//------------------------------// // The Party // Story: A Lot Can Happen in a Year... // by The Lone Doctor //------------------------------// Marble and Sunset struggled through the crowd as they tried to walk up to Marble’s room. Marble couldn’t help but to squeeze Sunset’s hand tightly, ignoring the tingling sensation it was causing, as she allowed her to pull her through to safety at the stairway. The party was in full swing, as Pinkie had rallied much of the student body into another dance. Being the shy one of the family, Marble couldn’t help the relief of knowing she was heading to her room. So as the music blared from down stairs, both she and Sunset were climbing up the stairs, all the while, Sunset continued talking. “So you’re saying where you’re from, you believe that technology would break the bonds of the community, and it clashes with the, umm, what’s the word you used to describe us?” “English.” Marble squeaked. “Yeah…” Sunset briefly trailed off in thought. “You said you guys are spread out throughout the country, right.” “O-Only around Pennsylvania, but, jah.” “So, how do you guys go to visit family?” Sunset asked, raising her eyebrow as they both entered Marble’s room. Marble led them to sit on the bed before she rubbed her hands together. “W-Well, although the Ordnung, the rules of the church, states that we are not allowed to use technology, we are allowed to ask for others who have the charity to assist us to provide aid whenever we need it. We have public telephones near some of our fields, and we often hitch rides with English friends if we need to get somewhere that’s farther than where a horse and buggy can take us, and we are allowed to use the medicine provided to us.” Sunset nodded, “Sounds reasonable. Though it sounds like a lot of work. I wouldn’t have thought that I’d be able to survive without magic.” Marble’s eyes widened. “M-Magic?” Sunset nodded, “I-It’s kinda real from where I’m from…” “What could you do with magic?” Marble asked. “Quite a lot, actually. Lift objects, teleport, cast different kinds of spells. I could be here all day.” Marble bit her lip while she stuttered, “W-Well, Pinkie did say that you were some sort of sentient horse?” Sunset nodded, “It’s a long story, something I’d like to talk about later. I mean, you did hear the jist of it, estranged student and all that.” Sunset rubbed her hands, “To be fair, we kinda use magic as you would use these things.” Sunset raised her hands, palms facing toward herself. “It’s just something I had to get used to.” “Mmhmm.” Marble replied, suddenly paying more attention to her Mary Jane shoes. She just wasn’t used to talking to people for this long, though she giggled at the thought of what Sunset would’ve looked like as a horse. “What’s so funny?” Marble looked up, before she looked back toward the bed. “N-Nothing.” Sunset tilted her head as she smiled, “You were imagining me as a horse, weren’t you?” Marble refused to look up as her heart skipped a beat. What is she going to think of me? Will she be mad if I said yes? Marble immediately got her answer in the form of a hand reaching for her chin, lifting her face up so she could gaze into Sunset’s shimmering blue eyes. She was smiling. “Don’t worry, I know it might sound ridiculous to you.” Sunset paused to look towards her hand planted on Marble’s chin, before she quickly let go, blushing slightly before she stammered to continue. “Y-You were saying that you had friends offer you help whenever you needed to get somewhere, what about now? And why are you, Pinkie, and Maud here?” Marble blushed, “W-Well, there’s this rite of passage many of us have to go through, called Rumspringa.” “Rumspringa?” Marble nodded, “Jah, Rumspringa. It’s a time where most Amish communities allow their children to experience the English world thoroughly, up until they decide to either leave or stay in the church.” “And if they leave it means…” Marble frowned, “Then we are to cut off nearly all of our contact with them until they decide to baptise.” She shook her head and raised her hands. “I-It’s different from a shunning, that’s when someone breaks the rules of the church. In that case, we break off all contact with them.” She lowered her hands as she realized the weight of the situation. Rumspringa was supposed to be the time where she decided to either leave or stay with her family. Marble froze up at the thought of the last time she would’ve seen her parents in person possibly being at the bus station, at the possibility of bringing more disappointment to the Pie family. She shivered, and the very thought of it made her feel a tear escape her eye. Sunset raced into action as she quickly wrapped her arms around Marble. “There, there, you don’t have to say anymore if you don’t want to.” She whispered into Marble’s ear, leaving shivers of a different kind up her spine. Sunset began to gently rub Marble’s back in an attempt to calm her down. Marble’s rush of tears morphed back into sniffles, the rubbing coming from Sunset releasing an aura of calm that wasn’t too dissimilar to the way her mom occasionally hugged her. Sunset gently pushed Marble back to give her space, smiling. “Tell you what, I’ll take you up on the offer to hang out at the Sweet Shoppe, then we can continue to talk there if you want to. How about that?” Marble nodded, “Th-Thank you.” “Don’t mention it.” Sunset looked out the door, “So, what do you want to do?” Marble leaned back into Sunset’s hug. “Do you want me to stay with you here for a while?” Marble nodded. Sunset pulled her closer in, as the sounds from the record players and the radios drummed through the walls.