//------------------------------// // Boulder-Faced // Story: Little Keys // by Skijarama //------------------------------// The next two days passed by in a thankfully uneventful blur for Twilight. She largely spent her time relaxing and being together with Rainbow, with some intermittent contact with the others thrown in here and there to make sure they were all prepared for the upcoming picnic with Maud. During that time, Twilight had, in the hopes of having some more knowledge to strike up a conversation with her, done more thorough research on rock farms in general, even going so far as to briefly attempt to interview Pinkie Pie for her firsthoof accounts. It wasn’t long, however, before she realized that Pinkie is Pinkie, and Pinkie tended to go off on these long-winded tangents about anything and everything that had nothing to do with what Twilight was trying to get her to focus on. So she pretty quickly gave up on that idea. Rainbow and Spike had even warned her. Why didn’t she listen? Whatever the case, following that failure of journalistic methodology, the day came. It was a fairly pleasant day, too, with only a few clouds peppered haphazardly across the summer sky. A refreshing breeze washed over the countryside outside of Ponyville, carrying with it the lush smell of grass and flowers, along with the more subtle aroma of the Everfree Forest. Twilight took in a long, deep breath, closing her eyes. She savored the air as it filled her lungs, invigorating her body, and awakening her senses. She let it out a few seconds later with a content smile, opening her eyes back up. She was laying down on the red and white checkerboard-patterned picnic blanket that had been set up by Applejack a few minutes’ walk away from the train station, with the rest of her friends, sans Pinkie, scattered around her. Rainbow was laying down beside her, using the side of Twilight’s barrel as an impromptu pillow. The pegasus’ eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell in slow-but-even intervals, advertising that she was, unsurprisingly, taking a nap to pass the time. Fluttershy wasn’t far away, sitting on the other side of Twilight and looking at Rainbow with a small smile. She probably found the sight of her slumbering fillyhood friend to be cute. Angel Bunny, who Fluttershy had insisted on bringing, did not seem to share that notion and was currently busying himself with exploring a smaller basket with four muffins in it. Rarity was on the other side of the blanket, a wide-brimmed sun hat on her head with a ring of small, well-cut gemstones carefully stitched around the band. Spike sat with her, predictably, listening intently as she talked to him about something or other, her eyes glued to the pages of a magazine she had brought along to pass the time while they waited. Her white cat, Opal, was currently laying down a short ways away, bathing in the sun. Applejack was off to the left, Winona keeping close to her side, idly munching on a spare apple she had brought along for her enjoyment. She had been considerate, though, and brought along one for everypony else, including Maud. They were all stored in one of the several picnic baskets they had brought along, each one loaded with lunches for the ponies gathered around.  Quite some time passed like this, in blessed silence and tranquility. Eventually, though, the peace was bound to end. The loud, piercing tone of the train’s whistle cut through the air like a knife through butter in the distance, announcing its arrival. The loud sound drew Rainbow out of her slumber with a start and a groggy murmur. Twilight smiled and looked down at her just as Rainbow opened her eyes. “Morning, sleepyhead,” Twilight said in a soft voice. “Sleep well?” Rainbow blinked at her a few times. “I, uh… wha? When did I…?” she babbled, still apparently not quite lucid. She glanced around a little before it seemed to click, and her eyes widened.  “Oh, heck! Did I fall asleep?!” she squawked in a very undignified manner while flailing to get back up into a regular seated position by Twilight’s side. Twilight giggled, though she elected to say nothing, if only for the sake of sparing Rainbow’s ego. Fluttershy seemed content to remain quiet as well, but alas, the same could not be said of the remaining three members of the group. “Yup, you fell asleep,” Spike said with a knowing grin. “Used Twilight as a pillow, too.” “Ya looked mighty comfy, there, RD,” Applejack added, adjusting her hat with a snicker. “Kinda wish the train didn’t come by yet.” “I quite concur,” Rarity agreed, smirking at the now heavily-blushing pegasus. “It was quite adorable.” Rainbow groaned, hiding her tomato-colored face with her wings. “Uuuugh. You guys are the worst.” Twilight rolled her eyes, draping one of her wings over Rainbow’s back and glancing at the others. “Okay, that’s enough, you guys,” she said, though, try as she might, she could not hide the mirth in her voice. Rarity tittered into her hoof. “Oh, yes, of course. Forgive us, darling, but it is all too rare that we get to see you really embrace that side of yourself,” she said, nodding at Rainbow with a reassuring smile. “And there’s nothing wrong with being cute,” Fluttershy added, leaning forward to get a better look at the still hiding Rainbow. “Yup,” Spike agreed. “It’s good to see you relaxing again, Dash.” Rainbow huffed, lowering her wings a second later to glance expectantly at Applejack. The farmer shrugged. “What? Ah ain’t apologizin’.” Twilight snorted and shook her head, giving Rainbow a gentle squeeze with her wing before pulling back. “Well, anyways, Pinkie and Maud should be along pretty soon,” she said, not-so-subtly redirecting the topic. She squinted past the group in the direction of the station, looking for any sign of the colorful duo. Her efforts were rewarded a few minutes later when a certain pink mare came into view over the top of a nearby hill. Pinkie was bouncing merrily along the path that led to their designated spot, no doubt humming some cheerful lullaby to herself.  “Hey, guys!” Pinkie’s voice came a moment later, drawing all eyes to her. “Maud’s here! Maud’s here! EEE!” She closed the remaining distance in no time at all, coming to a stop right by the edge of the blanket. A humongous grin adorned her muzzle, and her eyes were shining with anticipation and excitement.  “Nice! Where is she?” Rainbow asked, glancing past Pinkie the way she had come. Twilight followed her girlfriend’s gaze, expecting to see some similarly bright and energetic mare bouncing along to meet them. “She isn’t quite as fast as me,” Pinkie explained, spinning around to look back toward the station. “But she’s so super duper excited to meet all of you!” “Isn’t quite as fast?” Twilight thought, her brow furrowing. “If we can’t see her yet, that must be quite the understatement. The station isn’t that far…” A long, awkward silence filled the air as the group waited. And waited… And waited. Twilight’s muzzle began to scrunch up, and she glanced at Pinkie. “Uh… are you sure she-” “Oh! Oh! There she is!” Pinkie chirped, pointing. Twilight followed her hoof, figuring that Pinkie’s sister had just gotten turned around for a second in this unfamiliar terrain- No, wait, the hilltop was still empty. Fluttershy coughed awkwardly into her hoof. Finally, finally, Twilight saw movement. Very slow, very deliberate, very boring movement. Where Twilight was expecting bright, vibrant colors akin to Pinkie Pie, there was instead the dullest shade of gray she had ever seen, combined with what looked to be a very basic frock of a dull teal, and a desaturated purple mane that was even straighter and flatter than Twilight’s. That must have been Maud. Twilight blinked. “Is… is she moving?” “Took the words right outta my mouth,” Rainbow mumbled. Pinkie, not at all deterred by their confusion, bounced eagerly in place a few times. “We’re over here!” she squealed to her sister, her voice echoing all around them in the otherwise-quiet countryside. It took what felt like forever, but, at long last, Maud came to a stop a few paces away from Pinkie. A flat, borderline emotionless expression rested on her face. Her teal eyes, perhaps the most colorful part of her, swept across the group, settling intently on Twilight and sending a chill down her spine. She didn’t say anything. She just focused on Twilight for several seconds, making the alicorn feel increasingly uneasy as if she were being judged. Then, Maud did something quite unexpected. She suddenly knelt down and… sniffed the ground? Twilight’s mind blanked, her expression twisting with abject confusion. “Hmm. Sedimentary.” There was a beat before Rainbow spoke up. “Huh?” Maud lifted the object of her interest: a single grey rock, and held it up for the others to see. “This is a sedimentary rock,” she elaborated, her voice devoid of emotion, tone, or anything truly noteworthy. Perhaps the most distinguishing part about it was the abject lack of anything distinguishing. A familiar voice growled in the back of Twilight’s head. “Seriously? This is who Pinkie dragged us all this way to meet?!” Twilight fought the urge to scowl. “Shut up. We just met her!” “Yes, and this first impression is just beyond enticing! Truly, we have spent our time well coming out here when we could have been trying to find more of those stupid keys!” Twilight briefly glanced off to one side, avoiding Maud’s gaze. “Look, can you just shut up and leave me alone for five minutes?! I’m busy!” “You’re wasting your time,” Midnight snarled before Twilight felt her withdrawing. “But fine. Do whatever you wish. Just don’t come crying to me when you realize how much progress you could have been making right now.” With that, Midnight fell silent, allowing Twilight to refocus on the discussion at hoof.  “Real pleased to meet ya, Maud,” Applejack greeted, tipping her hat, following up on something Rarity had said. “Ah’m Applejack. These here are Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and our resident lovebirds, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.” Maud blinked slowly, her eyes focusing on Twilight. “I know.” Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as Maud stared at her again. She swallowed heavily, taking a step back. “Eheh… you, uh, you do?” she asked, trying to keep an anxious tremor from creeping into her voice. “Pinkie’s told me a lot about all of you in her letters,” Maud clarified, her tone still as bland as ever. “Of course, I didn’t need her letters to know about Rainbow Dash.” “Lemme guess,” Rainbow chimed in with a flat look, idly toying with the end of her mane. “Cause I’m a princess?” “Yes.” Rainbow shrugged in defeat. “Geh. Yeah, go figure. Everypony knows about me for that,” she grumbled in mild dismay. Rarity chose that moment to speak up, too. “Well, we’ve certainly all heard a great deal about you over these last two days, Miss Maud,” she said, giving her mane a stylish toss. “Pinkie Pie would not stop enthusing about you. It is quite clear that you mean a great deal to her, and that you possess a truly expansive skillset!” Maud blinked. “I like to try new things,” she confirmed bluntly. “Oh, that’s marvelous, dear,” Rarity continued, expertly hiding her brief hesitation from Maud’s lack of enthusiasm. “In particular, Pinkie told me that you share my love of fashion.” “I’m really into expressing myself through my wardrobe,” Maud acknowledged, glancing down at her basic frock, the most movement Twilight had seen from her since she picked up the rock. “And what is the delightful frock you’re wearing right now saying?” Rarity pressed a hopeful glint in her eyes. Maud tilted her head, actually getting an expression on her face. Namely, mild bewilderment. “It doesn’t say anything. It’s a dress.” If ever there was a look of true devastation, surely Rarity had it now. Twilight winced, her mind racing. This was not at all how she imagined Maud, from how Pinkie had described her. Of course, she figured, her first mistake was taking Pinkie’s word for, well, anything. “Just now catching onto that one, are you?” Midnight snickered. Twilight ignored her. “O-oh, well, yes, of course,” Rarity mumbled, backing away and sputtering quietly to herself as she tried, and failed spectacularly, to find some way of reviving the discussion. Thankfully, Winona, who had been keeping quiet by Applejack’s side, saw fit to interject at this time. The small canine hopped forward with a few happy barks, her tail wagging in excitement. Applejack followed after, a little less smoothly than Rarity had. “So, this is Winona,” she said gesturing at her dog. She then turned and pointed to the few other animals assembled at the picnic. “And that there’s Opal, and that there’s Angel.” Maud looked to each pet in turn, then glanced at Twilight and Rainbow. She raised an eyebrow. Rainbow leaned back. “What? What’s with the look?” “You don’t have pets?” Twilight froze at that, her ears drooping. A few seconds passed before she shook her head. “No, not really. We never really had cause to get one,” she admitted. “Closest we had was that owl that broke into our room one night,” Rainbow noted with a thoughtful frown. “But I chased it off.” Twilight turned to Rainbow with a surprised look. “What? You did? When was this?” “Sometime before Discord showed up,” Rainbow replied casually. “You’d exhausted yourself on some big research project or other. Something to do with space? I dunno. Point is, I spent, like, an hour trying to get you to go get some sleep. You needed rest, and I didn’t want some nocturnal bird waking you up in the middle of the night, so I shooed him off.” “Huh. Missed opportunity, maybe?” Spike ventured. “Yeah… maybe,” Twilight muttered, rubbing the back of her head. It was strange, but somehow, she suddenly felt like she was missing something. “W-well, what Ah was gettin’ at,” Applejack gently retook the wheel, turning back to Maud and smiling. “Is that Pinkie told us y’all have a pet, too.” “He’s in my pocket,” Maud replied, not at all distracted by Twilight’s sudden thoughtfulness. Fluttershy, who had been hanging back up till now, suddenly came forward with a large smile at the prospect of meeting a new animal friend. “Oh my! You have a pocket pet? Like a tiny squirrel, or a fluffy mouse, or a baby bird?!” “It’s a rock,” Maud said while reaching into a chest pocket and withdrawing a single stone, perhaps three inches from one side to the other, and depositing it on the ground at her hooves. “His name is Boulder.” Fluttershy recoiled slightly. Several seconds of silence fell over the assembled mares as everyone tried, and probably failed, to make sense of what it was they were seeing. Growing desperate, Twilight turned to Pinkie in the hopes that, somehow, the otherwise unfathomable mare would make sense of this situation. She would be disappointed. Pinkie Pie simply threw a hoof into the air and squealed again. “This is gonna be the best, most awesome-fun week EVER! I can’t wait for us all to become bestest friends!” Midnight’s voice snarled in Twilight’s mind. “Somehow, I doubt that.” “The worst part?” Twilight thought, repressing the urge to sigh even as her friends gave off sheepish, awkward laughs and half-hearted agreements. “...I think I agree with you on that.” Midnight hummed pleasantly at that but otherwise spoke no more. The following interactions with Maud were not very different from the introduction. One of Twilight’s friends would step forward in an attempt to break the ice, bringing up what Pinkie had told them they had in common and then would be thoroughly disappointed when Maud put an incredibly boring or outlandish spin on it. Rainbow’s attempt had been particularly agitating, and Twilight’s confusion had soon given way to legitimate frustration. She had poked Maud, citing that Pinkie said she enjoyed playing games. In response, Maud had explained in her bland way that she and Boulder sometimes played a game called ‘camouflage.’ She described it as being like hide and seek, but way more intense. Her eyes had even widened for a second as if she were making some half-hearted attempt at showing emotion. Then Pinkie Pie doomed them all by insisting they play it as a group. In answer, Maud picked Boulder up and unceremoniously hurled him into the nearest collection of rocks she could find. From there, it was a simple matter of finding him and bringing him back to Maud. For the first ten minutes, it had actually been somewhat enjoyable for Twilight. Her admittedly limited knowledge of geology—and its aberrant big sister, rockology—had afforded her an academic angle in the game that she was only too happy to stretch out. Then Rainbow had pointed out to her in a hushed tone that they were literally trying to find a rock in a pile of rocks, and any enjoyment faded away. She loved that mare to death, but sometimes Twilight wondered who the real killjoy between them was. They had been going for a while now, and Twilight’s patience was beginning to run thin. She turned over yet another rock and peered underneath with a grimace. “Oh for the love of… Come on, Boulder, where are you? I wanna go home.” There was nothing but dirt and a small centipede under the rock. Twilight set it back down and looked around, taking stock of the situation with the others. There was a general air of combined frustration or boredom amongst her friends, and she couldn’t say she blamed them. The only one who wasn’t in a sour mood by this point was none other than Pinkie Pie, who was, paradoxically, having the time of her life. She kept bringing rocks up to Maud to eagerly ask “is this him?!” before zipping off to find another one. “Well, at least one of us is having fun,” Rainbow, who was next to Twilight, grumbled irritably under her breath. “I get the feeling Pinkie might be a little biased, here.” “They’re sisters,” Twilight pointed out dryly. “Of course she’s biased. On the plus side, you know what that word means now.” Rainbow paused, her muzzle scrunching up. “Wha… huh?” Twilight giggled, stopping in place to lean into Rainbow’s side for a moment. She allowed the warmth of the pegasus to cool off her frayed temper before speaking. “It was back in the Empire, just after we got into the palace. You and I found that nice room and were getting ready for bed, and I remember us talking about how biased you were towards me, and how you didn’t know how science works.” Rainbow’s eyes widened as the memory came back to her. “Holy… you remember that? That was years ago!” “It was,” Twilight acknowledged, smiling gently at Rainbow. “But I also got all of my memories back a month ago. A lot of things you’ve totally forgotten are still really fresh to me. Plus...” She gently took Rainbow’s hoof in hers, lifting it up. “That was the night after I finally admitted that I loved you… not just to you, but to myself. That night meant a lot to me…” Rainbow’s lips curled up into a loving smile, and she squeezed Twilight’s hoof in turn. “Heh… fair enough. I kinda… I had other stuff on my mind that night, though…” Twilight’s smile faltered. She remembered. She had been laying in a bed separate from Rainbow’s for a while until she had heard the barely-stifled whimpers. At the time, she had simply thought the stress of the situation and her fear for her family were the culprit, but in retrospect, she knew better. Rainbow had been carrying the weight of her contract with Sombra on her shoulders, a weight that had only made her already-guilty conscience so much worse. On instinct, Twilight quickly leaned in to steal a quick kiss, making Rainbow stiffen up in surprise. When Twilight pulled back, she gave Rainbow a reassuring smile. Before the two could say or do anything else, Maud’s voice rang through the area, raised only slightly. “I found him.” Just like that, Twilight’s good mood evaporated. She turned back to Maud, one of her eyes twitching as Maud lifted what might as well have been just any old rock from the pile.  “Does that mean we’re done?” Applejack asked hopefully. “Mhmm,” Maud acknowledged as she put her “pet” away. “Unbelievable,” Midnight sneered. “Do I need to keep telling you how much of a waste of time this was?” Twilight closed her eyes. “Don’t you have some way of entertaining yourself?” “Well, I suppose it has been somewhat enjoyable watching you all dig your hooves through the dirt.” “Forget I asked,” Twilight dismissed with a slow shake of her head before focusing back on Rainbow. The pegasus looked just as unamused as everypony else. “Eee! Nice job, Maud! That was super fun,!” Pinkie declared, bouncing in place with her typical energy. “We should play again!” Before Twilight could stop herself, the word came tearing past her lips. “NO!” She shouted, her voice carrying a lot more volume and intensity then she had meant.  Twilight’s ears folded back in shame as everypony turned to her with shocked eyes, all of them taken off guard by her sudden outburst. Spike, in particular, appeared anxious, his claws already lifting to hover over his chest. “Twi…?” She blinked at him, her heart twisting in her chest. Quickly, she shook her head and put on an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to shout… Uh, I just, uh… I think it might be better if Rainbow and I took Spike back home,” she tried, though she knew her excuse sounded even weaker to her friends than it did to her. “We’ve been out here for a while, digging through the dirt and rocks. He could use a bath. We all could.” Rainbow frowned. “Huh? Me too?” Twilight lightly kicked her with a hind leg. “Yes Rainbow, you too.” Rainbow leaned down and lifted a wing, taking a few experimental whiffs. Her eyes bulged in their sockets, and she visibly recoiled. “Ugh! Okay, yep, bath, gotcha,” she relented, quickly folding her wing tightly against her barrel to trap the offending odor. “Aw, that’s okay,” Pinkie said with a wave. “You all go and get cleaned up! Maud and I will probably swing by some other time to hang out some more! You still have to hear her poems!” “Eheh, yeah, that sounds… great,” Twilight said weakly, even as she was starting to take her leave. Rainbow was following close behind, though it was clear from her facial expression that she was tagging along out of concern for Twilight than out of any desire to leave her other friends. Spike came over as well, looking much the same. “Have fun, girls!” Twilight called over to the rest of them before smiling at Maud. “And you, too, Maud.” Maud didn’t answer. She just stared back at Twilight. Her gaze, despite carrying no discernible emotion, was yet again enough to make Twilight flinch back. It was all in the eyes… And whatever it was, it surely did not care for her. Maud’s gaze remained locked on to Twilight, boring into her very soul, until the hills finally severed their line of sight and Twilight was alone with Rainbow and Spike. The moment they were out of sight, Rainbow trotted ahead of Twilight and spun to face her, a disapproving look on her face. “Okay, Twi, what the heck was that?” she asked slowly. “Anger issues again?” Spike ventured gingerly, placing a claw on Twilight’s shoulder for support. Spotting her out, Twilight sighed and nodded down at him. “Y-yeah…” she said quietly. Spike sighed, wrapping his claw around her leg in a side hug. Rainbow’s expression softened with concern. She took a step forward and placed a hoof on Twilight’s chest, staring into her eyes. “When’s the last time Luna talked to you?” she asked softly. Twilight blinked, taken off guard. She had forgotten that Luna was supposed to be keeping in touch with her, and even more so that Rainbow was in on it. She took a second to rally her thoughts before she spoke up. “Um… not since the first time I brought it up.” Rainbow nodded and withdrew her hoof. “Alright… do you want me to get her attention next time she pops into my head? Ya know, so she can help you out?” For a fraction of a second, Twilight wanted to refuse. She was quick to shoot down that notion, reminding herself that Luna was genuinely trying to make amends for her past misconduct. She nodded. “Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.” “For your sake?” Rainbow asked, taking a position by Twilight’s side and draping a wing over her withers. She gave Twilight a big smile. “Nothing’s too much trouble.” Twilight relaxed, leaning into Rainbow’s side and basking in their shared body heat. She took a few quiet deep breaths, savoring the contact, before pulling back and nodding. “Thank you… Now, how about those baths?” Rainbow blinked. “Wait, you were serious?” Twilight giggled and lightly bumped her hip against Rainbow’s before walking forward again. “I just got a faceful of you and your aroma. And you got a good sniff earlier, remember?” Rainbow sputtered incoherently for a moment before sighing and taking off after her, Spike close in tow. “Yeah, yeah, good point.” The trio shared a small chuckle at that. Twilight was grateful for the moment of levity, eager to chase away her recent misstep, and that silent, unreadable stare from Maud.