Marble wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but everything was going to hell. Maud was at community college studying, and while she was going to meet Pinkie at the Sweet Shoppe, Marble really thought it would’ve been a great help if she was here to address the dire problem at hand.
The dress on the bed.
It was relatively simple, trivial even: the navy blue dress with floral patterns seemed a bit… well, immodest. The V-collar dipped lower down the chest than Marble was personally comfortable with, and the skirt was even shorter than what she wore to the graduation party. Though there was more to choose from in Pinkie’s closet (an absurd amount, in her opinion) Marble had underestimated the task of figuring out what to wear. Compound that with the fact that she didn’t want to be in the way of Pinkie and Maud’s lives and she was now stuck in her current conundrum
Marble nervously tapped her cheek as she constantly walked from the closet, to the mirror, and then to the bed, laying out one outfit after another. She bit her nails trying to figure out what to wear. In all her life, she had never had this many choices, or this many clothes that showed off that much skin; and in a way, she was confused. She never bothered to ‘look good’ for anybody, with the exception for Sundays when she went to church partially due to the Ordnung, but even more so with her meek temperament. With Sunset though, she had felt some sort of compulsion to look nicer than she usually was, even if this was just dinner with friends. She was still wearing her dark green amish dress with a black apron and a white kapp when she heard the door knocking.
She dashed for the door, quickly undoing the locks and the doorstop chain. When she opened the door, it revealed a ginger-haired girl with her fist stuck in mid-air, about to send another bout of knocking. Marble gasped, and quickly looked down, whimpering and slightly blushing.
Sunset smiled, “A pleasure to see you, too.” Sunset’s fingers rached for Marble’s chin, causing her heartbeat to quicken as the touch seared right into her, and she looked up. “So, are you ready to go, Marble?” Marble shook her head and looked back down to her feet. “What’s the matter?”
“I-I don’t know what to wear.” Marble blurted out in a quiet whisper. Her blush slightly darkened to a darkly-tinted pink in embarrassment.
Sunset placed her hand on Marble’s shoulder, “Do you have some clothes picked out?”
Marble nodded.
“Why don’t we take a look?”
Marble’s dark pink blush darkened even further to a crimson red as she thought of the prospect of Sunset seeing her in a more… intimate manner. She squeaked and looked away from Sunset. Sunset was briefly startled before she turned Marble back and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t peek if you don’t want me to.”
“It’s not just that.’ Marble whispered quietly.
“Hmm?”
“I-It’s just.. Well… th-the clothes are…” Marble rubbed her arm to try to settle down her quickly beating heart. “They’re shorter than what I wore yesterday… and…”
“You were already pushing your limits just by wearing that.” Sunset finished for Marble, “And you can’t seem to find something that looks great for something like this.” Marble nodded. Sunset’s hand on Marble slid down from her shoulder to her hands, leaving prickles of goosebumps on the Amish girl. “You don’t have to worry about what you want to wear, you have a while to figure things out, don’t you?” Marble nodded. “Well then, I don’t mind if you wear your Amish stuff for the time being. Now how about I buy you some hot chocolate at the Sweet Shoppe, just as promised?”
Marble smiled and nodded. She let Sunset walk her by the hand out to the driveway and to Sunset’s ride.
It was a motorcycle.
Marble had seen dozens of motorcycles both near her community and throughout Pennsylvania, even here in Canterlot. But never had she hitched a ride on one. Sunset’s red and orange Honda 750 looked a lot more dantier than some of the other motorcycles Marble had seen, but that didn’t quench the quickly-increasing heartbeat she had at the prospect of riding something so fast and life-threatening. She quickly tugged at Sunset’s hand, causing her to turn around with widened eyes, one eyebrow raised. “What’s wrong?”
Marble looked forlornly at the Honda waiting for both of them, and hid closer to Sunset.
Sunset wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back, “Don’t worry, Marble, I’m pretty good at riding a motorcycle. As long as you hold onto me, you’ll be fine.” She continued to rub Marble’s back for a few minutes until she felt her heartbeat slow down. “Feel any better?”
Marble nodded again.
“Alright, I’ll walk you through this.” Sunset let go of Marble and walked to one of the saddle bags, taking out a white helmet with a sun sticker emblazoned on it. She put it on then took out a second, plan white helmet, and handed it to Marble for her to put on, which she did, awkwardly over her kapp.
With that, Sunset mounted her motorcycle, and in turn Marble gingerly took a seat, with Sunset helping her sit side saddle. “Now, hold on.”
“Wh-Where?” Marble squeaked out.
“Wrap your arms around me, and hold on tight.”
Marble nervously wrapped her arms around Sunset, and pulled her into a hug, before Sunset flicked the switch, revved up the engines, and drove off. She gripped her hands tightly as she tried to hold on for dear life around Sunset, internally screaming in horror. She closed her eyes. Despite feeling like she was one broken log away from death, she couldn’t help but feel the cool wind on her face, as refreshing as a splash of cool water. She couldn’t help but also notice its noticeable contrast: the warmth and comfort of Sunset Shimmer, and how it enveloped her, almost providing her security and warmth as much as the quilts her mother usually made back in Lancaster county, which helped keep back the cold throughout the winter and fall, through sickness and long storms. And in a way, that was what made Marble calm down even further, holding Sunset tighter against the the cool of the windstream.
But all good things had to end, and soon they arrived at the Sweet Shoppe. Both girls dismounted, and as Sunset stowed away the helmets, Marble turned to look at Pinkie’s workplace,
The Sweet Shoppe was a two story building painted in white, with shingling which shaped the roof so that it resembled chocolate frosted topping on a cake, all wrapped around with pink awning around the middle. The second story was an apartment complex, while the first story had the looks of a proper cafe. All in all, the cafe/bakery looked tame compared to its neighboring buildings, painted in vibrant colors.
“Vibrant isn’t it?” Sunset said, startling Marble “You should go to San Francisco sometime, some of their houses are painted with brighter colors.”
Marble stood there, pondering the vibrancy of such a neighborhood, before she felt a hand clasp onto her: Sunset’s hand.
“Shall we go in?”
Marble turned to look into the windows. There were many different kinds of people in there, from buff, tall high school jocks wearing the familiar blue and yellow Wondercolt letterman jackets, to older men wearing business suits and fedoras, to long haired, barefoot, rose-tinted glasses wearing, psychedelic clothed hippies, to even blue-clad police officers and green-clad soldiers enjoying some coffee and doughnuts. She looked to Sunset and hid behind her slightly.
“Worried that they’re going to judge you for what you’re wearing?”
Marble nodded.
Sunset wrapped an arm around her, “Don’t worry, I’ve been here lots of times. With the clothes people wear when they come here, you won’t stick out too much.”
Marble nodded, and gingerly took a step forward before freezing up in fear. Sunset turned to her, and gave her a smile before she gently nudged her into the cafe/bakery.
The bell rang as the pair entered. There weren’t many people considering it was evening, and so the restaurant was relatively quiet, with groups hanging out by themselves and giving adequate distance from other patrons. Sunset took a seat at a table near the window. Marble followed soon after, tensing as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise at the feeling of people turning to look at her. Gingerly, she took a seat across from Sunset, and looked around. Everything was normal, it was business as usual, and best of all, everyone was minding their own business.
“May I take your order?” A voice broke into Marble’s conscience, making her shake her head before she turned to a woman wearing an apron and a teal dress.
“I-I…” Marble turned to look at Sunset, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape.
Sunset smiled and turned to the waitress, “Could you please wait? She’s kinda new here, we’re sorry for taking up your time.”
The waitress nodded and smiled, “Don’t worry, I understand, with that getup and everything. Call any one of us when you’re ready to order.”
Sunset nodded, “Thank you so much.” The waitress walked away, leaving Sunset with a slightly petrified, shaking, sweating Marble. “Are you alright?”
“Mmh hmm.” Marble nodded. Shaking and closing her eyes in shame at embarrassing herself in front of such a perfect person.
Sunset gently reached out and placed her hand on Marble’s shoulder, causing her nerve endings to set alight, much to her confusion. “It’s alright, let’s just focus on getting something to eat, then we can talk, okay?” Marble nodded again.
After several minutes talking about what types of desert were offered, Sunset settled on a milk shake, while Marble decided to get a slice of cherry pie. And with that, the waitress left, leaving both Sunset and Marble to their own devices, only for silence to reign in the booth. Marble sat straight and stiff, her hands rubbing and playing off each other as her nerves began to flare up again, waiting for something to ease the rising tension.
“So… you were saying that the Amish have a period where their children go through a ceremony to figure out who they are…”
Marble looked up briefly, her eyebrow raised in confusion.
“We were talking about that at the party last night before we called it a night, what was it called? Rum… rum-something?” Sunset said, smiling.
Marble sighed in relief, as Sunset had given her the out she needed to talk, “ R-Rumspringa.”
“Yeah, that’s right, I think Pinkie Pie barely glossed over it or something when she introduced you to me. What’s it all about exactly?”
“W-Well, as I said before, it’s the time in the life of an Amish to experience the English world. We can get driver’s licenses, drink, use technology…”
“And all of this is while they live in their parent’s home?”
Marble nodded, “Some of us do move out if we have the money for a limited time, to get a real feeling of what it’s like to live in the English world. It all depends really, on how strict the church is. I heard of some other communities where Rumspringa is the time when people begin to find who to marry, for others it’s a time to see the world before they make the decision to stay in the church.”
“And that’s how you ended up here?”
Marble nodded again, “Pinkie and Maud had their Rumspringa as well, and they both decided to leave the community. We still keep in touch once in awhile. Since they’re not officially baptised and part of the church, there isn’t a restriction on talking with them. So naturally, since they invited me to live with them for the time being my parents were open to it… relatively.”
Sunset tilted her head. “Relatively?”
“You have to understand, Sunset, when I mean ‘expected’, I really do mean expected. No one really does want to leave the church, so not a lot of people leave. And if they do, many of them return eventually. We were raised to believe that we would face damnation if we left the church, so many parents are hesitant to let their children go.”
“And what do you think, Marble?”
“Hmm?”
Sunset leaned on her hand, arm propped up against the tabletop. “What do you think of all this?”
Marble looked down at the grainy table and gently played with a stray lock of hair that escaped her kapp. “I-I’m not sure, I just got here. I-I mean, I only thought of getting here…” And other things, her traitorous mind chimed in, which caused a light dressing of pink to sprinkle on her cheeks, which she rubbed at.
“You don’t have any idea? Any at all?”
Marble shook her head. Sunset rubbed her shoulder with her thumb before she let go. “Don’t worry, with the things that happen around here, I don’t think there’s a shortage on stuff to do.”
Silence reigned supreme again as they waited for their order to arrive, Sunset tapping her fingers against the table, “So, who went through Rumspringa first?”
Marble’s eyes lit up, and so she smiled meekly as she said, “Maud went through it first. She didn’t tell any of us what she did, but she would be gone for days at a time. A lot of them would be at the library, I’d remember that she’d bring home books on mining and rocks and minerals. I guess she believed that the English world would provide more for her, because she decided to leave after a month.”
Sunset briefly stopped tapped her fingers against the table, “Huh, I guess Maud’s obsession with rocks stemmed back a long time. She’s in community college right now, planning to transfer to become a geologist. What about Pinkie?”
Marble bit her lip. “Pinkie… well, Pinkie from what I remember was a dull girl before she went to Rumspringa. She always seemed so agitated, so depressed. She did as she was told, sure, but it felt like she wasn’t supposed to be in the community. In fact, mamm and dad had to talk her into going to Rumspringa.”
Marble looked briefly at the subject of their discussion, rushing as she hurried to make deliveries to the patrons. “At first, she would come back home and say everything was normal. She must’ve met someone special though, because a few months later she started to seem more energetic, more happy, more satisfied with herself. Turns out, she had made friends with one of the bakers in town, and she would often help with planning for some of their clients’ parties.”
Marble turned back to Sunset, “Soon enough, she decided to leave the church, and to go with her friend back to Oregon, where her relatives hired her-”
“And that was how I ended up here!” Pinkie broke in, the sudden interjection causing Marble to jolt and yelp. “Pretty soon I went to high school, and the rest was history. Hi there Marble, how’s Sunny treating you?”
Marble gently nodded, taking several deep breaths, “She’s treated me well, Pinkie, n-no need to worry.”
Pinkie grinned “That’s wonderful, Marble! I can’t believe you’ve already made a friend..” Pinkie’s smile darkened, “However, there’s an eensy weensy thing I want to do…”
Marble froze, her heart sank as her own variant of the famous ‘Pinkie Sense’ blared in her mind for what was coming, “Wh-What?”
Pinkie smiled, “I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, challenge you to a bake off!!!”
Marble’s mouth dropped like a 5-ton weight to the ground, “A-A bake off?”
“Yeah, some of my friends in the shop want to see how well you stack up against me. Don’t worry, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’ll help people get to know you better.” Pinkie grinned like mad, “So, what do you say? Are you up to the challenge?”
Marble turned to Sunset, receiving an arm rub in return and a smile. “Up to you, Marble, wouldn’t hurt to see how good you bake compared to Pinkie.”
She turned back to Pinkie, and then hesitantly nodded, “I-I’ll do it”
Pinkie jumped up, “Great! I’ll see if I can set things up with management, this is going to be awesome!!!”
Meanwhile, Marble looked into the distance as she thought to herself, My God, what have I done?
Two hours later, Marble walked out of the diner, covered in flour and panting, As she and Sunset walked back to the motorcycle, Sunset wrapped an arm around her, “Don’t worry, you’ll get her next time.”
Marble sheepishly smiled, “No one was able to stack up against her cooking, even when she was still in the community.” She still wondered how Pinkie was able to make something so strange, yet so ingenious as a cherry chimichanga.
Sunset turned, then wiped some leftover flour off Marble’s nose. “Still, it made for an unforgettable luncheon.”
Hours later, all cleaned up and laying in her bed under the covers, Marble hugged herself as she remembered the warmth she felt while holding on for dear life on the Honda. She couldn’t fall asleep, not with what was running through her head.
While she kept telling herself that it was a simple meal between friends, that didn’t explain the shivers, the tingles, the need to look pretty for Sunset. They didn’t seem to be the same reactions that she had with friends from her community, nor from any of the other English.
What else could they be? Marble thought. When she first got to Canterlot, she thought she’d quickly find the answers, that maybe it was fate and she was destined to be a close friend, a guide for her through Rumspringa. All she had for her effort thus far was more confusion. And so after several hours of restless movement and prayer, she finally went into a fitful sleep.