Sweet Celestia, this is awkward. Limestone chewed the inside of her cheek as she walked through the sleepy streets of Canterlot. Silence permeated the air around her as the lack of conversation was palpable. Only the sounds of hoofsteps filled the void. Awkward, stilted hoofsteps.
Limestone huffed to herself. It was one thing to spend time with a total stranger so you could make your sister feel better while she was on her date. It was a whole other thing to be left alone with that total stranger.
Speaking of, Lemon Hearts was walking right next to her, all but personifying the awkwardness Limestone felt right now. From her jittery hooves, eyes that couldn’t focus, and slightly frazzled mane, it was clear she'd been expecting this situation about as much as Limestone.
Though to be fair, it must be worse for her. Limestone was here for Marble’s sake, but who knew what Minuette had said to get Lemon to waste her evening on this ‘date’.
If the previous few hours were any indication, Lemon sure didn’t want to be here. She’d been nothing but an awkward mess since minute one just trying to keep up the act of this being an actual date. Everything from the stuttering, to the weird noises she kept making when they were skating together, right down to the rushed way she spoke tonight made it clear doing this was not something she wanted to deal with. In all honesty, Limestone kind of felt bad for her.
Though, with their audience gone, why should either of them continue with this? Limestone knew Marble would be miserable on the train home after she explained the situation to Minuette. She figured a better use of her time would be thinking of ways to cheer her sister up rather than wandering aimlessly through Canterlot.
She cleared her throat, drawing Lemon’s attention. “So… we can just end this here if you don’t mind.”
“W-What?” Lemon’s pupils shrank.
“We’re not doing anything,” Limestone put it bluntly. “So I—”
“We can do something!” Lemon squeaked.
Limestone stopped walking. She hadn’t been expecting that.
Lemon needed a few steps of reaction time before she realized Limestone wasn’t moving. She jutted to a stop and slid in front of Limestone. “Whatever you want. I— We— Uh…” She pointed the tips of her hooves together, looking down to study the cracks in the sidewalk. “Y-You can decide, I mean.”
Limestone’s eyes squinted. Just what is she trying to do? They didn’t have to pretend anymore. This ‘date’ could finally end and yet she wanted to keep going? Why?
Though it was their natural state, Limestone’s eyes found themselves even more narrowed than usual. She scrutinized Lemon’s face, trying to find a crack in her armor of innocent smiles and cold sweat.
Is she just doing this because she’s bored or something? That theory was as good as any, mostly because it made her mad. Limestone did not like being used for entertainment.
I can’t waste my time on this anyway! I have to think of a way to make Marble feel better. Limestone wanted to growl.
She turned her head away, tsking in annoyance. “As if I know what to do in this city.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught Lemon deflate a little, only to perk right back up. “Oh, right! I’m sorry. I should be showing you a good time, not the other way around.” Lemon tapped her chin, delving into thought. “Hmmm…”
Limestone turned her head back, grunting in further annoyance. Well, she’s persistent, I’ll give her that much. I should have just turned down her offer right away. Now it’ll just look weird if I try to back out.
Lemon was rubbing her temples now, snout scrunched in pure concentration. “Come oooooonnnnn! Think! Think! Think!”
Then again, I really don’t care if she thinks I’m weird. Inhaling, Limestone opened her mouth to speak.
“I’ve got it!” Lemon smiled, face unscrunchifying.
Limestone almost choked on her breath. So close…
The grin on Lemon Hearts’ face looked like it might split her head in two. “We can go to the Petriculture Museum!”
That actually caused Limestone’s ears to flick with interest. She hid her involuntary action with a grunt even as she found herself giving the idea genuine thought.
I guess it would be kind of cool to see the fancy rocks cityponies farm. Limestone couldn’t fight back her curiosity now that the idea was in her mind. As long as we don’t spend too much time there then it won’t be too late… With the corner of her eye she caught Lemon’s blinding smile and immediately assumed something was off. Then it hit her:
“It’s late.”
Lemon blinked. “Uh… yeah?”
Limestone scowled. Either she was too stupid to see the obvious or she was deliberately messing with her. “So the museum’s probably closed now.”
“Oh, it is. But I work there, remember?” Lemon raised her hoof, horn flashing. Limestone shut her eyes to avoid the light. When she opened them again, she was greeted by a hovering key ring. “So I’m treating you to a private tour… if you want.”
Limestone allowed the tension in her shoulders to relax slightly. At least she could take comfort in the fact that Lemon knew what she was doing. And she had to admit that the prospect of having the whole museum to herself was a tantalizing one.
As long as I don’t waste a lot of time, I can still think of some ways to make Marble feel better when we’re done. She arched an eyebrow at Lemon. As long as she doesn’t waste my time, she amended.
“Okay,” she said.
Specks of red dotted Lemon’s cheeks and her eyelids fluttered with shock. “W-Wait, really? You mean it?”
“I said it didn’t I?” Geeze, why do you have to drag everything out.
Lemon bounced on her hooves, dancing in place. “EEEEEEhehehe! Yes! Yes!”
Limestone winced. And there are those weird noises again. If the whole tour ended up being full of that then she was going to leave.
It was then that Lemon seemed to realize that what she was doing wasn’t happening in her head, because she stopped suddenly and blushed. “Uh… heh... okay, let’s just go now.”
Lemon Hearts wrapped her hoof around Limestone’s, and pulled her forward, eventually kicking up into a trot.
Limestone’s hooves scuttled across the concrete before she could match Lemon’s speed. Wind whipped by her mane as their pace picked up, fueled by Lemon’s excitement.
Oh Celestia, I’m going to regret this.
The doors to the Canterlot Museum of Petriculture creaked open. Wayward beams of moonlight rushed inside, illuminating faint outlines and twinkling dimly as they hit various glass cases.
Lemon slipped inside, before nudging the door open further for Limestone. As more of the night’s light poured in more solid figures appeared, but they lacked much of their substance beyond shape.
Limestone stepped in and waited for her eyes to adjust to the low light. It was a short wait, because Lemon flicked a switch, flooding the Museum with bright light.
“Ah!” Limestone squeezed her eyes shut. Shocked by the sudden change, she defaulted to anger. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Lemon wincing by a nearby light switch. “A little warning would be nice!”
“Sorry! My bad.” Lemon moved back over to her side and waited for Limestone’s eyes to readjust. “So… what do you think?”
Blinking, Limestone let the blurry world around her sharpen into clarity. Even though they were only at the entrance to the museum, several glass cases dotted the room each filled with specimens and samples used to make a first impression on visitors. The museum’s front desk almost felt like an afterthought, shoved into a corner just to make room for more rocks that geologists apparently couldn’t fit into any wing of the museum.
Instead of answering Lemon’s question, Limestone walked forward, head tilting in curiousity. The nearest case was a simple glass cube surrounding a chunk of purple crystals resting on a velvet cushion. There was also a tiny card on the edge of the glass and Limestone glanced down to read it.
Amorphous Amethyst
Donated by: Dr. Red Clay
Limestone’s breath caught in the back of her throat. “That’s— You actually have a—” Surprise overloaded her senses to the point where she didn’t even notice Lemon Hearts had pulled in beside her.
Anypony who worked with rocks worth their salt knew what an Amorphous Amethyst was. It was a magical gem that could never stay in one shape. The reasons why are a mystery to even the best esoteric geoscientists at the moment, but the gem itself was captivating. Word of mouth said that every day it was in a new, unique shape that it would never be in again.
Just looking at the dazzling spread of purple stones, Limestone could tell that fact was true. Subtle, but detectable shifts in the rock were present, a testament to its nature of never being able to sit still. It almost looked the the crystals were bobbing independently of each other in a purple ocean.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Lemon appeared at Limestone’s side.
Limestone opened her mouth, only to nod. “How in the world did anypony find one of these?”
“They are pretty rare.” Lemon smiled. “But you’d have to ask Dr. Clay for a real answer. He was the one who dug it up a few months ago. You should’ve seen his face when he got back; he just couldn’t stop smiling.”
Turning to her, Limestone raised her brow. “You know him?”
Lemon puffed out her chest with pride. “He’s my boss.”
“The guy you get coffee for?”
Her chest unpuffed at record speed. “Uh— Well— I mean— Pffft, what even is coffee, am I right?” Lemon sputtered out. Any remaining confidence drained out of her a second later and she paled, realizing what was just said.
Limestone’s slid away to avoid hers. “O-kay?”
“Uhh… W-Well, I mean, I get to go on digs with him sometimes, so… you know.” Lemon fumbled for something to say, while Limestone fumbled to come up with a facial expression that was less pity and more impressed. “S-So, if you liked this, then we should totally start the tour with the Magical Sediments wing. There’s a Grassy Quartz, and a geode that can make rainbows, and we even just got a Hearthstone in.”
“You have a Hearthstone?” Limestone asked, excitement creeping into her voice. When she saw Lemon softly giggle, she tempered her enthusiasm with a sharp cough. “Uh, sure, sounds good.” Limestone took a step back from the case, turning her head to look around the room. “So… where is that?”
“Oh right.” Lemon bounced away from the display case and pointed herself to the right. “Over here.”
She reached for Limestone’s hoof, but hesitated. Eyes darting to the ground, she pulled her hoof back and used it to gesture her forward instead. “C-Come on then.”
Limestone arched an eyebrow as she watched Lemon scamper across the room. She walked after her at a more leisurely place, mouth contorted in a confused frown.
So weird.
Shaking her head, Limestone matched Lemon’s pace to avoid falling behind. They made their way into the Magical Sediments wing, the museum’s interior shifting to reflect the fact. Carpets gave way to stone floors. Electrical lamps were replaced by glowing crystals dangling from the ceiling in chandelier form. Even the walls were redesigned to give the appearance of walking through a cave, rather than a museum.
The only constant seemed to be the display cases, which were mostly consistent to the front of the museum in that they were a series of glass cases. Only a few deviated from the norm, by being built into the walls for their exhibits.
When they walked into the wing, Limestone couldn’t help but let out an impressed, low whistle.
Lemon turned to her, smiling again. “L-Like what you see?”
Limestone nodded simply. “Yeah, it isn’t half-bad. I mean, I guess.”
“W-Well you haven’t even seen the best part!” Lemon trotted ahead, beckoning her to follow.
“I’ve barely seen any part,” Limestone muttered as she followed.
They passed plenty of unseen parts as they made their way through the wing. Limestone found her attention pulled to the left and right by levitating crystals, psychedelic rocks, and stones that smelled like flowers. She kept straight, staying right behind Lemon as her expectations grew
Eventually they found themselves near the edge of the wing. Lemon Hearts stopped just short of a wall so she could turn a full one-eighty and proudly hold up her hoof to display the nearest case. “Tada!”
Limestone directed her gaze to the rock inside. It was a polished, dark opal that glided across the floor of its case in an attempt to defy physics. Whenever it bumped into the padded edges of the square box, its direction would change effortlessly.
It was clear to Limestone right away what this was, so much so that she didn’t even bother looking at the little card on the case. It was a Frictionless Opal; a somewhat uncommon rock that, when mined in its usual, coarse state, wasn’t anything special. However, when sanded down to a smoother form, it acted as though Neighton’s second law didn’t apply to it.
Technically it did. Limestone remembered that the opal theoretically slowed down over time, it was just not even Princess Celestia was old enough to have witnessed one stopping yet.
But despite its ability to constantly move, the Frictionless Opal wasn’t all that new. Limestone had run across this type of rock herself back in Nickerlite’s mines, and had even met a few ponies around town with smoothed ones. While she could respect the time that went into making this stone realize its potential, that potential just wasn’t that interesting.
“So, what do you think?” Lemon smiled expectantly.
Limestone tried in vain to stop her eyes from rolling over to the side. “It’s… nice?”
The expectant smile died. Rising from the ashes of it like a confused phoenix was a twitching mess of frowns and lines as Lemon tried to maintain one emotion. “O-Oh. I mean, I know it’s not—”
“Was this really the best in the museum? ‘Cause there was like a dozen cooler things on our way up here.”
Lemon’s face finally decided on a half-frown. “Bu— You’re right. Sorry, I just wanted you to see… nevermind.” She brushed past Limestone, tail between her legs. “Come on, there’s better stuff than this piece of junk, I promise.”
As Limestone watched Lemon dart down the hall, she found her eyes drifting back to the opal. As it knocked itself back and forth within the case, Limestone finally took note of the tag on the front.
Frictionless Opal
Donated by: Lemon Hearts
...Oh.
Limestone bit down on the insides of her cheek. Now she felt like a jerk.
But… she shouldn’t. It wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t known. And it wasn’t like Lemon corrected her or anything. She probably put in a lot of work to smoothen and polish that opal, why didn’t she demand some more respect? Surely she must’ve earned it after all the hours she put into it.
Why didn’t she say something? She didn’t have to listen to me… basically call it garbage.
Limestone sighed. No, there really was no way around it; she had to apologize.
Lemon was already walking away, but a brisk trot closed the gap between them.
She coughed to clear her throat. “Look, I didn’t know that was your—”
“It’s fine!” Lemon interjected. She kept facing forward to shield her face, but the red tinge on her cheeks exposed just how much she was beating herself up inside. “Y-You were right, okay? I shouldn’t have built that up at all…” Her ears dipped.
“It’s not like it was terrible or anything,” Limestone said. Her jaw clenched. Yep, cause that’s how you say sorry. The words weren’t exactly coming easy to her, but she was sure she could do better. “Uh… All right, about what I said—”
“Hey look! A reason to talk about something else!” Lemon darted over to a new exhibit, ignoring what Limestone was trying to say.
But ignoring Limestone wasn’t a very good idea.
“Geeze, do you want a stupid apology or not?” She yelled.
Lemon froze, then looked to the ground. She nudged her hooves together and bit her lip. “You don’t have to.”
“What, do you not care about your Opal then? Because that makes no sense.”
Lemon frowned. “I-I just don’t want you to be mad.”
“I’m always mad,” Limestone replied.
Lemon crossed her hooves, struggling with eye contact. “I-I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she amended.
“Then let me apologize,” Limestone demanded. Lemon nodded slowly, so Limestone cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, all right?”
“I forgive you,” Lemon softly squeaked.
“Good.” Limestone finally relaxed a little, glad to have that behind her. Her eyebrow arched when she saw Lemon just staring at her, with no indication that the tour would continue. She coughed awkwardly into her hoof and Lemon’s trance shattered.
“U-U-Uh, right!” She whipped her head around in an effort to reorient herself. “This way.”
They moved down the wall of cases, stopping at far more than before. It took Lemon a while, but by the fourth or fifth display she seemed to have shaken off her funk and got back in the swing of things. Limestone barely spoke, and just listened to Lemon ramble on about each new rock, whether she knew about them or not.
The entire topic of the Frictionless Opal seemed to have dropped, which Limestone was grateful for. As long as awkwardness like that can be buried under a ton of rocks, then this night would turn out fine as far as she was concerned.
“Anyway, that’s basically why the Spider Stone needs to eat,” Lemon said, finishing up her latest list of rock facts.
Limestone nodded along, only half paying attention. Spider Stones were interesting, but she already knew about their feeding habits. Her gaze wandered around the room before landing on something that furrowed her eyebrows.
Down the line, a case built into the wall held a jagged chunk of orange-red quartz shaped like a fireplace, but strangely no glass to separate it from the museum proper like just about every other rock in the building.
She pointed over towards it. “Hey, what’s that?”
Lemon looked over, her face brightening. “Oh, you have to check this one out.”
She bounded over, Limestone following behind but with less enthusiasm and more curiosity. As she neared the glassless exhibit, she felt warmth trickle over her body. It was an uncomfortable sensation of sudden comfort, only serving to pique her curiosity further.
The closer she got, the more all-consuming the warmth was, right up until she stood right in front of the rock.
“This is the Hearthstone I was telling you about,” Lemon proudly said.
“Whoa,” Limestone whispered, the puzzle pieces clicking into place. The heat she felt all around her body was emanating from that quartz. Hearthstone was a rare sub-category of pyro-enchanted stones that basically acted as a rocky fireplace. However, they were rare enough that hardly anypony could afford to have them instead of a traditional fireplace. Between this and the Amorphous Amethyst, Limestone had to admit that the museum detour had been worth it.
As the heat continued to wash over Limestone’s face, she was forced to wipe away sweat dripping down her forehead. “Geeze, run out of glass for this thing or something?”
“Heh, no.” Lemon smirked for a brief second. “It, uh… it kept melting, so we just stopped putting it in.”
“Ah.” Limestone took a step back. Doing so gave her a good view of the info card pinned just underneath.
Hearthstone
Donated by: Maud Pie
“Whoa, what?” Limestone did a double-take.
“What?” Lemon asked.
Limestone pointed to the card. “That’s my sister!”
Lemon looked to the card, her eyes widening. “Really? Wow, that’s so cool! Did she tell you any cool stories about the dig she found it on.”
“I—” Limestone stopped short. She couldn't remember anything from Maud’s infrequent letters about a Hearthstone. Had her sister not even told her? Why?
Well, knowing Maud the deadpan answer to that would be ‘nopony ever asked’, but still. Maud had unearthed a Hearthstone and hadn’t even mentioned that her find was in a museum? That was crazy.
As much as Limestone wanted to feel pride for her sister’s accomplishment, the moment was undercut by the feeling of being left out. Maud was apparently getting noticed in the geology world before she’d even finished getting her rocktorate. At this rate, who knew where she’d be in a couple of years.
“Did ya get it?” Lemon asked, drawing a look from the freshly-ripped-from-her-thoughts Limestone. “Her cool story. About the… Hearthstone… Because it’s not cool, y’know? Heh...”
“Hilarious,” Limestone growled. She suddenly was less in the mood for bad jokes than normal.
Lemon’s ears flopped down. “Uh... s-sorry?”
“Let’s just go,” Limestone grumbled. She needed to put some distance between her and the Hearthstone.
Lemon trotted to catch up to her. She pulled up alongside Limestone and gave her a worried look. “Uh… is something wrong?”
“No.”
Lemon frowned. They walked in silence for a beat or two, before the echoing hoofsteps became too much to bare on their own. “I didn’t think my pun was that bad.”
“It wasn’t the joke,” Limestone growled.
Lemon’s brow scrunched in confusion. “Then… what was it?”
Limestone bit the inside of her cheek, angry for even implying something was ‘it’. Rather than acknowledge it further, she decided to change the subject. Stopping in front of a vaguely interesting rock that she didn’t care about, Limestone turned and pointed to it. “Hey, tell me about this one, I’m curious.”
Lemon’s forehead wrinkled. “You know, if something’s bothering you then you can talk to me about it. I don’t want you to be upset.”
“I don’t talk about things when I’m upset,” Limestone grumbled. “And I’m not upset about anything anyways!”
Lemon’s eyes dropped to the floor, climbed over to the side, and hopped to the other side of the room before finally settling back on Limestone. “You sure?”
Limestone growled in the back of her throat. Why’s she even asking? Let’s just hurry up and finish the stupid tour already.
Instead, the tour was put on hold as Lemon inched closer, empathetic eyes staring into hers. “You can open up to me, Limestone.”
Realizing that Lemon wasn’t going to be dropping this anytime soon, Limestone groaned internally. Great. Just great. What does this mare want from me? I’m not going to pour my heart out to somepony I barely know.
...Then again, I won’t see her again after tonight, won’t I? I guess I don’t have anything to lose by talking to her...
Limestone shook the thought from her head. Nothing to lose wasn’t the same as something to gain. Regardless, she would prefer getting through the night without having to talk about her feelings. Was that really too much to ask?
“Look, if you’re done talking about the rocks here, then I’m—”
“Is it about your sister?”
Limestone hit the brakes so fast she swore she heard screeching sounds. Her head whipped around, eyes narrowing. “Are you saying I have something against my sister?” Her face compressed in a glare that all but hissed, ‘choose your next words very carefully’.
Lemon seemed to take that advice, zipping her lips shut in favor of consideration for what she was about to say. Limestone waited impatiently, ready to snap no matter what she said.
After a pregnant pause, Lemon finally gave birth to the words on the tip of her tongue. “Well, you suddenly got kinda… moody after you saw her Hearthstone. What was I supposed to take from that?”
“Not that I hate my sister!” Limestone yelled. She could feel the veins on her neck become visible from the tension in her voice.
“I didn’t say that!” Lemon threw up her hooves defensively. “I-I didn’t even mean to imply that.”
The realization that she was being over-defensive smacked her across the face. “W-Well good,” she stumbled. “Keep not implying that, then.” Great, now I sound like an idiot.
Clearly Limestone was not well suited for the intricate subtleties of convincing somepony that nothing was wrong. Between her mood and her outburst, she doubted Lemon would give up now.
With a heavy sigh, Limestone turned her head, refusing to make eye contact. No words were exchanged, but she could feel Lemon’s eyes on her.
“It’s okay to talk about it, Limestone. It won’t ruin our night or anything.” Lemon offered a hopeful, yet gentle smile. “Really, I don’t mind.”
The inclusion of ‘our night’ flew right over Limestone’s head. It was overshadowed by the open invitation to talk about her feelings. Though it wasn’t the first she’d received that night, it was the first she found herself considering. If it would make the misery of this awkwardness end so she could leave, then it may even be worth it.
“Fine,” Limestone huffed.
Lemon’s smile grew. She brought herself down to sit on the floor, shifting her dress along with her. Once she was situated, she patted the ground beside her, inviting Limestone to join her.
Reluctantly, Limestone sank to the floor. She still refused to meet Lemon’s eyes, instead focusing on the cave designs on the ground.
“So… you don’t hate your sister,” Lemon started for her.
“Of course I don’t,” Limestone said. “I… I miss her.”
Lemon nearly squealed with glee, then caught herself with the realization that that would be easily misinterpreted. She was just so overcome with joy that Limestone was finally showing some emotion other than anger, that she just about forgot to provide some comfort to her over those emotion. “Uh… is she gone a lot?”
“Ever since she left to get her rocktorate.” Limestone said.
“Well, that’s not so bad. I mean, if she’s just studying then she can come back and visit.”
“Maud visiting is pretty rare. Last time she stopped by it was Hearth’s Warming. I’d always assumed it was just cause she was busy, but...” Limestone frowned.
“Well… hey, she can still write letters to you, right?” Lemon asked.
“Apparently not. Not if she’s got a find in a freaking museum and I find out about it like this.” Limestone’s chin sank into her hooves. “Geeze, when did I even get her last letter?”
“Well…” Lemon started with for about the third time in a row. “I’m sure there’s some reason why. Maybe it’s like you said, she could just be super busy with, umm… rocktorate stuff.”
Limestone shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m being left behind.”
“Huh?” Lemon’s eyelids fluttered in confusion. “What makes you think that?”
Her jaw clenched.
“Limestone?” Lemon inched a little closer, unsure if she should be pressing this much. “Hey, if you don’t want to—”
“It’s because they’re all leaving!” Limestone shouted. Lemon flinched, nearly landing on her back from the sheer force of the outburst.
Every muscle in Limestone’s body remained tightly wound as Lemon wobbled in her effort not to fall. Strangely enough, she didn’t back away once she became stable, not even slightly.
“Is— who’s all leaving?” Lemon asked.
That question didn’t do much to soothe Limestone’s nerves. In fact, being asked to dig up feelings better left buried only added to the pressure that was already coming dangerously close to popping the veins on her forehead.
But Limestone was able to channel most of that into a dispersing huff. As mad as she wanted to be in that moment, she just couldn’t. All of her energy was drained by just how sad she was.
“My sisters.” Limestone spoke softly, staring at the ground. She wasn’t even sure Lemon Hearts had heard her because there was another tense moment of silence between them.
When she finally looked up out of curiosity, she saw Lemon’s patient gaze silently pester her to continue.
“Pinkie Pie left the rock farm years ago. She got her Mark, knew what she wanted to do, and was gone.” The corners of her mouth quivered as she tried to keep her face neutral. “She writes… she doesn’t visit all that much.”
“And that’s—”
“Maud’s only been gone for a few months,” Limestone continued, barreling over what Lemon was about to say. “But it feels like it’s been a lot longer. And considering how ambitious she is, I don’t think she’ll be coming back once she has her degree.”
Lemon waited a moment to make sure Limestone was done talking this time. “I’m really sorry, Limestone. It sounds like this is really getting to you.”
Limestone started to curl her hind legs up, eyes shooting to the ground. “Ye—” She actually felt heat rise up under her face at the realization that Lemon Hearts was pitying her. With a grunt, she turned away to hide her vulnerability. “N-No! I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh!” Lemon seemingly realized how little Limestone wanted sympathy right now and decided to back off. “Right, I mean you still have Marble anyways. It’s not like you’re desperate for sisters or anything.” She laughed awkwardly, but snapped her mouth shut when she saw Limestone wasn’t chiming in.
Instead, Limestone felt her lips quivering. “Mmmhmm,” she managed, trying to keep her tone pretty neutral.
Lemon tilted her head in confusion. “What? Don’t tell me Marble is leaving the rock farm too.”
Limestone could tell that was meant to be a bit of a playful joke, but she still didn’t feel like laughing. “I think she wants to.”
“Wait, really?” Lemon’s surprise almost overshadowed her fear that she’d brought up a sore topic.
Reluctantly, Limestone turned her body back to face Lemon. “I think I scare her sometimes. And seeing how much she likes Minuette it makes me think she’d be happier spending the rest of her life with somepony she really cares about rather than me.”
“Whoa,” Lemon put a hoof on Limestone’s shoulder, ignoring the small glare she got from it. “I think you’re being a little harsh on yourself. There’s no way Marble would just leave you because she likes Minuette.”
Maybe not Minuette, Limestone thought, recalling Marble’s resolve to end their fledgling relationship. But for her soulmate... probably.
To Lemon, she simply frowned. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”
Lemon just blinked, and lowered her hoof. “So… what about you?”
“What about me?” Limestone growled, preparing her walls to be raised yet again.
“Well… what do you want to do?” Lemon asked. “If all your sisters are leaving, then will you too?”
The question actually struck Limestone pretty hard. What she wanted to do? That was something nopony had ever asked her. That was something she had never asked. The course of her life had been so obvious that nopony had even needed to say anything about it.
“What do you mean?” Limestone asked.
The fact that clarification was needed seemed to confuse Lemon. She scrunched her brows together and tightened her lips. “I… I mean what do you want to do with your life? If Pinkie and Maud left and you’re sure Marble will too, then do you want to leave?”
Limestone offered a surly frown. “No, of course not. I love the farm.”
“But you love your sisters a lot too, huh?” Lemon guessed.
Limestone lowered her head. “Obviously.” She closed her eyes, breathing a heavy sigh. “If one day, it’s just me on the farm all by myself… I don’t know.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Sweet Celestia, why am I even telling her this? I don’t want her pity. I don’t want any of that ‘it’ll be all right’ bullcrap. I just… Limestone could feel tears welling up behind her closed eyelids.
In the end, she hadn’t even wanted to admit she was feeling all this. It… hurt to say it out loud. She didn’t even know if there was a way to feel better again after laying it all out.
Her emotions were a tangled whirlwind of a mess, with no direction for them to go. They just bounced around inside, threatening to release as tears.
Just then, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “You don’t have to be alone, Limestone.”
Opening her eyes, Limestone turned to face Lemon.
Just in time for their lips to touch.
It was a light, gentle kiss. Their lips only briefly brushed against each other. But even so, there was no mistaking what it was.
As Lemon pulled away, a look of shock on her face revealed that she hadn’t quite meant for that to happen. Limestone managed to pair her look with one of her own, though with a little more surprise behind it.
When she realized what had happened, all of her feelings banded together and latched on to something familiar to fall back on: Anger.
The tears that had been building up evaporated, and Limestone’s face folded into an angry glare.
“What the heck was that for?” Limestone yelled. She wiped her mouth, and saw a smudge of pink lipstick on her hoof. “You did not just—”
Lemon shrunk back, looking like she wanted to disappear. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… I… I thought we were having a moment.”
“A moment? You— I—” Limestone could still feel Lemon’s lips against hers, and was unable to stop her face from flushing. “What are you even talking about? How was me talking about my family a good signal for you to do that?”
“I’m sorry!” Lemon squeaked. “You were finally opening up to me and I… I thought you just needed to be comforted.”
Limestone couldn’t stop shaking with rage. Now that she had an opportunity to cover up the vulnerable mare that had taken over for the past few minutes, she was latching onto it and not letting go. Standing up, she drilled Lemon with her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I wanted you to kiss me!”
Lemon stood up to get eye level with her. “I thought it would be romantic. But I just meant to kiss your cheek, I swear!”
“Romantic?” Limestone squinted. “Why would you try to be romantic?”
“Uh… b-because we’re on a date. R-Right?”
Sweet Celestia, don’t tell me. Limestone drew in a sharp, pained breath. “What did Minuette tell you?”
“What did she—” Lemon swallowed. “T-That you wanted to go on a date with me.”
Limestone’s teeth ground together so hard there was a fear of shattering them. “Are you kidding me?” Lemon’s face fell. “I only came tonight because Marble was too scared to go by herself.”
“What?” Lemon shook her head. “N-No. S-She— But you—”
Limestone could feel her muscles tighten. “So you thought this was supposed to be a real date?”
Lemon could only nod helplessly.
Limestone groaned. “Well you were wrong, okay? I’m here because I care about my sister. I was never trying to get a marefriend; I’d let the Pairing Stone handle that for me.”
“The Pairing…” Lemon’s face scrunched in confusion, but let that comment drop. “S-So, at the party, you never… not even a little bit? Not even this whole night?”
“No!” Limestone cried. She couldn’t believe this mare had yet to get it through her head.
What, was she just supposed to have spontaneously felt something when they were eating dinner? So what if that story about the beaker had been hilarious? So what if she’d gotten to ice skate for the first time? So what if she’d kind of liked the thrill of it? So what if they both geeked out over rocks and so what if she'd gotten part of a private tour… at one of the most prestigious museums… in Equestria.
So what if Lemon cared enough to listen when she got sappy. So what if she cared at all.
She shook her head. It meant nothing!
“Geeze, why do you even care?” Limestone asked. “It’s not like we even know each other all that well or anything.”
“Why do I care?” Lemon blinked. “B-Because I like you. You’re so cool, and tough, and independent. A-And really pretty.”
Limestone actually blushed, completely disarmed by that wave of compliments.
“And I really wanted to see your sensitive side,” Lemon continued, smiling briefly. “And it turns out you’re really sweet deep down, because you care so much about your family.” She met Limestone’s eyes, with her own, watery ones. “Is it wrong that I want you to care about me too?”
There was still a lot of anger left in Limestone, but it suddenly felt like it had nowhere to go. What was she supposed to say to that?
“I… guess not?”
Lemon deflated at that answer.
Limestone bit her lip, knowing she probably just said the wrong thing. “Look, I don’t get to choose stuff like that, all right?” Lemon looked up, her attention caught. “So don’t try to make me. I came to Canterlot to be there for my little sister, and I shouldn’t have let myself be distracted from that. I know she’s going to need me tonight, so I need to get back to her.”
She turned, ready to leave it at that.
“Wait.”
Limestone jutted to a stop and turned back to Lemon. “What?”
“I—” Lemon frowned. “I don’t know what you mean by you don’t get to choose, or anything, but Marble’s my friend. And Minuette is practically my sister. If you think something might happen, then I should be there for both of them.” She walked forward to be next to Limestone, face adopting a little determination. “And you aren’t running away from our talk, either.”
“Excuse you?” Limestone let some irritation slip back into her voice. “I’m not running from anything.”
“Then you should have no problem explaining why ‘you don’t get to choose’,” Lemon said. Her expression softened a bit. “Uh, p-please?”
Limestone only managed to withstand her doe-eyes for so long, too emotionally exhausted already. “Fine,” Limestone grumbled. “But we’re going now.” She started walking again, with Lemon right beside her.
“Thank you.” Lemon allowed herself to smile. Just a little.