Big City, Small Girl

I take a deep breath in and close my eyes. When I open them, I'll take my first step into my new life.
Or, well, my first step into the train that'll take me to my new life. Me and my sister, obviously.

“Come on, Pinkie.”

I finally open my eyes, glancing up at Maud, who's already looking for her seat. I quickly head towards her and see that she's saved me the spot near the window. She knows me so well.
I rush to see if I can spot anyone I know before the train starts moving, my face basically squashed on the cold glass.

By the time I could spot my family, the train already started moving.
There's my dad, and my mom and- oh no, she's crying! I wave at her with a smile and she smiles right back, although I know she's going through a lot, since I've almost never seen her cry.

Except that one time at Maud's graduation. And when Limestone ended up at the hospital because she broke her arm in the fifth grade.

My dad's hugging Mom and Limestone's right behind him, her hand on his shoulder.
She's such a softie. Marble's right beside her too and she's waving back to me, and although her hairs covering most of her face as usual, I can just tell she's smiling back.

I finally move my face off the window and stiffle a laugh as I see my own cheek print on it.

“Maud look! There's our family!” I shake her, trying not to tear up too.

“I know, we just hugged them goodbye.”

Goodbye. This was actually goodbye. Not like a bye-bye, or a see you later! I won't be seeing them later! I'm not going to see them for a loooong while.

Not until Maud finishes her Doctorate in Geology, at least. She wanted to get into the program for years, but she knew our parents would never let her move into a big city like Manhattan all alone.

It's not like it's going to be the first time away from the farm for us anyway! All the Pie sisters lived in the small town beside our home during High School because there weren't any nearby, and since our mom was close friends with Ms Cake, she let us stay with her and her husband! The plan was that when we were done with school, we'd go back to living on our farm, just like Limestone and Marble did.

Maud wanted to continue her education though, and went on to get a degree at a small university near the town, and I always knew I was meant for something bigger than just the farm.
So, when the opportunity came on Maud's 22nd big birthday bash (that I obviously planned) she asked, and our parents finally accepted.

On one condition; One of us would have to go with her.

Dad had to stay and work, and Mom was too attached to the farm to leave and so the first choice was Limestone, who almost immediately declined. She didn't like talking to people. Or looking at them. Or anything to do with them, really.

Then it was Marble, who was younger than me! Well, we're technically twins (but I came out first so that makes me older) but still! I mean come on, I totally should've been the second choice!

And, no offense- but it's not like Marble could protect Maud if anything ever happened! She's practically afraid of her own shadow.
But then, Marble was way too nervous to go and so they FINALLY asked me if I wanted to go and I said YES, and I started thinking about things I could do if I lived in Manhattan like seeing the Statue Of Liberty, or walking around Times Square or- EEEEEK!!!

Oops! Right, getting off topic here...

“Oh, I'm going to miss them so much! But I'm also just so EXCITED that we're leaving this town, but I'm also going to miss all my friends, and the Cakes and- OOOH!!!!!” I can barely contain myself, my legs twitching like crazy. I hear the rustle of a newspaper and glance at the guy sitting across Maud, a grouchy look on his face.
Someone's eggs were cold this morning.

“Its okay to be nervous, Pinkie.” My eyes widen at this.

“Pfffft, What?! I am NOT nervous. Well...maybe just a little, but I'm even more pumped!” I mutter, twirling my hair, giggling when it coiled back up.

“You look like you're about to bounce off the wall.”

“Hmph, well you can't pretend like you're not about to either!" Maud blinks at me. She knows she can't hide her feelings from me, her face shows it all! Although it seems like most people can never really read her as well as I do.

“See! But don't worry, were going to be just fine, right Maud? I'm here with you and we're going to have so much fun!” I manage to say before squealing once more. This time the man sitting across us doesn't even bother trying to hide his glare.

After a while, the hype started dying down. I sighed, trying to get Maud's attention. No reaction. I sighed again, louder. She finally turned her head towards me.

“Yes, Pink-”

“Are we there yet?” I blurted out, my head rested on her shoulder. For someone most people would see as cold, she was incredibly warm.

“No, we have four more hours and thirty seven minutes.” Groaning, I straighten my head and stare out the window. This is taking forever.

Counting. That always passes time. That's what Mr Cake told me to do when I had to wait for the muffins to bake. Count things around you.
There's one tree. And another. And a third. And another. Ooh, a powerline! Another tree. I can't count anymore trees, this train is going too fast! Oh, wait.

“...Are we there yet?”

“No, we have four more hours and thirty five minutes.”

"UGH! We're never getting to Manhattan!”

“You should try taking a nap.” She suggested.

“Nope. Way too excited to sleep. I feel like I could be up for-” I yawned, just then, before the world suddenly went dark.

“-Ink" Huh-Wha...?

“-Inkie, wake up." Wha..buh...huh..

“Wake up, Pinkie. We're here.” My eyes snapped open so fast, which was probably a bad idea because the light stung them immediately. I didn't care though because, OH MY GOSH, I'M IN MANHATTAN!

“Mauuud, why didn't you wake me up sooner!? I'm so excited I could- GAH!” I shook her by the shoulders, stomping my feet. She only stared at me before lowering our luggage from uptop.

One of the many, wonderful reasons why Maud is my best sister friend forever (that's definitely a thing) is because she never judged me. I really can't recall a time when she's ever told me to tone myself down because “we're in public”, or that I was being too much, or too loud. She's always understood that sometimes I just can't control my excitement. Whether vocally or physically.

She passes me my bags and leads us out of the train. Since the train stopped underground, we had to climb up an escalator before finally making our way to the top. I spot the revolving doors and quickly point Maud in that direction, though I'm sure she already knew where to go. She was always good at finding her way wherever.

Taking a deep breath in, I felt a huge rush. Everything here was different. The air smelt different. The people looked different (so many were wearing suits!).
The afternoon light reflected onto the scenery in front of me and I almost gasped. The city was beautiful. The skyscrapers back home were nothing compared to these.

I felt Maud gently pull me towards her as she called for a cab and I simply followed her. I was sure if I took my eyes off her for even a second, I'd get lost here for who knows how long!
I was starting to get overwhelmed by all the sound anyways. I was used to crowds, but here it felt...stuffy. Maybe it was the long train ride that's got me feeling off.

Beneath all the crowd noise, I suddenly caught the sound of a tune. I practically whipped my head to the side looking for where it was coming from.

...Maud would have to come find me. I made me way through the crowd swiftly, curiousity killing me. It sounded like an accordion, but I wanted to see it for myself.

There it was, the source of that song. Behind what looked like a swarm of buffalos was a young guy, maybe only a year or two older than me. In his hands was an accordion, painted red with little yellow flowers. His curly brown hair looked so soft in the light. He wore a scarf around his neck, which reminded me of how chilly it was getting.
It was the start of Fall after all, and the tune he played surely fit the weather.

When I finally looked back at his face, I was caught of guard seeing him look straight at me. His song had slowed down and it looked like he was frozen. I instantly smiled widely at him, but before I had the chance to wave, I felt a hand yank my shoulder.

“Pinkie!”

Yikes. Lecture alert. Bleh.

By the time she was done, we had already called for a cab and finally found our new place.
As we walked into the apartment building, I immediately noticed how...gloomy it was. The lights were that annoying yellow and barely even flickering.
...That's...okay though, the apartment itself is sure to be better!
Maud walked towards the stairs and I followed suite. I could hear the wood beneath us creaking with every step.
Near the top, I felt her suddenly smack my stomach which made me yelp out. Before I could ask her what that was for, she pointed at the crooked tile under my foot I almost stepped on.

Okay, maybe I did need to watch where I was going.

Finally on the third floor, my sister led me to our new home.
Maud pulled out the keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. She's already seen the place a couple times before, since she had to look around for a spot to move before we got here, but it was my first time and I was seconds away from literally exploding in excitement.

As she opened the door, I couldn't help but squeal. I rushed in at full speed and dropped my bags on the floor near the entrance, not bothering to take off my shoes. I quickly scanned around all the rooms, taking in all of it. This place was AMAZING!

Sure, it was definitely smaller than our home at the farm or the Cakes', but it was still nice! The stain on the ceiling kind of looks like a flower too, which is really cute.

...That might actually be mold.

“Pinkie, help me out with unpacking, will you?” Right, oops!

I heard the click of the door getting locked after Maud hauled in all our luggage. It took us nearly two hours to set up the essentials, which was pretty good considering I only got distracted a whole two times.

We didn't bring any furniture with us, so we just sorted out our stuff in the built in closets. The ones in my sister's room, since mine didn't have any.

After rolling out the mattress, I changed into my jammies and practically flopped onto it, exhausted. I had no energy left in me to put on a bedsheet, so if Maud had a problem, she'd just have to carry me off. Luckily for me, it looked like she was ready to visit Snoozeville as well.

Turning off the light, Maud scooted in beside me.

"Goodnight sis!” I hugged her tightly before tucking myself under the blanket, turning to the other side and immediately dozing off.

“Goodnight Pinkie.”