//------------------------------// // Mhm... // Story: Snip Snip // by Summer Dancer //------------------------------// Limestone Pie sighed, flipping through the channels on the television screen every few nanoseconds. “There’s never anything good on Sunday afternoons,” she grunted. She finally gave up and turned to her two younger sisters. “I’m getting popcorn. Want anything?” “Mm-mm,” Marble said softly, which meant, “No thank you.” “Nope,” Pinkie echoed from in between them, flipping through a neon magazine. Her bubble gum snapped with each turn of a page. Limestone raised a suspicious eyebrow at her sibling. “You SURE.” “Yepporooni, none for me, thanks!” Limestone shrugged nonchalantly. “Mkay. Pick a channel, will ya?” She tossed the remote and padded to the kitchen. Marble stole a sideways glance at her twin and shifted her gaze to the tv in front of her, then back to Pinkie. She propped her elbow on top of the sofa they sat on and rested her palm on the side of her cheek, violet eyes focused on the girl next to her. “Something you wanted, Marble?” Pinkie asked, looking up with a curious smile. Marble visibly flinched and flushed red, shrinking back to her corner of the couch and grunted out “Mm-mm,” which probably meant, “N-Nothing--Maud mentioned that we’d be having spaghetti for dinner tonight.” “Really? That’s new! Well, if she’s feeling up to that, maybe I could add some parmesan to it!” She blew a bubble and promptly used her tongue to draw it back in. “You sure there isn’t anything else?” Marble stared ahead at the television screen as she played with her fingers in her lap. “Mhm.” “Aaaalrighty then.” Limestone plopped back onto the couch with a bowl of popcorn on her lap. Pinkie took notice and reached into the bowl before shoving a hand full of popcorn into her mouth. “Mmmm. Thanks, Limestone!” Limestone stared at her incredulously. “Pinkie. I just asked you if you wanted anything!” Later that day, Marble found herself wandering past Pinkie’s room. She hesitated before taking a few steps back. “Not again!” Pinkie grumbled, looking down at her broken off hair brush in dismay. She ran a frustrated hand through her wild magenta curls before glancing up and seeing Marble hovering in the doorway through her vanity mirror. “Well, hey, sis!” Marble bristled at being caught twice in one day and twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment. “Mhm?” Which could only mean, “What’s wrong, Pinkie?” “Just broke my hairbrush off my hair,” Pinkie grumbled. After a pause, she chuckled heartily. “Again!” With the flick of her wrist, she tossed it into a nearby wastebasket. Marble perked up a little, her mouth curling into a tiny smile. With a brief shuffle of her feet, she entered Pinkie’s room and moved in behind her. “Um...Pinkie?” Which translated into--oh, wait. Pinkie blinked in surprise and turned around. “Yeah?” Marble blushed deeply and looked up with a shy grin. “W-Would you mind if--I mean if you’re not doing anything special...um…” She reached for Pinkie’s curly locks and ran it between her fingers. “Can I... do your hair?” Pinkie’s eyes widened at the sudden request. “You...want to do my hair?” Marble looked down at her shoes and nodded. “Mhm.” Pinkie grinned. “Well, all you had to do was ask!” Marble bit her lip, barely containing her growing smile. “Wait here.” The younger sibling turned and disappeared into the hallway. After a while, she returned and took Pinkie by the hand. She lead her sister over to the kitchen sink with a chair propped against the counter; different colored bottles of shampoo and conditioner were strategically placed by the faucet. “Wow, you went all out!” Pinkie remarked. Marble smiled coyly as she guided Pinkie over to the chair. “Now, just, um, just lie back and rest you head here. I folded a hand towel on the edge so you won’t hurt your neck.” “Thanks a bunch!” Pinkie plopped into the chair and leaned all the way back so she had a full view of the ceiling. “Y’know, when mom used to wash our hair, she’d always make us lean over the sink while standing up!” She wrinkled her nose at the memory while Marble made sure all of Pinkie’s hair made it into the sink. “I always hated that. I mean, how could she expect me to stand in one place for that long with nothing to do? Plus it was bad for Maud’s back.” Marble turned on the faucet and started spraying Pinkie’s head. The latter cried out unexpectedly, nearly making Marble jump out of her skin. “C-C-C-C-C-Cold! Cold!” Marble gasped and quickly adjusted the temperature to a warmer setting. “Sorrysorrysorry!” “Th-Th-That’sss ok-k-kayyy,” Pinkie shivered between chattering teeth. Marble gave an embarrassed giggle and smoothed the long curtain of pink hair in her hands, getting it as wet as possible. Some time in, she had managed to get every part of Pinkie’s hair soaking wet, and it straightened momentarily--however, certain strands started to curl back up as soon it was halfway dry. Marble was quick to act, opening a bottle of conditioner, squeezing a large dollop into her hand and scrubbed Pinkie’s scalp, slowly working her way up. Marble noted that using conditioner first tamed Pinkie’s hair the most, making it easier to control. She glanced down and frowned a little when she saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring back up at her. “So serious,” Pinkie simpered. “Er...Pinkie, I’d feel a lot better if you’d stop staring at me like that.” “Whoops! Sorry,” Pinkie replied, closing her eyes. “It’s just that your face was so concentrated and stoic like and I almost never see that, except when you’re painting and we almost never see you paint because your room’s almost always locked…” Pinkie continued to ramble on while Marble shifted her focus to the large mass of hair. Most people would attempt to quiet Pinkie, but Marble let her sister do her thing, adding a “Mhm” to every question the pink girl asked. She made careful measurements of how much hair products she would use to properly tame it. Some time later, Marble had Pinkie sit back up and lathered her head with heavy-duty conditioner before wrapping a towel around it. “Now you just have to wait half an hour before we rinse it again,” she instructed. “What do we do ‘till then?” Pinkie wondered, patting the dome on top of her head. Then she gasped loudly, making Marble jump. The older twin grabbed her sister’s hand and dragged her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. “We can play Power Ponies!” Marble’s eyebrows lifted. “Y-You’d let me play your favorite video game?” “Of course!” Pinkie burst into her room and practically yanked Marble down to the carpet floor along with herself. Humming no particular tune, she crawled forward on her hands and turned on the tv and the console. “But...um…” Pinkie placed a controller into her hands. “Pinkie, I’ve never actually played a video game before.” Pinkie turned to her, appalled. “Never?” An uncharacteristic frown creased her features. “You mean I never showed you?” “Well...I’ve always liked watching you play. I probably wouldn’t be any good at it.” Pinkie suddenly reached over and wrapped an arm around Marble’s shoulders before pulling her close. Marble lifted her eyes and Pinkie gave her a resolute-filled grin. “Then I’m here to teach ya.” The corners of Marble’s mouth lifted. She glanced at the TV screen, then turned back to Pinkie. “...I’d like to be Saddle Rager.” After nearly 21 minutes of crash course gaming, Pinkie and Marble returned to the sink and rinsed out Pinkie’s hair. After a firm toweling off, the two relocated to Marble’s room. Pinkie sat herself on a wooden chair in front of a full length mirror while Marble retrieved a blow dryer, some hair pins, a pair of scissors, and a flat iron. Marble blushed upon seeing the confused look upon Pinkie’s face. She waved the items gripped in both hands with a sheepish expression. “I thought we could maybe, mmm...straighten your hair?” Pinkie couldn’t help but lift an eyebrow. She very much liked her curly, bouncy hair; despite how much other people, including her parents, were fond of it being straighter. Not to mention that blow dryers were her unspoken enemies. But on the other hand, this was the most open Marble has ever been since they were kids. Heck, this is the most she’s ever spoken since they were kids! Pinkie didn’t want to disappoint her. “Sure, why not?” Blow drying was a nightmare, as to be expected. At first, it wasn’t so bad; Marble started with spraying Pinkie’s hair with heat protectant spray, and then sectioned it off with the pins she had brought in. Despite the heavy duty shampoos and conditioners, Pinkie’s hair was actually starting to curl right back on it’s own, eliciting a stern glare from Marble. She quickly caught the rebelling hairs with the blow dryer with firm tugs, making Pinkie scream over and over. Their father eventually appeared in the doorway, his hand clutching at his heart. The disgruntled parent left after knowing that his daughter was screaming for a good reason this time, muttering under his breath how they would never have any more children. After Pinkie felt her skull was on fire, Marble gently ran a comb through the river of pink and prepared the flat iron. Pinkie puffed her cheeks and blew out a bit of air while Marble ran the tool through the first section, wisps of smoke dancing in the air. "I like your curly hair, Pinkie...but I thought it would be nice if we tried something...different?" She smiled softly. "It's going to look really pretty, I promise you." "Mhm," Pinkie replied. Looking at her through the mirror, Pinkie thought back to when folks used to inquire about Marble, asking about why she never spoke as much as she used to. There was nothing wrong with her, never suffered any terrible tragedies, aside from their Granny Pie passing when they were seven. Being homeschooled was completely her choice, though the other Pie sisters never knew the complete reason. She wasn’t quite the strong silent type, nor was she mysterious. She was just Marble Pie. Pinkie just chalked it up to Marble simply being a woman of few words; She only spoke when she absolutely needed to. “Like Big Mac!” Pinkie realized. “Hmm?” “Uh--nothing. Just an aid from my school. I don’t think you know him yet. Did I mention he’s Applejack’s big brother?” “Mhm. I’m sure if he’s related to a nice girl like Applejack... I’m sure he’s nice too.” “Oh, you bet he is!” “Halfway through, Pinkie.” After a moment of silence, Pinkie spoke up again. “I find it interesting that you talk to me the most. Out of everyone else in our family, I mean.” Pinkie’s statement surprised Marble. “Hmm. I suppose...when we’re alone...with you, I just have more to say.” Her dark hair fell over her eyes. “If that makes sense.” Pinkie sat back and gave a nod, apparently satisfied with that answer. After a few more passes with the flat iron, Pinkie’s hair was finally done. The excitable sibling stood and stretched, letting her long pink hair swing against her back. “Thanks, Marble.” She twirled around and flashed a smile at the girl in the mirror. She had to admit, she looked pretty cute, if not more mature. “You’re amazing!” Marble came up next to her and wrapped her arms around her sister; she rested her chin on Pinkie’s shoulder while she gazed at their reflection with a certain fondness. “Now... we look like twins.” Pinkie looked at Marble in silent awe. Marble hesitated. “I’m glad I...got to spend some time with you.” The older twin sniffled happily before suddenly kissing Marble on the cheek. “I love you, Marble.” Said girl blushed, and before she could say anything, Pinkie whipped out her phone and angled it with flair. “This is so going on MyStable!” Hiding a light smirk, Marble quickly blocked her face with her sweater sleeve before the flash could go off.