Winter absolutely annoys me. I always seem to find the need to answer the call of nature in cold weather, and after getting up out of bed, I found myself walking down a hallway trying to find the bathroom. The moonlight shone dimly through the windows, but I couldn’t seem to get to the toilet. Why? Well, I always use the toilet in my house or my school, but where was I now? I was in Pinkie’s home, not Sweet Apple Acres.
Ah, this isn’t it, I thought disappointingly.
The room I had mistaken for the bathroom was in fact the living room where I had drunk soup filled with hard rocks. I surveyed the area and for a moment I saw myself struggling to drink the Pie family specialty. It was just a vision, but I remembered just how hard it was just to try and chew rocks as food for two straight days.
I smiled a bitter smile. I understood now why Pinkie Pie has an iron stomach. Such difficult circumstances made her so strong. Then, I reminded myself why I got out of my bed in the first place and continued down the corridor.
Wait, who is that? I questioned. Just then, I saw somepony turn the corner, but I could only catch a glimpse of their short tail. I almost jumped in surprise. Wait a minute! That was Big Mac’s tail! I could recognize it anywhere. However, he seemed not to notice me. I wonder what he was up to at this hour?
From the corner he turned, I carefully stuck my head out and glanced in his direction as he walked through the front door. I don’t think he is going to the bathroom… Just before the door shut, I spied another pony going out with him. That pony, one who was timid and had eyes as delicate as Fluttershy’s, was none other than Marble Pie.
“A-are they…!?” I gasped under my breath.
I couldn’t help but grin. Reflecting on what I had done on Heart & Hooves Day, I know I shouldn’t mess with this little relationship between the two, but I just couldn’t stand it. Postponing my urge to use the bathroom, I decided to follow them.
Noting that their shadows had finally disappeared, I tiptoed to the door and opened it just enough to pass my body through and crawled out. The air was so freezing outside that I wanted to jump back in, but if I was going to find out anything about the two of them I would have to endure it.
The cold bit into my skin. But despite the chill, it was a fine winter’s night. The sky was clear, there was no noticeable breeze, and the stars twinkled softly in the sky.
Staying low, my eyes followed Big Mac and Marble as they went down the slope without a care across to the big boulder which was a Pie family treasure. Normally, she would take a moment to appreciate the giant hunk of earth, but the ancestral stone wasn’t particularly important for me at the time because I was really itching to see some LOVE! Before proceeding, I posed a question to myself whether or not I should return to my room and quickly take my winter clothes, but I decided to do without them. My curiosity forced me to continue as I was because this might be a once in a lifetime event.
...But I was hasty. Before I could get anywhere, I stumbled on something and fell on the ground. The coldness of the earth doubled the pain I received as I face planted the ground and I gazed with bitter eyes at the culprit.
It was Boulder, Maud’s pet rock.
“Why in the hay are you sleeping here?”
“...”
He said nothing.
I sighed, and a large puff of steam came out my mouth, rising into the winter’s night...
“Did you want to come with me?”
He still said nothing, but I picked him up anyway. I suppose technically I was kidnapping him, but I wanted a companion at my side because I guess it was better than being alone. On top of that, I didn’t really mind carrying the thing because he acts sort of like Gummy, a “pet” that doesn’t seem to mind anything.
Hugging the earthen wall, we carefully descended down the spiral path. Luckily, because of the size of our bodies, even our shadows would not be seen from the bottom.
“I have ventured to various places and have gotten myself in tough situations so I am a pro at this, you see…,” I whispered to Boulder.
He didn’t seem to be amused by my triumphs.
Come on Boulder, it feels like I am talking to a rock here.
When we arrived at the bottom, I heard some whispering, but I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Boulder and I decided to hide behind the many rocks scattered around without thinking, and I dashed quietly to a random stone like a ninja.
I haven’t been this excited since Heart and Hooves Day…
Something twinkled out of the corner of my eye and just then I noticed that there were a lot of luminescent rocks lying around. They glimmered mysteriously and I couldn’t explain the sight I saw. They were neither bright nor dark, and they definitely weren’t crystals either. And given their soft illumination and the situation, someponies might even think this was a romantic sight.
I peeked my eyes over the ridge of the rock and saw that Marble Pie’s cheeks were a little red. That sight alone impressed me and I think my heart stopped beating for a second. I could only see Big Mac’s back, but I imagined what sort of charming look he was giving her. On the other hand, if I really wanted to know I would just have to move to the other side of the pit, but then I would lose sight of Marble Pie…
“Gah, I shouldn’t have just decided to hide without thinking…,” I cursed quietly.
The two lover’s ears perked up and just before they could turn toward her, I quickly crouched down. Apples! Me and my big mouth! I have to think of something!
I looked down at the rock in my hoof.
Whelp, goodbye Boulder, I thought as I rolled him away to be spotted by them.
“Mmf? O-oh, it’s just Boulder.”
“Eeyup”
“Well then…”
“Eeeyup.”
I seemed to be safe from detection so I gave a slight sigh of relief. Just as I thought, the Pie family’s Boulder was just as trustworthy and reliable as our Winona. I’m sorry Boulder, but if I were found, I would be in a world of trouble.
Moments went by and I began to wonder, why are they doing just standing there? I know they aren’t doing that ridiculous and gross nickname calling like that one day… Are they perhaps whispering their love to each other? The two of them were so quiet that I couldn’t hear anything they said. And even if they were saying anything, this conversation was taking way too long!
Time passed. Even on a night as cold as this one, I wondered how long could they face each other without getting close. As stubborn as they seemed, I just know they couldn’t do it forever. Still, I tried to wait patiently for something to happen as I lay against the luminescent rock and tried to keep warm, but my efforts were in vain.
I wonder if real romance was just as boring as this?
And with that thought, I lost all my motivation and any sort of tension I kept was lost like a taut rope being cut. I couldn’t endure the cold anymore and I hunkered down and curled up in a ball. As dangerous as it was, I began to unconsciously nod off. I’m just too sleepy, I’m going to…
*****
When I awoke, I found myself lying face up in a warm bed. Unlike the first overnight stay, Big Mac’s body was not squashing me like a bug from above. Instead, my dear brother was sleeping right next to me, his body temperature hot enough for me to sweat.
I wasn’t sleepy, but I felt very tired. I just layed there, watching Big Mac in his sleeping posture. After a while, however, the door finally opened and somepony came inside the room. It was Limestone Pie.
“Urgh, even after things have become alright, you ponies still manage to make trouble, huh?”
Her aggressive eyes and tone pierced my heart. Her words stung. I quickly scanned my memory of last night and I tried to remember what I did.
“Was I sleeping outside…?”
“Did you want to freeze out there? You should be lucky that Big Mac, Marble, and Boulder helped you!”
“Huh? Boulder?”
“I heard that he was the one who found you and told the two of them that you were starting to freeze to death in your sleep.”
I had looked down upon him as just a rock, but of all individuals he was the one who saved me. I suppose I shouldn’t complain about him being “just a rock” anymore. I also guess the brave stories that Maud Pie told me about him before were not lies after all.
“Thank you…”
“You should be thanking the red one. AND in addition, Marble. She was in shock! She’s sensitive you know!”
I just wanted to hide myself in the bed sheets, and so I did. What I did was worse than I thought.
Ahhhhhhhhhh! Instead of messing with their romance, I should have just minded my own business. I immediately regretted putting them in an embarrassing and worrisome situation.
Limestone sighed loudly. “Well, you’re alright now so you should wake up your brother and come to the living room soon or else the food will get cold.”
And immediately, Limestone stomped out of the room. Certainly, I couldn’t just sit there on the bed and mope anymore. There was no use in that anyway. I tapped and rocked Big Mac’s enormous body awake.
“Oh, Apple Bloom,” he said sleepily.
“Limestone said that breakfast was ready,” I said indifferently. I felt too embarrassed to apologize to him immediately.
The look that his face gave made it seem like he had forgotten all about his experience with Marble last night, switching almost immediately to that of worry.
“A-ah’m sorry, big brother…”
I wasn’t apologizing about messing about his romantic situation with Marble because he did not seem to notice at all what he did last night. In all honesty, all I really wanted to do was apologize for having him go through all the trouble of bringing me back safely to the house. However, I was tired of explaining myself this so I bit my tongue and decided not to apologize.
“What were you doing last night out in the cold, Apple Bloom?” he asked worriedly with a hint of sternness in his voice.
“I was… uh, just interested in what you and Marble were doing….”
He wore a dissatisfied look on his face. “Did you think we were doing something indecent?”
“You were, weren’t you!?” I exclaimed immediately.
His reaction was just a calm smile. The words I threw at him were indirect, but still my brother managed to understand what I was implying. He wasn’t just playing the victim. Because he had been involved in the CMC’s love poison plot, he seemed to doubt that I had done something terrible. He smoothed his forelocks upward with a hoof.
“We made alcohol.”
“Uh… come again?”
“We were drinking a mixture of some of the hard cider that I brought along with me and some of Marble’s rocks.”
“A-ah don’t understand.”
Why alcohol? Were they really just drinking cider? Was that the reason why Marble Pie’s cheeks went red?
“I just wanted to mix the sweetness of the apple cider with the rock soup flavor and see how it tasted. I didn’t tell anyone because if I explained myself, ponies might just laugh or misunderstand as you did.”
Oh…
“Ah suggested the idea to Marble, and she agreed with a quiet nod. She offered to show me what good rocks we could use to mix with the cider, but they could only be found when it was dark. That’s why we had to go out at midnight,” he explained in detail.
He looked rather proud of himself, and I breathed a heavy sigh. It seems that all my effort was wasted. I felt burnt out and and buried my head into Big Mac’s chest. Then, I hit him weakly on his neck with my hooves. Well, it was more of a touch rather than a hit.
“Don’t play with my heart like that again!”
“Ah won’t,” he chuckled lightly.
*****
After some time, I found myself staring at the warm rock soup feeling gloomier than before. I realized that accidents like the Hearts & Hooves day one rarely happen. In fact, there were few situations and dramas that I could have high hopes for. Reality is bitter.
Whenever our family ate together, we could naturally change the annoyed atmosphere to a joyful one. And when it comes to eating rocks, although I still couldn’t do that at all, Big Mac was chewing and swallowing them easily.
Across Big Mac, Marble Pie was slowly putting her rocks in a big bottle which had liquid inside. She sometimes exchanged looks with us because she thought her gesture might weigh on our mind. However, we convinced her that she didn’t have to be so nervous.
Maybe that was the result of the prototype rock-apple cider that Big Mac was talking about. I would have never come up with the idea to mix rocks and cider before… Adults really like cider!
Big Mac and I continued with our meal, eventually filling our bellies with a plentiful amount of rock soup. As expected, Big Mac finished eating faster than I did, having easily adapted to the Pie family’s eating customs. Big Mac enthusiastically crunched the rocks and somehow managed to swallow them. Once he was finished with that, he somehow downed the soup all at once just like that.
“You’re such a glutton! Congratulations!” I said, clapping my hooves sarcastically.
“Eeyup!” he exclaimed in satisfaction, a large smile on his face.
Marble Pie giggled softly at his reaction, her cheeks immediately turning red. She then cast a shy upward glance at him.
What did that mean, I wondered for a moment, staring at her glistening eyes. But you know don’t you, Big Mac?
