One Crazy Pairing (Stone)by JhoiraChaptersEpilogue: WHAT!?Prologue: Who's That?Excuse Me...Be quiet!Autumn Blaze...Marble Pie.Epilogue: WHAT!?"WHAT!?" Was the single word shouted by Limestone as she got to the elder's meeting. Normally her father would have reprimanded her for such a loud and rude display of emotion, however, this time Igneous Rock Pie completely agreed with his daughter. "Mine daughter is most correct!" Igneous Rock Pie nodded. "This event hath never been seen before! The pairing stone has but announced a pair unknown to us!" He pointed at the pairing stone, which displayed Marble's cutie mark, and a strange antler-like inscription that none of them recognized. Igneous Rock Pie looked back to Limestone Pie, seeing her paled face he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "Worry not for your sister my daughter. Providence will surely smile upon us that we may find your sister's mate. We will not rest until it is so." The rest of the elders nodded and Limestone shook her head. "No father... I know who that is..." Prologue: Who's That?"Who's that?" Limestone looked over her shoulder to see her little sister Marble peaking through the window, the quiet question coming from her. Limestone turned back to look at the strange creature humming happily to itself as it came up the path leading to the Pie family rock farm. Limestone narrowed her eyes at the creature, Mother and Father were in town at a meeting of the town elders so they were perfectly safe. She didn't know for sure that this creature was a threat but it was better safe than sorry was Limestones rule in life. She stood up to go and deal with the possible intruder. "I don't know but I'm gonna go deal with it." Marble squirmed, getting herself into a more comfortable position for her window peaking, smiling at her sister. "Try to be nice..." "I'll be nice enough... Now go back inside." "I am inside." "You know what I meant!" Marble whined a little. "But she looks interesting!" Limestone groaned, why was her sister obsessed with everything new!? Couldn't she just live peacefully on the rock farm until the pairing stone said it was time for her to get married? That's what Limestone was doing! And Maud! Well, she wasn't living on the farm but when the pairing stone set her up with that... Limestone couldn't remember his name but he was a perfect fit for Maud. Pinkie was, of course, the aberration in their family but she always had been, from the recent letter Pinkie had started a relationship with a zebra of all creatures!... Whatever that was!... Oh, maybe this was a zebra. If so Limestone could be more generous and invite it to dinner, in exchange for information on zebras of course. "We don't need interesting things here Marble! We have Holder's Boulder!" Despite Limestone's glare directed back at her timid sister, Marble was sitting there, adamantly watching the new pony approach and Limestone just grunted. Not much she could do about Marble's obsession with new things, she was sure that Marble wouldn't let it get out of hand like Pinkie did and run off with whatever this thing was, ignoring the pairing stone's guidance. Limestone trotted down the front porch of their house and started out towards the strange creature. Autumn Blaze saw the grey pony coming towards her and waved at her happily, Autumn Blaze was always happy to make new friends, and ponies were all so friendly! Start a conversation with five ponies and you somehow walk away with six new friends. Autumn Blaze was trying to find her way to Ponyville to meet visit her friend Applejack, but she'd gotten lost. Not really a surprise as she had never left the peaks. She had a map in her saddlebags but it hadn't helped her much so far. Autumn Blaze raised her hoof and waved excitedly at Limestone. ”Hey! I'm lost can you give me directions?” Limestone was quite pleased with that turn of events. She could get rid of the creature quick, and Marble could stop ogling at it like she had that big red stallion from the Apple family. Limestone swore, anypony that Marble didn't know she immediately developed a crush on. That was of course on the assumption the creature wasn't trying to trick them... ”Yeah? Where you trying to get?” ”Oh I'm trying to find my way to Ponyville! Sweet Apple Acres! You see my friend Applejack lives there and she said that I could come visit sometime! You see she came to help us Kirin when they were all quiet and couldn't talk! But I could talk, so they kicked me out! But then Applejack and her friend showed up and they convinced the Kirin it was okay to talk! Then we couldn't find any of the flowers that made me able to talk again so we went out searching and...” ”Okay! I get it!” Limestone wasn't much of a talker, she didn't like talkers except her sister Pinkie, but this creature! By Holder's Boulder Limestone was glad she had a quick problem and could be sent away after that, though the directions were a bit involved from the Pie farm, Limestone was a grouch, she wasn't going to abandon some pony on the road, she wasn't evil!... Unless that pony was a threat to her family!... Which even Limestone had to admit didn't appear to be the case. However, as Limestone opened her mouth she saw one of the messenger stallions running up the road. The stallion called out immediately when he got into earshot. "Limestone Pie! Your father requires your presence at the meeting of the elders!" Limestone blinked, completely taken off guard. She had attended the meeting with her father before, whenever her mother was too busy or every once and a while when she had been feeling under the weather but Limestone had never been urgently called to one. She nodded to the stallion looking at Autumn Blaze. "Gotta go, Marble ca... Nevermind. There's another farm up the road, they'll give you directions!" And with that, without even a goodbye Limestone ran off after the messenger stallion who had already turned around and was heading back to town. Autumn Blaze looked after them then shrugged. "Well guess it's just me and you again Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands." She looked at her shadow, grinning then turning around and starting her way back up the path away from the Pie rock farm. Excuse Me..."Excuse me..." Autumn Blaze perked up when she heard the quiet words from behind her, smiling widely as she saw the timid looking pony behind her, hiding behind her hair and looking away. Autumn Blaze hopped up, in a single leap she was in front of the other pony she'd just met. "Oh hi! I'm Autumn Blaze! What's your name?" Autumn Blaze extended her hoof, waiting for a hoofshake, until about thirty seconds had passed without an answer or a returned hoofshake Autumn Blaze put her hoof back down, frowning a little. "Hey, are you ok? Are you lost like me? I'm lost! I'm trying to find my way to Ponyville, but hey if you're lost too we can be lost together! It's always better to be lost with a friend than lost alone!" Autumn Blaze smiled widely, though after another thirty seconds of silence that smile faltered and she shifted a bit uncomfortable with the silence. "Uh well... Wait! Were you cursed with silence too!? Oh no! I know just how to... Wait... No, I heard you talk earlier... So you can talk..." Marble Pie had worked up all her courage to come to speak with the fascinating new creature that she had never seen the like of before, but she hadn't been ready for the absolute cascade of words coming from the other creature. She could barely keep up with normal conversations with her slow and quiet manner, this creature was making it completely impossible for her to get a word in edgewise. She raised a hoof which seemed to get Autumn blazes attention, who started watching her carefully and she smiled shyly as she put her hoof down, Autumn Blaze following it with her eyes before coming back to Marble's face. Marble managed a single word, "Ponyville?" Autumn Blaze nodded happily. "Oh yeah! My friend Applejack lives there. And my friend Fluttershy! Though I'm better friends with Applejack. But Fluttershy helped me out too. You see my village was having some troubles but Applejack helped us find the cure, and so did Fluttershy. But can you believe that at first Fluttershy thought that we should keep the Kirin not talking? As if not talking was a good thing! I mean I went crazy when I couldn't talk!" Marble nodded along with the story, she liked quiet times, but Autumn Blaze was just so genuinely excited about everything that was going on it couldn't help but make Marble smile, though it was starting to grate on her a little it was so far in a manageable range. She nodded down the road "Uh... Ponvyille..." Autumn Blaze nodded. "Ponyville's that way? Great, thanks!" Marble hesitated, she really should leave it at that... She should let the interesting creature go... "Food...?" Marble motioned back to the farmhouse. Autumn Blase smiled widely. "Ooh! So we can be friends? That'd be great! I mean I always love a nice snack!" She smiled as she trotted around Marble pie, who was slowly making her way back to the farmhouse. "Whatcha gonna make? Can I help? I've never seen an earth pony cook! I always just used magic! Maybe you have a magic stone that cooks for you? I live up in the forest so we didn't use fire to cook. Luckily all Kirin have magic so that wasn't a problem! We'd just power up some magic and let her rip! We'd make all kinds of things! Though I bet you don't make as many fruits do you? Probably not seeing as you're all rocky around here, probably have wheat fields or something? Maybe daffodils or something rugged that'll live well out here?" Marble bit her bottom lip but managed to raise a hoof to stop the other pony. "Not... Can you... Please...?" Autumn Blaze blinked and shook her head. "Can I... Do a cartwheel?" She smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, I can do a cartwheel! I can also do a flip! I'm a good jumper, I've almost gotten the backflip down but I keep needing to catch myself with magic so I can't do it just yet! I could come back and show you once I've perfected it! Oh! Oh! Or were you asking if I can help you cook? Totally! I'll be happy to help!" Autumn Blaze bounced excitedly. "Oh, this'll be great! I'll learn earth pony cooking! Then I can show you Kirin cooking!... Wait no I can't, you don't have magic... But I can show you how it looks! I'll make you something yummy and then we can switch and see who makes the best food! I mean..." "Stop!" Autumn Blaze blinked and sat down as Marble burst out with her demand and then blushed crimson, looking to the side. Autumn Blaze tilted her head to the side looking at the grey pony. Waiting for a few moments for the other pony to continue before saying hesitantly. "Is there a pit...? Why would you put a pit in the middle of your walkway!?" Autumn blaze started to stomp hesitantly ahead of them, shaking her head. "Uh... There's no pit here... Oh! Oh! What's your name?" She tilted her head to the side, peaking at the ponies cutie mark, those sometimes helped but this time. "Gravel...? Is your name Gravel? Well, that's not a very pretty name! I think I'll call you something else if that's okay! Something prettier! Like... Granite? No... Obsidian? No... Andesite! That's kinda pretty! Oh, wait!" She looked again and giggled to herself. "Those are marbles! Is your name Marbles? That's prettier than gravel! Well Marbles, there's not pit so we can keep going!" Marble hung her head and let out a small whine, this interesting pony was stressing her out, she wasn't good with talking! Why did she think this was a good idea!? It was cute and interesting for about one minute, maybe two, but now... She wasn't good with other ponies who talked all the time! Autumn Blaze was very interesting but she wouldn't stop! Maybe this was a bad idea... Maybe Marble should just get her some food and send her on her way? She didn't want to go back on her word and not give the other mare a meal, but after that, she'd do her best to kick her out! But what if the other pony didn't want to leave!? Oh no, what had Marble done? She should have listened to Limestone and stayed inside! Be quiet!"Be quiet!" The words exploded out of Marble before she could stop them. She'd managed to get halfway through making Autumn Blaze a meal and the Kirin had only stopped talking for about ten seconds total. Now though Autumn Blaze was indeed quiet, looking taken aback at the other pony. Marble was panting gently at the exertion it required her to express herself so forcefully but it had bought her some blessed moments of quiet. Autumn Blaze sat quietly at the table, watching the other pony continue cooking as if nothing had happened about thirty seconds after her outburst. Autumn Blaze wasn't good at being quiet, she had always been a talker, even before she took the vow of silence, and more so afterward, but now she was completely silent, looking at the other pony, considering what the matter was. She didn't know Marbles well, but perhaps Marbles didn't like her?... No, that couldn't be it, she had invited her to lunch. Autumn Blaze continued to contemplate even after she was brought a bowl of soup. Marble was smiling again, her timid little smile, she liked new things, but loud new things quickly wore on her nerves, now that the pretty Kirin was quiet she was back to liking the company of the creature. They ate their soup in silence, only the sound of spoons causing any sound between them. Marble was impressed by two things at the moment, one that she had managed up the courage to speak to the other mare like that, but also that it seemed to have worked. Marble hadn't expected the other mare to stay quiet for any extended period of time. Autumn Blaze, however, had a secret weapon, she'd mastered the ability to speak to herself mentally, and she was holding entire conversations about what to do with her annoyed host. She didn't like the thought of another pony having so many issues with talking, but the kind pony had offered her food and seemed to be happy with her company now... Perhaps Autumn Blaze could pretend she was silent again for a bit, to make Marbles happy, then she could talk after she left. Yes, that would be a very nice gesture for her new friend. Marble blinked in surprise as Autumn Blaze tapped her hoof gently on the table and smiled at her. Autumn Blaze pulled her saddlebags over to them, pulling out a small wrapped package, and unwrapping it. Some fine shots of a plant that Marble didn't recognize were wrapped inside it. Autumn Blaze took about half and pushed the package over to Marble, smiling encouragingly at her. Marble hesitantly took a single shoot and looked over to Autumn Blaze, who was already chewing happily on the stalks she'd taken for herself. Marble took a polite nibble then her eyes widened and she chomped down hard on the stalk, before starting enthusiastically eat the rest of the plant that had been given to her, these were delicious! Autumn Blaze giggled gently and got up, picking up her bowl and Marble's in magic and walking them over to the sink and depositing them in said kitchen receptacle. Autumn Blaze walked back over to Marble, sweeping the remains of the package back into the saddlebags from whence they had come. Marble smiled a little, still half hiding behind her hair but really appreciating this fundamental change in the other pony. It seemed so honest. Marble hated all the cluttered words, they grated on her, but more they... They were dishonest. Words were used to hide what ponies really thought. Or... Whatever Autumn Blaze was. She was good with talking to her sisters and parents as she knew what they thought, they would be honest, but others... However, how ponies acted was more honest. And Autumn Blaze was being kind, and generous, sharing her delicious traveling food that was no doubt a delicacy from her homeland. Autumn Blaze dusted off her hooves after slipping the lemongrass package away. She liked lemon grass, she was so happy to see they had it in Equestria, and it was so plentiful too! You could find it growing everywhere! Ok, not literally everywhere but lots of places. She smiled to herself as she had that small argument with herself, being forced to be silent for a few years had had some positives it seemed. She knew how to keep herself occupied when she couldn't talk. Marble blushed gently as Autumn Blaze smiled at her, what was the stranger thinking about? Marble thought that the kirin was very pretty, could she be thinking the same thing, only in reverse? No, Marble wouldn't let herself consider such a thing after Big Mac had broken her heart like that!... Marble had to admit it was mostly her own fault. She did develop crushes on pretty much anything new that showed up to the rock farm. It had happened with Trixie, it happened with Big Mac, and now it was happening with Autumn Blaze. Marble shook her head forcefully, she had to knock that thought out of her head. Marble knew it was hopeless, she'd had her crushes and lost them every time. She knew the pairing stone was what she should trust to find her a mate, like her parents, like Maud, like her grandparents, everyone had been happily matched with their perfect mate by the pairing stone, she'd just need to be patient like Limestone. But she didn't want to! She wanted to be adventurous like her sister Pinkie! She wanted to run her hooves through that curly mane!... Through Autumn Blaze's curly mane, not Pinkies. Though she did love Pinkie's mane, it was so soft, she had taken multiple naps on it when they were foals. Marble shook her head as she zoned back into the surrounding world to see that Autumn Blaze was no longer sitting in front of her. Marble looked about the room to see no sign of the other mare. After a moment Marble did notice that the kirin's bags were still there so she hadn't left... But where had she gone? Marble got up to go look for the wayward visitor. Autumn Blaze..."Autumn Blaze..." Marble had found the Kirin out on the back porch of the house. Autumn looked over her shoulder in surprise as the other pony spoke. Autumn Blaze raised an eyebrow and Marble smiled, walking up to sit next to the pony and nodding. "Thank you." She realized the effort that Autumn Blaze had put into not speaking and it was really touching, but she couldn't demand that she be something other than herself, as much as it would grate on her nerves. Marble would also, personally, admit that she would do better to think of the things that annoyed her about the kirin, since her crush was pointless maybe that would help her get over it. Autumn Blaze didn't immediately speak again though, she continued to look out over the rock farm, the great expanse of greyness that most ponies thought were drab and lifeless. The Pie's knew better, well, except for Pinkie, but the rest of them saw the beauty in the simplicity that existed in this place. Much to Marble's surprise, so did Autumn Blaze. "Beautiful." Marble stared at the other mare who grinned and gently pushed her face to look back over the rock farm. "The simplicity is what makes it beautiful. Everywhere else is so cluttered, so busy. It's noisy and loud and won't stop moving. This place is peaceful." She smiled. "It really lets you sit and listen to the wind, and through that, listen to the world. It lets you take a moment to remember what's really important in life doesn't it?" Marble continued to look out over the rock farm. She thought everyone should have a simple rock in their house to remind them of the simpler ways of life. They could be as fancy as they wanted but they shouldn't ever forget that. She was surprised her companion understood that. She had first thought Autumn Blaze a fast-talking creature that, while pretty, probably was either shallow or dishonest with all her talking. But she was generous, and kind, and could be quiet upon request. Now Marble also found out that the other was very deep and understanding, she knew what beauty there was in simplicity, and that her farm was indeed beautiful. Marble blinked, scolding herself silently, she really shouldn't be looking for reasons to like this other creature like that. Marble hesitated for a moment, before, she frowned, she was tired of waiting for the pairing stone! Pushing up against the kirin, drawing a surprised sideways look from her. Marble flushed brightly and quickly scooted back away from her crush. She realized that she'd made a terrible mistake! She shouldn't have done that, she shouldn't have put herself out there not only because it wasn't what the pairing stone indicated but also the kirin was practically a stranger to her. She didn't know of Autumn Blazes own traditions, or if she was into other Mares. Marble made to get up and flee back into the farmhouse but found herself sliding in the opposite direction. Surrounded in a light opal aura, being pulled back to the kirin. Autumn Blaze hadn't been expecting the other creature to make such a forward act towards her, but she wasn't opposed to the thought of snuggling with a pretty earth pony. The kirin's history of anger had imposed upon them strict standards from which they drew their positions on mates. They entertained the idea of more freedom within mating, while polygamy had been strictly forbidden due to disastrous fights early on, mating itself was not usually viewed as a binding agreement between two kirin permanently. They could enter or exit it freely. Kirin were encouraged to take a step back and always take some time to consider if they truly wanted to exit or if they were just upset temporarily, but they were free to exit whenever, which usually lead to only the most devoted kirin couples having foals, or even moving in together. Autumn Blaze wrapped a foreleg around Marble when she got to her, smiling down at her and letting Marble get more comfortable before she'd speak again. Marble was frozen in terror for the first minute. But she slowly came out of her state, smiling gently as she pressed up against the kirin again. Her father would have been furious to see this, thankfully he wasn't here. Limestone would have rolled her eyes but not given it too much thought. Her mother would likely give her a disapproving gaze, then walk off and snicker in private, her mother was less stringent than her father. Marble was fairly certain that her mother had even held hooves another stallion before she married their father! Not that she'd ever ask her about that, some things weren't proper to speak about. Autumn Blaze tilted her head down to smile at the earth pony, who smiled nervously back up at her. However, as Autumn Blaze lowered her head Marble's eyes went wide and she scrambled backward out of the kirin's gasp, shaking her head vigorously at the other mare and blushing crimson. The kirin looked at her confused then blushed a little herself. "Ahh... I have a feeling there was... Some cultural miscommunication there?" Marble nodded, still blushing. "Mhmm..." Autumn thought for a moment but then nodded to herself. "So... Cuddling is ok, but not kissing?" Marble nodded, and walked back to be near Autumn Blaze, but sat outside of her physical reach. Autumn Blaze nodded, she could accept that, she'd pushed it too far and Marbles was needing some space now. Autumn Blaze looked back over the farmstead, smiling to herself, she'd have to visit again, and not only because there was a cute mare here, but because this was a peaceful place, and she'd be interested in meeting the rest of Marbles' family, however many others there were. Even that first one! Autumn Blaze was confident she could get past that gruff exterior and get at least some friendly words. Marble was looking out over the farm as well. Her mind, however, was running a mile a minute. She couldn't stop thinking about how forward the kirin had been! She had pretty much just announced her intentions to marry Marble!... Unless... Autumn Blaze had mentioned cultural miscommunication... Maybe kissing wasn't a precursor to marriage amongst her people...? Well, this would take some thinking before she could even hope to puzzle it out... Though this was doing nothing to fight her crush. She groaned mentally, she had outright fed her crush like you'd feed a dragon gems, and for some reason hadn't expected it to grow any bigger! Marble Pie."Marble Pie." Autumn tilted her head then smiled widely as she finally got the earth ponies name. "Well, how do you do Marble Pie? I am Autumn Blaze. Do you prefer Marble, or Marble Pie?" Autumn Blaze didn't know the pony naming conventions very well, it seems sometimes they went by a shortened version of their name, but sometimes they went with longer ones. "Uh... Marble Pie." Marble had liked it when Autumn blazed called her just Marble, but if her father heard that... There could be a murder involved, to say the least. Autumn Blaze nodded and smiled at the shy pony, getting up and stretching before drawing in a deep breath, letting it out. "Well, this was fun and all, but I really should get going." Marble was both horrified, logically grateful, and flattered all at the same time. Horrified because the interesting new kirin she had a crush on was leaving! Logically grateful because the interesting new kirin she couldn't act on her crush on was leaving! And flattered because it looked like Autumn Blaze was still restraining her longer winded versions of sentences in respect of Marble's sensibilities. She looked around and whined, too quietly for even the close Autumn Blaze couldn't hear. Marble smiled hesitantly, the logical piece of her brain relaxing now that the mare was leaving. A decision that was quite foolish in hindsight. The emotional part of her brain lept at the opportunity to take the reigns and she blurted out, "you could stay the night!" That took Autumn Blaze by complete surprise, she wasn't sure what was going on here. They could cuddle, couldn't kiss, and now Marble wanted to sleep with her!? As Autumn Blaze simply stared, the logical part of Marble's brain regained some control and quickly tried to salvage the situation. After a short hesitation, she pointed up into the sky, at the sun in the sky. It was... Low, but not that low that it would really be a necessity for Autumn Blaze to stay with them. She could easily find a nice place to sleep by the road with how much time she had left in the day. Autumn Blaze, however, nodded, enjoying the idea of getting to spend more time with Marble, and getting to meet her family. "Oh, sure, what will your sister say though?" At least Autumn Blaze assumed that it was her sister, she assumed that ponies weren't into polygamy like the kirin weren't so that couldn't have been Marble's mate, and they looked a lot alike. Unless of course to ponies cuddling wasn't romantic at all and Autumn Blaze had completely misread the situation... She admitted that was possible, but she doubted it. Marble hadn't considered what her family would say about Autumn Blaze staying the night! Then again when she blurted it out she hadn't thought about what anyone would think about it, even Autumn Blaze herself. But she knew that her father, proper and respectable as he was wouldn't kick a pony out onto the street, he was uptight and always proper, but he was also one of the kindest and most generous ponies she knew. If he'd found a changing injured on the road he'd have taken them to get treated and paid for it himself. And that was even before they turned good. "Uh... Hospitality..." Autumn Blaze nodded, she knew that many cultures had strict customs about hospitality, and she supposed that she wouldn't want to offend her new friend... Possibly wanting to be more than just her friend? She wasn't sure on Marble's interested but she'd get that figured out over the evening she was sure. "Oh, so it's a hospitality custom? Well I'd hate to offend you by turning you down so I accept!" Autumn Blaze smiled happily at Marble. "Thank you Marble Pie, this is very nice of you." She didn't really need to add that last statement but she was wanting to talk more, being quiet for the pony was hard, but she could find a nice balance. If talking bothered the other pony so much Autumn Blaze knew she could tone it down at least a bit for the pretty mare that had taken, she assumed, and interest in her. It might not work out but she didn't see a reason to shoot it in down immediately. Marble nodded hesitantly, she'd need to catch her family on the road before Autumn Blaze noticed so she could explain everything and hope that her family didn't go nuts over the fact she'd spent all this time alone with a stranger, then invited said stranger to spend the night. They wouldn't, they couldn't kick her out unless she did something heinous, but Marble knew that her father, and especially her sister would be less than pleased if this event was dropped on them without warning, that was for sure. Marble showed Autumn Blaze up to one of the two spare rooms they had that could be used for family or guests. The single room was fine, not the bunked room where they'd put the Apples those years ago, since there had been so many of them. "Ooh, this is pretty." Autumn Blaze said in genuine appreciation as she looked around the room. Most ponies found the room plain and uninspired, it was simple but very comfortable Marble had always thought. Apparently, Autumn Blaze thought similarly. "Are these hoof made?" She ran a hoof appreciatively over the bedspread and smiled at Marble. "This will be great! Thank you, Marble, I'll sleep like a baby tonight." Marble smiled widely at that, the kirin was always very appreciative, and, after the initial flood of talking, was far more measured in her words. Very thoughtful and appreciative. And very warm, literally and figuratively... Marble blushed gently at the thought, she didn't really think that it would be a great idea for her to stay with the kirin for very long, she knew she couldn't pursue an actual relationship without the pairing stones approval... But just for tonight, she could pretend she could be Autumn Blazes marefriend, and maybe that would help her hold out until the pairing stone was ready.
Epilogue: WHAT!?"WHAT!?" Was the single word shouted by Limestone as she got to the elder's meeting. Normally her father would have reprimanded her for such a loud and rude display of emotion, however, this time Igneous Rock Pie completely agreed with his daughter. "Mine daughter is most correct!" Igneous Rock Pie nodded. "This event hath never been seen before! The pairing stone has but announced a pair unknown to us!" He pointed at the pairing stone, which displayed Marble's cutie mark, and a strange antler-like inscription that none of them recognized. Igneous Rock Pie looked back to Limestone Pie, seeing her paled face he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "Worry not for your sister my daughter. Providence will surely smile upon us that we may find your sister's mate. We will not rest until it is so." The rest of the elders nodded and Limestone shook her head. "No father... I know who that is..."
Prologue: Who's That?"Who's that?" Limestone looked over her shoulder to see her little sister Marble peaking through the window, the quiet question coming from her. Limestone turned back to look at the strange creature humming happily to itself as it came up the path leading to the Pie family rock farm. Limestone narrowed her eyes at the creature, Mother and Father were in town at a meeting of the town elders so they were perfectly safe. She didn't know for sure that this creature was a threat but it was better safe than sorry was Limestones rule in life. She stood up to go and deal with the possible intruder. "I don't know but I'm gonna go deal with it." Marble squirmed, getting herself into a more comfortable position for her window peaking, smiling at her sister. "Try to be nice..." "I'll be nice enough... Now go back inside." "I am inside." "You know what I meant!" Marble whined a little. "But she looks interesting!" Limestone groaned, why was her sister obsessed with everything new!? Couldn't she just live peacefully on the rock farm until the pairing stone said it was time for her to get married? That's what Limestone was doing! And Maud! Well, she wasn't living on the farm but when the pairing stone set her up with that... Limestone couldn't remember his name but he was a perfect fit for Maud. Pinkie was, of course, the aberration in their family but she always had been, from the recent letter Pinkie had started a relationship with a zebra of all creatures!... Whatever that was!... Oh, maybe this was a zebra. If so Limestone could be more generous and invite it to dinner, in exchange for information on zebras of course. "We don't need interesting things here Marble! We have Holder's Boulder!" Despite Limestone's glare directed back at her timid sister, Marble was sitting there, adamantly watching the new pony approach and Limestone just grunted. Not much she could do about Marble's obsession with new things, she was sure that Marble wouldn't let it get out of hand like Pinkie did and run off with whatever this thing was, ignoring the pairing stone's guidance. Limestone trotted down the front porch of their house and started out towards the strange creature. Autumn Blaze saw the grey pony coming towards her and waved at her happily, Autumn Blaze was always happy to make new friends, and ponies were all so friendly! Start a conversation with five ponies and you somehow walk away with six new friends. Autumn Blaze was trying to find her way to Ponyville to meet visit her friend Applejack, but she'd gotten lost. Not really a surprise as she had never left the peaks. She had a map in her saddlebags but it hadn't helped her much so far. Autumn Blaze raised her hoof and waved excitedly at Limestone. ”Hey! I'm lost can you give me directions?” Limestone was quite pleased with that turn of events. She could get rid of the creature quick, and Marble could stop ogling at it like she had that big red stallion from the Apple family. Limestone swore, anypony that Marble didn't know she immediately developed a crush on. That was of course on the assumption the creature wasn't trying to trick them... ”Yeah? Where you trying to get?” ”Oh I'm trying to find my way to Ponyville! Sweet Apple Acres! You see my friend Applejack lives there and she said that I could come visit sometime! You see she came to help us Kirin when they were all quiet and couldn't talk! But I could talk, so they kicked me out! But then Applejack and her friend showed up and they convinced the Kirin it was okay to talk! Then we couldn't find any of the flowers that made me able to talk again so we went out searching and...” ”Okay! I get it!” Limestone wasn't much of a talker, she didn't like talkers except her sister Pinkie, but this creature! By Holder's Boulder Limestone was glad she had a quick problem and could be sent away after that, though the directions were a bit involved from the Pie farm, Limestone was a grouch, she wasn't going to abandon some pony on the road, she wasn't evil!... Unless that pony was a threat to her family!... Which even Limestone had to admit didn't appear to be the case. However, as Limestone opened her mouth she saw one of the messenger stallions running up the road. The stallion called out immediately when he got into earshot. "Limestone Pie! Your father requires your presence at the meeting of the elders!" Limestone blinked, completely taken off guard. She had attended the meeting with her father before, whenever her mother was too busy or every once and a while when she had been feeling under the weather but Limestone had never been urgently called to one. She nodded to the stallion looking at Autumn Blaze. "Gotta go, Marble ca... Nevermind. There's another farm up the road, they'll give you directions!" And with that, without even a goodbye Limestone ran off after the messenger stallion who had already turned around and was heading back to town. Autumn Blaze looked after them then shrugged. "Well guess it's just me and you again Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands." She looked at her shadow, grinning then turning around and starting her way back up the path away from the Pie rock farm.
Excuse Me..."Excuse me..." Autumn Blaze perked up when she heard the quiet words from behind her, smiling widely as she saw the timid looking pony behind her, hiding behind her hair and looking away. Autumn Blaze hopped up, in a single leap she was in front of the other pony she'd just met. "Oh hi! I'm Autumn Blaze! What's your name?" Autumn Blaze extended her hoof, waiting for a hoofshake, until about thirty seconds had passed without an answer or a returned hoofshake Autumn Blaze put her hoof back down, frowning a little. "Hey, are you ok? Are you lost like me? I'm lost! I'm trying to find my way to Ponyville, but hey if you're lost too we can be lost together! It's always better to be lost with a friend than lost alone!" Autumn Blaze smiled widely, though after another thirty seconds of silence that smile faltered and she shifted a bit uncomfortable with the silence. "Uh well... Wait! Were you cursed with silence too!? Oh no! I know just how to... Wait... No, I heard you talk earlier... So you can talk..." Marble Pie had worked up all her courage to come to speak with the fascinating new creature that she had never seen the like of before, but she hadn't been ready for the absolute cascade of words coming from the other creature. She could barely keep up with normal conversations with her slow and quiet manner, this creature was making it completely impossible for her to get a word in edgewise. She raised a hoof which seemed to get Autumn blazes attention, who started watching her carefully and she smiled shyly as she put her hoof down, Autumn Blaze following it with her eyes before coming back to Marble's face. Marble managed a single word, "Ponyville?" Autumn Blaze nodded happily. "Oh yeah! My friend Applejack lives there. And my friend Fluttershy! Though I'm better friends with Applejack. But Fluttershy helped me out too. You see my village was having some troubles but Applejack helped us find the cure, and so did Fluttershy. But can you believe that at first Fluttershy thought that we should keep the Kirin not talking? As if not talking was a good thing! I mean I went crazy when I couldn't talk!" Marble nodded along with the story, she liked quiet times, but Autumn Blaze was just so genuinely excited about everything that was going on it couldn't help but make Marble smile, though it was starting to grate on her a little it was so far in a manageable range. She nodded down the road "Uh... Ponvyille..." Autumn Blaze nodded. "Ponyville's that way? Great, thanks!" Marble hesitated, she really should leave it at that... She should let the interesting creature go... "Food...?" Marble motioned back to the farmhouse. Autumn Blase smiled widely. "Ooh! So we can be friends? That'd be great! I mean I always love a nice snack!" She smiled as she trotted around Marble pie, who was slowly making her way back to the farmhouse. "Whatcha gonna make? Can I help? I've never seen an earth pony cook! I always just used magic! Maybe you have a magic stone that cooks for you? I live up in the forest so we didn't use fire to cook. Luckily all Kirin have magic so that wasn't a problem! We'd just power up some magic and let her rip! We'd make all kinds of things! Though I bet you don't make as many fruits do you? Probably not seeing as you're all rocky around here, probably have wheat fields or something? Maybe daffodils or something rugged that'll live well out here?" Marble bit her bottom lip but managed to raise a hoof to stop the other pony. "Not... Can you... Please...?" Autumn Blaze blinked and shook her head. "Can I... Do a cartwheel?" She smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, I can do a cartwheel! I can also do a flip! I'm a good jumper, I've almost gotten the backflip down but I keep needing to catch myself with magic so I can't do it just yet! I could come back and show you once I've perfected it! Oh! Oh! Or were you asking if I can help you cook? Totally! I'll be happy to help!" Autumn Blaze bounced excitedly. "Oh, this'll be great! I'll learn earth pony cooking! Then I can show you Kirin cooking!... Wait no I can't, you don't have magic... But I can show you how it looks! I'll make you something yummy and then we can switch and see who makes the best food! I mean..." "Stop!" Autumn Blaze blinked and sat down as Marble burst out with her demand and then blushed crimson, looking to the side. Autumn Blaze tilted her head to the side looking at the grey pony. Waiting for a few moments for the other pony to continue before saying hesitantly. "Is there a pit...? Why would you put a pit in the middle of your walkway!?" Autumn blaze started to stomp hesitantly ahead of them, shaking her head. "Uh... There's no pit here... Oh! Oh! What's your name?" She tilted her head to the side, peaking at the ponies cutie mark, those sometimes helped but this time. "Gravel...? Is your name Gravel? Well, that's not a very pretty name! I think I'll call you something else if that's okay! Something prettier! Like... Granite? No... Obsidian? No... Andesite! That's kinda pretty! Oh, wait!" She looked again and giggled to herself. "Those are marbles! Is your name Marbles? That's prettier than gravel! Well Marbles, there's not pit so we can keep going!" Marble hung her head and let out a small whine, this interesting pony was stressing her out, she wasn't good with talking! Why did she think this was a good idea!? It was cute and interesting for about one minute, maybe two, but now... She wasn't good with other ponies who talked all the time! Autumn Blaze was very interesting but she wouldn't stop! Maybe this was a bad idea... Maybe Marble should just get her some food and send her on her way? She didn't want to go back on her word and not give the other mare a meal, but after that, she'd do her best to kick her out! But what if the other pony didn't want to leave!? Oh no, what had Marble done? She should have listened to Limestone and stayed inside!
Be quiet!"Be quiet!" The words exploded out of Marble before she could stop them. She'd managed to get halfway through making Autumn Blaze a meal and the Kirin had only stopped talking for about ten seconds total. Now though Autumn Blaze was indeed quiet, looking taken aback at the other pony. Marble was panting gently at the exertion it required her to express herself so forcefully but it had bought her some blessed moments of quiet. Autumn Blaze sat quietly at the table, watching the other pony continue cooking as if nothing had happened about thirty seconds after her outburst. Autumn Blaze wasn't good at being quiet, she had always been a talker, even before she took the vow of silence, and more so afterward, but now she was completely silent, looking at the other pony, considering what the matter was. She didn't know Marbles well, but perhaps Marbles didn't like her?... No, that couldn't be it, she had invited her to lunch. Autumn Blaze continued to contemplate even after she was brought a bowl of soup. Marble was smiling again, her timid little smile, she liked new things, but loud new things quickly wore on her nerves, now that the pretty Kirin was quiet she was back to liking the company of the creature. They ate their soup in silence, only the sound of spoons causing any sound between them. Marble was impressed by two things at the moment, one that she had managed up the courage to speak to the other mare like that, but also that it seemed to have worked. Marble hadn't expected the other mare to stay quiet for any extended period of time. Autumn Blaze, however, had a secret weapon, she'd mastered the ability to speak to herself mentally, and she was holding entire conversations about what to do with her annoyed host. She didn't like the thought of another pony having so many issues with talking, but the kind pony had offered her food and seemed to be happy with her company now... Perhaps Autumn Blaze could pretend she was silent again for a bit, to make Marbles happy, then she could talk after she left. Yes, that would be a very nice gesture for her new friend. Marble blinked in surprise as Autumn Blaze tapped her hoof gently on the table and smiled at her. Autumn Blaze pulled her saddlebags over to them, pulling out a small wrapped package, and unwrapping it. Some fine shots of a plant that Marble didn't recognize were wrapped inside it. Autumn Blaze took about half and pushed the package over to Marble, smiling encouragingly at her. Marble hesitantly took a single shoot and looked over to Autumn Blaze, who was already chewing happily on the stalks she'd taken for herself. Marble took a polite nibble then her eyes widened and she chomped down hard on the stalk, before starting enthusiastically eat the rest of the plant that had been given to her, these were delicious! Autumn Blaze giggled gently and got up, picking up her bowl and Marble's in magic and walking them over to the sink and depositing them in said kitchen receptacle. Autumn Blaze walked back over to Marble, sweeping the remains of the package back into the saddlebags from whence they had come. Marble smiled a little, still half hiding behind her hair but really appreciating this fundamental change in the other pony. It seemed so honest. Marble hated all the cluttered words, they grated on her, but more they... They were dishonest. Words were used to hide what ponies really thought. Or... Whatever Autumn Blaze was. She was good with talking to her sisters and parents as she knew what they thought, they would be honest, but others... However, how ponies acted was more honest. And Autumn Blaze was being kind, and generous, sharing her delicious traveling food that was no doubt a delicacy from her homeland. Autumn Blaze dusted off her hooves after slipping the lemongrass package away. She liked lemon grass, she was so happy to see they had it in Equestria, and it was so plentiful too! You could find it growing everywhere! Ok, not literally everywhere but lots of places. She smiled to herself as she had that small argument with herself, being forced to be silent for a few years had had some positives it seemed. She knew how to keep herself occupied when she couldn't talk. Marble blushed gently as Autumn Blaze smiled at her, what was the stranger thinking about? Marble thought that the kirin was very pretty, could she be thinking the same thing, only in reverse? No, Marble wouldn't let herself consider such a thing after Big Mac had broken her heart like that!... Marble had to admit it was mostly her own fault. She did develop crushes on pretty much anything new that showed up to the rock farm. It had happened with Trixie, it happened with Big Mac, and now it was happening with Autumn Blaze. Marble shook her head forcefully, she had to knock that thought out of her head. Marble knew it was hopeless, she'd had her crushes and lost them every time. She knew the pairing stone was what she should trust to find her a mate, like her parents, like Maud, like her grandparents, everyone had been happily matched with their perfect mate by the pairing stone, she'd just need to be patient like Limestone. But she didn't want to! She wanted to be adventurous like her sister Pinkie! She wanted to run her hooves through that curly mane!... Through Autumn Blaze's curly mane, not Pinkies. Though she did love Pinkie's mane, it was so soft, she had taken multiple naps on it when they were foals. Marble shook her head as she zoned back into the surrounding world to see that Autumn Blaze was no longer sitting in front of her. Marble looked about the room to see no sign of the other mare. After a moment Marble did notice that the kirin's bags were still there so she hadn't left... But where had she gone? Marble got up to go look for the wayward visitor.
Autumn Blaze..."Autumn Blaze..." Marble had found the Kirin out on the back porch of the house. Autumn looked over her shoulder in surprise as the other pony spoke. Autumn Blaze raised an eyebrow and Marble smiled, walking up to sit next to the pony and nodding. "Thank you." She realized the effort that Autumn Blaze had put into not speaking and it was really touching, but she couldn't demand that she be something other than herself, as much as it would grate on her nerves. Marble would also, personally, admit that she would do better to think of the things that annoyed her about the kirin, since her crush was pointless maybe that would help her get over it. Autumn Blaze didn't immediately speak again though, she continued to look out over the rock farm, the great expanse of greyness that most ponies thought were drab and lifeless. The Pie's knew better, well, except for Pinkie, but the rest of them saw the beauty in the simplicity that existed in this place. Much to Marble's surprise, so did Autumn Blaze. "Beautiful." Marble stared at the other mare who grinned and gently pushed her face to look back over the rock farm. "The simplicity is what makes it beautiful. Everywhere else is so cluttered, so busy. It's noisy and loud and won't stop moving. This place is peaceful." She smiled. "It really lets you sit and listen to the wind, and through that, listen to the world. It lets you take a moment to remember what's really important in life doesn't it?" Marble continued to look out over the rock farm. She thought everyone should have a simple rock in their house to remind them of the simpler ways of life. They could be as fancy as they wanted but they shouldn't ever forget that. She was surprised her companion understood that. She had first thought Autumn Blaze a fast-talking creature that, while pretty, probably was either shallow or dishonest with all her talking. But she was generous, and kind, and could be quiet upon request. Now Marble also found out that the other was very deep and understanding, she knew what beauty there was in simplicity, and that her farm was indeed beautiful. Marble blinked, scolding herself silently, she really shouldn't be looking for reasons to like this other creature like that. Marble hesitated for a moment, before, she frowned, she was tired of waiting for the pairing stone! Pushing up against the kirin, drawing a surprised sideways look from her. Marble flushed brightly and quickly scooted back away from her crush. She realized that she'd made a terrible mistake! She shouldn't have done that, she shouldn't have put herself out there not only because it wasn't what the pairing stone indicated but also the kirin was practically a stranger to her. She didn't know of Autumn Blazes own traditions, or if she was into other Mares. Marble made to get up and flee back into the farmhouse but found herself sliding in the opposite direction. Surrounded in a light opal aura, being pulled back to the kirin. Autumn Blaze hadn't been expecting the other creature to make such a forward act towards her, but she wasn't opposed to the thought of snuggling with a pretty earth pony. The kirin's history of anger had imposed upon them strict standards from which they drew their positions on mates. They entertained the idea of more freedom within mating, while polygamy had been strictly forbidden due to disastrous fights early on, mating itself was not usually viewed as a binding agreement between two kirin permanently. They could enter or exit it freely. Kirin were encouraged to take a step back and always take some time to consider if they truly wanted to exit or if they were just upset temporarily, but they were free to exit whenever, which usually lead to only the most devoted kirin couples having foals, or even moving in together. Autumn Blaze wrapped a foreleg around Marble when she got to her, smiling down at her and letting Marble get more comfortable before she'd speak again. Marble was frozen in terror for the first minute. But she slowly came out of her state, smiling gently as she pressed up against the kirin again. Her father would have been furious to see this, thankfully he wasn't here. Limestone would have rolled her eyes but not given it too much thought. Her mother would likely give her a disapproving gaze, then walk off and snicker in private, her mother was less stringent than her father. Marble was fairly certain that her mother had even held hooves another stallion before she married their father! Not that she'd ever ask her about that, some things weren't proper to speak about. Autumn Blaze tilted her head down to smile at the earth pony, who smiled nervously back up at her. However, as Autumn Blaze lowered her head Marble's eyes went wide and she scrambled backward out of the kirin's gasp, shaking her head vigorously at the other mare and blushing crimson. The kirin looked at her confused then blushed a little herself. "Ahh... I have a feeling there was... Some cultural miscommunication there?" Marble nodded, still blushing. "Mhmm..." Autumn thought for a moment but then nodded to herself. "So... Cuddling is ok, but not kissing?" Marble nodded, and walked back to be near Autumn Blaze, but sat outside of her physical reach. Autumn Blaze nodded, she could accept that, she'd pushed it too far and Marbles was needing some space now. Autumn Blaze looked back over the farmstead, smiling to herself, she'd have to visit again, and not only because there was a cute mare here, but because this was a peaceful place, and she'd be interested in meeting the rest of Marbles' family, however many others there were. Even that first one! Autumn Blaze was confident she could get past that gruff exterior and get at least some friendly words. Marble was looking out over the farm as well. Her mind, however, was running a mile a minute. She couldn't stop thinking about how forward the kirin had been! She had pretty much just announced her intentions to marry Marble!... Unless... Autumn Blaze had mentioned cultural miscommunication... Maybe kissing wasn't a precursor to marriage amongst her people...? Well, this would take some thinking before she could even hope to puzzle it out... Though this was doing nothing to fight her crush. She groaned mentally, she had outright fed her crush like you'd feed a dragon gems, and for some reason hadn't expected it to grow any bigger!
Marble Pie."Marble Pie." Autumn tilted her head then smiled widely as she finally got the earth ponies name. "Well, how do you do Marble Pie? I am Autumn Blaze. Do you prefer Marble, or Marble Pie?" Autumn Blaze didn't know the pony naming conventions very well, it seems sometimes they went by a shortened version of their name, but sometimes they went with longer ones. "Uh... Marble Pie." Marble had liked it when Autumn blazed called her just Marble, but if her father heard that... There could be a murder involved, to say the least. Autumn Blaze nodded and smiled at the shy pony, getting up and stretching before drawing in a deep breath, letting it out. "Well, this was fun and all, but I really should get going." Marble was both horrified, logically grateful, and flattered all at the same time. Horrified because the interesting new kirin she had a crush on was leaving! Logically grateful because the interesting new kirin she couldn't act on her crush on was leaving! And flattered because it looked like Autumn Blaze was still restraining her longer winded versions of sentences in respect of Marble's sensibilities. She looked around and whined, too quietly for even the close Autumn Blaze couldn't hear. Marble smiled hesitantly, the logical piece of her brain relaxing now that the mare was leaving. A decision that was quite foolish in hindsight. The emotional part of her brain lept at the opportunity to take the reigns and she blurted out, "you could stay the night!" That took Autumn Blaze by complete surprise, she wasn't sure what was going on here. They could cuddle, couldn't kiss, and now Marble wanted to sleep with her!? As Autumn Blaze simply stared, the logical part of Marble's brain regained some control and quickly tried to salvage the situation. After a short hesitation, she pointed up into the sky, at the sun in the sky. It was... Low, but not that low that it would really be a necessity for Autumn Blaze to stay with them. She could easily find a nice place to sleep by the road with how much time she had left in the day. Autumn Blaze, however, nodded, enjoying the idea of getting to spend more time with Marble, and getting to meet her family. "Oh, sure, what will your sister say though?" At least Autumn Blaze assumed that it was her sister, she assumed that ponies weren't into polygamy like the kirin weren't so that couldn't have been Marble's mate, and they looked a lot alike. Unless of course to ponies cuddling wasn't romantic at all and Autumn Blaze had completely misread the situation... She admitted that was possible, but she doubted it. Marble hadn't considered what her family would say about Autumn Blaze staying the night! Then again when she blurted it out she hadn't thought about what anyone would think about it, even Autumn Blaze herself. But she knew that her father, proper and respectable as he was wouldn't kick a pony out onto the street, he was uptight and always proper, but he was also one of the kindest and most generous ponies she knew. If he'd found a changing injured on the road he'd have taken them to get treated and paid for it himself. And that was even before they turned good. "Uh... Hospitality..." Autumn Blaze nodded, she knew that many cultures had strict customs about hospitality, and she supposed that she wouldn't want to offend her new friend... Possibly wanting to be more than just her friend? She wasn't sure on Marble's interested but she'd get that figured out over the evening she was sure. "Oh, so it's a hospitality custom? Well I'd hate to offend you by turning you down so I accept!" Autumn Blaze smiled happily at Marble. "Thank you Marble Pie, this is very nice of you." She didn't really need to add that last statement but she was wanting to talk more, being quiet for the pony was hard, but she could find a nice balance. If talking bothered the other pony so much Autumn Blaze knew she could tone it down at least a bit for the pretty mare that had taken, she assumed, and interest in her. It might not work out but she didn't see a reason to shoot it in down immediately. Marble nodded hesitantly, she'd need to catch her family on the road before Autumn Blaze noticed so she could explain everything and hope that her family didn't go nuts over the fact she'd spent all this time alone with a stranger, then invited said stranger to spend the night. They wouldn't, they couldn't kick her out unless she did something heinous, but Marble knew that her father, and especially her sister would be less than pleased if this event was dropped on them without warning, that was for sure. Marble showed Autumn Blaze up to one of the two spare rooms they had that could be used for family or guests. The single room was fine, not the bunked room where they'd put the Apples those years ago, since there had been so many of them. "Ooh, this is pretty." Autumn Blaze said in genuine appreciation as she looked around the room. Most ponies found the room plain and uninspired, it was simple but very comfortable Marble had always thought. Apparently, Autumn Blaze thought similarly. "Are these hoof made?" She ran a hoof appreciatively over the bedspread and smiled at Marble. "This will be great! Thank you, Marble, I'll sleep like a baby tonight." Marble smiled widely at that, the kirin was always very appreciative, and, after the initial flood of talking, was far more measured in her words. Very thoughtful and appreciative. And very warm, literally and figuratively... Marble blushed gently at the thought, she didn't really think that it would be a great idea for her to stay with the kirin for very long, she knew she couldn't pursue an actual relationship without the pairing stones approval... But just for tonight, she could pretend she could be Autumn Blazes marefriend, and maybe that would help her hold out until the pairing stone was ready.
