//------------------------------//
// Sorrow's Overture 
// Story: Equestria Divided: Hardened Soil 
// by Enigmatrix 
//------------------------------//

	On the hill overlooking Canterlot, Commander Maud Pie oversees her soldiers as they carry on with their duties. Duties they've done so many times, they could be considered "chores". The blue sky accompanied by the white clouds providing shades against the burning suns, a good weather it is. The chirping of birds could be heard from afar, welcoming the new sunrise. A gentle breeze blew by the camp. All soldiers felt unease, this beauty had been all but alien to them after all they had endured, after all the battles they had fought, after all the atrocities they had commited. As silence of unfamiliar sensations filled the encampment, Maud reminisced. How did everything come up to this?






. . .The Disappearance. . .






The regal sisters, the ruling diarch of Equestria, they simply vanished that day. They were nowhere to be found in the Royal Palace. Many embraced the end of the world, while others panicked in fear. Without the princesses, who would control the twin celestial bodies that gave life to the land? No one, the cycle continues on even without its masters. There are many speculations to this, two of which are the most prominent. First, it is due to the sisters' powers that were embedded, the cycle continues on without their intendance. Second, the sisters lied about their powers over the Sun and Moon, using their deceit to rule Equestria, an unlegitimate regime under a facade.

Those who supported the latter conclusion would rise up in protests against the government. As time flies by, violence follows the revolts. Harmony dwindled as dissent were sown among the populace. The Frontiers to the south contained the most dissents, civil unrests ravaged the towns and cities. The Pie Rock Farm is no exception, protesters often come by to loot whatever they could find. Worried of her family, Maud abandoned her petrologist career to protect them. Often those who meant vile to her family got a stone-like hoof to the eye, the black blunt would last for months even with proper treating. Rumors quickly spread between the protesters to not visit the rock farm, fearing a hard beating or two from one of its inhabitants.

A week passed and no signs of any protests or anyone passing by, Igneous Rock waved to Maud from the cottage as she looks out for any signs of trouble. 

"Maud!" he shouted. "I have something to tell the family, you included."

"Yes father," with her usual apathy in her tone, she trotted back to the cottage.

When she finally reached the cottage, she saw anxiousness in both of her sisters, and seriousness in both of her parents. "What's going on?" she asked as she hanged her frock by the door.

After Maud closed the door, she sat on her chair. The chair is nothing special, it's made of stone, specifically obsidian. It was after a volcanic eruption long ago. The unicorns from the disaster relief unit that was sent from Canterlot calmed the volcano down, and the pegasi fire brigade cooled all the lava with their rain clouds, leaving many obsidian behind. She had to admit that it was one of the most profitable sales the family made. The chairs were shaped from the surpluses by Marble, Maud always knew she had a knack for sculpting and smoothing it all out.

As for the table, it is made out of marble. Not long after the volcano incident, Lime dug out a peculier-shaped marble. She noticed an oddity of this marble when she was pulling it out, it was very light when the size is taken into account. She then tapped the rock with her hoof and concluded that it is hollowed inside. The shape of the marble made itself perfect for being a table. The unnaturally smooth surface of the rock is one of its many oddities. Even though Maud already knew the answers for all of the table's phenomenon, it is still a funny thing to think of. Cloudy Quartz felt a slight relief upon seeing her stoic eldest daughter's slight smirk. 

To her right, sat at the head of the table, Igneous Rock, her father. To her far left, opposite from her father's perspective, Cloudy Quartz, her mother. Opposite from her perspective are her young sisters, Limestone Pie and Marble Pie. To her left was to be sat down by the youngest sister, Pinkie Pie. As the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie and the other Elements maintained order in Ponyville. Maud could only wish her sister's safety during the past week. Only a couple of days Pinkie would sent a letter or two to the farm. The rest of the week were silent, the farm never received any letters from her. They could only speculate that Pinkie was just very busy on keeping the town's order stable.

Igneous glanced over his family, particularly his daughters. "As you fillies know," he started. "times are changing."

"First of all, I have to thank you Maud," said Igneous. "you've been doing what was supposed to be my duty, protecting the family."

Cloudy followed, "We just felt that you've done more than enough, Mau-"

"Wait, what's going on here?" Marble interrupted.

Lime looked at her sister and said, "Can't you tell by the room? We're leaving."

The room is empty. There are things already packed and pieces of furniture that once filled the room were all gathered on one corner of the room.

"Why are we leaving?" asked Marble.

"We are about to find out," both the sisters turned their attention to their father.

"Ahem, as I was saying," said Igneous. "Maud, we appreciate your help on the farm, but we all know you are worried about Pinkie." 

Cloudy again followed, "All of us are worried about Pinkie, so we want you to move to Ponyville."

"But-"

"No 'but' Maud," as Igneous slams his right hoof on the table, "Ponyville's not far from Canterlot, and it's starting to get more violent up at the mountains than down here in the Frontiers!

"Look Maud, we are all concerned of Pinkie's safety. If it's possible, bring her back with you. But if she insists to stay in her town, don't force her. Instead, help her with her tasks in Ponyville."

"Oh and don't worry about us dear," said Cloudy. "We'll be moving to Fillydelphia."

"Lately, the Pie Clan had gained much influence in that city," Igneous added. "we may be able to seek refuge there as family members."

"We should go and pack our bags now, right father?" asked Marble.

As the twins get to their rooms to pack their belongings, silence filled the room. "I'll go now then, the last train will leave soon."

"You can't use the trains I'm afraid," said Cloudy. "They were all derailed by the rioters two days ago."

"I'll trot then," said Maud. She took her frock and proceeded through the front door.






. . .later outside. . .






As Maud trotted through the rocky landscapes of her farm, she stopped upon hearing a combination of shouts made by her sisters.

"Maud! Wait!"

Lime and Marble followed Maud, only to slip a few rocks themselves along the way. Maud trotted to them.

"We made this for you," said Lime.

"A charm!" said Marble

The charm looked similar to the rock candy necklaces she used to make, only it was made out of a mix of Limestone and Marble. She took the charm and wore it under her frock. "Thank you," she told her sisters.

"Lime, Marble, you need to take care of the family now," said Maud. "and don't worry, I'll make sure Pinkie's okay, I promise."

The sisters stood and watched as Maud trotted away from the farm. Then Marble realized something, "Wait, she didn't take any supplies with her."

"And it would probably be two or three days to Ponyville from here," Lime added

Both sisters looked at each other and looked back to Maud, now disappearing to the horizon, "That's our sis!"






. . .night falls. . .






Maud is very conservative on her stamina. Unlike Pinkie who is always enthusiastic with her energies, especially with the parties, she prefers to save her's until necessity rises for them. Travelling to Ponyville is one of such necessities, as Pinkie's parties won't solve such problems in which seriousness had clouded any sparks of happiness and laughter. Even though night had veiled the landscapes, she still sprinted through black darkness, hoping to reach to Pinkie as fast as possible.

The fact that Pinkie made no contact with the farm during the past week has given her two speculations. One, communications throughout Equestria had been ceased by the Canterlot Council, the governmental body formed shortly after the disappearance of the sisters. Quite an unreasonable explanation due to the fact that all these riots occurred locally. It would make no sense for the locals to need any communications to outsiders. Two, something happened to either Ponyville or worse, Pinkie.

Maud quickly discard the thought from her mind. Pinkie would never be in danger. Her wonderful friends she had always mentioned in her letters would protect her from any harm. And all of them are the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magic in all of Equestria. What could possibly go wrong? She had to keep in mind that she had never visited Ponyville, and the only townsponies she knew are only those Pinkie had mentioned in her letters. Although they were all just described in her letters, Maud had confidence on Pinkie's writing skills, and she will now be putting them to the test as she stood on a hill overlooking the apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres.

The coldness of the night grew stronger as time passed by. Maud might be strong, but she is still a pony. And a pony's body isn't designed to endure the cold for a long period of time. She trotted along the pathway of the orchard up to the farmhouse where one of Pinkie's friends, Applejack, lives. "The lively red farmhouse decorated with apples", not as lively as she expected. The lights are still on, meaning that the family might be having dinner. She knocked on the door.

She was greeted by a big red stallion whose description fits the eldest of the Apple siblings, Big McIntosh. His hulking appearance accompanied by the dark surroundings would've scared an average pony away. There was a delay of silence, Big Mac broke it with the same apathy of Maud's tone, "What is yer business here?"

Now it's her turn to speak, if she had any energy left to do so. When she opened her mouth to speak, her breath was the only thing that came out of it. She promptly fell down on her hooves as fatigue finally overwhelmed her; sprinting long distance non-stop would've ground a normal pony. Good thing that Maud was special in her own way, the same way Pinkie is, in her own way.






. . .dream. . .






Surrounding her were nothing but pitch black darkness, Maud was lost in it. She trotted, following the eerie laughter. The closer she got to the source, the more the laughter sounded familiar to her, like she had heard it from somewhere before, or from someone before. Then she finally realized that the tone, the unique pitch only one pony she knew had, Pinkie's. Her casual trot quickly became a restless sprint, Pinkie couldn't be far now. And then she felt it, the darkness below consuming her. Like quicksand, it sucked her legs into itself, slowly but steadily, and eventually reached her neck. Then everything stopped. The chronic laughter, the shadows below her, her own body, stopped.

In front of her, she could hear the sound of hoof steps coming towards her. Lights below illuminate the mysterious pony approaching her, it was none other than Pinkie Pie herself. She wasn't what Maud had remembered before she moved to Ponyville. She was missing her glee, her cheerfulness that made her special. Her mane laid flat, straight. Her carefree face replaced by sorrowful despair, the melancholy she had erased from her family in the past. She looked deep into Maud's eyes, Maud did the same to her teary eyes. When the first tear dropped from her it, the darkness that had been holding Maud consumed Pinkie. Maud watched in horror as her sister turned into a morbid creature whose laughter pierce deep into Maud's mind. She looked at the monster's face, it resembl-






. . .thud, thud, thud. . .






It was very painful, Maud jumped off her bed, only to slipped the blankets that were covering her, and hit the wall of the other side of the room. Lights of the new dawn shone through the window, slightly on Maud's muzzle. It was just a dream. Then a voice brought Maud to her senses. "She woken up!"

Maud stood up to her hooves and trotted back to the couch she had jumped from. A white mare trotted into the room, her face indicated that she was intrigued upon seeing Maud. Her mane pink, she was wearing a nursing cap. She could be Nurse Redheart, the Head Nurse of Ponyville Hospital. Following the nurse was an orange mare. Her mane yellow, she was wearing a brown appleloosan hat. "Is she one of the missing patients?" she said with worry in her eyes.

And that accent, no doubt she is none other than Applejack, bearer of the element of Honesty. The nurse replied to her, "Not one of the rioters, no. Are you sure she's the right mare?"

"Ya bet she is, her coat's still hanging over there!" said Applejack as she pointed her hoof to Maud's frock hanging on the hanger stand in the room.

Maud looked to her frock. She trotted there and started to wear it. Redheart interrupted. "Ahem, I'm afraid you can't leave yet miss..."

"Maud," she answered. "just call me Maud"

"Miss Maud, I was told that you suddenly went unconscious in the middle of the night," said Redheart. "Now of course you are not one of the missing patients we are looking for. Do you have any problems I could remedy?"

"Thank you," said Maud as she finished putting the frock on her body, "but I don't think that is needed."

Redheart thought for a moment and decided, "If you insist, then I shall take my leave. There are many ponies who got themselves hurt during these days, and the hospital is not going to tend its patients on its own."

"Hey!" shouted AJ, "I thought ya said ya need to take a look at her right away?"

"Miss Maud here has shown no symptoms that are needed to be worried about. I'd say she's a very healthy mare," said Redheart as she trotted out of the farmhouse. "if she insists that she's fine, then she'll recover by herself, no medical attention required."

"Well," said Applejack. "if ya say so."

"Now," Applejack turned to Maud, now fully dressed in her flock looking at AJ. "Maud, am I right?"

Maud nodded

"Um," Applejack scratched her head with her right hoof in confusion, "breakfast's ready if ya are hungry."

Maud nodded

Applejack trotted out of the farmhouse as Maud trotted to the dining room. On the table were apple oatmeals and mugs of cider, a simple breakfast. As she sat on the table, two ponies trotted in. One was AJ, and the other was Big Mac. After both of them sat on their chairs, "Now let me introduce oursel-"

"No need for that," said Maud. "Pinkie had already told me about all of you."

AJ gasped, "Ya knew Pinkie!?"

Maud nodded as she chew on her oatmeal.

AJ whispered to Big Mac, "Has Pinkie ever mentioned a grey girl with a cutie mark of a rock before?"

"Nope," answered Big Mac.

"Do ya think she's telling the truth?" asked AJ.

"Eeeyup," answered Big Mac.

"May I have a second serving?" said Maud as she put down her mug.

AJ and Big Mac wide-eyed at the empty bowl once full of oatmeal, "She must've been hungry," quoted AJ.

"Eeeyup," answered Big Mac.

Maud patiently looked at the couple with her unmoving eyes.

Startled by her stare, AJ replied, "Sure, uh, help yerself," pointing her hoof to the kitchen.

As Maud filled up her plate with her second serving, the siblings were shocked upon seeing how much oatmeal she had put on her plate, not to mention her three mugs of cider!

After putting her plate and mugs down on the table, Maud asked, "Where's Apple Bloom and Granny Smith?"

"Oh we had them moved to Appleloosa, I've heard the situation started to cool down down there," answered AJ.

"It has," replied Maud after she finished her first mug of cider.

The trio continued dining their breakfast in silence, two of which are reserved on their speech, and the other is just unsure of how to react to this unnaturally awkward situation.

"So," said AJ after she finished her plate. "What are yer plans for today, Maud?"

Maud, already finished with her plate answered, "How's Ponyville?"

"I, uh, it's, uh, um," AJ could only muttered these words.

"Nope," answered Big Mac.

"Uh, maybe ya would like to catch up with Pinkie, she's uh," Applejack hesitated. "she would really appreciate company right now."

Maud lifted one of her eyebrows, then she replied, "I would love to."






. . .later outside. . .


As the trios trotted along the pathway of the orchard, Maud asked AJ, "About your situation."

"Oh!" Applejack startled from the sudden break of silence, "A lot had happened in Ponyville, Maud, a lot had happened."

Indeed a lot had happened in Ponyville after the disappearance. As with the entire Equestria, many questioned the sisters' right to rule. The Ponyville Violence Counteract, generally known as the PVC, was founded by Twilight Sparkle to maintain civil order in Ponyville. The current members consist of all of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and ponies who had neutral opinions toward the debate itself like Big McIntosh and Nurse Redheart.

As the pro-unicorn political party "White Horns" gained more power and support, as do as the loyalists in Ponyville. As a result, the opposition became more violent than ever before. At first the PVC handled minor disputes on the debate, but in time it finally escalated into violent protests. Arguments were things of the past now in the current situation.

Less violent disorders were generally handled by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. While more violent ones were handled by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Twilight left the PVC to handle the situations in Canterlot with her family with their "Cautious Transformation", a political party supporting ideals against the racist "White Horns" party, she hadn't contacted back ever since she left.

Nurse Redheart and her crew of medical staffs would handle any injuries sustained after the chaos. Normally Big McIntosh and other big ponies would take over if situation gets out of hoof, but this is not the case anymore. Every members of the PVC had to learn equestrian martial arts to combat violent protesters. Time would tell for how long they would still be able to control the populace, as violence from the protesters increased every single day passed.

"It could've been worse," quoted Maud.

"Now that ah couldn't agree any better" said AJ. "you should try take that up on Rarity!"

"I can-" the conversation was interrupted a small group of protesters shouting about by one of the market stalls.

"Gosh, it's them again!" said AJ. "Big Mac?"

"Eeeyup," answered Big Mac.

And so Big McIntosh left the group to handle with violent protesters that seemed to be cauing trouble for a while.

"What was that, Maud?" said AJ asking Maud to repeat what she had said.

"I can help you and the PVC," said Maud.

"You would!?" said AJ.

Maud raised one of her eyebrows.

"Sorry gal," apologized Applejack. "it's just that we haven't got any new volunteers recently, and the old ones just keep leavin'."

"Is this Sugarcube Corner?" asked Maud.

"What? Um, yeah, I guess," answered AJ.

Yes indeed, this is Sugarcube Corner, albeit with mountains of confetti around its foundation and rooftops. Pinkie Pie would threw countless parties just to make everyone happy, cheering them out of their sadness. But this is different, that sadness came from realization of believing a delusion. Their trust betrayed, their sadness would become anger. To Pinkie's expertise, she would know that cheering the furious is harder than cheering the frown, but she would do it anyway.

"Ya see Maud, her latest party last night," said AJ. "it was probably worse than her first party. I mean you can't expect anything great from first timers, right?"

AJ reminded her of Pinkie's first party, it was actually one of the best she threw in Maud's heart. Without Pinkie, the family wouldn't have known the value of laughter and joy. "Yeah," Maud could only reply much to AJ.

"Now ah'll be on patrol now," said AJ. "our headquarter's at Golden Oak Library, Rarity and Spike are both stationed there after the boutique got wrecked by them protesters... yeah." AJ trotted away to perform her patrolling duties.

Maud trotted into the bakery, broken plates and chairs littered the floor. She trotted upstair and saw something that again placed her doubt to Pinkie's safety. It was hard to see when confetti covered most of the flooring, but it became clear as she went up the stairs, where confetti were less to be found. Red trails beginning from the stairwell up to the second floor, to the room that should be Pinkie's. Her heart raced as the trails became much larger as she got closer to the door to Pinkie's bedroom. When she finally reached the door, it had a crimson red hoof print on it. She spent no time to knock. She pushed the door open to what she would've never seen or heard from Pinkamena Diane Pie.