Warming Up
“Ta-da!” Minuette leapt forward, twirling her hoof into the air to present to the group their restaurant for the evening.
Marble followed the blue hoof to see her next panic attack. Not the restaurant, no. It was actually quite nice looking, with its deep purple paint job and golden drawings, brightly colored window frames and even the elephant crest above the door was pretty. It really gave the whole thing a pleasant New Felhi feel.
No, what made this restaurant a potential Marble-slayer was the crowd.
Sweet Celestia above, the crowd. The restaurant looked like it was about to burst, with ponies even pouring out into the street from the sheer lack of space. Their impatient chatter dominated over the sounds of Canterlot’s nighttime, and their constant shuffling gave the whole body of the crowd a restless feeling.
And they would have to eat here? As in, spend an entire meal surrounded by all the ponies?
Sure, the cafe Marble had met Minuette at had been crowded, but this one was on a whole other level. It didn’t even look like they would be able to get in.
Her heart racing, Marble’s eyes darted around, trying to find somewhere for her to pass out should it come to that.
Limestone wasn’t nearly as perturbed as she was though. Her sister simply glanced up at the name scrawled on the top of the building. “The Tasty Treat… hmph.”
“You get the joke now, huh?” Lemon nudged Limestone’s side, an eager grin on her face.
Limestone responded with narrowed eyes and a grunt. “Yeah.”
Lemon stopped her prodding, hoof lowering and smile dropping. “Uh… g-good.” They dropped into silence for a moment, allowing Marble the chance to start hyperventilating.
And then Minuette’s hoof found hers again.
This didn’t exactly stop her pounding heart, but when Marble blushed, looking from their entangled hooves up to Minuette’s sparkly eyes, she did feel a little better.
“Too much, too soon?” Minuette asked, referring to the throng of ponies in front of them.
Marble swallowed, unsure of what to say. If Minuette knew this was a problem, this would be the end of their date, right? So… lie?
One look back into those wonderful eyes and Marble’s legs quivered. Lying was no good.
But she didn’t want the date to end…
“I-I… uhm…” Marble chewed the inside of her cheek.
Minuette squeezed her hoof. “We don’t have to go here if you don’t want to, Marble.”
And risk ruining what might be their only date? “N-No.” She swallowed, her voice less shaky. “I don’t mind eating here.” Crowd or no, Marble figured if she just kept focusing on Minuette then none of it would matter.
“Well, that’s nice and all, but I don’t see exactly how we’re going to eat here. The place is packed,” Limestone said.
Minuette grinned. “Worry not, I came prepared.” Gesturing for them all to follow her, Minuette pushed through the crowd with stealthy weaving and hastily thrown out apologies.
Limestone was the first to follow, even if she didn’t quite follow Minuette’s example. Marble watched as her older sister cut through the crowd with her trademark grunt-glare combo. It didn’t make her all that comfortable for so many ponies to be so rudely displaced, but it did leave a nice path for her and Lemon Hearts to walk down.
“Heh… so far, so good, huh?” Lemon said. Though her words were confident, her tone was… less so. Marble could tell that Lemon had had expectations for tonight—probably along the lines of wow-ing Limestone speechless with her appearance alone—and so far it hadn’t been going her way, leaving only a crippling fear of screwing everything up.
Marble could relate.
“Don’t worry. I know Limestone is… a-abrasive and all, but she’s really sweet once you get her to open up. Kinda like rock candy, only she yells more.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Lemon Hearts lips. “Well then, I guess I just have to work on opening her up tonight.” She raised her head, confidence returning. “You know, you’re lucky. Minny’s sweet, open or closed.”
“Yeah…” Marble smiled reflexively just thinking about the mare.
They reached her and Limestone just seconds later, the parted sea of ponies behind them quickly closing up, ensuring they wouldn’t have an easy time backing out. Hopefully they could get in the restaurant before that.
“Hey, Coriander!” Minuette waved to a pudgy, mustached stallion who was guarding the door from the masses.
“Ah, Miss Minuette! Here for your reservation?” Coriander nodded a greeting to the rest of the group, which was returned with a grunt, a smile and a wave, and a face shrinking behind a mane.
Minuette nodded. “You betcha. Thanks for saving a table for us.”
“You’re lucky I was even able to. I’ve practically been beating back ponies with a stick to keep it clear.” He chuckled to himself, his horn sparking to life and opening the door. “Just head for the booth near the kitchen. My daughter will be with you in a moment.”
“Thanks a ton!” Minuette motioned for them to come up. She waited, letting Limestone and Lemon Hearts pass her, as Marble ascended the steps. Minuette took her hoof and smiled. “Ready?”
Marble swallowed again, but nodded. Best to exchange the crowded outside with the crowded inside. After all, if Marble was going to lose consciousness, she’d prefer to do it sitting down.
Minuette headed inside, taking Marble with her. As the door shut behind them, a lot of the background noise faded away. Granted, the restaurant was still loud in its own right with the patron’s casual chatter mixing with the clinking of silverware, but it was a more expected noise.
She followed her date—Celestia above that felt wonderful to think—across the room to chase her sister and Lemon Hearts. They all had their eyes locked on the one empty booth in the whole place, which rested right where Coriander said it would be. Passing a pair of ponies that had their heads buried in the menus, the group reached their spot, relieved to find it hadn’t been stolen before their arrival.
Limestone paused as they arrived at the booth, likely unsure about seating arrangements. Minuette took the lead, though, and dropped onto the far side of the booth, scooting over and nudging her head at Marble, who got the message.
She ensconced herself on the cushy seat, pressing up against Minuette ever so gently. Blood rushed to her cheeks and Marble didn’t really bother with trying to hide it, save for a tiny smile. Their intermingling fur sent a shiver down her spine, but she refused to pull away.
Lemon Hearts was the next to sit down, practically pouncing onto the booth. She wasn’t being too subtle about her enthusiasm about sitting next to Limestone.
And Limestone wasn’t too subtle about her apathy to the fact.
“Hmph.” She dropped down on the seat without so much as making eye contact with her date.
Marble swallowed, seeing Lemon Hearts deflate yet again. After chewing the inside of her cheek for a few seconds, she worked up the nerve to speak. “So… uh, how did you two find out about this place?”
“Oh man, is that a story,” Minuette said with a smile.
“Heh, yeah.” Lemon Hearts seemed to cheer up a little at the memory. “Actually, when we first heard about this place we completely snubbed it.”
“Really?” Marble looked to Minuette for confirmation and her date nodded.
“Yeah. You see, it used to be that if a restaurant didn’t have three hooves, then nopony should eat there.”
Limestone raised her eyebrow. “Hooves?”
Minuette nodded. “It’s how this food critic, Zesty Gourmand, rates a restaurant. Basically, three hooves meant it was supposed to be the best food in town.”
“Except Zesty has terrible taste,” Lemon Hearts interjected.
“Well… yeah.” Minuette nodded. “But we all went along with it anyway ‘cause her opinion carried a lot of weight, you know? So even when Pinkie recommended this place to us we didn’t give it a shot.”
“P-Pinkie’s been here?” Marble asked.
Lemon nodded. “Yeah. And even after she asked us to give it a try twice, we still didn’t eat here.” She laughed softly to herself. “Gosh, saying it out loud kinda makes us seem pretty shallow.”
“Yeah,” Limestone agreed.
Lemon’s pupils shrank and her ears folded down. “N-No, wait! I wasn’t trying to… I-I...”
“Uh, I think what Lemon’s trying to say is, it was pretty silly of us to just follow somepony’s opinion just ‘cause she was popular,” Minuette interjected.
“I’m just glad you two finally came around.”
Marble squeaked, practically jumping out of her seat as a new voice intruded upon their conversation. She turned to the interloper hesitantly and saw an orange pony with a massive black, curly mane.
“Saffron!” Minuette smiled. “It’s great to see you again.”
“How’s it going?” Lemon asked
Saffron returned their smiles. “Great. Business has been booming lately… for better or worse.”
For the first time, Marble took notice of the bags under this pony’s eye, and the frazzle in her mane.
Likewise, Saffron took notice of Marble and Limestone. “Hi!”
Marble froze up, jaw locking. Surprise of all surprises, she still sucked at talking to strangers.
“Oh my gosh! Manners, Minuette!” A blue hoof wrapped around Marble’s shoulder, igniting a blush on her face. She could practically hear Minuette's grin widen. “Saffron, this is my date, Marble Pie.”
Lemon Hearts mirrored Minuette’s movements with her own date. “And this is Limestone.”
Limestone’s eyes narrowed, cutting from the hoof on her shoulder to its pony of origin. The yellow leg retracted in a heartbeat.
Saffron just kept her smile. “Nice to… Wait a moment, Pie?” She glanced from Marble to Limestone. “Your last name is Pie, as in—”
“Pinkie Pie?” Limestone filled in. Saffron nodded. “Figures.”
“So you’re her... cousins, I’m guessing?” Saffron asked.
“Do we look like apple farmers to you?” Limestone returned, her voice gruff at best.
Saffron knitted her brows together. “I’m… sorry?”
“They’re all sisters,” Minuette interjected before Limestone could say something that would get their food spat in.
“Oh, okay.” Saffron nodded. It was clear to Marble that the unicorn before her didn’t quite see the family resemblance. “So, would you like to see the menu?”
“No need. Four specials, please.” Minuette looked to Marble and—the more likely to complain—Limestone. “Trust me guys; the special is always to die for.”
“O-okay,” Marble whispered.
Limestone grunted. “Fine.”
“Great.” Saffron’s horn sparked to life and brought up a note pad and jotted down their order. “I’ll have it out as soon as I can.”
Minuette waved her hoof dismissively. “Take your time; I know it’s busy tonight.”
“Thank you.” Saffron tucked away her notepad, nodded a goodbye and trotted back to the kitchen.
Now alone, the group floundered for something to talk about. A silence descended upon them, one Marble wasn’t too keen on breaking. Minuette and Lemon Hearts seemed in a rut, trying to think of something to talk about.
Finally, Limestone opened her mouth. “We forgot to order drinks.”
“Oh crap!” Minuette smacked her forehead. “I knew I was forgetting something. Sorry girls.”
“I-It’s okay,” Marble mumbled.
“Yeah, we’ll just ask for some when Saffron gets back.” Lemon said.
“Okay, sure that’s no… problem…” Minuette trailed off, squinting as she looked just over Limestone’s head. Marble followed her line of sight, just in time to see a white blur ducking below the booth’s horizon.
“What’s the matter?” Lemon Hearts asked. She turned to see, but was already too late.
“It’s nothing.” Minuette shook her head, brushing off the odd occurrence and looking back at Marble. “So how’s the rock farm been this week?”
“G-Good,” Marble stammered.
Lemon Hearts nudged Limestone for attention. “What’s it like on a rock farm? I’ve never actually been to one before.”
“Never?”
“No.”
Limestone rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s pretty simple. We have rocks—”
“Yeah?” Lemon leaned in.
“—and we farm them.”
Lemon leaned back out. “Oh. That’s… neat?”
Marble bit her lip. She didn’t want Lemon Hearts struck down so easily, not to mention she would prefer it if the topic of conversation stayed on something she knew about. “C-Come on, L-Limestone. We do more than just that.”
Her sister tilted her head, giving it some thought. “I guess we do punch rocks a lot, too.”
“Punch rocks?” Lemon knitted her brows together.
Limestone nodded. “You gotta get smaller rocks somehow.”
“You mean you two actually—”
“—Break rocks in half with our hooves? Yeah.”
Lemon and Minuette both dropped into silence, eyes widening. Whether it was in shock or disbelief, Marble didn’t know.
“T-That’s… incredible!” Stars sparkled in Lemon Hearts' eyes. “You can actually break rocks with your bare hooves? Any kind, like andesite or granite? Well, I guess Nickerlite wouldn’t have too many igneous rocks just lying around, but even if it’s only sandstones that’s still really impressive. Do you think it’s a latent power based in your natural earth pony strength or are you using mineral mitigation magic to assist you? I bet—”
Minuette nudged Marble, mercifully distracting her from Lemon’s rambles. “You see, Shy Pie. This is what happens when you mix magic and rocks. You get this nerd.”
Marble couldn’t stop a little giggle from escaping her lips.
“—Either way, you must be really strong. I bet your muscles are… uh…” Lemon trailed off as her yellow face became splashed with crimson.
“Are what?” Limestone narrowed her eyes.
“R-Really, really… toned.” That last word barely squeaked out past the blush.
“Oh.” Limestone blinked and let her eyes dart around for a moment before looking back to Lemon. “Uh… thanks?”
“You must be pretty strong too, Marble,” Minuette said, giving her a nudge.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she murmured in response. It was true; she was by far the weakest of the Pie family. Limestone and Maud could decimate large rocks without even trying. Usually it took a couple of punches before they could smash a rock in half. Marble wasn’t as good; most of the time it took her a few solid minutes of chipping away at a boulder to break it in two.
“Aw, stop being modest and let me feel those rippling muscles of yours.” Minuette leaned against Marble, her hooves slowly snaking up her foreleg. Blood burned under Marble’s cheeks, but she let her date give her foreleg a good test squeeze regardless. “Oh wow…”
“W-What’s wrong?” Marble asked. She hoped Minuette hadn’t gotten her hopes up too high.
In response, her date squeezed her biceps again, reveling in the feel. “Sorry, just wasn’t expecting you to be this strong!” She paused before withdrawing, then giggled.
“What?”
Minuette broke off her laugh for a moment. “I was just thinking your muscles were… rock hard.”
A snort blasted out of Marble’s mouth. She slapped her hoof to her face, embarrassed, but unable to stop herself from chuckling at the pun. It wasn’t even that funny; it was just… the way she said it. Confident, but not brash. Simple, but not stupid. Carefree, but not reckless. Minuette was unconcerned with over-analyzing the situation and chose to simply have a little fun, knowing it couldn’t possibly hurt.
Marble wished she could be a little more like that.
Lemon Hearts eyed Limestone and tapped her hooves together. Tentatively, she said, “Uh… can I—”
“No.”
Lemon pressed her lips together, disappointed, but at the same time she seemed to have expected that answer. Or at least, she should have.
Even so, Marble could tell a change of conversation was in order. She turned to Minuette and cleared her throat. “S-So… what’s it like being a dentist?”
“Hm?” Minuette looked to her as she processed the question. “It’s great! Though, at times it can be quite a hoofful. Or, should I say, mouthful.”
Marble giggled. Minuette sure was punny tonight.
Her date smiled. “But yeah, cleaning teeth is probably the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.”
Even more than rock farming? Well, duh. Minuette had never even been to a rock farm before. But that didn’t stop Marble from wondering how or if a job could be more rewarding than spending all day smashing and hauling rocks. “Why’s that?”
“‘Cause I get to make pony’s smiles the best they can possibly be!” A certain air of pride seemed to surround Minuette when she talked about her work. She even sat up straighter. “As far as I’m concerned, no job is better for me.”
Marble smiled. “Sounds like you really like it.”
“Well of course, it’s important to love what you do and do what you love.” She wrapped her hoof around Marble. “I bet you feel the same way about rock farming.”
“Y-Yup.” Marble practically melted into Minuette’s hold, barely able to pay attention when her date’s hold was so soft and comforting.
Limestone rolled her eyes at the mushiness before turning to Lemon Hearts. “What about you? Please tell me the reason you like your job isn’t as corny as hers.”
“Oh… uh…” Lemon’s eyes darted to Minuette, as if to ask permission to answer lest she offend her friend. Minuette just smiled, accepting that Limestone wasn’t intending to be rude, she just was. “I like my work just fine,” she finally mumbled.
Marble tilted her head. “What do you do?”
“I’m, well…” Lemon caught sight of Limestone’s disinterest and slumped. “...it’s not important.”
Minuette scoffed. “Not important? Lemon, you can’t be serious. You work under the head geoscientist at The Canterlot Museum of Petriculture for Celestia’s sake!”
Limestone raised an eyebrow. “Really?” It may have been Marble’s imagination, but did her sister sound… impressed?
Lemon seemed to pick up on that too, because her demeanor brightened. “O-oh, yeah! I mean, I’m just an assistant right now, but I get to do a lot of important things. Like take notes! And… get coffee…” She swallowed those last words, embarrassment dominating her face.
“Oh. That’s… nice?” Limestone shrugged. Lemon’s ears folded down and she began to study the intricate details of the plain brown table in front of them.
Marble bit her lip, feeling bad for Lemon Hearts. She even thought she heard somepony groan at the whole ordeal, but looking around it didn’t seem like anypony at their table had.
“Your specials are ready!”
“Eep!” Marble’s rear end leapt from the seat, airborne for a few seconds before plopping back down at the booth.
Saffron had practically materialized next to her and the mini panic attack that had followed sent Marble’s tiny heart throbbing wildly.
Four plates and their respective silverware levitated onto the table as Marble took deep breaths to calm down. With the aftermath of her startle fading, she managed to at least see what their meal for the night would be. And it was…
Was…
“Uhm, what is it?” Marble stared down at the dish before her, eyes darting all over the plate and her muzzle involuntarily scrunching up at it. The food was a hodgepodge of ingredients, each vying for attention from beneath a layer of broth. Among them Marble could tell there was squash, peppers, potatoes and possibly a hundred other things she’d never heard of.
Giving it a sniff, she almost squeaked. It burned! One whiff of the mystery concoction sent Marble’s nose a flame from the spices it sent wafting through the air.
The only thing remotely familiar about the meal was the modest pile of rice resting one the other side of her plate. It contrasted pretty heavily with the mysterious food; instead of overflowing with bits of food and color and smells… it was just plain old rice.
“Well don’t hold us in suspense, Saffron!” Minuette said, her eagerness bringing Marble back to reality. “What is it?”
“This is called curry,” their chef explained. “It’s a traditional dish where I’m from, but I made it just a bit special for tonight.”
Limestone picked up her spoon with all the enthusiasm of a shrug and plunged it into the concoction. “Well it better be worth it.”
Saffron’s pupils shrank. “Oh, wait! You should—”
Too late. Limestone’s mouth closed around a spoonful of the curry.
Saffron’s muzzle scrunched up in a premature wince, leaving Marble head-scratchingly confused as to what was wrong.
Luckily, Limestone was able to clear that up rather quickly. Not even a second after the curry entered her mouth, her eyes bulged outward, tearing up. Face igniting into a bright red hue, Limestone coughed and punched her chest as the curry slithered down her throat. Gasping, she let her tongue dangle out of her mouth to cool down as she took deep breaths
Watching the whole scene, Minuette giggled a little, but Marble just tensed up. As Limestone recovered, she reacted… predictably.
It only took a few seconds for Limestone’s face to run the gamut of possible emotions in this situation. First her eyes flicked over to Minuette’s giggle fit and embarrassment hit her. Next spite took over, and she glanced down accusingly at her food. It wasn’t long before that turned to all out anger, as her head whipped around to Saffron.
“Why didn’t you warn me how spicy it was?” she demanded.
Saffron seemed taken aback at the sheer force of Limestone’s voice. “Uh… I-I was trying to—”
“But you didn’t!” Limestone had both hooves on the table now, as if she was about to stand up.
Marble shrunk back, pressing herself into the cushion of the booth in a vain attempt to disappear. Minuette had stopped her giggling in the wake of the impending explosion, but her wide eyes suggested that she didn’t know what to do to defuse the situation.
Lemon at least gave it a shot. “I-It’s okay, Limestone. I know Saffron didn’t not tell you that on purpose…”
Limestone’s eyes sliced back to her, giving off one heck of a death glare. Every part of Marble shook; she always forgot how scary Limestone could be.
As Lemon backed off, Limestone turned her attention back to Saffron, foiling the unicorn’s attempts to shrink away. “Got anything to say for yourself, Saffron?” Limestone slammed her hoof on the table at that last word. A rattled Marble let fly a nervous ‘eep’ that she’d been trying to hold back, and Limestone’s ears flicked in response.
Her gaze shifting yet again, Limestone’s expression softened the tiniest bit when she saw her sister.
“I-I’m sure we can, uhm,” Saffron stumbled over her words, a nervous grin flashing across her face every few seconds.
“Forget it.” A much cooler tone was behind Limestone’s words now, but it still held a layer of anger to it. “Just get me some water or something.”
Saffron’s pupils were specks that Marble could barely register as they darted from Limestone to Minuette. “Uh…”
“We all could use some drinks, actually,” Minuette clarified, mouthing ‘sorry’ once she was sure Limestone wasn’t looking.
“I’ll… get right on that, then.” Marble could practically feel Saffron’s sigh of relief as the orange unicorn slinked away from their table. “In the meantime, try eating the curry with rice; it should help with the spiciness.”
“Now she tells me,” Limestone grumbled, poking at her food.
Silence.
Uncomfortable, unbearable silence.
Marble swallowed, silently praying that the night wasn’t ruined. Across the table, Lemon seemed to be doing the same thing right before she cleared her throat.
“So… was the curry any good?” she asked.
“Oh yeah.” Limestone flicked her spoon across the plate. “While it was burning me alive I couldn’t help but think through the pain: Golly, this sure is delicious!”
“Well that’s great news!” Minuette said, ignoring the sarcasm and picking up her spoon. She scooped up a helping of curry, making sure to balance it out with some rice, and took a bite. “Mmmm! Marble, you gotta try this.”
“...Mmhmm.” Marble almost winced as her old habit reared its head. To cover, she swooped down on her meal. As the first bite landed on her tongue she couldn’t help but squeak. If one whiff lit up her nostrils, one spoonful scorched her tongue. She was lucky the rice was there to lessen the impact.
“Doing okay?” Minuette asked.
Marble nodded, flinging sweat around. Wait, she was sweating? One bite had that effect on her?
She hurried up and swallowed the curry, the spicy flavor lingering in her mouth as she silently begged the water to arrive sooner. Though, she couldn’t deny that through the fire, there was a great taste on her tongue.
“Like it?” Minuette had scooted closer to her...
“Y-Yeah.” Marble’s face was still hot, and not from the curry.
“Oh!”
They both turned to see Lemon Hearts' with a spoon jutting out of her mouth. Her yellow face turning red for a moment, she pounded her hoof onto the booth, likely in an effort to distract from the pain.
“Hot enough for ya?” Minutte giggled, and Marble joined in.
Lemon swallowed, her magic lifting the spoon from her mouth. “Haha. Feel free to laugh at my expense.”
Minuette snorted. “Okay, then. If that’s the case I’ll just have tell The Beaker Story.”
Lemon stiffened, mistake realized. “Uh, n-no.”
Two pairs of eyebrows raised. Before Marble could ask, Limestone beat her to it. “The Beaker Story?”
It took all of a millisecond for Lemon’s face to revert to red. “No no no no no no no!”
Minuette just laughed. “Oh, I’m telling it now.”
“Nooo!”
Limestone observed the back and forth for a second, grinning now that the source of amusement wasn’t her. “I’ve got to hear this.”
Marble could only nod. She had to know what all the fuss was about. She’d apologize to Lemon Hearts after.
“Okay, so one day in science class, like… ten, eleven years ago? Lemon, which was it?”
“No no no…”
“Eleven, right. I remember now. Anyway, we were just messing around, and Lemon got the bright idea to juggle some beakers with her magic.”
Lemon Hearts' hooves met her face and she groaned.
Minuette just kept going, delighting in retelling the story. “So she starts with just one, right? But the problem is she throws it so high up that she loses track of it. So she looks up to see where it went—”
“Please no.”
“—And the beaker falls onto her so fast that her head slid right into it.”
Marble’s eyes widened. Limestone snorted. “You’re kidding!”
Lemon’s face met the table. “Nooooo…”
Minuette just shook her head. “I’m not joking. Her whole head was in a beaker. Well, technically an Erlenneigher Flask, but we always just called it a beaker for simplicity’s sake.”
The thought of filly Lemon Hearts with her head scrunched into a beaker dominated Marble’s mind. She couldn’t help it; she giggled.
And then she burst out laughing.
“That’s not even the best part!” Minuette said. “Once she realized what happened, she freaked out and started running around like crazy! Everypony in the class stopped what they were doing just because they were so surprised. Oh man, Twinkleshine and I had to hold her down while the teacher went to grab a stick of butter to get her free.”
Marble almost choked. She covered her mouth, trying to spare what little of Lemon’s dignity she could.
Limestone didn’t seem to care about that as much. Her head rested on the back of the booth as her laugh boomed throughout the restaurant.
Through her humiliation, Lemon Hearts looked up at Minuette, her face begging to know the answer to one, simple question: why?
To answer, Minuette just pointed her to Limestone.
Her laughter was finally slowing down. She clapped Lemon Hearts on the back, knocking some surprise into the unicorn. “Celestia, you were one crazy kid.”
“U-Uh… yeah.” At this rate, Lemon Hearts was going to beat Marble for most blushes per minute.
Minuette took note, and picked up her fork. Her work done, she shot Marble a wink before diving into her curry.
She didn’t… plan that, did she? Marble blinked in awe, realizing Minuette had.
After a lifetime of living with her, Marble knew Limestone hated to be the butt of jokes. Her ego and temper went hand in hand; an attack on the former meant the latter would lash out. Though she was perfectly fine to laugh at somepony else’s expense, however hypocritical that might be. So when the curry incident plunged the table into a bad mood, what better way to diffuse the tension than to tell an old, embarrassing story of Lemon’s? It was the perfect way to wipe away the memory of the humiliation and get her to warm up to her date at the same time.
Marble was floored. Minuette had known Limestone for what, less than a week? And already she knew enough about her to diffuse a toxic situation and turn it around in Lemon’s favor?
Her ability to read ponies was impressive. At least, it was to the introvert, Marble Pie.
Limestone’s laughter finally died down and she let her hoof fall from Lemon’s back. Lemon bit her lip, as though holding back on asking Limestone to hold her longer. Probably a smart move.
“...hehehe…” Marble’s ears flicked. Somepony was… still laughing?
She searched around their table, but came up empty. Minuette was eating, Lemon was still blushing, and Limestone was catching up on missed breath. So who was—?
“Shhh! Keep it down.”
Minuette raised her head from her food, brow raised.
So she heard it too… Before Marble could relish the fact that she wasn’t going crazy, her date swallowed and cleared her throat.
“Hey, did you guys—”
“Here we go! Four waters.” Saffron ripped them from their conversation as she appeared at the table. Following her words were four glasses, which her magic rushed onto the table.
“Oh, thanks, Saffron,” Minuette said, resigned to tuck away whatever it was she’d been talking about. She scooped hers up to chase down her last bite of curry, and Marble was quick to follow suit.
Their chef offered a smile with a touch of nervousness. She glanced over to Limestone, probably hoping she wasn’t about to get yelled out. Luckily for her, Limestone was busy gulping down her water. It took less than a second for her to set the empty glass back on the table, followed by a sigh of relief.
Minuette giggled. “You know you still have a whole meal to get through, right?”
Limestone froze and shot a glance at her curry. “Oh… crap.”
“I can get you a refill,” Saffron blurted out. She snatched up the glass and was off before any yelling could begin.
With a raised eyebrow, Limestone watched her go and turned back to the group. “Geeze, what’s her problem?”
“No idea,” Minuette deadpanned.
Limestone shrugged and went back to poking at her meal with a fork as she waited for her refill.
Without much else going on, Marble feared that the group would slip back into silence. That was… a little weird for her. Usually she preferred silence. Just not when Minuette was around, at least.
“S-So,” she asked, earning the attention of the table. “You said you were a student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, right? What was that like?”
It wasn’t her best conversation starter, but it did the trick.
“It wasn’t that bad, actually,” Minuette said, setting down her spoon for a moment. “The worst part was the homework, but classes were pretty fun.”
“So long as you didn’t get your head stuck in a beaker,” Lemon grumbled, causing Limestone to snort. Marble furrowed her brow, worried her sister was offending her date, but then she caught the faintest of smiles on her lips.
“I wasn’t really successful with a lot of magic though,” Minuette continued, tapping her chin. “Found a pretty good plaque removal spell after I got my Cutie Mark and that’s about it.”
“Fascinating,” Came Limestone’s sarcastic response.
Minuette just rolled her eyes. Marble chewed her lip. “I thought it was nice.”
“Aww, thanks Shy Pie.” Minuette lightly booped her nose, eliciting one of the night’s biggest blushes yet. “Though, I think my attempts at teleporting are more interesting.”
“Y-You can teleport?” Marble stammered. While she didn’t know much about magic it was practically common knowledge that teleportation was the sign of a powerful unicorn. To think that Minuette was that skilled… it was a little disarming.
“Not exactly.” Minuette adopted a sheepish grin. “I mean, I can entangle the necessary magical fields to allow for a small rift in the aether that will transport me, but I never seem to reassemble in—” She paused for just a second to take in the looks of the two befuddled ponies before her. “Sorry, that was a lot magic mumbo jumbo to take it at once, huh?”
Marble could only nod, suddenly feeling very stupid.
“Well, the bottom line is I’m very, very bad at ending up where I want to. It always seems to be between a rock and a hard place.”
“Or between a shower curtain and an unsuspecting stallion,” Lemon muttered under her breath.
“Lemon!” Minuette cried, her cheeks now dotted red.
“Hey, if you can tell the Beaker Story to my— t-to Limestone, then I think it’s only fair that Marble hears about the time you teleported into the guy’s locker room!”
“Y-You did w-what?” Marble stammered, while Limestone snickered across the table.
“It was an accident, I swear!” Minuette said, giggling at the memory herself. “Oh man. I hadn’t thought about that day in years.”
“Ponies have been known to block out memories of trauma,” Lemon said. “And sometimes it’s better left blocked out. Like when your head gets stuck in a beaker for example.”
Minuette snorted into her hoof. “I think it was more traumatizing for Sunburst than it was for me. Poor guy just about fainted then and there.”
Marble swallowed, unsure of how to feel about this. It was kind of funny, but should she laugh at Minuette’s past misfortune? Everypony else was, so it probably wasn’t a big deal. Even so, Marble didn’t really feel like laughing.
“You know, at this rate all of our embarrassing stories are gonna be spilled tonight,” Minuette said as the giggling died down. “Hey, Limestone, you wanna go next?”
Limestone’s chuckling melted away as her brow creased and her mouth folded into a frown. “No.”
“Okay, okay.” Minuette held up a hoof as she backed off the topic. She took another bite of the curry and chewed slowly, giving somepony else a turn to talk.
That would've be fine, except that Lemon was eating too, and there was no way Limestone was going to start up a pleasant, civilized chat anytime soon, which meant the burden of conversation fell on Marble yet again.
She swallowed uneasily, her mind drawing a blank. She didn’t know what to talk about; she’d never been on a date before. Anything she could think to ask had been asked!
Well, I have to say something! Marble thought. What do ponies normally talk about on first dates?
“Uh… W-what’s your favorite color?” she squeaked out.
Minuette grinned. “Asking the important questions, huh Shy Pie?”
Marble’s ears folded down. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Blue.” Minuette’s hoof wrapped around Marble’s shoulder, whose ears leapt up at the touch.
“O-Oh… heh, right,” Marble smiled and tried in vain to keep her face’s usual coloring.
“What about you?” Minuette asked.
“H-Huh?” Marble felt like she couldn’t hear anything over the sound of her heart thumping wildly.
“Your favorite color, silly.” Minuette gave a teasing giggle. “Come on, I gotta know now.”
“O-o-okay…” Marble forced her heart to settle down some. It wasn’t easy; Minuette’s warm smile was a drug Marble was addicted to. “I… I like blue, too.”
Minuette tilted her head, her smile now a bit more coquettish. “Oh really?”
“Heh… well, you know…” Marble poked at the seat of the booth. “It’s a nice color.”
Across the table, Lemon watched the two practically snuggle up to each other and then shifted her gaze to Limestone. “So… what’s your favorite color?”
“Gray.” Limestone took a bite of curry, putting up with the spiciness so long as it kept her free of talking.
“Oh… neat.” Lemon rested a hoof on her cheek and sighed.
As Marble watched their exchange she frowned a little. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw something just above her sister’s head. Before she could even blink, it was gone in a white blur.
“Something wrong, Shy Pie?”
Marble turned back to Minuette, meeting her concerned gaze with a confused one. “I… I don’t know. I thought I saw something.”
“By the other booth?” Minuette guessed.
She nodded. “How’d you kno—”
“Hey!”
As Limestone’s voice cut through the restaurant, Marble and Minuette whipped their heads forward, only to get an eyeful of the most surprising moment of the night.
Limestone’s body was pressed up against Lemon Hearts, hoof wrapped around her lower body and a blue aura quickly fading from view. Lemon Hearts' face was lost under all the blushing. Her jaw quivered as she tried to say something, or perhaps she was desperately holding back a squeal.
Limestone’s face wasn't as joyful.
As soon as the aura dissipated, she pushed away from Lemon Hearts, her features compressed in a scowl and her face boiling with anger. “What the heck was that?”
Lemon’s face dropped from joy to confusion. “I… I don’t know. Didn’t you… we…”
“I did not do that!” Limestone yelled. “Was it you? ‘Cause I felt a push.”
“I… I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!” Lemon ears drooped as her voice cracked. Marble couldn’t blame her; she would hate to be at the receiving end of Limestone’s anger too.
“Well I didn’t just fall all over you if that’s what you’re implying!”
“Hold on.” Minuette’s firm voice entered the fray.
Limestone turned to her. “What?”
“Shy Pie, could you let me out for a moment?” Minuette gave her a polite nudge to get her attention.
“O-Oh… sure.” Marble scooted free of the table, and Minuette was soon to follow. Marble watched as her date crossed to the other side of the booth, and she was worried about what her plan was. Did she want to talk face to face with Limestone?
Nope.
Minuette walked right past her, which seemed to even confuse Limestone. Her sister turned around, brow raised, to watch Minuette strut right past her.
Watching this, Marble felt a lump form in her throat. Minuette was leaving? But… But I…
“W-Wait!” Marble leapt out of her seat and scrambled forward. She chased after Minuette, who had only gotten as far as the next booth before she stopped. She didn’t turn around to face Marble, though. Instead, her focus was all on the ponies at that booth.
As Marble slowed down, she heard talking.
“What was that for? Are you trying to ruin everything?”
“Aw come on, all she needed was one little nudge.”
“You’re not supposed to be drawing attention to us!”
She blinked. Those voices sounded awfully familiar. As Marble pulled up alongside Minuette, she got a good look at who was talking.
Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer.
Marble opened her mouth to say something, but was at a loss for words. Instead, she just watched in open-mouthed surprise as the two unicorns before her bickered obliviously.
“Excuse me for trying to help Lemon out.” Twinkleshine folded her hooves indignantly.
“You could’ve done it in a much subtler way!” Moon Dancer hissed back. “What if you’d blown our cover?”
“Yeah,” Minuette cut in. “That’d be pretty bad.”
“See?” Moondancer pointed. “Even Minuette agrees with me.”
Marble’s eyes fluttered with confusion. “U-Uh…”
“Give it a second.” Minuette’s tone was... scary even.
A moment passed before both Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine went rigid. Moon Dancer turned, wincing as she realized who was standing before her. “Hi, Minuette.”
“Okay, what is going on over here?” Limestone appeared next to Marble, with Lemon Hearts not far behind.
“Moon Dancer? Twinkleshine?” Lemon’s jaw dropped. “What are you two doing here?”
“Yeah, what are you two doing here?” Minuette asked.
Moon Dancer clenched her jaw. “Uh… well… you see…”
“We’re on a date!” Twinkleshine shouted.
Moon Dancer flinched. “What?”
Minuette raised her eyebrow. “What?”
Marble and Lemon’s eyes widened. “What?”
Limestone grunted.
“So, when did this happen?” Minuette asked, voice oozing with how unconvinced she was.
“Oh, we’ve been dating for a while, right, Moonie?” Twinkleshine winked.
Moon Dancer looked about four seconds away from vomiting. “Moonie?”
Twinkleshine reached across the table and held her hooves. “Yes.” Wink. “We’ve been dating.” Wink. “For a long time now.” Wink. “Moonie.”
“You got something in your eye?” Limestone asked.
“Twinkle, I’m not going to lie—”
“—About your feelings any longer? Oh, Moonie!” Twinkleshine pulled her in, puckering her lips.
“Sweet Celestia!” Moon Dancer pushed away. “We’re not dating! We were spying on you, okay?”
Twinkleshine groaned, throwing her hooves up. “Well now who blew our cover?”
“...I don’t even know what’s happening right now,” Marble said.
Minuette lowered her brows at her friends. “Why?”
Moon Dancer winced. “Sorry. We… that is to say, Twinkleshine, thought it wouldn’t hurt to check in on your date.”
“You know, to make sure they were good enough for you,” Twinkleshine added.
The way Minuette narrowed her eyes at her told Marble Twinkleshine was also just a little bit nosey.
“Excuse me?” Limestone growled. She slammed her hoof on the table, and Twinkleshine retreated to the booth’s corner. “You don’t think my sister is good enough for Minuette?”
Uh oh…
“I-I didn’t mean that exactly…” Twinkleshine said as she tried in vain to shrink out of sight.
“So what did you mean?” Limestone drilled Twinkleshine with her eyes. “Were you trying to say something about me then?”
“Uh, well… Hey, Moon Dancer, wanna help me out?” Twinkleshine smiled desperately, sweat running down her forehead..
“I think you both should go,” Minuette said.
At that cue, Twinkleshine scrambled out of her booth and passed Limestone. “Sure thing, Minny.”
Moon Dancer slid out of her seat just slightly more hesitantly. “Sorry for ruining your evening…”
Minuette watched as the two of them left the restaurant, before hanging her head and sighing. “Sorry about that, Marble.”
“I-It’s okay.” Marble bit her lip. She could tell that Minuette had planned for a lot tonight, but that surprise visit had been… well, a bad surprise.
When Moon Dancer finished ducking out of the restaurant, they all finally returned to their seats. They were relatively silent, even as Saffron returned with Limestone’s refill, which was again finished off in a few seconds.
“You guys wanna finish our food and get out of here?” Lemon Hearts asked.
Limestone set her glass down, sighing with relief. “Sounds good to me.”
Marble stiffened. Their date was ending? So soon? But it had just been getting started. She’d only just learned Minuette’s favorite color for pity’s sake.
“Yeah, why don’t we. It’ll be good to move on.” Minuette said. Marble wanted to whimper.
“M-Move on to what?” She asked, praying in her head that it didn’t mean the end of the night.
“You didn’t think this was it, did you Shy Pie?” Minuette winked at her, her light-hearted attitude returning. “It takes more than a couple of nosey friends to stop this first date.”
“O-oh… good.” Marble felt a smile return to her face. “S-So where are we going, then?”
Minuette just smiled. “Trust me, I’m sure you’ll love it.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
843 users online
595,739 hits today, 2,205,040 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yay, more shy pie. Good chapter
Awwww, I feel so bad for Lemon!
I wanna hug her!
Nice job on this man, nice job!
I really feel bad for lemon hearts. Limestone is really being awful to her
try eating. Saffron isn't bad at English.
Also, Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer very nearly screwed up everything, and I seriously doubt Limestone will tolerate them after this. And yet despite that, you gave them actual good intentions and they didn't come off as total jerks.
That's at least one way in which you're a better writer than shortskirtsandexplosions.
You know, I am honestly expecting someone to lash out at Limestone for how she's acting before this all is over. You'd think that since she came on this date to help Marble, she'd care enough to notice the distress she's causing with her outbursts.
I'm really liking the story though, and most of these interactions are adorable.
It does somewhat annoy me that apparently Marble, Minuette, and Lemon are the only likable characters (unless you count Saffron, who I kind of doubt makes more appearances after this). Limestone's being a brat, the Pie parents are sheltering and don't seem to care about their daughter's feelings, and now Twinkle and Moon Dancer are being nosy and apparently judgmental. But everything else about the story is perfect! 
Limestone is just begging to get punched in the snout. Or worse, yelled at by Marble!
It's nice to see the characters having a nice time together. Their interactions was wonderful, especially the part where Minuette and Lemon Hearts talked about their embarrassing moments to Limestone and Marble.
I don't like how Limestone is doing, though. She feels that she is not interested in this double date. I would tell her to just roll along with it, but she is hard to please. 
Anyways, I can't wait to see what the next part of the date will be like.
nice chapter, I like it that Limestone isn't making this magically easy out of sudden. I sort of expect Lemon to cry and maybe Liestone and her talking about it, which would probably lead to Limestone giving her a real chance and maybe admiting that she at least got to like her.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/7/4/929675__safe_twilight+sparkle_screencap_meme_image+macro_filly_book_wat_vulgar_colgate.png
Water does little to mitigate capsaicin. Milk, bread, or rice are best. Water only spreads the burning, at least with the seriously spicy stuff.
Well, Limestone was just starting to open up the tiniest bit... then Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine ruined it. Good job, girls!
At least Minuette knew how to sort-of salvage the situation.
Still, those embarrassing stories were amusing indeed. It's always fun to prod at friends... and yourself.
Let's see if and when Limestone will loosen up enough. She can't be gruff and dangerous all the time. Probably won't happen over a day or a week or even longer, but eventually... we'll see.
But there's still more, so all of my yay!
If Marble wasn't in full crush mode before, she is now... I can see why the pairing stone wouldn't see this relationship as a healthy one if she can't even say her favorite color without worrying that it will upset Minuette.
7564869
There's another Marble/Colgate shipfic written by skirts?
since when is curry actiually spicy? maybe i just dont feel it and all quicker like others do
7566255 No, I'm just remarking on how skirts has a lot of characters who are written as complete irredeemable jackasses, yet their role in the narrative and the stance they take suggests that we should be rooting for them, and there's never any way we'll sympathize enough to see that character as right.
By contrast, Twinkleshine and Moon Dancer have good intentions, and it can be understood how they think their actions are good, while it's also very easy to see their actions as incredibly rude so that we avoid demonizing the main cast of the story. Nobody here is a completely unsympathetic jerk, is what I'm getting at.
Aah! Why can't I give this story more than a singular thumbs-up?
7566314 Some curry, especially tai curry will murder your mouth.
Trust me. Not all curry is, I personally prefer mild. My aunt's curry murders my mouth dead. 
7565948 Thats really what Lemon was butt hurt about from that story.
All the laughs!
7565758 Limestone is the worst kind of tsundere character. You literally have to break down to get her to open up it seems. Or something related to rocks to impress her. I both like and dislike her for different reasons. I liked the intervention part the best.
7565588 Limestone is going to go overboard you watch. Marble is gonna pull a fluttershy on her.
screw it, I ship it
Awesome chapter, great work!
7567245
I would, too, if it weren't for the reaction "Moonie" gave.
I kept thinking of This XKCD whenever Lemon and Limestone's geology interest comes up.
YES!! Finally!
Someone who understands what needed to be done! Thank you! If I could hug you through fimfiction comments, I would! 
7567245 I personaly ship Twi and Moondancer .
7570941 twinkleshine doesn't get enough love dude she needs a ship
7571528 She is recalored Lemon Hearts? If I not mistaking they ship to one another. At least it's only ship I can remember when I think about either.
Limestone is ruining the date!
And I'm caught up. Very surprised to see this become a multi-parter, but I'm not complaining.
7566314
There exist non-spicy curries (like korma and pasander), and you can vary the level of spice in a curry, but generally speaking, a curry is going to be a spicy dish.
Since we're taking Indian food specifically (as curry is a dish in many regions, with many differences), look for phall curry, tindaloo, and vindaloo to find the spiciest varieties of curry. If you see Chicken 65, that's basically the Indian equivalent to spicy Buffalo wings (though Chicken 65 is usually thighs and drumsticks instead of wings).
7569870 Yes! I really hope that behind all her gruff that Limestone is actually enjoying herself. I know it's a stretch, but I really want things to work out.
Why is the chapter always done...
It`s a tragic day to return to such a beautiful story, only to run of chapters
7670815 I remember from a middle school science class about a certain rock coming into contact with plain water causing a violent reaction. Maybe it was limestone, or a certain variant, maybe it wasn't. I can't remember the specifics.
7670841 Doubt that it is limestone since it normally found within shallow waters. If that was the case then we wouldn't even be able to extract limestone from its environment without it being lost.
Twinkleshine nodded. "Yes, actually. After watching the way you've been treating my friend, not to mention yelling at Saffron, who's really nice, by the way... I intend to convince Lemon to lose interest in you. You're nowhere near good enough for her, or really anypony, until you get that foalish temper under control. Now then... you gonna yell at me? Or maybe hit me? Go ahead... my point's already been proven but that'd sure drive it home. You're more than strong enough to knock out a few of my teeth, but hey, I happen to know the best dentist in Canterlot!"
...Because seriously, I get that she doesn't want to be there... but Limestone's behavior goes beyond the already annoying tsundere stereotype and into borderline sociopathy. The whole point of her being there was to lessen Marble's anxiety. Nice gesture... until she fails so hard at pulling it off that she actually pushes things in the other direction. Also... did Moon and Lemon just dine and dash?
Anywho all that aside (and please note my complaints about Limestone are NOT complaints about the writing; I find the character believable just contemptible) I'm glad I got around to reading this. Really good so far and I like the fact that there's conflict from multiple sources beyond the obvious 'Marble's really shy' angle. Have upvote #1111.
Stop being a cunt, Limestone.
7670841
A few years too late, but you were thinking of Lithium. Lithium is an element that explodes violently on contact with water.
Limestone also reacts with water, but for totally different reasons and much less violently. Limestone is pretty much made of Calcium Carbonate, which dissolves in water and releases CO2. It kiiinda goes "boom" on contact with water, but only in the same way as if you shake up a soda bottle. The reaction can be sped up by powdering the Limestone and heating the water, which makes it a little like coke and mentos. It's also an endothermic reaction, so pretty much the opposite of an explosion that way - when limestone dissolves in water it sucks up heat and makes everything around it colder.