"It's really nice that you accompany me." Maud Pie said, her voice as monotonous as always.
Marble Pie, who was walking next to her, nodded slightly. She was aware, that this was not a real answer. But she hoped her sister would understand this small gesture anyway.
The two of them trotted across the long street of the town they live in. Only a few other ponies were outside. Some of them were on their way to some place, others stood in groups in front of the few markets and told each other the newest gossip. And if there was nothing new the town could offer as a good topic, they'd talk about the weather. This was something that always seemed strange to Marble Pie. The weather was always the same. When it wasn't snowing in the winter or raining in the rest of the year, it was dark and cloudy.
"Do you want to get a book as well?" Maud asked and turned around to her sister for a moment. Marble Pie looked up, taken aback for a moment after the long silence between them. She opened her mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat. After a moment she closed her mouth again and shook her head slightly towards her closed saddlebag.
Maud followed her gaze for a moment before turning towards her head again. "It's a bag." she stated.
Marble Pie sighed quietly and tried to come up with the right words. "...There's a book. Inside. I bring it back." she said quietly. She was not a mare of many words and when she really needed to talk, she'd always keep it as short as possible. It was always a problem when she was still going to school. Nowadays it wasn't much of a deal, since she'd spend all day on the farm. But it still brought her into small troubles.
"Oh. That makes sense." Maud said, but her face barely moved. Without turning this into a discussion, she looked forward again and continued her way, as if nothing happened. 'I sometimes wonder how she can do this.' Marble Pie wondered. Slowly she got lost in her thoughts again. 'I mean, she doesn't care. Wait, that would be wrong. She does care about us. It's more like... she doesn't care what others think about her. She can do and say the strangest things and people accept it. Most of the time. I sometimes wish I'd be as brave as her. Or Pinkie, for that matter. I never find the right words and when I do... ponies become to impatient. And get angry or bored or annoyed...'
Suddenly, she walked against something. She looked up, her eyes wide in shock, and stumbled a few steps backwards. Marble Pie looked up and saw into the face of an angered mare. "Watch were you go." she muttered between her gritted teeth and continued her way.
Marble Pie opened her mouth so apologize. To say, that it was an accident and it wouldn't happen again. But like always, the words were stuck in her throat. The mare looked at her for a few more moments, seemingly waiting for her to say something. When nothing came, she turned around with a huff and walked away.
Marble Pie stood there, in the middle of the road, and felt suddenly the urge to walk back home as fast as possible. 'Why is it still happening to me?' she thought and hid her face into her long, gray mane. "Are you coming?" Maud asked, who didn't seem to notice the short incident. Marble Pie looked around and hoped, that not too many ponies saw this. She nodded and quickly trotted to Maud. The rest of the way she stayed very close to her sister and kept eyes and mind on the way in front of her.
***
The library of the town was a small one. There were only few residents and even fewer ones, who had and active interest in books. So nopony saw a need for a bigger building or actually maintaining the current library. What other ponies would describe as an old and dusty place, that always had a strange smell, it felt like a home to Marble Pie. She loved the calm atmosphere and the smell old books had. Even though she never had too much time to go to the library regularly or the nerves to walk through the town more often, she always sought the company of the books and all the wonderful stories they'd tell her.
After stepping inside the building, they headed to the bored looking mare on the desk. Maud took a book out of her saddle bag and put it on the counter. "I bring the book back I borrowed a week ago." "Sure." the mare said and seemed glad to have something to do. Marble Pie looked around. It was as empty as ever. 'I wonder why nopony goes here. Not that I'd wish for that. I like it as quiet as it's now. But... there are so many interesting books. Instead, they spent their time with farming or... going to the barber. Or doing other things...'
"I'll look for a new book." Maud said. Marble Pie looked around and saw, that her sister gave her book already back. Maud then walked away.
"Can I help you?" the mare behind the counter asked her. Marble Pie twitched for a moment. She gulped and felt the nervousness through her veins. 'Calm down... you did it a few times already.' she tried to calm herself down. With her mouth, she pulled the book out of her own bag and walked with lowered head to the counter.
"You want to give it back as well?" the mare asked and waited for an answer.
Marble Pie nodded and scratched the ground with her hoof. The mare took the book and wrote something down on a piece of paper next to her.
"Alright, you ca--" she said, but something caught her attention. She picked up the book Marble Pie gave her and turned it around. "There's a stain. On the backside." she said with a very displeased tone.
Marble Pie gulped again and her legs started to shake. 'It was already there, when I borrowed it.' she thought.
"You're responsible for bringing the books, that you borrow here, back in the same state as before. I'll have to charge extra for this one. But if this happens again, I have to ban you from lending any more books from here." she said with lowered eyebrows and a serious voice.
The word ban sent another wave of fear through her body. 'B-ban?! But... It wasn't my fault!' she thought and lowered her ears. There were so many things she could've said. She could've proven her innocence. Explain, why the mare was wrong. But instead, she just nodded slightly. Without making any attempt at saying anything, she took the money out of her bag and put it on the counter.
"Remember, this is the first and last time." the mare reminded her before turning her attention back to the many papers in front of her.
Marble Pie turned away and covered her face as much as possible with her mane. 'Why can't I say what I want to say? I really don't want to be banned from here. There are just too many books to miss out on...' she thought and walked up the stairs.
She already expected her sister to be with the bookcase about rocks. It was a fascination to her, after all. Marble Pie learned a lot of things about rocks, either through the work on the farm or through the large knowledge Maud had and liked to share from time to time. But it never interested her enough to dedicate her life to the ground she walked on.
Just as expected, her sister sat on a chair next to all the books about geology and had already an opened book in front of her. Marble Pie would normally let the mare be and go on to search for a good book she could read herself. But something about that book caught her attention. She walked closer to Maud and looked over her shoulder inside the book. Although she didn't knew what this book was about, she was impressed by all the different pictures.
One photo depicted a river, running through a wide, green field. The other one showed a huge boulder in the middle of a desert. And then there was a bird's eye view of a beach.
'Those places look nice.' she thought.
Maud turned around and noticed her sister close behind her. "Is something wrong?" she asked and looked at Marble Pie.
Marble Pie stepped back from her and shook her head. "...it looks interesting..." she muttered and hid behind her mane again.
Her sister looked down to the book and then back to Marble Pie. "It's a book. About monoliths." she said.
Marble Pie nodded and looked at the photo of the river. It reminded her of one of the many novels she'd read. The river looked, as if it would be perfect to throw a raft inside and travel down to find adventures. It was something nice to dream about and it almost made her want to actually do it. "...sounds interesting." she muttered and her eyes stayed on the photos. She didn't really care about the monoliths, but if it was something her sister liked, then it would be only right to show interest in it.
"I know. That's why I'll travel to the Unicorn Ranges next week. There are supposed to be a large number of them, who haven't been barely studied."
Marble Pie's ears perked up. 'She wants to leave?' she thought and her head sunk down. 'But she just arrived a few days ago. I hoped she would stay for a bit longer. It's so... lonely without her and Pinkie.'
She turned around and walked past the few bookshelves. She knew, she wouldn't receive anymore information from Maud and she didn't want to speak even more. 'It's not like I can keep her at home. So why trying?' she thought, but she still sighed.
At the end of the hallway she came to her favorite bookcase. The one were all the adventure novels were kept. A faint smile appeared on her face and her eyes looked over all the books, so she could find something that interests her. ''The Flying Castle'? That sounds good.' she thought and put the book out.
It sounded interesting from the text on the back and it had the right length to her. If it was too big, it'd took her too much time to finish it and she'd have to pay more. And if it'd be too small, it'd only lie around until she dared the walk through the town again. Or when Limestone Pie had time to come with her. Limestone always came with her when she was asked, but she had as much interest for books as for geometry. None.
She put the book down on the small table next to her and read the text on the back of the book again. The book was about a young pegasus, who left the safety of her home to find and adventure and would come across a secret map, that lead her to a mysterious flying city. It sounded fascinating to Marble and she took the book with her. She'd love it without any doubt. The fact, that there was also a sequel to the book made it even better for her.
'It must be so amazing to live such a life.' she thought with a smile. Her gaze fell outside the small, round window. The cover of clouds was as gray as ever and even in the horizon, she'd only see the sparse lands. The corners of her mouth went down. 'It's not like I could go out through the door and have an adventure. This is something other ponies do. Not me.'
She looked down at the book and another feeling started to spread inside her. A strange, but not bad feeling. It tickled inside her body like the fear she felt every time she was in the center of attention. But it was different. As if there was a place she had to be.
"Can we go?" She heard the voice behind her. Maud carried the book with one hoof around it and waited for her in the hallway.
Marble nodded and followed her back downstairs. 'I can't go out and have adventures.' she thought. 'But what if... what if I'd go out and see one or two places?'