//------------------------------//
// Second Night 
// Story: A Misplaced Marble 
// by TheCrystalRing 
//------------------------------//

For the entirety of the next day, Marble thinks about Discord.
It’s not like he was the only statue in the garden; in fact, there were nearly thirty of them! But as it turned out, much of the information they offered was along the line of Victory’s. The statue representing Prosperity was made of lepidolite, a very expensive mineral that Marble had only seen in photos before then. And while the knowledge that aristocrats were very interested in owning lepidolite is enlightening, Marble knows such a mineral doesn’t grow on the family farm. It was largely the same quality of info everywhere else. Actually, the most helpful statue turned out to be the last one she spoke to: Love, who noticed which themes tended to attract which audiences.
“And what kind of p-ponies are attracted to the Discord statue?” Marble had asked Love, eyes wide and curious.
She’s not sure what possessed her to ask. It was almost morning at that point, and she really didn't want to encounter any ponies if she could avoid it. But the way Discord talked and kept up with her meekness was so strange. In a good way, of course, but still strange. She wants to know more.
Oh, ponies like him for all kinds of things. He looks so different from the rest of us here that I'm not surprised. But I never hear much gossip about him, because while he's popular with the ponies, most of the statues don't like the vibe he gives off.
"He seemed p-perfectly fine to me…" Marble replied, a frown on her lips. "Snarky, but isn't that an a-appealing trait?"
On the right pony, perhaps. I really don't know, I've never talked to him since we're so far apart in this garden. But I'm sure he has plenty of knowledge, even if it's not what one thinks they want. I'd be cautious, just in case—knowledge comes with age and experience, and he knows more than he lets on, I'm sure of it.
Afterward, when Marble returned to her cheap hotel on the other side of the city, she headed to sleep. The mattress was as hard as stone… like an actual bedrock. That was more of the sorta thing Pinkie came up with, but Marble supposed everypony had their moments of brilliance. 
Even her.
When she wakes the next morning, it takes a moment for her to remember. But soon, the entirety of her conversation with Discord comes rushing back, and firmly weighs on her mind throughout her attempts to find an affordable eatery for food. Even the cheaper places are so crowded… Finally, she finds a café tucked in a corner that allows her a meal for relatively few bits.
Eating a biscuit is such a strange departure from the rocks at home. Both are bland, in their own way, but that suits Marble just fine. Papa would have a fit if he heard that she'd been eating plant-based food, anyways. No need to stir the pot anymore than she does by existing—
"Are you enjoying yourself, sitting here all by your lonesome?"
"Eep!" Marble jumps, the remains of her biscuit falling to her plate as she looks around frantically.
A stallion stares at her with colorless eyes that barely peek out from long black bangs. "Perhaps so, judging by that reaction. So it's true, what they say." 
Marble scrambles to get her voice to come out. "I'm sorry, w-what's true?"
"This is,” the stallion drolls. “‘I am many, yet also few. Business follows and friendship too. To earn or entertain is my goal. But even you fulfill my role’. What is my name?"
This talk is illogical—even a pony as inexperienced with conversation as she is knows that. Nopony just approaches somepony and speaks in riddles. But instead of disengaging and leaving the café like a logical pony, she stops and thinks.
“S-so something that can fulfill all those roles?” Marble starts. “It can’t just be a p-physical thing, then. Maybe s-something metaphorical, too? B-But even I fulfill that role…?”
She squints hard at her biscuit. “W-Well, the only thing I’m really good at is keeping others…
“…company, that’s it!” Marble straightens up and meets the stallion’s gaze. “Your name is c-company! Even one p-pony like me is keeping you company. A-And many ponies can form a business or theatre company in the sense of an organization or troupe. That must b-be it.”
The stallion slowly blinks before his lips lift. “Correct. Well done, indeed. I’m sure you keep many ponies company when they need it.”
Marble scratches the side of her head and blushes. “A-Aw, that’s very sweet of you. I confess, I w-was confused about what you were doing, but that was fun! Thank you, Mr.…?”
Something glints in the stallion’s colorless eyes. “Call me Company.”
And with that, he exits through the café’s front door, leaving Marble alone with her biscuit.
A couple of minutes later, Marble steps out into the brisk spring air. Startling, Marble feels her eyes dampen. The breeze… this same breeze must be at the rock farm now, huh? Papa and Mama are depending on her, even now. This whole thing might seem like a fun vacation, but she’s on a mission. And if Discord could provide her with answers… 
She very much wanted to see him again.
The hours drag on, and by the time it’s well and truly dark, Marble feels a bit stir-crazy. She’d purchased enough biscuits to last her the day, but the thought of being out and about among high society makes her queasy. She already knows she’s not nearly fancy enough to blend in, and if they found out she’s a rock farmer! Ha! Pinkie loves laughter—enough to share it with the family even!—but Marble doesn’t think she likes it when it’s directed at her. But she didn’t bring much with her to do, here in her hotel room, so she resigns herself to rereading her geology guidebook a grand total of three times to pass the hours.
But even her guidebook didn't have any hints to what Discord is made of.
Regardless, Marble enjoys the walk back to Canterlot Castle; a chance to stretch her stone-stiff limbs! And the Moon, slightly more full than the night before, lets her see quite perfectly when she reaches the sculpture garden itself. Nothing has changed, besides the Moon. But that just makes locating Discord all the easier.
“Hello, Mr. Discord,” Marble greets, before putting her hoof on his pedestal. “I hope you’re s-still doing well.”
Ah, Miss Pie! I see you remembered to greet me first, how wonderful. Manners are ever so important, even for somepony like me. And yes, I’m doing as well as I can—had myself a good night, as instructed!
“Oh, that’s good!” Marble exclaims, before deflating slightly. “B-But I didn’t mean to lecture you on how you needed to spend your night…”
Psh! I believe it’s good for my health to be told to do something every so often. Keeps me spry! But, honestly, it’s refreshing to talk to anypony but Celestia, especially when the conversationalist is as interesting as you.
“M-Me?” Marble flushes bright red, and fights the urge to paw at her mane. “I’m nothing s-special. I mean, just look at me!”
I am looking at you. What’s so wrong with yourself?
Marble pauses, for no one’s really asked that before, have they? “W-Well… I’m not very interesting to look at. Certainly not like you are! I’m gray, and gray is… b-boring.”
Who says?
Marble's hoof almost slips from its position. "P-Pardon?"
Who says gray is inherently boring? I think it’s quite exciting—so many ways to interpret it! You could spell gray with an A, or grey with an E… in fact, what's stopping somepony from spelling it graigh or greigh by ending it with an IGH? Not to mention how gray is all some animals can see! 
"Oh, I never thought a-about it that way," Marble responds, a blush still firmly on her cheeks. "S-Sorta like how anything can be gray if you take a black-and-white photo of it, right?"
Exactly. In my opinion, even something that looks boring can be an incredibly fascinating aspect of one's world, if allowed. But perhaps that's philosophizing for another day. I want to know more about Marble Pie.
That is what she agreed upon, isn’t it? It's still so strange that anypony would care about her life, even if her grayness isn't as boring as she initially thought. But, somehow, Discord's attention on her doesn't feel overwhelming at all. 
Odd, but she welcomes it.
"Give me one s-sec…" Marble gently sits on the ground, hoof still extended to touch Discord's base. "Mhm, okay then, w-what would you like to know?"
Firstly, you spoke of your parents and your twin. Who all comprises your family?
Marble nods; that’s a familiar enough topic. "That's p-pretty simple. There's Papa and Mama, w-who are named Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz. And then there's my older s-sisters, Maud, Limestone, and P-Pinkie, my twin."
Baby of the bunch, I see. And such a large family! What are they like?
"P-Papa and Mama are… old-fashioned, I suppose." Marble begins. "Much of our farm is how my ancestors had it. But it's not the same w-world they were raised in, anymore. The old methods aren't enough to keep us a-afloat now—it's very clear to me that's the case."
Thus why you came to this sculpture garden in the first place. But I must confess, I am curious if your parents even know you're here. Judging by the traditionalist vibes, I'm guessing not.
Letting out a small noise, Marble shakes her head. "No, they don't. I told them I w-was going to visit Pinkie in Ponyville. B-But I'd been saving bits up for a while to come here, instead."
A rule-breaker, eh? Always lovely to meet a kindred spirit. But, of course, you're doing it for their own good. Losing your family farm wouldn't be good for anypony, hm?
Marble nods. "Mhm. My p-parents are strict, but reasonable. If I can s-show them a way that would make our financial problems go away, I want to.”
There’s a long pause, at that. Perhaps she said something wrong? But, inanely, Marble runs her hoof along Discord’s pedestal, instead. The rock feels like a cat's tongue in spots, but is perfectly smooth in others. How bizarre… 
Before she can say anything more, Discord speaks again:
Pardon me for the silence, you just reminded me of something. But, anyway, I can respect being so driven. And your sisters? What are they like?
“Oh, they’re very fun!” Marble brightens. “Limestone and Maud are also twins, like P-Pinkie and I. Limestone w-wants to take over the main quarry duties, but Papa hasn’t let her yet. She’s a little s-sour, maybe, but she means well. There’s no one as p-passionate about the farm as she is.”
And Maud?
“She’s an educated mare, a-actually,” Marble reveals. “She’s a-attending school to get a rocktorate. I’m not s-sure what she wants to do with it, or if she’s coming back to the farm afterward, but I’m happy for her. She doesn’t say much, b-but neither do I, usually.”
What about Pinkie, your twin? Quite an odd name out, isn’t her’s?
Giggling, Marble tilts her mane to the side to peer up at Discord’s face. “W-Well yeah, but you’d understand once you see her! She looks so b-bright and bouncy, and her personality matches her looks too. We were inseparable as fillies, s-spending every moment we weren’t doing chores together. After all, it's because of her that life on the rock farm w-wasn’t so dreary! But…”
But?
Marble’s bangs fall back into her eyes as she looks down. “But she left the farm w-when we were still young. Moved in with the local bakers in P-Ponyville, ‘cause they were able to help her realize her dreams. But still, she’s always s-so far away from home…"
And so far away from you.
"Mhm…" Something between a sob and a laugh escapes from Marble, yet it vanishes as quickly as it appeared; she gazes up at Discord once more. "It's funny, I never talk about this s-sorta stuff at home. I don't want to seem s-soft, y'know? Stones a-are supposed to be built solid and strong. Yet, I miss Pinkie, every day. I miss her laugh, I miss her smile, and I even miss her c-corny jokes. B-But I’m not enough to keep her around, am I?
Discord hums.
Isn’t that the way of life, though? Things are ever-shifting, ever-moving. Sometimes, you can only experience life by doing something different, something exciting. Every singular moment that goes by is never like the last, when you can live that way. So to me, it sounds like Pinkie craved something that wasn’t etched into your family’s traditions, more than she intended to ditch you.
Pinkie has always been unpredictable, hasn’t she? Even before that strange day when she first threw a party, even back when they were born! Marble remembers seeing the photo of the two of them, side by side, one bright pink and the other dull gray. Joined at the hip, even then. In that sense, they were severed apart when Pinkie left, weren’t they? It still didn’t feel fair, even despite what Discord said.
But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? Life is hardly fair, even when you’ve done nothing to deserve its ire.
"Eep!" Marble jumps—she didn't mean to say that aloud! "I mean, I don't want to sound s-selfish or something. I just… w-wish it didn't hurt so much."
I understand completely. Usually, I loathe trying to make sense of things, but you learn perspective, after being around as long as I have. And I know what it is to be abandoned.
Marble pauses at that. "You do?"
Of course. I've outlived countless ponies, after all. Seen entire bloodlines crumble to dust before my very eyes. Immortality has a way of making you alone. And, once I was put here, I had no one to talk to. Besides Celestia, I suppose, but she tends to abandon, too.
"W-Would the Princess do that?" Marble wonders aloud, her free hoof pawing at the ground. "She's supposed to be better than a-all of us normal ponies, right?
You would think! But, then again, there is no such thing as normal. As I said before, even the most unassuming thing is capable of captivating. Why, when I first met Celestia, she was nothing more than a lost filly scrabbling in the mud!
Eyes widening, Marble leans in. “S-She was a filly too, once? How did you even meet, being a s-statue as you are?”
Discord doesn’t answer right away. Marble doesn't want to rush him, of course, so her gaze wanders, eventually ending up on the Moon. Quietly, it hangs in the midnight sky, pearl-pale and nearly perfect in shape. It definitely will be full, sometime soon. If not tomorrow, the day after. 
She's beautiful, isn't she?
Surprisingly, Marble doesn't startle at the way Discord's voice cuts through the silence; she lowers her eyes to allow Discord to re-enter her sight. "W-Who? Oh, do you mean the Moon?"
Indeed. I knew her too, once upon a time. Hard to talk to her now, with her so far away, but I'm sure she's hurting for company more than I am.
"I s-see… oh, w-wait, company!" Marble bursts out, her excitement overriding her self-consciousness for once. "I met a s-strange stallion today, he told me a riddle about company! And I a-actually solved it, too!"
Discord chuckles, the sound reverberating through Marble's entire being.
You keep very good company, Marble, so I'm not surprised. But it's getting late, I'm afraid. Go rest up, and we can talk more tomorrow. Oh! But I forgot to give you my advice, haven't I?
Marble, who was in the process of standing up, halts. "No, I s-suppose you haven't. But I don't w-wish to be a hassle!"
No, no. We made a deal, and deals are something I don't take lightly. Anyways, the Moon is rather beautiful, yes. Yet, in truth, she and I are similar in more than our make. But I’ll tell you this—legends hold more secrets to this tale than you might think. I wonder if you can puzzle out why…
Dramatically, Discord releases a sigh.
I do enjoy our conversations, Marble, even if they always feel so short. But c'est la vie, I suppose, nothing good can last, as they say.
Finally making her way to her hooves, Marble nods. "Mhm. I enjoy them, too. I'll s-see you tomorrow, Discord."
Until next time!