Looking into the mirror, Marble Pie locked her gaze on her reflection, her eyes critically assessing herself for any flaw. Today was going to be a very big day for her and she absolutely needed everything to be perfect. Studying her outfit with the precision one would expect from a fashionista, she methodically scanned, while partly admired, the image of the young girl that was being reflected before her.
A shy sixteen year old girl, smiling back bashfully, stood in the mirror in front of her; her purple long sleeved bolero jacket and frilly white blouse causing a sharp contrast to her light grey skin. She wore a long purple skirt with white ruffles that cut off a little below her knees, along with grey stockings and dark Mary Jane shoes. A white chocker with three marbles in the middle decorated her delicate neck and a modest application of blush and eye shadow was the only makeup she used. Her long hair, in two varying tones of grey, fell like a curtain that covered the right side of her face as well as one of her beautiful violet eyes.
As she studied her reflection, her mind began to recall the cause as to why she was fretting over her appearance today. About five months ago, while browsing the internet for updates on the upcoming season of her favourite show, My Little Birdie: Friendship is Awesome, she had stumbled upon an internet fan club community dedicated to the show. The community, called Birdies Besties, had several branches with one of them being that of her own high school, Canterlot High. Her curiosity piqued, she started to explore the site with fascination.
She had always felt somewhat alone in her enjoyment of such cartoons as her family, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, considered it strange for a teenager to be watching a show that was targeted for younger girls. Therefore, the idea that not only was there a fan club for older fans but that there was one based in her school had both intrigued and excited her to no end. Browsing through the many articles and forums, she realised that she would only be able to view a part of the site and that the rest of it required her becoming member. Fortunately, the community was one that did not require an invitation and so Marble had filled out the online application and submitted it for approval from an administrator. It had only taken a day for her registration to be approved and Marble Pie immediately began involving herself in the community.
Her joining this online fan community, however, was only part of the reason for her acting so out of character today. The true reason for her behaviour was due to a more recent occurrence, an online post in one of the main forums that was posted about a week ago that had the simple title, ‘Birdie Brunch’. Curious, Marble clicked on the forum to view the post and soon discovered from its contents that the administrator for the Canterlot High division was planning to have an offline meeting and brunch session at the local coffee shop, the Sugarcube Corner. The moment her eyes had landed on the words ‘Offline Meeting’, Marble felt her heart speed up. Part of the reason for her joining the community was that she could socialize with others without actually meeting anyone as Marble Pie knew that she was terrible at socializing with people other than her family. This meeting seemed poised to expose her, threatening to take away her comfortable anonymity and Marble’s mind seemed to scream out at her to forsake this silliness. Still, a small part of her, despite her obvious lack of people skills, desperately wanted to see and meet these students who shared her love for the cartoon series. Therefore, despite her better judgement, she clicked the accept invitation option and sealed her place in the Birdies Besties’ brunch session.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Marble Pie took one more look into the mirror for a final evaluation. Satisfied with her appearance, she moved to pick up her bag that lay ready on her bed. Slinging the leather strap over her shoulder, Marble breathed out a deep sigh as she steeled herself for what would be her first social occasion with people other than her family. She had done all that she could to prepare for this event, she had even borrowed some books on socializing from the school library and had studied them over the course of the last week. Closing her room door as she exited her room, she suddenly found herself being set upon without warning by her older twin, Pinkie Pie, who proceeded to grapple her into one of her infamous hug attacks.
“Oh my gosh!” screamed Pinkie as she crushed her sister tighter in her embrace. “I’m so excited for you, Marble Pie. Are you excited? Oh, what am I saying? Of course, you are. And I know I certainly am. I mean this is the first time you’re going hang out with people who aren’t us. It’s like another milestone in your life as a teenager, like going on your first date or your sweet sixteen birthday party or the day you got your first training bra or the day you got your first period or…”
“Pinkie Pie,” interrupted Maud as she calmly tapped Pinkie’s shoulder. “I think Marble Pie needs some air.”
Immediately releasing Marble from her iron grip, Pinkie Pie smiled sheepishly as she watched her little sister inhale sharply as if to make up for the air supply that had been cut off during her hug attack.
“Sorry,” said Pinkie with a bashful grin.
“Mm-hm,” replied Marble as she accepted the apology with a smile. Pinkie was always very physical and expressive went it came to her feelings so Marble had sort of expected her sister to surprise her with one of her hugs. She then shifted her attention to her elder sister, Maud Pie, who was holding a stack of cards in her hand.
“I wrote up some conversation starters for you,” she said in her usual monotonous voice. “Here are some facts about the formation of metamorphic rocks and also some information of the classification of igneous rocks according to their mineralogical parameters. I also included some of my rock poems if any of your friends are interested in poetry.”
“Mm-hm,” thanked Marble as she accepted the cards from Maud and placed them into her bag. Most people could hardly read Maud due to her somewhat emotionless expressions and deadpan voice but all the Pies could read her like a book; and Marble could tell immediately that her sister was really excited about her opening up to new people and wanted to help out as best she could.
Waving to the both of them as she walked down the stairs to the door, she smiled as she watched her two sisters waving back, Pinkie Pie jumping up and down at the top of the stairs while wishing her good luck and Maud with the tinniest of smiles on her usually expressionless face. As she descended the staircase, Marble wondered where her eldest sister, Limestone Pie was. She knew that Limestone was never one for emotional encouragement but Marble had hoped that she could have seen her too before leaving. However, as she neared the door, she saw Limestone leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
“So you going out?” she asked in her usual gruff manner.
“Mm-hm,” replied Marble, wondering if Limestone had something to say to her before she left.
“Good,” she said as she walked up to Marble and handed her a scrap of paper. “Here’s a shopping list. Get all these things before you come back, alright?”
With her eyes opened wide, Marble Pie glanced incredulously at the piece of paper that Limestone had handed her. This was one of the most important things that Marble had ever attempted and all Limestone could care about were the groceries.
‘No,’ Marble thought to herself, ‘Limestone’s my sister and she wouldn’t be that mean, right?’
“Well,” growled Limestone as her brows furrowed in irritation, “you gonna take it or do I have to pin it to you like a teacher’s note?”
“Mm-hm,” replied Marble sadly as she took the grocery list and watched Limestone walk past her. So that was it, Marble thought to herself. No words of encouragement, no pat on the back, nothing. She knew Limestone was always a bit rough but the fact that she wasn’t going to say a word about what Marble had considered to be a huge milestone in her life was just insensitive. However, just as Marble was about to open the door to leave, she heard Limestone’s voice, this time a lot less gruff than it was earlier.
“Hey,” she called, her back facing Marble. “Have fun at the meeting, okay? And don’t worry too much about it, you’ll do fine. Remember, you’re a Pie and we Pies are tough. And well…”
Marble took a deep breath, feeling her heart stop in expectation as she hung on her sister’s words; all the while wondering in earnest as to what Limestone was about to say to her. However, Limestone cut herself off, her rough nature overcoming her again.
“Ah, forget it,” she said, the gruffness returning to her voice. “I’m not good at this mushy stuff anyway.”
As Marble Pie heard her sister’s footsteps march away from the door and up the stairs, she couldn’t help but smile a little. It was true that Limestone stopped halfway in her encouragement but the fact that she had tried was enough for Marble. Despite being rough around the edges, Marble and the rest of her family knew that Limestone Pie was truly a nice girl. Looking down at the shopping list that Limestone had given her, Marble started taking note of the groceries that she needed to bring back. Her eyes scanned the list until they finally fell on a strange little arrow at the bottom right corner of the page. Lifting an eyebrow in curiosity, she turned the paper over to see if there was anything else on the other side only to end up smiling at what she saw. Written on the other side of the page in Limestone’s handwriting were the words, ‘I believe in you. Have fun and make some friends. Good luck, Marble.’
Author's Note
When I saw this piece of fan art on the net, I felt I just had to write something about an Equestria girl version of Marble Pie. Hopefully this little piece entertained, I have one more chapter before it comes to a close. I personally liked Limestone Pie here, I imagine she would be a bit like Helga Pataki where she acts like a jerk most of the time but is real nice down inside. Hmmm... that's an interesting idea, might be something to look into down the road.
