Rock Solid Friendship
Pony's Log Number 704: Just because a pony has problems expressing their feelings doesn't means they can't make a friend on their own...
Today was a very special day. For today was Maud's graduation day at the University she was attending. The entire Pie family was there, including Mario, whom both Maud and Pinkie had asked to come attend the ceremony. For the moment, the head dean, Rusty Tenure, was giving his commemoration speech while the "Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1 in D", also known as the Graduation march song, was played in the background.
"So in closing, earning a rocktorate in rock studies from the Equestrian Institute of Rockology is no easy feat," Rusty Tenure continued, "I'm proud of each and every one of you." He looked back and then forgot that Maud, wearing traditional graduation garb, was the only one graduating, "Uh...each of...No, just you, actually." In the audience, Igneous and Cloudy just watched with blunt looking faces, Marble had a soft smile on her face, and Limestone just had her cranky glare. Mario just sat between Limestone and Pinkie. While part of the reason for this was because Limestone didn't want to sit next to Pinkie, it was also because she wanted Mario to sit with her. Despite her cranky look, she was actually in a good mood and very happy to see Mario again.
"Go, Maud! Woo-hoo!" Pinkie shouted as she waved some flags and then had a giant number one finger glove on her fore-hoof, "Number one! Number one!" Pinkie had also startled Marble while annoying both Limestone and Mario. Mario rolled his eyes as well.
"And people wonder why graduations are no longer classy or sophisticated," said Mario.
"You know Pinkie by now," Limestone muttered in her irritable manner.
"I do," said Mario quietly, "I'm honestly glad shouting is all she's doing. At least she didn't bring an air horn."
AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Mario yelped and jumped high into the air and crash landed right after Pinkie fired off the said object. Limestone and Marble cringed at the landing.
"Are you okay?" Marble asked in a very soft tone. Limestone's eyes nearly bulged out at hearing the her younger sibling actually talk. Even though she knew Mario was the only pony capable of doing so and made sure Pinkie didn't keep talking for her.
"Bruised, but okay, Marble," Mario groaned as he stood up, "Bruised, but okay." He got back to his seat and confiscated the air horn with his magic. Pinkie just gave him a large smile to say sorry as Mario made the air horn disappear with his magic.
"Fillies and gentlecolts," said Rusty Tenure, not at all phased by the ruckus, but then saw Boulder sitting in his own chair next to Pinkie, "and is that magnesium-rich basalt?" Maud gestured for Rusty Tenure to continue.
"It is my honor to present our vale-rock-torian, Maud Pie," said Rusty Tenure, "Excuse me. Doctor Pie." Marble and Limestone looked at each other and gave Maud some warm smiles. But the moment was spoiled when Pinkie got between them and started ranting again.
"Whoo! Doctor Pie! Doctor Pie!" Pinkie shouted as she hugged her two sisters and a pop whistle went off, ""Rock-tor" Pie?" Marble felt uncomfortable from all the ranting and Limestone rolled her eyes.
"Boo! Bad pun! Boo!" Mario remarked, making Limestone smirk.
"No, it's not!" Pinkie said indignantly, "Maud did get her "Rock"-torate after all."
"Ugh, I hate it when she's right," said Mario and Limestone rolled her eyes again. Meanwhile, Cloudy had an emotional smile on her face as she wiped her eyes of some spare tears. Despite his deadpan look, he gave his wife a gentle pat on the back, which Cloudy gave him a smile filled with gratitude. It was then Maud walked up to the podium. The microphone provided some feedback, making everypony cringe and cover her ears.
"Ow! I hate it when microphones do that!" Mario complained to himself.
"I'm Maud," said the grayish-blue pony in her usual deadpan tone.
"Yeah, you are!" Pinkie shouted, "Brilliant speech! Encore! Encore!" Both Cloudy and Marble winced in embarrassment at Pinkie's behavior. Limestone and Mario shot Pinkie some death glares. Igneous...looked like he was fighting for dear life not to explode at his outspoken daughter.
"There's more, Pinkie," said Maud as she began her speech again, "I'm Maud," She then flipped index card, "...Pie. Thank you." Mario just had a casual look on his face.
"Short and sweet," Mario remarked, "the best kind of speeches."
"It's why we love her," said Limestone as she and Mario shared a hoof-bump together. Igneous has set up a camera and snapped Maud's picture as she received her diploma, which was made out of rock.
"You are so welcome!" Pinkie cheered once more at Maud, not noticing her own father glaring at her, "Brilliant speech! Encore! Encore! Encore!" She then smiled as she gave Boulder a high-hoof. Mario just sighed and rolled his eyes at Pinkie.
But this time, there was a exasperated smile on his face.
(Main theme)
As Maud, Mario, and Pinkie were riding the train back to Ponyville...
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Everypony painfully covered their ears. Pinkie had started squealing loudly as she ran and cart-wheeled about the passenger car. She then side-somersaulted back to the seating area where she and Maud were sitting. Mario was sitting across from them and had his fore-hooves over his ears until Pinkie stopped squealing.
"You're moving to Ponyville!" said Pinkie excitedly, "We'll live together and get bunk beds and I'll make us fuzzy slippers that say "Best Sister Friends forever", although I probably can't fit all those words on a slipper, so maybe just "BSFF", but we don't have to decide right now because we'll be together all the time since when it comes to Ponyville, the doctor is in!" Pinkie couldn't help but wiggled her hinds legs as she emphasized the slippers and then put a fore-leg around Maud to pull the pony closer to her. Maud waited until Pinkie stopped talking before pulling away.
"Slow down, Pinkie Pie," said Maud.
"Yoooooouuuuu'rrrrrrrreeeeeeee mmmmmmmmmoooooooovvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg ttttttttoooooooo Poooooooonnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyvvvvvvvviiiiiiiilllllllleeeeeeee..." Pinkie said in slow motion. Mario's eyes went big before he face-palmed himself.
"I'm not definitely moving to Ponyville," said Maud.
"That's what I heard clearly," Mario remarked.
"Of course you are, silly," said Pinkie, "you said..." Pinkie then shifted her face and mane to make herself look like a pink clone of Maud. This made Mario cringe, especially when Pinkie impersonated her deadpan tone as well, "There's nothing left to study back home on the rock farm, so I might move to Ponyville." Pinkie then put a fore-hoof to her mouth and breathed into it to make her mane and face inflate back to normal.
"Seesh, and ponies find it creepy when I impersonate them," Mario remarked.
"You know how to impersonate my sister?" Maud asked.
"Okey-dokey-lokey!" said Mario as he changed his voice to sound like Pinkie's, "Let's get this party started!" Pinkie just glared while Maud had her usual blunt face.
"Don't ever do that again," Maud asked. Mario snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Nopony appreciates my acting skills," Mario muttered to himself as he crossed his fore-legs and pouted.
"The point is that Maud said she wants to move to Ponyville, Mario," said Pinkie to the still pouting alicorn prince.
"I'm also considering Ghastly Gorge," said Maud. Pinkie then laughed.
"Classic Maud sense of humor!" said Pinkie, nudging her sisters side, "You should do stand-up!"
"I do," said Maud, "But that wasn't a joke."
"And she's pretty good at it too," said Mario, "At least she is to me. But Maud is right, she is considering Ghastly Gorge as well." Pinkie gasped.
"Ghastly Gorge?" said Pinkie in shock, "That terrible, awful, no-fun, all-alone canyon in the middle of nowhere?"
"Not to mention the place is crawling with giant land eels that will gobble you up without a second thought," said Mario.
"There or Ponyville," Maud replied.
"But Ponyville is so "eee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" and Ghastly Gorge is so "Blegh"!" Pinkie protested.
"And it's really dangerous," said Mario, "I know you're pretty tough, but I don't think Pinkie could handle it if something happened to you."
"That is true," said Pinkie worriedly.
"It's a rock-based decision," said Maud.
"But what about BSFFs?" said Pinkie, raising her hind legs and wiggles them about.
"What's the big deal with the fuzzy slippers?" Mario asked, "You never gave me any when we became BFFs."
"Mario, you told me you hate wearing anything other than your super high-speed durable horseshoes," Pinkie replied as a matter of fact.
"Oh...right, heh," said Mario sheepishly.
"That's why I'm giving Ponyville a chance," said Maud.
"Phew!" said Pinkie as she sat up, "So all I have to do is prove Ponyville has better rocks than Ghastly Gorge? Challenge accepted. We'll drop your stuff off at my place, and then hold onto your world, 'cause...it's about...to...get...rocked!" Pinkie glared at Maud with gritted teeth.
"Okay," Maud replied in her usual manner. Mario looked worried.
"You sure about that, Pinks?" Mario asked, "Maud has seen alot of various rocks and minerals all over Equestria! She is going to be hard to please." Pinkie glared for a moment but then smiled as she scooted beside him and hugged the alicorn from the side.
"Challenge accepted," said Pinkie confidently, "because you are gonna help me?"
"Do I have a choice?" Mario asked sarcastically. Pinkie growled into his face.
"Okay, okay," said Mario annoyingly, "I'll help. Just chill out until we get back to Ponyville. Then we'll show Maud where our best rocks are okay?" Pinkie then gave him a huge smile. Mario just rolled his eyes at her.
Once they were in Ponyville, Maud left her bags as Sugarcube Corner and the three ponies headed towards Ponyville's personal gem cave. Each of them were wearing a hard hat for safety as they walked about the area. Inside the cave were gems of all various colors, shapes, and sizes.
"Ghastly Gorge may have rocks, but our gem cave rocks!" said Pinkie.
"Gems everywhere as far as the eye can see and free for the picking if you've got the time and delicate care to extract them," Mario added. Maud then looked around at the various gems. It was then some harp glissando was heard. Maud and Mario shared looks and looked back to see Pinkie playing the harp.
"Nice touch," Mario remarked.
"Huh? Huh?" Pinkie said to Maud, who remained with her deadpan expression and said nothing, "Oh, and Look! You'll never know who you'll see!" Pinkie pointed in the distance. Nearby was Rarity and Spike gathering some gems. Rarity turned around once she heard them.
"Maud, darling!" said Rarity, "It's lovely to see you again! Oh! Congratulations on your rocktorate. What are you doing now?"
"Talking to you," Maud replied bluntly. Rarity blinked.
"Rarity was referring to what you're gonna do with your life now that you've graduated," Mario clarified, "not at the very moment."
"Oh," said Maud, "Looking for a place to live and study rocks."
"Oh,y-Right," Rarity replied with a laugh and then cleared her throat, "Well, if your trained eye happens to see a chartreuse gem, I'm desperate to find one." Maud simply walked over just a couple yards away to a particular spot in the cave.
"I found one," said Maud as she held a yellowish-green gem in her fore-hoof.
"Oh, you're an absolute darling!" said Rarity happily as she took the gem and put it into the basket, "This will surely make my gown stand out as Countess Coloratura's album release party. Do you know how rare this is?"
"Just another day in Ponyville," Pinkie told Maud.
"That's gonna save Rarity alot of time searching for the gem and more time to make her gown absolutely perfect," Mario added, "My twinsie's already got the glamour by just being herself." Rarity giggled as Spike nodded in agreement.
"That's actually a really common gem," Maud pointed out.
"Huh?" said Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, and Mario at once in shock. Maud then kicked a nearby rock, which cracked open to reveal literally hundreds of the same gems. Rarity, Pinkie, Spike, and Mario were stunned.
"Uh, are you sure you didn't just stumble upon a gem vein?" Mario remarked.
"No," Maud replied, "Even if I did, such veins containing these gems are very common. There are all really common gems."
"They are?" Pinkie replied as Mario looked back and winced. Poor Rarity looked so devastated that she was literally on the verge of tears. Spike did his best to comfort the marshmallow mare.
"Get Maud out of here, now!" Mario whispered harshly to Pinkie, knowing if Maud said any other hard facts about the gems, Rarity might have a breakdown.
"Uh, I mean, heh, come on!" Pinkie stuttered nervously as Mario went to comfort Rarity, who composure was crumbling quickly, "Of course they are! That's why I didn't bring here to impress you! I wanted to make sure you had a chance to, heh, say "hello' to your old pal, Spike!" Pinkie then brought the little dragon over to her.
"Hello, Spike," said Maud in her usual demeanor. Spike just waved back sheepishly until Pinkie tossed him away.
"Way to go, Maud!" said Pinkie, "Cross that off the to-do list! Y'know what I'm saying? Now, let's get movin' cause I'm about to show you something that'll make you yell "All Right!"."
"All right," Maud replied.
"See? Ha-ha!" said Pinkie as they finally started to leave. Behind them, Rarity was tossing out all the gems from her basket and was still feeling very upset.
Once they were out of the gem cave, Pinkie put a blindfold around Maud's eyes when Mario teleported back to them.
"Is Rarity's okay?" Pinkie asked as she and her sister kept moving.
"She's calm down a little," said Mario, "once I told her that the, heh, rarity of a gem doesn't mean that they aren't valuable. Because..." Mario glared at the blindfolded pony, "The rarest and most valuable gems and minerals are often too precious to be sold for jewelry or have magical properties."
"He's right," said Maud, "Diamonds are very common, but they have properties and traits that makes them very valuable, which is why they're used for jewelry and fashion." Mario just cringed slightly, wondering how many jewelry shop keepers Maud might have offended with her cold hard truths. After all, "diamonds" and "very common" did not belong in the same sentence.
"Well, Rarity will recover and that is what's most important," said Pinkie, "Oh! Good were here." Mario blinked at their location.
"You brought Maud to my-mmph!" Mario was cut off when Pinkie shoved a fore-hoof into his mouth.
"Quiet! You'll ruin my surprise!" said Pinkie sternly as she removed her fore-hoof from his mouth and Mario just glared at her. Pinkie then removed the blindfold to Maud could see...Mario and Twilight's castle.
"Ta-da!" Pinkie exclaimed as she stood in Maud's eye view, "It's a castle...made of rocks! Whaaaat?! Did I just blow your mind? I think I just blew your mind!"
"A lot of structures are made from rocks, Pinkie," said Maud, "They're a very stable building material."
"But this place grew out of nowhere after Mario used a key with a heart handle on it to unlock a magical key-build gem followed by a rainbow and buried itself in the ground!" Pinkie explained, "I mean, have you ever seen rocks like this?"
"Yes," said Maud.
"No, you haven't!" Pinkie protested.
"We literally saw hundred of them in the gem cave," Maud pointed out. Now Mario took offense.
"You can't be serious!" Mario snapped angrily, "The rock my home is made of comes from the Tree of Harmony, which is made out of a special rock that is one of a kind! Are you seriously gonna say to my face that my home is made out of common rock?"
"This kind of rock is very common in the Crystal Empire," said Maud, "You're the one who told me that the Tree of Harmony has crystal rock that originates from the Crystal Heart. That means the crystal rock your castle is made of is similar to the that of the Crystal Heart, which is the same rock used for the Crystal Empire homes. Thus it's a common rock." Mario face-hoofed himself.
"You know you just killed my home's net worth and resale value, right?" Mario remarked annoyingly.
"Sorry," said Maud. By now Pinkie was starting to panic.
"But...but...Oh, look at those rocks," said Pinkie as she rushed into a bush and came out covered in prickly pods of some sort. She also held some of them, painfully, in her fore-legs.
"Those are sting-bush seed pods," Maud remarked. Pinkie winced.
"So they are," said Pinkie as she shook them off.
"Yipe!" said Mario as he used a dome shield to block some flying sting-bush seed pods that came flying at him and Maud. Then he lowered the shield to toss them away somewhere safe.
"Should we stop her?" Mario asked Maud in a blunt tone.
"No, she'll stop after a certain point," said Maud, "but her desperation is heartbreaking."
"Yes...yes it is," said Mario in the same deadpan tone.
"But, uh, look at that rock!" said Pinkie as she rushed up to what looked like a familiar shelled reptile, "It's even got four smaller rocks around it like legs!"
"That's a tortoise," said Maud.
"Dashie's tortoise to be exact," Mario added. It was then Tank poked his head out of his shell and smiled. Pinkie blinked as she felt her temper slip.
"Who's side are you on, Tank?!" Pinkie yelled angrily and then began to panic, "Oh, wait a minute! What's that?! It's a rock shaped like Lyra Heartstrings!" Pinkie then rushed over to Lyra and Bon Bon, who were just taking a walk together. Pinkie picked Lyra up and set her down before Maud and Mario, who both had deadpan expression on their faces.
"Total rock!" Pinkie shouted as Lyra had a face of puzzlement. She looked to ask Pinkie what was going on when Pinkie gave her a stern face and a loud growl. Lyra winced and just stood rigid fearfully, afraid to move. Luckily Bon Bon came along, pushed Lyra away and gave Pinkie the stink eye. Mario headed over to the two best friends.
"Sorry, girls," said Mario, "Pinkie's a little desperate to get her sister to move here. You know, BFFs and fuzzy slippers. That sort of thing." Bon Bon and Lyra just smiled and nodded in understanding as they walked away. Mario had just gone back to stand with Maud when Pinkie's body suddenly deflated in defeat.
"Pinks?" Mario asked with concern. Pinkie sighed.
"I guess you won't be moving to Ponyville after all," said Pinkie sadly, "Those rocks at Ghastly Gorge don't know how lucky they are to have you." While Maud's face remained the same, her eyes showed alot of sympathy for her younger sister as she helped Pinkie stand up, which also got her body re-inflated.
"I'm obviously passionate about exotic rocks," said Maud, "but I've always studied them...alone."
"Even at the University?" Mario, "I had hoped somepony would've become your friend while you were studying."
"I did most of my studies off campus," Maud replied, "And alone. I could handle some less exciting rocks if it meant I'd have somepony to talk to besides Boulder." Maud held up her pet rock to prove her point. Pinkie then gasped.
"Are you saying you want...a friend?!" Pinkie asked hopefully.
"I wouldn't mind one," Maud admitted, but her eyes turned away from Pinkie. Pinkie than gasped again, but this time more excitedly.
"Maudileena Daisy Pie, this'll be easy!" said Pinkie as she pulled out a clipboard out of her mane, "What're you looking for in a friend? Gimme six qualities assigning each one a numerical importance rating between one and seven. Seven being essential and one being "eh"... BURP!" Pinkie then belched out a pencil from her mouth to get ready for some note taking. Mario made a face of disgust at what Pinkie did but said nothing. Maud just paused for a second before answering.
"It isn't hard to meet somepony I like," said Maud, "It's finding somepony who gets me."
"I get you!" Pinkie protested.
"You're my sister," Maud answered, "It's different."
"What about the rest of us?" said Mario, "My wife, and all of mine and Pinkie's friends are all your friends and you can hang out with them whenever you like! And Shenran said you were friends."
"Shenran doesn't get me," said Maud, "Only you get me, Mario. Even then, I still feel like you and your friends only became my friends because of Pinkie."
"Maud...don't go putting yourself down like that," said Mario, feeling a little hurt that Maud said that.
"Yeah," said Pinkie in agreement, "Maud, you are the best! You never know when the lightning of friendship will strike."
"She's right, Maud," said Mario, "When I first came to Ponyville, I was really shy and I didn't know if I would find any friends who would get me. Then Pinkie surprised me and Twilight with a party and next thing I know she and four other ponies wanted to be my friend and now we're all BFFs. Ponyville is the best place to find lifelong friends."
"Yeah," said Pinkie, "Somepony could come barreling through that door at this very moment and become your best friend!" Mario, Maud, and Pinkie waited at the castle doors for somepony to come out. Pinkie smiled excitedly while Mario and Maud just had blank expressions on their faces. But after a few seconds, nothing happened.
"Uhh, Pinkie," said Mario slowly, "Twilight and Di are in Canterlot so Di can meet her new grandparents. And...I don't know what Starlight is up to today." Pinkie sighed.
"Y'know, I really thought somepony was gonna come barreling through that-" said Pinkie. it was then Starlight came out of the doors of the castle. She was apparently reading and walking at the same time. Mario cringed at the sight since it brought back some...painful memories.
"Uh, Starlight?" Mario said slowly.
BUMP!
Starlight ended up smacking right into Maud, knocking them both down as Starlight dropped the book she was reading and the others she was carrying in her magic. Pinkie and Mario winced at the impact. Mario then snorted.
"How many times do I tell Starlight and Twilight not to read and walk at the same time?!" Mario remarked as she shook his head.
"Uh," said Maud as she lay on the ground.
"Oh, my fault!" said Starlight as she used her magic to pick up her books and put them into her saddle bags, "Totally my fault! Are you okay? I should've been watching where I was going, and-" Starlight then blinked as she saw Maud stand up.
"You look really familiar," said Starlight as she rubbed her chin and look looked at Maud.
"You know Maud?" Mario asked in surprise.
"I...might..." said Starlight and as she turned to the grayish-blue mare, "Have we met before?"
"Yes, " Maud replied.
"I knew it!" said Starlight.
"Whaaaaat?!" said Pinkie in shock.
"Care to tell us when you two actually met?" Mario asked as he stood between Starlight and Maud in the background.
"No, no, don't tell me," said Starlight, trying to guess when that happened before Mario could reply. Pinkie then slowly rose into view in front of Mario, squealing with excitement and anticipation, "Um..." Starlight pondered but didn't say anything more for a few seconds as Pinkie looked like she was gonna explode.
"Yeah, See, I was really hoping you'd tell me when I pretended to remember," Starlight finally admitted. Pinkie then wrapped a fore-hoof around Maud and Starlight.
"How is this possible?" said Pinkie and screamed with glee, making Starlight and Mario wince.
"I traveled Equestria for my rocktorate dissertation," Maud explained.
Flashback
Some years ago, Maud was doing some excavating for some rock samples when a familiar looking unicorn appeared with her fake equal sign cutie mark and her bangs cut even. She looked around nervously to see if anypony was listening or watching her before speaking to Maud.
"Psst!" said Starlight, "Do you know a lot about rocks?"
"Yes," said Maud, not looking at the lilac unicorn, but rather another rock sample in her fore-hoof.
"Have you ever come across some kind of super-powerful stone that can store the cutie mark magic of...I don't know...an entire village?" Starlight asked, trying to look intimidating and threatening, but Maud didn't really seem worried, fearful, or cared if the unicorn was threatening information out of her or not.
"Yep," Maud replied and pointed Starlight in the direction of where to go, "In the big cave." Starlight blinked, looked in the direction Maud pointed, smirked deviously, and then ran back to the area where her village was still being constructed at the time.
End Flashback
Back at the present, Starlight looked rather uneasy, Mario and Pinkie were in shock. Maud...had her usual deadpan expression on her face. Pinkie then burst into laughter.
"Hey, I got an idea," said Pinkie, "Let's not tell anypony that part where you maybe, for sure, accidentally helped Starlight enslave a town!" Pinkie then laughed again as Starlight and Mario looked very uncomfortable. Then Pinkie got into Maud's face and gave her a death glare.
"Tell nopony!" Pinkie warned sternly.
"It's not like she's enslaved anypony lately," said Maud. Pinkie just blinked.
"Uh, Maud, Starlight is like me, in which we don't like being reminded of our...umm...dark pasts," Mario pointed out. Starlight just chuckled weakly in reply.
"Well, great seeing you again," said Starlight, "I gotta run a few essentials." Starlight then sighed as she walked away with her head lowered. Mario then rushed up to the lilac unicorn and gave her a side hug. Starlight smiled at the gesture.
"Want some company, Starlight?" Mario offered. Pinkie then got an idea.
"Offer to help," Pinkie said discreetly from the side of her mouth to Maud.
"What?" Maud asked.
"Offer to help!" Pinkie said louder. Starlight then turned around.
"You wanna help?" Starlight asked as Mario looked back and waited to see what happened.
"Do I?" Maud asked.
"Of course you do! Go!" Pinkie told her.
"Okay," said Maud as Pinkie shoved Maud forward. She then noticed that Mario was walking with them.
"Mario!" Pinkie called out, "I kind of wanted..."
"Actually Pinkie, I wanted Mario to come with us," said Maud. Pinkie blinked in surprise before she recomposed herself.
"Oh...okay..." said Pinkie sheepishly, but also felt a little worried. The three ponies then walked off. Mario then discreetly turned around and gave Pinkie a wink to let her know he would handle everything. Pinkie smiled excitedly and felt better as she watched them head to the market area.
"They're totally gonna be best friends and then Maud will choose Ponyville," Pinkie squealed with glee and clapped her fore-hooves together, "and we'll get to wear BSFF slippers!" Pinkie then lifted her hind hooves into the air and wiggled them excitedly. Pinkie then remembered that she was in the air and landed on her back with a thud.
It wasn't long before at the market place, Starlight and Maud were engaged in a conversation together. Mario just remained respectfully silent for the most part unless he found a moment to speak up, but for the most part. He just let Maud express her interest of rocks to Starlight.
"Rocks take on different properties when interacting with magic," Maud explained, "Like how the rocks in Mario's Double Gem Amulet can boost a pony's strength but then cause fatigue if overused. I also wanted to thank you for crediting me with your amulet, Mario. I gave me the extra credit I needed to graduate as valedictorian." Starlight smiled impressively.
"No problem," said Mario.
"With the right stone," Maud added, "you could rule all of Equestria if you wanted to." Starlight and Mario blinked.
"You're messing with me," said Starlight. Mario wanted to add more, but decided to hold back for the moment.
"Am I?" Maud asked as some grim music was heard. Starlight and Mario glared at first as Maud just gave them her usual expression. To Maud surprise, though she didn't show it, both Mario and Starlight began to laugh.
"So other than rocks," Starlight said with a sigh, "what else are you into?"
"Minerals. Plate Tectonics," Maud replied, "Oh, and stand-up comedy, of course."
"Don't forget poetry," said Mario as he put on some black shades before adding in a hipster voice, "her words reach the deepest parts of my soul." Starlight blinked and then giggled.
"I believe it," Starlight replied.
"Tell her what else you like beside magic," said Mario. Starlight then grew rather uncomfortable as she looked about nervously.
"I like...kites," Starlight told Maud with a nervous smile on her face. Maud just looked at her as Starlight felt more and more insecure. Mario just waited with interest for Maud's reaction.
"Kites are cool," said Maud. Starlight then sighed with relief as they walked off. Mario got beside the lilac unicorn.
"And you thought Maud would laugh at you for liking kites," Mario whispered to Starlight as he playfully nudged her side.
"Oh..." Starlight remarked, giving Mario a playful shove and they shared a chuckle. Maud just watched the two as a small smile appeared on her face. It was then Pinkie appeared from a barrel that was filled with asparagus and looked at the three ponies worriedly. Since she hadn't heard the conversation, she really could tell how things were going. As much as she knew Mario would give her those answers...
She wanted to know how things were going now!
Once, Starlight, Mario, and Maud were out in a large open field, Starlight let a 3D rectangular shaped kite rise into the sky. Mario then allowed his 2D tank engine kite fly next to Starlight's. Maud just watched the kites fly with interest.
"The trick with an S.L.K. is not to make the spars too heavy," Starlight explained to Maud, "But if they're too light, you've got no ballast and then good luck tacking against the A.O.I!" She then looked at Mario's kite, "and since Mario is new to kite flying, an S.L.K. is great for a beginner, plus the wide width allows it to catch the air more easily." There was a brief silence as Starlight smiled sheepishly.
"I really like kites," said Starlight sheepishly, "You're the only pony other than Mario that lets me geek out about 'em." Starlight then bit her lower lip nervously. Mario just watched quietly for Maud's reply.
"They're starting to grow on me," said Maud. Starlight relaxed and smiled.
"If you want, I'm sure Starlight could help you build and fly your own kite," said Mario, "She's a really great teacher." Starlight giggled at the praise.
"I'll think about it," said Maud as the three ponies continued to watch the two kites fly into the sky.
"Pizza delivery!" Pinkie shouted as she was showing wearing a pizza slice costume with carry saddle bags and then looked at the three ponies, "Oh! Maud, Starlight, Mario? You're here too? Whoa-ho-ho! What a coincidence! 'Cause I was just, y'know, delivering this pizza to, um..." Pinkie then pulled out a pizza and looked around. To her luck, Muffins appeared and Pinkie pointed at her, "You!" Pinkie threw the pizza box at her head. Muffins was stunned for a moment before she realized what had been chucked at her and ran to go retrieve it. Mario and Starlight glared at Pinkie while Maud had her usual expression on her face.
"So how's it going?" Pinkie replied.
"Fine," Mario replied bluntly.
"Uh, just hanging out-" Starlight tried to add but Pinkie cut her off.
"Hey!" said Pinkie, "You could use this time to bond and talk about feelings! For example, do you feel like you're becoming friends?" Pinkie then smiled at them anxiously as Mario snorted.
"Um...I feel...like I don't want to talk about feelings?" Starlight replied.
"You usually don't when you just meeting somepony," said Mario, "Finding things in common comes first, feelings come later once you feel like you can trust each other."
"Great! I'll go next," said Pinkie, not listening to anything Mario was saying, "I feel like I love that you two are becoming best friends! I mean, your friendship could be the friendship that makes Maud move to Ponyville!" Mario, Starlight, and Maud just shared looks with each other.
"Pinkie..." Mario tried to warn.
"Shh!" said Starlight as she gestured for them to quietly sneak away as Pinkie was still talking.
"No pressure, Starlight," said Pinkie and then noticed that she was alone, "Um, hello? Where'd you three go?" Mario then sighed irritable again.
"It's the rock candy necklaces all over again," said Mario annoyingly.
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked.
"Pinkie tried to push her friends to become my friends," said Maud, "and then nearly got herself crushed by a giant chunk of sedimentary rock."
"Eugh..." Starlight groaned.
"Sorry about my sister," said Maud to Starlight, "There's no half-excited with her."
"Oh, I know," said Starlight, "But she always calms down..." Then added bluntly, "Eventually."
"Let's just hope she settles down before she does something she regrets," said Mario worriedly since he knew that Pinkie wasn't going to back off no matter where they went.
Later, the three ponies were back in the gem cave, each of them wearing a safety helmet as they walked down the cavern.
"Why do you find rocks so fascinating?" Starlight asked Maud.
"Each one has a different story to tell," Maud explained and then showed Starlight her pet rock, "Like Boulder here. This tell me he's over two thousand years old." Maud then looked at Boulder, "You don't look a day over six hundred."
"Yet that doesn't stop him from having a little crush on you," Mario teased.
"Stop it," said Maud as she tucked him into her dress collar, "he's too old for me and he knows that. But I'm still flattered." Starlight was impressed.
"Wow," said Starlight, "You can tell that from a line?"
"I didn't get a rocktorate because I can shred a guitar like nopony else," said Maud. Starlight and Mario both laughed. Starlight then looked at a blue gem that showed her reflection on it. Maud then appeared behind Starlight in the reflection.
"Another reason I like rocks - they don't exclude you if your...different from other ponies," said Maud, but there was bit of sadness in her usual tone as she looked away.
"Different from other ponies," Mario repeated quietly, "I know how that feels..."
"Same here," said Starlight, "They're beautiful and strong, but they don't judge you or make you feel less in any way. I think I'm starting to like rocks, too." Starlight started to walk around some more.
"Mario is alot like a rock too," said Maud.
"Huh?" said Starlight and Mario in surprise.
"He's alot stronger than ponies give him credit for," said Maud, "and he doesn't judge you or make you feel inferior because of who you are or what your past is. He looks past your outer surface and sees the true beauty that lies within." Mario blushed at the complement and rubbed his head sheepishly despite his helmet.
"Aw, shucks you're making me blush, Maud," said Mario, "But she is right. I do think you two are beautiful and strong ponies. I'm glad you're my friends." Starlight smiled as she headed over to another part off the cave. Maud then smiled. While Starlight didn't see it, Mario did and just grinned. Then Starlight just tapped a large rocks.
"It's hollow?" Starlight said in surprise.
"It's granite," said Maud, "Hollow granite is highly unusual."
"It is safe to crack open?" Mario asked. Before Maud could reply, Starlight used her magic to make the rock crumble, revealing a bright light.
"That certainly is highly unusual," Mario remarked as he and the two mares walked toward the light. Inside was a very beautiful underground cavern. It has a small little waterfall that ended in a rather calm but tranquil pool. Some patches of grass about the area and the walls were filled with various crystals and gems that made the area light up naturally. Not to mention there were some rather large underground mushrooms.
"Wow!" said Starlight in amazement.
"Now this is one prime piece of real estate," said Mario.
"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Starlight asked Maud as Mario gave her a curious but worried look.
"No," said Maud, "And that's unusual. For me." Mario chuckled as the three admired the area...for about three more seconds before a certain meddling pink pony showed up in her usual random way.
"There you are!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hugged the three of them, "I thought you went your separate ways, but you can't imagine how happy I am to find you both together and to witness one of your first as friends!"
"There's three of us!" Mario pointed.
"Quit thinking about only yourself!" Pinkie snapped and zipped away. Mario was taken aback.
"I'm only thinking about myself?!" Mario remarked in disbelief. It was then Pinkie quickly set up a backdrop, some shoot-through umbrellas, and then set up a camera. Before anypony could reply, Pinkie took the picture as a very, very bright flash shot at the three ponies. Maud, Starlight, and Mario just stared as they felt the pupils of their eyes shrunk from the bright light.
"Ack!" Mario yelped as he and Starlight put a fore-leg around their eyes to recover. Maud just blinked her eyes and was able to hide the fact her eyes were hurting and was slightly dizzy. Pinkie just rushed up, shoving Mario out of the way, sending him crashing off screen.
"First time discovering an underground cavern!" Pinkie said excitedly and squealed with glee, "I can't wait 'til your old and eating pistachios together and telling your grand-foals about this!" Starlight gave Pinkie a funny look. Maud kept her usual expression, but looked at Mario, who was glaring sternly at Pinkie for knocking him out of the way. Pinkie turned around and began to panic.
"Oh, no!" said Pinkie out loud to herself, "They're not bonding!"
"Gee, I wonder why," Mario remarked in his own deadpan tone since he heard her. Pinkie growled at Mario and began to rub the side of her head to think. Then something clicked in head and gave a loud DING.
"I got an idea," said Pinkie as she smashed through the backdrop and knocked over the shoot-through umbrellas. She then backed up backwards and intentionally bumped a rock sticking out of the ground.
"Whooaa!" Pinkie said in a very slow and exaggerated tone, "I'm tripping on a rock at this very moment! And now I'm falling down!" Pinkie conveniently wobbled over to a nearby plunger and pushed it down to detonate some explosives off screen, which caused a cave in.
"Oh, no!" said Pinkie, "My accidental clumsiness has trapped us here! Where you'll be forced to bond until we're rescued." Mario snorted.
"Pinkie, we all know you did that on purpose," Mario pointed out. Pinkie then zipped up to Mario and glared at him angrily.
"You're really getting on my bad side!" Pinkie snapped and then said under her breath, "You're supposed to help me get them to bond."
"How can I when you're being a meddling..." Mario tried to protest.
"Oh, we won't have to wait for that," said Starlight, cutting Mario off before he said something he would regret, "There's gotta be a spell that-" Starlight then stopped talking when Maud pulled out Boulder.
"Get us out of here, boy," said Maud as she tossed her pet rock upward. Boulder hit a certain spot in the ceiling, which caused it to crack and open up, revealing a way out. Mario, Maud, and Starlight climbed out to safety.
"Boulder, that was awesome!" said Starlight.
"Totally!" Mario added.
"No," said Maud, "That was sandstone." They looked down to see Pinkie still at the bottom of the cavern, looking worried since her efforts weren't working. At least from her point of view.
"More sand than stone apparently," Starlight remarked as she and Maud started walked away from the hole. Mario then used his magic to sternly pull Pinkie up, but he refused to release her.
"Mario, let go, I gotta..." Pinkie tried to protest.
"No! You listen to me!" said Mario sternly, "I said I would make sure they bonded and you're not letting me. I thought you trusted me!" Mario gave Pinkie a hurt look as he finally released his magic on her. Pinkie just sighed as she looked at Mario sadly. She went to give him a hug, which Mario went to hug her back until Pinkie surprised him by shoving him inside of her party cannon, which mysteriously appeared.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie, what are you doing?!" Mario yelled from inside the cannon since he couldn't move.
"Sorry, you're job is done and I'm taking over now!" said Pinkie very quickly, "besides, I think Twilight need you!"
"Twilight isn't even home from..." Mario tried to shout back when...
BOOOOOOM!
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-WAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Pinkie fired her party cannon and sent Mario flying off into the distance and out of sight. Beyond view, he ended up crash landing into the middle of the turntable well in the train yards. He spent the rest of the afternoon and evening repairing that too.
Back near the surface above the gem caves, Pinkie then reappeared with Starlight and Maud.
"Where's Mario?" Maud asked. Though Maud had seen Pinkie stuff and fire the alicorn prince away, she hoped Pinkie would come clean about it.
"I don't know," Pinkie fibbed quickly and put some cow bells around their necks, "I'm thinking you wear these around your neck at all times so I don't lose you again, you sillies! That way, I can track your progress as friends!" Both Starlight and Maud just walked away without another word. Pinkie easily caught up with them.
"Ooh!" Pinkie continued, "And tomorrow, we can have a friendship brunch!"
"Is Mario going to come?" Starlight asked, inwardly hoping he'd show up to get Pinkie to back off.
"He's busy," said Pinkie and quickly changed to subject, "What's your favorite kind of omelet cupcake?!" She then added in a hushed tone to Maud, "Mine's jalapeno velvet!" Maud just gave a deadpan groan in reply.
"Yeah, um, I-I don't know if I can make it," said Starlight, trying politely decline.
"You'll change your minds when you smell the yummy food!" said Pinkie, "Come on!" Pinkie then bounced away toward the left. Starlight then used her magic to make their bells fall off.
"Oops," said Starlight in a not-so-apologetic tone and walked off toward the right. Maud just watched Starlight walked away and smiled again, but then felt worried.
"I do hope Mario is okay," said Maud as she followed Starlight.
Later that night, Maud and Pinkie were in the latter's bedroom. Each of them were wearing a onesie pajama set. Maud's was green while Pinkie's was indigo with pink polka dots. Pinkie had tied her mane up into a poofy mini bun. Maud was just looking at herself in the mirror as she added some curlers to her mane and tail. She was also trying to figure out when she talk to Pinkie about what happened that day.
"Tomorrow's brunch is going to be the scrumptiest, brunchiest, munchiest brunch ever!" said Pinkie excitedly as she sat on the bed with some paper in front of her.
"Yeah, about that," said Maud.
"The problem is, while you two were alone," said Pinkie as she looked at her papers.
"You mean three," Maud corrected.
"Mario doesn't count in these statistics," Pinkie said quickly, "I couldn't get data points on your friendship probabilities! Were you making Starlight smile? How was Starlight's smile-to-frown ratio? Anything over five-to-one is great! Oh, and how many times did you smile like this?" Pinkie squeed as she smiled and her face was seen in the mirror Maud was looking in.
"Zero times," Maud answered. Though anypony reading this story knows Maud did smile at least three times, just not the way Pinkie does. Pinkie just frowned.
"Oh, Maud, don't be so hard on yourself!" said Pinkie, "You've got the best friendship maker in Ponyville on the case!"
"I thought that was Mario," Maud pointed out. Pinkie took offense.
"Uh, no, I mean me!" Pinkie snapped before going back to being excited, "And I'll be by your side the whole time!" Maud then opened the bed sheets to climb in when a familiar cow bell was put around her neck.
"Speaking of which, your bell fells off, silly," Pinkie added.
"Pinkie Pie," said Maud firmly, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but-"
"Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut?" Pinkie asked excitedly as she got into Maud's face and pushed her down. Maud just sighed in defeat.
"Never mind," said Maud.
"Don't worry, Maud," said Pinkie as she climbed her side of the bed and pulled the bed sheets up, "When you see this brunch, you'll realize everything's gonna be okay! And then, I have amazing bonding activities planned for the next seventeen days! You and Starlight will be besties in no time!" Maud tried to speak, but Pinkie cut her off by giving her a sisterly kiss on the fore-head, "Goodnight!" Pinkie then clapped twice to make the lights turn off and instantly went right to sleep.
"Cupcake omelet..." Pinkie said in her sleep. Maud just sat in her bed quietly and found that she couldn't sleep.
At the castle, a familiar bluish-grey fore-hoof rapped on the front door. Mario answered the door a few seconds later, yawning as he did so.
"Maud?" Mario asked sleepily as he saw the now dressed mare standing outside the front door.
"We need to talk," Maud replied.
"It can't wait til..." Mario then cut off when he saw something happen to Maud. Something so extremely rare that not even the show has ever shown the earth pony ever do it. While Maud's face had her usual deadpan expression, a pair of tears streamed down her eyes. Mario knew this was a serious manner and quickly, but gently, guided her inside so they could talk.
Next morning, the sunlight had barely shinned over Pinkie's bed when her eyes shot open and she smiled excitedly.
"Friendship brunch!" Pinkie announced excitedly as she sat up from the bed and pushed the covers off. She turned to wake up Maud when she noticed that her older sister wasn't there. There just a note attached to the cow bell. Pinkie quickly read the note.
Pinkie Pie
Thank you for trying so hard to help me make friends. But my decision has to be rock based. And Ghastly Gorge has such great rocks, I won't even have time for friends. It's better this way.
Sorry it didn't work out.
Maud
Pinkie was biting her lower lip, feeling devastated as she read the later. She had barely finished reading it when she quickly undressed out of her onesie, untied her hair bun, and ran out of Sugarcube Corner as fast as she could.
"Maud! Wait!" Pinkie cried out as she rushed to the train station. But Pinkie was too late as a train heading in the direction to Ghastly Gorge pulled out of the station.
"Maud!" Pinkie cried out and tried to chase the train, but she couldn't catch up to it as the train disappeared from view. Pinkie felt like she was gonna cry...
"Maud..." Pinkie croaked sadly.
Back at the castle, Starlight was just sleeping and snoring softly in her bed. Pinkie wasted no time getting into the unicorn's room and standing on her bed.
"Starlight, wake up!" Pinkie shouted.
"KITES!" Starlight yelped as she woke up with a start and scooted away from Pinkie so quickly that she fell out of bed. Starlight quickly recovered and saw who it was.
"Huh? Oh," said Starlight as she climbed back into her bed, "If this is about brunch, I-I, uh...You know what? Jalapeno red velvet omelettes sound gross. I-I just can't." Starlight then tried to go back to sleep, but Pinkie was going to leave just yet.
"Maud left in the middle of the night!" Pinkie told the lilac unicorn.
"Oh," said Starlight, looking very sad and disappointed, "I guess Ghastly Gorge really does have the best rocks." Pinkie just sniffled as she sat on the floor at the front of Starlight's bed.
"Why couldn't you two just be friends?" Pinkie sobbed.
"Pinkie Pie, I like Maud," said Starlight as she leaned over to the pink pony.
"You do?" said Pinkie.
"Yeah," Starlight replied, "She's weird!"
"HEY!" Pinkie snapped angrily, taking offense to Starlight's remark and making the lilac unicorn fall back down on her bed.
"No, in a good way!" Starlight explained, "She sees the world in a totally different way than anypony I've ever met. She accepts me for who I am. She taught me that a rock is never just a rock, and she could make anything funny. We never had to say it, but we got each other. And we both have never felt that sort of connection with anypony other than Mario." Pinkie smiled.
"You really were becoming friends?" Pinkie asked hopefully.
"I think so," said Starlight, "But you kinda sorta...got in the way." Pinkie gasped deeply and then looked rather hurt. Starlight then gasped herself.
"You're right, too harsh," said Starlight, "Let's go with...You ruined everything all the time...and you drove away the only stallion who actually understood us and was giving us space to actually become friends rather than pushing us into it?" Pinkie just looked even more upset and let out a loud whimper as she stared at the floor.
"Mmmmh, that's worse," said Starlight, "What I'm trying to say is-"
"I have to go!" said Pinkie, feeling her composure crumbling fast, as she ran out of the room and slammed the door closed.
"Ta-da...Friendship lesson...learned?" Starlight remarked, sighed to herself, lay back down on her pillow, and used her bed sheets to covered herself completely with them. Starlight just stayed that way before she heard somepony knock on the door.
"Go away!" said Starlight, her voice muffed under his bed sheets.
"This isn't Pinkie Pie, Sis," Mario pointed out. Starlight just groaned as she used her magic from under her covers to let Mario in.
"Look, I didn't mean to upset Pinkie..." said Starlight as she peeked out of the bed sheets.
"What do you mean?" said Mario puzzled, "I came in here to make sure Pinkie didn't pressure you over that brunch she invited you and Maud too." Starlight just looked away.
"She already came," said Starlight sadly, "but instead of making me go to the brunch, she told me that Maud had left." Mario just took a long deep breath.
"I figured Maud was gonna do that," said Mario quietly.
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked.
"Maud came to see me late last night," said Mario, "If you hadn't noticed, Maud isn't exactly the kind of pony who can easy show emotions, but doesn't have a problem being direct with the truth."
"Yeah, I got that kind of vibe from, her," said Starlight, "but what does that have to with Pinkie?"
"Well, you said you made Pinkie upset," said Mario, "So I'm assuming you told her how you felt about her efforts to help you two become friends."
"Pretty much," said Starlight, "I wasn't mean or angry with her. I just...told her flat out she was getting in the way and ruining our time together. I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," Mario replied, "I appreciate the fact you were straight with her and didn't get angry. Sometimes you gotta just be honest with your friends, even if its harsh. You learned that when Trixie drove you up the wall."
"True," said Starlight, "but I know Pinkie's taking what I said pretty hard."
"Maud didn't know how to be honest with Pinkie without sparing her feelings," Mario told the lilac unicorn, "She was even crying too, which is a big deal considering how she is."
"Wow..." said Starlight sadly.
"I tried to encourage her to be honest, but I guess she decided leaving was her best option," Mario continued, "and now I'm guessing Pinkie is probably upset somewhere."
"Can you help her?" Starlight replied. Mario just huffed in reply, "Mario, I know Pinkie hurt your feelings shooting you away in her cannon, but I know she probably didn't mean it. If Pinkie was that desperate to get Maud to stay in Ponyville, there's a good chance she acted out of her anxiety. And you know that when you're desperate or anxious about something that you can't think straight." Mario just looked at Starlight firmly before his expression softened and he had a sad look on his face.
"I know anxiety can make you ignore the advice from others," said Mario, "I was trying to help Pinkie, but I knew I needed to give you both space too. I guess Pinkie really doesn't trust me."
"She does trust you," said Starlight, "and I know she needs you right now." Mario then nodded in agreement and left the room to go find the pink pony. Mario didn't need long to search before he found Pinkie laying on her stomach with a puddle of water near her head as a sign she was crying heavily. Mario slowly walked up to the weeping pink pony and used a fore-hoof to rub her back a bit. Pinkie lifted her head, still sobbing, and turned to see Mario standing behind her. Pinkie stared for a moment and speaking up.
"I ruined everything!" Pinkie sobbed, "I ruined everything!" Pinkie then broke down once again. Mario approached Pinkie and pulled her in for a comforting hug. Pinkie wasted no time burying her face into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry I fired you out of my party cannon," Pinkie croaked, "I just wanted to be sure Starlight could make Maud stay in Ponyville, but I ended convincing her to go live at Ghastly Gorge and it's all my fault!"
"Pinkie, I was trying to tell you yesterday that Starlight and Maud were becoming friends," said Mario, "They were finding things in common and I even saw Maud smile."
"What?!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled away, "Maud told me she smiled zero times."
"Did you ask Maud if she smiled like you?" Mario asked plainly. Pinkie raised an eyebrow and then it clicked in her head what Mario was saying.
"Oh, yeah, I did," said Pinkie sheepishly as she tried to wipe her eyes away, "Look, I didn't mean to get so snippy and ignore you, Big Brother. It's just...as much as I love having all my friends close by. I really miss my family and I don't get to see them as often as I could. And as much I seem clueless to it. I know that Limestone can't stand me and Marble...I do most of the talking...and yes, I know I talk over her. Maud...just seemed to be the only pony who gets me and never judged me for being myself. I thought out of everypony in my family, she'd wanna stay with me, but...I guess even she found me too annoying to live with and left in the middle of the night..." A few more tears left her eyes as Pinkie sniffled sadly.
"It's not that you were being annoying," said Mario, "Maud said the problem was that you weren't letting her try to get to know Starlight on her own. When you weren't around, Maud felt like she could open up and be herself, but when you kept trying to push her and Starlight to talk about feelings and other things, it made her uncomfortable."
"How do you know that?" Pinkie asked curiously.
"Maud came to see me before she, I didn't know she was gonna do it, decided to leave," said Mario, "She was crying because she felt so flustered. I encouraged her not to leave and to be honest with you, but...I guess she didn't have the heart to tell you the truth." Pinkie whimpered.
"I wish she would've just told me that," said Pinkie, "Sure I was really excited and all, but she didn't need to spare my feelings like that if it meant she wasn't going to stay in Ponyville."
"She said she tried to, but..." Mario replied.
"I get it! I didn't listen!" Pinkie grunted and then sighed sadly, "And you act like you're the only pony who fears that one day you'll drive somepony you care about away because you were too busy being stupid."
"Pinkie, don't talk like that," said Mario, "there's an easy solution to this."
"Is it even worth apologizing?" said Pinkie, "I blew it. Maud doesn't want to be around me." Mario sighed.
"Look, Pinkie," said Mario gently, "I can't promise Maud will come back to Ponyville, but you can at least apologize for overwhelming her and explain why. Even if Ghastly Gorge becomes your new home, at least you'll know she isn't angry with you, or can't stand you." Pinkie just gave Mario a sad look as a few more tears left her eyes.
At Ghastly Gorge, Maud had set up a tent and was now at a nearby cliff trying to collect some rock samples. She sadly put the same on the top of another pile of other rocks. She couldn't help but feel very lonely.
I should've told Pinkie the truth Maud thought But it would've hurt her feelings. Maybe friendship just isn't for me.
Maud felt her eyes water again, but quickly wiped them away.
"Sigh," said Maud sadly. She then winced as the wind picked up and the sample she had just collected fell off her pile and bounced away. Maud wasted no time chasing after the rock until it came to a stop by some rock that had green stripes on it.
"Emerald jasper?" said Maud, "This must be my lucky day." Maud was so busy admiring the rock that she didn't see that a quarray eel had appeared and was about to swallow her whole for lunch!
Around that time, a train pulled into the station closed to the Gorge, Mario and Pinkie were left standing on the platform wearing some hard hats for safety.
"Ready, Pinks?" Mario asked. Pinkie nodded with a determined smile on her face. Some crows then flew past the foreground as the two ponies were now deep into the gorge. They soon found a tent pitched up and nopony beside it.
"I recognize that tent," said Mario, "It's Maud's alright. But...where is Maud anyway?" Pinkie then saw some hoof prints nearby, she leaned down to sniff them and sampled a good chuck of the dirt. Mario made a face when Pinkie sampled the dirt.
"Maud tracks!" said Pinkie and started sniffing the tracks like a blood hound before running off.
"Pinkie, wait up!" said Mario as he followed the pink pony. It was then Pinkie found the tracks ended before a pool of saliva. Mario winced.
"Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this," said Mario. Pinkie then looked and Mario gasped. There before them was a quarray eel glaring at them when it's mouth opened up...and Maud was inside.
"Hello, Pinkie Pie and Mario," said Maud as she held her green stripped rock in her fore-hoof, "I found some emerald jasper." It was then the quarray eel snapped his jaw shut.
"EEEEEEEEK!" Pinkie and Mario both shrieked before they zoomed off. Pinkie found a cart jack and used it to pry open the quarray eel's mouth. Then Mario pulled Maud out of harm's way.
"Are you okay, Maud?!" Pinkie asked worriedly, "That eel almost ate you!"
"What eel?" Maud asked. It was then the quarry eel managed to send the car jack in his jaw flying out of its mouth, snapping his jaw shut loudly.
"YIPE!" Pinkie and Mario yelped, even Maud jumped in surprise as the quarray eel roared at them angrily. As it roared, a huge glob of green saliva drenched the three ponies.
"Ugh! Gross!" Mario cringed as he looked at himself, "I'm gonna have to shower for a week after this!"
"Act like Rarity later!" Pinkie cried out, "Let's get out of here!" Just then, the quarry eel tried to take a bite out of the three ponies, but they got out of the way just in time. They were running to quickly that all the green saliva came off as well. (Though Mario still planned to shower once they got back home.)
"You didn't need to come," Maud told Pinkie and Mario as they continued to run for their lives, "I'm having a great time on my own." Mario snorted as they dodged another quarray eel attack.
"Maud, even your usual deadpan tone isn't hiding the fact that you're lying," Mario pointed out as he just dodged an quarry eel from taking a bite out of him.
"I'm not lying," said Maud, "I even made a new friend."
"Is it a rock?" Pinkie and Mario asked together.
"Yes," Maud replied. It was then the three ponies turned a corner when a quarray eel lunged at them.
"AAAAH!" Pinkie screamed as the attack sent them over the edge of the path, losing her safety hat.
"WAAAAAA!" Mario yelped, his voice echoing as he missed the platform completely and fell into the pit off-screen.
"MARIO! NO!" Pinkie cried out since she landed several feet below on a rock platform below. Pinkie then saw that Maud was hanging over the edge of the platform, holding on with her fore-hooves.
"Maud!" Pinkie cried out as Maud held onto the edge of the platform for dear life.
"I don't belong in Ponyville," Maud told Pinkie, "It only proved I'm better off all by myself. Like I always have." Maud looked sadly away.
"Don't say that!" Pinkie called out, "It was all my fault! I-EEEEK!" Pinkie shrieked as a quarry eel flew over head but luckily it didn't go after them, "I thought I knew everything about making friends, but I didn't even know my own sister! I forced you to do things my way, but my way isn't your way!" Maud just stared at her sister before looking to the side.
"This way," Maud replied.
"Exactly!" said Pinkie in agreement.
"No. This way," said Maud as she let go of the edge of the platform. Only to land on all four hooves not even four feet below her where Mario was waiting for them. Pinkie was surprised and then jumped down to follow Maud.
"Are you alright?" Maud asked Mario as they headed back to her campsite.
"Yeah, just feeling a bit sore from landing on my back," said Mario, "Thanks for asking."
"No problem," said Maud. While Pinkie was glad Mario was alright, she was still worried about what she was gonna say once they reached the campsite.
"Maud, I thought you couldn't make a friend without my help," Pinkie told Maud, "but it turned out you couldn't make a friend with my help. I underestimated you, and I'm sorry." Pinkie lowered her head sadly. Maud lifted it up with a fore-hoof.
"I know you did it out of love," said Maud.
"I also did it because I was selfish," said Pinkie sadly, looking at Mario nervously as Mario just gave her an approving nod.
"You really want us to live together and wear fuzzy slippers?" Maud asked. Pinkie sniffled.
"I missed you," said Pinkie, "You're the only pony in the family I thought could put up with me and my excitement. The idea of having you live in Ponyville was something I always wanted, but it clearly isn't something you wanted. After all, your decision on where to live is rocked based."
"I told you I was looking for friends," said Maud, "Too bad it didn't work out."
"Only because you gave up too easily," Mario replied. Maud actually flinched before returning to her usual demeanor.
"I already said that I..."
"You didn't give Ponyville a fair chance," said Mario firmly and cutting the grayish-blue pony off, "You let common rocks and the fact Pinkie overwhelmed you make your decision for you. You and Starlight were getting along just fine. I was only there to add the your conversation and help you find more things you had in common."
"And then I ruined it," said Pinkie sadly, "Tell me, Maud. Was the fact I got in the way the reason you gave up on friendship?" Maud looked away and said nothing. Mario could tell the grayish-blue pony didn't want to answer.
"Maud, we can't tell you where to live," said Mario, "But whether you're good at expressing yourself or not isn't a good excuse to run away from a problem." Since Maud's head was facing away from him, he couldn't tell that Maud was actually losing her deadpan demeanor and was squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth.
"Well I'll never be as open and expressive as my sister and she's the most popular pony in Ponyville!" Maud snapped as tears fell from her eyes, shocking Pinkie while it was Mario's turn to have a deadpan expression on his face, "If that's what it takes to make friends, then there's no hope for me so I might as well forget it!" Pinkie was speechless as Maud panted a bit before she turned around and wiped her eyes.
"I can't believe I just did that," Maud remarked, quickly going back to usual her demeanor with her back against Pinkie and Mario.
"Why?" Pinkie replied, "Yes, I'm upset I made you feel that way, but the only pony I'm angry with is myself. It's not your fault I couldn't see that you obviously didn't need my help making friends. I just hate it that I act so clueless sometimes. I really want to know what I'm doing and I ended up looking and acting completely stupid."
"That's why I didn't speak up," said Maud as she finally turned around and walked up to Pinkie, "I didn't want to see you beating yourself up over this. Every time you do, my heart feels like a diamond being struck in the wrong place. You're too hard on yourself, Pinkie. You're not perfect. Just because you make mistakes and get over excited doesn't mean you don't know how to help other ponies."
"Really?" Pinkie replied.
"Yes," said Maud, "I just wished I could express myself more. Then I wouldn't be so different that pony wouldn't want to be my friend."
"Maud," said Mario, "if a pony can't accept you for who you are. Then who needs 'em! Real friends will always accept you for who you are and they'll accept you the moment you reach out to them. That's how it was when Pinkie became my friend and the rest of my Ponyville friends. You don't need to be expressive to be Starlight's friend. She told me she accepted you the moment you decided to spend time with her and she saw you becoming her friend. Why? Because you were just being yourself."
"Mario's right," said Pinkie, "It's like a said before, you'll never know when the lightning bolt of friendship will strike. You just gotta let it happen. And...I should probably take my own advice and not try to push it either. Heh...sorry." Pinkie gave Maud an embarassed smile.
"And just because you get overexcited doesn't mean I don't like spending time with you," said Maud, "I just value having time to myself."
"Yeah, I get it," said Pinkie, "you're not the only pony...and donkey...to tell me that." Mario patted Pinkie's shoulder sympathetically.
"And if I want time with just me and my new friends," said Maud, "it doesn't mean I don't want you around anymore. After all, you're my best sister friend forever." That's last sentence made Pinkie's composure crumble and she broke down crying loudly.
"Oh, Maud!" Pinkie bawled and hugged Maud, "I love you than all Equestria!"
"And you melt my heart more easily than sodium-rich plagiodase fledspar," Maud replied as she hugged Pinkie back.
"I don't know what that means," Pinkie croaked as she pulled away, "but please-please-please give Ponyville another chance! But more importantly, give me another chance...to leave you alone." Pinkie just sat on her hind knees with a sad look on her face.
"I don't want to be pushy," said Mario as he walked up and stood beside Pinkie, "But I think it would be worth your time if you tried again at friendship. You have what it takes." Maud just said nothing for a moment and then turned back toward her campsite.
"What do you think, Boulder?" Maud asked her pet rock. Boulder was just near a tree stump, wearing a orange knit cap on his head.
Maud didn't need to wait long before her decision had been made.
A couple of days later, Starlight was just flying her rectangular box kite when suddenly a hexagon shaped kite and diamond shaped kite appeared in the sky as well. Starlight turned to see that the hexagon kite belonged to Maud.
"You're back!" said Starlight happily.
"Mm-hmm," said Maud.
"For good?" Starlight asked hopefully.
"Mm-hmm," Maud replied with a nod, "This doesn't mean we need to start talking about feelings, does it?"
"Heh. No way," said Starlight.
"Good," said a familiar little filly, "New friends should find things in common first, then slowly open up to feelings later when they're good and ready."
"Di?" said Starlight in surprise. She knew Twilight and Diamond Tiara had returned late last night from their trip, but she didn't know where the filly had gone off to that morning.
"Hey, big sis!" said Diamond Tiara as she waved from behind the grayish-blue pony.
"I ran into her while I was walking around town," said Maud, "She gets me." Diamond Tiara giggled.
"Maud might be dry and blunt, but she's really cool," said Diamond Tiara, "She apparently knows who I am, but still accepts me despite my past." Starlight smiled.
"Yeah, Maud is pretty accepting of us reformed ponies," Starlight remarked.
"It's not like either of you are doing evil things now," said Maud. Starlight and Diamond Tiara laughed. A small smirk appeared on Maud's face but quickly disappeared a half-second later.
"Maybe after this we could decorate my new place," Maud suggested.
"Sweet!" said Diamond Tiara.
"Totally!" said Starlight, "Where is it?"
"Well, it's not in Ponyville," said Maud, "More like Ponyville-adjacent."
"What do you mean, Maud?" Diamond Tiara asked, feeling slightly confused.
"You'll see, Di," said Maud, "It's rad." Diamond Tiara smiled.
Later, Starlight and Diamond Tiara looked in awe as they saw that Maud had converted the hidden cavern she and Starlight had discovered into her very own bachelorette pad. A pink and purple canopy had been set up for Maud's shelter as well as some other pieces of furniture were set up underneath it. Some of which were made out of rock. She was also wearing some fuzzy white and pink slippers on her hooves.
"It's perfect," said Starlight.
"You got that right," said Diamond Tiara, "Who needs a multi-million bit mansion when you have a pad as cool as this!" It was then Pinkie appeared and hugged both Starlight and Maud.
"Yes!" said Pinkie excitedly, "My sister's totally staying in Ponyville! I mean Ponyville-adjacent!" She then laughed happily.
"Pinkie..." Diamond Tiara warned, since Mario had filled her in about what had happened between the three ponies when she was gone. Pinkie then stopped laughing and looked to see Starlight and Maud giving her blunt looks.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm leaving!" said Pinkie and then noticed the filly, "Wait, why is Di here?"
"I invited her," said Maud, "She's my friend." Pinkie blinked, but inwardly felt a little jealous. Diamond Tiara glared.
"Oh, okay," said Pinkie, "I'll just go then. I'm not even here." She then looked at Maud's hooves, "Aah, you're wearing the slippers! Okay, now I'm really leaving. Buh-bye!" Pinkie then ran off to the left. There was a moment of silence before Pinkie came back.
"Heh-heh...Wrong way," said Pinkie as she zipped away and disappeared. Starlight, Maud, and Diamond Tiara just exchanged looks and said nothing.
"She'll calm down...eventually," said Diamond Tiara.
"We know," said Maud and Starlight together in the same deadpan tone. Starlight then giggled as Maud cracked a small smile.
Maud had to admit, no rock could compare to the two ponies she had as her new friends...
...except for Boulder of course.
As for Pinkie, she had returned back to Sugarcube Corner and walked inside as Mrs. Cake came out of the kitchen to put some freshly baked cakes into a display case.
"Hello, Pinkie, dear," said Mrs. Cake, "Has Maud adjusted to her new home?"
"Yeah, she's with Starlight and Diamond Tiara right now," said Pinkie with a smile, trying to mask the sadness in her tone, but Mrs. Cake wasn't fooled.
"You're having a tough time giving her space aren't you?" Mrs. Cake replied. Pinkie kept smiling but then it flipped over and she sighed loudly.
"Yeah...I know Maud only wants to be with her friends right now," said Pinkie, "but...I still can't help but feel like she doesn't wanna be around me anymore."
"You know that isn't true dear," said Mrs. Cake, "and I know just what you need to perk you up."
"What's that?" Pinkie asked. Mrs. Cake gestured for Pinkie to follow her into the kitchen. There inside was Mario wearing an apron.
"Hey, Pinks," said Mario, "Care for some fun time with your B.B.B.F.F. (Best Big Brother Friend Forever)?" Mario blinked, "wow...I just said that didn't I?" Pinkie just tackled Mario for hug, knocking him down. Mario just sat up and returned the hug when he saw Pinkie giving him a smile filled with gratitude. Then they worked together for hours making various types of delicious cupcakes. Something they hadn't done together in a long time.
At the end of the day, Pinkie felt much better about things.
Sometimes, a pony wants time with their sisters and/or brothers. Other times, they rather spend that time with good friends.
Pinkie had no problem spending time with Mario today, for she knew...
...there was always another day when she and Maud could spend time with each other.
Hope you enjoyed my take on this chapter. For starters, I wanted to show that Limestone and Mario are still good friends and that Mario can actually get Marble to talk, something the show still has not done. (And probably never will). In fact, I would like to see Marble open up, and maybe confront some of her feelings for a certain red stallion, but the idea is still in development for the moment...
I hope nopony found the fact I had Maud snap out of character. I had that moment happen because I wanted to show that, despite Maud's typical deadpan personality, that even a pony who struggles to express herself can have a limit or breaking point. The show could've done something like that for Maud at once point and still keep her dry and blunt personality intact. I find adding a moment like this makes Maud more relatable and helps her grow a little more as a character.
Somepony suggested that Maud would befriend Shenran. While that meeting will come someday, Shenran has always been considered part of the Mane group. While the Mane eight consider Diamond Tiara as part of their inner circle, she'll be seen more often within Starlight's inner circle of friends, which now includes Maud. That's why Maud befriended the filly near the end of this chapter.
Next Time: Shenran and Fluttershy work together to create the Animal Sanctuary, while dealing with several control-freak ponies and an injured bunny in the process!
Peace Pony Fans!