Gaze Into The Life of Limestone Pie

Chapters

1

When Limestone Pie’s pick impacted the large boulder she had been picking away at diligently, it shattered like a glass Hearth’s Warming ornament, her surgically placed fissures on the sides expanding, then separating the chunk of tough material into slabs that in turn grew more cracks and broke into tinier slabs. The result crumbled to the ground at her feet, and she spat out the pick, permitting herself a grin.

“Sometimes I even impress myself.” Her gravely, coarse voice intoned, a voice not unlike that of someone who constantly shouted themselves hoarse.

She leaned down to carefully inspect each fragment of what she’d shattered for something worthwhile. Just as she reached out with a leg to turn a piece of the deceased boulder over, she felt a tug on her shoulder.

Her lime-green eyes turned about to gaze at Marble Pie, her younger sister. The taciturn mare’s face was half-covered by her untrimmed mane, and her eyes stared up at her older sister without apparent apprehension at consequence from having interrupted her work.

“What’s the matter, Marble?” Limestone asked, unable to bite back the irritation in her tone, though she regretted it when her younger sister took a step back, looking away.

“Did you come down to help?” Limestone inquired, wondering what had brought her younger sister down to the quarry.

After several moments of silence her sister looked back up and nodded her head vigorously, giving one of her two common responses. “Mm-hm!”

“I thought you were sewing with ma.” Her older sister said.

“Mm-hm!”

“You came anyways?”

“Mm-hm!”

“Do you know what to do?”

Her sister shook her head slowly, giving the second response. “Mm-mm.”

Limestone frowned. “Alright, I’ll give you an easy job for now. See these chunks of rock?” She gestured with a hoof at the remains of the last boulder that had stood in her way moments ago.

“Mm-hm!”

“Get a cart from further back on the track, or better, two. I need you to fill them up as I work, take them back outside, dump them in a pile, and come back to do it again. We’ve got a couple hours before supper. What are you waiting for, Marble? Go, go, go!” Limestone finished with a commanding bark in her tone.

Indecisive, Marble looked back and forth a few times, then turned and rapidly galloped back to the entrance of the mine. Limestone grinned in approval.

By the time Marble returned with the squeal of a cart’s wheels on track, new fragments from other shattered masses of rock littered the floor of the mine, and she hastily started to scoop them up with her front legs, dumping them into the cart as quickly as she could.

Limestone kept picking away and Marble picked up the leavings, dragging away heavy carts whenever they were filled to the brim with material. She soon found herself breathing hard, her chest heaving, as she struggled to push a cartload she had laden with chunks of sediment. She was certain it hadn’t been this hard just a few loads ago, but no matter how much force she pushed with, the cart seemed to push back just as hard.

Without a word, Limestone was there next to her, not a hair out of place or drop of sweat on her brow, and she effortlessly helped Marble Pie push the cart into a steady acceleration. The cart squealed wildly as its wheels twisted and turned down the track, but it sped up until it was moving at a steady pace.

Somehow Marble Pie made it to the entrance, and somehow with help from Limestone she managed to dump the load into the large pile she had been making. When had it gotten so tall?

“Not bad, Marble.” Limestone said proudly in her harsh, scarcely feminine voice. “You’re not exactly built for this yet, but you’re doing good for your first try. You got seven loads done.”

Marble Pie’s cheeks were flushed red and she was panting, neck down and head nearly touching the ground, but she lifted her head at her eldest sister’s praise and smiled meekly.

“I’m serious.” Limestone added, as though she wasn’t certain her sister was convinced. “Besides, you can’t do any worse than the time I tried pushing loads for Maud and dislocated my shoulder.” She grinned wryly as though it were a sweet memory. “Do you remember that?”

Marble Pie flinched but nodded. “Mm-hm.”

Limestone attempted to mockingly mimic the deadpan voice of the second oldest. “Are you alright, Limestone? Can you walk?”

She rolled her eyes, continuing sarcastically. “Just peachy, except my shoulder bone isn’t in the socket where it belongs. Thanks for asking, Maud.”

She frowned to herself. “Guess it served me right for trying to push more than I could up the bump in the cart rail, and trying to hang on when it was getting away, but whatever.”

Marble Pie just shook her head, not entirely assuaged by her older sister’s eccentric reassurance.

“Yeah, you did fine, baby sis.” Limestone said, smirking. “I’ve got to get back to it, though. Why don’t you take a rest?”

Marble Pie nodded her head, sitting down in the dirt. She watched as Limestone re-entered the mine, pushing the now empty cart with her, and stretched her sore legs, looking at the ground. Her break quickly turned into a state of boredom instead of relaxation. A memory tugged at the back of her mind and shame entered her thoughts. She’d come here to help her sister in part with the hope that the work would keep her mind off less pleasant things, and the idleness wasn’t helping.

She picked herself up off the dirt and ambled about the quarry. It seemed giant to her, a deep, ominous ravine with Holder’s Boulder perched up above on the edge of the cliff, like some overseer.

Marble came across a few discarded pebbles and leaned down to pick them up. They gave her an idea.

***

Limestone was annoyed. Her pick handle had just given out on her, and snapped like a strained twig- the pick’s metal head was now stuck in the rocky surface that she should have been demolishing.

Igneous Rock Pie always told her she hit too hard, and that her temper affected her mining skills.

“Thou must not rage at the tools that aid thee, child.”

Even now the memory of his euphemistic rebuke annoyed her, despite the gentleness with which it’d been given when he’d told her years ago, the first time she’d used a pick.

“Oh, come on!” She said impatiently, kicking out her back legs and spitting out the remains of the handle.

She looked behind her, just to be sure Marble Pie was no-where within earshot before permitting herself a quiet curse, “What a pile of pony plop.”

Limestone was angry- she knew it was just a minor inconvenience, but she knew that if her father found out, and he would, since he kept inventory of all the mining equipment, that he’d give her a stern talking to about her carelessness.

An absolutely ridiculous notion came into her head, that maybe she could fix the pick. Tie it back together or such. Maybe her father wouldn’t notice, and if some other pony used it and it snapped, who was to say it had been her fault? Another thought froze her pondering of that idea. She was the eldest, she shouldn’t be afraid of hiding things, right? But she also didn’t want the bother of a lecture later, and eventually the desire to avoid blame won out in her young mind.

She reached up, taking hold with her teeth of what was left of the handle of the pickaxe head stuck in the wall, and yanked. Her reward was the sound of splintering wood, and a mouthful of said splinters, which she spat out immediately in disgust.

The pickaxe head remained stuck in the rock wall, and now there was even less of the wooden handle left than before.

Limestone was furious. Her eyes narrowed, her pupils contracted, her ears perked straight up, and she puffed air out of her nostrils. Why couldn’t she just do this right? What was going on? Not only had she broken the pick, now it was in even worse condition, even though she was making an effort to make things better. It wasn’t fair! It was stupid! She was the eldest, and she should be able to do this right!

Limestone’s lips parted, and she let out a scream of frustration. “Aaauuuuugh!”

She didn’t let up on the volume until her throat was sore, and she was out of breath. The angry mare coughed, wheezing once, and patted her stomach. Eventually, after several gulps of air, a subdued feeling came over her. Now she felt awful. Screaming wasn’t helping, what she was doing was stupid. She should just- another idea came to her, and she turned around to head back to the entrance of the mine.

When she got there, she saw Marble Pie sitting by the entrance, engrossed with a large, unusually arranged circle of pebbles. She seemed at ease, and a flutter of relief overcame Limestone when she realized that her scream hadn’t echoed to the entrance and scared her sister. She felt remorse, thinking about how the furious sound could have affected Marble Pie, who used to cry when left alone as a baby, and recoiled from any form of aggression. Being the eldest meant she knew these things, she’d grown up with Marble Pie after all, and because she knew these things she ought to know better.

That was a stupid thing to do. She thought to herself, annoyed at her carelessness.

All this flashed through her head in a few seconds and she ambled past Marble Pie after a moment of pause, finding a row of pickaxes leaning against another cart. They were dinged and worn, but their handles were intact, and she picked one up in her mouth securely before turning about to go back to the mine again.

Just as she was about to disappear into the entrance again, she heard a familiar sound.

“Mm-hm.”

Limestone turned her neck to see that Marble Pie was waving her over to her sitting spot, where she had been organizing her strange pebble pile. She looked back at the mine, then to her little sister, and shook her head at Marble Pie.

“Not now, Marble.” She told her sister, voice muffled by the pick she held in her mouth. “We can play later.”

Marble Pie seemed to get the meaning and sank back down onto her haunches, her shoulders drooping, enthusiasm apparently sapped.

Limestone Pie entered the mine feeling some guilt, but what could she do? Whatever her sister needed could wait. She needed to get that pick handle out of the rock slab. She was the eldest, and she had to do the responsible thing. She couldn’t sit on her flank and play in the dirt with pebbles. Right? She shook off any doubt. Right.

***

Marble Pie was having a tea party. The five smoothest pebbles were the teacups, and three larger ones were her guests.

She was Madam Paulette; on her left was the Baron of Tonne, his massive chest contained in a suit’s great waistcoat fastened shut by golden buttons that strained to contain his enormous chest.

On her right was one such Madam Hubris, wearing a bright white, flowing gown that reflected the light in such a way that it was hard to look at them without getting a headache.

The last guest was the great Governor Figueora, dressed in formal military attire that burst at the seams with silver medals. He held his head so high aloft in pride, that none of her guests knew what color his eyes were.

“Would you care for some green tea, Governor Figueora?” Madam Paulette asked as she set the table with sparkling china cups and a beautiful teapot decorated with ornate silver carvings. The subtle aroma of water and matcha powder soothed her senses until she felt she might be dreaming.

The Governor only responded with a grumble, but nodded his muzzle down at Madam Paulette, taking his place on a cushion by the oak table where the ceremony would begin.

Baron Tonne arrived late, as usual, and tripped over his own hooves when the sight of Madam Hubris blinded him. He seemed likely to stamp and shout about the disgrace, until Madam Paulette offered him a gift of two diamonds, the smallest of which could buy his entire province. With such a gift, he became the most sweet-tempered thing breathing, and forgot the injuries done to him.

When all three guests were seated Marble Pie, or rather Madam Paulette, poured the green tea into all the cups, and divided them among her guests. A conundrum arose when she realized there was one extra. Why was there- she looked across the table, and saw an empty seat next to Madam Hubris.

Her sister, Limestone Pie, was missing. Wait, not Limestone Pie, of course. She meant Madam Andra Ballista, her sister, who was no doubt the strongest pony in Equestria.

Marble Pie’s fantasy began to grind to halt. The wallpaper of the tea ceremony room peeled away, the fancy cushions sank into the smooth carpeting, which in turn sank into the cool, hard stone ground she was sitting on. Her guests turned back into pebbles, and the tea evaporated, the cups also becoming ordinary pebbles once again.

She sighed softly and deeply. She didn’t like playing pretend alone.

***

Limestone Pie snapped her pick into the rock face with a crack of metal on stone, and a few tiny pieces of rock bounced off her muzzle, hitting the floor by her legs. She repeatedly hammered away, carving a circle around the pick she was trying to free with her blows, then worked her way closer to the jammed head.

It took a minute of a prick here and a pry there, but her ambition was eventually rewarded when she separated a chunk from the wall, with the pick stuck in it. Once it was on the ground she raised a hoof and smashed it into dust and debris with a few firm stomps.

She picked up the ruined pick and examined it with her bright, green eyes. There was no easy way to mend this, she decided. The head was bent badly, and the handle damaged.

“Just my sulfur-stinking luck.” She grumbled.

She picked both of the picks up and made for the entrance of the mine again, a dour mood sinking in as she thought of the inevitable lecture from Igneous she’d get.

When she arrived back at the entrance Marble Pie was waiting for her. Rather, she was almost hovering- she stood at her full height, shoulders raised in anticipation, the lavender eye not hidden by her grey mane staring down at the ground in front of the mine entrance.

As soon as Limestone arrived, Marble raised a hoof like she wanted to say something, but let it drop. She looked back and forth as though searching for someone to help her build the bridge of communication with her sister, and stepped forwards, then backwards.

Limestone noticed all of this, and walked right past her, a frown on her face as she replaced the whole pick in its orderly row, then dropped the broken one next to it. She figured Marble would say something if it was important, but otherwise she couldn’t be bothered to talk at the moment. Thoughts of brooding occupied her mind.

It finally came. “Mm-hm.”

The quiet sound from Marble Pie perked one of Limestone’s ears up and she turned to face her sibling, frown not leaving her face. “What’s the matter, Marble?” She asked.

“Mm-hm!” Marble said, pointing a hoof at her odd pile of arranged pebbles, then pointing at Limestone, then to herself.

Limestone’s expression turned into one of bemusement, but she glanced at Marble’s arrangement. “Yeah, you got some pebbles in a neat little circle.” She stated flatly in her coarse, gravely voice.

Marble’s enthusiastic expression became slightly distraught, but she reached out to try to pull her sister closer to the arrangement of pebbles by the shoulder.

Her older sister didn’t resist, and let her younger sister lead her to the pile of pebbles, her eyes examining them with minimal interest. The arrangement didn’t mean anything to her.

“Marble, I’ve got to get back to work.” She said after a few silent moments.

Marble Pie bit her lower lip, sank down onto her haunches and just nodded. “Mm-hm.”

She suppressed a sad snuffle, disappointed that her attempt to include her sister in her little world had failed.

Her elder turned their back, moved over to the pile of rocks that Marble Pie had helped her collect, and separated some, placing them carefully on a smaller wooden cart for transport out of the quarry.

Marble Pie remained sitting on her haunches, a lonesome feeling creeping into her that left her stomach feeling queasy. She wished it was easier to for her to express herself, and make her sister understand what she was trying to say, but it wasn’t so easy. She let the imaginary playtime fantasy fade away and stood up, resigning herself to resuming work with her sister.

Limestone Pie had already hitched herself to her cart, and was starting to roll it away, but when she saw Marble Pie approaching the edges of her lips turned up and she paused. “All done with your break?”

“Mm-hm.” Marble Pie replied, beginning to separate her own small load of rocks from the pile, and adding them to her own cart.

“Well, hey, let’s not waste any time.” Limestone said, a grin forming on her face as though she relished the challenge of her labor. “We’ve got an hour or so until supper, so let’s get these carts moving. I want to see at least four full loads out of you today, Marble. I know you can do it.”

Without further hesitation, Limestone sped off at a respectable speed, rock cart bumping along in tow and kicking up dust as she ascended the quarry’s path to the surface.

Marble just looked up the path and sighed, watching her sister’s size diminish as the distance between them increased. It was going to be a long afternoon, she reflected as she began to pull her own smaller cartload up the path, back straining with the effort.

***

Marble Pie unhitched herself from her wagon. Sweet, cool, blissful relief engulfed her aching shoulders as she relieved herself of the harness. She knew only an hour had passed since she’d started hauling these loads out of the ravine, but she felt as worn out as an eroded sedimentary deposit.

Nearby, Limestone Pie unhitched herself too, a satisfied expression plastered on her face. Nothing seemed to lift Limestone’s mood more than hard labor.

“Marble, you look as worn out as an eroded sediment deposit.” Limestone told her bluntly, chortling with amusement.

Her younger sister blinked, having heard her own thoughts spoken aloud, but then remembered whom she’d gotten the metaphor from in the first place.

“Come on, don’t zone out on me.” Limestone said, trotting over to check on her. “You okay? Want me to carry you?”

Limestone Pie’s offer might have been a joke, but Marble Pie nodded anyways.

Her older sister lifted an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

Marble Pie nodded again. “Mm-hm.”

Lime-colored eyes rolled. “Whatever. Don’t tell Pinkamena.”

With no further hesitation, Limestone crouched down so Marble Pie could clamber up onto her back and throw her front legs around her neck. Once Marble Pie was up, Limestone stood again, and began to move, no change in her regular pace or gait, despite the extra weight.

“I’ve got to go see if Maud rotated the rocks from the south field to the east field like I asked.” Her older sister told her.

Marble Pie’s only reply as she was gently jostled up and down on her older sister’s back was a yawn. After hours of labor, she found the warmth from her sister pleasant, and it was making her very drowsy.

Limestone continued talking, her coarse cacophony of vocal cord straining lulling Marble to sleep with talks of whether their crystal harvest yield from the rotating rocks would be enough for the coming winter.

Suddenly Marble Pie’s eyes snapped open again. She realized she was still on her sister’s back, so she must have only been dozing for a few moments, but her sister had stopped moving.

“You’re sure you want them rotated to the north field early?” Limestone was asking skeptically.

Marble Pie looked up to see Maud Pie, her frock-wearing second oldest sibling nod at Limestone. Maud Pie noticed Marble looking at her and slowly blinked at her in acknowledgement before looking back at Limestone and speaking in her deadpan voice.

“Yes.”

Marble Pie could see Limestone’s scowl, even though the eldest Pie sister wasn’t looking at her. “Why’s that?”

“I just know.”

“You better be right, Maud. Pa doesn’t like random changes to the harvest.”

“I’m not wrong.” Maud said, the lack of impatience in her voice a stark contrast to Limestone Pie. “These rocks need to be rotated to the north field to be ready to harvest in time.” She picked up a pebble and stroked it adoringly. “Boulder says they think the rocks in the east field are too snobbish.”

“Yeah, spare me the life’s story of the rocks.” Limestone said, baffled by Maud’s motherly pebble caressing. “So, where are these rocks you want moved?”

“I had Pinkamena do it.”

“Then why are you wasting time telling me about it if it’s already done?”

“I thought you would want to know. You get angry when we make changes to the farm’s harvest schedule without telling you.”

“I don’t get angry!” Limestone retorted, quickly getting angry.

Maud tilted her head to look behind at Marble Pie’s expression. As predicted, it was nervous.

“Marble is awake.” Maud told Limestone calmly.

The anger of the eldest instantly evaporated, and she turned her head, barely able to see Marble out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, hey Marble.” She said, calm once again. The rapid change puzzled the youngest sister.

“Maud and I were just talking about the field rotation. Did you just wake up?”

“Mm-hm.”

“You look beat, baby sis. Why don’t you go sit with ma on the porch?”

Marble Pie thought about it and shook her head, wrapping her front legs more tightly around her older sister’s neck. “Mm-mm.”

Limestone’s eyes narrowed, but she gave in. “Alright, alright. I’ll carry you a bit longer.”

The wrath in her eyes having cooled over, she looked back at Maud. ”So anyways, Maud, where is Pinkamena? She’s supposed to be helping me make supper today.”

Maud twisted her head around, and fixated her gaze on a tiny pink dot far away in the midst of the north rock field. “She’ll be here in a second.”

“A second?” Limestone said in disbelief. She squinted to follow Maud’s gaze. “Then why are you looking way out over…” A tap from Marble Pie dragged her attention away. “What, Marble?”

Marble pointed a hoof towards the bouncing pink ball of mussed up fur and mane that was their energetic sister. Somehow she was now at Maud’s side.

Some years ago, before Limestone Pie had acquired her cutie mark, such a display might have stunned her, but times had changed, and the peculiar had become the norm, so she just rolled her eyes. “Glad you could make it, Pinkamena.”

“Oh, Limey.” The squeaky, high-pitched, spirited voice of her younger sister replied, “Why don’t you just call me Pinkie like Maud does?” As though to make her point, she wrapped her own front legs around Maud’s neck, bringing her grinning face next to the impassive one of her sister, squealing with glee.

Her ears irritated and expression sour, Limestone shook her head. “I’m not Maud, Pinkamena. I’m your oldest sis, Limestone Pie, and Pinkamena’s your name, like it or not.”

Her ears twitched as the gentle jingling of the supper bell sounded in the distance and she turned to walk towards the farmhouse. Maud and Pinkamena followed.

A familiar pink form bounced up next to Limestone, matched her pace, and hopped merrily along, messy locks of hair swaying.

“Oh, are you giving Marble Pie a ride? That’s so sweet, Limey. Can I have one too? Pretty please?”

As she was asking, Pinkamena was already trying to pull herself up onto her oldest sister’s back, but she was immediately halted by a shove from Limestone’s back leg, and a piercing glare.

“No, Pinkamena. You’re- too heavy.” Limestone finished after a pause, and continued walking, leaving her pink sister in the dust. “Ask Maud.”

Pinkamena’s tongue felt itchy. What did that mean? She knew what it meant, but had her older sister just told a lie? She bounced back up in front of Limestone and waved her front legs. “Wait, wait! You never give me rides, Limey.”

Limestone casually tromped around her younger sister’s waving front hooves, leaving her behind once again. “You never asked.”

“Well, I’m asking now, Limey.” Pinkamena said as she once again bounced up next to her sister, trying to squeeze her close in a hug. “You’re giving one to Marble Pie, can’t you give one to me?”

A shadow of guilt ran across Limestone’s granite expression of scorn, but when her excitable sister tried to forcefully squeeze her close she turned her head and pressed her nose against Pinkamena’s, pushing her backwards onto her rump.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie.” She stated harshly, her brows furrowing and eyes blazing in mountainous wrath. “I. Said. NO.”

For a moment, all was quiet, except for the soft tapping of Maud’s hooves as she caught up with her sisters, walking at a leisurely, almost lethargic pace.

Pinkamena’s eyes were wide, and the edges of her lips seemed like they wanted to turn downwards- they did turn downwards. She frowned, feelings hurt by her older sister’s blunt refusal.

“Okay, Limey.” She said softly. “I’ll stop bothering you.”

“Uh-huh.” Limestone Pie said in apparent disbelief, and pulled back, walking towards the farmhouse again.

Marble Pie peered at Pinkamena as Maud caught up to her and gently patted her on the back, curiosity invading her own mind mixed with empathy for her twin. Why does Limestone give me rides, but not Pinkamena? Is she mad at her?

She was busy pondering when suddenly Limestone stopped, having reached the porch of their home, where their mother, Cloudy Quartz was waiting.

“Sorry, baby sis. Ride’s over.” Limestone said to her, and leaned down so she could hop off.

Marble did so, the ache in her shoulders having mostly subsided. They only felt stiff now.

Her older sister trudged into the home wordlessly, drawing a questioning glance from her mother. Marble Pie, however, jumped up the porch to give her mother a hug. The feeling of her guardian’s legs wrapped protectively around her made her feel secure.

“Thou should be proud, dear Marble.” Her mother said into her ear gently. “It was very noble of you to offer to help your sister today. Igneous believes she has been working herself far too hard as of late, but I suppose that is nothing new.” She kissed Marble Pie’s forehead once before releasing her from the hug. “Providence has been kind to favor us with four strong, healthy daughters.”

The praise from her mother gave Marble Pie a sense of happy warmth. Even though Limestone called her ‘baby sis’ and she was the youngest of the four sisters, it didn’t mean she couldn’t do her part. She was a member of the Pie family. She was a strong mare.

***

Dinner consisted of a casserole made with a few precious carrots and a side of oat porridge. Limestone Pie and Pinkamena Pie, the latter having recovered her good cheer after their earlier confrontation, served the meal in plain, undecorated bowls.

Marble Pie, a growing mare, was ravenous after the day’s work, and dove right into the meager meal. Limestone Pie just toyed with the edge of her bowl of casserole, a deep frown on her face, even though Marble Pie knew she must have been as hungry as she was.

Maud Pie chewed silently and slowly, but every so often her eyes glanced at the disgruntled oldest sibling, wondering what had caused her earlier outburst at Pinkamena.

Pinkamena seemed oblivious to the dismal atmosphere that surrounded Limestone Pie. She ate with just as much enthusiasm as Marble Pie, and asked for seconds, chatting loudly about the workday.

Limestone Pie finally spoke up. “Where’s pa?” She asked her mother, gesturing to the empty seat at the head of the table.

“Your father took leave to go into town and check projections for crystal prices this quarter.” Her mother answered. “He shall return tomorrow.”

Limestone accepted the explanation with a grunt, and pushed her bowl away. “Can I be excused? I’m not hungry.”

Her mother cocked her head, but nodded. “Thou may be excused, Limestone.”

“You can have it, Marble.” Limestone Pie mumbled to her sister, tilting her short, side-swept mane towards her uneaten bowl of food as she walked away from the table. The shutting of a door signaled her exit from the farmhouse.

Pinkamena’s tongue itched again, and this time she was certain. Limestone was telling little lies, but why? She was about to say something, but Maud took it upon herself to speak first, while Marble nibbled on the gifted leftovers from her sister, a guilty expression on the visible half of her face.

“There’s something bothering Limestone.” She said, summing up the issue in her usual concise fashion.

Cloudy Quartz adjusted her glasses, peering across the table at Maud Pie. “Has something happened?”

Pinkamena broke in, “Well, she was acting like a grumpy-pants earlier, and then my tongue started itching because she said she wouldn’t give me a ride even though she was giving Marble Pie a ride. But the reason she said she wouldn’t give me a ride is because I’m too heavy! Too heavy! That’s not very nice! That’s like calling me fat, and I’m not tubby, Maud doesn’t think so. She gives me rides all the time. Right, Maud?” She finished, smiling brightly at her older sister.

Maud nodded. “She wasn’t telling the truth, Pinkie.” She said in her dull tone. “And she didn’t eat any of her food. You know how much Limestone loves her own cooking.”

Pinkamena paused, stroking her chin in thought. “Yeah, that was strange. Right, Marble Pie?”

Marble Pie looked up from a mouthful of casserole from Limestone’s abandoned plate and nodded hastily, her cheeks flushing. “Mm-hm.” She agreed.

Cloudy Quartz tapped her front hooves together thoughtfully, wondering what could have roused the ire of her eldest daughter.

2

Limestone Pie could tell something was wrong. The basic math just didn’t make sense. She flipped through the ledger on the farm’s expenses this quarter one more time just to be sure.

Expenses were up at least ten percent compared to last quarter. Had there been an increase in the prices of their supplies or food that she hadn’t known about? Maud was usually very diligent about letting her know so she could weigh how much profit they’d make when she calculated sales and expenses.

She looked outside the window. It was still dark, and too early to go to work in the quarry. Technically these three days were work-free, since they’d collected the maximum number of rocks that were likely to yield crystals in time for transport to the market, but Limestone didn’t see the point in the leisure when work could be started on the next quarter. She wasn’t tired.

So here she was, awake long before the sun had risen, pouring over ledger notes to solve one little problem that she couldn’t seem to figure out. Why were expenses up ten percent? Her brow creased in a moment of frustration. Had she stayed in school longer than what was necessary to learn only the most basic of mathematics, maybe this would have been a simpler riddle to unlock.

She ignored a hungry rumble of her belly, willing her eyes to bore holes through the paper filled with expenses and force it to reveal the secret it was hiding from her.

When minutes passed with no success on the problem, Limestone grumbled, and walked away from the ledger. She was wasting time- maybe a hot drink would help her concentrate.

She glanced back at the bunks of her other three siblings. All of the occupants were sound asleep, breathing so quietly that the slightest squeak of wood under Limestone’s hooves seemed deafening- regardless, she carefully stepped downstairs, casting one last look back to make sure none of her sisters stirred. None did, and she finished descending to the ground floor of the farmhouse, reflecting on the thought that all four of those bunks being occupied by her sisters had become an extremely uncommon occurrence.

The early rising mare trotted into the kitchen and put the kettle on, preparing her favorite morning beverage: lime green tea. While the water started to boil she opened a kitchen cabinet to search for a tea bag and fresh lime. A quiet squeak of the wooden floorboards behind her made her left ear twitch and she turned around- it was Marble Pie, standing in the entrance of the kitchen and rubbing her tired eyes.

“Oh, morning, Marble.” Limestone said, forcing herself to give her younger sister a smile. “You want a cup of tea?”

Marble Pie nodded gratefully, and like Limestone, forced herself to smile at her sibling. She stood in a mutual agreement of silence with Limestone, while her older sister poured some of the hot water from the kettle into a mug, added a tea bag and several drops of lime juice, then offered it to her.

Marble Pie took the offered mug of tea and went into the dining room to stand by the table and set it down, taking delicate sips from the steaming surface. A few moments later Limestone Pie joined her across the table, taking deep gulps of her own tea from another mug, the heat not seeming to bother her.

Limestone finally broke the silence, to Marble Pie’s relief, since she wasn’t sure she could have done it.

“So, it seemed like you had something on your mind yesterday in the quarry.” Limestone said in her harsh voice, turning her eyes to make eye contact with Marble. “Was there something you wanted to tell me, Marble?”

This was her opportunity, although Limestone’s cool gaze was wilting Marble Pie’s precious seedling shoot of courage. She opened her mouth, a tiny squeak escaping her throat, and tried to form the words- they just wouldn’t come out!

After a few moments of exhaustive effort, Marble Pie closed her mouth, wanting to cry. She just couldn’t say anything. She was trying, she really was, but she couldn’t.

Limestone Pie frowned, and spoke first instead. “Are those guys at the Nickerlite schoolhouse giving you a hard time again?”

Her big sister’s perception was startling. Marble Pie’s jaw flopped open as though it were hanging from a string, bouncing up and down as she tried to close it again and couldn’t manage.

Eventually she nodded, a single tear escaping her mane-covered right eye and trickling down her cheek to fall onto the wooden floor by her hooves. She hadn’t wanted to bother Limestone about it, but the echoes of the past incidents were back all over again- the room around her seemed to be swirling in a whirlpool of memory and she thought she could hear the faint cries of the two colts who had been making her last month of school miserable.

“Look at her, Marco. She can’t even afford real toys.” A turquoise pegasus colt leered at Marble, snagging a pebble that she was using as a teacup from her grasp and darting away when she tried to reach out to take it back, her bottom lip beginning to tremble.

“Yeah, but whadda’ya expect when she’s some blockhead off a rock farm, Polo?” A robin blue pegasus colt of sizable stature sneered as he landed in front of Marble when she stood to try to retrieve her stolen pebble. He leered down at her as he stood in her path and she wilted pathetically, stepping away. She was terrified of confrontation, and felt like all of her muscles were going slack. Her stomach was queasy and she had a terrible wet pressure behind her eyes that wanted to explode. Marble Pie looked around the schoolyard for help, but there was none nearby. Her tendency to pick playing spots that allowed her to indulge her desire to be a recluse had backfired on her, and there were no other students in sight. She wasn’t sure if they would have helped even if they were in sight.

“Tell you what, Penniless Pie.” The boisterous colt said in a tone of falsified benevolence. “If you want your toy back-“ He pressed his nose against hers, pushing her backwards and onto her rump, deliberately stepping on the pebbles she’d arranged and crushing a few, her limp limbs and weak will offering no significant resistance.

She squeezed her eyes shut and cowered, wishing she could disappear, or sink into the ground. She wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Then the pressure on her nose was gone and she opened her uninhibited eye, daring to hope Celestia had granted her wishes- was it over?

“If you want me to stop-“ Her bully was still there, standing tall and menacingly just a few steps away, his lackey hovering in the air beside him, still holding her teacup between his two hooves. Both of them looked like looming giants from her cowering position on the ground looking up at them, ready to squash her like an insect.

“-just say something and I’ll stop.” The pegasus colt finally finished, and donned an expression of expectation. “Come on, throw it all out. Get mad; tell me to go away. Are you a mute or something? Just talk, Penniless Pie!”

She tried, like she just had with Limestone, but it was comparable to trying to push an enormous boulder up a slope that endlessly became steeper and steeper as she ascended. She just wasn’t strong enough! A hoarse cry wrenched its way from her throat, and she finally broke, tucking her front legs over her eyes and weeping. She wanted to vomit, to bury herself alive; she wished her sisters were here. Why was this happening to her? She hadn’t done anything to them. Why didn’t they just leave her alone?

“Forget it, Marco.” The hovering one broke in. “That’s enough, she’s not gonna talk. She’s like some kind of mute dum-dum. Let’s leave her alone.”

“She’s gotta learn, Polo.” The other one interjected, speaking with excessive indulgence, as though he was explaining the obvious. Then he turned the stream of abuse towards Marble back on again. “Whatever, freak mare. It’s no wonder you’re never going to make any friends besides pebbles. You’re going to live and die on that rock farm and nopony’s going to remember you if you never learn. Chuck the dumb pebble and let’s go, Polo.”

Marble Pie didn’t dare look up until their steps receded and there was no sound except her haggard breathing as she tried to swallow a lump in her throat and wiped the salty tears from her eyes, able to feel how red and raw they were whenever she blinked. She didn’t want to stay at school any more, even though the next class session was on her favorite subject: history. Permitting herself another few moments to sniff dejectedly so as to purge as much of the swirling emotional pressure as she could, she stood and walked away, leaving the schoolhouse behind to return to the rock farm. She could come back and collect her saddlebags from the lost and found tomorrow- it was a routine she was getting used to repeating as the harassment from the two colts became more frequent.

The memory alone was nearly enough to reduce Marble Pie to a sniveling heap all over again. She hadn’t wanted Limestone Pie to find out, but unbeknownst to her, Limestone had seen the signs, and perhaps had known for some time. If she had known, why hadn’t she stopped them? Marble couldn’t help but wonder that as she looked up at her older sister, feeling miserable.

“Well, Marble, let’s go.” Limestone abruptly decided, placing one front leg firmly around her younger sister’s shoulders, and guiding her towards the door. Marble was too frightened to resist or protest, but she managed to mumble out a one-worded inquiry when Limestone shut the farmhouse door behind them.

“W-w-where?” She asked.

Limestone Pie turned from the door with an expression of vengeful determination. “I’m taking you to the schoolhouse so you can stand up to those guys and put an end to this nonsense once and for all.” She stated, no room in her tone for negotiation. “A whole day of this happening is too long, but a whole month is crazy. No Pie family member is going to get talked down to while I’m running this rock farm. Let’s go, Marble. Even though it’s not a school day we might catch them playing hoofball on in the school yard.”

Marble squealed as Limestone roughly took her around the shoulders again in her typical tough-love fashion and began pulling her along past the fields, around the quarry, and down the winding path through the barren plains that led to the Nickerlite schoolhouse by the train station.

The whole while she tried to muster the strength to tell Limestone this wasn’t what she wanted. She was afraid- or more than that, she was stricken with fear like it was a malignant disease. She felt as though she might be sick, like her stomach was turning inside out in agony, like her knees were so weak that they were going to bend against her will and sent her tottering over like one of the few dead trees that had sprouted alongside the path they were walking.

She felt herself slowly being crushed, her personality receding inward as a subdued feeling of passive resignation came over her, her self abandoning its body to leave a husk that simply obeyed orders to walk forward with Limestone.

But she had free will, didn’t she? She had the freedom to choose if she wanted to go or didn’t want to go, even if she felt like she couldn’t choose. Surely her life wasn’t just a predestined straight line down the decisions that other stronger personalities made for her, which was a road that would indeed lead to the obscure eventual deletion of her from the minds of everyone when she passed. There had to be forks in the path along her fate that led to something better, something worth aspiring to accomplish.

Marble only wanted to be cared for with the most meager rations of love others were generous enough to offer, to be accepted as the incorrigible introvert of a pair of twins, and to feel in control of her own will, but she felt like she was failing miserably even with such humble ambitions.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing everything to go away, but it was useless, because her body betrayed her by continuing to move its legs forward, and soon enough she felt Limestone tap her shoulder, and when she opened her eyes she knew she’d see the school yard, she knew she’d see the other students, and she knew she’d see the two whom she dreaded seeing.

She opened her eyes, and was surprised, though by no means relieved when she saw that the school yard was only populated by the two colts, who were eyeing the two sisters with idle suspicion as they dribbled a ball on a makeshift court with lines drawn in the dirt to designate boundaries. When the two newcomers stopped at the edge of the court, Polo dropped the ball, letting it roll away, his brow furrowing in concern. Marco was unperturbed at first, but when his eyes met Limestone’s he glared fiercely.

Limestone Pie gave Marble’s shoulder a squeeze. “Stay here.” She said as reassuringly as she could. Then she walked out onto the court boldly, like an explorer crossing the sea, and marched right up to Marco, meeting his glare with an icy chill resonating from her own fierce lime-colored eyes.

“So, Marco, you’ve been having fun messing around with my sister.” She started, not waiting for the colt to speak first.

Marco didn’t back down, shoulders stiffening and craning his neck to exaggerate his height advantage. “Yeah, maybe I have, Pie. There’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun.”

“Stow the noise.” Limestone snarled, her face turning livid. “I can’t believe you’re still doing nothing with yourself after all this time. How many times have you been held back from graduating now? Six?”

Marco seethed, jamming his nose up into Limestone’s, “Only four.” He said defensively in pure hatred, spittle flying from his lips. “What’s it to you? You dropped out to go back to that dead-end quarry with those nuts you call famil-“

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off as he gasped for air, Limestone had lunged forwards and had his neck in a vise with one of her front legs, her lime eyes blazing with cold fury, and she hissed a warning into his ear. “I don’t care what you say about me Marco, but don’t ever talk about my family, you worthless, stinking horsefly.” She only kept her voice down for Marble’s benefit so she wouldn’t have to hear the slur.

She quickly released him, however. As much as she wanted to knock him on his rump and stamp all over his stallion pride, built by abusing the faults of others, that wasn’t why she’d come here, and she had to keep her temper in check. That comment about the family had gotten to her, though. She didn’t care if he was bigger than her, if he said something like that again she’d fight him in an instant.

Marco wheezed and regained his breath, his blue face turning a shade of purple as he raged sullenly, looking like he wanted to take a swing at Limestone. Polo flew to his side immediately, looking worried. Marble Pie was trembling with fear, but Limestone stood fast, not taking her eyes off him. Marco was taller than her by nearly a head, but Limestone was squat and brawny, and her back and shoulders were lined with knots of muscle where Marco was skinnier and gaunt- she wasn’t afraid of him.

“Figures your sister can’t fight her own battles.” He wheezed out as soon as he had enough breath, leaning on Polo for support briefly, then pushing him away. “So, are you gonna whoop both of us for her, is that it?”

Limestone’s visage hardened briefly, but she shook her head. “No.”

“Then what do you want?” Polo demanded angrily as he attempted to rub the raw spots on Marco’s neck, only to have his hoof swatted away by his angry friend.

“Marble’s going to stand up to you, and then you’re going to leave her alone. That’s the deal.” Limestone declared. Marble Pie froze up, and again desperately wished for the power of speech and eloquence to be granted back to her. This wasn’t what she wanted! She trembled on her four legs, and opened her mouth, but closed it again. Things were happening that affected her, but she was taking no part in the direction of the events!

Marco actually laughed, his sore throat aching with the heaves of mirth. “She’s going to stand up for herself? That’s a laugh! She can barely even stand on her hooves when we start hassling her.”

Limestone Pie immediately seized on his overconfidence, hoping to make Marble Pie’s task easier. “Then have Polo fight her.”

Marco turned to Polo, a grin on his face. “Well, go get her. This’ll be quick.”

Polo hesitated, a shadow of reluctance passing over him, but he acquiesced and flew over to the middle of the court, folding his wings and landing. “What are you waiting for, Penniless Pie, show us you can stand up for yourself!” He taunted without significant zeal, not wanting this to happen much more than Marble Pie.

Limestone Pie stepped over to her younger sister, who looked at her pleadingly, wanting to beg, wanting to cry, wanting to run away. She pushed Marble onto the court and whispered in her ear. “Come on Marble, stand up. You have to do this, I know you can.”

When Limestone Pie stepped away Marble Pie felt a distinct loneliness envelop her. Although her sibling was right there, all comfort of company began to recede into the distance until it felt like she was adrift in an ocean with nothing but water miles around, alone, facing a violent tempest looking to obliterate her fragile mortal body and dispatch her into the void.

She shakily managed to stay on her feet, though she wanted to retch and weep bitterly. With great effort, she tried to step forward towards Polo, and she managed to take one step, two steps. Then Polo used a quick flap of his wings to rapidly close the distance and jabbed hard at Marble’s cheek with a front leg. Marble, who had never been in a fight before, tried to recoil, raise a leg to protect herself, and restrain her weeping all at the same time, but succeeded in none of those actions, and nearly fell, a hot pain burning in her right cheek under her long mane. The tears began to flow, but she stayed standing.

A guilty expression ran over Polo’s face, and he hesitated, but he didn’t want to look weak in front of Marco, so he drew his other front leg back and attempted to deliver another hard jab into Marble Pie’s face, looking to finish the fight as quickly as possible.

Marble Pie finally succeeded in raising a front leg to protect her face, and Polo’s hoof cracked against her own as she raised it over her burning cheek. He recoiled, a look of surprise and pain on his face. Hitting her hoof had been like hitting a solid rock, and now his appendage was throbbing, the nerves protesting against the impact.

“That’s it, Marble.” Limestone bellowed. “Protect your face, and give it to him!”

Marble Pie, scarcely able to see through her long mane and the tears in her eyes, gave no indication that she’d heard her sister, ears folded down and the three legs keeping her upright quivering uncontrollably.

Marco, however, was furious that she was still up, and roared at Polo, “What’s the matter with you, Polo? Knock her down! She can’t even keep her legs from shaking.”

Rebuffed by his friend, and fueled by the pain in his hoof, Polo swooped forwards and attacked, this time not letting up, throwing out a succession of jabs from his front legs like pistons.

Marble Pie shrieked in pain as he pummeled her relentlessly, covering her eyes with her front leg and trying to back away on the other three unsteady ones. Her lip was split and bleeding, the leg protecting her eyes was sore and bruised, and her burning cheek was swelling, but the blows kept coming, and she felt the tears trickling down her face, but she choked back the sobs, and still stayed standing.

Limestone ground her teeth, wanting to intervene. She wanted to pound Polo into the ground and Marco too, who was smirking at her in a perverse delight at the violence, no doubt taking joy in needling her since he knew she wasn’t afraid of him. But this was Marble’s moment to stand up, and although she couldn’t physically help her, she couldn’t stand to let her do this completely on her own.

“Get him, Marble.” She commanded shrilly again and again. “Get him!”

Marble Pie looked over towards her older sister in a daze, not entirely understanding at first, and Polo’s hoof made contact with her exposed eye. She took a step back, crying out in pain and squeezing her injured eye shut, but finally the words her sister had said registered. Get him.

When Polo drew up and back to hit her again, Marble Pie surged forwards, catching him around his midsection and wrapping both of her front legs around his back. She started bawling aloud, letting out all the pain she was feeling physically and mentally, swallowing bile that she’d been gagging on, and her back convulsing violently as she continued to sob. Without realizing it, she began to squeeze Polo more and more tightly, until he turned limp in her grasp.

She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, holding fast to Polo to make the pain go away, but suddenly Limestone was there, pulling her off and saying, “Let him go, Marble. Let him go, he’s had enough.”

Marble let go of Polo and threw her hooves around Limestone tightly instead, crying into her older sister’s shoulder, and Limestone Pie, for a tender moment, told her, “There, there. You did it, it’s over.”

Marble Pie didn’t understand, what had happened? She looked back when she could muster the courage and brushed the mane out of her left eye to see, the other one hurt too much to open.

Polo lay on the ground wheezing, and Marco was standing next to him, expression stricken with worry as he helped Polo up, smacked him on the back, felt his stomach, and asked him if he was alright.

Then the bully turned towards Limestone, “What the Tartarus is wrong with her?” He demanded. “She could have killed him!”

Marble Pie was shocked. She could have- what? She hadn’t meant to do anything like that, she’d just been scared, sick, and wanted the pain to stop. What had she done?

“You’re not messing with her anymore.” Limestone Pie declared flatly.

“Yeah, we’re not messing with her anymore.” Marco agreed, looking at Marble Pie with an expression that was no longer playful animosity but pure hatred. “Freak.” He turned away from them both to help Polo stand, who was still wheezing like an asthmatic, face colored and eyes wriggling about in a semi-conscious stupor.

Limestone pulled Marble Pie along. “Come on, we’re going back to the farm. You’re all beat up.” After a moment she added, “I’m proud of you, Marble.”

Marble Pie held on to Limestone Pie for dear life, aghast at her own actions. “I didn’t want to hurt him.” She said aloud miserably as sobs continued to wrack her body.

Limestone led her onwards and patted her on the back tenderly, uncertain of what to say. “There, there.”

“I didn’t want to.” Marble repeated more quietly, feeling wretched. She was ashamed that the two front legs she’d squeezed Polo with belonged to her, and wished she could bury them somewhere far away.

“Keep some pressure on your lip.” Limestone said, “It’s bleeding real bad. Here, right there like this.” She said, guiding Marble’s hoof to apply pressure in the proper spot.

“I didn’t want to.” Marble repeated dully, hoof pressing her lip as red drops trickled down, mixed with falling tears and turned pink.

“There, there.”

3

The trip home was entirely silent, to Limestone’s relief. She had run out of comforting words for Marble, and she felt terrible. She was proud of her younger sister and still believed teaching her to stand up for herself was the best decision, but she hadn’t expected Polo would hurt her so badly.

No, she shouldn’t think like that. Most of Marble’s injuries were superficial, she was a strong mare; she was a Pie. When they arrived at the farm however, Limestone’s doubt increased. The sun was barely beginning to pierce the cloud layer, and a fine damp mist was clinging to the early morning air, but she was certain her sisters and mother were up by now.

Limestone hesitated when they arrived at the farmhouse, and gently pushed Marble into a sitting position on the porch. It would be easier to explain the situation to her family after she cleaned Marble Pie’s lip up, and she didn’t want panic or questions directed at her right now.

“Wait here, Marble.” She told her quivering sister firmly, “I’m going to get something to clean up that lip.”

Marble mumbled a faint assent through the hoof she was using to apply pressure to her bleeding lip, and Limestone Pie entered the farmhouse alone.

She heard voices coming from the living room- her mother’s tranquil tittering, and Pinkamena’s excitable prattling. Limestone avoided the sounds of conversation and entered the kitchen through the dining room, searching until she located the cupboard that contained rolls of gauze, thread, needles, and a small jug of clean water. Injuries happened on the rock farm, and since there was no hospital nearby the family usually had to make do with what was on hand. Igneous had taught Limestone how to treat minor illnesses or injuries, she knew how to make a splint, how to stitch a deep cut, and how to feel for a break in a bone.

However, she couldn’t help but think that her first aid skills wouldn’t be getting tested now if Marble hadn’t gotten hurt. There had been no way around it, though. It had been for the best, even if she didn’t like seeing her younger sister get hurt. She had to learn how to stand up on her own.

Limestone trotted back towards the door with a needle between her teeth, and a bundle clutched in one leg with a roll of gauze, a ball of thread, the jug of clean water, and a wiping cloth. As she reached for the door the sound of a hoof being put down made her freeze in her tracks, a cold tingle traveling up the length of her spine.

“What are you doing, Limestone?” Maud asked, suddenly making her presence behind Limestone Pie known. She had seen Limestone enter the dining room out of the corner of her eye from the living room, and followed her. Now she caught sight of the contents of her sister’s bundle when she turned, the needle she was carrying, and Limestone wasn’t hurt. All that ran through Maud’s head in the time it took her to blink slowly once.

“What happened to Marble?” She asked.

Limestone couldn’t answer with the needle in her teeth and didn’t want to anyways, narrowing her eyes. She gestured with a tilt of her head for Maud to follow her as she pushed the door open and stepped outside.

Maud stepped outside a moment later and saw Marble Pie. Her eyebrows raised a full inch, and her jaw clenched imperceptibly. Limestone Pie put the bundle down and grabbed the ball of thread, managing to put a strand through the eye of the needle with extreme difficulty after her sixth try. It was a moment when she envied the finesse unicorns enjoyed thanks to their magic, which allowed them to make precise movements like this one with small objects almost effortlessly.

“Maud, help me.” She ordered, and Maud was there immediately.

Limestone drew close to Marble Pie, who was still quivering uncontrollably, an eye and a cheek swollen, drops of blood and tears still running down her hoof. She carefully pried Marble’s hoof off of her lip and examined the cut, which ran almost an entire inch down and was still weeping red.

“I need you to hold Marble still.” She told Maud, and Maud obeyed, holding Marble’s head firmly, but gently.

“Marble, this is going to hurt.” Limestone Pie said as reassuringly as she could in her hoarse voice. “Just stay still, and I’ll try to be quick.”

Marble Pie whimpered in reply, and Limestone carefully put the needle between her front hooves, starting the suturing. Her greatest anxiety was hurting her little sister, even though she’d done this before and liked to think she was more proficient at it than even her own mother by now. To Marble’s credit, and Limestone’s approval, she kept her trembling hooves down, even when she felt the cold needle worming through her lip, and didn’t utter another sound during the procedure.

After many tense minutes, Limestone finally cut the thread with a snap of her teeth and sat back after washing Marble’s lip with a cloth damp with cool water. “It’s done.” She told Maud, suddenly exhausted, and Maud immediately let go of Marble Pie and rounded on her accusingly, though her passive expression never changed. “What happened, Limestone?” She demanded in a neutral tone.

“Marble Pie stood up to some bullies at the Nickerlite schoolhouse.” Limestone Pie explained sourly, looking down at her hooves in dismal wonder at the brown stains left by her younger sister’s blood; her baby sis.

Maud drew back, turning her head to look at Marble Pie, her eyelashes lifting in astonishment, then turned back to Limestone. “You knew she was being bullied, and you didn’t say anything to us?”

“She had to stand up on her own.” Limestone snapped back suddenly, rising from her seated position to glower up at her taller and broader, but younger sister. “And maybe if you and Pinkamena stopped by to visit the farm more than a few times a year you’d have known too. But that’s not how it is. I run the farm with ma and pa. I figured out Marble was in trouble. It was my business, and I got it taken care of. End of story.”

Thinking the conversation over, Limestone attempted to pass her sister, but Maud shifted into her path. Limestone glared up at her and was about to snap out a demand that Maud get out of her way when Maud spoke again.

“But Limestone, why didn’t you tell us? We’re family.” Maud said in the closest she could come to a tone of injured humility.

Limestone Pie froze, her stern façade crumbling to give way to uncertainty. “She had to stand up on her own.” She repeated more quietly. “It was the right thing to do.”

“But why didn’t you tell us what you were thinking of doing?” Maud repeated with her dull passion. “I know Pinkamena and I aren’t always here for you and Marble, but I love you both, Limestone. You’re my sisters, and not telling me Marble Pie was being bullied is like telling me you don’t trust me.”

Marble Pie looked glumly up from her seat at her two sisters, her swollen cheek, stitched lip, and black eye creating such a pitiable image that when Limestone Pie saw her she felt an irrational urge to cry, but she choked the emotions down forcefully and turned back to Maud, arguing all the more fervently because she suspected she was wrong.

“It’s not that.” She snapped, feeling the rolling tempest of her temper begin to swell up with waves of anger. “It’s that you’re hardly ever here. Marble is my responsibility, I didn’t want her to get hurt, but she had to stand up for herself. I don’t want her to grow up with the other colts and fillies thinking they can walk all over her, or take things that belong to her, or give her guff without retaliation. Don’t you get that?”

Maud nodded slowly, “I know, Limestone, but Marble’s not like you. She’s not a fighter, and she doesn’t have that strength. She’s quiet, demure, thoughtful, and imaginative. I know I’m not here all of the time, but I know that.”

Limestone’s head was beginning to feel heavy, confidence in her actions crumbling and her temper cooling over to be replaced by shame, but then Maud added something that made her shoulders grow tense and teeth grind.

“Not all of us are trying to prove we’re as good as a stallion to impress father.”

Maud immediately realized she’d made a mistake, an incorrect calculation on the emotional equation in the atmosphere that had shattered the foundation of communication she’d been attempting to construct, and she blinked, trying to think of how she could restore the situation.

Then Limestone Pie spoke in a low, menacing growl, her ears fully flattened in aggression as the knotted muscles in her shoulders twitched and writhed with suppressed rage. “Get out of my way, Maud. I need space, or I might do something I’ll regret.”

Without waiting for Maud to reply, she forcefully shouldered her way past her larger sister, and Maud let her go, realizing she’d destroyed any chance of Limestone being open about her emotions, at least for now. She would need to wait for Limestone’s explosive temper to subside, but she was patient.

Marble tapped her side, getting her attention. Her younger sister pointed at Limestone with a hoof, who entered the silo and shut the door forcefully behind herself, and looked up at Maud for answers.

Maud gently stroked Marble Pie’s head. “I don’t know, Marble.” She said, “I’m trying to find out what’s bothering her.” She sat next to Marble Pie and pulled a small stone out of her front pocket, balancing it delicately on one large hoof. “I made a mistake, Boulder.” She said mournfully in her toneless voice.

Marble Pie looked at the silo wistfully. It was no secret among the four sisters that much in the way Pinkamena and Maud were inseparable, she shared a closer kinship with Limestone than her other two siblings. She admired the boisterous fearlessness of her eldest sister, the snap in her sharp voice when bartering for a better price at the market, her proficiency in helping Igneous Rock Pie lay out the harvest plans, the effortless strength and endurance she harnessed while working in the mine.

Limestone was a doer on the rock farm: when she put her mind to something she did it. If she wanted to sculpt, she sculpted; if there was work to be done she made sure to delegate the responsibility to someone or to do it herself. The erosion of their spartan lifestyle on the spirit seemed to pass her by, leaving her virile and dogged with determination to continue rather than bitter and afflicted with want for better things. She’d taken the loss of Pinkamena and Maud’s regular help on the farm in stride, and although Marble remembered crying like a foal when Pinkamena left for the first time many years ago, and weeping into her pillow the night after Maud left to begin studying for her rocktorate, Limestone hadn’t shed a tear on either occasion.

That was why Marble found this outburst particularly disturbing: she’d never seen Limestone lose her temper in such a scalding manner. Maud had said something that had hurt Limestone, Marble Pie realized, perhaps in a different way than how Polo had hurt her outside the schoolhouse, but caused her pain nonetheless. She kept thinking about it, unable to come to terms with the stark reality that one she had thought invulnerable could be hurt by something as simple as words, weapons that wounded Marble Pie but that she’d thought Limestone Pie to be impervious to. Even after Maud walked into the farmhouse and returned to rub a dollop of arnica on the swollen parts of Marble’s face tenderly, she kept thinking about it.

***

Limestone’s head felt like it was going to burst, like a rotten, raw explosive belch. Her temples were on fire, and when she split another flimsy log of dying wood she’d collected a week ago, the splinters that stuck in her bare leg only fueled her rage. The wood was worthless, since the family had stocked up on firewood for winter months in advance, thanks to her, which made this surplus material an ideal object for stress relief. After all, all she could do was snap, crack, and demolish it into smaller pieces that would burn more easily.

It wasn’t until she smashed one thick length of wood so hard that her leg became stuck in it, imbedded up to the knee, that she slowed down. Her chest heaving and muscles aching, she pulled her leg out, the skin under the fur chafed raw and a few bare patches visible. There were more splinters, but she ignored them, and let herself fall backwards onto her back, looking up at the ceiling of the silo, but seeing nothing.

Maud. Why? She must have done it on purpose; there was no other explanation. Her jaw clenched just thinking about what her sister had said.

I know it’s true, Doubt said in her mind.

Shut up, you useless bastard. Pride snarled right back. I’m not trying to prove anything, I AM as good as a stallion. I might as well be the brother of this family, if only I wasn’t a mare.

But you’re not a stallion, Doubt retorted smugly. That’s just the way it is.

Shut up, shut up. Pride bellowed, pacing back and forth in the confines of Limestone’s mind. It makes no difference. I’m as good as one. That’s all that matters.

Of course it makes no difference. Doubt agreed sarcastically from the dark corners he was confined to, eyes glinting in amusement. I’m in the silo breaking wood in anger for no reason; Maud’s words had nothing to do with it. I’m completely sure of myself and have no insecurities.

She shouldn’t have said that, Pride declared, lumbering back and forth, ignoring the sarcasm, her eyes two blazing coals. She’s got no right to judge me, no right to tell me who I am. She barely even comes here anymore. Who does she think she is?

I think she knows me a lot better that I do. Doubt replied, stepping closer to the light, his eyes glowing more intensely.

Shut up; just go away. I’ll thrash you if you don’t shut up.

I need me, without me I’d never listen anyone. I’d be in a nuthouse already.

That’s not true, you just make me weak. Get out. Get the hell out and don’t come back. I don’t need you; I’ve never needed you.

If that’s what I want, but when I need me again, and I will, I’ll be back.

Limestone’s inner thoughts receded and she became dimly aware of her surroundings again. Her rage had left her, and now she felt strangely ill, sick to her stomach, dizzy, and when she rolled over, unable to stand. She looked down at her left foreleg, it was full of splinters, and a few that had come loose were oozing. Annoyed, she lowered her neck and began to pluck the splinters out with her teeth, wincing when she yanked out a larger one that had sunk deep into the skin, and clung to it in defiance before being extracted.

She lay back on the floor of the silo and did something she didn’t do often; she began to think about her faults. There were some that were meager, so minute that they could be ignored, like class. She didn’t even know what class was, but she knew that residents of Canterlot did, she knew that they were aware that they had it and she did not. They could quantify it, measure it exactly, and determine the significance of a pony based on the amount of class they had alone within seconds. Limestone didn’t particularly care about class, though. Her ignorance about it prevented her from knowing if it was something worth having, so she hardly considered that a fault.

There were other things however, like education. Maud had education, and it made Limestone deeply envious, though she’d never told Maud. She was certain Maud knew, and she almost certainly thought herself superior to Limestone for having it. Limestone knew education was valuable because she’d chosen not to pursue it and couldn’t help but come to think as the years passed that she’d made a grave mistake. Education was a key that opened many doors, and she was distinctly aware, now that she was older, that those doors were all closed to her without that key. Military service was closed to her, higher end jobs in the larger cities of Equestria were closed to her, and opportunities to travel abroad were closed to her.

That was one fault that was a permanent bruise on her pride, and she regretted it so dearly that she checked every night to make sure Marble did her schoolwork and monitored her academic progress so closely she almost instantly recognized the signs that something was wrong a month ago when Marble came home early from the schoolhouse and refused to say why. Limestone remembered that she’d given her an extra helping of carrot stew, but Marble hadn’t even taken a nibble or sip.

Marble Pie. She looked down at the dried reddish-brown stains on her front hooves again and was ashamed. She told herself that she treated all of her sisters equally, but that wasn’t true. She had a soft spot of understanding and patience that she only showed to her youngest sister. It had probably begun to develop as early as when Pinkamena left the rock farm with stars in her eyes and party plans in her head. Until then she’d been able to fool herself that the family was inseparable, that all of them would always be together to support each other on the farm. Pinkamena’s absence had been a long one, and when she returned to share tales of adventures traveled, sweets devoured, and threats to Equestria vanquished, Limestone couldn’t help but become resentful.

Before Pinkamena had shared her exotic, exciting, colorful experiences Limestone had been able to kid herself that things weren’t so bad on the rock farm, that life there wasn’t plain, boring, exhausting, or taxing- it had just been normal. Pinkamena had changed that, she had made Limestone Pie realize that there were better experiences to be had afar. She’d tried to be happy for Pinkamena when she left, not that her pink, energetic sister had ever really seemed like she belonged on the farm, but it became increasingly difficult not to become resentful when she returned to share stories.

She recalled, humorously, that once long ago she had asked her parents if Pinkamena was adopted. Her ma had smiled dimly and looked away while pa had assured her Pinkamena was her sister by blood. Limestone had never been convinced, and Pinkamena’s premature exit from the farm only seemed to confirm her suspicion.

Maud had left not too long after Pinkamena. Limestone had tried to convince her to stay and Marble had let fall a shower of tears when Maud declared during supper one evening that she wanted to go and study rocks at university. Nothing had swayed Maud, who was immovable as ever, and the next day her bags were gone and so was she, leaving another empty bunk. The loss of two sisters had shaken Limestone’s faith in the family bonds pa had told her were unbreakable, so she spent more time with Marble Pie, was more patient with her, offered her more food, and looked out for her.

Or at least… she tried to look out for her. Limestone wondered again if pushing Marble Pie to stand up to her bullies had been the right choice.

Marble Pie still had a lot to hope for; she had great potential. Pa had said that and Limestone agreed, but she couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe Marble Pie would consider staying on the rock farm. That was unrealistic though, and she knew it. She was sure Marble Pie had dreams about life outside, or grand ambitions, even if she’d never shared them with Limestone.

Destiny- what was Limestone’s destiny? Helping her parents work on the farm had become her full-time job, and she couldn’t even imagine returning to school now. If there were several consecutive years of good harvests she might be able to set aside enough bits to consider buying up some outside help when her parents became too tired to continue the physical toil that the farm demanded, because it would be too much for her to do alone. Limestone could read in the dark circles beneath her mother and father's eyes, in the fading colors of their manes, in the longer times they spent asleep, that such a day was coming soon. Pies were strong, but they weren’t eternal, and having Marble at her side would help ease the burden. It was just-

Then Limestone was crying and she didn’t even understand why. The first sob shook her, and then another. It was just difficult. Marble Pie’s presence helped her keep her temper in check, and she wasn’t even sure if Igneous would pass the farm to her unless she was married and there was Pinkamena with her stories about better things and Maud with her far superior intelligence and Marble who barely uttered a word no matter how gently or roughly Limestone attempted to coax her to speak more and to be better so she’d have a future and she knew some day soon her parents wouldn’t be able to work so she couldn’t bear to lose Marble Pie abruptly too and she didn’t want to go to the choosing stone, she should be able to own the farm property without having to give it up to a husband in wedlock and she didn’t have the education to go elsewhere and the eldest shouldn't feel so helpless when she was supposed to be the strongest, the most independent- it was all too much.

Limestone cried bitterly, releasing an inner agony that had been chafing her spirit for far too long. Every time she tried to stop another trouble assailed her and another sob choked her. She cried until the whites of her lime-colored eyes were beet red and still couldn’t stop. She didn’t hear the door to the silo squeak open an inch, and didn’t notice the lavender eye that peered inside.

Marble was so aghast that she froze in her tracks. Limestone was crying. Her oldest sister was crying. She drew back from the door, sliding away in astonishment, her mane falling over her good eye once again. She’d never seen Limestone cry, even when she’d pulled cartloads for Maud and dislocated her shoulder she hadn’t cried. She wanted to fly to her sister’s side and comfort her, ask her what was wrong, but she felt like she was intruding and soon her courage left her, so she turned from the silo door and walked away.

Author's Note

Another set of three chapters should finish this story off nicely. Then it's back to the drawing board.