A tale of three sisters

by Widow Peak

Evening

Octavia let out a small grunt and her eyes fluttered open. The light of the Sun slipped through the blinds, filling the room with a gentle and warm glow, enough to see the back of the pony that slept right next to her.

Vinyl Scratch was still sleeping. The gentle sounds of her breathing was soothing for Octavia, and she closed her eyes and just listened to it for a little longer. When she opened her eyes again, she couldn’t tell how much time it had passed. Perhaps it would be a good moment to actually get up and do something productive.

But on the other hoof, the bed was so comfortable and warm…

The previous night, the pair was so tired they both crawled into the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. They didn’t even have the will or mind of spoon each other. That had left Octavia hungry for Vinyl’s touch…and she was sure it was the same for the unicorn.

The gray pony scooted closer to Vinyl and carefully set aside her mane, and slid her lips across the neck of the unicorn. That simple gesture was rewarded with a shudder and a low moan. “Nnnng…what are you doing?” whispered Vinyl as she stretched her limbs.

“Shhh, don’t move.” responded Octavia, wrapping her forelegs around the waist of her marefriend and pulling her closer until their bodies were in direct contact. She kissed her neck while gently caressing her side. Vinyl relaxed and let out a long sigh of pleasure.

A few minutes later, the unicorn slid out of the embrace and rolled over her back to face Octavia. “You’re more touchy than usual.” she whispered with a impish smile. “Are you okay?”

Octavia let out a soft chuckle. “Oh, I don’t know. I may feel a little ill.” she replied.

Vinyl’s smile grew broader. “I may have the solution for that.” she whispered as she stood up on the bed and moved above Octavia. She light up her horn and drawn the other pony into a kiss that lingered for a few seconds. “Better?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” responded Octavia, feeling her face warm and the beating of her heart in her ears. “I may need another one. Just…to be sure.”

Vinyl grinned. “I thought so.” she whispered, leaning in for another kiss, more hungry and intense.

***

“You´re weird today.”

Limestone let out a heavy sigh and turned her head to her younger sister. “Remind me why are you following me.” she deadpanned.

“Well, I don’t wanna stay home.” replied Pinkie, shrugging. “Because dad is always quiet and mom is always busy. So I decided to go to Gravelpit with you, just to do something. It will be fun.”

Limestone groaned and rolled her eyes. “Just because I have been tolerating you these last days, doesn’t mean I have forgiven you for what happe-”

“That doesn’t matter, because I have forgiven you.” replied Pinkie. Her serious tone completely threw off Limestone, who opened her mouth to try to reply, but no words came. “It’s just…” Pinkie sat down on the dirt of the path. “I know I hurt you, and I am really, really sorry for that.” The pink pony traced a cross over her heart. “But I don’t want that night to rise a wall between us, like Twilight would say. So I forgive you for what you say…But, will you forgive me for what I said?” she asked, looking at her sister with hope.

Limestone found herself lost at words. She stared to her sister on disbelief, half of her wishing to say she was sorry too, and half of her wanting to say ‘no’, just to punish her sister for making her feel so miserable.

After a pause that seemed to stretch too much, Limestone closed her mouth and turned around, resuming her trot towards the town. “Maybe.” she merely responded, not even waiting for her sister.

Pinkie smiled and hopped back on her hooves. Maybe it wasn’t Limetsone’s intention, but the way she spoke that single word, the tone she had used, make it very clear for the party pony that her sister would forgive her, just with a little more time. And that was enough for her.

When the two sisters arrived to Gravelpit, Limestone went straight to one very specific store. “What is this place?” asked Pinkie Pie, watching in awe the devices that covered every shelf in the shop. She didn’t know what most of them were. Others, such as the pair of night vision goggles, were well-known to the pony. She even had one in her house, although these seemed to be a bit more advanced.

“It’s a clockwork shop. They sell small machines.” responded Limestone, walking directly to the counter, where dust gray stallion was reclined on a chair, with his eyes closed. She hit the small bell on the table, and the pony went straight like a spring. “Hello. I am looking for a-”

While Limestone tended her business with the ashen pony, Pinkie decided to explore the shop. There were so many tinkery things, so many shiny parts and ticking cogs! Pinkie was quickly absorbed by the tiny machinery that clicked, tickled and chimed. Here, a small pocket clock with a transparent face that allowed her to see the flurry of cogs that were the insides of the diminutive machine. There, a strange device resembling a spinning top with an energy crystal inside spun over its spike, always pointing in the same direction. Pinkie raised a hoof and gently poked the top, which quickly regained its previous position.

It was like a party of tiny machines! Pinkie could barely contain an excited squeal as she started hopping from one shelving to the next.

“But yer an earth pony.” responded the pony standing on the other side of the counter. Limestone was starting to lose her patience with him. For some reason, the gray stallion had decided to argue with her and point objections to a very simple request.

“Listen.” she said, putting her hooves on the counter and leaning forwards. “I just need a petroscope.”

“But petroscopes need a magic flow to work.” he replied. “And ya don´t have that.”

“I’ll just use a magic capacitor. I have a few of those.” said the mare, gritting her teeth.

“And what will ya do when they run outta power?” he drawled, rubbing his messy mane. “You know an unicorn to recharge ‘em?”

The attention of the pony was suddenly caught by something behind her. “Hey, miss! Don’t touch dat!” he called out. Limestone looked behind her and saw Pinkie Pie tinkering with a small machine. When she heard the voice of the stallion, she gave a startled jump and let go of the device, which fell to the floor with a loud clang. The machine tickled for a few seconds before suddenly shooting a small cog, which flew direct to Pinkie’s eye. Limestone had to double-take when her sister didn’t even flinch.

“Um...Pinkie? Are you okay?” she asked.

“Why would I not be okay?” she chirped, grabbing the machine and putting it back to its shelf. She gave a hop and disappeared into a different aisle.

Limestone let out a groan and rubbed her temples. She was going to get a headache at any minute. “So, about that petroscope…” she started, hoping the shopkeeper would get the message.

He gave her a long look before drawling. “But yer an earth pony.”

Limestone gave up and slammed her head against the counter. She was clearly surrounded by idiots. Pinkie, and now this guy. How could any pony be so dense?

Just when Limestone was about to give up and leave, she heard a third voice. “I need a third-grade quartz petroscope with a three-point-five eyepiece.” it said. Limestone looked to the side and saw a dark red chest. Her eyes followed the neck and found the face of Flint ‘n’ Steel, who was looking at the other pony.

“Aye-aye!” replied the shopkeeper, disappearing into the backstore.

Steel let out a sigh and looked at Limestone. “Don’t mind him.” he said with a small smile. “He likes to annoy foreigner customers, ya know?”

Limestone raised her head. “Is he really taking the risk of losing a sale just for that?”

The stallion shrugged. “He gets enough sales anyways, so he doesn’t give a buck.”

Limestone shook her head, annoyed. “Did I tell you that you´re all crazy in this town?”

Steel raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? I dunno, you tell me. You were borned here, weren’t you? Wouldn’t that make you crazier?”

Limestone huffed, but smiled. “It should, but Pinkie took with her all the craziness, and left nothing for me or my sister.”

“Hey Limestone!” called out Pinkie’s voice from behind both of them. The two ponies looked back and saw Pinkie half-hidden under a cardboard box, wearing an eyepatch and a bandana. “Have you seen any metal cogs?” Without waiting for an answer, the pink pony dropped the box over her and scurried away.

“…you know, I think I get what you mean.”

The sound of the hoofsteps signaled that the shopkeeper was coming back, and both ponies turned their attention to him. He was holding a small box on one of his forelegs, which he placed on the counter and opened. Inside, carefully wrapped in cloth, was an object that resembled a small telescope with many small knobs and levers, and several additional lenses at the front, plus a leather strap to wear it around the head. “Anything else, ma’am?” he asked Limestone.

“Uh…I am the one that asked for it.” interjected Flint ‘n’ Steel.

The other stallion let out a chuckle. “Aye, sure. Ya think I woun’t put two ‘n’ two togetha? Ya obviously wanted to do sumethin’ for the lady.”

Limestone and Steel shared a look and shrugged. “Anyways, how much it it?” asked the mare.

“Tsk. Yer not gonna pay, Steel?”

“Just say how much it is so I can leave already.” cut off Limestone, frowning.

The shopkeeper was taken aback by her words, and decided he had pushed her buttons enough already. “It’s un-hundred and twenty-five bits, ma’am.”

The gray mare rummaged inside her saddlebags and put five identical brass coins. The stallion dropped them in a burlap bag and gave her a sharp nod. “Okay ma’am. It’s been a plesu’e doing business with ya.”

“I wish I could say the same.” snarled Limestone, as she put the box in her saddlebags and turned around and walking to the door, followed by Flint. Once they had left the stone, the gray mare let out a sigh and her shoulders slumped. “Thank you.” she muttered.

“Oh, it’s been nothin’.” replied Steel with a small proud smile. “Anyone would’ve done the same.”

“Except for that featherbrain, apparently.” she grumbled under her breath. She gave her head a shake and smiled as well. “Let’s just forget about that. How come you are here?”

“Eh, I’m just walking around.” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve always liked that store, you know? They have all sorts of small bits there. I saw you having troubles with Dustpan an’ decided to lend a hoof.” he finished. A moment later, his ears flinched. “Sorry, I went back to that.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” replied Limestone, resuming her walk.

“So, um…What are you doing here?” asked Steel as he followed her through the streets of Gravelpit. There were not many ponies around, as usual. Gravelpit had never been a very lively city.

“I needed a new petroscope.” replied matter-of-factly Limestone. “My old one just broke before coming here, and I need it for my job. That, and it’s a device I like having.”

“What exactly does it do?” asked Steel. The name was quite self-explanatory, but he wanted to keep the conversation going.

“Exactly what the name says.” replied the mare. “It’s a device that allows you to see the minerals inside a stone. It’s basically a very complex and magical-powered magnifying glass.”

“And what’s so interesting about that?” asked the stallion, tilting his head.

Limestone looked at him and smiled. Steel gulped. The mare didn’t smile very often, but when she did… she could be charming. “Remind me to show you one day. Trust me, it’s amazing.”

“I-I will.” stammered Steel, feeling his cheeks warm. He was grateful the mare was not looking at him anymore. The two ponies continued walking in silence for a while.

“Anyways, I am going back home.” suddenly said the mare.

“What, are you leaving already?”

“Yes.” Limestone shrugged. “I just came to town for the petroscope, and now I have it. I don’t really have anything else to do here.”

“Oh…” Steel’s ears fell flat on his skull. He took a moment to gather courage and spill the words he had been holding back since he had run into Limestone. “Uh…would you like to have dinner sometime?”

“Oh? Sure, why not.” replied the mare, tossing her mane over her neck. She didn’t see Flint biting his lip or nervously pawing the ground. “Anyways, I´ll see you later.” she said, turning around in the direction of her house.

Steel let go a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “…wow.” he muttered to himself.

***

It was a few hours after lunch when Octavia and Vinyl Scratch finally crossed the main door of the inn and were blinded by the sun. Both mares covered their eyes with a foreleg and waited a moment to get used to the intense light.

“Wow, I guess we’ve been in all the day.” muttered Vinyl.

“You speak as if you regretted it~” purred Octavia, giving her a sideways smile. Vinyl let out a nervous laugh and blushed.

Sometimes, there were those very rare moments when their roles reversed for a mere second. It was usually Vinyl the one to make the sensual comment, and Octavia the one to blush and spill her drink. However, the white unicorn had come to enjoy these swaps, as they always appeared under very determinate circumstances.

Namely, either Octavia was aroused, or Vinyl had done an especially work in a recent banging session. Either way, it meant something good had happened or was about to happen.

“So what do you want to do?” asked Vinyl after a moment, starting to trot down the street with Octavia after her.

“I don’t know.” replied the gray mare. “We have been in bed for so long that is quite late already.”

“Maybe we should have a late lunch-slash-dinner.” suggested Vinyl. She was not particularly hungry, which was strange, after so much exercise.

Octavia seemed to ponder the suggestion for a moment, and finally nodded. “That actually sounds lovely. I am starving!” she confessed, which made Vinyl grin. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’m not hungry and apparently I am more used to this kind of exercise than you.”

Octavia let out a very loud laugh and slapped Vinyl on the shoulder. “Oh, hush!” she chided. “Come on, let´s go somewhere.”

A few minutes later, the couple was sitting on the outside of a nice-looking restaurant. The place was almost empty, as it was not a usual time for a meal, and the staff seemed rather pleased to have something to do. After a short delay, Octavia had her plate of pasta with onion and tomato and Vinyl her bowl of fruit salad and a stack of apple fries; along with a pair of glasses of water.

“So, was it good?” asked Vinyl, using a fork to study the composition of the fruit salad. Pear, apple, pineapple and carrots. Nice!

“Oh, you were fantastic.” replied Octavia with a broad smile as she rolled the pasta around her fork in a tight coil.

“Was I? I’m glad to hear that, honestly! I was worried I would mess something up.” admitted the white mare.

“Well, you won’t have to worry any more. You were great.”

“I was so nervous…but hey! It worked, and now we’re over it.”

“Indeed.” agreed Octavia.

“Will we do it again some of these days?” asked Vinyl.

“Certainly!” said the other mare. “I will be looking forward to it.”

“Alright then.” Vinyl made a pause to chomp down a few fries. “So, do you think they were okay?”

Octavia tilted her head. “How do you mean.”

“With us. You think they were okay?” repeated Vinyl.

Octavia frowned. “Vinyl, I don’t think I follow you.”

“Your parents, duh.”

Octavia’s jaw dropped, and she stared to her marefriend, unable to understand. “Sorry, what? Are we talking about the same thing?”

Vinyl shrugged. “I’m taking about when I meet your parents yesterday. You?”

Octavia’s jaw dropped and her cheeks went red. “I t-though we were talking about w-what we tried today!” she replied, covering her face with a foreleg.

Vinyl let out a snort of laugh. “Oh, that! Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it, but that’s not what I meant.”

The gray pony lowered her leg just enough to look at Vinyl with a single eye. “Did we really hold two conversations at the same time, one about my parents, and the other about sex?”

“We totally did!” replied Vinyl, bursting into a fit of breezy laugh. It got even louder when Octavia rested her head on the table and hid behind her forelegs in shame.

As the laugh died, Vinyl noticed something on the corner of her eye. There, standing a couple of meters next to them was a stallion with a light gray mane and dark red coat. The stallion was looking at the two mares with an expression of both confusion and awe. Vinyl could swear he had a slightly brighter hue of red around his cheeks. “Uh…can I help you?” she asked, looking at the stallion over her glasses.

The pony seemed to break from his trance. “Ah! Uh…yes, sorry! I am Flint ‘n’ Steel.” he nervously said. Octavia’s ears perked up at the voice and the name, and she raised her head, smiling at the stallion.
“Oh, hello Steel! How are you?” she said, genuinely happy to see the pony. Vinyl raised an eyebrow and shot a questioning glance to her.

“All’s good, all’s good.” he replied, rubbing the nape of his neck. “I just saw you here and…uh…mind if I sit with ya?” he meekly asked.

Octavia let out a giggle. It was amusing seeing the stallion being so shy. “Sure, go ahead.” she said, gesturing to one of the empty seats. Once the stallion had claimed one of them as his own, the gray pony introduced him. “Vinyl, this is Flint ‘n’ Steel. He is one of the ponies that now work at the mines.”

“Oh.” Vinyl’s expression turned into a smile. “Sup? I’m Vinyl Scratch.” she said, holding out a hoof that the stallion shook after a moment of hesitation.

“Pleasure’.” he replied, giving her a polite nod.

“So, what brings you here?” asked Octavia.

“Uh…Ah’m not interruptin’ anything, am I?” he asked, avoiding Vinyl’s eyes. When Octavia had greeted him, the white unicorn had shot him a venomous glare that he wouldn’t like to receive again.

“Not really.” replied Octavia. Steel looked at Vinyl for confirmation, who just shrugged and shook a hoof as if saying ‘go ahead’. Steel took a moment to think and put his thoughts in order.

“Okay, so…there’s somethin’ I wanted to ask ya…” he said, biting his lip. “It’s about Limestone.” he finally said, suddenly finding something very important on the lines of the wood of the table.

“You want to date here, don’t you?” said a fourth voice. Everypony turner their heads and said Pinkie Pie, sitting on the last chair of the table, opposite to Steel. “Hai Steel! Hai Octavia! Hai fancy Vinyl!” she cheered, waving a hoof at each pony, despite the fact that they were not even a meter away from her.

“Wait, when did you-” started Vinyl.

“I was here the whole time!” replied Pinkie, looking at the DJ in disbelief. “You didn’t see me?”

Vinyl opened her mouth to reply, but though twice and decided to not question the bubblegun pony. Instead, she proceeded to attack her food, almost forgotten due to the conversation. Octavia gave her head a shake and faced Steel. “Is that true?”

“Y-yes.” he stammered. “But h-how did ya know?”

“Well, you were pretty heads over hooves with her last night.” replied Pinkie matter-of-factly.

“I was?” Steel asked to Octavia, who nodded in confirmation. The stallion gulped and felt a streak of panic. “And does she know?”

“I don’t think so.” replied Octavia, tapping her chin. “She would have probably said something.” The red pony relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank Celestia.” he muttered to himself. “So yeah, I wanna ask her out, like Pinkie said. And I kinda…uh…wanted to ask for a suggestion…or sumethin’.” he said, his voice dropping into a mutter at the end.

Octavia crooked an eyebrow, while Pinkie let out a giggle. “Are you really asking us, their sisters, for advice?” asked the gray pony.

“Uh…I suppose?”

Octavia let out a sigh. “Well, let’s see what we can think of.” she rested her head on her hoof and raised her eyes to the sky. “Each pony is an entire different world when talking about romance. What works for me or for Pinkie, may not work for Limestone. In fact, it will most likely not work, as the three of us are very different.”

“Still, confidence is something that will never hurt.” added Vinyl with a smile. “Not pushy, not brash, just enough confidence. Make her see that you know what you are doing.”

Octavia nodded in agreement. “I think Limestone is the one of us that has changed the least, so I would suggest to not overdo it.” Seeing the confusion in the face of the stallion, the mare explained further. “Go for simple, especially for a first date. Something as normal as a dinner together where you two have fun may be the best.” Octavia made a pause and bit her lip. “It is such a shame Gravelpit has no park or anything like that where you can go for a walk after dinner.”

Vinyl let out a chuckle. “Oh, she knows what she is talking about.” she said. “Dinner, walk on the park, kiss. That’s a very brief summary of the date where I actually earned her! I’d tell you what happened afterwards, but that is more private.”

Octavia stared her with an amused expression for a moment, and let out a sigh. “She has a point, though. I don’t think there is any good place for a walk here.”

“Well…I actually know somewhere.” muttered the stallion. “Do you think Limestone will mind walking a heap?”

“Naah.” responded Pinkie, waving a hood dismissely. “Well, as long as you don’t end stuffed with food, like I usually do. Also, mane.”

Three pairs of eyes blinked in confusion. “Uh…excuse me?” asked Octavia.

“You know. The long hair that grows on your head?”

Vinyl and Steel held back a laugh. “I know what the mane is.” said curtly Octavia. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“I think Limestone likes when somepony touches her mane.” said Pinkie. “I know most ponies do, but when I was brushing her mane yesterday, she went all ‘floop’ on the couch. I think she even fell asleep!”

Vinyl grinned. “That sounds great for foreplay.”

“I know, right!” chirped Pinkie. “Like Octavia and the frog of her hooves!”

The gray mare’s jaw dropped and she stared her sister with a mortified expression. “H-how do you know that?”

“Aha! Then it is true!”

“It...is true.” admitted Octavia, blushing. “But why do you know it?”

“Vinyl told me.”

“What? That’s not true!”

“Oh? Then I guess I knew already.”

“Well, in that case, could you please not spill my private secrets in front of anypony else?” asked Octavia with a snarl.

“Okey-dokey!”

The gray mare let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. “Sorry about that, Steel.”

“It’s fine.” he replied weakly. He was blushing heavily and he wore a shocked expression, probably because of what he had just learned. “I’ll just...go on my way. Thank you. For everything.” he muttered as he got up from his chair.

“Dawwn, are you leaving already?” asked Pinkie, flopping onto the table and extending a foreleg, as if attempting to stop him.

Octavia gave him a nod and a smile. “Good luck, Steel. You are a nice pony. Who knows, maybe you will be the one that finally makes Limestone happy.”

“Yeah.” he muttered, looking upwards. “Ah realized that the day before yesterday. The way she spoke. It was so…depressed, I guess.” He made a pause and looked back. “But I’ll do mah best to change that!” he added with a smile, before trotting off.

“Do you think he has a chance?” asked Vinyl after the stallion turned a corner and disappeared from their sights.

“Maybe.” replied Octavia, eyeing her remaining pasta. It was cold, but she decided she was too hungry to care. “I am not sure. It’s all up to him now.”

“I’d like to see them together.” added Pinkie, tapping with her hooves one of the glasses. “Limestone needs somepony to make her happy.”

Author's Note:

I am good with titles, huh? Like, fantastic.

Comments

[Widow Peak]

4990269 It's always so embarrasing to ask.