Chapter 1: Waiting
There are a lot of things that you wait for in life. That is one of the first things that you learn when you’re young but do not grasp until when you’re a bit older. But it’s sometimes worthwhile.
If it’s something you know will take a long time, you learn to not expect it to happen in an instant. You might even detach yourself from it so you don’t become impatient.
When you wait for food at a restaurant you learn to wait for the food, when you buy something at the store or online, you learn to wait a few seconds—the latter taking a few days—and the one thing that takes the most time in the world but is so worthwhile is children.
A little bundle of joy that grows inside the womb for nine months in the shape of its parents' features.
That would make any parent impatient.
But other things can take a very long time to wait, so long, that many hearts are unknowingly broken from time to time. Impatience getting the better of them, leaving them with regret over their decisions.
Marble Pie knew the feeling all too well, feeling regret.
Marble was the youngest of the Pie sisters and lived on the rock farm together with her sisters Maud and Limestone, her parents were exploring the “next adventure” as Pinkie would say. Limestone, being the oldest was in charge of the farm while Maud and Marble worked.
Her feeling of regret began many years ago when she met a dragon that was a friend of her sisters’. He was a sweet, kind dragon that helped them on the farm. Limestone had rolled her eyes at his small form and said that he probably didn’t have strength.
That attitude quickly changed when the dragon lifted one of the heaviest stones they had come across that year. He lifted it as if it was nothing. He asked Limestone where they wanted it but her older sister had been too stunned to speak so Maud had directed him where to put it.
His name was Spike. He was a dragon born and raised in Equestria. He had purple scales and green spikes and could breathe green magical fire to send letters to Princess Celestia.
Marble drank some tea while she thought of the first visit. It had been funny seeing Limestone roll her eyes while Maud was impressed.
The youngest Pie sister and the only known dragon in Equestria soon hit it off. They worked together, talked together, watched movies, read books, and anything they wanted to do, they did together. They became very close. So close, that Pinkie soon noticed something was going on between the two but instead of screaming at the top of her lungs, she simply adopted a look of pure excitement. Maud was as expressionless as ever and Limestone never commented.
Sadly, Spike was only to be there for two weeks. He had been given a room where he could sleep and he kept it neat and tidy, not wanting to be a burden.
Marble had been sad to see him go and gave him a large hug and made him promise to come back to them one day. He had smiled and told her he would. But… he never did.
They used to send letters in the beginning but that soon wained down as the months and years were checked off. Maud had found a stallion to call hers and Limestone had been seeing someone. She was sure Pinkie had somepony but never told them.
Of course, Marble was aware that Spike was in love with another mare—Rarity, the Element of Generosity—who she had seen in a magazine one time. Never in her life did Marble believe there would be a mare that matched a princess’s beauty. No wonder Spike was in love with the mare, and she was a close friend, so that’s a large bonus.
Marble looked out the window of the kitchen and noticed that the moon was disappearing over the horizon. Soon, it’d be morning.
The youngest Pie never told her sisters, but she was sure they knew about her crush on the dragon. She wasn’t trying to hide it either. She continued to send letters even after not receiving responses. But eventually, she couldn’t do it anymore.
In the last letter she ever wrote, she told Spike the honest to Celestia, truth. She left nothing out, she wrote all her thoughts and feelings for him and acknowledged that he was in love with another mare.
It had been the most difficult letter to write. It took her an entire night to write it, but when she was finished, she was afraid.
Would he send a response? Would he come by the farm? Would he tell her he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? What would he do?
But the biggest fear she didn’t realise she had, was that it would never receive a response.
She never received a response.
Marble hadn’t been devastated like she thought she’d be. It felt nice to get it off her chest, but at the same time wondered what Spike thought about it. Did he read the letter? Did he receive it at all?
The youngest Pie smiled as she remembered the letter clear as day.
Dear Spike
I hope everything is going well for you in Ponyville, I hope it’s not as crazy as Pinkie says it is. The rock farm is the same as usual, we collect the rocks and shape them, sell them for a good price and so on. Limestone entered a competition again with Boulder. Something about a bet she’d made with Maud some weeks ago. Anyways, I have a… specific reason why I’m writing this letter.
You see when you came to the farm for the first time, I couldn’t help but… be taken by you. You were so cute and adorable and I just wanted to hug you for dear life. I held back, of course, but it’s the thought that counts! I… I’m in love with you, Spike. I know that this is something you should do face to face, but I felt like I needed to say this here because… I don’t know it feels easier.
I know you’re in love with Rarity and I respect that. I don’t expect you to drop love interest in her overnight, but I wouldn’t mind being the mare of you’re affections… sorry I know that’s selfish but I cannot help it.
I hope you aren’t angry with me, I’m not trying to dissuade you from Rarity either! I promise! Just know that you’ll always have a special place in my heart, Spike the Dragon. I hope we can be lovers in another life.
Always yours.
Marble pie.
That letter had been sent four months ago. She didn’t regret anything she wrote in it. It was good she could get it off her chest and even if he never did read it, at least she could say she admitted her feelings somewhere.
But the thought that Spike hadn’t read it made her saddened.
Marble finished her tea and washed it and placed it inside the dishwasher and walked up to her room where her sisters were sleeping. When she reached her room, she sat by her desk and looked at the “book” cover in front of her.
Memories it read with big bold text. The book had a hard cover made from brown leather and was nice to touch.
She flipped through the first few pages of her family. While they may look grumpy or expressionless, they have always believed in actions instead of words. It was their way to show love. Pinkie was different that way due to her being open to communication and needed it, which explained why she was grumpy as a filly.
Marble flipped through another few pages and reached her favourite memories. These were of the time Spike was together with them. In the first picture, he sat with Limestone and was openly discussing different forms of gem rocks. He was holding a wine glass with some contents in it while Limestone was chewing on something.
The next photo was of Maud, Pinkie and Spike. They had shovels leaning on their shoulder like rifles and gave a mock salute. Pinkie and Spike had large grins on their faces while Maud was as expressionless as ever. Limestone had joked that the dragon and party planner would be terrible royal guards.
Both of them agreed.
The last photo was one that Marble would cherish for all of eternity. It was a photo of her and Spike hugging one another during a cold night. They were near the fireplace on the sofa and had fallen asleep. Spike was below while Marble was on top.
Marble had been mortified when she’d first seen it. Maud had seen them together and believed them to be cute and took a photo for the memories. Marble had made her older sister swear not to tell any pony and Maud agreed.
She smiled as she looked at the photo. This was one of the few photos she had between just her and Spike.
Marble looked out the window near her bed and saw the morning sunshine decorate the land. She looked back to the book and sneakily looked behind her where her door was, kissed the picture where Spike was visible and closed the photo album and walked out from her room and went downstairs and out the front door.
The terrain around her had never bothered her much. Sure, it looked like there had been a warzone and this is what was left, but it was home. She had many memories of Spike here and would never leave the farm even if there was nothing but cobwebs left.
The only way she would ever leave would be on vacation or moving with somepony she loves… somedragon she loves.
While following the path leading away from her home, she started to wonder what Spike had been up to. He had visited them three years ago and hadn’t spoken to them for about… almost a year.
He had been about seventeen when he first visited so age-wise, he should be twenty. In pony years, at least.
Marble looked ahead as she reached a dirt path with trees around her and grass that grew everywhere apart from the path. Birds were whistling, signalling that it was time for them to get out of bed and work. The bees were buzzing about from the different flowers to bring back to their colony and the animals around these parts were getting ready to start their day.
The grey-coated earth pony followed a path that lead up a small hill that gave her a beautiful view over the landscape. Similar to the small forest, there were trees that surrounded another forest a few metres away with the path leading into it. She could see a few deer eating grass and showing their young ones how to run.
It was a beautiful site to behold.
She continued to walk but she noticed something in the distance, something that confused her.
On the path from the opposite direction, she saw a creature walking on two legs, moving towards her at a small pace, not in a hurry it seemed.
The creature was tall and muscular and for some odd reason looked very similar to Spike. It had purple scales and green spikes. That’s when her eyes widened. That creature… had a very similar structure as Spike if he would be a few years older and she hadn’t seen him for the last three years so it was possible he made some changes to his lifestyle…
Marble made her way towards him and noticed how the creature didn’t slow down but did seem a little hesitant. They got closer and closer until they were ten steps away from one another.
They stopped and looked each other over.
“Hello traveller, are you lost?” Marble asked kindly with a small smile. It had happened many times in the past that travellers would get lost and needed directions.
The traveller chuckled slightly while rubbing the back of his head. “I haven’t changed that much have I?” His voice had a little sheepishness and sarcasm laced into it.
There was only one creature Marble knew who spoke like that.
“...Spike?!”
“Yeah… hehe, it’s me!” Spike said with a sheepish grin. “OF!”
Marble jumped into his scaly arms and wrapped her hooves around him as much as she could. She wanted to push his body against hers as tight as she could, but that move was something only Pinkie had managed to learn.
She was happy. Even if this was just a dream, she would be happy. Opening her eyes, she saw the handsome face of an aged dragon she remembered seeing years ago when they needed help on the farm. He had been short and a little chubby, but he was different now. He was tall, at least a few feet taller than Celestia and was muscular.
He was so different but still the same dragon she knew and loved.
“I never thought I would see you again,” she murmured into his chest while he patted her head.
“I know I’m sorry. The mail never reached me. It wasn’t until about three weeks ago I received all your letters. I’m sorry I never responded. I had first believed you were not interested in continuing our letter exchanges so I stopped writing.” Marble sat up and allowed him to get up from the muddy ground.
‘So that’s why he never responded,’ Marble thought and hoped and prayed to Celestia she might have a chance. Wait… oh no, what if he was dating Rarity?! ‘Oh please, oh please, don’t tell me you read my last letter!’ Marble prayed.
Spike looked a bit sheepish. “I’m sorry that I never replied. I should have continued writing to you. I shouldn’t have believed something so silly when I know you would never do something like that.”
Marble blushed slightly, a pink streak crossing her cheeks. “Oh! It’s not you’re fault, mistakes happen all the time, I’m just happy that my letters reached your hooves… I mean claws!”
They both chuckled merrily but the air around them grew awkward and tense.
“I… read the last letter you sent me,” Spike admitted.
“Oh, really?” She asked curiously. ‘Darn it!’ she thought. So this was it huh? She would be rejected by the one she loves. Rarity was one lucky mare. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
“Yeah… I…love you too,” Spike said, a pink streak crossing his face.
Marble’s mind went blank. She should have cleaned her ears yesterday, she could have sworn that she heard Spike say that he loves her.
“Sorry, I forgot to clean my ears, what did you say?” She asked again with the same kind smile that could make even the hardened warriors kneel.
She saw him take a deep breath and spoke again, this time loud and clear—not intending for her to mishear. “I love you too,”
Marble’s mind was blank once again. Was this a joke? Did he love her? Slowly, a small smile formed on her face but it continued to stretch wider and wider until it almost reached her ears.
“Uh, Marble? Are you okay?” Spike asked and took a few steps towards her. For the second time that day, the earth pony and dragon found themselves on the muddy ground. This time, the lips had reached the dragons’ and they hugged one another. They stayed like that for a solid minute before they reluctantly removed themselves.
“Spike, I am more than okay. I have waited three years to confess to you. I didn’t know what to do when I first met you. I thought you were cute and adorable but I didn’t know how to tell you that I liked you. So I let it be. Imagine my shock when after you left that I saw you sent me a letter!”
Marble grinned at this and Spike gave a smile.
“We wrote for a long time but then because of the mail troubles, we slowly lost the connection we had through the words we wrote, but my love never died. I always hoped you would one day show up on the farm.”
The admittance of Marble made her blush. That… was a lot more information than she intended but oh well. But there was one thing that confused her.
“Spike, can I ask you something?” She asked, looking at Spike who sported the same blush as her.
“Uh yeah?”
“Well, I know you said you love me, but what about Rarity? Didn’t you say that you’d do anything to get her attention?” She asked and silently hoped that he didn’t like the marshmallow-coated mare.
“Oh, that?” Spike said smiling sheepishly once again. “That was just a little crush from when I was a kid and teenager, nothing more nothing less. It wasn’t genuine love, not the same as I feel for you,”
Marble smiled widely and clung to him again with Spike hugging her.
“Good, because I refuse to share you with anypony or dragoness. I have waited a long time for this,” Marble spoke with a small grin on her face that made Spike aw at her.
Together, they walked together to the farm, holding claw and hoof, uniting them…
Forever.