Limestone could hear some shuffling coming from the bathroom. It was loud enough that it stirred her from sleep and made her sit up on her bed, rubbing at her eyes with that characteristic annoyed expression of hers.
“What’s all that racket?” She pondered under her breath so as not to wake her sisters. Limestone looked around with narrowed eyes, Maud was in the bed, so was Pinkie. One bed was empty. “What is he doing now…”
An irked Limestone got out of bed carefully so as not to bother her other sisters who were still deep in slumber. She took light steps on her hooves, checking after every step to make sure that Pinkie and Maud stayed asleep as she made her way out of the bedroom.
Once in the hallway, she closed the door behind her and sighed, taking in a deep breath and furrowing her brow as she looked at the bathroom door. She could see the lights were on and some shadows moving in the crevice under the door.
Limestone began to walk towards the door. This was the third time this week that he had woken her up in the middle of the night. He was lucky her parents didn’t wake up, or her sisters. She always caught him sneaking back into the room, but tonight she finally got a chance to catch him red-hoofed.
She opened the door and walked into the bathroom with confidence. “Moonstone Dylan Pie, what are you doing here that—” What she saw made her words get caught up in her throat. Her brother stared right back at her with eyes wide as plates while holding their mother’s makeup in a hoof, some of it clumsily applied to his face.
Limestone took a second to recover from the shock and closed the door behind her, locking it and then turning to face her brother. She sat down on her haunches, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
Limestone opened her eyes and took a closer look at Moonstone. She could see his mane was slickened to look straight, his eyes and lips were made up, messily, but they looked well enough. His face looked soft, smooth and gentle, at least what wasn’t hiding behind the mane that was covering half his face. If it weren’t for his grey colouration, Limestone would be sure she was staring at Pinkie instead.
Moonstone looked like he had seen a ghost, or worse. The colour drained from his face and his hooves trembled so much he could barely hold onto the make up. He at least had enough presence of mind to set it down on the sink before he spilled it down on the floor.
Silence lingered in the room awkwardly until Limestone decided to speak. “So uh, what’s going on here?”
The question lingered in the air as she looked at Moonstone, who was doing everything in his power not to look back at his sister. He wanted to speak, to explain, raising his hooves to gesticulate along with words that would just not come.
Limestone rolled her eyes, annoyed as ever, but understanding of her little brother. “Look, I’m not angry or anything, I just want to know what’s happening. You keep sneaking out of the room and now you’re sneaking into our pops’ room, I just want to know what’s going on, ok?” She got up and walked closer to her brother, lifting a hoof and gently resting it on his shoulder in a reassuring manner.
Moonstone looked at the hoof on his shoulder, then at his sister and took a deep breath to put his nerves at ease. He closed his eyes and exhaled gently before gazing at Limestone once more. “I think,” He said softly before in a soft, quiet voice, barely audible. He stopped himself and took in a deep breath before trying again. “I think I’m not a boy.”
“You’re not what?” Limestone asked as she cocked up an eyebrow.
“I’m not a boy, Limestone, I… I’ve never felt comfortable like a boy.”
Moonstone turned away from Limestone and sighed softly, lowering his head and folding his ears back as he walked deeper into the small bathroom. “I’ve never liked doing the things that father does, it never felt right, I always wanted to do the things mother does, the things Maud, Pinkie and you do.” He sat down on his haunches again, facing away from his sister.
Limestone stood there in shock as she recalled events in her head, remembering all those awkward photos and moments, all the times that Moonstone felt, acted and looked so stiff during dinners, holidays, even on his birthdays. Limestone knew something was wrong, but she had no idea.
“I’m crazy, aren’t I?” Moonstone asked, lowering his head in shame, his voice shaky and caught in his throat. Limestone could tell he was fighting back tears.
Hooves echoed on the marble floor as she took steps towards Moonstone. “Why didn’t you say anything before?” She asked as she moved to sit next to him, wrapping a foreleg around him and tugging him into a hug, gentle, soothing, reassuring, calming. “I would have done something to help you.”
“I didn’t know what to say, how to say it.” He said, still looking at the floor. “I didn’t, I don’t know…” He bit his tongue to stop himself from rambling, letting out a soft sigh as a single tear ran down his cheek. "I don't know who I am, Limestone."
Limestone frowned as she looked down at the ground. She could see Moonstone fidgeting with the tiles on the floor, she could feel him shaking against her, she could hear him sniffling. Limestone wanted nothing more than her brother to be okay, to be fine.
“I know, you’re like a geode.” She said, her face beaming with a smile.
“What?” Moonstone raised and turned his head to face his sister.
“You know,” Limestone began to explain. “A geode looks like a regular rock on the outside, but on the inside they’re filled with beautiful gems. Kind of like you, right?”
Moonstone smiled faintly.
“Does putting on mother’s makeup make you feel good?”
Moonstone nodded his head. “Mm-hmm.”
“And having your mane straight like this makes you feel better about yourself?” Limestone asked. She lifted her other foreleg to gently run it across the straight grey locks, revealing that the other side of his face was also made up but it looked slightly better than the other side.
Moonstone nodded his head again. “Mm-hmm.”
“Well,” Limestone said with a smile on her face as she set her hoof down again. “Then I guess I don’t have a brother.” She said as she hugged Moonstone tight with her foreleg to her side. Limestone could almost tell how Moonstone’s heart sank down to his stomach. This pressed her to continue. “I guess I have a sister, well, another one,” she added with a chuckle, a smile beaming on her face. “I just have to help her come out, like the gems inside a geode.”
Immediately, Limestone saw the colour return to his face and a spark shine in his eyes as they turned misty while a shaky smile grew wider on his face as he lifted his head and turned his face to look at Limestone.
“Do you really mean that?” He asked, his voice croaky and quivering.
“Of course!” Limestone gave her a rough squeeze as she hugged her tightly to her side. “Of course I mean it, you’re family, you’re a Pie, and we Pies stick together, no matter what.”
Limestone saw how joy spread across Moonstone’s face, like a rush of euphoria pure and happiness came all at once and burst from her in joyful tears that ran down her cheeks as she threw herself on Limestone’s chest, which prompted her big sister to wrap her legs around her and hug her.
“Hey, easy now, it’s okay, alright? You’re gonna wake up mom and dad if you get too loud.”
Just as quickly as Limestone watched that joy spread, she also saw it disappear. Moonstone frowned, and Limestone saw worry cross her face. "What are we gonna tell mom and dad?" asked Moonstone.
Limestone looked down at Moonstone for a moment, pondering the question before shrugging her shoulders. “We’ll tell them you’re my sister, because that’s what you are.” She said with a smile. “Right?”
“But what if they don’t—” She couldn’t finish that sentence as Limestone interrupted her.
“They’ll have to get through me then.” Limestone huffed immediately with a determination that could only be matched with what she showed whenever she was around Holder’s Boulder.
“Do you really mean that?” Asked Moonstone.
“I swear on Celestia.” Limestone replied.
Moonstone sat up and smiled, wiping her tears away with her hooves and taking in a deep breath.
“Now, let’s get you cleaned up and let’s head back to bed, okay? We can tell the others tomorrow.”
“Oh, can you, please, call me,” She hesitated for a moment, biting on her lower lip and gazing around the room before finally meeting her sister’s gaze again. “Um, Marble?”
“Marble Pie.” Limestone repeated with a smile. “I like it. Ok, Marble, let’s get to bed, and we’ll break the news to the family tomorrow, okay?”
Marble smiled as brightly and wide as she could, nodding her head happily as she followed behind her sister. “Mm-hmm!”