After hours of sculpting, the stone pony’s features slowly became clearer under Marble Pie’s steady hoof, kind eyes and a bright smile carved out by a small metal pick. Rock sculpting was a common trade in Rockville, but few could compare to Marble’s precision. She rarely carved large sculptures and did not generally let her work be sold, but she could have sculpted for a modest living if she wanted to.
Marble set her pick down and examined her work. The figure was carved from a chunk of granite that had been about ten centimetres tall, twelve wide, and seven long, but what had made that particular piece call out to her was its colouration. It started grey and brown, but faded into pink and black. Marble had carved two fillies out of the stone, one grey foal sitting with tears in her eyes and a pink foal wrapped around her in a tight hug.
Marble nodded happily, it was some of her best work. To anypony who knew what they were looking at, it clearly depicted Marble and her fraternal twin sister Pinkie Pie. More specifically, but something only Pinkie or Marble would know, it depicted a scene that took place a few days before their eighth birthday. Pinkie had announced that she was going to live with their Granny Pie after their birthday, and Marble had been scared of what she would do without Pinkie there with her. Her talk with Pinkie may not have cleared her concerns, but it had made them tolerable.
The next step was to carve a base from the bottom of the stone. She had been working on the statue for a few days, and she guessed that the base would take her another session to finish. The work ahead of her was far simpler than what she had already done, so Marble let her mind wander while she carved.
Rockville winters had always been particularly harsh and cold, blanketing the ground in ice and show for months every year. The ground froze, leaving the fields and all but the deepest mines unworkable. Despite that, Marble looked forward to the cold season. The rock farm could not be tended during winter, leaving only the mines. This meant that fewer ponies worked for less time than in the warmer seasons, making winter something of a relaxed season. Marble had finished her chores three hours earlier, and dinner was still an hour away. That alone lent favour to winter, but what Marble truly loved was the snow.
Snow is cold, wet, and heavy, but a snowflake is unique, beautiful, and fragile. Snow can turn the world into a desolate wasteland, but a snowflake can only fall from the clouds and dance in the wind. Marble loved to sit in a snowstorm and let the flakes fall around and on her. It never failed to ease her fears and calm her heart.
Although Marble found snow beautiful and pure, she knew that most of her family viewed it as a nuisance. For around four months of the year the farm lost the majority of its production, and thus also its revenue. The Pie Family Rock Farm’s finances were done by Marble’s mother, Cloudy Quartz, but she was teaching Marble to take over some day. Which gave the young mare a fair idea of what winter did to their farm.
Their deep mines yielded mostly gemstones, which were among the least profitable products they sold. Most gemstones were not perfect enough for jewellers, and many were too brittle for sale at all. The farm survived on the meagre profit of gems and on stocked supplies that they held specifically to help them through winter. Still, the Pie family never went hungry.
They lived like anypony else in Rockville -by Marble’s understanding -with simple and practical meals, and they always tried to save as many bits as possible. What most ponies did not realise is that because of the quality of their crops and the efficiency of their work, the Pie Family Rock Farm was the richest rock farm in the world. The Pie family, although largely unknown to the upper class, was the third richest family in Equestria.
Marble put her pick away in its box before standing and stretching. She took a white cloth and carefully covered her sculpture with it, she was not worried about her family seeing it -save for Pinkie, who would not be at the farm for another week -but she covered everything she carved until it was finished. Her own little superstition, and with Hearth's Warming coming in just over a week she was certain not to take any chances.
Hearth’s Warming was the only holiday that saw Pinkie return to the farm, the only week of the year that Marble could see her twin sister. Even though gifts were not traditional in the Pie family, Pinkie always brought them each something. She usually got Marble something soft, leading Marble to have a box in her closet filled by plush animals. That year, Marble wanted to give Pinkie something.
It had taken Marble a few months to decide what sort of gift would be ideal for her sister. Pinkie Pie lived happily in Ponyville with many friends but often travelled the world, she held the Element of Laughter, and she was friends with all of Equestria’s princesses. What could she get her sister that the mare could not just get for herself? Marble knew that Pinkie would love anything she got her, but Marble wanted her gift to be special, unique.
When Marble found a piece of two-tone granite in the northern field, she realised what she could do. Pinkie Pie became one of Equestria’s greatest heroes when one of the Elements of Harmony chose her, but she had been Marble’s hero for far longer than that.
With her tools packed away neatly and her carving safely covered, Marble decided to go outside and enjoy the weather. It was less than half an hour until dinner would be called, but Marble wanted to breathe in the cool air.
She left the house through the back door, and was greeted by an untouched white field. The mines were on the other side of the farmland, so their backyard was largely unused during the winter. As Marble walked out into the field, snowflakes lazily fell towards the ground. The snow was too deep for her to easily raise her legs over it, so with each step Marble’s hooves dragged through the snow before packing it down.
Once she was a few metres away from her house, Marble sat down in the snow. She still felt warm from being inside, but knew that would fade in a minute or two. A fat snowflake fell onto the side of her muzzle and melted, and she licked at the liquid when it slid down to her mouth. The clean flavour was marred slightly by the granite dust that remained on her from sculpting, but she did not mind.
She knew that soon the snow would cling to her rather than melt against her, something most ponies tried to avoid when possible. The desire to be cold was something unique to Marble, not even Pinkie could enjoy the cold as Marble did. Pinkie could withstand the cold, but Marble felt at home in the falling snow.
Marble closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the sky. The air was calm, with only a slight breeze. She wondered where else it was snowing, if maybe her sister was feeling the same chill. Of course, Pinkie would probably be inside, surrounded by comfort and friends.
In the end, Marble did not envy her sister for having friends or enjoying warmth. She envied her sister for leaving. For having the courage to walk off of the farm, and for having the strength to stay away. Marble had never left Rockville before and without a tangible reason to, she doubted that she would ever conquer her fear. The world was vast and dangerous, but the farm was safe and familiar.
At the sound of a tolling bell, Marble’s eyes opened. Dinner was ready.