Out of Time

The streets of Ponyville were empty, save for a few ponies running around, trying to escape the rain heavily beating down on them. The forecast hadn’t called for rain so early in the night, but due to the heat that plagued the town, the pegasi of the weather factory saw it best to schedule a few storms for weeks to come. Though the temperature was still as bad as before, the pegasi had put small bits of ice they were saving for winter into the massive black rain clouds, hoping the ice would cool the area down, but as the hours passed, they saw no luck. If the heat continued like this, the crops and the apple trees at Sweet Apple Acres would surely suffer like those in Appleloosa.

As the ponies ran to their homes for shelter, one light gray pony stood out from the few ponies scrambling to their homes. The mares long mane dragged across the streets as she walked, her head held low, making sure not to make eye contact with any of the passing mares or colts.

She used her long dark gray tail to cover her cutie mark whenever someone passed her, covering the three purple marble-like stones on her flanks.

Once she arrived at her destination, she raised a hoof, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and then knocked softly. It took a while, but the door eventually opened, a bright pink pony with a fluffy mane standing in front of the mare.

“Marble! Is that you?” The pink pony chirped, her eyes lighting up with glee.

“Mhm…”

“This is great! Come in, quick! You’re soaked!”

As the pink mare ushered the gray mare inside the building, she peeked outside and looked around, as if to make sure no one was watching them. Marble wiped her hooves on the mat at the bakery entrance, but it didn’t help much. Her mane, tail, and hide were covered in mud and water.

“Marble...what happened?” The pink pony asked, leading her upstairs to her bedroom. Marble looked a bit guilty but stared at the pink pony, her purple eyes glued to the pink ponies blue ones.

“Oh...so that’s what happened.” The pink pony said, seeming to understand what light gray mare was trying to say just with her eyes.

As the two entered the mare’s room, Marble noticed three fillies sitting on the bed, staring at her and whispering. They seemed suspicious of her, and the orange pegasus’s wings fluffed up, almost as if she were ready to attack at any minute.

The pink mare led Marble to the bathroom and smiled, signaling to her that she should wash off.
Marble nodded, walked into the bathroom, got into the shower, and turned the water, letting it pour over her body.

She sighed softly, took a bar of soap into her hooves, and began to wash the mud and rainwater off her body. She picked a few leaves and sticks out of her mane and tail, then dropped the soap and closed her eyes, facing up towards the showerhead. She let out a low sigh as she let the water run through her fur and mane, happy that she was finally able to relax after her long walk here.

Marble Pie knew her sister would be happy to see her, but she didn’t know how she would explain her sudden visit, considering how bad her situation was. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hooves, shaking a little as she stared at the remnants of blood still caked into her fur.

She didn’t feel any guilt for what she had done, but she couldn’t help but feel disgusted with herself after it was all over. The stallions were trying to hurt her, but did she have to go that far?

She covered her mouth and curled up in a small ball, silently sobbing in the shower, hoping Pinkie Pie couldn’t hear her.

Before she had made her way to Ponyville, Marble had lived on a rock farm, making a living off finding gems in rocks and crushing rocks to be made into cement, bricks, or other building supplies. The stallions who had picked up the rocks and gems Marble and her family had farmed and mined were always so sweet to her, helping her carry the bags of heavy crushed up rocks or the carts of geodes and gemstones she had mined.

She knew the stallions were helping her because she was pretty, but one stood out from the others—a large brown stallion with a blonde mane and tail and a broken pickaxe for a cutie mark. Marble would stare at him whenever she saw him and fawn about him to her sister, Limestone. Whenever her other sister, Pinkamena, called her, she would gush about him to her, the pink mare on the other end just giggling and calling her little crush ‘cute.’

Two days before Marble had made her way to Ponyville, the brown stallion, Harvest Dust, had approached her while she was working, taking off his sun hat and grinning at her. Marble couldn’t help but feel her face grow hot as she looked up at him.

“Ah know this ain’t too forward of me, Miss Pie, but I was wonderin’ if y’all would like to head into town with me? I know a nice little bakery we could stop by.” The stallion asked kindly.

“Mhm…” Marble squeaked out.

The stallion laughed and put his hat back on, seeming pleased by her response.

“Great to hear. Meet me by the pear orchard this Thursday at 8 pm.” Harvest called, quickly galloping away.

Marble was over the moon, her crush had not only spoken to her but had asked her out. She couldn’t be happier.

The following days, Limestone helped Marble pick out an outfit and earn some extra bits for her date, not wanting the mare to go without any money, just in case. Once Thursday came around, Mable made her way to the pear orchard, hoping she wouldn’t get into too much trouble for trespassing.

It only took a few minutes for Harvest to appear, but Marble was surprised to find he wasn’t alone. Two more stallions were with him, each one wearing a sinister grin.

“Ya came.” Harvest muttered under his breath. “I didn’t think you’d come. We’re in luck, ain’t we boys?”

Marble backed away as the stallions came closer, scared and confused, unsure what Harvest Dust was doing.

As Marble backed away, she slipped on a rotten pear, falling on her back and hitting her head against the hard wood of the tree she had fallen against. She reached a hoof to her forehead and gasped as she saw a bit of blood on her hoof.

She shakily stood and started to run away, the stallions chasing her through the trees of the large orchard. The only thing going through Marble’s mind was ‘why’.

Why would Harvest do this? Didn’t he like her? What would happen if they caught her?

Marble didn’t want any of those questions answered. Though, it seemed she was at least going to get one answer, whether she liked it or not.

Harvest appeared, darting out from behind a tree. He tackled her to the ground, putting his hooves against her fragile chest, forcing her to stay down.

“Ya gave us a good workout, but I think it’s time we end this game, don’t you?”

Marble stayed as quiet as ever as she looked up at the stallion she once thought was so sweet and kind with new-found horror. What was he going to do to her? In the back of her head, she knew what he was going to do, but she didn’t want to face that reality.

Maybe if she had dodged him, perhaps if she screamed for the old couple who ran the pear orchard or had brought Limestone with her, this wouldn’t be happening. Even so, could Limestone help her take on three grown stallions? If she had come, Marble knew that she would be putting her sister in harm’s way.

As Harvest Dust pressed down on Marble’s chest, Marble could feel the air escape her lungs, a cruel reminder of what was to come. She knew that Harvest could put all his weight down on her chest and end her right there, but she also knew he wasn’t here to kill her. But she almost preferred death to the horrifying fate that was yet to come.

As Marble lay motionless, she could hear the two other stallions approaching and knew that if she wanted to get out of here untouched, she would have to hurt the man she thought she loved. She desperately looked around, hoping to find something she could use as a weapon, but only saw old pears left on the ground that the old ponies couldn’t collect, rotted over time, leaving a foul smell as they laid there.

Marble slowly reached out for one of the rotted, maggot filled pears, hoping that Harvest wouldn’t feel her movements and look back at her, though she knew once the pear got closer, he would be forced to look at her due to the smell.

She quickly rolled the old fruit over to her, and just as she had predicted, Harvest glanced back at her, a look of disgust played on his face.

“What in Celestia is that sme-” He started, but just as quickly as he started, he stopped. Marble had squashed the fruit into Harvest’s eyes, nose, and mouth, watching the maggots and mold fall off his fur. He instinctively pulled his hoof back, and before he could wipe the gunk off of him, Marble reared back and bucked her back hooves into his chest as hard as he could, a few ribs cracking on impact.

Marble didn’t waste any time, running as fast as she could through the orchard again, making her way to what she knew was the old farmer’s house. As she ran, she could hear the stallion’s chasing her, and knew it was only a matter of time until they caught her again and did Celestia knows what to her.

Marble made a sharp left and heard one of the stallions slam headfirst into a tree, knocking some of the pears off, which proceeded to hit him in the head. Marble giggled to herself, laughing at the colt’s idiocy, but gasped when she saw Harvest appear in front of her once more. Before Harvest could pounce on her again, Marble grabbed a large rock and smashed is over Harvest’s head.

The crunch of bone rang in Marble’s ear, but she could stop herself. She continued to slam the rock into the side of Harvest’s skull until it was no more than a bloody pulp. The two stallions that were chasing Marble caught up but backed away when they saw what the gray mare had done to their friend.

“What the fuck did you do?!” One said, doing his best not to vomit as he saw the blood, bits of skull fragments and bits of flesh scattered around Marble, the rock she had used to kill Harvest sitting only a few feet away, covered in blood.
The mare didn’t know how to react to what she had done, but before she could truly comprehend what had happened, the other stallion tackled her to the ground, his light blue mane covering half of his face, concealing one of his yellow eyes.

The stallion growled and slammed his hoof into Marble’s left cheek, causing a large amount of blood to pool in her mouth, one of her teeth cutting the inside of her cheek.

As the stallion hit her, Marble reared her back legs up and kicked the stallion off her, launching him into a tree. She, however, did not care. All she cared about was getting away from these monsters that were trying to hurt her. That were trying to violate her.

The stallion shakily tried to get up, but it was too late. Marble had grabbed another rock and was bashing the stallion’s head in- as he struggled, Marble could hear the crunching of bones and ripping of flesh as she slammed the stone against her attacker. She panted heavily and dropped the boulder she was holding yet again, groaning in pain as she rubbed her cheek. She knew the cut would need stitches, but as it was on the inside of her cheek, she was scared to check the damage, but the thought quickly left her mind as she was hit in the face again, the last stallion of the group ramming his hoof into her other cheek, causing her teeth to scrape against the inside of her mouth, causing another extended cut to form on the other side of her cheek. The inside of her mouth was filled with blood again, but instead of gagging on the metallic substance filling her throat, she spit it up at the stallion trying to pin her down.

The stallion reared back and tried to rub the blood that was now caking to his fur, but before he could open his eyes a gunshot rang throughout the orchard, startling Marble and piercing the chest of her attacker.

Marble looked over at the house she knew the old orchard owners lived in and was shocked to see an old unicorn holding a shotgun with her magic. She slowly made her way down the stairs and approached Marble, the gun still levitating next to the old pony.

“There anyone else after ya, sweetheart?” The mare asked, offering a hoof to help Marble up.

Marble shook her head and took the mare’s hoof and stood, tears running down her cheeks.

“Don’t y’all worry, dear. We saw everythin’.” The mare assured her. “Took a while to find this thing, but it looks like we were right on time.” The mare ushered for Marble to follow her, leading her into the large wood house that stood near the outskirts of the pear orchard.

“You alright?” An old, light green stallion asked, holding a cup of warm green tea in his hooves. He sat in a rocking chair near the sofa facing the television, slowly rocking back in forth in his chair. Marble nodded and looked away, ashamed of what she had done. She didn’t think she had the guts to kill anypony, but here she was. She had killed two stallions, and for some reason, she didn’t feel any guilt—only shame.

The yellow unicorn walked back in, carrying a cup of green tea with her magic. She levitated it to Marble, offering the drink to her. Marble took it without hesitation and downed it in one gulp, trying to quench her new-found thirst. She sighed softly and looked over at the old unicorn and then back to her cup. She wasn’t a big talker, but she couldn’t just stay silent about what had happened. These ponies had watched her kill two stallions on their farm, and she still couldn’t muster the courage to speak.

“‘S alright, sweetheart. We know you must be in shock about what happened, but we don’t blame ya. Those stallions wanted to do somethin’ nasty to ya. Ain’t no reason to feel bad about defendin’ yourself.” The stallion said, doing his best to look at her. His bright blue eyes were glossed over, clearly having lost his sight due to old age. Marble walked closer, and the stallion smiled sweetly, finally focusing on the young mare.

“Honey Biscuit was just tellin’ me what had happened before y’all came in.” The stallion continued. “Those stallions have tried that before, I’ve heard. Ain’t sayin’ what ya did was good, but as I said before... ain’t no reason to feel bad about defendin’ yerself.”

Marble nodded and sighed softly, staring down at her cup, the bits of matcha and a few drops of tea still at the bottom of her teacup.
“Oh, don’t worry.” The yellow unicorn laughed. “I woulda done the same thing.” She looked out the window to the orchard, the bodies of the three stallions just in view. She sighed and opened the door with her magic turned to Marble. “We can’t leave ’em out there.” She huffed, seeming strangely motivated. “Let’s go now, we ain’t got time to lose.”

The two mares dragged the bodies of the stallions through the orchard, carrying them far enough away that the farm ponies wouldn’t be suspects but close enough to where they could walk to the freshly dug holes. Marble, being much stronger than the average mare, carried two of the stallions on her back, one being her former crush, Harvest. The old mare dragged the last one by his tail with her magic.

Once the two had put the stallions into the graves, they procedded to fill the holes back up as quickly as possible. Just as Marble had started, though, she was stopped by a faint whimpering. She peeking into one of the graves and gasped, falling back into the dirt. Her eyes welled up with new tears as she looked down at Harvest Dust, who has opened her eyes. He had somehow survived her attack and was groaning pathetically in his grave. His eyes met Marbles and a small smile played his face.

“Marble... y’all don’t want to do this...” He gasped. “We were just messin’ around...it was just harmless fun...”

“Don’t listen to ’em, Marble. He’s just manipulatin’ ya. Bury the bastard alive.”

“She wouldn’t...do that. She don’t have the gut-”

Before Harvest could continue, Marble started filling the hole, following Honey’s orders to ‘bury the bastard alive.’. She felt numb as she filled the small grave, her ears rang as Harvest used all his energy to scream for help, and her limbs felt weak as she shoveled the dirt into the hole.

Once the two mares were done, they made their way back to the farm. Once they walked back into the small house, the stallion smiled.

“So, you finished up? That’s good.” He stood and walked over to Marble, handing her a small saddle bag and a bag of bits.

“We can’t exactly house a filly like yerself...but we can at least send ya on yer way with enough supplies to get ya somewhere else.” The stallion said. “Go on...get yourself somewhere safe.”

Marble stared at the supplies and nodded. She hugged the old couple tightly and turned to the door.

“M-Mhm...” She squeaked. The old couple waved and closed the door behind Marble.

Marble eventually stopped crying once the water got cold. She sat up and turned the water off, sitting in the shower, letting the water slowly dry as she sat still. She couldn’t handle remembering what had happened the previous night, but maybe now that she was in Ponyville, she would be able to forget.