"Marble!" Sugar Belle exclaimed happily when she saw her longtime close friend, who may or may not be part of the same family as her. But even if they weren't, it wasn't important, as they both liked each other as if they were.
Marble, who was accompanied by her part of the family (her parents, two of her sisters, one of her brothers-in-law, her husband and their little filly, Rocky Pie), smiled sheepishly and removed the bangs from one eye.
"I'm so glad you came!" The unicorn said, welcoming her with a big hug, which she happily accepted.
Meanwhile, Big Mac, who was taking the last apple pies out of the oven, watched the scene through the kitchen window with a happy smile on his lips. He laughed at the thought that things weren't like that at first. Specifically, 20 years ago.
Flashback...
"Yaaaay you are as anxious as I am to spend the Hearth's Warming holiday with probably or not, our family members the Apples, right Marble?" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically, wrapping her young sister for a few minutes in a hug.
"Uh ... Mhm." Marble nodded softly, although it wasn't absolutely true. There was a total 99% chance of her first crush being there... With his new wife.
As much as she tried to forget about it, it hurt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest without surgery and mercilessly trampled.
Pinkie Pie, being observant as she was, soon realized that something was bothering her sister, as if she had a small stone stuck under one of her hooves.
"Hey baby sister, is there something bothering you?" Pinkie asked.
"... Nope." Marble denied it, not wanting to upset Pinkie with her problems.
"Are you sure? I'm your excited, happy, funny, but at the same time very understanding sister, you know you can tell me anything." Pinkie assured her, but had the same answer. "Okay, but when you want to tell someone what's going on, I'll be here."
She smiled shyly and hugged Pinkie, before leaving to wait for the rest of her family outside the house.
Time skip ...
The whole way on the train ride, she was worried about how things would get when they got there.
They were warmly welcomed by those they met when they went to their stone farm and the rest of the family. No sign of Big Mac and Sugar Belle, if things were like that throughout the holiday, she would have no problem.
"Come on in, guys, I'll show you your accommodations!" Applejack said, entering as they followed after her.
"Are you sure this farm has room for everyone?" Limestone asked, when they started up the stairs. "Because from what I saw outside ..."
"If that's the case, no problem, we can all sleep together in one bed, right, family?" Pinkie Pie said.
"Don't worry about it, we built 3 bungalows back there, there's room for everyone!" Applejack assured her.
Arriving at the bedroom, which was the attic modified to be a bedroom, Marble put the small suitcase she took under the bed and sat on the mattress. She hoped she could stay there until it was time to leave.
But she knew that Pinkie Pie would not let her be isolated up there in the room, the pink pony promised her sister that she would help her so that her shyness did not affect her social life.
"As soon as you finish settling in, you can go downstairs to socialize with the rest of the family, okay?" Applejack warned them. "I'll check to see if has enough pies for everyone."
"You heard Cousin Applejack, come on Marble!" Pinkie Pie said, pulling her sister by the hoove.
"No, no, I don't wanna ..." She denied softly, but ended up giving up fighting to stay.
"Oh come on, I know you got on well with the Big Mac and you're sure to get along with Sugar Belle too!" She hummed.
At that moment, Marble felt as if her heart had stopped in her mouth. She tried to stop by steadying her paws on the floor, but her sister continued to push her.
Arriving at the backyard, which was beautifully decorated with the typical decorations of that holiday, she put the bangs back in front of her eye and turned her gaze to the floor.
Meanwhile, Caramel was talking to Brieburn, when his gaze turned to the most charming mare his eyes have ever seen. In most people's eyes, she seemed to be totally dull, but she had something he didn't know what it was, but it attracted him in every way.
"Who's that beautiful young lady?" He asked.
Brieburn looked in the same direction as he did, to see who the beautiful young lady he was talking about was.
"Are you talking about the pink mare?" He asked.
"No, the light gray." Caramel specified.
"Well, there's a taste for everything, right? Good luck." He said, walking away to talk to another pony, so that Caramel would introduce himself to her.
"Hello, lady!" He greeted Marble, who, at the sound of his voice, raised her head.
"Pinkie, I think he's talking to you." She said, almost in a whisper.
"No Marble, he's talking to you!" Pinkie Pie accented with a high-pitched voice.
"Exactly, my heart stopped and swore it wouldn't beat again until I knew your name." He said, as flirtatious as possible.
"I-I'm Marble Pie." She said, so quietly that he quite didn't understand.
"Sorry, could you repeat that please?"
"Her name is Marble Pie and getting to know you is a total pleasure for her, huh little sister?"
"... Mhm." She agreed.
"So would you like to talk to me more?" He asked.
"She would like to, I am leaving you in good hands for now ok? But I'll always keep an eye on you in case something happens, I love you, bye!"
Pinkie kissed her on the cheek and went over to Apple Bloom to play with her, leaving her sister talking to Caramel. Marble breathed a sigh of relief, talking to that stallion all night, he could make her avoid running into ... She knew who.
But until she had fun with him, he was very nice and treated her with respect, as she liked. Pinkie Pie, who observed everything from a distance, was happy to see her shy sister so talktative with another pony.
For a moment, she forgot everything about Big Mac and Sugar Belle, which made her very happy.
"Hey, I wanted to introduce you to someone, but I think you guys already know each other." He said.
"I don't think I know anyone you know." She answered.
"Then the time has come, because here they come!" Caramel said, pointing back.
Marble turned when she came across something that made her feel like she died in sleep and was in hell.
"Caramel, are you dating someone?" Sugar Belle asked, walking over to them with her husband.
"Maybe someday, if she wants to!" He replied between giggles. "Do you know my boss and his wife?"
Marble soon felt her heart break again into a million pieces when they leaned against each other.
The only thing she wanted to do was to run very far and take refuge in her solitude. What was exactly what she did. She immediately rode as fast as her paws could out of the farm, no matter where she went, she just wanted to be alone.
"Baby sister, come back here!" Pinkie Pie shouted, going after her.
"What happened to her?" Sugar Belle asked confused. "Honey, do you know what happened to her?"
"Nope." Big Mac replied, still looking in the direction that she ran at a gallop.