//------------------------------// // 5: Capacity conundrum // Story: Growth // by Squinty Mudmane //------------------------------// “All right, that’s enough,” Mr Pie said. “Set it down gently. Right side first, then the left.” Marble bent her knees as she and the others lowered the rear of the wagon in a more or less coordinated manner. When the still-intact wheel on the right side touched the ground, she and Applejack sidled towards the middle of the axle, lowering the broken left side as well. After a bit of careful manoeuvring, the wagon rested on its own weight. On Mr Cake’s suggestion and following his directions, they had parked the wagon right outside Sugarcube Corner. Mr Pie and Flint shrugged out of their harnesses and walked over to the others, who had formed a little half-circle around the rear of the cart. “I hope you don’t mind us leaving our wagon here until the morning, sir,” Mr Pie said politely to Mr Cake, keeping his expression neutral. “We’ll try to get it repaired and moved as soon as possible.” Mr Cake gave him a friendly smile, but it seemed a little forced to Marble; he was probably still somewhat wary of her father after the callous way in which he had ignored Pinkie. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Why don’t you come inside? My wife should have something warm ready for us.” “Oh, that would be lovely,” her mother chirped from inside the wagon. “Girls, come help me with the luggage.” “The girls and Flint can handle the luggage. You just come on inside, dear,” Mr Pie said firmly. Marble glanced over at Blinkie, but there were no exchanged looks with rolling eyes as she had expected. Blinkie did not even look at her. Her sister’s glare was focused on their mother as she emerged from the wagon. Her father held up a hoof to help her mother down the steps at the back of the wagon, the older mare’s bad hindleg slowing the descent to a crawl. Mrs Pie looked briefly at Pinkie over her glasses. “Hello, Pinkie,” she said with a small, tight smile. Pinkie smiled back carefully. “Hi, Mom.” There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes at the acknowledgement. Like a puppy craving affection, Marble thought, feeling a pang of equal parts pity and exasperation. “Would you take us inside, please?” her father asked Mr Cake. “My wife needs to sit down and rest.” The other stallion nodded. “Of course. Right this way.” “Oh, Igneous, I’m fine, really,” Mrs Pie protested feebly as she followed the two stallions, Mr Pie supporting her with one leg. “You need to rest,” he said gruffly, in the way that indicated that there was no room for discussion. He looked over his shoulder. “Be quick about the luggage. I don’t want it to get soaked.” “Don’t worry, Mr Pie. We’ll have it done in a jiffy,” Flint said with his usual chipper voice. Marble could not help but feel he was a terrible suck-up at times. He climbed into the wagon and disappeared for a moment. “Uhm… what’s wrong with Mom’s leg?” Pinkie asked in a somewhat timid voice after their parents had disappeared from sight. Blinkie moved to the back of the wagon and gave Marble a brief look. ‘You tell her,’ her expression said. Marble suppressed a sigh and turned to Pinkie. “She injured her leg about a year ago when we were emptying the shale shaft. Dad’s put her on strict bedrest since then.” “A year? Her leg didn’t mend right?” Applejack asked. Marble glanced over her shoulder at her. “She says she still has pains sometimes, and Dad refuses to let her do field work until she’s fully recovered.” Pinkie’s expression fell. “Oh, poor Mom…” “Maybe she’d recover faster if she didn’t just sit around doing nothing all day,” Blinkie grumbled as Flint heaved a large wooden chest onto her back. Marble shot her sister a look of reproach. “You shouldn’t talk about Mom like that. She doesn’t—” “She’s useless,” Blinkie spat harshly. Marble flinched. She wanted to reprimand her sister, had to reprimand her; at the same time, a small part of her agreed with the words she could never utter herself. Blinkie looked at her conflicting expressions for a moment, then snorted and walked past her and the stunned Pinkie to the door. Marble glanced at Applejack; her cousin shook her head sadly, and Marble got the distinct feeling that they had let the mare down somehow. “She doesn’t mean it,” Marble mumbled as she took up position for the next piece of luggage, though she was not sure who the words were intended for. “She’s just tired. You know how she is. Give her a bit to cool down and she’ll come around,” Flint said confidently as he placed a smaller but still heavy trunk on Marble’s back. His endless optimism was equal parts reassuring and aggravating. The first thing Marble noticed upon opening the door to Sugarcube Corner was the barrage of sweet, almost cloying scents that permeated the inside of the building. She was almost certain they had not been so overpowering last time she entered, though perhaps that had something to do with the large tray full of pastries and tea on a nearby table. Her parents were already seated around it together with Mr and Mrs Cake. A tray with a similar abundance of sugary treats was placed at second table, where Blinkie sat together with the yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. Blinkie was in the process of wiping her face and hooves with a towel that was quickly becoming more dirt-stained than white. Marble deposited the trunk inside the doorway next to the other piece of luggage just as the unicorn—Rarity, wasn’t it?—emerged from a room at the back with a stack of fresh towels. She trotted over to Marble with a pretty smile on her lips. Now that Marble got a better look at her, ‘stunning’ was the first word that sprung to mind to describe her, followed closely by ‘beautiful’ and ‘gorgeous’ vying for second place. How did I not notice that before? Marble thought. Then again, there had hardly been a lot of time for getting a good look at anyone the first time they had been here. She tried not to be too overt as she looked the unicorn over. She must take really good care of herself… How did she even get her mane like that? “Here you go, darling. It’s not ideal, but it should keep you sane until you can have proper warm bath,” she said sympathetically. Marble let out a little yelp and almost jumped back as one of the towels lifted from the unicorn’s back and floated towards her. She felt a flush of embarrassment as the others at the tables stopped talking and looked at her. The unicorn actually had to stifle a giggle with her hoof. “First time seein’ magic in action?” Applejack asked behind Marble. She glanced over her shoulder to see the other mare grinning at her. Somehow it made her blunder seem even worse. “M-magic?” Marble stammered and looked back at the floating towel. Only now did she notice that it was enveloped in a blueish shimmer identical to the one surrounding the unicorn’s horn. Marble wished she could burn a hole in the floor and sink through it. Of course unicorns did magic; that was what they were all about. She had both heard and read about it, but up until now, she’d had no idea what it meant. Applejack chuckled and gave Marble a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s freaky at first, but you get used to it right quick,” she said, depositing a bag that Marble recognised as being her own next to the other luggage. “Applejack is right, even though I would argue the ‘freaky’ part,” the unicorn said with a patient smile, still proffering the towel. “Go on, take it. It’s perfectly safe, I assure you.” “Thank you,” Marble said and took the towel after a moment’s hesitation. She carefully put the cloth to her other foreleg. It seemed like a perfectly ordinary towel. “My pleasure. It looked like you needed it,” the unicorn said with a smile, then quickly added: “Ah, no offense intended.” Marble suddenly became painfully aware of just how messy and filthy she was after the travel, even more so compared to Rarity’s own pristine white coat. Even though there was nothing condescending about her expression, something about the unicorn’s immaculate appearance seemed to painfully showcase Marble’s own shortcomings. At least she was able to get the majority of the dirt off her forelegs with some furious scrubbing. “Nevermind her,” Applejack said, evidently noticing Marble’s discomfort. “Rarity’s just so deathly afraid of hard work, the sight of its effects scare her somethin’ fierce.” The towel Applejack had been using to dry her wet coat was snatched from her grasp in a blue shimmer, rolled up tight and then swiped at her flank with a crack. Applejack leapt away from the vengeful towel with a laugh. “Alright, alright, sorry! No need to get prissy, Rares.” Rarity let out a little huff and flung the towel at Applejack, who caught it with her teeth. “Anyway,” she said, putting her friendly smile back on for Marble, “there is warm tea and some refreshments, if you’d like. It must have been an exhausting journey, especially in this weather.” “Well, I am a little hungry…” Marble admitted, wishing her stomach would growl a bit less loudly as the enticing smells from the tray hit her with renewed force. “Cake ain’t exactly a wholesome meal, but you should never pass on a chance to try some of pastries here,” Applejack said, heading towards the less crowded table. “She’s the best darn baker I know.” Pinkie bounced past Marble and pulled her along eagerly, a towel still clinging to her older sister’s right foreleg. “Oh! Oh! You should try the cream horns! I made them this morning!” Pinkie said excitedly, not noticing as the towel was lifted away by a blue shimmer. Marble only listened with one ear, watching in fascination as Rarity took the last towel from Flint and floated them all in front of her as she headed to the door at the back of the room again. “The cream horns. Right…” Marble turned her gaze to the tray, trying to guess which of the half-dozen curiously shaped pastries was the right one. Pinkie watched her expectantly. She picked up one of the pastries that seemed to be the most horn-shaped. “No, silly, that’s not a cream horn. That’s a croissant!” Pinkie said with a giggle. “Oh. Uh, sorry,” she mumbled, almost putting the pastry back down but catching herself at the last moment. Her mother had always told her that it was ill manners to put back food that she had touched. “It’s okay! I made the croissants as well, and they’re also yummy! Not quite as creamy, though,” her elder sister said brightly, her happiness not diminished in the least by Marble’s mistake. “Come on, Pinkie, have a seat and let her figure out what to pick,” Applejack said with a chuckle. She was sitting next to Blinkie, while Pinkie sat down next to the pegasus on the opposite bench. After a moment’s hesitation, Marble took a seat next to Applejack. They were joined a few seconds later by Rarity, who took the remaining spot on the other bench. Flint was the last to sit down, squeezing in at the far edge of the bench next to Blinkie. For a moment, they sat in an awkward silence, apart from the small talk at the other table; Pinkie glanced somewhat nervously at Blinkie, who had her eyes focused on the pastry she was eating. The pegasus was fidgeting her hooves and mostly seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible, a feat helped in no small degree by her voluminous mane. Applejack glanced between the two older sisters with her brow furrowed slightly in concern. It was Rarity who broke the silence first, clearing her throat daintily and politely. “I don’t think we ever got properly introduced,” she said, tilting her head slightly with that nice smile again. “My name is Rarity, which I suppose you might have picked up on by now. This lovely pegasus here is our good friend Fluttershy—” she inclined her head towards the pegasus, who smiled timidly at them from behind her bangs “—and I’m sure you’ve already talked to the charming Applejack.” She said the last name with a little sneer, but Marble thought she could see that same playful twinkle in her eye as from before. Applejack mockingly tipped her hat at the unicorn. Marble shifted a bit in her seat, unsure what to make of the banter. She cleared her throat as well, though it somehow sounded less refined and more like a frog had gotten caught in it. “We’ve, uh, talked, yes. My name’s Marble,” she said. Flint doffed a non-existent hat at Rarity and smiled, earning a look from Blinkie. “I’m Flint Chip. Real nice to meet y’all.” “Blinkie,” her sister said curtly when Rarity’s head turned to her expectantly. The look she returned was wary, stopping just shy of hostile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all as well,” Rarity said in a voice that seemed wholly sincere, despite the lukewarm response. She lifted a rotund teapot from the tray with that mesmerising blue shimmer. “Would any of you like some tea? It’s a refreshing rooibos infusion.” “Uh, yes, please,” Marble said absently, unable to take her eyes off the teapot as it elegantly floated through the air towards her, tilting at an angle until a small, controlled stream of steaming water poured into the cup in front of her. Blinkie nodded as well. “Sure.” The teapot hovered over to her, and Marble noticed with some satisfaction that her sister was equally as fascinated by the sight, even if she tried harder to hide it. Rarity had just finished pouring tea for Fluttershy when Mr Pie stood up at the other table. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said with a polite nod, “but it’s been a long journey, and it’s getting late. We would like to get some rest now, if possible.” “Oh, I’ll show you where you can sleep! Follow me!” Pinkie said brightly, jumping to her hooves and eagerly heading towards the stairs, followed by her parents. “Girls, help with the luggage,” Mr Pie said. Before Marble could get out of her seat, however, Mr and Mrs Cake trotted over to pick it up. “It’s all right, dears, we’ll take care of it,” Mrs Cake said to the sisters with a kindly smile. “You look like you could use some rest of your own.” Marble nodded mutely and sat back down while Mrs Cake and her husband began to heave the heavy luggage up the stairs. Once again it was Rarity who seemed compelled to break the silence that followed first. “So,” she said, placing her cup delicately back on its small plate after taking a sip, “how long will you be staying in Ponyville?” Marble quickly swallowed her pastry to reply, narrowly avoiding choking on it as she did. “I don’t know, really. A couple of days at least, I think. It depends on what Dad says.” “Your father makes these decisions?” the unicorn asked. Marble nodded. “Mostly, yeah. Mom doesn’t really—” Mom doesn’t really make them because she always tries to please everypony, ends up pleasing nopony, and usually defers to Dad anyway. A kind pony would call her mother well-meaning; an unkind one would call her spineless. “Mom usually agrees with Dad,” she finished. Marble almost jumped out of her seat as a frightened shriek from her mother rang out from upstairs, followed by Pinkie’s voice frantically giving some sort of explanation. Both Blinkie and Flint looked up in shock, the latter halfway on his hooves already, but the other three seemed largely undisturbed, except for a brief backward glance by Rarity and Fluttershy. A reassuring hoof touched Marble on the shoulder and gently eased her back into her seat. Applejack gave her a little smile. “Don’t worry, I think yer parents just met Gummy, is all. He has that effect on ponies the first time they see him.” “Gummy?” Marble asked, her mind racing to figure out what could have a name like that and elicit such a reaction. “Pinkie’s pet alligator,” Rarity explained. “He’s harmless, even if he has a propensity for, well, gumming anything that gets near him,” she added at the baffled looks she received. “He’s really very nice,” Fluttershy said softly, the first words she had spoken since Marble had arrived. She finally took a good look at the pegasus, whose appearance was as demure as her voice. “He’s actually more dangerous to himself than anything. The poor dear still can’t eat anything solid, and he often ends up choking on whatever it is he tries to bite.” Marble was still trying to come to terms with this strange revelation when Pinkie trotted down the stairs, biting her lip anxiously. Applejack tilted her head a bit. “Somethin’ wrong, Pinkie?” “Well, kinda. Or not really wrong, just, uhm, not quite right?” Pinkie gave her a smile of forced cheer. “Is it something we can help you with, darling?” Rarity asked, turning around in her seat to face Pinkie. Pinkie wrung her hooves a bit and looked around. “Uhm, well, turns out I forgot a teensy-little detail. We only have room for Mom and Dad to sleep here, even if we use all the spare mattresses…” She was decidedly not looking in Marble or Blinkie’s direction now. “So I don’t know… uhm…” “You didn’t plan for where the rest of us should sleep,” Blinkie finished for her in a flat voice. “That’s great. I guess we’ll just sleep in the wagon, then.” “Hold on now,” Applejack said. “Ain’t no kin of mine gonna sleep outside when we got plenty room back at the farm. Y’all can stay with us.” Rarity looked at Applejack incredulously. “Absolutely not! You want them to walk all the way to Sweet Apple Acres in this weather? They just got dry, for Celestia’s sake! No, they can stay with me for the night. My house is just down the street, and I’ve got plenty of couch space and soft cushions.” Flint smiled, looking from Rarity to Blinkie. “Well, that sounds mighty nice. Right, Blinkie?” “We’ll stay at the farm, thanks,” Blinkie said curtly. “No offense, but I’m a country pony, and I doubt I could sleep properly in a home as classy as yours.” Rarity raised an eyebrow at her, but simply nodded. She turned her attention to Marble. “What about you, darling?” Marble hesitated a bit under the unicorn’s gaze. Although the offer seemed wholly sincere and Rarity’s expression was friendly and inviting, she could not help but feel a little intimidated by the unicorn mare. If the house was anything like Rarity herself, Marble would stick out like a sore hoof. She glanced to her right at Applejack; her cousin’s smile was no less welcoming than Rarity’s, but there was something familiar there in contrast to the unicorn. Magic still unsettled Marble. “I… think I’ll go with Applejack as well, if you don’t mind,” she said carefully. “Not that I don’t appreciate your offer.” Rarity shrugged lightly and smiled. “Of course I don’t mind. Family first, after all. If you change your mind, however, you’re welcome to stay.” She looked over at Fluttershy. “And you, Fluttershy? Don’t tell me you’re going to walk all the way home too.” “Well, uhm, if it’s okay—and you’re sure it’s not a bother—I think I’ll stay with you…” Fluttershy mumbled into her mane. Rarity nodded magnanimously. “Of course, darling.” “Are you sure it’s all right, Applejack?” Pinkie asked with a hopeful smile, even as she glanced nervously at Blinkie. “It’d be super-duper if it could work, at least until I get some more mattresses…” Applejack held up a hoof. “Don’t you worry about it none, Pinkie. We’ll be glad to have ‘em. It ain’t often we get family visiting like this.” “Yay! Thank you!” Pinkie was halfway across the table to hug Applejack—Rarity hurriedly moved all teacups and other fragile porcelain to the sides—when her eyes fell upon Blinkie and Marble, and her face slipped back into its fretful folds. “I’m really sorry! I bumbled this one bad. I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow! Pinkie Promise!” She solemnly made the appropriate gestures, and Marble could not help but feel sorry for her; this was most likely not the reunion she had hoped for. She smiled at her older sister in a way she hoped was reassuring. “It’s fine, Pinkie, really. I’m sure it just slipped your mind. It happens.” Blinkie gave her a rather sour look, but Applejack nodded approvingly. “We should probably consider headin’ out if you’re comin’ along, though,” her cousin said. “It’s a bit of a walk, an’ the day ain’t gettin’ any longer. You wanna tell yer parents where we’re goin’?” As if on cue, Mr Pie yelled for Pinkie’s attention from somewhere above. She gave the sisters a last apologetic look and ran back upstairs. “Pinkie can tell them,” Blinkie said, already heading for the door. “Let’s just get going before they find something to object over.” She stopped next to the remaining luggage near the door and nodded curtly at the other ponies. “Yeah, was a real pleasure. I hope we’ll meet again later,” Flint said with a wide smile, seemingly mostly directed at Rarity. The unicorn nodded graciously, while Fluttershy mumbled something inaudible in reply. Blinkie narrowed her eyes. “Flint, come help me with my bag, please.” The stallion started and quickly trotted over to her, muttering an apology. Somepony’s getting an earful later, Marble thought as Blinkie shot Rarity a dark look, then turned the baleful glare on Flint. The stallion cringed and looked sheepishly at his hooves. Marble dearly hoped her sister could hold her tongue until Applejack was not around; their cousin had only seen them at their worst so far. She did not relish the prospect of being further embarrassed in front of Applejack by Blinkie throwing a hissy fit. Rarity, for her part, either missed or willfully ignored the hostile look. She gave Marble another of her dazzling smiles. “Well, I wish you all a pleasant night, then. You’re more than welcome to come by for a cup of tea at a later date, if you so desire. Applejack can show you where I live.” She turned her attention to the larger mare. “You get them home safely, now. A hot, steaming shower would be most appreciated, I’m certain.” She paused for a moment and then, with a small smile, added: “You do have a shower, right?” “Nah, we just wait until the dirt dries up enough that we can shake it off like flaky crust,” Applejack said. She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation at Rarity’s horrified expression. “Of course we got a shower, Rares.” Marble looked from one to the other, once again uncertain what to make of the exchange. Applejack shook her head and turned to her with a little smile. “Nevermind Miss Spa Pony there. You ready to go?” Marble nodded and put on a smile, resolving not to think too hard about the oddities of the two mares. “I am. It was nice to meet you as well,” she said to Rarity and Fluttershy. She headed over to the door where Flint and Blinkie were waiting, the former carrying Blinkie’s luggage, the latter with a somewhat impatient expression on her face. She was about to pick up her bag, but Applejack beat her to it. The result was that Marble’s muzzle bumped into her cousin’s strong shoulder instead. “Why don’t ya let me carry that, eh?” Applejack said, slinging the bag effortlessly over her shoulder. “I reckon you’re pretty spent at this point.” “...Thank you,” Marble muttered after a moment, hoping the blush she felt on her cheeks did not actually show. Applejack smiled easily, apparently not noticing her fluster, and headed out the door. Outside, the sky was as foreboding as ever, but the distant rumble of thunder now accompanied the splashing rain. Marble followed Applejack closely as she led them down another street with unerring confidence. Blinkie and Flint lagged a short distance behind them, talking quietly enough that Marble could not make out the details, but given that her sister’s voice was a good deal more forceful than Flint’s, she had an inkling what it might be about. As the street gave way to open road once again, she glanced at Applejack, feeling an inexplicable surge of guilt for what her cousin had seen of her family so far. She took a deep breath and trotted up next to the other mare. “I’m sorry,” Marble said. Applejack gave her a puzzled look. “You’re really not seeing our family at its best. Usually we’re not so…” Bitter? Gloomy? Talkative? Only one of those was true, and one was a half-truth. “Not so hostile,” she settled for eventually. To her surprise, Applejack let out a little laugh. At first Marble thought it was a mocking laughter, but the smile on her cousin’s face was warm enough. “It’s okay. I know y’all were probably just tired an’ on edge after a long trip. Things with family don’t always pan out the way we’d like ’em. Shucks, you should’ve seen when Pinkie came on a road trip with mah family. Wasn’t exactly our finest moment.” “What went wrong?” Marble asked, tilting her head curiously. “Pretty much everythin’,” Applejack said with a little grin. “We bickered when the cart broke down after we’d loaded it too heavily. We bickered when we lost our map. We bickered over which direction to go after we lost our map. We bickered when the raft we’d made out of the remains of our cart broke down…” Marble winced a bit. “Ouch. I think I see the pattern.” “Well, it wasn’t all bad. It was also when figured out that Pinkie’s part of the family, so…” “Really?” Marble bit her lip for a moment. “I’ve been meaning to ask about that…” Applejack smiled in understanding. “Wonderin’ how come we’re related? I gotta admit, I was a bit shocked when Pinkie first told me as well. Apparently she’d been with Twilight who’d been doin’ some kin research—mighty smart gal, Twilight is—an’ there was somethin’ suggestin’ a link ’tween our families. So we decided to go an’ check up on it with a pony who’d know for sure: Golden Delicious, mah granny’s own cousin. “We went there on that road trip I mentioned, an’ sure enough, she had some real detailed records. Unfortunately, the entry on the Pies and Apples was a mite smudged, probably on account of the dozens of cats she’s got runnin’ around, but it was pretty darn clear that the link was real.” Marble furrowed her brow a bit in puzzlement. “But didn’t you just say the records on it weren’t clear?” Applejack chuckled lightly. “Anypony who could put up with the antics we put Pinkie through an’ still come out wantin’ to be part of us is family through an’ through. An’ if that don’t convince ya, then ask yerself why the family records would even have a mention of the Pies if there wasn’t somethin’ about it.” She does have a point, Marble admitted to herself. Applejack’s voice became a little softer. “Hey, can I ask ya somethin’?” “Uhm, sure?” Marble gave her a little smile. “I mean, seems only fair after my own question…” “Why’d you lie about yer name?” There was no barb or resentment in Applejack’s voice or her eyes, only honest curiosity, but the question still almost made Marble flinch. “I’m sorry. It was silly of me. I just…” She searched fruitlessly for words for a moment. “You don’t like yer name?” Marble glanced at her cousin; either Applejack was very perceptive, or she herself was being very transparent. “I’m named after a chunk of rock. Try and compare that to a name like… like Rarity.” Applejack grinned and leaned closer in a conspiratorial manner. “Before you go wantin’ her ‘special name’, lemme tell you a lil’ somethin’ ’bout Rarity. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Rarity’s quite the fashion filly.” Marble nodded a bit. ‘Fashion’ was another of those words she knew existed but had no clear concept of. It seemed appropriately exotic a word that someone like Rarity might embody it, though. “Well, this one time, she had a customer visit while wearin’ some real fancy getup, an’ the looks of it were apparently so shockin’ for her that she needed an emergency audience to vent her disgust to. I happened to be nearby at the time along with Fluttershy, so we both got roped into it.” Applejack tried her best to suppress little hiccups of laughter. “Once Rarity was done describin’ that ‘abomination towards all fashion everywhere’, Fluttershy calmly pointed out that the dress the customer had worn was the same one Fluttershy had spent weeks modellin’ for Rarity for her spring line of dresses last year. An’ all Rarity could say to that was ‘oh’. You should’ve seen the look on her face! ’Twas somethin’ like this.” Applejack rounded her lips and shot her jaw to the side, creating an expression of dumbfounded perplexity before breaking into laughter. Marble could not hold back a chuckle of her own. “Cracks me up every time…” Applejack’s mirthful laughter settled down after a few moments and she shook her head a bit. “Please don’t tell her I told ya this, though. She’d have mah tail if she knew.” “I won’t. Don’t worry,” Marble said with a little grin. Applejack’s expression settled into more serious folds again. “Anyway, I wouldn’t trade mah name fer anythin’ in the world. Yer name’s part of who you are; it’s somethin’ to take pride in, not try an’ hide away.” “I suppose…” “Besides, we went to this sculpture gallery in Canterlot once. There were a bunch of marble statues there, an’ all of ’em were right pretty, no mistake.” Marble almost stumbled, her jaw working soundlessly as she looked at Applejack, struggling to come up with an adequate reply. Did she just…? No, she couldn’t have… Applejack looked back at her with a puzzled expression. “Somethin’ wrong?” Marble shook her head mutely. “It’s nothing,” she eventually managed to say. “I’m just not used to…” She took a deep breath. Stop. Blubbering. Now. “What I meant to say was ‘thank you’.” “Don’t mention it,” Applejack said with a little smile. The conversation drifted off after that. Marble wracked her brain furiously, trying to come up with some sort of decent question to get back on track. ‘So what about your own name?’ No, no, that won’t do. ‘How big is your farm?’ No, why ask that? We’ll get to see it shortly anyway. ‘Does it always rain this much around here?’ Good, if you wanted to go for something completely trite. ‘So what do you grow at the farm?’ It’s called Sweet Apple Acres. Do you want her to think that you’re a moron? “I have to pee,” she blurted and almost bit her tongue as she immediately tried to swallow the words again. Wow. That wasn’t even a question. Well done. Applejack gave her a slightly puzzled look. “Uhm, well, if it’s urgent, we can wait here while you hop behind a bush or somethin’. Otherwise the farm’s just up ahead. You can see the arch from here, actually.” “Ah, no, it’s fine. I-I can wait,” Marble said, mentally kicking herself repeatedly. I’m just tired. That’s all this is. A good night’s sleep and maybe I’ll seem less like a flustered little filly and more like a sane pony. She followed Applejack quietly up the road to a large farmhouse, determined to keep her mouth shut as much as possible from now until she was sound asleep. Light shone from one of the windows on the ground level and from another on the first floor. “Looks like Big Mac is still up and about,” Applejack commented. “He’s my big brother,” she added for Marble’s benefit. “He’s real nice, but a mite shy around new folks, so don’t be surprised if he doesn’t say more’n a few words to ya; it ain’t ’cause he’s tryin’ to be rude.” “It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Marble said with a little smile, realising that it would be next to impossible—not to mention rude—to remain silent when her cousin was talking to her. “We… usually don’t talk all that much back home either. Actually, this is probably the most talking I’ve done in months.” Which would explain why I can hardly string two words together with you. Yeah, must be it. A large silhouette walked past in the lower of the two windows, and a few moments later, the front door to the farmhouse was opened just as the four ponies came up the path leading to it. Given the sheer size of the stallion standing in the doorway, there was little doubt in Marble’s mind as to his identity. He was nothing short of massive, standing at least a head taller than all of them, even Flint. He was chewing on a stalk of hay, slowly rolling it from one corner of his mouth to the other. His size would have made him intimidating, but his posture and body language reminded Marble of an oversized version of the teddy bear they had back home. One by one, he scanned the ponies as they came up to the door. “Friends of yours, AJ?” he asked. “Family, actually,” Applejack said, “but how ’bout we go inside before we do introductions, hmm? Looks like Dash an’ her crew are in for the long haul with this rain.” “Who’s Dash?” Marble asked as the stallion obligingly sidestepped to allow them entry into the farmhouse. Applejack glanced over her shoulder with a little grin. “I’ll tell you later.” Marble almost let out a sigh of relief at the merciful warmth that greeted them inside. Unlike at Sugarcube Corner, the air here also did not seem as if it would make her develop cavities just by breathing it. Once they were all safely inside, Applejack turned to her three companions and gestured towards the large stallion. “Right then. This here’s mah brother, Big Macintosh. Mac, Blinke an’ Marble here are our cousins from Pinkie’s side. Feller there’s named Flint, an’ he’s with Blinkie. They’ll be stayin’ with us for a while.” There was a polite exchange of greetings cut short by an excited bark and the patter of paws. A brown-and-white dog of some kind bounded in from one of the other rooms. It ran in a circle around them all before sniffing at the newcomers, starting with Marble. “An’ this here’s Winona, our ever vigilant dog,” Applejack said with a chuckle. Marble shifted a bit on her hooves, unsure how to react to the curious critter. Dogs were not exactly familiar territory for her. “Don’t worry, she ain’t gonna bite. She’s just curious.” “Looks like a mighty fine critter,” Flint said approvingly. “A collie, right?” Applejack nodded. “Sure is. Best friend any pony ever did have.” “Woof!” Winona declared and jumped up at Applejack to try and lick her face. Marble did her best not to laugh at Applejack’s half-hearted attempts at fending off the dog. “All right, Winona, that’s enough. Down, girl,” Applejack said firmly, but with a smile. Winona obeyed instantly, sitting down on her haunches, her tail swishing back and forth over the floor. “Mac, could you show Blinkie an’ Flint to the guest room? Should be plenty big for the both of them. Unless you prefer separate rooms?” The two ponies shook their heads simultaneously. “A single room will be just fine,” Blinkie said with the first genuine smile in seemingly forever. “As long as it’s got a bed and a blanket, I’m happy.” “This way,” Big Mac said, leading Blinkie and Flint towards a staircase with Winona following, leaving Applejack and Marble alone in the lower floor. “Right then,” Applejack said with a bright smile. “I got a spare mattress an’ plenty of space in mah room, so you can sleep there if you like. Otherwise we can take the mattress down here or get some extra blankets an’ pillows for the couch if you feel more comfortable with that.” “It’s okay,” Marble said quickly. “Blinkie and I share the same room back home. I’m used to it.” “Great. I’ll go get it set up, then. Bathroom’s just through the living room in here.” Applejack pointed at the well-lit room they had spied coming up to the house. “There’s a shower there as well. My room’s the first on yer right as you come up the stairs.” Marble nodded. “Shouldn’t I help get things set up, though?” Applejack waved a hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry, it ain’t no big deal. I’ll probably be done before you are. Besides, didn’t you say you had to go real bad?” “Uh…” Marble looked at her cousin in puzzlement for a moment. What does she— “Oh right, yes!” she said quickly as realisation dawned on her, nodding eagerly with a smile that was altogether too wide. “Thanks. I’ll, uhm, I’ll be right back, then.” Marble quickly trotted into the living room as Applejack disappeared up the stairs with Marble’s bag. She let out a little sigh and fought the urge to bang her head against the nearest wall; most likely it would harm the wall more than her frustratingly thick skull. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She glanced around the living room as she passed through it. Although by no means ostentatious, it still had several pieces of furniture that seemed purely intended for comfort, not least the extremely cozy-looking couch. The bathroom, although equipped with a relatively simplistic shower, was also a leap above the spartan outhouse they had back home. Water spilled through the tube from the large overhead container as Marble yanked the chain dangling from it. The liquid splashing over her body felt delightfully warm compared to the downpour outside, even though it was still on the colder end of lukewarm. Only once she had scrubbed the majority of the mud off her coat and stepped back out of the shower cabin dripping water did she realise she had forgotten to bring a towel. She looked around sheepishly; a couple of towels hung on a rack nearby. Given that the alternative was to leave a trail of water through the living room, she figured borrowing one of them was the less impolite thing to do. She took one of the towels and quickly wiped her coat and mane with it. Upon closer inspection, the name ‘Applejack’ was embroidered near the hem. It rather felt like a violation of her cousin’s privacy to be using her towel like that; she would definitely have to apologise for it. She fidgeted with the towel for a moment, unsure where to put it. She eventually decided to take it with her as she headed upstairs. Applejack would know what to do with it. The first door on her right was slightly ajar, and she could see Applejack moving about on the other side. She gently nudged the door open and looked around for a moment. The room was rather modest and practical in its furnishing. There was an oaken bed with a nightstand in one corner, a large closet in another and a small cupboard with an overhanging mirror at one of the walls. Next to the mirror was a coat rack upon which Applejack’s hat hung, along with a rolled-up length of rope. Applejack herself was moving a large mattress onto the floor next to her bed, along with a fluffy pillow and a thick blanket to go with it. She had removed her hairbands, and her blonde mane hung loosely around her face and neck. It almost made her look like a different pony, if not for the white freckles on her cheeks. “Hey there, Marble,” she said cheerfully when she noticed the other pony in the doorway. She looked at the towel slung over Marble’s back with some confusion. “Whatcha got there?” “Uh…” Marble scuffed a hoof against the floor. The idea to bring the towel was starting to seem increasingly silly. “I forgot to bring my towel and had to use one from the bathroom. I didn’t realise it was yours until I saw your name on it. I’m sorry.” Applejack gave her a slightly bemused look before she lit up in understanding. “Oh, right. It’s not actually mine in that sense. If you notice, there are four names on it, one in each corner: Big Mac, mah sister Apple Bloom, Granny Smith an’ me.” Marble quickly looked at one of the corners of the towel. Sure enough, there the name ‘Apple Bloom’ was embroidered instead. “It’s just one of the things Granny likes to add when she’s sewing,” Applejack said with a smile. “She’s the one who made the towels, y’see. Just put it in the basket over there an’ I’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Marble deposited the towel in the wicker basket next to the closet, glumly wondering if there were any other ways she could embarrass herself in front of Applejack before the day was out. “Now I don’t know about you, but—” Applejack stifled a yawn with her hoof “—I’m pretty beat, so if there’s nothin’ else, perhaps we should catch some shuteye.” “Yeah. Some sleep sounds good,” Marble said, suddenly feeling the full weight of exhaustion from the day come crashing down on her as she neared the oh-so-inviting mattress. She all but fell onto it—had there ever been a softer mattress in the history of mattresses?—while Applejack climbed into her bed with rather more grace. “Goodnight, Applejack,” Marble muttered, her eyelids drooping heavily as if made of lead. Applejack turned off the lamp on her nightstand, enveloping the room in darkness. “Night night, sugarcube,” she said. … …Sugarcube?