Marble Pie: The quietest of the Pie siblings. Really, that's all anypony can attribute to the mare, and she knows it. After overhearing some choice words from her family, Marble decides it's time to do something about it. It's time to go out and find her strength, to be strong for her family. Pinkie and Maud both succeeded when they left the farm, so why can't she?
A journey to Ponyville brings her to a literal legend of strength, the Pillar Rockhoof himself. Marble knows that through his teachings, she's sure she can become strong, strong enough to do...well. She's sure he can help her figure that out too! They'll all see! Limestone, Igneous, Maud and Pinkie; they'll all see Marble can become somepony great! What Marble isn't prepared for, though, is the truth Rockhoof helps her to unearth about herself. And what it truly means to be strong.
Pre-read by Sockpuppet and Raleigh! An entry for the May 2021 Original Pairings contest! Artwork by Flusanix!
Featured 5-18-2021, same day! You're far too kind to me, thank you!
Edit 6-3-2021: 2nd Place in May 2021 Original Pairings!
This was such a pleasure to preread! Glad to see it live and good luck on the contest!
10821476
Thank you so much! And thank you for your help in going over it!
I greatly enjoyed pre-reading this story. Good luck with the contest!
10821521
Thank you so much!
Aww, this was as moving as when Rockhoof pushed over the Quartzite.
I really hope you strike gold in the contest, because I’m wishing for it!
10821661
Thank you! I hope I did well with this idea for these two. I feel like there's really good potential to work with them.
My goodness, this is exceptionally good. Love the message. Love the layers, and that ending. Chef's kiss.
Well done.
10822054
Thank you very much! I'm glad you took the time to read this story. I just wanted to try something as a different sort of idea for Marble, and putting her with Rockhoof felt like a very good connection.
so Marble didn’t Crack the stone, but Punched it further down into the ground, that’s nice, :D
10822059
They do work well together. I very much enjoyed the dynamic.
10822067
In a manner of speaking. The idea there is - marked to avoid spoilers - Marble isn't strong enough to just outright smash the Quartzite. Not a lot are. However, she still has more to her than just brute strength like she thought she would need. Persistence, patience, and belief in herself can be strength aplenty. The stone may not have broken, but she can still affect the world around her if she pushes herself to doing it, for herself and not at the whim of others.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story!
10822074
persistence is key for a reason, :3, and your welcome, :)
Wow so marble pie wanted to become stronger after feeling like her family don't appreciate what she does she even asked rockhoof to help her to become stronger I mean she's improving but sometimes it's not enough for her and she's starting to have a nervous breakdown having all the negative thoughts about her weaknesses but rockhoof told her not every strength is always about Raw muscle it's about how much confidence she will have and I think that was a pretty good story and a good lesson about strength and I like that interaction with these two keep up the good work
10822294
Thank you!
This was such a pleasant read, thank you for gracing us with this treasure. Marble's stronger than she knows, it just takes a little push for her to realize it.
10823157
Thank you for reading it! I'm glad you could enjoy the story
Pretty good to me. Interesting themes, and something done with a character you don't see a lot of. The only typo I could find was:
Should be:
10823955
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! And you know, I had thought to write it that way, but I guess my brain didn't latch onto the idea like it should have. Good catch though!
Awwwwwwwwwwwww.
Finally got around to reading this. And... aw. This is just as cute as I'd imagined it to be, and then some.
I really liked this exchange. Heck, all in all though, I like how well you showed Rockhoof's wisdom here, how he understood his gift, as he told her. It's beautiful.
An easy favourite. Good luck with the contest!
10836363
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed the story. I'm just sorry you had to wait so long to see it!
A very good story with a great message. I really like Rockhoof's portrayal and I like how it explores Marble's relationship with her family and herself.
And that ending. Just... wow. It perfectly symbolizes the central theme of this story in a way that is subtle and brilliant. I'm going to put my entire thoughts about it in a spoiler tag because anyone reading this needs to read the whole story first. Please, if you haven't read the story, don't spoil something so beautiful. Experience it.
The quartzite is a perfect representation of what Marble believed she wanted and had to become. She thinks it's about physical strength, that she needs to be physically strong in order to have the love and respect of her friends and family. And she has beaten away at the quartzite for so long, yet nothing has changed. It is just as stubborn and unmoved as it always was. Yet, underneath, everything is different now. Now that Marble has taken the time to understand herself, and has the drive to be a better pony, something remarkable has happened. Something that she can't even see, because it looks like she failed at her goal. And yet, you look past that goal - you move the quartzite and look at what's beneath it - and you see just how powerful she has truly become. Her strength completely changed what was underneath, perfectly mirroring her own progression as a character.
When I read the ending you wrote, I literally said "wow" out load. It was truly special.
This story left me wanting more between this pair. If you don't write a sequel, I hope some other authors pick up the torch and explore the potential here. You've shown that there's a lot more than just a quirky pairing beneath the surface here.
Thank you for writing this, and congratulations on earning second place!
10845745
Thank you so much for your kind words and for awarding me 2nd place in the contest. It truly took me by surprise that I placed when I expected many others to make the mark instead of myself!
The story potential between these two just felt like something really worth exploring. And to state it for the record, I do have plans for a sequel story for these two. It is definitely a longer piece, but one I hope will do justice for these two characters like I tried to do here. Both of them deserve more words written than what they have had recently, and if my story helps motivate others to work with them, then that is good by me too!
Fantastic work. I'd read more of these two in a heartbeat.