time after. They were silent; words weren’t needed between them anymore. After a rollercoaster of a night, they were finally on the same page with one another. And now, they were content to just enjoy each other’s company; it was all they needed.

Last Moments of a First Date

Two ponies, locked together at the foreleg, darted through the quiet Canterlot streets. The nighttime air nipped at their coats as it breezed passed. Their running was undeterred, however, fueled by enough panic to ignore chilly winds.

“Are we late?” Marble’s hoof was jittery, even with Minuette holding it. “I don’t want to miss the train; Limestone will get mad.” She swallowed. “Unless she already left! She wouldn’t leave me right? Even if she was going to miss the train? Oh Celestia, I’m going to miss the train!”

Her pace picked up, to the point where she was nearly dragging Minuette. The rough sounds of horseshoes on concrete mixed with the uneven clip-clopping of frantic hooves as her marefriend struggled to keep up.

Her marefriend… Marble’s heart was somewhere between fluttering and soaring when she just thought about it. To go from a guaranteed break-up to a fully fledged and official relationship over the course

It had taken some time for them to separate from their embrace. Only Minuette’s concern that Marble would miss her train had done the trick, and had sent her into a frenzied state in the process.

After all, how long had they cuddled back in the park? It could’ve been hours for all Marble knew. Time just seemed to slip away when she was with Minuette.

“What am I going to do? Do you you think I can hitchhike back home? But that might make Limestone more upset if I take a ride from strangers… But then she’d get mad at herself for leaving me and forcing me to do that, and when Limestone’s mad at herself she can get really—”

A giggle slipped past Minuette’s lips, probably because she could never stop finding Marble’s worries to be cute. “Calm down, Shy Pie. Limestone would never leave you behind.”

“Then she’s going to be so mad,” Marble squeaked. Her teeth found her lower lip and bit down. Hard.

“She won’t be mad,” Minuette assured her, giving her hoof a gentle squeeze. “We’re not even late yet.”

“How can you tell?” Marble squeezed back, loving the feel of Minuette’s hoof in her own.

Minuette nudged her head forward, directing Marble’s attention up and over. The approaching train station came into view, its bright windows a beacon in the dim expanse of Canterlot’s horizon. The faint outlines of train steam lifted above the roof of the building, signifying the presence of a train.

“It’s still open,” Minuette answered. “And your train’s one of the last, so I figured we’re right on time.”

Marble just nodded. Somehow, Minuette had been paying closer attention to the train schedule than the pony who actually needed to use it, and that was only very embarrassing.

“Though, I am sure Limestone and Lemon Hearts already beat us there,” Minuette said. Marble stiffened. “I mean we spent a lot of time just—”

“Uh… Minuette?” Marble cut her off.

Her marefriend looked back with an inquisitive look. “Yeah, Shy Pie?”

“I think Limestone’s going to be really mad when we get there.”

Minuette’s brow compressed. “Really? What makes you say that? I mean, besides the obvious.”

“Well…” Marble didn’t have a good way to say this. It was only just now that she had really considered what it meant for those two to be alone together.

Limestone, who had gone on this double date for her sake, and Lemon, who had come with the hopes of wooing Limestone. And all throughout the night, Limestone had either been ignoring Lemon’s feelings or been ignorant of them. But with the two being alone, and Lemon being particularly persistent…

Images of explosions flashed across Marble’s vision, but even that wouldn’t encapsulate the depths of her sister’s rage if she were the find out that she’d been set up on a real date without knowing.

And Lemon Hearts… what would she do if she found out Limestone wasn’t here because she wanted to date her? Marble had felt bad just thinking about being apart from Minuette. What would happen to Lemon if she had her feelings shot down tonight?

“I… I think… maybe…” Marble struggled to put words to her concern. “I think something might have happened… between them.”

“A bad something?” Minuette guessed. Marble limply nodded. “How bad a something?”

“Um… Date-ruiningly bad.” Marble whispered.

Minuette nodded, lips tightening. “Ooh, that’s pretty bad. But what do you think happened?”

“Well…” Marble stopped walking and pressed her hooves, guiltily. “I think… it might be my fault.”

“What?” Minuette cocked her head, eyebrow’s furrowing. “Why would it be your fault?”

“Uh…” Marble fidgeted. Her hooves refused to stay still as she tried to muster up something to say. Compared to telling Minuette about the Pairing Stone, this was nothing. But nothing was still something when it came to Marble. “I… I asked Limestone to come tonight so I wouldn’t be scared… I didn’t tell her Lemon liked her…”

Minuette’s eyes widened as understanding dawned on her. “Oh… Oh crap.”

Marble shook. Minuette was worried now. Minuette of all ponies.

The mare who could keep her cool in any situation, diffuse all sorts of tension, and was able to maintain a level-head when emotional was actually worried about this.

What had she done?

“Uh… Uh… We can fix this, right?” Marble whispered. By ‘we’, Marble really meant Minuette, the mare who had had all the answers so far that night. Surely she could figure something out, right?

“Maybe…?” Minuette pinched her lips together.

Marble fought back a wince that wrinkled her forehead. That was not the answer she’d been hoping for. “I shouldn’t have lied… I’m sorry.”

“Well what are you apologizing to me for?” Minuette asked. Marble’s mouth popped open to respond, but she froze at the realization that she didn’t really have an answer to that beyond the fact that it was her basic instinct to.

Minuette pulled her hoof away from Marble’s, eliciting a brief squeak of remorse. But Marble’s rising fears of Minuette’s ire were dashed when her date wrapped that same hoof around her neck. “Save the sorries for later, Shy Pie. Right now we’ve got to focus on Lemon and Limestone.”

Marble bit her lip and nodded. “Do you know what to say to them?” She imagined Minuette would have to devise something to say to both a raging inferno of… well, rage, and a sea of blubbering tears. But if anypony could do it, Minuette coul—

“Not a clue.” Minuette offered a hopeful smile. Marble felt her heart stop. “But we can’t waste time trying to figure it out.”

“Okay.” Marble’s voice was smaller than usual.

Minuette pulled her forward, before her hoof slipped away from Marble’s neck and back down to her hoof. The bliss of their legs interlocking was overshadowed by the potential danger they were heading into, be it the midst of the world’s worst breakup that wasn’t really a breakup, or the aftermath of it.

They made it to the train stations mere moments later, and Minuette was forced to slow down her pace then. Inside, there was a surge of ponies, even though few, if any, trains were departing right now. Almost none of them looked particularly happy, either tapping their hooves, impatiently glancing at a clock, or aimlessly shuffling into the crowd gathered by the only parked train nearby.

And then their presence was washed away by the shrill beep of an intercom turning on. “Again we apologize for the delay with our departing train to Dodge Junction; boarding will begin shortly. Our final train will be arriving in approximately ten minutes which will make stops in New Horseleans, Nickerlite, and Las Pegasus.”

The tin-y, reverberating voice of the intercom, bookmarked by a second beep, made the hair on Marble’s body stand at attention. Instinct pulled her focus to the nearby train, labeling it the delayed, Dodge Junction bound one. Then the realization that they only had ten minutes left really hit her.

She squeezed Minuette’s hoof, not wanting to let go. Even though she planned to see her again, the thought of leaving now, after everything that happened, carried with it a foreboding sense of finality. Maybe that was on account of her parents…

Marble shook her head. She could let that distract her right now. Limestone! Limestone was her top priority right now. Making sure she wasn’t too angry, and Lemon not too heartbroken, was more important than what she was going to say to her parents later.

Pulling her attention away from the train, Marble saw Minuette’s head swiveling around the station, looking through all of the irate passengers in waiting as she did her best to find the other half of their double date.

In an effort to mimic Minuette’s laser-like focus, Marble searched for her sister and Lemon Hearts as well. The station was brimming with ponies, forming a multi-colored sea to navigate. Picking out just two would be like trying to find a pebble in a rock pile.

But luckily, Marble had played Camouflage with Maud and Boulder enough times to develop a somewhat keen eye of her own.

She looked away from the mob by the train, knowing there was no point for Limestone to be there when she wasn’t planning on going to Dodge. Her focus turned to the sparsely populated waiting area on the other side of the station. Fine tuning her ears for a shouting voice, Marble kept her eye out for the angry pony to match.

To her surprise, nothing of the sort matched that anywhere she looked. Maybe she’d ended up looking in the wrong place? Or perhaps they were somehow earlier than them?

“Over there!” Minuette suddenly pointed.

Marble’s head jolted to the right, following Minuette’s hoof to a bench midway through the station. For a moment, her eyes glossed over the pair sitting there, expectations clouding her perception to the point where she though the gray and yellow ponies calmly sitting down couldn’t possibly be Lemon and Limestone.

“I don’t think…” Finally Marble’s eyes had to acknowledge the truth. “That’s them?”

Minuette furrowed her brows to a fine point. “They don’t look in too bad a shape. You think nothing happened after all?”

Marble shook her head. Lemon Heart’s excitement had peaked when they’d been left alone, and Limestone’s temper was too short. By all accounts, this train station should’ve been reduced to rubble from her sister’s explosion.

Unless… Unless they had had a falling out, but were only keeping up appearances for Marble and Minuette’s sake. Limestone had come under the pretense of helping her feel better, so that might explain the lack of destruction.

But then, if Limestone was bottling up all her rage then that probably wasn’t a good thing. And Lemon Hearts on top of that…

“We should go talk to them,” Marble suggest, her voice a whisper. Normally she’d be against walking straight into a minefield, but this couldn’t be ignored.

Minuette nodded in agreement. “Yeah, definitely.”

They each squeezed the other’s hoof, either for luck, for fortitude, or for hopefully not dying. Minuette took the first step forward, but Marble refused to be dragged along this time. She took a bold step forward, ready to fix whatever mess had been created, even if she would have to own up to her mistake and take the blame for it all.

And it took all of five seconds for that courage to drain away. A new record.

By the time they made it halfway to Lemon and Limestone, Marble was shaking. It wasn’t even so much the potential screaming that was messing with her. It was just the anticipation for it. The agonizing feeling of what might be overshadowed every other feeling, causing Marble to radiate anxiety.

Sensing this, Minuette nuzzled her cheek mid-step. No words needed to be exchanged, because as a new blush spread over Marble’s cheeks, confidence spread through her body once more.

By the time Minuette pulled away, Marble was almost ready to try again. Working up the nerve to take a deep breath, she picked her pace back up to match her marefriend’s.

Limestone and Lemon grew in size along the horizon. With each step, Marble’s view of the two became clearer. What was baffling about this, is that no matter how much clarity getting closer gave her, Marble still failed to see even a hint of animosity between them.

Not that she wanted there to be, of course. But it did concern her that her expectations were wrong. Had the topic of Lemon’s crush not even come up?

Marble chewed her lip. She of all people knew how tempting it was to avoid bringing up her feelings for fear they would get shot down, and the difference in Minuette and Limestone in that regard was a vast ocean of approachableness.

But Lemon kept all of her feelings to herself and Limestone ended up leaving… what kind of ending to their first, and likely only, date would that be? There was no way Lemon could get any sort of closure out of that.

Marble could imagine everything Lemon was feeling, from the isolation that came with bottling up her feelings, the anguish about worrying she wasn’t good enough, and the self-loathing that every passing second she didn’t speak up brought.

Well, she didn’t have to imagine them; she’d felt them all first hand.

And she was determined to not let Lemon leave with any of those feelings. For better or for worse, she had to let Limestone know how she felt!

Pulling ahead of Minuette, Marble felt a spike in her confidence. Her pace went up a notch now that she had suddenly felt a swell of empathy.

“Whoa!” Minuette cried out, finding herself in the position of the draggee for once.

“Sorry,” Marble whispered back.

Dragging wasn’t an issue for long; Minuette was more than capable of matching her pace, and did so with ease once she got used to it.

She caught up to Marble, flashing her a genuine smile to ease her worries. “No problem. I’m kinda anxious to get to them too.”

They were even closer now, so much so that the features of their face had appeared out of the amorphous blobs of color they used to be.

Marble still hadn’t worked out what she was going to say, assuming she’d still have the courage to say anything when they finally made their way there. She just hoped Minuette was having better luck coming up with something.

Her mind continued to spin regardless, upping the intensity with each step closer.

But then, her brain stopped dead.

Her clearer look at her sister and Lemon brought with it a realization. Limestone’s mouth was moving, and in a not at all shouty way. Lemon nodded along and then her mouth moved in response.

They were talking to each other! Actually talking!

As in, sustained conversation without blowing up or breaking down respectively. It was almost like they were on a perfectly normal date or something.

Marble was floored.

Then, in her shock, she tripped over her hooves and fell onto the floor.

“Marble!” Minuette’s sharp shock hit her ears as their hooves slipped apart.

The splat noise made when Marble introduced to face to the floor was decidedly wimpy. The sting it brought with it was anything but.

Her muzzle nuzzled the floor violently, eliciting a whimper from Marble. The sharp pain that flooded her face would fade before too long, but was potent enough right out of the gate to make her eyes watery.

She didn’t spend much time face to face with the floor, because Minuette swooped down to get her. Her hooves gingerly wrapped around her, lifting Marble up.

“Are you okay?” Minuette asked, keeping even her voice soft knowing how fragile Marble could be.

“I’m fine,” Marble whispered back. She felt her nose radiating the pain of the impact, but it certainly wasn’t enough to turn the water in her eyes into full on tears.

The sting from her meeting with the floor was already fading, allowing Marble to refocus her attention back to her sister and Lemon Hearts.

A whistle cut through the air, signifying the delayed train to Dodge was taking ponies to board now. Marble’s vision felt the consequences of this, as ponies flooded her vision. A rainbow of a crowd blockaded their path in no time. Their impatience only propelling them faster as they surged toward their seats.

Feeling smushed between it all, Marble clasped her hoof into Minuette’s, and immediately felt a spark of relief in this sea of anxiety.

Once the crowd had all been funneled into the train, Marble finally felt a little better.

Now the station looked like it had been completely gutted. Only a hoofful of ponies remained, waiting for the last train out of Canterlot that night. Aside from their soon-to-be-reunited group, Marble could count maybe half a dozen who had stuck around.

All of the tension her body had built up from the crowd melted away with that realization. It was much easier for her when so few were around.

But the tradeoff was that now it was much easier to see them coming. No ponies clogged the path to Limestone and Lemon, making it a straight shot to them.

It also made Marble’s view that much clearer. Once again, she found herself taken aback at just how civil the two were being, particularly Limestone. It was all Marble could do not to fall on the floor again.

“What’s going on with them?” She asked, before slamming a hoof on top of her mouth with the realization that she’d said that aloud.

“It looks like they’re talking.” With a firm grip of her hooves, Minuette walked them forward again.

“Right… I know,” Marble assured her. “It’s just… why?”

“Well, we won’t know until we ask them.” Minuette smiled as she pulled ahead slightly. “Come on, we have to talk to them eventually.”

Marble hesitated for a moment, before nodding. She hadn’t even realized that her confidence had left her yet again. At this point she didn’t think she could get it back in time.

And to rub salt in that wound, Limestone looked away from her conversation at that very moment and ended up locking eyes with her.

Oh no… Marble thought, squeezing her eyes shut. Here it comes. She braced herself for Limestone’s shouting and general lack of composure. It only made sense, after all. Limestone had obviously been bottling up all of her rage to release it on her and—

“Marble!” She was jolted back by a sudden force. She felt hooves lock around the back of her neck, pulling her face into Limestone’s shoulder.

It took a moment for her to even process what was happening, but once she opened her eyes it became pretty clear. Limestone was hugging her.

She couldn’t even believe “Wha—”

“It’s okay,” Limestone cut her off. She patted Marble’s back in an apparent effort to comfort her. “You can let it all out now.”

“Limestone!” Marble exclaimed, her voice muffled from being buried in her sister’s shoulder. Wriggling, she managed to free herself only slightly. Limestone kept her forelegs superglued around her neck, in the most sisterly hug she’d probably ever given.

So right away Marble knew something was wrong.

Desperately, she looked over to Minuette for assistance. Her pleading eyes were all it took to get her message of confusion and concern across.

Minuette cleared her throat. “Okay, Limestone. I think that’s—”

“Minny!” Lemon popped out of nowhere, suddenly flinging herself around Minuette in a bear hug to rival Limestone’s. Caught off guard, Marble saw her marefriend stumble back as the wind was knocked out of her.

“I’m so, so sorry!” Lemon continued, squeezing on Minuette tightly. “I had no idea, you two! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

Marble’s ears flopped down. Lemon looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she was apologizing? If anyone needed to say sorry, it was obviously Marble. She had been the one to string them both along so carelessly on this double date.

So just what the heck was going on?

“Limestone!” Marble yelled at a voice that barely topped a whisper. She struggled and pushed, managing to break free of her sister’s shoulder and make eye contact with her. “What is this?”

“Uh… I’m comforting you,” Limestone said.

Marble’s lips tightened. She knew her sister was inexperienced in that regard, but that barely explained anything. “B-But why?”

“Yeah,” Minuette called out. Looking over, Marble saw Minuette’s face half buried in Lemon’s chest fluff as the comfort hug grew even tighter. “And why do I need to be comforted too?”

The confusion on the part of both mares only led to confusion for the rest. Limestone’s eyelids fluttered in shock for a moment as she was rendered speechless. Luckily, Lemon could still form a sentence or two.

“Because of the Pairing Stone!” she cried. “Limestone was telling me everything about it, and that you had to break up with Minny because of it.”

So that’s it, Marble realized. She’d left Limestone the impression that she was going to break off everything with Minuette, and her sister had been prepared to comfort her through all that right off the bat.

It was touching to think Limestone was willing to go so far out of her element just for this. A doting, emotion-savy pony she was not, to say the least. But they way she hugged Marble, with a physical firmness meant to brace a limp body, would have really meant a lot if she had needed it.

“Limestone, it’s okay, really.” Marble couldn’t wiggle free of her own volition, and would have to settle with convincing her sister with words.

For just a moment, Limestone loosened her hold and gave Marble a look. Then her body tightened around Marble once again. “Liar. I can tell you’ve been crying.”

Marble bit her lip, blinking back the tears that had hidden in the corners of her eyes. It seemed the remnants of her fall were playing dirty.

“No, Limestone, I…” Marble stopped short. Her teeth slowly dug into her bottom lip with the realization that, technically, she had been crying a lot. Just… not for the reason Limestone thought.

Or, exactly in the way she thought, but not anymore?

Marble frowned; how was she supposed to explain her way out of this one?

“Uh… I think you girls are missing some context,” Minuette cut in. By virtue of her magic, she was able to escape Lemon Hearts’ death hug with comparative ease.

“Context?” Limestone’s voice was cold enough to send a shiver down Marble’s spine.

That tone… Limestone was making it pretty obvious how she felt right now. Her little sister was, as far as she knew, broken-hearted and beating herself up all because of this mare. And right now, Limestone was radiating off no shortage of overprotectiveness and anger respectively. Marble could feel her skin tingle from the sensation alone.

But Minuette was undaunted, slipping right past Limestone’s aura of menace to wrap her hoof around Marble’s. Even though she was still caught up in a sisterly hug, Marble couldn’t help but blush.

Limestone finally backed away when she saw this action unfold, releasing Marble from their hug. For a moment, her eyes darted from Marble to Minuette to their interlocking hooves before shuffling the order and doing it all over again. Lemon popped in from the side, looking equally as confused as her new knowledge of the situation was smashed to bits right in front of her.

As jarring as that was, it couldn’t be nearly as bad as the destruction of Limestone’s worldview.

“What the heck is going on here?” She asked an edge of concern now overtaking the rage that had been building.

“Well… Uh…” Marble’s head drooped to the floor as she became unable to meet her sister’s eyes.

What are you doing? She berated herself. You mean you can’t even tell Limestone that you’re going to keep dating Minuette? What are you going to do about Ma and Pa?

A fuzzy bit of chest fluff suddenly hit her cheek, snapping Marble to attention once again. Minuette had drawn in closer, offering moral support via fuzzy nuzzles.

“I decided I didn’t want to break up with Minuette,” Marble mumbled, to the point where she could barely hear herself.

“What?” Limestone cocked her head, pointing her ear closer to her.

“I want to be with Minuette!” Marble said, louder this time. She boldly entwined her hoof with her marefriend’s, finding the courage to pull her eyes away from the floor even if she could hardly meet Limestone’s inquisitive gaze.

“Aww…” Lemon Hearts said, her hooves reaching up to clutch her heart as she smiled widely. Marble merely blushed, almost retreating behind her mane. She guessed it must’ve been pretty sweet watching from the outside, but on the inside she was stone-cold terrified.

And it didn’t help that Limestone took the news far less saccharinely. “Uhh…”

It wasn’t the worst reaction—in fact, given everything to consider it was probably the best Marble could’ve hoped for—but it didn’t inspire a lot of hope.

“Um… Limestone?” Marble didn’t want to put any pressure on her sister, but the silence was becoming worrying. It was almost like… “Are you mad at me?”

She felt Minuette’s hoof tighten on her own, likely as a result of her marefriend preparing to jump to her defense. Limestone didn’t speak right away, but her mouth did drop open as if she was about to.

Marble rolled on her heels, ready to backpedal once the shouting started. Lemon Hearts leaned in from the left, a look of concern on her face as Limestone continually failed at making words happen.

For a while they were stuck like that, the question hanging in the air with an atmosphere of tension surrounding it. Only the distant whistle of a train served to break up the silence that had descended upon their group.

Finally, Limestone said something. “...No?”

The unsure tone behind that answer wasn’t enough to let Marble breath just yet; she had to know for certain. “Even though I’m going against…” Her voice dropped to an even softer whisper, almost as if she was talking about a taboo. “...the Pairing Stone?”

Limestone breathed a hefty sigh. Beside her, Lemon winced. Marble still wasn’t sure how much she knew about the situation, but clearly it was enough in regards to the Stone.

“Marble,” Limestone began, stopping as her brain tripped over what she wanted to say. “...You know I’m not the one you need to worry about.”

She frowned. Of course she knew. She knew all along it was Ma and Pa that would be the most upset with her. She just couldn’t afford to think about it too much, lest she break down right now. “I know.”

“And you’re going to go against tradition anyway?” Limestone asked, her voice so even-toned Marble couldn’t even tell if latent rage was building or not.

Regardless, the question made her quiver. It lasted only a second, her resolve returning thanks to her firm hold on Minuette, but the fact that it happened at all only worried her more. If just being asked that question by Limestone was enough to do that to her, what would happen once her father asked it?

“I…” Marble’s mouth was suddenly to dry to speak. She closed it, rolling her tongue around as she tried to work up the nerve to do something.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Minuette turn. Pulling her head towards her, Marble met her eyes.

“Yes,” she said. No reservation. No hesitation. Just the truth, plain and simple.

Minuette smiled so brightly Marble thought she might go blind, but didn’t dare turn away. There was no way she was going to miss even a second of it.

“Aww…” Lemon beamed. “You two are just too adorable.”

Limestone, for her part, at least didn’t shout. But she did exhale a long, slow, painful sigh.

“Oh come on, Limestone,” Lemon huffed as she seemed to reject the notion that anypony could witness this without experiencing cuteness overload. “Have a heart.”

Limestone’s eyes darted over to her, and she growled briefly through her teeth, not that it seemed to faze Lemon.

She just rolled her eyes. “Come on, I know now you’re a big softie deep down, so why don’t you just admit that you’re happy for Marble?”

“What?” Spots of pink sparked to life under Limestone’s gray cheeks. “I’m not a softie!” she yelled, sidestepping the question.

Softie? Marble blinked, her attention drawn back to the two. How had Lemon Hearts gotten that impression out of her sister? After all, Marble knew about her sister’s sensitive side, but she so seldom saw it that it almost felt nonexistent.

“And besides,” Limestone muttered, shooting a glance away from the group before her eyes settled on Marble. “It’s not like I’m the one you need to convince.”

Marble gulped. “...Yeah… I know.”

“But I thought you were going to break things off with Minuette anyway.” Limestone’s eyes darted between the two. “What happened?”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that,” Lemon added.

“Well…” Marble bit her lip, not wanting to recall how close she had been to throwing everything away.

“I decided that no rock was going to come in between me and Marble,” Minuette said, pulling Marble in for some neck nuzzles.

She happily obliged, blushing by the time she brought her face out. “And I’m glad you did.”

“Awww!” Lemon danced in place on the tips of her hooves. “You two are going to give me diabetes or something at this rate! Okay, I have to know everything! What happened? And where? And who did what and—”

“Whoa there. Easy Lem.” Minuette giggled. “I’d happily tell you everything, but I’ve got to know what happened between you two first, because I feel like something pretty important went down between you two.”

Limestone’s specks of pink burned brighter, gaining ground as they plotted to take over her cheeks.

“Oh, right!” Marble exclaimed, reminded of the fact that things were a lot less… explody, between those two. “Did something happen?”

The battle for control over Limestone’s face concluded; victory went to the blush.

She turned her head, looking anywhere but them in a desperate attempt to cool down. Marble could sympathize, definitely knowing what that was like.

“There was a… bit of a miscommunication,” Lemon admitted. “I thought this was a date and Limestone… didn’t.”

Marble bit her lip. So the truth had gotten out, just as she feared. “I’m sor—”

Lemon suddenly wrapped her hooves around Limestone’s neck, effectively hugging a bear trap. “But she was very understanding about it… eventually.”

“W-Whatever,” Limestone muttered. She suddenly lurched free of Lemon’s hold. “And you don’t have to hug me or anything!”

Lemon giggled, right at the exact moment Marble’s jaw hit the floor.

“You… you…” Marble couldn’t believe her eyes. Somepony was actually being playful with her sister? And wasn’t being attacked? “Minuette… am I awake?”

“Um… I think so.” She gingerly pinched Marble’s hoof, the sting proving her wakefulness once and for all. “Yup.”

“Wait, what? Did you two...” Marble asked, failing at words.

Limestone went from pink to red in a hot second. “No! We just talked and stuff, okay?”

Lemon nodded. “She told me about the Pairing Stone, and how you didn’t see Minuette in it, and that you’ve been thinking about it this whole night until you thought you had to break up.” She smiled. “Which is why is so amazing to see you both together still!” She gave Limestone a light, playful shove. “You really had me worried there for a minute.”

“How was I supposed to know my sister was going to go against a hundred generations of tradition all of a sudden?” Limestone asked.

“I didn’t know either, to be fair,” Marble admitted.

A sudden, shrill whistle, now much closer, cut into their conversation. The rapid, metallic clacks of a locomotive came to dominate the station as a train spilled into view and slowed to a stop on the tracks before them, drawing everypony’s attention.

The intercom blared to life. “Ladies and gentlecolts, we apologize for the delay. Our final train tonight has arrived. Again, this line makes stops in Nickerlite, New Horseleans, and Las Pegasus.”

The doors to the train cars slid open, with an air of finality to them. Marble turned back to Minuette, knowing their time together was up.

“Uh… I guess…” Marble turned her head to the floor, not wanting to say it out loud.

Minuette just wrapped her forelegs around Marble, nuzzling her cheek. “I’ll see you soon, Shy Pie.”

At first, Marble could only respond by turning her face beat red. “...okay,” she finally managed, learning into the snuggle. “See you soon Minuette.”

Their hug ended, each other’s hooves falling limply to the floor. Minuette didn’t break eye contact though, her brows curved into a look of worry. “Are you sure you don’t want me to be there when you tell your parents?”

Marble swallowed, her lips tightening at the prospect. It was true that she’d choked up a bit just from telling her own sister; who knew how it might go with her parents? And that was without taking the aftermath into consideration.

But, Marble also knew that she couldn’t use Minuette as a crutch for this. This was her family, this was their tradition, and this was her choice. If she was going to convince them of that, then the words would have to come from her mouth and hers alone.

“I’m sure,” she whispered.

Minuette gave her a small smile. “Okay. I guess… write to me once you know?”

Marble nodded. “Of course.”

Minuette smiled. “Good, ‘cause I’m already planning our second date. Have you ever been to a water park?”

Marble blinked. “Uh…”

She felt a nudge behind her that sent her a few steps forward to the waiting doors of the train car. Jutting to a stop, she looked back to see Limestone.

“Come on, Casanova,” her big sister said. “We gotta get on before they leave us here.”

“Oh, right.” Marble stepped to the train, the floor below her soon shifting from hard tiles to a firm carpet. She turned back as Limestone stepped on, catching Minuette’s gaze. “I guess I’ll… see you soon.”

Minuette giggled. “Well you don’t have to say it like we’ll never see each other again.”

“Oh! Uh… I’ll see you soon,” Marble said, with a little more confidence.

Minuette smiled. “Good, now it sounds like you believe it.” She leaned in, planting a peck on Marble’s nose without a warning and pulling back before she could even react.

And by the time she did, words completely failed her. Air left her lungs, making a prolonged squeak that threatened to shatter eardrums. Marble’s face ignited in an instant, the faint feeling of Minuette’s lips against her snout now burned into her memory.

Her marefriend just giggled a little at her expense as she backed out of the doorway. “Bye, Shy Pie.”

“Bye,” Marble squeaked out, barely able to stop herself from exploding.

Struggling to contain herself, Marble felt her entire body shaking. Minuette had just kissed her for pony’s sake! How was she supposed to react to this? How could she react to this? She was in uncharted waters now!

Well, the whole night had been Marble in uncharted waters. This was a whole other ocean of the unknown for her.

But she didn’t get a lot of time to react or reflect. In the time it had taken her to not blow up, Lemon Hearts had stepped forward, and now dominated the view out of the train car’s door.

“H-Hey, Limestone?” she asked, shuffling her hooves anxiously.

Marble was able to calm down enough to notice her sister’s slight head turn towards to train’s interior. ‘Yeah?”

Lemon bit her lip, taking a breath before she spoke again. “When you get back, are you going to check the… uh, you know...”

Even at this angle, Marble could see Limestone’s jaw clench. Her sister turned back around to face Lemon, her expression apprehensive.

“I guess I kinda have to now,” she mumbled, not quite as angrily as anypony expected.

Despite her overwhelming urge to burst, Marble glanced between the two with growing curiosity. It only now dawned on her that she still didn’t know what had really happened between the two during their time alone.

She opened her mouth to fix that. “Wha—”

“Last call for the final train!” The intercom suddenly blared to life. “Departure will be in just one more minute.”

To punctuate this, the shrill whistle of the train cut through all other background noise, dominating everypony’s ears for just a moment before fading back to merciful silence.

“Well, see you guys,” Limestone said as she walked deeper into the train to find a seat.

“B-Bye!” Lemon Hearts called out after her. Her body fell visibly with her exhale, but she still turned to Marble with a smile. “Hey, so… uh…”

“Yeah?” Marble ask softly, almost afraid to acknowledge her for fear of what she might say.

“Thanks for, you know, getting Limestone here tonight.” Lemon rubbed the back of her neck, looking down with a frown. “It didn’t really go the way either of us were hoping for… but I guess it could’ve been a lot worse too.”

“Oh…” Marble swallowed. Seriously, what happened between you two? “Uh… well, you’re welcome then?”

Lemon offered her another smile, this time one that didn’t have to be mustered up. “I’ll see you around, Marble,” she said before bowing out to leave the couple with their last seconds of alone time.

Now alone, together, Marble could feel the seconds ticking down until the doors between her and Minuette slammed shut. Her hooves shuffled as she tried to figure out what to say.

“Uh—”

“Don’t worry,” Minuette said.

Marble blinked. “Huh?”

“About your parents, silly. You don’t have to worry about talking to them. Not after everything you’ve done tonight,” Minuette told her.

Marble swallowed. While it was true she’d done some things tonight that herself from last week, yesterday, or even this morning would never have dreamed of doing, it still didn’t feel like she was ready to break the news to her parents. Even if Minuette had faith in her.

“I don’t know… what if I just break down and start stuttering like an idiot? Then I’ll never be able to tell them what I want.”

Minuette just giggled.

Marble blinked, actually a little offended by that. “What?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed yet,” Minuette said.

Her brows scrunched. “Noticed what?”

“You stopped stammering ages ago, Shy PIe.”

Marble’s eyes widened. “What?”

Minuette just smiled as the doors to the train car slid closed between them. Before she knew it there was a lurch as the locomotive pushed itself forward. The image of Minuette on the platform slowly moved to the left as the train accelerated.

“Wait!” As the possibility of being separated from Minuette became a reality, Marble was forced to contend with that fact all of a sudden.

She chased Minuette, running back along the train car for as long as she could, just hoping to keep the image of her marefriend in her sight a little while longer. The same feelings came over Minuette—or at least, she seemed willing to help prolong the night for Marble—as she took off jogging after her, dress swishing in the breeze she kicked up.

But Marble eventually reached the end of her train car, and Minuette the edge of the platform. Both jolted to a stop, catching each other’s eyes one last time.

A bright smile. A final wave.

A sad smile. A final wave.

The train left the station, stealing Marble’s final seconds with Minutte.

“Bye…” She whispered, voice cracking.

Marble lingered in the corner of the car, face pressed up against the window so that she could watch the image of the train station grow smaller and smaller in the horizon.

Canterlot suddenly felt very far away.

She felt very far away.

Pulling away from the side of the train, Marble didn’t let those thoughts get to her, lest she be compelled to jump out and run back. Instead, she turned her attention to the inside of their car. It was mostly empty, with the only other passenger besides her being her sister.

Limestone had claimed a window seat already, as she sat towards the back and watched the side of the mountain intently. To be fair, there were some good rocks out there. They way Limestone sat implied no hidden aggression, a rare sight when it came to her. It was then that Marble remembered she still didn’t fully understand what had happened when her sister had been alone with Lemon Hearts.

Well… it’s going to be a long train ride.

Marble left her spot, scurrying over to sit with Limestone. As she plopped down in the seat beside her, Marble saw her sister didn’t even turn to acknowledge her. She was just… staring.

“Uh… Limestone?” Marble asked, cautious about poking the resting bear.

Limestone turned, her eye sliding back to meet Marble’s. “Yeah?”

About a hundred questions bubbled to the forefront of Marble’s mind, but only a handful of them weren’t guaranteed to get an outburst right off the bat. Taking the extra second to carefully consider the words on the tip of her tongue, Marble decided to ask about the most recent development that had her puzzled. “What did Lemon mean when she asked you to check?”

Right off the bat, Limestone’s jaw clenched. Marble prematurely winced, bracing herself for a defensive retort, only to be shrugged off as her sister turned back to the window. “Nothing, all right?”

Marble blinked, having not expected to have her question so coldly deflected. Was Limestone actually mad at her after all? It wouldn’t be a surprise, but Marble certainly hoped that wasn’t the case. Regardless, she fell to silence, not wanting to agitate Limestone anymore, at least for the moment.

The clacking of the train on the rails filled the empty space for a moment. Then…

“You know Lemon Hearts likes me,” Limestone said. It wasn’t a question.

Marble flinched, but knew she couldn’t deny it. “Yes...”

“You knew when you asked me to come with you tonight.”

“...Yes.”

Limestone turned her whole head this time, giving Marble a hard stare. “Why didn’t you mention that?”

“Well…” Marble swallowed. She could feel the swell of emotions behind that tone. One wrong step would be disastrous now. Lying would be bad, saying nothing would be bad, and even the truth was a bad idea. But it was the best bad idea, too. “I thought you wouldn’t come if you knew.”

Limestone nodded, as though she had expected and prepared for that answer. “But why did you want me to come?”

Marble turned her tongue over in her mouth. “Because I was nervous about being alone with Minuette, so—”

“That’s it?” Limestone asked. “Nothing else mattered then? You just couldn’t have come tonight if you didn’t have me here too?”

Marble shook. It was just for a second, but it was quite telling. “Uh… Well… I guess… I did consider Lemon’s feelings… a little.”

Limestone’s gaze softened, from one of somepony who didn’t want to hear her answer, to one of somepony who already known it all along. “You were trying to give her a real date with me, weren’t you?”

Marble looked down at her lap. It had been such an innocent wish; she’d only wanted to help her friend. Why did she feel so guilty? “Yeah…”

Nothing.

Then, a sigh.

It was like Limestone was trying her best not to get mad. Or well, madder. For some reason, she just turned back to the window, watching the mountainside race by.

Marble raised her head, shaking as she thought about all the rage that Limestone could be bottling up right now. “I’m sorry!” she said suddenly, causing Limestone’s shoulders to stiffen. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. It’s just… when I told Lemon you probably wouldn’t want to go out with her… I saw her face… and I just couldn’t stop imagining how I would feel if Minuette said something like that to me!”

Marble turned her body forward, facing the seats in front of her rather than her own sister. “I don’t know what I expected to happen. I just didn’t—”

“I’m not mad at you,” Limestone cut her off. Marble looked up to find Limestone was looking back at her again.

“You aren’t?” Marble asked, astounded that this was even a possibility, let alone reality.

“I mean, not at you,” Limestone corrected, her brows lowered as her eyes slowly drifted away.

“You’re mad at Lemon,” Marble realized. Her head sank once more, ears folding down. So much for her good intentions. She’d ruined everything for Lemon after all.

Except…

Limestone groaned. “No… I mean, I guess not?”

“What?” Marble’s head bounced back up. “But… then who are you mad at?”

Limestone just bit her lip, crossing her forelegs as she shifted forward to point herself at the seat before them. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But… What happened?” Marble asked, volume rising from a whisper to her indoor voice. This was serious enough for it. “Why won’t you say what you and Lemon did when you were alone? Why aren’t you yelling at me right now? What did you promise to check for her?”

With each question, Limestone tensed more and more visibly. That last one seemed to be a breaking point. “I said don’t worry about it!” she snapped, finally raising her voice at her sister.

Marble froze, and instinctual reaction whenever Limestone was yelling.

Limestone’s teeth clenched were visibly shaking. As she saw her sister shrink from her, her face relaxed some. “Look,” she said. “I told you I don’t want to talk about it, all right? Things happened. I know she likes me. I’m going to see the Pairing Stone tomorrow, so just lay off, okay?”

Marble blinked, her paralyzed state wearing off now that her sister’s ire had faded. Confusion was next to set in as she processed those words. There her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. “Wait, you’re going to see the Pairing Stone?”

Limestone winced.

Understanding suddenly overtook Marble, recalling an earlier promise that allowed the puzzle pieces to click into place. “Is that what you promised to check for her?”

Limestone shrank into the corner of the seat. “Well apparently it was a real date and all, so I kind of have to.” As much as her sister tried to hide it, there was no denying the pink blush blooming at her cheeks.

“It is?” Marble needed to be pinched for the second time that night. Limestone was actually going to check the Pairing Stone to see if Lemon Hearts was her soulmate? “How? Why? Wha—”

“For the last time, I don’t want to talk about it!” Limestone grumbled.

“But you’re actually… I can’t believe…” Marble couldn’t find the words to finish her sentences. They were too busy causing a whirlwind in her brain to make their way out of her mouth.

Limestone’s ears drooped down as her mouth wiggled into a scrunched frown. “Look it… I’m just doing because I have to. Since tonight turned out to be a real date and all, I can’t put it off any longer.”

Marble’s eyes darted down to the floor and back up again. There was a lingering question that couldn’t go unspoken for long, but she felt at this point it could wait a little while. Limestone was already content to scowl in her corner. Whether she really was that mad or she was just hamming it up for the sake of appearances, it was probably best if the subject was put to rest.

I guess I can always ask Lemon about it anyway. Marble reasoned. If all went well, she’d be back in Canterlot before too long.

If all went well.

The thought caused Marble’s relaxed legs to tense into her body. She pushed her forelegs into her lap and fidgeted, suddenly reminded of the fact that she still had one, massive obstacle to overcome if she wanted to be with Minuette: her parents.

What she would say to them to break the news had yet to cross her mind, but a myriad of reactions flooded her thoughts in an instant. Most of them angry. None of them all that pleasant.

It’s not that she thought her parents would be particularly cruel in their response, that wasn’t really what had her so nervous. It was the thought of their disappointment that made her so uneasy.

She didn’t want to do this to them.

No matter what, they didn’t deserve to have to deal with the first pony to break from the Pairing Stone’s path, or any of the fallout that may result. They shouldn’t have to have a disobedient daughter, nor would Marble even choose to be one in any other circumstance.

And that in itself made her feel particularly guilty. It was almost like she was choosing Minuette over her parents. Even if she wasn’t disowned or anything that extreme, there would likely always be this lasting feeling between them. A broken promise never to be repaired.

“You’re worried about Ma and Pa, huh?” Limestone suddenly said.

Marble snapped out of her trance-like thoughts, her attention pulled back to her sister. Looking down, she saw how tense and closed off her whole body looked; she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve. “...Yeah,” she whispered, forcing her muscles to relax in a meager attempt to convince Limestone everything was all right.

Limestone, for her part, just seemed to be glad the topic of her mystery hours with Lemon was dropped. She happily pounced on the opportunity to steer the conversation elsewhere, even pulling herself out of the scowl corner to talk. “I guess I can’t do much to calm you down. I have no idea how they’ll take it.”

“Other than badly,” Marble guessed.

Limestone propped her head on her hoof, leaning her fore leg against the wall of the train as she stared back out the window. “Well… yeah.”

She curled her hooves. “Do you think they’ll hate me?”

“You’re impossible to hate,” Limestone said.

Marble’s head popped up, not just from the swift response, but from the fact that Limestone of all ponies said that. Limestone! “But they’ll be mad… right?”

Limestone snorted. “Of course they’ll be mad.”

Marble swallowed. Obviously. She knew the answer to that question before she asked it. But what she really wanted to know was… “How mad?”

There was a pause, and Marble could see Limestone narrow her eyes to think in the reflection of the window. “Depends,” she finally said.

“On what?”

“Well, on… whatever this is, I guess.”

Marble blinked a show of incomprehension. “What?”

Limestone finally turned back to her. “What is this, Marble?” she asked, point blank. “Is this going to be, like, a fling you want to have before you settle down? Are you really going to go against tradition for somepony you just met this week? Or… what?”

Her eyes darted around the train car, desperate the find somewhere to look that wasn’t Limestone. Eventually they ran out of hiding spots and were forced to make eye contact with her sister. Marble swallowed.

“Minuette and I decided… that we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Marble admitted. Her legs shook, but she willed them still. “So I’m going to be with her, and we’re going to see what happens.”

Limestone huffed a tiny laugh. “I guess that’s the best anypony could hope for when you’re set on going against a magical rock of destiny.”

“...I guess so.” Marble said. Really, she didn’t want to try and fight against destiny. She’d just been hoping that destiny would have sided with her. But now that what she wanted something out of reach, this was really the only option, for better or worse.

But that didn’t mean things had to go terribly, right? Her parents were reasonable enough ponies, even when stubbornly entrenched in their traditions. All Marble had to do was make them understand where she was coming from. Perfectly doable.

Absolutely.

Sure…

“Marble?” Limestone’s words drew her attention suddenly.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“You’re shaking.”

Marble blinked, and looked down. Her body spasmed and jittered in her seat, nothing from her chin to her hooves able to stay still. “Oh…” She struggled to get a hold of herself, needing to feel secure without the presence of Minuette.

She was nervous, Marble could freely admit that much. Who wouldn’t be in her situation? It was just… she’d been doing better with this kind of stuff lately, and now she couldn’t help but feel that her sudden case of the shakes was a bad omen for what was to come.

Marble swallowed. Her first date with Minuette was over, and she prayed it wouldn’t be their last.

The Rebel of the Family

There was nothing quite as awful as feeling nervous. After nearly two decades of her life of being swallowed by that feeling, Marble knew it well. If there was nothing else to be said about her, she was very obviously an expert on the subject.

The way your legs would weaken to the point of buckling under your own way. The awful churning in your stomach that was stuck in a constant state of just about to throw up. The creeping tingle that slithered up your back just so it could whisper paranoia in your ear.

It was even worse when you were anticipating something, like a doctor’s appointment, an important test, or, say, telling your parents you were going to reject generations worth of tradition and ignore your own soulmate.

But really, who would do something as crazy as that?

Marble swallowed. She would, or, was going to at least. And that really didn’t help her confidence too much.

She sat at the kitchen table, forehead sitting on the kitchen table, as she struggled to think of something to say to her parents.

Sunlight leaked in through , trying to come to terms with what needed to be done. She had to tell her parents: today.

Grinding her teeth at the thought, a million other options suddenly leaped into Marble’s head. Most were about running. Some focused on hiding. A few particularly daring ones involved running and hiding.

Groaning in the back of her throat, Marble turned her head and let her cheek press against the cool top of the table. Her gray mane spilled out before her, a limp curtain ready to be raised to her defense when needed.

This isn’t fair… Marble thought. If Minuette were here…

But she wasn’t. No matter how many times Marble had to rip that band-aid off, it never sank in. Minuette wasn’t here to be with her; she was on her own.

If Minuette had been here, this would be easy. Well… easier. When Minuette was by her side, Marble could think about the things she wanted. But with her parents, Marble could only consider what they wanted.

Not helping was the fact that Marble had managed to kick the problem down the road by arriving home at midnight last night. There was no point in waking her parents up just to be yelled at after all. That could wait until morning.

Except, morning had come. And gone.

It was practically noon now. Her parents would be coming in from the field any moment. All Marble could do was just sit at the table, trying to convince herself that she would tell them when they walked in.

At the very least, she had to try. She’d promised Minuette, and even more importantly she had promised herself.

Her head slowly began to rise off the table. She had promised to do this. There was no sense in worrying about it before she even said anything to them after all. Really… just how badly was she expecting this to go?

SLAM!

The front door flew open, connecting with the wall and sending a shake through the Pie household.

“Eep!” Marble flinched hard enough to force her chair to hop back. Her (appropriately named) nervous system went firing on all cylinders, the fear that her parents were back kicking her body into a frenzied state.

Only to calm down when she saw Limestone walking in.

Her sister’s hooves dragged against the old wood floor, bleary eyes betraying her exhaustion, even before she could unleash a powerful yawn.

She carried on like that all the way to the kitchen before either one managed to speak.

“Good morning,” they chorused, one tiredly grumpy and the other nervously whispering.

Limestone blinked slowly as she eased herself into the chair across her sister.

Marble fidgeted to herself for a moment. “Are Ma and Pa…”

“Still working,” Limestone said. “They’re giving me a break since I keep passing out.”

“Oh… I’m sorry I made you stay out so late,” Marble apologized, slinking behind her mane. Even as talking became easier, her fear of a Limestone outburst had hardly diminished.

But Limestone just waved her hoof dismissively, either too tired or to aware of Marble’s situation to get mad. “Forget it. Just be glad I let you sleep in today.”

“Yeah… thanks.” It wasn’t often one got to sleep past sunrise on the farm, and it had been nice to procrastinate her talk with her parents.

Speaking of procrastinating…

“Did you have a chance to… you know. With the Pairing Stone?” She asked, with a pre-emptive flinch.

Limestone let her head fall back as she groaned. “Celestia, please don’t bring that up right now. I’m too tired to deal with that, okay?”

“Sorry,” Marble murmured. “I just… I wanted to know what you were going to do if Lemon was actually your…” She let the final words hang, the shadow of their presence now looming over the conversation.

Special somepony.

Limestone slowly brought her head up, eyelids no less droopy than before. “I’ve been trying not to think about that, honestly.”

“But if she is?” The words slipped out so casually; Marble would never have pressed the issue like this before. Certainly not when the pony she was pressing was Limestone.

Narrowed eyes glared her down. Marble gulped, a frightened apology on her lips. She bit it back, holding her ground for once. This was one answer she really need to know. Lemon deserved an answer, at the very least, and Marble was going to force one out of her sister if she had too.

But she also really hoped she wouldn’t have to.

Their makeshift staredown lasted only a few second, Limestone mercilessly relenting as she turned away with a heavy sigh. “Look… whatever the Pairing Stone says is what I’ll do.”

Marble’s eye twitched. She shouldn’t have expected much better, she knew that much. But still, here she was, ready to deny fate for a chance to be with Minuette. Maybe it was a bit much to ask, but… Marble had been hoping she wouldn’t have to be the only pony in the family to do so.

“So, if she isn’t your special somepony… then that’s it?” Marble pieces together.

“Look, Marble.” Limestone turned back to her. “I didn’t get what you got, okay? I don’t feel butterflies in my stomach when I see her, I don’t think about her all the time, I didn’t even know I was on a date with her for half of last night.” A sigh. She turned away again. “And when I did… everything was weird and stupid. And I didn’t like it.”

Marble’s head lowered. That was her sister all right. Limestone wasn’t just going to develop mutual feelings for Lemon. Especially not overnight.

It was just the thought of Lemon, so hopeful that things would turn out well, that really made Marble sad.

“But I also didn’t hate it… I guess,” came Limestone’s unexpected continuation.

Marble’s head darted up. “Really?”

Limestone groaned, her regret for saying anything now clear as day. “Just drop it. I told you, I’m going to see what the Pairing Stone has to say.”

“Then do it today,” Marble said.

Limestone blinked, as confused as Marble was by the sudden force behind those words.

“Uh… right now… please,” she followed up. Limestone would put off seeing the Pairing Stone as long as Marble had if given the chance. But that wouldn’t be good for her or Lemon to just sit on the issue.

Limestone just stared for a moment. And then… a smile? It was almost as if some semblance of pride had wormed its way onto her sister’s face.

“Twist my foreleg why don’tcha,” she grumbled, rising from her chair.

“You’ll do it?” Marble was stunned to see her words had had any impact at all.

“Yeah… I did promise and all.” Limestone looked ready to turn, before a thought flashed across her face and she looked back to her little sister. “Hey Marble?”

“Yes?” Her body stiffened, anticipating retaliation.

Limestone’s smile had faded by now, replaced with a frown disguised as a neutral face. “Say things work out with Minuette. Are you going to, like… leave the farm or something? To be with her?”

Marble blinked, the idea just now crossing her mind. Where’s this coming from?

She paused just a moment, giving the idea some thought. Would she live with Minuette? In Canterlot? The idea made her shudder almost as much as it made her heart flutter. Leaving the serenity of the rock farm for the hustle and bustle of an honest-to-Celestia city made her bones scream with refusal.

“I… don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe if Ma and Pa still let me live here then I…”

“They will,” Limestone cut her off with a grin. “They wouldn’t kick you out just for being the rebel of the family.”

That really made Marble pause. Her, a rebel? That was as far-fetched as… well, basically anything else that had happened in the past week.

“I don’t want to leave Nickerlite,” the rebel admitted. “If Minuette and I make it that far… we’ll talk.”

Limestone nodded; that answer seemed good enough for now. “...Guess I better get going then.”

“You better,” Marble smiled. She’d come with her sister to ensure she actually did go to the Pairing Stone… but she had her own mountain to climb right now.

Limestone finally started walking, heading to the front door. Reaching the door, she found she didn’t even have to turn the knob; their father opened it from the other side.

Marble felt her stomach drop at the sight of him.

“Pa,” Limestone said, nodding a hello. He offered a gruff grunt as a reply.

Limestone stepped aside, letting him pass. Everypony knew what he was here for. Marble may have managed to dodge him this morning, but now everything was about to come to a head.

Igneous Pie stepped inside, and started walking toward the kitchen, where Marble was. Her sister mouthed her a brief ‘good luck’, before she was out the door.

It creaked closed, giving a wooden thunk to signify that father and daughter were all alone.

“Marble,” Igneous nodded to her.

“Pa…” Marble said, proud of herself for fighting back a cracked voice.

“Thou returned home rather late last night,” Igneous noted, tone even, but not enough to disguise hints of disappointment.

“I’m sorry.” Marble wanted to throw up. “It was… we let the time get away from us.”

“I see.” His brow furrowed. Small talk was over. “Hast thou accepted the path the Pairing Stone has put you on?”

Marble swallowed, throat dry. “I-I-I-I…”

No, not now. Her muscles seized. I can’t be stuttering now! Not for this!

This was too important to let her nerves get the better of her. This was for Minuette!

And me, Marble thought. It’s also for me, most of all.

“I love Minuette!” She shouted.

…

…

…

In her whole life, Marble had never once raised her voice to her father.

Igneous was aware of this most of all. His scrunched brows leapt up his forehead, more shocked now then he had been in years. But being the stallion he was, it didn’t take long for Igneous to collect himself.

Clearing his throat, he had just one question. “Is it so?”

Marble defiantly glared back at him. For some reason, he didn’t seem so tall anymore. “It is. I love her, Pa. She means so much to me that I… I don’t think I could put it into words. I feel whole when I’m with her. I don’t feel scared when I’m with her… And I don’t care what the Pairing Stone has to say about it. To me, Minuette is my special somepony.”

“I see…” Igneous closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t a terribly long one, but the seconds ticked by like centuries for Marble.

“I can not say,” Igneous looked at her, his eyes more gentle than firm. “That I approve of your decision, daughter.”

She was hit like a sack of rocks, but it was a sack of rocks she’d been expecting. “I know.”

“Thou shall not reconsider?”

“Never,” Marble snapped, unwavering.

He nodded, that answer must’ve been expected. “You’ve grown, Marble.”

That hit her like a sack of rocks she hadn’t been expecting. “What?”

“For how this shall go, I haven’t a clue,” Igneous admitted. “I’ve never known a pony to deny the Pairing Stone’s choice before. Art thou prepared for whatever may come of this path you’ve chosen?”

“...No,” Marble admitted. She wasn’t prepared for anything. “But I feel like I can be.”

Igneous tightened his lips. That must’ve been good enough. “Very well. It is, after all, your decision.”

And that hit her like a million sacks full of rocks. It was… okay? After all the stomaching worry, it was really okay?

Tears of joy blinked into existence on Marble’s face. “Really?”

Igneous just nodded.

Marble didn’t know what to say. There was nothing more to say, really. She just leapt forward, and hugged her father tightly. After a brief moment, he wrapped a foreleg around her.

“Thou shouldn’t celebrate too soon,” he told her. “I fear your mother shan’t be so easily convinced.”

Marble laughed. She actually laughed. “I know,” she said, drawing back. “But I’ll make her understand.”

Telling her mother didn’t even sound like a challenge anymore. Even if she said no, what difference would it make? Nothing could stop Marble from being with Minuette now. She just knew it, deep down. Fate, or tradition, or whatever it wasn’t strong enough to stop her anymore.

After everything, it was finally, finally over.