Sugarcoat walked down the street, bundled up in a thick, winter coat, her every breath turning white and visible in the cold air. She shifted the bundle of packages she was carrying uncomfortably under her arm and trudged along, each step crunching fresh footprints into the snow.
“You all right there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Sugarcoat shook her head.
“I don’t like the cold,” she said.
“Aaaand?” Applejack asked, expectantly.
“And I’m nervous,” Sugarcoat finished. Applejack placed a hand on Sugarcoat’s shoulder to comfort her.
“There, there. It’ll be alright,” Applejack said. “This isn’t the first time you’ve met Pinkie Pie’s family, right?”
Sugarcoat shook her head. “No, not the first time. But I haven’t spent any real amount of time with them before. I usually take Pinkie Pie out on our dates, or to my place. And if we do stay at her house, we usually just lock ourselves in her room for some privacy. None of that is an option today.”
Applejack nodded. “Probably not a good idea to try an’ steal Pinkie Pie away from her family on Hearth’s Warming. Why’ve you been puttin’ this off for so long?”
“They don’t like me,” Sugarcoat said, without missing a beat. This caused Applejack to stop in surprise.
“Really? I find that hard to believe. Pinkie Pie’s parents may seem a bit uptight, but they’re real swell people, once you get to know ‘em. Are-” Applejack stopped as she saw that Sugarcoat was shaking her head.
“No, her parents like me. They say I’d have made a good rock farmer. I’m not really sure how to take that. It’s her sisters that are the problem.”
“...oh,” Applejack said. “Well, what makes you think they don’t like you?”
Sugarcoat sighed. “Well, Maud and I seem to get along just fine. And Marble’s pretty quiet, she can be difficult to read, but she seems to go along with whatever Limestone wants. And Limestone definitely doesn’t like me.”
“What makes ya say that?”
***A few weeks earlier
Sugarcoat filled up a glass of water in the kitchen sink, took a long sip from it, and turned around, ready to start the next episode of the series she was watching with Pinkie Pie, only to find herself standing face-to-face with a purplish-grey girl, glaring at her very intently.
“I don’t like you!” she hissed, before turning around and walking off.
***
“Let’s just say that she’s made her feelings on the matter rather unambiguous.”
The pair came to Pinkie Pie’s house and Applejack rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, the door flung open and Pinkie Pie stuck her head out.
“Hey there coooouuuusin!” Pinkie Pie said with a wide grin on her face as she leaned in closer to Applejack. Then she waved to Sugarcoat. “Hi Sugarcoat!” she said, then ran over and gave her a big hug.
“Hi Pinkie,” Sugarcoat said. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“And a Happy Hearth’s Warming to you too!” Pinkie Pie said. Sugarcoat presented the small pile of packages she was carrying.
“I brought presents,” she said, carefully and expertly removing one, unwrapped, wooden box from the pile and maneuvering it behind her back.
“These look AMAZING!” Pinkie Pie said with a wide grin. “We’d better be sure to hide them extra carefully. Come on in! Apple Bloom and Big Mac are already here.” Pinkie Pie walked back into the house, and Sugarcoat and Applejack exchanged a glance.
“If yer lookin’ for a chance to run for it...now’s your time.”
Sugarcoat shook her head. “I’m not running away,” she said, taking a step forward and exuding more confidence than she really felt.
“Good,” Applejack said, then placed her arm around Sugarcoat. “For whatever it’s worth, you can’t possibly do worse than me the first time I spent Hearth’s Warming with the Pie family.” There was a smile on Applejack’s face as she said it, but it immediately vanished. “Seriously. You can’t possibly do worse.”
***
Green liquid splashed into Sugarcoat’s bowl, ending with a dull, ‘thud’ as a large stone fell into the wooden container. “Stone soup?” Sugarcoat asked. There was a wave of nods from all around the table.
“What the matter?” Limestone asked with a sadistic grin. “Don’t you LIKE stone soup?”
“I’ve never had it,” Sugarcoat said as she looked down at the green, watery brew. “But it looks awful.”
“Well,” Limestone said, “Pinkie Pie loves it. So, I’d sort of ASSUME that since you’re DATING HER, you’d like it too.”
“It...really doesn’t work that way,” Sugarcoat said, then relented. “But if she likes it, I’ll give it a try.”
Sugarcoat took a spoonful of the soup, from as far away from the stone and with as little silt as possible, and took a long sip of the hot brew. She swallowed it, smacked her lips, then looked down at the bowl.
“Wow,” Sugarcoat said. “This is terrible.”
There was a brief silence, during which the rather tactless comment hung in the air like a bad odor. Then, as if on cue, laughter erupted from all around the table.
“Wait until you’ve had it a few more times,” Applejack said.
“Oh?” Sugarcoat asked. “Is it an acquired taste?” Apple Bloom shook her head.
“Kinda the opposite. It somehow gets worse every time ya try it,” Apple Bloom said.
Limestone grumbled. “Well, I like it,” she said.
Pinkie Pie patted Limestone on the back. “There, there, grumpy. I like it too.”
“Don’t worry,” Applejack said to Sugarcoat. “We brought some...less rock-based food with us. But stone soup’s a Pie family tradition.”
“Ah,” Sugarcoat said. “In that case, I appreciate being included in your tradition.”
“‘I appreciate being included in your tradition’,” Limestone mocked. “Who talks like that?”
“Be nice,” Pinkie Pie said, scolding her sister slightly and causing Limestone to roll her eyes. “Sugarcoat’s going to think you don’t want her here.”
“I DON’T wa-” Limestone started, then was cut off by Apple Bloom.
“Maud!” she interrupted, “Didn’t you want to tell everyone those jokes you were tellin’ me earlier?”
Maud nodded. “This joke’s about rocks.”
There was a pause. After a moment, Sugarcoat spoke up. “Are they all about-?”
“They’re all about rocks.”
***Several rock-jokes later
“Ahahahahaha!” The entire Pie family was in hysterics at Maud’s most recent joke, delivered in complete, emotionless deadpan. Sugarcoat glanced from Applejack to Apple Bloom, trying to read the room and only getting dull amusement from them.
“I don’t get it,” Sugarcoat said.
“None of us do,” Applejack said. She lifted up four fingers. “Ah’ve tried to get her to explain one of these jokes four times, and I still don’t get it.”
“I think they’re funnier if you grew up around a lot of rocks,” Apple Bloom said, looking down at her soup. “Or know what ‘siliciclastic’ means…”
Maud lifted up a small rock to her ear, listened closely, then nodded. “Boulder wants a drink,” she said, then stood up and walked away from the table.
Sugarcoat sighed and glanced down at her lap, where the small, wooden box she had brought with her was resting. Might as well not lose this opportunity, she told herself, and besides, she had wanted to start with Maud anyways. Sugarcoat stood up, gently pushed her chair in, and said, “Excuse me.”
Behind her, Limestone grumbled something that Sugarcoat did not catch. In the kitchen, Maud was filling a glass of water. Her head tilted ever so slightly, giving a slight, quizzical tone to her otherwise deadpan expression. “Did you want a drink too?” she asked. Sugarcoat shook her head.
“No, thank you,” she said.
“You seem nervous to be here,” Maud said. Sugarcoat nodded.
“I am,” she said. Maud poured the water over the small rock she was carrying, spilling it messily over the floor.
“I’m sorry,” Maud said. “I’m not trying to make you nervous.”
“I know,” Sugarcoat said. “And you’re not. At least, not directly. I’m in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by people I don’t really know. And who I really want to like me. It’s stressful.”
Maud gave a tiny nod. “I understand,” she said.
This was going well, Sugarcoat told herself. She could always communicate somewhat easily with Maud. If nothing else, this Pie sister said exactly what she was thinking...even if what she was thinking about was, more often than not, rocks. Might as well go for it, Sugarcoat thought, and opened up the wooden box.
“Pinkie tells me that this has some special significance to you,” she said, taking out a rock-candy necklace. The crystals were dyed purple, and carefully filed down into perfect, equally-sized cubes. “I’m not sure I fully understood it,” Sugarcoat said, “but she said that it’s some kind of friendship ritual. A sign that you’ll always be friends.” Maud gave another small nod, and Sugarcoat presented the necklace, her arms shaking slightly as she held it up to Maud. “I’d like to be friends,” she said.
It felt like an eternity as Maud’s steam-engine of a brain worked through this new information that had been presented to her. Slowly, she picked up the candy necklace, and put it around her neck. Then, she reached into her pocket, and produced a purple and red rock-candy necklace of her own.
“I’d like to be friends too,” Maud said.
Sugarcoat could feel her heart start to beat again. Grateful, she picked up the necklace Maud had presented her with and placed it around her neck. “Thank you,” Sugarcoat said.
“Aren’t you going to try it?” Maud asked.
“I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be preserving it,” Sugarcoat asked. Maud shook her head, and Sugarcoat gave the necklace a small lick. It tasted sweet, but otherwise unflavored, except for a slight aftertaste that Sugarcoat could not quite identify. “What’s the flavor?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Secret ingredient,” Maud said. “It’s rocks.”
“Of course it is,” Sugarcoat said, and Maud walked back to the dining room.
“THAT WAS GREAT!” Pinkie Pie yelled, appearing out of the cabinet with a small explosion of confetti.
“I’ve decided not to even ask how you got in there,” Sugarcoat said as Pinkie Pie climbed down to the floor.
“Told you she liked you,” Pinkie Pie said, hugging Sugarcoat around the shoulders and giving her a small nuzzle on the neck. “You should have heard the way she was raving about you the last time you came over! I’ve never heard her talk so much about anyone in my whole life!”
***One week earlier
“I’ll see you on Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Sugarcoat said as she zipped up her jacket. Pinkie Pie nodded.
“Yup! I’ll come visit you for Hearth’s Warming Eve, and you can visit us for Hearth’s Warming Day! It’s perfect!”
“Goodbye,” Maud said, and Sugarcoat left. Once the door was closed, Maud turned to Pinkie Pie. “She seems nice.”
***
“Aaaaaand, I think someone else wants to talk to you!” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Hiding half-behind the wall was Marble Pie, looking like she was about to run at any second. Pinkie Pie jumped over and dragged Marble Pie into the kitchen. “Marble Pie says that you seem like a very nice girl, even if you can be a little scary sometimes.”
“Mmmm-hmm,” Marble confirmed, nodding slightly and blushing, trying to hide her entire face behind the tuft of hair that was covering her right eye.
“And she says you’ve always been polite to her, and understanding that she’s quiet, and that she’s very grateful for that.”
“Mmm-hmmm…”
“And now she says that she wishes I’d leave the two of you alone so she can talk to you herself,” Pinkie Pie said, then, immediately registering what she was saying, added, “Oh....”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Marble said, a little more forcefully this time, and gave Pinkie Pie a gentle push away.
“Okay, okay! You two have fun!” Pinkie Pie said as she left the room. “I’ll just be...back here...not eavesdropping!”
Once she was out of sight, Sugarcoat looked to Marble Pie, who was avoiding eye contact. “Pinkie’s very...enthusiastic,” Sugarcoat said.
“Mmm-hmm…”
“And I imagine that must annoy you sometimes. With her pulling you into the spotlight.”
Marble nodded. “Mmm-hmmm,” she said, in a tone that Sugarcoat imagined was her trying to convey some slight frustration.
“But you care about her very much,” Sugarcoat went on.
“Mmm-hmm…” Marble said, nodding and giving a tiny, happy smile.
“I do too,” Sugarcoat said. “Do you know that?”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Marble said.
“Good,” Sugarcoat said. She picked another rock necklace out of the box and held it out to Marble. “I’d like for you to have this. I’d like for us to be friends.”
Marble Pie took the necklace, examined the square candy closely and affectionately, and gave a happy nod. “Mmm-hmm,” she said, and handed Sugarcoat another rock-candy necklace. Sugarcoat looked at it, in awe of the detail. Where Sugarcoat had filed the rock crystals into cubes, Marble Pie had polished and worn them down into spheres, so the whole thing resembled a necklace of pearls. The crystals were colored a mix of orange and blue, and when Marble gave Sugarcoat a little nudge which seemed to indicate that she should try it, Sugarcoat gave one of the crystals a small lick. It tasted like a mix of orange and blueberry, all overlaid with an intense sweetness.
“It’s very nice,” Sugarcoat said, and put the necklace on, the crystals clanging as they hit up against the necklace she was wearing from Maud. “Thank you.”
There was a pause, during which Marble bit her lip, then seemed to work up some courage and said, in the tiniest whisper, “Thank you,” before hastily exiting the kitchen.
“Wow!” Pinkie Pie said, her head popping up from inside the trash can. “That’s more than I’ve ever heard her talk to anyone outside her family in my entire life! She must really like you!”
“I’m still not asking how you got in there,” Sugarcoat said. She sighed and looked down at the necklaces around her neck. Two down. Two Pie sisters had accepted her, both as Pinkie Pie’s girlfriend and as a friend of their own. That just left one…
Yeah, this was going to be the worst part.
“Want me to go with you?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“I do,” Sugarcoat said, “but you shouldn’t. I need to talk to Limestone alone.” Pinkie Pie nodded in understanding, and Sugarcoat walked back into the dining room.
The dishes had been cleared off the table and the various Pie family members (including assumed cousins) had made their way to other sections of the house. All except for one. Limestone was still in the dining room, vigorously scrubbing the table they had just eaten on.
“...gonna stain it…” she grumbled. “...spilling soup...little…” she stopped as she noticed that Sugarcoat had entered the room. “So,” she said, “you’ve been busy, huh?”
Sugarcoat crossed an arm in front of her uncomfortably, rubbing her other arm as an excuse to put up something between her and Limestone. “I know you don’t like me,” Sugarcoat said. “And I don’t know exactly why. But I-”
“That’s right,” Limestone growled, charging forward until she was face-to-face with Sugarcoat. “I don’t like you. I don’t like that you’re dating my little sister. I don’t like that you’re going to take her away from us one day.”
“I...I don’t want to-” Sugarcoat started, but Limestone cut her off.
“Having said that,” Limestone said, crossing her own arms and avoiding eye contact with Sugarcoat. Through gritted teeth she managed to force out, “if...she has to be dating SOMEONE...well...I’m glad it’s you.”
The world seemed to stop. Sugarcoat stood, silent and in shock. Finally, she managed to get out, “I don’t understand.”
Limestone rolled her eyes, reached into her pocket, and produced a necklace of jagged, green crystals. “Just...take the stupid thing, and shut up,” she said. Sugarcoat reached out and gently took the necklace from her hands, afraid that it might shatter if she moved it too quickly.
“Thank you,” Sugarcoat said, trying her best to hold back tears. “Really...thank you.” She handed Limestone the third, and last, necklace from her box.
“Just so you know,” Limestone said as she put the necklace around her neck, “This doesn’t mean I like you. This doesn’t make us friends. Got it?”
“I think you’re lying,” Sugarcoat said, which only prompted a growl from Limestone. Sugarcoat put on the third necklace and, as she had come to learn was expected of her, took a tiny taste, snapping off a tip from one of the crystals. She coughed as she swallowed it. “Is this...is there salt in here?” Sugarcoat asked. Limestone raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. I like salty desserts. You got a problem with that?” Sugarcoat considered this.
“No,” she said. “Not at all.”
Limestone turned around, giving a small, ‘huff’ as she left the dining room.
“You did it!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping out from under the table and tackle-hugging Sugarcoat. “Now, was that so bad?”
“It was horrible,” Sugarcoat said. “But I’m glad I did it.”
“Limestone likes to give you a hard time,” Pinkie Pie said, “but she likes you. You should have heard all the nice things she was saying about you last night.”
***The night before
“Stupid Sugarcoat…” Limestone said as she stirred the rock-candy concoction in the green bowl. “Stupid Pinkie Pie dating her...stupid, stupid, stupid…” She grabbed a bag of salt and poured it into the bowl. “Hope you like salt, Sugarcoat!”
***
“Come on,” Pinkie Pie said, linking her arm around Sugarcoat’s. “Everyone’s in the living room, and we’ve got some desserts in there.”
Sugarcoat nodded. “That sounds nice,” she said.
Sugarcoat took a seat on the living room floor, and almost as soon as she had sat down a plate with a slice of pie was slid in front of her. Sugarcoat blinked, looked up at Applejack, who had handed her the dessert, and asked. “What is this?”
“Some dessert,” Applejack said with a wide smile. “Piece of pie. Thought you’d like it.” Sugarcoat looked back down at the white and brown, jiggling dessert, then back up to Applejack.
“It’s a sugar pie, isn’t it?” Applejack’s smile widened.
“Ee-yup.”
“Are you proud of yourself for that pun?”
“Very.”
“How long did you spend making this pie, just so you could make that joke?”
“Two hours.”
“I hate you.”
Author's Note
Hey! I wrote something seasonal! Kinda...
So, I've wanted to revisit Sugarpie shipping for a while now, but couldn't get quite the right idea for it until now. I figured, it's the holiday season, why not a Hearth's Warming story? I don't usually write seasonal stuff, I don't like the implicit deadline they enforce, but this year I figured, why not?
I'm hoping I didn't make Limestone TOO much of a jerk here...I wanted to keep her abrasive, territorial, and hostile to anyone not in her immediate family, but to sort of imply that she's not completely resistant to outsiders, and that it had more to do with a fear of losing things that are important to her than actual cruelty.
Anyways, I hope you like it, and thanks for reading! 
Happy Holidays!
