Sharing is Caring
It was a few days after Hearth's Warming festivities had finished, and the Pie family was finally back home at the rock farm after spending a wonderful few days with the Apple family back in Ponyville.
"Limestone, couldst thee inform thy sister that the time is ripe for consumption of nourishment?" said Igneous Rock Pie.
Limestone rolled her eyes. Her parents never did fully drop their old ways of speech, even after the impact the Apples had made on them. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered, making her way up the cold stone steps. She wasn't looking forward to trying to convince Marble to come down and eat with everypony at the table again. Limestone had tried during breakfast earlier that day and again during lunch, but her sister remained in her room without a peep.
Ever since Hearth's Warming, Marble had been in a sort of slump, even more than usual. Limestone halted at the top of the stairs, sighing. She guessed it all had something to do with that red stallion they'd seen when visiting the Apples, but she wasn't any good at talking about her feelings, and she certainly wasn't good at talking about anypony else's feelings either. Where's Pinkie Pie when you need her?
Limestone raised a hoof to the closed door of Marble's room, giving it a small tap. There was no lock, but she admitted that it would be better to give Marble the chance to open the door herself. To Limestone's annoyance, there was no reply even though she knew Marble was in there. She growled and slammed the door heavily three times. There was a surprised gasp which was quickly muted, followed by silence again. "Marble, you in there?" she asked gruffly, though she already knew the answer.
"... Mm-hmm," came the hesitant reply.
"Mom and dad want you to come down and eat with us," continued Limestone. This time there was no reply, and she was sure Marble had heard her. Fine, whatever. "Marble, I'm coming in, got it?" She turned the handle and pushed, the heavy door grinding slightly against the floor a she entered.
The room was very grey. The door, the walls, the ceiling, the bed, the desk, everything. Marble Pie sat in her bed on the right hand side of the room, facing the wall, her grey flank matching her surroundings. Limestone made her way over and plopped herself down beside her sister, cursing as her back struck the hard surface. They sat in silence, Limestone considering what she wanted to say, and Marble yet to acknowledge her sister's presence. Limestone was usually a straight shooter, but even she knew whatever was on Marble's mind was a sensitive issue, and brute forcing advice into her would probably close her off even more.
"Ugh, look Marble, I don't know what you're feeling right now, but you'll have to get over it sooner or later," said Limestone. She frowned as Marble threw her an angry glare before turning back to face the wall. Repositioning herself right beside her sister, Limestone continued. "Look, I'm not saying it has to be now. I know it hurts, trust me, I would know." She emphasized the last part, as much as she hated how true it was. They both knew she was no stranger to heartbreak over finding out the stallion she fancied was taken.
"But Marble, if you get stuck on finding that perfect diamond, you'll miss all the rubies in the process and end up worse than ever." Limestone produced some stones which she set on the ground, watching Marble's gaze briefly flicker over to them. There was a single diamond on one side, and a pile of smaller gems on the other side. "You get it?"
Marble turned to face her. She was clearly still upset, but she gave the slightest of mods before setting her head back down with a sigh. "Mm-hmm," she mumbled, going back to staring at the wall.
Limestone scratched her head. The conversation had died even quicker than she expected, and her parents were probably still waiting for both of them to come to the dinner table. She was out of ideas except for one. I don't think I have any other choice. Limestone tapped her sister on the shoulder, who stared at her questioningly. She held a bag of white powder in her mouth and opened it with her hooves. "This is just... ground up limestone, perfectly safe." Limestone sighed as Marble gave the slightest of giggles, recognizing that it coincidentally matched her name. "Haha, very funny. Anyway, I take a sniff of this whenever I'm feeling down and it always helps me. I don't want you to rely on it, but if you really don't know what to do, trying a bit of that and it'll help, okay? I gotta go to eat dinner, so you better come down too. Got it, Marble?"
Marble nodded slightly, now curiously inspecting the bag of powder. which was enough for Limestone to start making her way down the stairs. At least her mind would be off that stallion for a while. Meanwhile, Marble took a big sniff in the bag, coughing as the dust filled her throat and lungs. Her head began to spin, and she stumbled down the stairs after her sister shortly after.
There was a tumbling sound as something rolled down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom of the steps. Limestone's eyes widened as she rushed over to the object. But as she got closer, she could tell it was no object. No, it was Marble Pie. "Marble?" she asked. "What are you doing?"
"I'm high as fuuuuck bro," slurred the younger pony. "You hoes gonna make me some dinner or what bruh."
The two parents at the table looked at each other in shock, then focused their gaze on Limestone. The elder sister stared back. "What? It wasn't me!"
"Yeah bruh, I inhaled the bag mysels, Lahmstooone had nuthin to do with it besides givin' me the good good." The grey pony slumped on the table, her head spinning as the world around her became harder and harder to follow. The sisters' parents whispered to each other, then nodded together as they both pointed to the door.
"What about it?" asked Limestone, her eyes following her parents' gesture.
"Ye hath broken the rules of this wonderful abode and are welcome no longer," said Igneous as he stood up and threw both sister across the room and out the door. "Find thy own way," he said coldly, slamming the door shut.
The two sisters wandered into the forest in search for food and their mangled remains were discovered two days later