A tale of three sisters

by Widow Peak

Pleasant Talk

Pinkie Pie carefully settled the tea cup. “And that is what happened.” she concluded. The mare in front of her leaned back on her chair, meditating about what Pinkie had just told her.

After the family outbreak last night, Limestone had refused to open the door for her sisters or even to come out in the morning. As far as Pinkie knew, she was still there, with the door locked and the blinds shut. Cloudy Quartz had left her a tray with breakfast next to the door, and it had disappeared inside the room. The family was still worried, but decided to give her a bit of time to come out herself.

Pinkie had left the house early to get some fresh air and hush away the grim thoughts. Why she had responded in such an awry way to her sister was something that completely escaped her. She very hardly ever blew up like that. Or maybe…maybe it was just that she wasn’t used to ponies talking to her like that? Either way, it was bad, and probably one of the causes of Limestone’s refusal to talk to her family.

She was just arriving to Gravelpit when she remembered she had a pending appointment. Agatha! She had promised the elder pony to give her a visit as soon as she had a moment, and this was a perfect chance to do so and ask for some advice.

And that is why the two were now having a tea on Agatha’s sitting room. The blue pony had greeted Pinkie with a broad smile, offered her tea and some treats, and then patiently listened to her whole story.

“It seems you have quite a big mess in your hooves, dear.” muttered Agatha, taking a delicate sip from her cup. Even if she was old, she carried herself with a grace and elegance that would rival to Rarity. “Have you asked your parents for advice?”

“No,” admitted Pinkie, folding her ears back. “I just wanted to ask somepony outside of all this, you know?”

Agatha nodded. “I understand. It is probably for the best. Ponies directly involved tend to be biased. Your father is probably equally furious with both you and Limestone, considering what you two said to each other.”

Pinkie’s expression grew more remorseful. “I really messed that up.”

“You did.” agreed Agatha. “But again, it would require an iron will to not lose your temper, after the way she talked to you.” Her eyes narrowed in amusement. “I would have never guessed you would be a Bearer. I am very proud of you.”

Pinkie let out a chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. “Aw, don’t be.” she said. “It’s just something I got in a way I am not completely sure.”

“Oh, don’t say that, dear.” replied Agatha, waving a hoof. “It doesn’t matter what Limestone say. You may not have gone through terrible tasks to prove you’re worthy, but you did face odds most of ponies could not imagine.”

“How do you mean?”

“You said it yourself. Nightmare Moon. Discord. King Sombra. Queen Chrysalis.” listed the blue pony. “You where there. Not me. Not Limestone. You were, and you helped defeat them. I think you deserve at least some credit for that.”

“You’re right…” said Pinkie, tapping her chin. “Why didn’t I think of that last night?”

“Don’t worry about it, Pinkie. That doesn’t matter anymore. What is important now is fixing up things, don’t you think?”

“Yep!” enthusiastically nodded Pinkie.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” Agatha made a pause to refill her cup and Pinkie’s “Now, who do we start with?”

“Limestone.” replied Pinkie, tossing a butter biscuit into her gaping mouth. “What’s up with her?”

“Hum…” The other pony carefully though her response for a full minute. “I could be wrong, but I would say she is jealous of you.”

“Jealous?” repeated Pinkie, crooking an eyebrow. “But she hates everything about me! She said it herself.”

“Oh, I think she’s just attacking you to make herself feel better.” replied the unicorn with a small smile. “She feels like you have something she can’t have, so she insults you and points your flaws so she feels better about herself.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Imagine there is a jewel you really want.” suggested Agatha. “But it’s too expensive and you can’t have it. So you decide that you actually don’t want it, because it’s actually not the exact color or hue you wanted.” noticing Pinkie’s confused expression, she added: “Don’t be so surprised, dear. A lot of ponies do it, now and always. It’s like the fable of the pony and the grapes. ‘Any fool can despise what he can not get’, as said the famous fabulist, Aesop.”

“That…makes sense.” admitted Pinkie. “But still!” she quickly added. “What would Limestone envy from me?”

“Happiness.” replied Agatha, her lips turning into a sad smile.

Pinkie felt her shoulders sink. “Happiness?” she whispered. Her mind quickly went over the last days. Limestone’s hesitance to talk about her job and personal life. The lack of anecdotes and happy or funny moments to tell her sisters. And over all that, the absence of something as basic and important as friends. “But…if she wasn’t happy…why did she say she was?”

“Oh, Pinkie.” Agatha leaned forward and put a hoof over hers. “There are a lot of ponies that just seem happy, but are actually miserable or rotten inside. They just continue doing whatever they do, not because they like it, but because they think they don’t have the chance to get something better, or because they believe they are bound to it.”

Pinkie slowly gave a nod. It made sense. But it still didn’t give her an answer. “So what do I do?”

“I don’t know, dear.” admitted Agatha. “You know your sister better than I do. I’m sure you can think of something that really makes her happy.”

Pinkie leaned back on her chair and tapped her chin. The answer came a few seconds later. “In our second day here, we went to the old mines.” said Pinkie with a small smile. “Limestone was so excited about that! And even when we came back home, tired and all that, she was still smiling.”

“Is that so?” asked Agatha. “Then I suppose she had missed it a lot, considering what her job currently is. That’s a good point to start, Pinkie. Though I am not sure how you’re going to use that.”

“Oh, I think I have a little idea. Just leave everything to aunt Pinkie Pie.”

“Didn’t you use to call me that when you were a foal?” questioned Agatha.

“So that just leaves Octavia.” said Pinkie, taking a sip of her tea. “What do you think about her?”

“Well, it’s quite obvious she’s hiding something. You said it yourself.” replied the unicorn, levitating a biscuit. “Have you tried directly asking her?”

“Yeah. But she just starts talking about something else.”

“Well, in that case…” Agatha smiled mischievously. “You can just follow her and ask for explanations when you’ve caught her red-hoofed.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. Had she head that right? “You’re really telling me to spy on her? Really? You?” It stuck her as something extremely unusual for the polite elder unicorn.

“Well, yes.” responded Agatha. “I am suggesting it both because I think it’s the easiest and the fastest way to hide it.”

“B-but what if it’s something really, really bad, and she gets really, really angry?” asked Pinkie. The least she wanted now is being hated by half of her family.

“Oh, I highly doubt it will be something big. If she really wanted to keep it hidden, she would act more naturally. I mean, she’s not even sleeping on your house, but on an inn. She could be more obvious only if she was holding a sign that read ‘I don’t want you to know something’.”

Pinkie Pie giggled at that. “Any idea what she’s hiding?”

“I am going to take a wild guess.” Agatha made a dramatic pause. “But I would say she’s hiding a pony. More specifically, her lover.”

Pinkie’s jaw dropped. Of course! It totally made sense! That’s why she wanted to sleep with him rather than with her family. “You think so? You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“But then…why is she hiding him?” questioned Pinkie, grabbing another biscuit and balancing it on her nuzzle before chomping down on it. “I mean, why don’t just introduce him to us?”

“Maybe she believes your parents – or maybe even you and your sister – aren’t going to approve her relationship, and is just delaying it.” replied Agatha. “That’s not rare at all. A lot of young ponies date another for very long before they even mention it to their parents.”

“But, why?”

“Perhaps because their couple is unusual in some day or another, perhaps because they want to make sure what they have is going to last at least for a while, perhaps because they have very uptight family who may not approve but a few ponies.” Agatha raised a hoof to stop Pinkie’s words. “I know your parents are not like that. They may be stoic, but are humble and open minded…specially your mother.”

Pinkie took a sip of her tea. “Alright then. That’s the plan: Find out who is Octavia’s lover, convince her to introduce him to mom and dad, and find a way to make Limestone happy again. It would he easy-peasy.”

Agatha let out a chuckle at that. “Oh Pinkie. Your optimism is infectious. You make it sound easy.”

“It will!”

“Will it?”

“Yeah! If everything goes as planned, it will be fine and we will be a big happy family again.” Pinkie drank the rest of the tea in one swig. “I am gonna do it tonight, the spying on Octavia thingie. Too bad I left my sneaking suit in Ponyville.”

Agatha blinked, but decided to not ask. “Just make sure you don’t overreact when you meet him.” advised the unicorn. “Remember that she is hiding her lover for a reason, and you don’t want to prove that her worries and fears were correct.”

“Aye-aye ma’am!” saluted Pinkie Pie. “Now I am off for a mission.” she said, getting off her chair.

Agatha accompanied her to the door. “Thank you for the visit, dear.” she said, with a small smile. “I hope to see you again soon, to hear about how all went.”

“Sure!” nodded Pinkie Pie. “And thank you for the tea. And the biscuits. And the advice. And your company.” she frowned and tapped her chin. “I guess that’s all.” She took a step forward and gave Agatha a small hug. “I will come back to tell you how well things went, Pinkie Promise.” After that, the pink mare turned around and trotted back to the path to her house.

Agatha let out a chuckle as she watched Pinkie leave. That pony was sure one of a kind. “I feel like I am going to hear of her sooner than know.” she muttered before closing the door.

Comments

[Widow Peak]

My first negative vote!

If only I knew why...

[danisanerd]

4827785 some people just like to down vote everything, This chapter was really good, im guessing that Octavia is secretly dating Vinal Scratch .

[Widow Peak]

4851925 Well, I don't know. Til now, I only had upvotes. The fact that somebody thinks is a bad fiction is not bad, but I would like a critique.

And you'll see on the next chapter.

[Blaze Song]

I can just imagine Pinkie yelling, "Oh hiya! {Insert name of Octi's lover}

[Widow Peak]

7907423 Are you a psychic?