Marble sat uncomfortably in her seat. The dull gray rocks of Nickerlite whizzed across her eyes through the window of the train, letting her know the ride would be over soon enough. She fidgeted in her seat as she tried to sift through a whirlwind of emotions that hadn’t left her alone since leaving Canterlot.
She felt relief from finally being away from all the ponies in the big city. She felt somehow empty inside now that she was so far away from Minuette. She felt butterflies in her stomach, fluttering up a flurry over anticipation for their date next week. But most of all, she felt like an idiot because she hadn’t told Limestone about her double date plan.
Stupid stupid stupid! She wanted to bang her head against the window of the train car. The ride home was almost over and she hadn’t breathed a word to her sister about the commitment she’d blindly made for her.
And how could she? Limestone had a tendency to freak out if somepony looked at Holder’s Boulder the wrong way. How would she react to being set up on a date with a mare she barely knew?
Not well, probably.
Still, telling her now would probably be better than telling her the day of. Best to get it over with now.
She turned to her sister, who was resting against the seat next to her, probably trying to get a nap in or at least pretending to.
“L-Limestone…”
One of her sister’s eyes popped open. “Yeah?”
Marble’s hooves fidgeted as she looked to the floor. “Um… I-I was just wondering… Uh…”
“About what I thought about your marefriend?”
Marble’s face went crimson. “U-Uh…”
Limestone rolled her eyes. “She’s fine, Marble. I don’t exactly get why you’ve fallen head over heels for her, but she’s fine. A little in-your-face though…”
“That wasn’t what I was going to ask!” Marble exclaimed. She covered her mouth a second later, worried her outburst would draw out Limestone’s wrath.
“Okay then, what?” Limestone opened her other eye and sat up.
Marble lowered her hooves and looked back to the ground. “I… I’m going to see again her next F-Friday and… I… uh…”
“You want the day off?” Limestone guessed. “You know that’s more Pa’s decision than mine.”
“N-No—Well, yes, but that wasn’t what I was going to say.” Marble bit her lip. “U-Uh… w-what did you t-think of Lemon Hearts?”
Limestone tapped her hoof before narrowing her eyes. “Pink hair, white coat?”
Marble shook her head. “T-that was Twinkleshine. Lemon Hearts was the yellow one.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, they just look kinda similar.” Limestone reclined again, seemingly ready to go back to sleep. “Anyway, she was fine, I guess. Why?”
“I, uh…” Marble prematurely winced before ripping off the band-aid. “I might’ve… set you up on a date… with her.”
Limestone rocketed upright. “What?” The word was icy enough to send a chill down Marble’s spine.
“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!” Marble slid back, trying her hardest to blend in with the wall. “I didn’t mean— I was just trying to— I—” Her whole body shook, afraid of Limestone’s inevitable outburst.
“Why would you do something like that?” Limestone hissed, keeping her voice low for the sake of the other passengers, or intimidation, or both.
“I… I…” Marble’s pupil’s shrunk. What should she say? Lemon Hearts probably wouldn’t want her feelings ousted like this, but what other excuse was there? Unless… “I’m really nervous about spending more time with Minuette and I didn’t want to be on my own in Canterlot, so I thought maybe if you were there…” It was a truth, in a sense.
She stopped there, seeing Limestone pressing a hoof to her face. “Marble,” she groaned.
“I’m sorry.” Marble cowered in the corner. “P-Please don’t be mad…”
“I’m not sure that’s possible.” Limestone’s eyelid twitched. “Just… how could you think it’s okay to set me up with somepony?”
“I didn’t! I mean… I did, but…” Marble whimpered. “I’m so sorry. I guess I thought, maybe, you’d like to go on a date with somepony?”
Limestone narrowed her eyes, face scrunched up and red. She turned away indignantly. “If I wanted a relationship, I would go to the Pairing Stone, not you.”
Marble’s ears folded down. “Does… does that mean you won’t go on the date?”
A grunt was her only reply. Marble lowered her head, a frown creasing her face. This was terrible, entirely expected, but nonetheless terrible. How was Lemon Hearts going to feel on Friday when Limestone didn’t show up for their date? Marble gave it some thought, before comparing it to how she would probably feel if Minuette didn’t show:
Awful.
Shattered.
Devastated.
Marble didn’t want Lemon Hearts feeling like any of that. She would have to convince Limestone to give her a shot before Friday and resolved to do just that as their train pulled into the station.
But first, she would have to survive her parents.
Marble was not going to survive her parents.
The four of them—Marble, Limestone, Cloudy Quartz, and Igneous—were sitting around the table, varying the amount of poking they were doing at the rock stews before them.
Silence was normally a welcome friend to Marble, but tonight it felt more like a hostile interrogator, staring her down and waiting for a confession. All the things she’d done from skipping the presentation, to meeting Minuette, to delaying coming home in favor of a party, all felt like crimes she now had to answer for. And the court of law was her parent’s judgement.
Igneous cleared his throat. “So, how didst the sales pitch fare?”
Marble winced internally; the first line of questioning had begun.
“Fine,” Limestone replied gruffly, not looking up from her stew. Marble blinked across the table and looked at her sister with surprise. It was the first thing she said since she’d found about the double date idea.
“Is that all thou wish-ith to say, daughter?” Cloudy Quartz asked.
“Yup.” Limestone ran her spoon through the stew and glanced up at Marble. “I don’t have anything else to say.” Marble gulped.
Igneous nodded, accepting her answer. “Verily. And what of you, Marble? Didst thou find Canterlot to be enjoyable?”
“Uh… Mmmhmm.” Marble whipped her head back to her stew. Her thoughts leapt to Minuette and she wasn’t able to beat back a blush before her mother saw.
“What manner of enjoyment didst thou find?” Cloudy asked, scrutinizing her daughter.
Marble dipped into silence, biting her lip with anxiety. She had to find a way to nip this conversation the in bud, fast. At this rate, her… relationship? Her whatever-it-was with Minuette would be exposed.
“Marble?” Cloudy jutted her back to reality.
“Oh… um…” Marble shrouded her face with her mane. “T-there were nice… p-ponies.”
“Thou exchanged words with Canterlotians?” Igneous asked, surprised.
“A… A little.”
Limestone scoffed. “More like a lot.”
Cloudy and Igneous shared a look, neither quite sure what to make of this. Marble talking to strangers was as bizarre to them as a farm without rocks. Marble talking a lot to strangers was a sure sign of the apocalypse.
“Er… How hath this come about?” Igneous asked, looking directly at Marble.
She chewed the inside of her cheek.. This would undoubtedly be the question that broke her. She couldn’t lie—she never lied to her parents—but she also wasn’t ready to say the truth. Her parent's reaction to Marble developing a crush would undoubtedly be to drag her to the Pairing Stone.
And Marble just wasn’t ready for that.
“I, uh… um… eh…”
“You might as well tell them, Marble,” Limestone interjected.
Marble wanted to whimper. Of course Limestone wasn’t going to help her out right now, angry as she was. Marble was honestly surprised her sister hadn’t spilled the beans already.
As her parents gazes settled on her, Marble knew she was running out of options. In a last ditch effort, she stuffed her mouth with a spoonful of rock stew and tried to sink below the table. “C-Can I be excused?”
Cloudy shook her head. “Nay, daughter. Thou shalt answer the question first.”
“Marble, thou must have some reason for this. Pray tell, what is it?” Igneous’ concern for his daughter was palpable.
Marble sighed. There was no getting around this was there? Out of excuses to delay, she cleared her throat and whispered in her smallest possible voice. “I might… have a crush on somepony.”
Her parents leaned in, ears first, and strained to hear. “Pardon?”
Gulping, Marble sat up and tried again, a little louder and a little bolder. “I have a crush on somepony I met… in Canterlot. A-And I asked her on a date for next week.”
Oh yeah, they heard that one. Cloudy’s jaw hit the table, while Igneous reclined back into his chair, face stricken with confusion. Marble found herself a little insulted; was it really so hard to believe she asked somepony out?
...Okay, knowing me, no. I can still hardly believe it.
“This is the truth, Marble?” Igneous asked her.
She nodded her head, too afraid to speak. Igneous took a moment to ponder this, his expression unreadable. Then he took his napkin and calmly wiped his face before standing up.
“Very well, we must’nt dawdle then. Come, Marble.”
“Uh… t-to where?”
“Why, the Pairing Stone of course.” Igneous was already walking to the front door. “We shall visit before the sun sets.”
Marble’s pupils shrunk. She glanced to her mother, hoping that she might talk him out of this. Cloudy Quartz merely offered her a smile, as if this was a proud moment. “Hurry along, Marble. Thou shouldn’t delay an event as important as this.”
Marble swallowed, before reluctantly prying herself from her seat. She turned her face to the ground, more comfortable studying the floorboards than she was with making eye contact with any of her family members.
She walked forward, her hooffalls heavy as she dragged herself to the front door. Anxiety burned in her chest, as the realization of what was about to happen began weighing down on her.
She was about to learn whether or not Minuette was her soulmate. Was that terrifying or exciting? Both?
If Minuette turned out to be her soulmate… well, Marble’s heart fluttered at the thought. She’d only known Minuette for such a short time, but she felt so strongly about her already. But… would her parents try to arrange a marriage between them so soon? Her mother often liked to joke about how she went to the Pairing Stone on Monday, married Igneous on Tuesday, and began expecting Limestone on Wednesday.
Change, especially rapid change like that, was not something Marble liked. At all.
Not to mention if Minuette was her soulmate, what was Marble supposed to do? How was she ever supposed to feel comfortable around Minuette again if the whole time she would only worry about ruining her one shot at true love? The stress would probably give her gray hairs.
Er… gray-er hairs.
“Do not look so downcast, Marble,” Igneous told her. Their walk was taking them through the eastern fields, but she hadn’t even noticed until now. “Thou must simply trust in the Pairing Stone. It hath never been wrong before.”
Forcing a smile, Marble nodded. He was right; the Pairing Stone had never gotten it wrong before. Every family in Nickerlite had been using it for the last half-dozen generations, and never had one of the marriages it predicted fallen apart. It was infallible.
But what if it doesn’t pair me with her?
That probably terrified Marble more than the alternative. If she wasn’t meant to be with Minuette, why did she have such strong feelings for her? How was she supposed to deal with it? Just… forget the cute, bubbly mare that had bounced into her life and turned her world rightside up?
The mere thought made her want to whimper.
“P-Pa?” she whispered.
Igneous stopped and looked back to her. “Yes, daughter?”
Marble swallowed, lips quivering as she stuttered out, “I-I d-don’t w-want to g-go to the P-Pairing Stone.”
Her father’s eyebrow rose. “Why not? You hath become infatuated with somepony, yes?”
“Yes…”
“Then do you not wish to know whether they are worth pursuing or not?”
Marble kicked at the ground, unable to make eye contact. “I…”
Igneous turned to his daughter and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Marble, I know thou must retain some reservations about this, but it is most important that you visit the Pairing Stone. Trust me, knowing who your true soulmate is will make you feel better.”
Marble hesitantly nodded. It was nice to know her father was trying to make her feel better, but the fact that he was still going through with this undercut that.
“Now make haste,” he said, whirling around and targeting the quartz mines. “We are nearing our destination.”
As he picked up the pace, Marble lagged behind. She was still so unsure about this and was fighting the desire to run away and hide in her room.
Deep breaths, Marble, she told herself. Deep, deep breaths.
She followed after her father as they finally made it to the entrance to the quartz mines. Marble had visited them plenty of times before, almost directly after the entrance there were two tunnels that stretch to opposite directions. The one of the right led to the mines, but Marble had never gone down the left one before. Now she had a pretty good idea why.
“Here is where we part,” Igneous told her as they approached the left tunnel.
“W-What?” Marble asked. “You mean you aren’t coming with me?”
“Nay, it is not my place to intrude on such a private moment. It should be for you and you alone.”
“B-But… how will I know…” Marble’s legs shook anxiously.
Igneous gave her a soft smile. “The Pairing Stone will let you know. Now go on.”
One gentle nudge later, Marble found herself walking down the tunnel. Her heart thumped in her chest as she slowly walked, descending into an increasingly darker tunnel. She glanced nervously to the quartz crystals lining the wall and then back to her father as he waved her on.
Sighing, Marble picked up her pace. As the last of the light from outside faded, it was replaced by a new light. A soft, pinkish glow coming from the end of the tunnel. Uneasy already, Marble slowed down again, taking at least a couple of minutes to finally reach it.
As she came out of the tunnel, all she found was a small room. That, and the enormous crystal that dominated it.
Marble gaped and had to take a step back just to see the whole thing. It was easily the size of Holder’s Boulder, pointy and jagged, and giving off the pink glow that had guided her through the tunnel.
She looked around, seeing nothing else in the room, and was only able to guess that this was the Pairing Stone.
Heart racing, legs wobbling, she approached the stone completely unsure of what to do. Her reflection appeared before her on the massive quartz, letting her see just how afraid she felt.
She swallowed. “U-Uh… h-hello, mister, uh… Pairing Stone. I g-guess I’m here to f-find my soulmate?”
She waited, the sounds of her hesitant greeting echoing of the walls of the cavern.
Nothing.
The thought raced across her mind that now would be a good time to leave. She could tell her father that it was broken, or something, and wouldn’t have to worry about this ever again. Yeah, that was a good idea.
Just then, however, her reflection shimmered. Marble blinked, unsure what was happening. As her reflection began changing shape, it hit her what the Pairing Stone was about to do. It was going to show her who her special somepony was.
Marble slammed her eyes shut before the picture could form. Her heart was pounding and her legs felt like jelly. She didn’t want to look. She couldn’t look. She wasn’t ready to know.
But she had to all the same.
With a shaky breath to steady herself, Marble slowly opened her eyes to see the face of her special somepony staring back at her.
Her heart stopped.
Limestone sat her head against the back of the living room sofa and closed her eyes as she relaxed into a sigh. Today had been one of those days that seemed to never end, culminating in the discovery that her own sister had been trying to set her up with somepony she hardly knew. It was just one headache after another, with no breathing room at all. Though to be fair, with her short temper most days felt like that, but still. It was nice to just slow it down for change and take a break.
SLAM!
Limestone’s eye popped open at the sound of the front door flying open and she turned around to see what was happening. The violent outburst was quickly followed by Marble, who ran past her field of vision and up the stairs in the blink of an eye, chased down by a couple of choked sobs. A moment later Limestone heard another door slam, this one likely for their shared bedroom.
Confusion and concern hit her in equal amounts and she turned back around to see her father walking through the door.
“What’s wrong with Marble?” she asked.
Igneous offered her a heavy sigh before gently shutting the front door. “It wouldst appear that yonder Pairing Stone failed to grace young Marble with the partner she desired.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in and when they did, Limestone bit her lip. “Oh… geeze.” She glanced back to the stairs, hearing a faint but sure sobbing.
“She is most sad about this development, but it would be wise if thou wouldst allow her to ruminate alone. Eventually she shall accept the Pairing Stone’s decision on the matter.”
As her father walked into the other room, his peace on the issue spoken, Limestone’s brow creased with worry. On most occasions she would go along with what her father said, but this time would have to be an exception.
Setting aside her anger at Marble’s earlier actions, she marched up the stairs and to the door of her bedroom. Marble’s intense sobbing was dying down, but still very noticeable. Not wanting to agitate her sister anymore than she already was, Limestone did something she wasn’t exactly known for and exercised restraint as she turned to the knob and pushed the door open.
What she saw was definitely a punch to the heart.
Marble was sprawled out on her bed, face buried in a pillow that was already visibly damp from tears. Every few seconds she would shake as a new wave of crying hit her and in between she settled for sniffling into her bedspread pitifully.
Limestone realized at that instant that she had come up here without even giving what she was going to say a passing thought. Now that she needed to speak, the words struggled to move beyond the back of her throat.
Eventually she had to do something, so she took a seat at the end of the bed and gave her sister a pat on the back that basically said ‘hey, I don’t know what to say so I’m hoping that this will help’.
“Marble…” Limestone said when she saw her sisterly pat—surprisingly—fail to make an impact. “Do… do you want to talk about it?”
The offer to fling her feelings on to waiting ears was enough to get Marble to turn her head from the pillow. She sniffled, looking at Limestone with red, doleful eyes as she rubbed away the tears running down her cheek. She whimpered and nodded.
“Okay… so…” Limestone realized the idiocy of what she’d said immediately. She didn’t know how to talk about feelings. Even Maud was better than her at that stuff. Maud for Celestia’s sake! “Uh… I take it the… Pairing Stone visit didn’t go so well.”
The instant the words left her mouth she wanted to slap herself. She couldn’t have said anything dumber if she tried.
Marble whined a little before slowly nodding and curling up into the fetal position. “Mmmhmm…”
Limestone sighed. “So, Minuette’s not your soulmate then.”
“Mmmhmm…”
“Well… that’s not all bad. I mean—”
Marble pressed the side of her head back into the pillow and whimpered again, letting Limestone know what a horrible job she was doing at cheering her up.
Sighing, Limestone decided on a different approach. “Marble, no offense or anything, but why is it such a big deal if Minuette isn’t your soulmate? You’ve known her for only a day.”
Marble sniffled and wiped her eyes as her head rose up. She eventually worked her way into a sitting position and gave Limestone a dull, sad look. “L-Limestone, do you remember when Loose Gravel invited me to his eighth birthday party?”
Limestone blinked in confusion, wondering why her sister was bringing up something from years ago. “Uh… yeah. He handed you an invitation and you threw up on his face before passing out.”
Marble nodded ruefully. “I… I’m not good with socializing. I feel like that all the time. Like I’m gonna throw up and pass out around everypony.” Limestone opened her mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say, so Marble continued. “You, Maud, Pinkie, Ma, Pa, anypony from Nickerlite, I just… I don’t feel comfortable around any of them. I’ve gotten better around you all because we’re family, but other ponies in general just make me feel all sick and woozy. But…” She wiped her eyes again. “Minuette is the first pony I’ve ever met who doesn’t give me that feeling.”
She struggled to figure out what to do with her hooves, eventually settling on resting her head in them before sobbing again. “And if Minuette isn’t my soulmate then…” she was interrupted by a sniffling fit.
Limestone didn’t need her to finish though. It was pretty obvious; Marble couldn’t imagine being with anypony else.
Feeling a sisterly urge to comfort Marble, Limestone put her hoof around her and drew her close. Marble shifted from crying into her hooves to pressing her face into Limestone’s side. Limestone let her.
“Did you know the pony the Pairing Stone showed you?” Limestone asked.
Marble took a moment to calm down before responding. “N-no… I didn’t recognize them at all.”
Limestone gave her a firm pat. “So Pa probably didn’t know them either, right?”
“Y-yeah…”
“So then it’s not like he’ll be arranging your marriage in the next couple of days or anything.”
She sniffled. “I guess not…”
Limestone nodded. “So, why don’t you just go on your date with Minuette then?” Marble whimpered at the mere mention of the idea. “What?”
“How can I?” Marble asked, tearing her face from Limestone’s side to look her in the eye. “How am I supposed to go on a date with her, knowing it’s not meant to be? Knowing it’s pointless to even try if I’m not…” She winced. “...not her soulmate?”
Pressing her lips into a thin line, Limestone studied the floorboards with a sigh. “Look, Marble, I don’t have an answer for that, okay? But, you clearly like this mare. A lot. And she makes you the happiest I’ve ever seen you. So… spend time with her. Date her. What have you got to lose?”
Marble sniffled again, but softer this time. “B-but how can I face her, knowing what I know? How am I supposed to have fun if every time I see her now, I see her as the wrong pony?” Tears ran down her cheek and chased each other to the floor. “How am I supposed to tell her we aren’t meant to be?”
Limestone was at a loss for words as Marble dove back into her side. For a while, all she could offer was a soothing pat on the back, until an idea came to her.
Except… this idea wasn’t the best. In fact, Limestone had to wrestle with herself over it for a few moments to decide if it was even a good idea. It made her want to clench her jaw till her teeth cracked, but at the same time, if it cheered Marble up…
“What if I went with you?”
Marble caught her newest sob in the back of her throat and looked up at Limestone with red, puffy eyes. “W-what?”
“What if I went with you on the date?” Limestone clarified, more for herself than Marble. She couldn’t believe the offer she was making. “You know, try and take the tension out of it all and remind you to just have fun and junk.”
“You’d do that?” Marble asked, her voice not quite as sad.
“Sure. You said you were already setting me up with somepony right? Lemon Hearts?”
Marble blinked away her tears. “Y-yes… but I thought you didn’t like her.”
Limestone scrunched up her muzzle and looked away, forcing down a blush. “I-It’s not like I want to date her or anything… but if it’ll make you feel better, then I’ll do it.”
Marble wiped her eyes and sat up. “You’d really come?”
“Do you think it’d help?”
Marble looked to the ground, biting her lip in uncertainty. "I-I don’t know if it’ll be better, but I think it would help if I’m not alone.”
Limestone smiled. “Then I’ll come.”
Tears were still streaking down Marble’s face, but they couldn’t stop a smile from erupting on Marble’s face. She ambushed Limestone with a hug, nuzzling her big sister with gratitude even as tears still ran down her face. “Thank you! Thank you so, so much!”
“Heh, no problem.” Limestone replied, bringing her forelegs around Marble. She estimated that she had about half a minute before the intense squeezing caused her to black out, so she was going to make every last second count. “After all, what are sisters for?”