Lemons

Chapters

Fries with that?
Trial and Error
Grand Total
Payback

Fries with that?

"Do you want fries with that?"

It was one of the last questions she thought she would ask in her new job.

She had pictured it in her mind - more than once. If, thanks to some unexpected coincidence, she would ever end up leaving her parents' farm and move to the city, the first place she would visit would be a recruitment center. Certainly, the possibilities for a young mare like her were nearly endless, and she couldn't deny that she was eager to give them all a try, but the military had always been the easiest place for her to picture herself in the future. It had something fascinating to it for her - she couldn't put her finger on it, but the idea of being a part of this well-organized system; of slowly building her career and making her way up the chain of command ... it made her skin creep - in a good way.

So, when she had arrived in Manehatten about a month ago, she hadn't hesitated a second to head to the nearest recruitment office and enlist for a job in the Equestrian army.

"Hey. Hey, did you get that!?" the irritated voice interrupted her thoughts, making her head shoot up and let out a surprised "Huh?"

"I said," the plump unicorn mare at the other side of the counter drawled, "I wanted the Triple Hayburger Deluxe. Extra tomatoes, extra mayo, extra cheese, extra ketchup, extra mustard, no pickles. You got that now?"

Limestone Pie let out a sigh, closing her eyes and scratching the side of her head. "Triple Deluxe. Alright."

"Extra tomatoes, extra mayo, extra cheese, extra ketchup, extra mustard, no pickles." the mare added slightly annoyed, "I tell you, I'll check."

"Yeah, yeah." she sighed as she numbly hacked the order into the cash register in front of her. Her look fell onto the small alarm clock on the counter next to the register - closing time was only ten minutes away. "Do you want fries with that?"

"You already asked me that once!" now the mare seemed legitimately angry, "Yeah, I want fries with that. Super-size. And a small diet coke. A meal, as I told you before."

"Sure." she muttered, barely listening to what the customer had to say, "That'll be six bits, please."

"Aww naw." the mare replied, shaking her head; her double chin swung lightly, "Aww hell naw! I paid five bits yesterday. You got something wrong."

As if moving in slow-motion, Limestone lifted her head, making eye-contact with the mare. With clenched teeth, she explained, "Six bits is the standard price for a meal. I got everything right."

"Naw." Again, the mare shook her head, "Naw, that can't be right. I wanna speak with the manager!"

"It is right." Limestone hissed, biting her lip, "What is your problem?"

"Hey! Hey you!" the mare shouted, addressing somepony who had just stepped from behind the counter. The white stallion in the white button-up shirt, seeming to notice that something was wrong, turned towards the two and came trotting into their direction with a sweet, friendly smile on his face.

"Oh you son of a..." Limestone growled, but fell silent as the stallion stopped next to her and, addressing the mare said, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"She's wrong." the mare replied curtly, nodding her head into the direction of Limestone.

The stallion cocked his head to the side. "Excuse me?"

"She's tryin' to rip me off." the mare elaborated, "Tryin' to charge me six bits for a burger with fries and a coke."

The manager gave her a blunt look for a moment, before the smile returned to his face and he said, "Yes. And ... where is the problem?"

"I paid five bucks yesterday for the same meal. Right here."

"I ... I'm afraid that can't be possible, ma'am." the manager explained apologetically, "You see, six bits is the standard price for a regular meal - and has always been."

"Aww hell naw! I swear to Celestia I was here yesterday, and I got..."

Drowning out the two ponies' argument in her mind, Limestone rested her head on the counter, drifting off. She pictured herself in a boot camp - being pushed to her very limits, and impressing her commanders with what she was capable of - despite her inconspicuous exterior. She saw herself in training - learning how to fight; how to defend herself, her comrades, and her country. She imagined herself in a military parade; marching alongside hundreds of other ponies in perfect harmony. A smile crept onto her face. And then, occasionally, she would return home for a few days. What would Ma and Pa say? What about Marble? How would they react to seeing their daughter and sister turned into a soldier - lined by years of training and fighting.

"Miss Pie. Miss Pie!" once again, her daydreams were brought to an abrupt end as her manager had placed a hoof on her shoulder and had started shaking her.

"Hmm...?" she muttered as she opened her eyes and reality overtook her again - accompanied by the all too familiar scent of sweat, grease and frying fat. She cringed and lowered her head, looking to the ground.

"Look Miss Pie..." the white stallion began, giving her an encouraging, albeit slightly forced smile, "I have no doubt that you're trying your best, but your behavior towards our customers does leave a lot to be desired."

Limestone left that uncommented. It wasn't her fault that she always got the most annoying customers!

"Remember," the stallion started another attempt after a moment, "What is our number one goal here at Jolly Burgers?"

She looked up at him, giving him a look that made it clear to what dimensions of hell she wanted to send him to right now.

"Come on, Miss Pie, I'm sure you can do it!" he said encouragingly, "Show me your enthusiasm!"

"...Bring our customers happiness and joy." she muttered under her breath, lowering her head again.

"Louder, please!" he probed, bowing down to look her in the eyes, "You can't bring anyone joy like this!"

She closed her eyes, letting out a growl. What idiot of a pony had invented this idiotic motto? This was just ridiculous!

"I'm waiting, Miss Pie!" the stallion said with a grin, "Come on, show me that you're proud to be a member of the Jolly family!"

She bit her lip, fighting with herself, but then let out a defeated sigh. There was no point in endangering her employment over something this petty. So she slowly raised her head again. Putting on the biggest, broadest and most ridiculous smile she could muster, she looked at her boss and said, "Here at Jolly Burgers our number one goal is to bring our customers happiness and joy." In an instant, the smile vanished from her face, and she was back to her old self again. "There." she said, taking off the wedge cap-like paper hat she had to wear during her shift, "I'm off duty now. Have a nice evening." she said, sarcastically, over her shoulder as she walked past the counter and out of the restaurant.

The way home wasn't much more diverse, interesting or exciting than the way there had been - the same gray buildings, the same gray ponies, the same gray world. Whatever had driven her to ever find her family's rock farm monotonous or boring had now clearly been disabused.

Sure, walking the ever-busy streets of Manehatten had been indescribably exciting for her when she had first gotten here. She had barely ever left the rock farm, and had never been in any city bigger than Ponyville, so seeing Manehatten with her own eyes for the first time had literally made her jaw drop.

However, the bustling life in the city that never sleeps had quickly lost its allure to her. Not that she didn't enjoy other ponies' company -she did, really!- but having ponies around her, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; seeing them wherever she looked, hearing them, smelling them, feeling them wherever she went, and sharing literally every aspect of her life with them was something she had gotten fed up with rather quickly.

Not to mention that her new job as a clerk at Jolly Burgers -one of the cheapest and, to put it nicely, most unambitious restaurants in all of Equestria- brought her into contact with some of the most, say, interesting figures the streets of Manehatten had brought out.

By any and all means, she didn't regret her decision to leave her parents' farm and move to Manehatten -and even if she did, she would never admit it to herself- but sometimes, especially in moments like these, she caught herself thinking back to her home on the rock farm - of her room, her bed, and most importantly, her family.

She let out a sigh as she stopped on the doorstep of the big apartment building. The facade had seen better times; the entrance door had several scratches and holes in it, and most of the mailboxes had been oversprayed with graffiti or demolished entirely - not like she was expecting any mail anyway.

Shaking her head, she unlocked the door and stepped inside - the unpleasant smell of decaying trash and old urine made her cringe and suddenly miss the calm, quiet and above all pleasant-smelling rock farm all the more.

Slowly, she made her way up the set of old wooden stairs, doing her best to ignore how her hooves stuck to the filthy ground, until she stopped in front of the single door on the third floor.

When she had first moved in, seeing her name written on the nameplate next to the door had filled her with unreasonable amounts of pride - knowing that this was her place; her own realm, so to speak, filled her with a joy she hadn't known before. The thought of having a place to herself had filled her mind with new ideas - she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and nobody was going to complain. Leave the bathroom door open while taking a bath? Why not? Not do the dishes after every meal? Sure! Make herself some chocolate pudding at 4am? Who was going to stop her?

A smile crept onto her face as she opened the door and stepped into her apartment.

Yes, having a place all to herself sure was a nice thing.

"Limey! Welcome back, girl!"

That is, it would have been a nice thing.

The smile fell from her face as her eyes met those of the light blue unicorn buck that came walking into the hallway from a door to Limestone's right.

"Hey, Bright Bulb." she replied curtly, walking right past him and towards the door opposite to the entrance that would lead her to the kitchen.

"Wazzuuup Limey, why you ignoring me?" the buck asked with a grin as he walked up to her and flung a hoof around her neck - much to Limestone's dislike.

"I had a tough day." she informed him briefly and freed herself from his grip, shoving him away without turning her head, "And don't touch me." she hissed, "You know I hate that."

"Wow..." he whistled as Limestone started walking again, "Why so cold-hearted, Limey? Don't you love me anymore?"

She stopped dead in her tracks; her head shot around, shooting him a death-stare. "Don't. Call me. Limey." she said threateningly, "That's Limestone to you, and will always be."

"Sure thing, Limey. Just let me know if you-" Bright Bulb wanted to say, but was cut short by a growl of anger coming from his roommate.

"What. Did I tell you!?" Limestone, who had opened the kitchen door and stepped inside, now spun around, facing the buck with eyes wide in fury.

"Oh that?" he said with an apologetic grin and walked up to her, stepping into the mess that had once been their apartment's shared kitchen. The countertops were covered in used dishes and leftovers; trash was spread out across the floor, and the sink -buried underneath a pile of even more used plates, cups and bowls- was barely visible. "Yeah, uh ... well..."

"I told you to clean that up!" Limestone shouted, her wariness forgotten for the moment, "You're the one who caused it!"

"Yeah, well," he said, cocking his head to the side in a reflective stance, "You know, I wanted to clean that up, but ... y'know, I didn't really feel like it. You dig?"

"You didn't feel like it!?" Limestone raged; her face was starting to turn red, "For Pete's sake, you've been home all day, what in the world were you doing!?"

Her roommate, unaffected by her anger, shrugged casually. "You know, chilling, playing some Call of Cutie, reading some books. Pretty exhausting day."

Limestone just stared at him; eyes wide, muscles tensed, teeth clenched together. Words could not express her anger. "You ... you..." she growled, puffing up her cheeks, but then sighed. As much as she despised him sometimes, she couldn't live without him - quite literally, actually, seeing how he paid half the rent for their shared apartment, and Limestone knew she could consider herself lucky to have found a place this close to her workplace.

With a defeated growl, Limestone shook her head, then fixed him with a stare that simply wouldn't allow any backtalk. "Get that cleaned up. Right. Now. I'll be in my room."

"Aye aye, sir!" Bright Bulb replied, obeyingly, but slightly amused, and raised his hoof to the side of his head in a mock salute.

Limestone couldn't hide the slightest flinch at the sight of the military greeting. Seeing this, knowing that she would never be a part of it, made her legitimately hurt.

"Cut that out, asshole." she said coldly before turning around and walking back into the hallway, this time heading for the door that would lead to her room.

"Aye aye." he replied with a light giggle, but Limestone just rolled her eyes.

"By the way, before I forget..." he spoke up again, but Limestone didn't react, stopping in front of her door and unlocking it. "The mailmare brought a letter for you earlier this day."

This made her hesitate; her ears perked up and she looked over her shoulder. "What?"

"Eeyup." Bright Bulb said with a grin as his horn flared up and his magic picked up a white envelope from a counter in the kitchen. "Guess it might be from your family, looking at that beautiful handwriting."

Feeling her heart sink, Limestone grabbed the envelope with her mouth and looked at it. Indeed, the handwriting looked like it was from her sister Marble. "Oh..." Limestone sighed, frowning "No..."

"It is from your family, isn't it?" her roommate asked with a knowing grin. "I knew it." he paused for a moment, then added, "Hey," making Limestone look up at him and raise an eyebrow. "You never introduced me to your cute little sister." he said with a wink, "Is she hot?"

Trial and Error

With a long, deep sigh, she dropped onto her bed; the letter fell onto the sheets next to her. Her hoof was still aching where it had made contact with the face of her roommate moments ago.

Yes, she was dependent on him, and yes, giving him a punch that had almost made him fly into the corner might not have been such a good idea, but nopony, nopony would hit on her little sister, especially not some lazy, unemployed city-colt who had had five different jobs in the past two months and never stuck with even one of these because 'they didn't float his boat'. She'll be damned if she let somepony like this near her young, innocent, naive little sister.

A feeling of discomfort made itself noticeable as she thought of Marble, and her look fell back onto the letter laying next to her. She had dreaded this day ever since she had moved to Manehatten.

No, not ever since she had moved here. Ever since she had moved here and all of her plans had proven to be unsuccessful. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why her family was writing her - Limestone was gone from the rock farm for a little more than two months by now, and it just seemed natural for her family to ask how things were running.

And especially after what she had said shortly before her departure - after all the things she had proclaimed and announced - she was sure her family must be expecting quite a lot from her by now.

Not that her expectations had been any lower when she had first come here, of course.

It was a bright, warm spring day when she had arrived at Manehattens station. While the long journey had certainly taken its toll on her, she was feeling excited - giddy, even. The scenario she had phantasized about for so long now, finally reality. She still hadn't fully internalized it, even as she left the station, accompanied only by her own good will and the two heavy saddlebags on her back.

Her mind was being flooded by dozens of questions; millions of impressions. She had been to Manehatten once as a little filly, but had been too young to remember any of it, so this felt like a premiere to her: Manehatten - the big city. Thousands, if not millions of ponies around her, all going after their business, and in between it all was she: the clueless young mare from the rock farm who didn't know the first thing about city life.

As much as she hated to admit it, in those first few hours, she was legitimately terrified - not because of what lay ahead of her, or because she was afraid to fail, but because everything just seemed so ... overwhelming. All those huge crowds of ponies, all those massive buildings - it left her speechless; made her want to turn around and jump back onto the next best train back home.

But she knew that she wouldn't do it - that she couldn't do it! While they would never admit it openly to her, her family had sacrificed a lot to give her this opportunity: farming rocks was hard work, and no matter how they put it, one pony less -especially a pony as industrious as Limestone- would mean more work for the others, one way or another.

Surely, it had taken a while for them to convince her to go. While deep down she had always cherished the dream of leaving the farm and starting a career in the city, it was a dream she had kept solely to herself, never talking about it, and only thinking about it when she could be sure that she was all alone.

Up to this day she didn't know what had given it away, but eventually, it had been her little sister Marble who had asked her if she had ever thought about leaving the farm - at the dinner table, of all places! Right in front of their parents!

"Have you ever thought about ... moving out?" Marble asked her older sister with a questioning look, her one eye concealed by her mane hanging into her face. "Into the city?"

Of course, Limestone's reaction was to laugh unhesitatingly. It was a fake laugh - a rather convincing one, but pretended nonetheless. Her? Leaving the farm? Good one, Marble!

However, her laughter ceased when she caught the eyes of her parents, who were both staring at her with their serious looks. "T'was not a joke, Limestone." her father said sternly, "Answer your sister's question."

Limestone tried to deny it at first, laughing it off like a silly catch question, but her parents wouldn't let up on her.

"What have we told you about lying, young lady?" her mother asked her admonishingly when she, blushing intensely, denied ever having thought about this sort of thing. "Do not lie to us!"

The argument dragged on like this for what had felt like an eternity, and ended with Limestone dropping her head onto the table, spilling her rock soup.

"Fine!" she shouted, tears forming in her eyes. "You got me, okay? Yes, I've thought about it! Yes, I've imagined what it would be like to live in the city and leave this..." she bit her lip, rethinking what she was about to say, "Rock farm!" Her head wanted to drop again, but she did her best to remain strong, sucking her tears back in. "But it's fine! I know that it'll never happen, I know that I'll be here..." she had to pause, swallowing, "Forever... And I know that you..." she pointed a hoof at her little sister, who winced noticeably, "Will do all this. You are going to move to the city, you are going to get rich and famous! You are the pretty one, you're going to be the successful one." she swallowed, drawing in a short breath, "That's just the way it is. Period."

And with that, she sunk back onto her chair, wiping the faintest trace of tears from her eyes with a hoof and shaking her head. "It's fine, alright? I don't begrudge you for it." she said with a bitter look directed at her sister, holding a hoof in front of her muzzle and turning her head away to muffle a sob, "It's ... fine."

What followed was a long period of silence. Her family looked at her like thunderstruck, none of them sure what to say about this sudden outburst.

In the end, it was the one the least likely to speak up who had broken the silence.

"Um ... Limestone?" Marble intoned, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "I don't ... want any of this."

Her older sister just looked at her in silence, cocking an eyebrow at her; a single bead of sweat left from her outburst ran down her forehead.

"I don't want to leave the farm." Marble explained meekly, "I'm feeling fine here, really. I could never imagine..." a shudder ran through her body, "Going out there and..." she shook herself, cutting herself off. "I really want to stay here. With Ma and Pa."

"Oh." was all Limestone brought out.

"But..." Marble continued, lifting her head, "I've talked to Ma and Pa about this..." A thin smile crossed the gray mare's face, "If it's true ... if you really want to ... leave..." Marble's eyes left those of her sister, wandering over to her mom and dad, who both gave her short, confirming nods, "We will support you with all we have." she finished, blushing slightly.

"'tis right." Ingenious Rock Pie agreed with a curt nod of his head, "Thou art a young mare, full of potential. If leaving the farm and seeing the world is what you desire..." the elderly stallion gave his daughter a serious look, but then cracked a thin smile, "We shall not stand in your way."

A pleasant warmth filled Limestone's heart as she thought back to this fateful evening - a warmth that was all too quickly replaced by the harsh reality, and a truly horrifying thought: what if her family would ever find out the truth? That she was working as a damned fast food cashier? That she had left her family hanging, promising to fulfill great things, and now was stuck with an underpaid job and a feckless roommate in a filthy, small apartment?

Limestone could feel a lump forming in her throat as she tried to imagine their reaction, and she once again felt angry at herself for being so naive.

She had come to Manehatten with the ambition to do something, anything. Now that she was away from the rock farm, knowing that she had the support of her family, she knew that the world was laying at her hooves: she could accomplish anything!

And while the possibilities for her seemed nearly endless, there had been one job she had been ogling at for quite a while now: on the third day after her arrival in Manehatten -after she had found her current roommate over a note at the city hall's bill-board- she had put on her best clothes and walked to the Manehatten recruitment center of the Equestrian Armed Forces.

Though, the recruitment agent's reaction when she had told him about her plans to become a soldier had been ... unexpected.

"Ma'am..." he had said, leaning over his desk and resting his head on his hooves, "You ... do realize that you're a mare, right?"

As it had turned out, the armed forces would only permit stallions to join their ranks - there were no mares in the military. None at all.

This apparently went back to a centruies-old tradition saying that stallions were to protect their families from threats, and that mares -no matter what frame, character or occupation- did not have what it takes to be a 'real' fighter.

Limestone hadn't believed him at first, taking his words for a bad and un-funny joke, but when the stallion had asked her if she had ever -ever, ever- seen a female guard, she had hesitated.

"Miss ... Pie, isn't it?" his words echoed in her mind like if she had just heard them, "I see you have determination, but I am afraid to tell you that, unless you have a direct permission granted from Princess Celestia herself..." she felt a pang of pain as she recalled those last, ultimate and utterly devastating words, "That you are never, never ever, going to join the Equestrian military. Thank you for your interest."

She had been devastated at first: surely, there were hundreds of possibilities, but seeing her first and favorite choice going down in flames like this ... it had hurt. It had hurt a lot. Sure, she could try to get an audience with Princess Celestia and ask her for this oh-so-great permission, but really, the Princess didn't even know her, let alone care about her. Why would she take the time to listen to Limestone in the first place?

No. No, that was out of the question. Her career in the military was dead - it wasn't nice, but that was the way it was.

But she swore to herself that she wouldn't give up this easily. Only a day later, she had gathered up all of her optimism and had headed for her second favorite choice of employer: the Manehatten Police Department.

Unfortunately, said optimism hadn't been destined to live long, as her career as a police officer had ended when the pony at the other side of the desk had asked her about her High School Diploma.

As it turned out, one needed to have attended at least twelve years of school to be qualified to join the police, and while Ingenious Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz certainly hadn't raised an idiot on their rock farm, chores and work on the farm had always taken up the lion's share of Limestone's time, and once she was done with Middle School, she had never spent a second thought on any sort of further education - a decision she was now, for the first time in her life, starting to regret as she walked out of the police station with a 'note of ineptitude' in her mouth.

The same scenario would repeat itself in pretty much the same manner with most of the other possible future employers Limestone would visit: she would say she is looking for a job, they would ask about her qualifications, she would say that she's excellent at rock farming, they would ask about a High School diploma, she would say that she didn't have one, they would thank her for her interest and send her away - a dozen different companies, the same procedure, every time.

It wasn't until when she was walking home from yet another unsuccessful job interview that she came to the uncomfortable, but clear realization: she had to get a job! She had taken all of her savings with her when she had left the rock farm, and even her family had donated her few bits, but she had used up more than half of it already, and she was starting to realize that she would run dry by the end of the month if she didn't manage to get a job shortly!

Fortunately for her, her eyes soon spotted a faded 'HELP WANTED'-sign in one of the store windows not too far from where she had stopped on the sidewalk moments ago. Instinctively, she felt a bit of hope that she might find a nice job after all kindling in her mind, and a smile found its way onto her face, but then she let her look wander over the window the sign was standing inside, and the smile slipped from her face.

It was a fast food restaurant called 'Jolly Burgers'.

Limestone grimaced as she thought back to this day, letting her head drop back onto the sheets where her look fell onto the letter laying on her bed next to her. She let out a displeased grunt, but couldn't get herself to look away from it, her curiosity fighting with her pessimistic nature.

"Hrmph." she snorted after a moment, reaching out a hoof for the letter, "Might as well get it over with."

She held the envelope in her hooves, tearing it open with her mouth, and pulled out a mouth-written piece of paper with her little sister's stylistic writing on it.

Dear Limestone,
I hope you are doing well in Manehatten, or wherever you are right now. Ma and Pa are talking a lot about you, and we all miss you. We do get by with the farming work, so please do not worry about us.

I hope you are having fun in the Army, and that it's not too hard. I know you're a tough mare and can take a lot, but everypony has their limit, and I hope you haven't reached yours yet. I've read some of Pa's old books about life in the military, and I know it can be hard sometimes, but I'm sure you can do it! You are one of the strongest, toughest ponies I know, and I'm sure there is nothing you can't do.

We all are proud of you, and we believe that you can accomplish anything if you really want it. And please, if there's anything on your mind, don't hesitate to talk to us. We love you, and we will help you, no matter what.

Please, be safe out there. Manehatten is a dangerous place.

I believe in you. We all believe in you.

Love,
your sister, Marble Pie

Lowering the letter with shivering hooves, Limestone took in a shaky breath, then shook her head.

She should have just thrown the letter away. Or buried it. Or burned it.

Feeling her eyes turn wet, she threw the paper into the opposite corner of her room and let her head sink onto the pillow of her bed.

Her pillowcase was soaked within seconds.

Grand Total

"Would you like to super-jolly that, sir?" she asked, unable to hold back a sigh. Her coworkers had told her that it would get easier using these ridiculous terms given time, but if it did, she didn't notice it.

It's been two days since she had received the letter from her family. Maybe three. Maybe a week or two. She couldn't tell. She didn't even know what day of the week it was - Monday? Saturday? Or Wednesday? How long had it been since last weekend? Had there been a weekend at all? For some reason it all just seemed like a single gray blur to her. Maybe it was the realization that she would probably be stuck in this fast food joint for the rest of her life; maybe the knowledge that she was living a lie, and that her family would be extremely disappointed in her if they would ever find out about her real whereabouts.

Or maybe it was just a severe lack of sleep. She really didn't know.

What she did know, however, was that the customer in front of her still hadn't replied to her, and that his indecisiveness was starting to really get on her nerves.

"Uhm... Uhhh..." the pink buck muttered, his confused look eyeing the menu on the wall behind Limestone, "Um ... I ... uhh..."

"Yes or no?" Limestone asked, glowering at the earth pony buck over the cash register in front of her.

"Uh ... I ... I'll take a ... a Jolly Burger please!" the buck finally concluded with a proud smile.

Limestone closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "You said that before. You wanted a Jolly Burger Deluxe Meal." she said, letting her head sink. "Now, would you like to super-Jolly that?"

"Uhh..." the buck reflected again, his look going back to the meal, "Umm... Uh, I uhh..."

Rolling her eyes, Limestone shook her head, then curtly decided, "I'll take that as a yes." and typed the order into the register.

"Ok." the buck said with a dorky smile.

"Eat-in or takeaway?" Limestone asked with a machine-like monotony, not realizing her mistake until it was too late.

"Uhhh..." and once again, the buck was back to giving the meal a confused stare, seeming completely clueless as to why he had come to this establishment in the first place.

Limestone facehoofed.

A few hours later -the confused buck had finally gotten his thoughts together and said that he would like to eat in, but had then realized that he didn't have any money with him and left, leaving a fuming Limestone behind- she had switched places with one of her coworkers - much to Limestone's dislike: she had what the employees at Jolly Burgers called 'birthday duty'. One of the services of the underclass-fast food restaurant was that parents could bring their foals and have their birthday celebrated in one of the restaurants, receiving a free gift and a birthday song sung by one of the employees - and since she had been unlucky enough to pull the shortest straw during her break, this honor would go to Limestone today.

She would love to say that she didn't care. Normally, the strategy of gritting her teeth and getting through it would get her through her regular workdays without any major problems - she hated working at Jolly Burgers, but as long as she didn't think too much about what she was doing, days would go by rather quickly.

However, birthday duty was the one exception. Working the cash registers was annoying, exerting even, but normally didn't fill her with anything more than discomfort. Birthday duty, however, was pure, unfiltered agony to her. She had to smile like a clown on steroids, be as bubbly as Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush, and ... a shiver ran through her body ... sing. She had to sing. And she had to do it well, as, according to Jolly Burgers' policies, customers had the right to complain until they were pleased with their song.

Shaking her head and closing her eyes for a moment, Limestone walked up to the table she had been pointed to by her boss, placing a small tray she had been carrying in her mouth on the table, straightening herself up, contorting her face to an unnatural grin that would have made The Joker jealous, and began to recite the text the guests expected her to say.

"Well..." she said, cringing internally from how ridiculous her 'jolly'-voice sounded, "Ah've heard we have a lil' birthday-filly under us today. Hmm..." she raised her hoof, holding it against her forehead and looking around the four ponies sat at the table like a sailor searching for something on the sea, "Ah wonder where she is!"

She wanted to break out in tears from her ridiculous choice of words, but controlled herself in time to hear the voice of a filly shout from the table in front of her, and her eyes fell onto the light red foal with a pink party hat on her head, "Here! It's me!" she shouted gleefully.

"Well," Limestone started again; her face was beginning to hurt from grinning so hard, "Would'cha look at that! Whaddaya say, lil' feller, wan'na hear a song?"

"Say no. Say no. Just say no." Limestone begged the filly in her mind, but let out a sigh of disappointment as the filly replied with a joyful, "Yaaaaay!"

The smile slipped from Limestone's face for just a split second, and she gave the family in front of her a look that revealed just how much she despised this part of her job, but quickly caught herself and forced an even bigger grin onto her face.

"Well then..." she said, swinging her hoof like a happy miner, "Let's go, fellas!"

She closed her eyes, feeling herself die a little more inside, then began, "Ooooh, Happy Happy Birthday! Happy Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to yoooou! Today's a special day, for you and for us toooooo! So come and be our guest, have a jolly jolly time, celebrate with us, here at Jooooolly Buuuurgers!"

She finished, letting out a sigh that didn't even begin to describe the disgust she was feeling in this moment, but at the same time she was glad it was finally over.

However, her relief was short-lived, as a familiar voice came from one of the guests sitting at the table.

"Aww hell naw!"

Limestone felt a shiver running down her spine; her right eye was beginning to twitch uncontrollably. Giving her guests a closer look, she realized with horror that her grave concerns had come true: sitting in front of her was the mare she had encountered shortly before the end of her shift not too long ago - this kind, graceful lady who had tried to talk Limestone into selling her a meal at a reduced price.

And she didn't look any happier than last time. Her eyes, sunken into the depths of her big, flat face gave Limestone a displeased look; her triple chin was shaking rhythmically as she shook her head. "Naw naw naw." she said, continuously shaking her head, "Ah wanted to hear a song for my little sprat here." she said, patting the filly next to her on the head.

Limestone gave her a closer look, then shuddered. Yes, the birthday filly really was the mare's daughter. Her eyes had the same disparaging look in them, her light orange mane looked equally unkempt, and her frame was equally ... full. That filly was her daughter to a t.

Limestone's look went over the other guests at the table, but her dismay only increased: sitting at the table were a brown stallion with a dark brown coat, black mane and a thick mustache, as well as a beige colt who looked slightly older than the birthday filly. Limestone couldn't believe it: this loud, unfriendly and obnoxious mare, who was arguably the most annoying customer Limestone ever had the displeasure of dealing with, had a stallion by her side; had a family.

"And you're still single." A little voice in Limestone's mind chimed in, reminding her that the only other goal she had had when she had left the rock farm -finding a partner- was still miles, if not lightyears away.

Yes, as hard as it was, for a short, glorious moment, Limestone actually admired her nemesis: she had found her place in life; she had known what she wanted, and had fought for it. As much as Limestone disliked it, she did respect the mare for that.

However, just like her relief earlier, Limestone's admiration for the mare was short-lived, and died in an instant as the plump mare spoke up again. "And that..." she said, pointing one of her flabby arms at Limestone, "Wasn't a song! That was an abomination!"

"Yeah!" the filly with the party hat agreed, crossing her arms and pouting, "Do it again! And do it better!"

Limestone could hear her teeth grinding against each other; her eyes narrowed.

"Well?" the mare asked, holding a hoof to her ear, "I'm waiting! Isn't your number one goal to bring your customers happiness and joy?" she asked with a knowing grin, "Go ahead, bring us happiness and joy!"

Limestone's eyes narrowed even further.

"Hey! Hey, stay here! Let me bring you some happiness!" Limestone raged, baring her teeth at the family trudging out of the restaurant. "What? You think you're better than this? You're eating at fucking Jolly Burgers! How deep can you sink?" she shouted, "What, you think you're oh-so great with your two foals?" she continued to shout into the direction of the exit door, even though the disgruntled family had already left the establishment, "I can't believe somepony has mounted you - twice!" she yelled, her head turning red from shouting so much. "Don't act like you can't hear me! You ugly piece of-"

"Miss Pie!" it was the familiar voice of her manager that tore Limestone out of her trance-like fit of rage. The stallion placed a surprisingly strong hoof on Limestone's shoulder and spun the mare around with ease.

"What?" she snapped, but silenced as she caught his look.

Her manager was one of those ponies who were always happy, and even if they weren't, they wouldn't let it show, always trying to find something positive about things, no matter how terrible they may look at first.

That is, Limestone had thought him for one of those ponies, but now she had been disabused. The look her manager was giving her reminded Limestone of none other than herself. This was the look she would give to anyone of whom she thought had sketchy intentions with either her family or their farm; it was a look that would make most ponies run away, or at least take a step back; it was a look that easily conveyed one of the simplest messages in life: "I'm the boss. You listen to what I way. Or else!"

In all her life, Limestone had only ever received this look once: from her father, Ingenious Rock, when she had been daring enough to try and steal from the cookie jar as a young filly. There were only a handful of ponies who had mastered this stare - the only ones Limestone knew personally being herself, her father, her mother -even though she had never used it- and, as it turned out, her manager.

While Limestone wasn't nearly as taken aback as other ponies might have been in her situation, seeing how she knew that look and knew how to handle it, it had nonetheless surprised her, and she gave an involuntary wince as her manager's admonishing voice hit her ears once again, "What. Was that?" he asked, his voice tensed to the maximum.

Clearing her thoughts and freeing herself from the trance her manager's look had left her in, Limestone shook her head and explained him the situation - perhaps with a little more swear words and condescension than what would have been necessary or appropriate.

"That does not justify insulting our customers like this, Miss Pie!" the stallion snapped at her, "Nothing does!"

"But they wouldn't accept it, no matter what I did!" Limestone tried to defend herself, "I sang that damned song a dozen times and they still wouldn't accept it!"

"Then you should have sang it again!" her manager retaliated, "Another dozen times, if neccessary." he said, fixing her with a glare, "Anything for the customers!"

"But they were just playing with me!" Limestone countered, her anger level now increasing as well, "I could have sang it a hundred times and they still wouldn't have left me alone!"

"That's what you say, Miss Pie." he said angrily, but then paused, drew in a deep breath, then let it out again. "Look..." he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a hoof, "Limestone, isn't it?" he looked at her, but proceeded before she could reply, "I'll be honest with you: there aren't too many ponies willing to work at a place like Jolly Burgers - it's hard, unrewarding work, and we can use every employee we can get. If that wouldn't be the case, trust me," he said, giving her a stern glance, "you would have left us weeks ago."

"Now..." he continued after a short pause, "That doesn't mean that we can't find a replacement for you, if necessary." he explained with a serious look, "I've got to say, I like you, so I'll give you one last chance, even if company guidelines would force me to fire you here and now." he paused, seeming to wait for a sign of appreciation coming from Limestone that didn't come. "But I tell you..." he said, pointing a threatening hoof at her, "one more disruption, and you're out. This is your final warning. Do we understand each other?"

Limestone clenched her teeth shut. Oh the things she wanted to do to this stallion in this moment. If they had been on the rock farm, she would have showed him where he could shove his threats. She had grown up being the one in charge, and if there was one safe way to tick her off, it was to boss her around.

She felt the urge to give the stallion a piece of her mind rise up inside her, threatening to overwhelm her, but held herself back in the nick of time. As much as she despised it, she needed this job! Her money reserves were gone; she was literally living from hoof to mouth right now, so even if she would find a new job within a few weeks, her current savings weren't enough to keep her above water, so no matter how she put it, she would run into some serious trouble if she were to lose her current job. Of course, technically, she could always swallow her pride and go back to her family on the rock farm, but that wasn't an option, and would never be.

So, in the end, she knew that there was only one correct answer - and her boss knew it too.

Letting out a long, defeated sigh, Limestone swallowed what pride she had left, gave a slow nod, and said, "Yes, sir."

"Good." the white stallion said with a triumphant smirk, "See, it's much easier when you cooperate, isn't it?" he asked, that ever-present smile back on his face again, "Now, I hope you know that this little talk we had counts as your lunch break for today." he explained with a sly grin, "Any objections?"

Again, Limestone had to sigh to fight down any thoughts of criminal assault and murder, but then gave a short nod and forced out a curt, "No, sir."

"Splendid!" the stallion said cheerfully, "Well then, back to the cash registers with you! There's happiness and joy to be spread!"

A few hours later -the day was starting to near its end and she could see the longed-for closing time appearing at the horizon- Limestone was back at the cash registers. She still hadn't coped with the fact that she had received a rubdown from somepony as unimpressive as her boss, and a voice in the back of her head was scolding her for just giving in and drawing in her horns, telling her to go back to her boss and cut him down to size, but at least for now, the voice of reason in her was strong enough to make her swallow her anger and try to ignore what had happened. She found solace in the thought that home time wasn't too far away anymore.

Her look switched between the cash register and the customers in front of her, and she soon was back in her monotonous rhythm where she would barely notice what was going on - this was, as she had learned, the easiest way to get through an exhausting ten-hour shift.

That is, until her look fell onto the entrance door where a group of three ponies came walking through the door. Her jaw dropped.

She had seen those ponies before, though mostly on photos and rarely ever in real life - and she surely wouldn't have expected to see them at a place like this.

Their pearly white furs seemed to stick out from the dull, gray atmosphere of the restaurant; their golden armors were shining in the bare neon lights hung on the ceiling ... and their looks were directed right at her!

Limestone could feel sweat forming on her forehead and her legs wanting to give out as she watched the royal guards walk through the entrance area and towards the counter where she was standing.

What were they doing here? Royal guards - the most honorable, well-paid members of the Equestrian armed forces, in one of the filthiest, cheapest fast food joints in all of Manehatten. What had she done to deserve this honor?

"Hello." one of the guards said as he stopped in front of Limestone.

"H-hey." Limestone gasped, feeling sweat running down her back. Never, never ever in her whole life had she experienced something like this. What was this feeling? Why was she sweating so profusely? Why was her heart pounding like this? And why couldn't she breathe normally?

"I'll have a..." the stallion began, his look wandering up to the menu, "Jolly Deluxe meal, please." he looked over his shoulder, focusing his comrades, "You want something too?"

One of them shook his head, the other replied with a curt, "I'll have some hayfries."

"O-okay." Limestone muttered, typing their order into her cash register, which was unexpectedly hard, since her hooves were shaking so hard.

"A-are you r-really ... royal guards?" she stuttered, having to bite her lip to not shake with excitement because she was feeling so giddy.

The stallion hesitated for a moment, then a smug grin formed on his face, and he put a hoof to his chest, "Why yes, sure are." he gave a short bow, "Corporal Desert Storm - at your service."

Limestone drew in a sharp breath, feeling her body shiver and her legs going weak. Seeing this stallion in front of her, looking at his armor, his scars, the medals engraved on his chestplate ... it nearly pushed her over the edge, and she had to give herself a mental kick to stop her mind from going too far below the belt.

"Wow..." she gasped, feeling sweat run across her forehead as her eyes wandered over the stallion's body. The guard, seeming to notice her lustful looks, gave her a knowing grin, but then, with a light chuckle in his voice, said, "Sorry, but I'm engaged. You can stop staring now."

Limestone's eyes shot back to his face, her face scrunching up in embarrassment. "Oh..." she forced out, "Y-yeah ... sure ... s-sorry. I ... I'll get to your order now."

In an almost machine-like motion, Limestone stiffly turned her head to look over her shoulder at the stout buck working in the kitchen. "C-Cellar Dweller, make our guests a Jolly Deluxe meal and some hayfries, please. And hurry up!"

"Sure." an indifferent grunt came from the kitchen and the buck got to work, leaving Limestone face-to-face with the group of stallions she had just undressed in her mind.

The four stood in silence for a few moments, then Limestone felt the urge to start up another conversation to wash away some of the awkwardness - what other ponies thought of her normally was one of the last of her concerns, but with those stallions ... it was different. She wanted to impress them, one way or another.

"S-so..." Limestone hesitantly started, nervously rubbing her hooves against each other, "I-is the training for royal guards really as hard as ponies say it is?"

"Eeyup." Desert Storm replied; his comrades nodded confirmingly, "It's tough as nails. You gotta be a real stallion to see it through."

"You can say that again." Limestone said with a disillusioned huff, the sad clarity that she would never wear this armor shooting through her mind once again.

"Hmm?" the guard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Limestone said with a bitter smile, "You know, when I came to Manehatten, I wanted to become a soldier too. It's been my dream ever since I was a filly, and I was dead set on making that dream come true when I finally got a chance," the smile slipped from her face, "But they didn't take me. Because I'm a mare."

Bitterness and sorrow overcame Limestone as she thought back to this day, but quickly were replaced by confusion as she heard an amused snort come from the guard. "Really?" he said, apparently having a hard time to not laugh out loud, "You wanted to be a soldier?"

"Well, yes." Limestone said slightly confused, "Why not?"

Now the stallion couldn't hold it in any longer. Smashing his hoof against the counter, be burst into laughter. Some of the few other customers in the restaurant gave him confused looks, but most of them, being used to Jolly Burgers 'special' customers simply ignored his outburst. Limestone just looked at him, confusion slowly turning into hurt, and hurt slowly turning into anger as she realized what the stallion was on to.

"Oooh." he gasped for air; his head was turning red from laughing so hard, "Mother of Celestia ... that's a good one." he chuckled, slowly calming down, "A mare as a soldier?" he asked; his comrades couldn't contain mild snickers either. "What's gonna come next? Dogs as conductors? Fish as plastic surgeons?" he giggled, wiping tears from his eyes. Limestone growled at him, but remembering the talk with her boss earlier controlled herself and replied nothing - she needed this job, and she knew he wouldn't give her a second warning.

"Sorry, filly," he said, directly addressing Limestone this time, "but I think you're better off working here. Army would be way too hard for you."

"Psah." Limestone replied dryly, "What makes you think you'd know what would be too hard for me? You don't even know me."

"True." The stallion countered with a superior smirk, leaving Limestone looking at him in surprise for a second before he continued, "But I know that you're a mare - and that's all it takes to know that you wouldn't stand a chance in the military."

Limestone stared daggers at him, hearing her teeth grind against each other. "Here." the curt, grumbling announcement came from behind her as Cellar Dweller placed the stallions' order on the counter next to Limestone, but neither of the two deigned to look at him.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then bit her tongue. "Control yourself, Limestone." she said to herself, "Just. Keep. Calm."

"So, how much do we owe you?" the stallion asked, "That's the little number on top of the cash register, in case you didn't know." he added tauntingly.

Limestone slowly raised her head, looking him straight in the eyes. He stood up to it.

"So now you're saying I'm not only weak, but stupid, too?" she asked through clenched teeth, her voice tensed to the maximum.

"Well, you're working at Jolly Burgers." the buck countered slightly amused, "I'm not saying that you're stupid, but ... I'm not expecting too much of your mental capabilities either. And about that weakness-part..." he gave a short shrug, "Well, you're a mare so..."

"Okay that's enough!" Limestone finally shouted, stepping back from the counter as her patience finally snapped, "You think you're oh-so great just because you were born as a stallion? Prove it!" she placed a hoof on the counter, challenging him to a hoof-wrestle.

"Ooooh. Oh no." the stallion said, shaking his head with a gentleman-like smile on his face, "No thanks. I'm not fighting against fillies."

Limestone gave a furious snort, pulling her hoof back, staring at the white buck with eyes wide in fury. Her whole body was trembling, and she didn't dare think about the things she would do to this arrogant buck if she would be off-duty, but gathering up all of her remaining willpower, she gave a short sigh and tried to calm herself.

"That's more like it." the stallion said with a pleased grin, "Not like you would stand a chance against me anyway, right?"

"This is your final warning." her supervisor's words echoed through Limestone's mind, and she managed to fight down the desire to challenge the guard to a fight with another deep sigh.

"So?" the stallion spoke up again, giving her an expectant look. For a moment, Limestone thought he actually wanted a fight, but then he pointed at the tray standing on the counter next to her, "Won't you give me my order? Or do I need to explain you how to do that, too?" he chuckled. Limestone, having to gather up all of her strength to not give him a slap across the face, reached over to the tray without a comment, and shoved into his direction. He placed a few coins on the counter; Limestone took them and stored them in the cash register without looking at him.

"Excuse me?" the stallion asked, sounding slightly agitated, "Won't you say 'thank you and come back soon'?"

Slowly, Limestone looked up again; her whole body was trembling right now, and she had to force her lips together so as to not say something that might cause her to lose her job.

"Seriously..." the stallion said, shaking his head, "Can't even serve burgers properly." Looking at the trembling mare, he asked, "Did your parents teach you anything at all? Where did you grow up, a rock farm or something?"

Payback

Limestone could feel the ground trembling underneath her hooves as she stomped out of the restaurant. Her whole body was shivering, tears of anger and frustration were running down her face, her teeth felt like they were about to fall out from grinding against each other so hard, and her hoof, still splattered in ketchup, mustard and frying fat, was hurting badly.

She didn't regret it. Not one bit. She had tried to control herself; tried to play along; had taken whatever this arrogant soldierbuck had thrown at her, but when he had insulted her family, he had crossed the line - her line, to be exact. Knowing that any other disruption could and would lead to her losing her job, she had done her best to contain her normally aggressive mind, but when he had insulted her family, she had seen red.

To be fair, shouting "They taught me how to serve burgers to idiots like you!" and throwing the still hot hayburger in his face might not have been the wisest choice of action -she had left the restaurant, even before the burger had hit the stallion's face, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she could consider herself fired- but she hadn't cared in this moment. All this time, she had always taken everything customers would throw at her - condescension, complaints, insults, she had taken it all. But now she had reached her limit - the stallion whose hooves she would have kissed no ten minutes ago turning out to be such a jackass and even insulting her family had been the straw to break the camel's back.

And now ... Limestone slowed down, her furious trot turning into a slow walk, before she came to a standstill somewhere on the sidewalk ... now she was unemployed. Jobless. And by no later than a month ... homeless.

A deep sigh escaped Limestone's lips. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting down at the edge of the sidewalk, ran a hoof over her face to wipe the tears from her eyes, then let her shoulder sink.

So, this was it.

Her dream of making it in the big city, over. Her hopes of becoming a solider, policepony or anything else, laying in shards in front of her hooves.

She would love to say that she didn't know where to go or what to do know, but there was only one thing to do, and it was as obvious as it was painful to Limestone: she would go back to her apartment, gather up the little things she could carry, say goodbye to Bright Bulb, and head back to her family's farm.

It wouldn't be an easy way to go, and she could all too clearly see the looks of resignation on her family's faces when she would come back to the farm, but no matter how she put it, there was no other way. She had tried her luck in the game of life, and had lost - simple as that. And as much as she hated to do it, she had to accept this defeat.

What else was there to do, after all?

"Hey Limey!" The loud, shrill, and awfully familiar voice tore Limestone from her thoughts, and made her head shoot up in surprise. She knew that voice! But ... this wasn't possib-

Her thoughts were cut short as she felt a hoof being flung around her neck and somepony pulling her into a tight hug. "How you doing, big sis?"

"Pi- Pi-" Limestone stuttered, perplexed by the sudden assault, "Pinkamena?"

The pink mare with the poofy mane broke the hug with her sister and pulled back, giving her a beaming smile that didn't fit at all into the gray, gloomy atmosphere of Manehatten.

"Oh, silly." The pink pony giggled, "How often do I have to tell you? Call me Pinkie!"

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Limestone gasped.

"Well," Pinkie explained, that beaming smile never leaving her face, "Marble told me that you've moved to Manehatten, so I thought I'd pay you a visit! It's been waaay too long since we've last seen each other, don't you think?"

"B-but ... how did you find me?" Limestone asked unbelievingly, "Manehatten is huge!"

"Don't be silly, Limey." Pinkie explained happily, "It's not that hard if you know who you're looking for!"

Limestone opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for the right words to explain to her sister in just how many ways her argumentation didn't make sense.

"Nice hat, by the way." Pinkie giggled, pointing at the Jolly Burgers-cap still sitting atop Limestone's head, "I didn't know you worked at Jolly Burgers."

Giving a startled gasp, Limestone winced and hastily pulled the cap from her head, hiding it behind her back; an intense blush grew on her face. "I ... I don't know what you're talking about." she hastily sputtered out, "I'd never set hoof into that filthy sinkhole!" she cleared her throat, straightened herself up and pushed her chest out, "I ... I'll have you know you're talking to Sergeant Limestone Pie - honorary member of the Equestrian Army, and one of Princess Celestia's most trusted guards!"

"Oh, really?" Pinkie asked, giving her sister a genuinely happy smile, "That's great, Sergeant!" her expression turned into a slightly questioning look, "But I didn't know you could join the military as a mare - not that easily, at least."

"Y-yes." Limestone hastily affirmed, pushing her chest out even further, "Yes, it's not easy, but ... you know ... when they saw me, they didn't hesitate a second to accept me. They knew I had it in me." she flat-out lied to her sister.

"Wow!" Pinkie replied, looking truly amazed by Limestone's pack of lies. She gave a short giggle, "Hehe, and here I wanted to come and cheer you up because I thought you were struggling with a terrible job and difficulties to pay the rent." she gave a casual flick of her hoof, "Pfft. Silly me, right?"

"Y-yeah." Limestone hesitantly nodded her head, feeling a tad of guilt for lying to her sister like this, "Si-silly you. As you can see, I'm doing ... just ... just perfect."

"Oh well." Pinkie said with an innocent shrug. "You know, this may sound silly to say of me, but just in case..." she pulled out a white envelope she must have carried in her mane, "Here." she said, handing the envelope to Limestone, "I know you probably won't need it, now that you're a honorary member of the army, but..." again, her sister shrugged, "I thought you might want to have it nonetheless. Just in case."

Raising an eyebrow at her sister, Limestone reached for the envelope and hesitantly opened it. Inside was a fancy-looking, heavy piece of paper, written in a beautiful handwriting.

To everypony whom it may concern,

with this letter, I, Princess Celestia, grant my subject Limestone Pie permission to join the Equestrian Armed Forces.
She has proven her worthiness on various occasions, and I have no doubt that she will make an excellent recruit and provide perfect service, not only to our armed forces, but to all of Equestria.
I wish her the best of luck with her plans, and the power to fulfill her dreams.

Respectfully,
Princess Celestia

Holding the paper in her hooves, Limestone read through the letter. Then read it again. And again. And again. She could see the letter, and could read the words, but not with all the will in the world could she believe just what was standing there.

Lowering the paper with shivering hooves and turning her head, Limestone looked at her sister, who gave her a look that showed just how hard she had to fight with herself to contain her excitement.

"P-Pinkie..." Limestone whispered, looking at the letter again. It was indeed written on what looked like royal stationery, and had a seal that looked like Princess Celestia's cutie mark on it. "Is that ... is that what I think it is?" she asked, her breathing quickening by the second.

Giving a short nod and barely containing a squeak of joy, Pinkie replied, "Marble told me that you wanted to join the military, but then Twilight's brother Shining Armor told me about this silly old regulation, so I thought maybe I could help you with it, so I went to Princess Celestia and told her about you - how you used to live on the farm with Mom and Dad, and how you fight so hard to protect them and the farm, and then I told her that you wanted to join the military, and she said if you care this much about other ponies you'll make a great addition to the military, so she gave me this!" she said, pointing at the letter. "So?" she asked her sister with a beaming smile, "Do you like it?"

Feeling her breathing become heavier as she started to understand just what her little sister had done for her, Limestone lowered the letter, placing it on the sidewalk next to her, and turned to face the pink pony.

"Huh?" Pinkie asked excitedly, tilting her head to the side, "I wasn't sure how exactly I should hand it to you, but then I saw you sitting here and-" but she was cut short as Limestone shot forward, flinging her hooves around her sister's neck and pulling her into a tight, tender and intense hug.

"Thank you." Limestone whispered into Pinkie's neck, feeling tears of joy freely running down her face and dripping onto Pinkie's shoulders, "Thank you, thank you! I ... I can't believe you did this for me, I ... I..." she couldn't get herself to speak any further - too overwhelmed by her emotions, Limestone just closed her eyes, sank into her sister's embrace, and let it all out. All the anger, all the disappointment, all the frustration the past months had brought over her now poured out of her eyes and ran down her face.

"Aww, it's okay, Limey." Pinkie said softly, gently rubbing her sister's back. "That's what sisters are for, right?"

Sniffling, Limestone gave a soft nod, burying her face in her sister's soft, curly mane, and felt how a smile grew on her face. For the first time in years, she was feeling genuinely happy, and her smile truly came from the bottom of her heart.

Because now she would get a chance to prove herself; to do it all; to show everypony that she had what it takes, and to be the pony she had always dreamt to be.