Marble had barely said a word in the last half-hour. Given the sum total of her life, that was hardly relevant to say, but given the last few hours that was a big, big outlier.
She would give out smiles that wouldn’t reach her eyes, she would sigh, she would squeak, she would skate.
She would say, “Mmmhmm”. Sometimes, anyway.
But she wasn’t talking, not anymore.
And maybe that was because her brain was exploding all over again.
But it wasn’t like the last few times, though. The last ones had been fireworks. Passionate, blazing, wonderful fireworks. They were explosions of sheer joy.
Now, the explosion was a fiery, all-consuming burn. In slow motion.
It was the ‘everything that could go wrong was going wrong’ scenario in her mind right now. The realization that she was screwed, in no uncertain terms.
She loved Minuette.
How could something so innocent be so wrong? Here she was with a mare who made her feel like the center of the universe without having a spotlight thrown on her, and all she wanted to do was have a nice first date. Except she couldn’t, not anymore.
I wish I’d never heard of the Pairing Stone, Marble bemoaned.
Her spine shuddered at the thought of the root of her problems. If she’d just never gone to the Pairing Stone then this wouldn’t be a problem! If she’d never told Pa then this wouldn’t be a problem.
But she had. And she had. And it was her problem now. As much as she wanted to pretend it wasn’t an issue, there was no denying that she was falling in love with the perfect perky pony holding her hoof. The pony of her dreams.
The pony who wasn’t her soulmate…
Marble felt like she was choking. Her skates slipped awkwardly across the ice as she tried desperately to hold onto her composure. Now that the pure shock factor was wearing off, the panic was beginning to set in.
What am I going to do?
Marble gulped, her throat a desert. The right thing to do would be to tell Minuette they had no future together, right? After all, the Pairing Stone had told her they weren’t soulmates; there was nothing she could do about that. It was pointless to continue, especially with her real soul mate out there, somewhere.
But then, why did that make her feel like throwing up?
Marble shouldn’t be feeling the way she felt about Minuette in the first place; this night was supposed to be her closure. It was a way to move on and close the book on any relationship with Minuette. But at the same time Marble’s stomach flopped at the mere thought of that.
She didn’t want to call it off with Minuette. She didn’t want their first date to be their only date. She wanted to keep being around her. She wanted to eat at the Tasty Treat again, and see movies with her, and go to another party with her. She wanted to hold her hoof some more, and hug her, and cuddle with her, and… kiss her.
Yet, Marble didn’t think she had the strength to defy fate. If it was doomed to never work out between them, why even bother?
Not to mention that wasn’t fair to Minuette, too.
Marble had been avoiding the thought, but she knew Minuette had her own soulmate, too. A pony she was destined to be with, and spend the rest of her life with, and be happy with. As much as thinking about that other pony made Marble’s blood boil with jealousy, it wouldn’t be right for her to deprive Minuette of the pony she was meant to be with.
So that’s it… Marble's heart broke with a whimper. I can’t date her after tonight. I-I should tell her soon too. Maybe once we’re done here?
...Sure.
Her skate scraped limply against the ice, any and all enthusiasm drained. Skating wasn’t fun anymore, and probably never would be again.
Even so, she didn’t want to stop. If the date ended after this, she was obligated to tell Minuette the truth. Maybe she could just prolong it as much as possible. At least pretend everything was fine.
Just then Minuette sensed the lack of effort from her and slowed down. They came to a rough stop by the wall of the rink, Minuette giving her extra support.
“Hey, is everything all right?” She asked.
No.
“Mmmhmm,” Marble said, putting on a brave face that shrank behind her mane.
Shrouding the world away with her hair should’ve been a familiar comfort, but it just… wasn’t. Marble felt so isolated all of a sudden. So alone.
She was grateful when Minuette’s aura appeared to nudge her mane out of the way, even if she was greeted by a frown.
“Are you sure?” Minuette’s concern was like a gut punch.
“I’m f-fine, really.” Marble mustered up a lopsided smile.
Minuette’s subsequent frown gave away how little she believed her. “You know if something’s wrong you can tell me about it, right?”
As the soft dots of disco light danced across Minuette’s face, Marble felt her heart leap into her throat. With that in the way the best she could push out was a soft whimper.
“Marble…”
“Hey, slow down!”
Breathing a sigh of relief that Minuette was interrupted, Marble turned in the direction of the gruff voice of her sister.
Limestone skated into view wobble-legged as she gripped tightly to Lemon’s leg. Her face was contorted in fear as she looked down at the unforgiving ice, her teeth clenched.
Lemon on the other hoof was stone-legged her whole trip over. Blasted across her face was a blush that said she was trying to hold back a space-time shattering squeal as she gripped just as tightly to Limestone as Limestone was to her.
They slid into a stop right by Minuette and Marble, Limestone calming down slightly now that they weren’t moving.
“Hello,” Marble said, eager to change subjects. “H-How’s the skating going?”
With her peripherals, she saw Minuette’s brow crinkle but was relieved when her date didn’t try to interject.
Lemon smiled, beating back her imminent squeal to say something. “It’s going pretty great! Right Limestone?”
“I hate ice,” Limestone growled. Her hind legs wobbled, threatening to send her spiraling.
Lemon’s horn flicked to life, grabbing Limestone’s hooves with a practiced quickness. She giggled lightly. “I guess ice doesn’t like you too.”
Limestone frowned, eyes narrowing.
Clearing her throat, Lemon looked away from her. “So, uh… how’ve you guys been doing?”
“Fine,” Marble jumped in before Minuette could even open her mouth. “Just fine.”
Though she clearly knew that to be untrue, Minuette put on a facade just for the sake of the group and smiled. “Yup. Marble’s gotten so much better at skating already!”
“Well that makes one of us,” Limestone grumbled.
“I-I’m n-not that good,” Marble sputtered. Instinct made her tighten her hold on Minuette.
“We can take a break if you want to then,” Minuette suggested.
Marble gulped, feeling her stomach flopped. She had a sinking feeling that if they got off the ice, they wouldn’t get back on. And then…
“N-No, I’m having too much fun to stop now.” She forced out a smile she hoped didn’t look too… well, forced. She tugged at Minuette’s hoof, launching them back into skating forward. “Come on, one more time around the rink?”
“Marble…” Minuette tugged back, silently begging her to stop. Concern clearly lined her voice.
“P-Please?” Marble swallowed. She pulled on Minuette’s hoof again. “Just one more— Eep!”
Their hooves untangled so suddenly that Marble could barely react. She had plenty of time to regret all her tugging, however, when she found herself stranded on the ice.
Flailing wildly, Marble shut her eyes in fear when she realized she was completely on her own.
Instincts took over, ready to propel her to safety, get her to stand still, or help with balance. Or at least, they would if Marble’s instincts weren’t awful.
Instead, she floundered and slipped across the ice, accidentally pushing herself further and further from the group without even realizing it. Finally, the panic became too much for her. The next time her foreleg left the ground, she slammed it back down as forcefully as she could.
CRACK!
Marble jutted to a stop before she even realized what she’d done. Three of her hooves still slipped and glided about, but now they were firmly anchored by her foreleg at least.
Peeking her eyes open, she got her first look at the damage she’d done.
Her hoof, armed with a blade at the end of it, had cut right through the ice. All the way up to a few inches of her skate were now buried in the rink. And that wasn’t all.
The force of punching through the ice had done lasting damage. Giant spider web-like cracks extended outward from the point of impact and reached out across the greater expanse of the rink.
Couples had now all stopped from the commotion, some even slipped and fell in surprise. But most, if not all, had their eyes directly on her.
Her ears folded and her pupils shrank from the sudden attention. She could feel her heart pulsate against her chest as she overdosed on anxiety.
Suddenly, nothing mattered besides getting out of the limelight. Marble yanked her foreleg back, but it was caught in the ice. She squeaked, barely able to keep her other hooves still enough to pull with any meaningful strength. She still tried anyway, desperately hoping to rip her hoof free.
Instead, her back hooves slipped on the ice. Marble flopped down, feeling a chilling rush hit her backside and she yelped. Still kept trying to tear her hoof free of the ice, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she only continued to embarrass herself.
“Marble!” Minuette slid into view, effortlessly dodging all the cracks to get right next to her date.
Limestone and Lemon Hearts followed suit, appearing in front of her a few seconds later to block the crowd’s view.
“Are you okay?” Minuette asked, bending over as best she could to be eye level with her. Marble could only sniffle in response.
Limestone narrowed her eyes and turned to the crowd as they ambled closer. “What? You losers have nothing better to do?”
The crowd shuffled to a stop, ponies sharing looks, before they all scuttled away to continue skating on the other side of the rink.
Without them around, Marble felt just a bit better, which meant she felt awful instead of horrible. She kept tugging at her hoof, voice catching in the back of her throat as she choked on sobs whenever she tried to explain herself.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Minuette brought her hooves awkwardly around Marble, doing her best to avoid falling herself. “Don’t worry.”
“B-But I—” Marble could even form the words.
“I know. But it’s okay, really.” Minuette held her tighter. “Nopony’s upset, so please don’t cry.”
Marble sniffled, trying in vain to think of a reply while she continued to tug at her hoof. Eventually, she gave up on both fronts and just sank into the warm hug.
“Here.” Limestone sliced with the blade of her skate, chopping a new crack in the rink right beside Marble’s hoof.
She wiggled, now able to with the extra space, and slowly pulled her hoof free of the ice chasm she’d created. While that was one problem solved, really her biggest concern was that she’d ruined the date for everypony. “I-I’m s-s-sorry…”
“No worries, Shy Pie. You don’t have to apologize.” Minuette nuzzled her cheek before pulling away and wrapping her body in a magical aura.
“Yeah, totally. We know an accident when we see one,” Lemon said.
Limestone nodded.
As Marble levitated upright, she found herself able to blink back her tears. Not much, but it was a start.
“Come on.” Minuette entwined her hoof with Marble’s to give her support. “I think we’ve skated enough for one night.”
Marble's breath caught in the back of her throat. “B-But—”
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to Icy Skates,” Minuette told her, kicking off and sending them weaving through the cracks in the ice and towards the gate. “She’ll understand.”
Marble couldn’t really say much to that. Minuette had guessed completely wrong regarding the source of her nerves. She wasn’t so much concerned with what the owner of the ice rink would think more so than she was worried that now she was running out of time before she had to tell Minuette the truth.
They reached the gate moments later, Minuette being ever cautious as they stepped off, likely to avoid punching through any more ice. The shuffled over to the nearest bench and sat down.
Following their lead, Limestone and Lemon made their way back to solid ground. As soon as she could stand without falling on her face, Limestone didn’t hesitate to pull her hoof out of the tangled knot it had formed with Lemon’s. Marble caught her frown for a half second before her face morphed to a happy mask. There was no denying she would’ve like to hold Limestone’s hoof a little longer.
“Here,” Minuette said, lifting Marble’s hooves up. “I’ll get these off you.”
Marble tried to smile. “T-Thanks…”
She waited as the laces to her skates danced to untangle themselves. Beside her, Lemon and Limestone worked on their own skates. One with magic, the other with… teeth.
Marble barely had time to sigh before the first skate slipped of her hoof, shortly followed by the other three. Looking down, she wiggled her freed hooves, noting how much warmer they felt in comparison to the rest of her.
Minuette slid her skates off too, causing Marble to just now realize she’d been untying all eight at once. She’s so amazing...
“I’ll be right back, okay?” Minuette slid from of the bench, lifting all of their skates by her magic. “See you in a bit, okay?”
Marble nodded, holding back a frown. She watched Minuette trot away, only to lower her head once she was gone.
Now that her stupidity had cut their skating short, there was nothing left to do but… tell the truth. She shut her eyes, shaking a little.
No matter how sure she was that it was the right choice, Marble still really, really didn’t want to end it. Even taking the good with the bad, when she thought about everything that had happened tonight, she couldn’t help but find it to be the best time she’d had in awhile. And it was all thanks to Minuette.
She sniffled, unable to help it.
“Hey, don’t worry.”
Marble glanced up, looking in the direction of her sister’s voice. Limestone’s face was creased with sympathetic folds.
“Minuette isn’t mad at you. Trust me, I know anger when I see it,” Limestone said, giving her sister an encouraging smile.
Marble blinked back tears. “I-I know that.” She wiped her eyes. “I just…” Her next words came out as a low whine.
Limestone’s hoof found her back and gave her the trademark ‘I have no idea what to say to help you’ pat. Marble understood that it was the best she could offer, but it didn’t exactly help.
“You don’t have to beat yourself up over the ice, Marble,” Lemon Hearts said.
Marble swallowed. While she did feel guilty about ruining the rink, that feeling paled in comparison to the aches the real problem gave her. What’s more, Lemon didn’t even know the truth, and it wasn’t like Marble was eager to go into the details again.
“I’m fine, r-really,” Marble said as she bit back more sobs.
The subsequent frowns sent her way let her know how effective her lie had been. It also told her neither was eager to pour salt on a fresh wound and keep talking about it. They both let the subject drop, turning their eyes elsewhere. Curling upon the bench, Marble resigned herself to silence until Minuette returned.
“So…” Lemon scooted closer to Limestone, earning herself a sharp glance. “Uh, did you like skating with me? O-or, just skating in general, you know.”
Limestone narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “It was okay.”
Lemon’s smile faltered, but didn’t drop. “Yeah, I guess it could’ve gone better.” She inched close enough to have her body gingerly press against Limestone’s. “Maybe when the rink gets fixed I can give you a private skating lesson. What do you say?”
There was a beat of silence. Then, Limestone pulled away. “I don’t know if I want to try ice skating again.”
This time Lemon’s smile fell. “Oh.”
Marble held back a whimper. She couldn’t help but blame herself for that. If she hadn’t cracked the ice like an idiot, maybe Limestone would’ve had time to enjoy skating.
I’m just ruining everything tonight.
They didn’t talk again until Minuette bounced back into view. She paused at the sight of the three of them sitting with an atmosphere of forlorn quietness.
Minuette cocked her head to the side. “Why so glum, everypony?”
Marble flinched to attention. “U-uh… W-what did Icy Skate say about… You know…”
“I told you it was fine, Shy Pie. Fixing the rink isn’t a big problem for Icy.” She motioned for them to get up. “Now come on, this date isn’t over yet.”
But it will be once I… Marble masked her frown by standing up, still unable to finish the thought. The dreaded question of ‘how am I going to tell her?’ had been hanging over her head all night and she still wasn’t prepared with an answer.
Minuette ensconced herself at Marble’s side, pushing a blush onto both their faces. But for Marble, it held a somber overtone. No longer was she excited to be beside Minuette; now she was just sad that this might be their last time to do this.
Lemon and Limestone trotted up behind them, neither trying to imitate the closeness the couple before them displayed. Lemon for fear that Limestone wasn’t in the mood for that, and Limestone out of indifference.
They made their way out of the building, once again greeting silent streets with more silence. Nopony made a move to go anywhere, so they just stood on the sidewalk in front of the rink.
Finally, Lemon Hearts cleared her throat. “So where to next?”
Minuette tapped her chin. “Well, I was thinking maybe we could split up.”
The color drained from Marble’s face. “W-what?”
Minuette hooked a foreleg around her drawing a blush. “Yeah. I was hoping we could walk around Canterlot for a bit; just us. The two of you don’t mind, right?”
Marble squeaked. She couldn’t be alone with Minuette when she told her the truth! She doubted she’d be able to say ‘we aren’t soulmates’ to Minuette and just leave. Of course she would want an explanation. Marble just hadn’t put any thought into what she’d say; she kind of just expected Limestone to handle that part for her. But if they split up then…
“I think that’s a great idea!” Lemon perked up, sliding in close to Limestone as she assented. Her spark of hope for the night seemed to finally turn into a fire.
Limestone seemed less sure. Her gaze turned to Marble, eyebrow raised. Marble did her best to project as many of her inhibitions as possible onto her face at that moment. Years of experience paid off, as Limestone’s face morphed into worry.
“Just a sec,” she said, whipping past Minuette as she grabbed Marble and pulled her out of earshot. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t… I c-can’t…” Marble forced back her hyperventilation. “I have to tell her… but I wanna throw up.” Her voice cracked.
Limestone's hard look of worry melted into something much softer. “Whoa, hey…”
“It’s not fair!” Marble sniffled. “I have to but… I don’t want to!”
Her next cry was muffled when she found her face shoved into a fluff of fur. Marble tried not to ‘eep’ as her sister wrapped her into a hug.
“It’s okay, Marble.” Limestone awkwardly said as she attempted a comforting pat. “I get it… I mean, I don’t know what you’re dealing with. But I know this isn’t easy for you.”
Marble sniffled.
Limestone sighed heavily. “You don’t have to tell her tonight if it’s really that hard.”
Marble shook her head. “No, I… It isn’t fair to her if I don’t. And Pa will be mad, and…” ...And I think I love her but I shouldn’t and I’m scared. Her mouth hung open, leaving that part unsaid.
“Okay.” Limestone broke apart the hug and looked her in the eye. “I’ll walk around with Lemon for a bit so you two can talk.”
Marble nodded, blinking back hot tears. “O-okay.” She took a deep breath, knowing she couldn’t lose her composure now. Minuette deserved to not have to deal with a sniveling wreck.
“Still, if you don’t think you can handle this, just tell me,” Limestone said.
Wiping her eyes, Marble took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’ve got this,” she said with all the confidence and poise of a pony who definitely didn’t have this.
Limestone gave her a nod anyway, knowing she couldn’t talk her little sister out of this. She turned back to their dates and motioned for them to go back. Marble couldn’t stop another sniffle from escaping her at the sight of Minuette, but it was just one.
They walked back and she sighed. I have to do this! I have to do this.
A gust of wind brushed passed her ears. Minuette’s dress swished wistfully and her bright, bouncy smile came into view.
I have to do this…
Marble felt queasy.
Minuette extended her hoof, silently asking Marble to take it. Once they intertwined their gray and blue legs, the sick feeling in her stomach evaporated into butterflies. Somehow it was better and worse all at once.
“You guys wanna meet back up at the train station?” Minuette asked. “I’d hate for you to miss your ride home.”
Limestone nodded. “Then we have about an hour.”
Lemon blinked into tiny pupils, before straightening her brow with determination. She went from ‘I only have an hour?’ to ‘that’s all the time I need’ in a single look.
Marble wasn’t able to adopt her confidence.
“Come on, Shy Pie, I know the perfect place we can go.” Minuette gave her a gentle nudge to the left. Operating on autopilot, Marble moved with her as they started walking.
Lemon skipped next to Limestone. “Ready?”
“I guess.”
They started down the other way, Limestone giving her younger sister a wave of good bye. Marble swallowed, throat dry.
She didn’t know whether she should hold on tighter to Minuette or not. The last thing she should be doing is get clingy right before she told Minuette the truth.
Turning back to where they were walking, Marble saw the vacant sidewalk dimly lit by street lamps. They slipped by the amber glows, Minuette’s beauty highlighted by the soft caress of the lights.
“So what do you think of Canterlot at night?” Minuette asked, nudging her to attention.
“Oh, uh… It’s very nice,” Marble whispered.
Minuette smiled. “Good. I figured you would prefer this to the daytime.”
Flashes of crowds surged in Marble’s mind. “Y-Yeah.”
The sounds of their hoofsteps filled in the dead space of their conversation. Before long, the pulsating sounds of the club overpowered them. Marble looked up to realize they were walking back the way they came. Even so, they still passed by the nightclub without a second glance.
“Uh, where are we going?” Marble asked, suddenly curious.
“We passed a park on our way here. I was thinking we could check it out if that’s okay with you.”
“S-Sure.” Marble vaguely remembered a park, but it wasn’t exactly high on her priority list at that moment.
They crossed the street, Marble dipping out of the conversation and into her thoughts. She still hadn’t figured out what she’d say to her, or if she’d even be able to say it.
“Oh, there it is!” Minuette tugged her hoof, pointing off to the side.
Marble glanced up to be greeted by a set of trees guarding the brick entrance to a park. Right on the inside she could see the concrete sidewalk melt away into cobblestone, as well as a bench or two and an iron gate behind them.
Her heart thumped with anxiety, knowing she had to tell Minuette the truth. Should she do it now, or wait until they were a good ways into their walk? She couldn’t delay it until right before she had to get on the train, could she?
“Hey, Marble?” Minuette’s soft voice gently poked Marble back to reality.
“W-what?”
Minuette nudged her head over to the bench, eyes conveying everything for her. Marble just nodded and they sat down.
She crossed her legs, fore hooves together as she looked down and tried to think of what to say.
“Marble?” Minuette beat her to the punch. “Can I ask you something?”
Marble’s heartbeat was pounding. “Y-yeah.”
Minuette pressed her lips together, for the first time that night looking unsure of herself. “Did you have a good time tonight?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Yes! I-I mean, of course I did. You...It was amazing.”
Minuette looked like she had to pry a smile out of her face. “Really? Because all night it… Well, it just kind of felt like something was wrong with you.”
Marble swallowed. No sense in lying. “There’s something, actually.” Her heart felt like it was being squeezed as she said the words. The pressure was so tight she could barely breathe.
Minuette frowned, brows crinkling with worry. “Was it something I did?”
Her eyes just about popped out of her skull. Minuette thought this was her fault? “No!”
“Because I didn’t mean—”
“No! Minuette…” Marble found herself grasping two blue hooves, staring deeply into the pupils of their owner. “You… You’ve been perfect.”
Minuette’s eyes sparkled. “Marble…” She blinked slowly, then started to lean forward.
It didn’t take a genius to figure what was about to happen. Excitement whirred Marble’s systems into overdrive, but fizzled when she remembered the Pairing Stone. When she remembered the inescapable truth.
She let out a pained squeak, cutting Minuette off midway.
Her date stiffened, caught completely off guard. “Marble? What’s wrong?”
Hot tears leaked out of Marble’s eyes, spilling down her face as she struggled to say something in answer to Minuette’s worry.
But through her sniffling, shaky words took form as they lifted a massive weight from her shoulders and shoved it on top of her heart. “Minuette… I can’t be with you.”