A tale of three sisters

by Widow Peak

Morning Confrontation

The next morning, Pinkie Pie woke up as a pile of limbs on the floor.

When she opened her eyes, she briefly wondered why her mattress felt so hard, which was quickly forgotten when she realized she was lying on the floor in such a position that would make Blossomforth herself cringe. She had somehow managed to sleep on her belly, but with her rear legs crossed over her back and her hind legs pointing backwards.

Pinkie Pie blinked and pondered her situation. She raised her head and looked to the other bed. There was Limestone, still sleeping. And of course, Pinkie didn’t want to wake her up. So with silence and care, she proceeded to untangle herself. One pull from here, one unnatural movement there, and the usage of joints that ponies should not have and…tah-da! Good as new! Satisfied, Pinkie hopped back into the bed, determined to sleep a little more, hopefully in a more comfortable position.

However, her brain decided it wasn’t the time to sleep. For starters, Pinkie was no longer tired, and thus there was not much reason to stay in bed. And while last night the pony was just too tired to think about anything but her bed, at the current moment that impediment was gone.

So then Pinkie thought about everything. Her parents were the same as always, and words were not enough to describe how much she had missed them. And it was obvious the feeling was mutual. When she was in Ponyville, she didn’t think much about them, but now…she was actually realizing how long it had been, and how much it had happened since she left Gravelpit. Suddenly, Pinkie understood how Twilight felt when she went back to Canterlot to assist in his brother’s wedding.

Then there was Octavia. She had clearly changed, both in appearance and in personality. Octavia had grown into a beautiful mare that made Pinkie want to go on a diet. Or at least cut out some pastries. Maybe. Her manners were polished and her speech careful and well-mannered from her contact with the high-society. That same high society that had no idea about having fun, and could be the most awful ponies that ever existed. But Pinkie could tell that Octavia was not like that. While talented, she had a very humble opinion of herself, and didn’t think she was better than anyone else.

Finally, there was Limestone. She had always been Pinkie’s favorite sister. Or…maybe that was Octavia? Were the twins even that different back when they were foals? Pinkie could swear they were not. However, now they were. While both Octavia and Limestone were more serious mares, Lime seemed to be…serious-er. She seemed less willing to have fun with small or silly thing. And that was just not nice. Pinkie pouted just thinking about that. It made her sad to see a pony who just seemed to not want to have fun, especially if said pony was her sister.

Pinkie Pie sighted and poked her head from under the covers. Too much thinking, it was getting boring. She glanced over her sister’s bed, where she was still sleeping peacefully. What hour was it anyways? The weak beams of the morning sun were filtering through the blinds, so it was almost time to get up. But time just seemed to not pass fast enough.

The pink mare groaned and rolled inside the covers until she completely undid the bed and the sheets were a twisted mess. After what seemed like hours, Pinkie finally ran out of patience. She crawled out of her bed and walked to her sister’s, not even bothering to free her body from the sheets.

“Limestone?” she whispered very gently to her sister, hoping to wake her up to finally do something.

The eyes of the gray pony fluttered open. But instead of the plain wooden ceiling, what Limestone first saw just after opening her eyes was a figure towering upon her, with its face hidden under the shadows of a cowl.

Limestone got up with a leap and clumsily took some steps back, whimpering some uncompressible sounds and tangling her legs with her sheets. When she reached the other edge of the bed, she let out a yelp and collapsed on the floor with a muffled ‘thump’.

Pinkie Pie blinked twice at her sister’s reaction. “Limestone?” she called out in a whisper. “I know I just got up, but I don’t think my mane is that terrible. Or is it?” She raised a hoof and felt her mane. No, it was fine.

A gray head poked from the other side of the bed. “Pinkie Pie? Why did you do that?” she hissed through her teeth. She didn’t look hurt at all, just a mix of surprised, annoyed and scared. After all, she had landed on the covers of the bed, so no harm.

“I’m sorry!” her sister replied, trotting around the furniture and aiding her to get back on her hooves. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you sure did achieve that.” said Limestone, getting up by herself. “Don’t do that, ever again.” she said curtly as she grabbed the covers and dropped them on the bed.

Despite her harsh tone, Pinkie couldn’t help but find this whole situation absolutely hilarious. “You got really scared just for that.” she said, trying to not burst into laughs.

Limestone opened her mouth and glared at her younger sister. “I can’t believe you’re making fun of me like that.” she muttered.

“It’s not making fun.” replied Pinkie, giving up and exploding into fits of bubbly laughter. “It was actually funny. All I did was come over here and you – oh, you should have seen your face. It was the best.” Pinkie’s legs gave up and she fell to the floor with severe laugh spasms.

Limestone glared her for one more second, before turning around and walking out of the room in a very outraged way. Pinkie didn’t even notice she was gone until she heard the door closing after her sister.

“Limestone?” Pinkie called out as she got up, her laughter disappearing. “Come on Limestone, you can’t be mad at me for that. Blinkie!” she called out as she ran downstairs.

***

A couple of hours and several apologies later, the two sisters were walking through the streets of Gravelpit, in search for the other gray mare.

Even though Pinkie had assured and repeated to the infinite that she didn’t mean any harm, Limestone had not quite forgiven her. It was just a small barb on her pride; would probably heal soon enough. Acting like she was mad would probably be enough for Pinkie to not do it again.

However, her plan had a small flaw: Pinkie seemed to have completely forgotten about the incident, and was acting exactly as if it had never happened. The bubblegum mare was cheerfully hopping – not walking – through the streets, waving at every pony she passed by, and sometimes making funny comments and asking questions to Limestone, who was just half-listening to her sister’s rambles.

It was plainly irritating. Limestone needed quite a bit of willpower to not yell her sister to walk and act like the grown-up mare she was. She didn’t mind the odd cheerfulness, just the immaturity. Granted, she was the younger sister, but…come on now, she was old enough to be more mature. And the way she had told them the changeling attack to Canterlot…it was like it all was just a huge game for her.

Thankfully, Limestone didn’t have much time to think about the subject, as they were approaching the inn where Octavia was staying for some reason. The gray mare frowned. That was another thing: Why wasn’t Octavia staying with her family, and instead wasting money by renting a room? I didn’t made sense.

“Pinkie Pie.” she spoke. Her sister stopped mid-air, spun around, and fell to the ground again. “Go get Octavia. I will wait here.”

“Oki-dokey!” replied Pinkie before barging though the door. Limestone grimaced and facehooved. Why did she have to be like that?

Pinkie asked the receptionist for the number of Octavia’s room, and hopped stairs up, chanting a song. She knocked three times the door, following the rhythm only she could hear.

There was the sound of a body falling to the floor with a muffled ‘thump’, then the clatter of hooves over hard wood, and finally, after almost a minute of silence, the door creaked open and a head poked out. Pinkie Pie covered her muzzle to stop a snort of laugh.

Octavia looked absolutely dreadful just after waking up. The mane of the three sisters was naturally silky and straight, falling over their necks like a curtain. Pinkie’s frilled and extremely tangled mane had first appeared back when she got her CutieMark and had been almost ever-present since then. The other two sisters always kept their manes almost completely straight. But now, Octavia’s mane was a complete mess, with hairs poking out in all directions. It looked like someone had just electrocuted her with a thunderhead cloud.

“Uh? Is there anything wrong?” muttered Octavia as she rubbed one of her amethyst eyes.

“Noooothing~.” responded Pinkie Pie with a broad grin. “It’s just that it looks like you just got zapped.” Despite her best efforts, Pinkie burst into laughs at her sister’s horrified expression.

“Is…is it really that terrible?” asked Octavia, feeling her mane with her hooves.

“It’s worse!” giggled Pinkie.

“I’ll be back in a second, I need to make me look presentable.” quaked the gray pony before closing the door, not even giving Pinkie the chance to say anything.

Almost thirty minutes later, the door finally creaked open again and Octavia emerged from her room, with her mane once again straight and perfect. At some point, Pinkie had given up standing and decided to lie down, and now raised both her head and an eyebrow.

“A second?” she deadpanned. “I almost had my grandfoals while I waited.”

“Oh hush.” replied Octavia, blushing slightly. “I didn’t take that long.”

The pink mare was about to reply, but then noticed that her older sister was wearing a pink bowtie around her neck. “What’s that?” she asked as she got up.

“Oh this?” Octavia looked down and readjusted the bow. “Concerto, the pony I work for, suggested that I should wear it to make me look more…classy, so to say.” she explained as she trotted down the hall, with Pinkie next to her. “I’ve gotten used to it, and now I feel weird when I’m not wearing it.”

Pinkie nodded, understanding that feeling. She had a similar issue with her mane; a single strand of hair hanged just before her eyes. In those rare moments when it wasn’t there, she felt very weird. “But, why are you wearing it today, and not yesterday and the day before that?” she asked with curiosity.

Octavia suddenly went very stiff and blushed. Pinkie stopped and regarded her. “Octi? You alright?”

The gray pony didn’t answer. Instead, her cheeks went a deeper shade of red. Just when Pinkie was starting to worry, Octavia managed to speak. “I-It’s just that I left the bowtie here, and didn’t have the chance to wear it again, until today.” she explained in a faint whisper.

Pinkie Pie eyed her for a moment, before apparently accepting the answer and continuing on her way. Octavia let out a relieved sigh and followed her sister.

***

In harsh contrast with the previous day, today the sky was clear and the sun was shining over Gravelpit. As soon as Octavia crossed the door of the inn, she covered her eyes with a hoof and looked upwards. “Ah, good. It seems the weather team had sun scheduled for today.”

“I don’t think there is a proper weather team in Gravelpit.” said Limestone as she got up. She had been sitting next to the door, waiting for her two sisters to come. She eyed her twin with irritation. “What took you so long, Octavia? I’ve been waiting here for quite a while.”

Octavia blushed and gracefully coughed on her hoof. “I’m sorry, but I just woke up. And I know for a fact that you spend more time in front of the mirror.” she added with a small smile.

Limestone opened her mouth to reply, but conceded her point with a nod. “So, did any of you have any plans for today?”

The other two mares shook their heads. “There is not much to do in Gravelpit, is it?” commented Octavia as she started trotting down the street. Limestone followed her in the same manner, while Pinkie decided to bounce, as usually.

“Not really.” replied Pinkie Pie with a smile. “In Ponyville, there is always something happening, so it’s kind of boring here. But it doesn’t matter, ‘coz I have you two to have fun!” she stopped her hops for a moment to give her sisters a nuzzle, and then resumed them.

The three mares walked in silence for a moment, until Limestone spoke again. “Talking about that, I don’t think you’ve told us what you do for a living. I am a professor, Octavia is a musician and you…” she waved a hoof to Pinkie.

“I’m a baker!” happily chirped Pinkie. “I make cakes and pies and cupcakes and candy. Well, not really candy, that’s more Bon Bon; but sometimes I make my own candy instead of buying it from ‘er, so I guess you could say-”

“So you have your own bakery?” interrupted Limestome, who looked at her sister honestly impressed. “That’s really good. And I thought you were a featherbra-”

“My own bakery? No, silly.” giggled Pinkie. “Mr and Mrs Cake own the bakery, I just work there, I’m still learning.”

“Still learning?” questioned Limestone, raising an eyebrow. “Pinkie, you’ve been living in Ponyville for years. How long have you been working there?”

“Oh!” Pinkie tapped her chin. “They hired me almost the first day I showed up, so I’ve been working for the Cakes for-”

“You can’t be serious.” interrupted again Limestone, who had stopped walking and was staring at her sister in disbelief. “THAT long, and you’re still an apprentice? Come on now it’s baking, not a university degree. It doesn’t take that long.”

“Hey!” Pinkie took that affirmation as a personal attack, and her smile disappeared. “I’ll let you know that baking is serious business! Much serious-er than you could ever imagine.”

“It’s just baking.” repeated Limestone. “You have an amazing memory, Pinkie. By now, you should have mastered your job. That, or you’re not as clever as I remembered.”

“I used to think baking was easy too!” replied Pinkie. “Until I started working in the Sugarcube Corner, that is. Then I discovered it’s as complicate as…” Pinkie struggled to find a good comparison for a few moments. “Geology!”

Limestone’s jaw dropped. “Are you seriously comparing geology with baking?” The mare spoke that last word with raw revulsion. “How dare you to compare something as important as the degree I chose with mixing ingredients on a bowl.”

Octavia could only watch as the argument grew in hostility and volume. How had it even started? “Girls?” she muttered, with little success. “Girls!” she repeated, this time louder, managing to get their attention. “What in Equestria has gone into you, Limestone?”

“Me?” she replied with a hurt expression. “It’s her who is speaking ill of my studies!”

Pinkie tried to respond, but was interrupted by Octavia. “Maybe, but you started, talking about what she does.”

“That’s not-” Limestone interrupted herself when she saw Pinkie’s devastated expression. She realized what she had just said about her smallest sister, and her ears folded back. A wave of guilt hit her. “I am sorry.” she muttered, looking to the cobblestone of the street. “I shouldn’t have said those things.” she said, taking a step to her sister and opening a leg for a hug. After an instant of hesitation, Pinkie smiled lightly and returned the hug. Octavia let out a sigh, satisfied because the dispute was over.

‘Even if they were true.’ though Limestone as she frowned. As soon as the hug broke, the frown disappeared and was substituted with a small smile. ‘Maybe my memory is betraying me, but I am sure Pinkie was very inteligent for her age. When she left Gravelpit, I expected she would be very successful. And yet, she’s just…a baking apprentice.’

“So…” started Limestone weakly, shaking away those thoughts. “Why don’t you tell us something about your career, Octavia?”

Author's Note:

I'm not dead, do not worry.

Sorry for the slowness.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Maud appears in this story, right?

[Zocarik]

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop and Marble and Limestone to hear the full story of Pinkie as a Bearer. Maybe then they will understand why she is always bouncy.

[Widow Peak]

4658385 I'm afraid not. She was spoiled right before I started writing, and I didn't want to change my plans.

I did made a headcanon for her, and from what we saw in the episode, it fits perfectly.

[Widow Peak]

4658607 Oh, don't worry, she will talk about that. At first I was going to not use that, but then I remembered she would have mentioned the Elements during the dinner, but may not have said that SHE was meant to use one of them.

[Starlight Nova]

4661766 What's the headcanon?

[Widow Peak]

4662867 Long story short: She's a captain of the Ground Guard.

[Grif_Bladefeather]

case and point limestone if celestia had only enough money in the budget left to give money to the geology research peoples or the bakers, she'd give it to the bakers....

bakers make cake....

celestia loves cake

i think honestly pinkie trumphs limestone and octavia as she is an element bearer, has the ear of botyh princesses, is vital to the operation of a entire town, and for the coup de grace. she planned the royal wedding.

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