From the moment she woke up, Marble Pie knew exactly what she was going to do. With Pinkie's passionate cries of "Hearth's Warming!" still ringing in her ears, the little mare thought about the gifts scattered around the rock farm. Finding them would be difficult, nigh impossible even, but oh, how it would be worth the effort. She thought of the perfectly smooth boulder that she had hidden in the quarry, with Big Mac's name written on the tag attached to it. If Pinkie put them in teams, she would be able to steer the stallion right to it. And then, as the sun rose above the farm and cast the mighty shadow of Holder's Boulder over them, she would turn her most smoldering gaze on Big Mac, and he would lean in close, and...
"Oh my," Igneous Rock murmured breathlessly. "Oh, my."
Upstairs, Big Mac waited for Apple Bloom to squeeze out from under him, and he got to thinking about the day that lay ahead of them. Marble hadn't really told him anything about the Pie family traditions, but Applejack had gotten herself rather worked up over all of it, so he was quite up to speed. In sharp contrast to his sister, Big Mac was quite looking forward to the hunt for presents. It seemed to him like a brilliant way to celebrate the holiday, especially for children; the rarity of gifts would make every one found a magnificent victory, and the hunt itself sounded like an excellent way to teach somepony that it wasn't the gifts you got, it was the ponies around you that made Hearth's Warming special. As an added bonus, once you built up a precedent of the gifts being hard to find, you could really save on gifts by just hiding a few.
As Big Mac made his ponderous way down the stairs, he heard a distinctly unpleasant sound. It was a sound that shook Ponyville on a surprisingly regular basis, a sound that he could, without fail, hear all the way from Sweet Apple Acres. It was a shout of incandescent rage, the roar of the bull before the charge.
"What. Happened. To. My. FARM?!?"
Even before he reached the door to see what the Pies were getting upset about, a pretty clear picture had formed in Big Mac's mind. After Applejack's little speech last night, there were only two possibilities. One, she had planted apple trees absolutely everywhere. Or two...
"It's Hearth's Warming, Apple style!"
Oh sweet Celestia on an ice cream tricycle, no.
Any other year, Big Mac would have been ecstatic to see the giant candy canes and red ribbons. Any other year, the wreaths and strings of lights would have made his eyes light up. But not this year. This year, he could only stare in horror, and hope his little sister wasn't about to be thrown into the quarry.
Marble Pie was similarly shocked to the core. She hardly recognized her family farm, its earthy greys and browns drowning in a sea of unwelcome colors. Before she could even make much sense of the strange poles all over the place, the orange pony's hoof was around her neck and dragging her over to something that put her in mind of a neon maypole.
"Marble Pie, you could raise the Equestria flag up this pole, because you're the youngest Pie!"
Marble looked up, and sure enough, the Equestrian flag was hanging proudly from the crowded pole. But what was Applejack going on about? Pinkie was the one who got to raise the flag, not her. Pinkie had found the obsidian, fair and square, and Marble certainly didn't begrudge her that. And what was up with this pole? What was wrong with putting it on top of Holder's Boulder?
Was this the way the Apples did Hearth's Warming?
Big Mac was still standing in the door, trying not to fall apart where he stood as he watched the Pies' respect for the Apples unravel before his eyes. For better or for worse, most of the Pies were focused on Applejack, and Big Mac dared to hope that he and Granny might be able to salvage this. Then he turned to look at Marble, and she turned to look at him. Something inside the stallion died as he made eye contact.
Marble didn't hate him. She didn't resent him. She didn't even disrespect him. But as she stared at the stallion, she couldn't help but feel sad. She felt lost, uncertain of everything around her, and at the center of that confusion was the Apples. Mere moments ago, she had been convinced that Big Mac was her stone-mate, that it would be his face that appeared in the Choosing Stone. Now, though, he seemed to grow further and further away with every word that came out of his sister's mouth.
"And look, we all get presents! WITHOUT HAVIN' TO FIND 'EM!" Sure enough, there was a pile of colorfully wrapped boxes, most of which Big Mac recognized from the trunk Granny had brought with them. There would be no searching, no strategic thinking, no family bonding reinforced by magnificent rewards. Instant gratification was the name of the game, and even though it was how he had been raised, Big Mac could practically smell how offended the Pies were.
Apple Bloom raced past Big Mac the instant she saw the pile of presents, and his heart sank like a rock. Please, no. She had been bonding so well with Maud, she had even spoken up in defense of the Pies' traditions last night. But there she was, shaking the box in that adorable little way she always did... And there was Granny Smith, coming up from behind to pat her on the head and ruffle her mane...
Then he saw the frown on Granny's face. Her hoof didn't pat Apple Bloom, it rested on her shoulder. The next thing he knew, his little sister was putting down the present, and the two of them were turning to face Pinkie. Well, that was something at least.
"PINKAMENA DIANE PIE! Truly, thou cannot favor this madness?"
Marble couldn't help but shiver at the sound of Igneous Rock raising his voice. There was never much need for discipline on a rock farm; the farm disciplined you enough. So on the rare occasions when her father felt punishment was needed, it was the sort of punishment that lesser ponies would crumble to dust under. Hearing him call out Pinkie's name was hardly a comfort, either; one can seldom harm one twin without touching the other.
"Well, I wanna be one big family!" Pinkie's protests were a candle before an ocean, and Big Mac could see the candle flicker as Limestone added her two cents. Then he saw the tears, and all hope was lost.
It didn't matter what happened now. It didn't matter who was at fault, and who was innocent. Pinkie Pie was crying, and if they were all obscenely lucky, the two families would be trapped in an infinite loop of apologies.
"Excuse me. You planted your pole on a fault line."
Big Mac began to wonder if Tartarus had admission fees.
Marble Pie nearly doubled over in pain as the earth began to crack. She had been pouring her heart and soul into this earth all of her life, and suddenly it was being torn apart. As the patterns upon patterns of rock crops were churned and thrown out of balance, Marble tried desperately to reach out with her magic and heal the scars. But too much was happening too quickly, and the scared little push of a scared little pony was too little too late. The cracks in the earth spread, the fault line opened up, and Holder's Boulder dropped by about two inches.
And then rolled off of the cliff and fell another forty feet before smashing into the ground with a sickening thud.
Everypony raced to the edge of the cliff and stared down into the quarry. As Limestone let out a cry of anguish at the devastation, Marble found herself breaking in a far more subtle way. She looked at where Holder's Boulder had fallen, and remembered where she had hid Big Mac's Hearth's Warming gift. Not for the first time, she was glad that her long mane hid her eyes so easily.
Big Mac sat in the train, wondering if he should say something to his teary-eyed sister. Marble Pie stood in the quarry, unable to say anything as she stared at the gravel that should have been the perfect gift.
Big Mac looked up as Granny started talking. Marble kept her eyes down as Limestone started coordinating the operation.
Big Mac stared with rapt attention as Granny drew on the window, etching out the tale of Holder Cobblestone. Marble strained with all her might to push the legendary monolith even an inch closer to where it was meant to be.
The final stroke of Granny's hoof seemed the most powerful, showing how the rock farm had been built around Holder's Boulder. Maud's first big push had been the only real progress they made, setting the boulder upright.
Hearing Applejack's shocked realization of her mistakes gave Big Mac hope; maybe they had a chance to fix things. Seeing the strongest Pie sister straining her muscles to no avail chipped away at Marble's faith in her own strength; if Maud couldn't move Holder's Boulder, what hope did Marble have?
Big Mac hoped, prayed something would happen that would make them go back to the farm. They had to make things right. Marble was afraid to even step back for a breather, terrified that even the smallest weakness would bring the boulder crashing back down atop the family.
"Stop the train!" "Come on... you... boulder, come on... agh!"
The Apples galloped across snow and earth, pushing themselves to their limits. The Pies strained against the strength of rock and the weakness of flesh, fast approaching their limit. The Apples dashed down into the quarry, while the Pies began to slump and slow.
"Need a little help?" Applejack asked, catching the Pies off-guard and allowing the Apples a chance to catch their breath.
Marble spun around at the sound as though she were on greased hooves. If Applejack was back, maybe it meant... o Haydes, yes! There was Big Mac, dripping with sweat and wearing the most adorable dumb grin on his face. It was a sight that set her little heart a-flutter.
Big Mac didn't listen to Applejack's apology. If he knew one thing about his sister, it was that she knew what to say 94.7% of the time. Instead, he looked across the quarry into the eyes of Marble Pie.
I'm sorry, his exhausted breathing and pleading eyes told her.
Apology accepted, her adorable little smile and slightly teary eyes seemed to say.
"Well, don't just stand there! We got a boulder to move!"
With those words, both families leaped into action. Marble blushed as she felt the massive weight and warmth of Big Mac poised over her, and Big Mac smiled at the mare straining with all her might. Then his smile evaporated as he realized exactly how much of his strength would be needed here.
It took them five hours to roll Holder's Boulder out of the quarry, and Marble and Big Mac enjoyed every second that wasn't filled with grunting and sweating. That is to say, they didn't enjoy it very much at all.