//------------------------------// // Maud Pie // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// Waking up before the sunrise, Aqua put on her clothing as she prepared for the start of her day, beginning with a bit of meditation before more training sessions with Twilight. Just as she was finished getting ready, a loud knocking sound came from the front door of the boutique. She opened the door, Pinkie suddenly grabbing Aqua and dragging her outside. "Aqua! Thank goodness! You're already up!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Quick! I want you to go around town and bring our friends to Sugarcube Corner!" "Pinkie, what's going on?" Aqua asked, only to be flung toward the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. "PINKIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!" Though she was caught off guard by the mare's surprising amount of strength for eating sugar on a daily basis, she landed on her hooves as she reached the entrance of the apple farm. "...What the heck is she up to this time?" Deciding to go along with whatever the mare had in store, she went around and gathered the others, waking some of them up earlier than usual. As they waited outside, Rainbow and Ventus yawning as they were about to fall asleep again, they began wondering what Pinkie Pie had planned this early in the morning. "Aqua, what exactly did Pinkie tell you she wanted us to do before she rudely woke me up from my beauty sleep?" Rarity complained. "If I don't get my beauty sleep, I'm going to end up with crow's feet." "I have no idea," Aqua said. "She just flung me to Sweet Apple Acres, no idea how she could do that with how far the boutique is from there, and told me to gather everyone else outside of the bakery." "If this is another party idea where we have to wake up hours before the sun rises, then she must have got insomnia or something." Ventus yawned again and was about to fly off to Rainbow's house where he was bunking during his stay in Equestria. "I'm going back to bed." The door opened up, Pinkie appearing behind it as she wore a chef's hat and a pair of safety goggles. "Finally! What took you guys so long!? We're wasting time!" Before any of them could ask what was going on, she grabbed each of her friends and flung them inside, leaving Riku for last. She shut the door on him as he tried to walk in, making him slam his face instead. "Ow! Pinkie!" Riku was about to complain, but the mare opened the door and dragged him inside. Despite the sudden pull and confusing motives for Pinkie's randomness this morning, they saw and stepped on what looked like colorful rocks, though they were a bit softer than an actual stone. "What the heck?" Twilight looked up from her hoof, watching Pinkie twirling a whisk in a bowl filled with more of the colorful rocks in a panic. "Pinkie, what's going on?" "My sister Maud's going to be here at any moment and I need all of you to help me taste test the rock candy I made!" she explained. "...So, you decide to tell us this now, before the day even begins...for your sister?" Riku questioned, unable to wrap his brain around Pinkie's reason, and the fact that there was a mountain of rock candy behind her. "Wait, Maud?" Sora asked, recalling the names of two of her sisters, but he never knew she had a third one. "My older sister," Pinkie answered, quickly appearing beside Sora as she gave him the bowl of mixed rock candy. "She was added in season 4, so that's why you only saw Limestone and Marble when you saw my past and not Maud." As she ended up breaking Sora's mind with her somehow knowing he saw her siblings in the book Celestia delivered to him a while back. He stared into nothingness with his jaw slacked open, Pinkie gently shoving a few bits of rock candy in his mouth and helped him chew it. "Stop staring blankly in confused shock and get to munching, Sora! That goes for everypony else!" Pinkie went back to making more rock candy while the others started picking some of the different piles she already made and went to work on taste testing. Ventus waved his hoof in front of Sora's face, the stallion still stunned at Pinkie's knowledge of him knowing her family when she clearly couldn't have since she wasn't there with him in the book. "Sora? You ok?" Ventus asked. "...Yeah," he slowly said, beginning to munch on the candy in his mouth. "I'm just...just gonna sit down...eat my candy...and question what life is." Sora did sit down and began stuffing rock candy in his mouth, still holding that thousand yard stare as Pinkie's mind blowing made it feel like his innocence was taken away from him. "...Pinkie, what did you say to Sora that broke him?" About an hour into the taste testing, everyone sans Pinkie groaned in agony. Their stomachs were filled with nothing but rock candy, their teeth feel like they're practically rotting and cracked from chewing on the sugary hard candies, and if they had anymore, they were bound to throw all their stomachs' contents up. Pinkie was still taste testing, her stomach an endless black hole, and she was still making more. "Pinkie, I think we've got enough taste testing," Kairi groaned. "There's plenty for you and your sister to eat." "Yeah," Applejack agreed. "Besides, shouldn't ya be pickin' Maud up by now?" "But we haven't even tried half the flavors yet!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Besides, I'm making all this rock candy for all of us, not just me and Maud!" Everyone groaned, already having had enough candy to last them through a decade. "I want all of you guys to share the tradition Maud and I do whenever we see each other: making rock candy necklaces and giving them to each other!" "Sounds like a great tradition," Riku sarcastically said, his cheeks bulging out as he rubbed his upset stomach, nearly losing it as he belched. "I'd rather not join in if we have to eat the necklaces we get." "Wait, how are you even making rock candy like this?" Sora questioned. "Aren't these supposed to be smaller and made of sugar water?" "Actually, it's a special recipe made with a special kind of rock that Maud found when we were fillies!" Rainbow spat out a piece of rock candy, everyone shocked at the fact they were eating rocks. "What the hay kind of rock is actually possible to eat!?" Rainbow exclaimed angrily. "It's a secret ingredient, Dashie. I can't tell you or anypony. Pie family secret." The pegasus growled, kicking a few pieces of rock candy away in disgust, and being unable to eat much more. "I can't wait for Maud to meet all of you! Since she's getting her rocktorate in rock science, this might be the last time we'll ever do this again!" "'Roctorate in rock science'? You mean she's studying to be a geologist?" Aqua asked. "Same thing, but I know all of you will end up becoming the bestest of best friends with my best sister friend!" Pinkie soon began pulling everyone over to her in a suffocating hug as she listed out the similarities Maud has with everyone. "She expresses herself through fashion like Rarity, and she's smart and likes reading like Twilight, and honest, loves forest stuff, she's good at games, and she's super duper tough!" "T-That...sounds great," Sora said as Pinkie continued holding on to everyone. "But, when exactly does her train arrive?" "It's supposed to come by around eight this morning!" Pinkie looked up at the clock, gasping as it was nearly ten till. "Oh no! I gotta pick her up!" She soon sped out of Sugarcube Corner, knocking everyone down in a pile on the floor. She slammed the door hard, causing the mountain of rock candy behind the group to fall down on them like an avalanche. As the candy rockslide stopped, the ponies poked their heads up out of the colorful rocks, avoiding to eat anymore unless they wanted their stomachs to explode. "...Well, who wants to set up a picnic in the park?" Sora suggested, everyone agreeing as long as it meant staying away from all this rock candy. Everyone gathered out to a nice spot out in the park next to a tree, a picnic blanket set up in the shade of the leaves with some proper food to hopefully ease their stomachs of all the candy they ate. The mares had even brought their pets along for a play date so they could introduce them to Maud. Rarity, strangely enough, wore a purple had that was decorated with clear stones, hoping to impress Maud, though some of them seemed to be falling off the accessory, one of them landing in a basket of muffins made for the picnic. While the pets played around, Winona spent more time around Sora and Ventus, feeling a little confused as the two teens had the same scent, yet they were completely different. "You think Winona's a bit too confused to tell us apart?" Ventus asked. "I didn't think she would, but seeing as you were part of me, I think she is." Sora pat the collie on the head, scratching behind her ears as she curled up beside him. "I always did want a dog, but my mom didn't think I was responsible enough to take care of one." "Hey, what about Stitch?" Ventus asked. "Why don't you summon him? He's kind of like a pet, even if he is an alien. I think he'd be happy to see me again." "Wait, you knew him before you destroyed your heart?" Sora asked curiously. "Yeah. Though, he was known as Experiment 626 before he was named Stitch," Ventus explained. "Had a little trouble in an alien spaceship out in space with the Unversed attacking it, and I ran into him. He had this Wayfinder he crafted, and I think he met Aqua and Terra before me." "Really?" Sora dug into his pouch and pulled out Stitch's summon charm. "Well, let's have another little reunion for you and Aqua." Sora stood up and activated the charm, the light shimmering from the ukulele pendant getting everyone's attention. Aqua was a little surprised to see what Sora had planned, but as the light dimmed down, the teen was suddenly attacked by a blue blur that flew into him, sending him tumbling across the ground. Sitting on his stomach was what made her gasp, seeing the little blue alien she had met and encountered Terra and Ventus while she tried to arrest him for the Grand Councilwoman on the spaceship. He wasn't wearing his red jumpsuit, but it was still the fuzzy "dangerous experiment" with his extra limbs hidden in his body. "Experiment 626?" The little alien's ears perked up, hearing the old name he was given and from a voice he hadn't heard from in so long. He turned to the direction of the voice, and even though he was looking at a unicorn, he could tell just from the blue mare's eyes and mane he recognized who it was. "...Aqua?" Stitch looked behind him, spotting Ventus and recognizing his hair and eyes despite being a pegasus. "Ven?" The alien pulled something behind his back, which was the poorly crafted Wayfinder he made, Ventus noticing he had rebuilt it after it broke before they escaped the ship. Stitch leapt off Sora's stomach and approached Aqua, looking up at the stunned Keyblade Master. "You...still remember me?" she asked, Stitch nodding his head as he held his Wayfinder to his chest. "...How did you manage to escape?" "That would be my fault, actually," Ventus said as he stood behind Stitch, rubbing the alien's head. "I wound up getting him out and away from that giant shark alien that was trying to kill him. Now, he's a helpful ally Sora can summon anytime he wishes. And his name is now Stitch, not Experiment 626." "A summon?" Stitch nodded and agreed, speaking in alien as if he was saying "yes". "Stitch not dangerous," he said, speaking clearly now than his first time talking to them. "Stitch help and fight Heartless." He began looking around, hoping to find someone else among the ponies, but there was no sign of him. "Where is Terra?" Aqua winced, unable to tell the small, fluffy, and blue alien about Terra's fate. Stitch could see the pained look on her face, looking down at his Wayfinder, knowing that he wasn't here with the other two Keyblade wielders who helped change his life as a destructive experiment. "Sorry, Stitch," Ventus said. "I don't think you'll see Terra again...He's gone." "Oh," Stitch sadly said, his ears drooping down behind his head. He held his Wayfinder tightly, looking back up at Aqua. "But...Terra really not gone. Terra here." He pointed at his chest, implying Terra would forever remain in his heart. Aqua nodded and pet Stitch, Terra's memories would forever remain in their hearts. Thankfully, distracting everyone from the depressing moment, Pinkie appeared down the road, bouncing toward them, though she didn't arrive with her older sister. "She's here, everypony!" she cheered. "And you left her at the station?" Riku asked in disbelief. "Don't worry! Gummy's with her! He knows where to guide her!" The white stallion facehooved, why she let her mindless pet alligator, with no sharp teeth to his surprise upon seeing Gummy the first time, guide her older sister to them was a smart idea. "I hope Maud's not as...wild as Pinkie," he muttered to himself. "There she is!" Pinkie pointed down the road, and though it was pretty far, they did see someone slowly walking down the path. The pink earth pony was highly ecstatic, bouncing up and down while the others had no idea what she looked like from that far. "We're over here, Maud!" "Is she even moving?" Rainbow asked, only to receive a nudge in the ribs by Applejack, warning her not to be rude to one of their friend's relatives. "She's not as fast as me," Pinkie said, ignoring the rude question as if it was just an ordinary question out of curiosity. Eventually, after nearly five minutes, the mare finally made it and everyone saw what she looked like. Like Ventus had seen in Pinkie's family photo of her first party, Maud was the dull purple filly, only now she was fully grown and wore a blue, plain dress. What was also dull was her eyes and expression, her gaze half-lidded and barely showing any hint of emotion with her straight face. Some had expected Pinkie's sister to be almost as fun as her, though not by much, but Sora and Ventus knew that her family lived a dreary life farming rocks. During the awkward silence, Maud lowered her head down and began sniffing a rock that was on the path. "Hm. Sedimentary," she said, her voice also lacking any emotion just like her appearance. "...What?" Sora spoke up, voicing everyone's, except Pinkie's, question. "This is a sedimentary rock," she responded. "...Fascinating?" Twilight said. "...Anyway, we're all thrilled to meet one of Pinkie's family. She's told us a lot about you." "Even though I didn't know about her at all during the time Pinkie got her cutie mark in that book," Sora whispered to himself, still a little spooked by Pinkie knowing he knew about her life as a filly, reminding himself over and over that it was just Pinkie Pie being her random self. "I'm Twilight," the alicorn introduced herself. "And this is Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Aqua, Ventus, Riku, Kairi, and Sora." "It's nice to meet you," Fluttershy said. "And I heard from Pinkie Pie that you appreciate fashion just like myself," Rarity said, her rock hat wobbling on her head as the clear stones didn't stay on properly, causing some of them to fall. "I'm really into expressing myself through my wardrobe," Maud said, though she didn't sound all that excited, still speaking monotonously. "...Yes. And what does your delightful frock say about you?" the fashionista asked. "It doesn't talk. It's a dress." Sora couldn't help but snicker at Maud's response, stunning Rarity at the joke she made with her dull tone. "Ok...Uhh, anyway, we also have our pets with us," Applejack said, steering away from the awkward silence. "This here's Winona, Angel, Owlowiscious, Opal, Tank, and Stitch." Stitch crawled up on Maud and stood on her head, looking down at her upside down. "Hello!" He waited for some kind of response or reaction, but the dull purple earth pony just stared blankly at him. The alien licked her face, but still didn't get anything from her. He soon gave up with a shrug, leaping down and crawling up on Ventus's back. She wiped off the alien slobber on her face, not even batting an eye, which was sort of unnerving for the others. "I have a pet too," Maud said. "He's in my pocket." Fluttershy gasped, highly excited to see what kind of small pet Maud had that she carries in her dress's pockets. "You have a pocket pet!? Is it a tiny mouse? A baby bird? A trained butterfly!?" She dug into her pockets and pulled out her pet, Fluttershy's excitement shattered in an instant as it was a pebble. "It's a rock. His name is Boulder." Everyone wound up facepalming, including the pets, but Pinkie and Maud didn't notice as the former was too excited having her sister here while the latter didn't seem to care much about their reaction. After the highly awkward and terrible reveal of Maud's pet rock, they finally started on their picnic as they sat around the blanket, the pets playing or relaxing close by. "How about ya try one of mah Granny Smith's apple spiced muffins, Maud?" Applejack offered. Maud looked down at the muffins, though she began sniffing one of the rocks that fell off Rarity's hat in between the softer pastries. "Uhh, Maud, that ain't a-" She suddenly bit into the rock, shocking everyone at how easily Maud managed to leave a bite in the clear stone and was chewing on it like a hard candy. Just seeing and hearing her chewing on it made them wince, feeling their own teeth breaking watching her. "It's crunchy," she said. "She ate a rock!" Riku whispered. "She's actually eating a rock!" "That's...not healthy...at all," Aqua muttered. Pinkie Pie dove her head into the basket, actually munching on a muffin, not even surprised at the fact her sister had bitten, chewed, and swallowed a rock. "Mmm! They are crunchy!" While Maud looked at her sister, Kairi levitated the bitten stone out of the muffin basket before she could try to eat more of it, tossing it far away from them before she could hurt herself. After another bout of awkward silence, almost as silent as Maud, Rainbow finally broke it after hearing from Pinkie that she was a fan of playing games. "So, Maud...Pinkie told us you liked games?" she asked. "Boulder and I sometimes play a game called 'Camouflage'," Maud said. "It's kind of like hide and seek, but way more intense." "...Did she actually express some kind of emotion?" Sora whispered to Ventus, the teen shrugging his shoulders as her tone always sounded monotone. They soon began playing Camouflage, where the object of the game was to find Boulder. The only problem is that they searched around piles of rocks, and all of them looked the same to their eyes. There were so many stones and pebbles that looked just like Maud's pet rock, yet she claims that the ones they thought had found him were not him. After about twenty minutes of searching, it was already exhausting and grating on a few of their nerves. "This is impossible!" Rainbow complained. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack!" "More like a pebble in a pile of rocks," Rarity corrected, another one of her rocks falling off her hat. "And now you made it harder. Why did you think it was a good idea to glue rocks on a hat!?" Rainbow questioned. "I couldn't find anything remotely close to something Maud would like, so I improvised!" Rarity grumbled and took off her hat, her neck killing her from the weight of the stones she hastily glued onto an old hat. "I give up!" "We can't stop now," Twilight said. "We'll end up hurting Maud's feelings if we quit playing." "Are you sure she has feelings to hurt?" Riku asked, receiving a punch in the shoulder by his girlfriend. "Ow! What!? Her expression's stone cold!" Twilight slammed his head down into the ground with her magic, shutting him up before he insulted Maud any further. "Riku, zip it or I'll do it for you!" she warned. "If we upset Maud, we'll also upset Pinkie. Besides, she's having fun." Riku looked over at Pinkie with his muzzle buried in the dirt, watching her randomly popping out of nowhere with random rocks, asking her sister if she found Boulder over and over. "I can't even make a joke when it's clearly obvious Maud's practically an emo." "Found him," Maud called out. Riku pulled his face out of the ground, rubbing his sore snout and wiping the dirt off him. "Yay," he cheered monotonously like Maud. "Where the heck was he?" "He was hiding in my pocket," the bland earth pony said, making everyone groan in frustration. "Ok, who the heck is doing that!?" Riku shouted. Up above on a cloud, they spotted a random pegasus stallion with a trombone peeking his head over the side. "Sorry! Practicing for a recital in a few days! Didn't realize there was an audience listening!" The stallion flew off elsewhere to practice, but everyone else was still annoyed that Boulder was in Maud's pocket that whole time. While they tried not to show their disdain for the horrible game, Sora heard Stitch disappear as his summon's time had been used up. He looked over to the other pets, all of them incredibly bored and about ready to pass out from boredom. "Well, this morning was...fun," he said. "I think the girls should take their pets back home. They look pretty exhausted." "Yeah, Maud and I better head home too!" Pinkie said, oblivious to the annoyed expressions on Rainbow and Riku's faces. "I want her to taste the rock candy we're going to use for our best friends necklaces!" The Pie sisters left, Gummy lazily hanging onto Maud's tail with his toothless maw. As soon as they were out of sight, everyone groaned in relief, not expecting Maud to be so quiet and boring. "She was definitely not like how Pinkie described her personality," Ventus said. "She looked so...so...boring." "And we've been digging through dirt for the past half hour, only to find her pet rock was hiding in her pocket the whole time!" Rainbow complained. "I thought Boulder was really sweet," Fluttershy said. "IT'S A ROCK!" Rainbow and Riku both said. "Maybe she was just nervous," Twilight said. "I mean, meeting so many ponies at once like our group can be a bit intimidating." Riku was about to speak, only for the alicorn to leer at him as she summoned her Keyblade. "Say another word about Maud's behavior that's more insulting than funny, and I will use Pinkie's D-Link to turn you into a splattered, paralyzed, and muted clown...If it randomly activates." He quickly shut his mouth, wanting to keep his life and not further anger his girlfriend any further. Seeing he obeyed her command, she dismissed her Keyblade and turned back to her friends. "So, how about we hang out with her in smaller groups during her stay and we'll see if she can break out of her shell?" "That sounds like a good idea," Aqua said. "Maybe we can see the real Maud then instead of...the awkward, rock-biting, rock enthusiast that she is..." The unicorn rubbed her jaw, still wincing at watching Maud eating a rock like that. "...I'm not going to test of Rarity's hat rocks are edible..." Later in the day, Pinkie dragged Maud down to Rarity's Carousel Boutique to get some time with Rarity. Since today was also a day for Twilight's training to take a break for a while, mainly due to the uneasy settling of the rock candy they all consumed, Aqua took some time to finish some of her many new Wayfinders for herself and their other friends. She took a break from her careful work to see Maud, Pinkie, and Rarity in one of the fashionista's work rooms. "So, Maud, seeing as you...have a unique taste on fashion, I've got plenty of fabrics hoof-picked by moi that I'm sure you'll like," Rarity announced as she showed her finest rolls of fabric. Maud was uninterested in the beautiful fabrics and looked at a dishtowel on the desk. "I like that one." Rarity was a bit confused at her odd decision, but she laughed it off, thinking she was joking like with her outfit not really physically able to talk. "Oh, Maud. Pinkie didn't tell me you were such a comedian!" The mare slowly blinked and tilted her head. "What do you mean?" "...Uhhh...But I thought..." Rarity was still seeing no other expression on Maud's face, growing more confused and baffled by how completely stoic she was. "...W-Well, darling, that's a dishtowel. Not one of my...fabrics..." The unicorn tossed away her complaints, willing to do anything to make Pinkie happy. "But, it does go along with your complexion. I can make anything fabulous." "Hooray!" Pinkie cheered. "Rarity and my big sister working together to design something amazing!" "I'll see if I can sew something together with them and make something fabulous," Rarity offered. "No thanks. One is enough." Maud grabbed the dishtowel and lazily placed it over the back of her neck. "Doesn't Maud make the coolest scarves!?" Pinkie asked, which made Rarity awkwardly chuckle, not exactly feeling the same enthusiasm as the pink mare. She noticed Aqua, who also grimaced at Maud's choice of fashion with a dishtowel. "Aqua, how does my sister look in her awesome scarf!?" "Uhh...Great?" she said, highly unsure what to think. Maud turned to look at Aqua, her blank stare observing the blue unicorn in a sort of disturbing way. She walked up to her and looked at her clothing, more specifically at the pauldron on her shoulder. Maud reached a hoof out and touched it, feeling the unique metal, Aqua staying perfectly still as she watched her unchanging facial features. "This pauldron is interesting," she said. "A small piece of tempered steel alloy enchanted with a magical spell that is transformed from a block of simple metal, able to turn into full body armor from head to hoof that's stronger than normal metals used to create normal armor at the simple touch of the owner's hoof by will." Aqua's jaw dropped as Maud was able to guess what her armor was made of and how it works. "Did you make it yourself?" At a complete loss for words, the unicorn nodded her head. "It's neat. Metal is like a rock, only stronger, refined from ores mined from rocks." "She even likes your cool armor! Neato!" Pinkie exclaimed. The two sisters left the boutique to meet up with Fluttershy and Kairi for a nature walk, leaving behind the two baffled unicorns. Aqua slowly turned her head to look at Rarity, her mind completely blown as she subconsciously touched her pauldron with a hoof. "...How did she know how my armor worked just by looking at it?" Aqua asked. "I didn't tell Pinkie how it works. Only Keyblade wielders should know about it..." "...Is Maud a Keyblade wielder?" Rarity asked with terrified curiosity. "I would know if she is one, and she definitely isn't..." Aqua began to feel a migraine, unable to imagine how random the rest of Pinkie's family were. "...I think I'm going to continue working on my project...right after I take a pain killer for my head..." Fluttershy, Kairi, Pinkie, and Maud walked along the trail in Whitetail Wood, enjoying the bounty of nature surrounding them. A hummingbird flew over to Fluttershy and greeted the animal loving mare. "Hello, Hummingway," she said. "Nice to see you again." "Boy, I wish I could speak hummingbird!" Pinkie said as she began humming like the flittering avian as she bounced alongside the pegasus. Maud and Kairi walked alongside each other, though the unicorn could see the stoic earth pony didn't seem to like being on a nature walk. It was hard to tell how she was feeling with her blank expression, never showing any emotion. Maybe it was due to the lifestyle the Pie sisters had on a boring rock farm, or there was something inside she was keeping secret that was so emotionally taxing that she had to repress her feelings. Or this really was her personality and she likes who she is. "So, Maud, having fun so far in Ponyville?" Kairi asked. "Pinkie wrote me letters about the town," she said. "She even wrote a lot of stuff about you, Sora, Riku, Ventus, and Aqua." "Oh, so you two write to each other. Good to keep in touch with family every now and then." On the trail, they saw a menacing looking spider eyeing them on a rock. It reached a limb down, not exactly a mean arachnid as it pulled out a small flower for the mares. "Well, thank you, Mr. Spider." Kairi took the flower and sniffed it. "Fluttershy was right with how nice many of the animals around here are. Must be from her influence." "I was looking at the rock," Maud said, making both unicorn and spider fall over in exasperation. "You sure do love your rocks, huh?" Kairi asked sarcastically. "No wonder you're crazy about them..." Inside the Golden Oak Library, Riku laid on the sofa as he read through a mystery novel while Twilight reorganized her shelves. Pinkie and Maud walked in, the former bouncing around the room while the latter lazily walked inside. "Hi, Twilight! Hi, Riku!" Pinkie greeted. "Hope you got some good poetry books, Twilight, because Maud is a total poetry lover!" "Well, I do have plenty of poetry books," Twilight bragged, levitating a few different books. "Do you by any chance read poems made by Quilland Ink? Or how about Flourish Prose?" "I write my own poetry," Maud said. "That's pretty interesting. Let's hear one." Riku looked up from his book, having a sinking feeling he knew what kind of poem Maud was going to tell. She cleared her throat, just as monotonous as her voice and behavior as she began telling her own written poem. "Rock. You are a rock. Gray. You are gray. Like a rock. Which you are. Rock." The building was silent, Riku and Twilight staring dumbly at Maud, the stallion's prediction spot on as it was about rocks. "I've written thousands." "Gee, let me guess. They're all about rocks?" Riku asked rhetorically. "They are all about rocks," Maud answered. "You must be psychic or something." "Maud makes the best poems!" Pinkie exclaimed. Riku closed the book he was reading, stood up, and began making his way out of the library. "I'm out." Before he even reached the door, Twilight used her telekinesis to drag the stallion back over to her, not letting him skimp out on trying to be friends with Maud and get Pinkie upset. "Riku, you are going to stay here and hear more of Maud's poems with me." "You know, you can threaten me so many times until it starts to get old," he whispered angrily. "I do not want to stay here and listen to a thousand boring rock poems!" "Well, I'm not going to listen to them by myself, so you're not going anywhere!" As the couple's arguing began to grow more heated, Pinkie gently wrapped a foreleg around her sister's shoulder and slowly backed up to the door. "I think we should move on to Sweet Apple Acres now," Pinkie said. "These two seem to have some issues to work out." "I guess I can tell them more rock poems some other time," Maud said as the bickering couple didn't notice the Pie sisters leave the library. Inside the farmhouse, Sora assisted Applejack and Granny Smith make some freshly squeezed apple cider. Pinkie and Maud came by to help as well, peeling the apples to put into the boiling pot, where the smell of fresh cider was being made. "Maud, you are going to love Sweet Apple Acres fresh cooked apple cider," Sora said. "And I'm not saying that just because I'm practically family as well. How are them apples coming?" "I think this one is done." Sora looked over at her, watching her slam a rock down on one of the apples as her method of peeling the fruit, smashing the entire thing and splattering juice everywhere. "...Ok. That's good...for apple sauce." Maud was about ready to use the same rock to "peel" another apple, but Sora quickly stopped her before Applejack and Granny Smith had a heart attack. "I think we have plenty of apples for the cider now." Pinkie suddenly bounced on Sora, sending him crashing to the ground as she stood on him next to her sister. "Can we have some cider now!? Is it ready!?" "I think it's done," Applejack said, both the farm mare and her grandmother a little worried having Maud assist them with cider brewing. She poured a few mugs of warm cider, each pony taking a sip of the fresh batch. "Mmm. Delicious! Best apple cider ever!" Maud took a sip from her own mug, showing no emotional changes in her expression as she gave her analysis on the taste test. "It tastes like apples." She received awkward stares from Sora, Applejack, and Granny Smith, Sora taking another sip of his mug of cider. "...Yes...Yes it does..." "Told you she was super honest, just like Applejack!" Pinkie said, guzzling down the last of her cider. Sora and Applejack looked at each other, utterly speechless and feeling like they barely made any kind of connection as Maud looked down at her mug with a bored look. Back out in the park, Pinkie and Maud met up with Ventus and Rainbow Dash for a bit of fun. The two pegasi decided on playing something that would probably interest Maud since she liked rocks: stone toss. They managed to find a few equally sized rocks of equal weight for them to throw and see who can throw it the farthest. Rainbow Dash went first, managing to throw it all the way across the lake with the boost of her wings. Ventus went next, easily picking up his rock and threw it, his rock landing a few yards farther than the rainbow-maned pegasus's without using his wings for that extra oomph. "Ha! Bested you, Rainbow!" Ventus gloated. "Your turn Maud." The teen had to duck as Maud threw hers, but her rock flew off far into the distance, easily beating the pegasis' distance by at least a mile. Once the rock hit the ground wherever it landed, it somehow exploded like a nuclear bomb, creating a mushroom cloud in the distance. Ventus let out terrified squeaks, his and Rainbow's jaws hitting the ground while Pinkie cheered for her sister. The shockwave from the powerful explosion soon reached them, causing the water in the lake to rise up like a tidal wave, crashing down on all of them and sucking the pegasi into the lake. Pinkie had also been sucked into the lake, not even phased that her sister had more strength than a thousand Big Macintoshs on steroids, rolling playfully on a log. "THAT WAS AMAZING!" Ventus floated on his back, staring at the clear afternoon sky, his eye twitching as he had the sudden urge to curl up in a ball in a corner and suck on his hoof. "She's...really really strong...By the light of Kingdom Hearts, I didn't think Pinkie meant she was THAT tough!" Rainbow poked her head out of the water, just as shocked as Ventus. "Whoa. How did you do that?" "I threw it," she said, earning another facehoof from the pegasus mare. "Will you cut that out!?" Rainbow and Ventus shouted at the same pegasus from before above them. He fled from the cloud he was on before they beat him up for annoying them with his "practicing" as the pegasi crawled out of the water. "I swear, I think that pony's doing that on purpose," Ventus muttered, shaking himself dry as he reached dry land. "...Well, you obviously won by a landslide, Maud." "I'm not really into...'winning'," Maud said, making Rainbow gasp in utter disbelief. Pinkie and Maud began to head back home, leaving the two stunned pegasi behind. "She doesn't...like winning? Who the hay doesn't like winning!?" Ventus slapped Rainbow upside the head. "I think you should be freaking out more about that nuclear explosion from a freaking rock she threw by at least a mile!" "...Oh, right. That too." The teen groaned in exasperation at Rainbow's obliviousness to the real deal pertaining Maud's super strength. As the sun set, everyone met up with each other outside Sugarcube Corner after spending some time with Maud and told them their experience with the mare. "So, that explained that strange quake earlier...Are you sure SHE actually did that with just a simple rock throw?" "Yes!" Ventus answered Sora's question. "I have no idea what the heck she's packing, but if Pinkie's family has some odd superpower like her randomness, then Maud seriously has more muscle than anything we've ever faced." "So, I take it none of us have gotten the chance to befriend her or get to know her more than the fact she likes rock and isn't talkative?" Kairi asked. "Afraid not," Applejack said. "Ah have no idea how we're gonna tell Pinkie there's no way Maud can be friends with us." The door opened up, Pinkie surprising everyone as she held another bowl of assorted colors of rock candy. "Great timing, guys! Maud's out looking for some more rocks to study, so we can get things all set up everything to make all our rock candy necklaces!" She noticed their nervous looks, looking elsewhere but at her as they weren't as excited as she was. "What's wrong? We don't have to taste test anymore cause we have the right tasting rock candies for the necklaces." Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to break the bad news to Pinkie. They didn't want to upset her, but they just didn't have the same bonding experience that she had with her sister, Maud. They gave it a try, tried to figure out what goes on in her head, her likes and dislikes, but Maud was so stone-faced, so unbelievably dull, there was no way they could ever get to really know her from her boring personality. Sora sighed, breaking the silence as he was the first to speak everyone's mind. "Pinkie, we all know you want us to join you and your sister's bonding tradition...but, I don't think we can," he said. "Why not?" Pinkie asked, having been oblivious to her friends' reactions the whole day. "We did our hardest to try to bond with her, but, sometimes, you won't be able to make friends with everyone you meet," he continued. "Whether it's from a first meeting or several conversations, some don't really want to be friends with those you try to force them to be..." Sora looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of his head as he knew the last thing he wanted to say would break Pinkie's heart. "...I don't think we can join your tradition with Maud. It would just feel...wrong, making something that means we could be her best friends when we just can't..." Just as he expected, Pinkie's mood spiraled downward, her smile gone as her mane began to wilt, deflating like a balloon. "...Oh..." It hurt everyone to see Pinkie this miserable, even if what Sora had said was the truth. At least her mane wasn't completely straight like her surprise birthday, but even still, she was disappointed and greatly upset. "...O-Ok...I-I understand..." "Sorry, Pinkie," Sora apologized, the others nodding as they felt sorry for bringing this up to her. "...I-If...If you guys need me, I'll be in here...figuring out what to do with the two hundred pounds of rock candy I made." Sora desperately wanted to reach out to Pinkie, but the mare closed the door, left with the large amount of rock candy that would go to waste. The teen lowered his hoof, sighing depressingly as he kicked the ground. He looked back at the others, all of them feeling just as guilty with their heads lowered. "Why didn't you guys try to shut me up?" he asked rhetorically as he trudged back to Sweet Apple Acres. The others followed suit, some of them wishing they didn't say anything or tried to stop Sora, but they couldn't lie to Pinkie. As they left for home in misery, they didn't notice Maud standing around the corner, having overheard the stallion talking to her sister after she found a few decent specimens of rocks around town. Though her expression remained unchanged, there was a subtle glint of pity in her eyes as she began to head inside the bakery. Inside, she saw Pinkie sadly going through small piles of rock candy, picking out the ones only for her big sister while the rest of the mountain in the room was ignored. Maud didn't want to upset her more by saying she heard them talking outside, knowing her imagination could go from one bad scenario to a worse one, but she wanted to help make her feel better. "Pinkie?" she called out, the pink mare turning her head, revealing a teary gaze as she looked at her sister. "Are you ok?" "No," Pinkie said, dropping the rock candy she had in her hooves. "I thought they would like you...You're the bestest big sister ever and I was sure they were going to be your friends too...But I was wrong..." Maud approached her depressed sister, pulling her into a hug to console her. She never expressed her emotions around anyone, but she always did when it was just Pinkie, always looking up to her ever since she was a filly and discovered her talent for parties. Maud's lips slowly curled into a sad frown, holding her sister close as she let out her sorrow. Suddenly, Pinkie's mane poofed back to its normal self as she gasped. "Wait! I can still make this work!" "Huh?" Maud went back to her stoic expression on her sister's sudden realization, Pinkie pulling away as she had her smile back, though the look in her eyes made the dark lavender mare worry. "I need to plan everything out for tomorrow! It's gonna be fun for all of us, and I'm sure all of my friends will be your friends too!" Pinkie zoomed upstairs and into her room, leaving Maud standing in the room with all the rock candy. "This isn't going to be good," she muttered monotonously, practically hearing the desperation in Pinkie's voice as she won't know what her sister's going to do tomorrow. The next day, everyone felt absolutely horrible after admitting to Pinkie they and Maud couldn't be friends last night. While the rest of the Mane Six were at the library, figuring out some way to try to gain some connection with Maud to make Pinkie feel better, the Keyblade wielders laid in the grass out in the park, looking up at the clear sky. They all felt unmotivated to do anything as Pinkie's sadness was like a plague to anyone who sees her look so miserable. "I feel like I should let my darkness eat me after seeing the look on Pinkie's face," Riku said. "I regret arguing with Twilight yesterday after Maud was going to share her rock poems, even if they were going to bore me to death..." "I wish I had some darkness in my heart," Kairi said. "It just felt so depressing seeing Pinkie Pie like that." "Try seeing how she grew up," Sora interjected. "Without Rainbow's sonic rainboom, she wouldn't be who she was and wound up staying on her family's rock farm." "A rock farm?" Aqua asked as she looked over at the teen. "She grew up in a quarry?" "It's actually a farm for rocks," Ventus corrected. "They roll them around, place them somewhere in the dull, colorless wasteland around their home, and who knows what other tediously boring stuff they do with rocks." The young teen groaned and brought his hooves up to his eyes. "I feel bad for Maud, always talking and looking so boring...Pinkie hyped us up saying she was this great pony, and, I will admit, her throw yesterday was awesome and frightening." "She actually does keep in contact with Pinkie whenever they don't see each other," Kairi added. "Maud actually knew how my Keyblade armor functioned just from looking and touching my pauldron," Aqua included. "...I was astounded after I recovered from the shock, and quite impressed. "And despite sounding so boring, she did make a hilarious point to Rarity's fashion question that made me laugh," Sora said with a sad chuckle. "And her response after drinking Sweet Apple Acres fresh apple cider was so plain that I wish I laughed. 'It tastes like apples.'" Sora's Maud impression to her critique on her first taste of cider made Ventus snort in hilarity while Aqua and Kairi giggled. The four Keyblade wielders looked over at Riku to hear something from him that he might have found charming about Maud. In the awkward silence, he tilted his head up, seeing the eyes of he fellow Keyblade wielders/friends waiting for his response. The stallion let out a sigh, his ears pressing against his skull. "...Twilight and I kind of fought for a little about me leaving the library to avoid hearing anymore of Maud's rock poems she wrote," he began. "It soon escalated into me not liking poetry all that much and she practically forced me to listen to them...Surprisingly, there were actually poetry authors that Twilight liked who did write a few poems about rocks, the earth, gems, anything that Maud would be interested in..." Riku let out another sigh, his cheeks turning pink as he finished explanation. "...I liked those poems, and I'm interested in hearing what her own rock poems had..." "...So, you like poetry now?" Sora asked in confusion, the white pegasus groaning in embarrassment as he covered his face with his wings. "Yes," he grumbled. "...And Twilight and I made up after that pointless tiff I started..." "I guess there were a few things we did like about Maud that we didn't acknowledge until now," Aqua said, changing the topic to avoid Riku feeling more embarrassed around his peers. "We did give her a chance, but I guess her personality made us feel like she didn't have much in common with us." The teens all agreed as they continued watching the sky. "GUYS!" Pinkie shouted as she appeared between all of them, making the Keyblade wielders shout in surprise as they sat up and looked at her. "Quick! Follow me! I set up the funnest way you all can be friends with my sister, Maud!" Pinkie sped off before any of them could ask what she did. Figuring it was better to see for themselves, the group of fighters headed to where Pinkie ran off to. They found the rest of the girls, including Maud, standing before one of the strangest of obstacle courses that wasn't there yesterday. "Uhh, what the heck is all this?" Sora asked. "I call it 'Pinkie-Rainbow-Rari-Twi-Apple-Flutter-Key-Maud Fun Time'!" Pinkie said with a wide grin, only confusing the group more at the odd mish mash of an obstacle course laid out behind her. "...Huh?" Rainbow said, voicing everyone's response to the odd game Pinkie made up on the spot. "I combined everypony's interests into one big activity that all of us can enjoy and be the bestest of bestest friends!" she explained, though that didn't help make things clearer for them. "She's getting desperate, isn't she?" Aqua whispered. "We've got an applesauce tunnel for Applejack," Pinkie began explaining, crawling through a tube filled with applesauce until she reached the other end, landing in a pit of shimmering fabrics. "Pretty shiny stuff for Rarity!" She then leapt out to what seemed like a small battle arena, where cardboard pop-ups of Heartless poked out of the ground, where she smacked one with a stick, making it drop back down where it came from. "Reaction smacking for Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and Venny-!" "Yeah, she's desperate," Ventus said. "And just call me Ven!" "Reading material for Twilight!" Pinkie continued, ignoring Ventus as she ran through a wall of books, which made Twilight wince at the sight of the ruined covers and pages that could have come from her library. "Critter time for Fluttershy!" She then sat at a table, Fluttershy's animal friends playing poker, which made the animal loving pegasus wonder how Pinkie got her critter friends to agree to her plan. She folded her hand of cards and ran into a small wind current bubble with floating cupcakes inside of it. "Cupcakes for yours truly-" Pinkie munched on a cupcake and leapt out of the other side of the machine. "-and it's all a race for Rainbow Dash!" The last thing Pinkie didn't mention was the large mountain of rocks precariously stacked at the end of the course. "...And...what is that supposed to be?" "A rock slide for Maud!" Pinkie answered as she made her way to the base of dangerously stacked stones. "You just climb up, and then you slide!" "Ok, now this pegasus is really pushing it! Cut it out with that trombone!" As Ventus turned to face the pegasus that had been bothering them yesterday, instead of seeing him by them, it was a Crescendo sitting beside them. Now realizing it was a Heartless, his eyes widened as the music note airhorn of darkness took in a deep breath and played a song that called in assistance from other Heartless. "Oh crap." Suddenly appearing around the group were a bunch of Heartless, two different types that were just as bad in large numbers: one were large, pinkish-orange dragon Heartless called Wyverns, very agile draconic Heartless that fly pretty fast for being so huge, and the other was a Defender, blue and purple bulky knight Heartless that carry a shield that has the face of a three-eyed canine, the face able to move and bite its victims and breath fire or ice. Pinkie was oblivious to the danger as she had began climbing her way up the rock slide, quickly ducking as she felt her Pinkie Sense warn her of something that was about to attack her. The Keyblade wielders summoned their Keyblades, protecting the mares from the dangerous and swift Heartless. "Of all the worst times for an ambush, and it had to come from a stupid Crescendo!" Riku shouted as he thrust his Keyblade into the weaker nuisance. "Twilight, get the others far away from here! We'll hold off the Wyverns and Defenders!" "Right!" Sora and Ventus cleared a path, getting the Wyverns' attention as Twilight lead her friends away from the Heartless, shooting a few spells to deter the dive-bombing Wyverns flying toward them. As Maud followed them, she stopped when she heard Pinkie Pie yelp. The moment she saw her sister, her eyes widened slightly as the pink earth pony got her hoof stuck in between the heavy stones as she ducked from one of the Heartless. Twilight looked back, seeing the dull earth pony stopped following her. "Maud, we have to get out of here! These creatures are dangerous!" Sora, Riku, and Ventus took to the air and fended off the Wyverns, diving down onto the pegasi as they spun rapidly like a drill to knock them down. Being more agile than the larger dragon Heartless, they were able to avoid their swooping attacks and their rapidly kicking feet, slashing them repeatedly until each one they took on were destroyed. Down below, Aqua and Kairi kept their distance from the surrounding Defenders, leaping away from their lunging canine shields as their weapons. Behind Aqua, one of their shield's eyes began to turn blue as a cold frost frothed in the canine's sharp-toothed maw, about to spew ice breath on the blue unicorn. She felt the colder temperature before it could breathe it out, quickly turning to it and shooting a Firaga spell, dispelling its attack and knocking the Defender back. Others shot out fireballs, the eyes on the shields glowing red, only for Kairi to deflect them back and stun their shields for a moment. Both mares leapt over the barricade of knight Heartless, slashing away at their weak backsides or blasting them with magic spells. While the Keyblade wielders dealt with the ambushing group, Pinkie tried to pry herself free from the heavy stones trapping her hoof. "Ok, maybe this wasn't such a smart idea to make a slide out of actual rocks." Amidst the battle going on, she heard a few pebbles at the top of the mountain begin to fall and tumble down. She thankfully didn't put a large rock at the top, otherwise it would have crushed her as it rolled down in her direction. When she looked up, her pupils shrunk as she saw one of the Defenders at the top, the canine shield growling as its gaze fell on the trapped pony. The Heartless slowly made its way down, the shield barking and lunging its owner forward, wanting to take a bite of the party pony and take her heart. "N-Nice shield doggy. Good boy. Want a big, juicy bone?" It barked and lunged forward again, held firm in the Defender's grip as it wanted to torture the pony fearfully before taking her heart. Pinkie screamed out in terror, struggling to pull her hoof free, but the weight of the Heartless made the stones heavier, keeping her trapped in place. The others heard Pinkie, gasping in shock, seeing her in trouble. "Pinkie Pie!" Sora tried to fly toward her, not seeing a Wyvern ram into him, sending the teen spiraling down to the ground. The others tried to reach the rock slide, but the Wyverns kept blocking their path, leaving them open to back attacks from the Defenders on the ground. Maud saw that her sister was in danger and needed help, not caring if these strange creatures would tear her apart. Twilight was about to rush in and save Pinkie, but Maud beat her to the punch, running at incredible speed for an earth pony as she sped past the grouped up Heartless. "Maud, no!" Twilight called out. "Come back!" She ignored the alicorn's call, her eyes glaring angrily at the Defender getting closer to her sister, showing any real emotion around others outside of her sister. Maud reached the base of the rock slide, running up the rocky slope as if it were solid ground, focused on the monstrous being and its canine shield. The Keyblade wielders managed to slay the Defenders and Wyverns that got in their way, turning to the small mountain of rocks to race off and save Pinkie. They watched Maud running up and leaping toward the Heartless, but as she threw one of her forehooves out at the lunging shield, she punched the canine's snout hard, the force of the impact causing the shield to let out a pained yelp and nearly snapping the Defender's arm off. Everyone gasped when the Heartless drew its shield back, seeing a large crack in the middle of the dog's face. Maud had actually caused damage to an impenetrable shield held by one of the few defensive Heartless, the face growling angrily with one of its eyes forced close from the large crack. "Don't. Touch. My sister," she said, her monotone voice sounding even more threatening than if she actually conveyed her anger. The Defender's shield roared and lunged for the mare that struck it, but Maud turned around and gave it a swift buck. Her unimaginable strength managed to not only stagger the Heartless back, she also shattered the shield, completely disarming the bipedal creature of darkness. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ventus, and Aqua's jaws dropped at what they had just witnessed. Even though Ventus had seen how tough Maud was yesterday, she must have been holding back if she was able to buck a Defender's shield, cracking and/or shattering its means of offense and defense when their own Keyblades only bounced off it. "Wow," Sora said after finding his voice. The Heartless wasn't exactly defeated as it stood up on the rocky slope, staring down at its hand where its shield was. It looked furious, yet also terrified as it lunged at the Pie sisters. "No you don't!" He flew off and cast Gravity on it, squishing the heavy Heartless as it hit the small rock mountain. The impact caused the whole thing to turn into a rockslide, Maud quickly smashing the rocks trapping Pinkie's hoof as they both slid down before it caved in. The two mares landed safely while the Defender wasn't as lucky, the heavy weight of the rocks crushing it to death, releasing a heart that flew out from the rubble and disappear in a flash of light. With the Heartless ambush over, everyone had breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to know Pinkie was safe. They had no idea Maud was that powerful, whether it was by her own strength or her drive to protect her sister from harm to actually destroy a part of a defensive Heartless like that was amazing. Before she knew it, Pinkie was suddenly wrapped in a hug by Maud, the mare pulling back as she showed a look of worry on her face. "Pinkie Pie, what were you thinking making something like that?" she asked, her voice filled with concern rather than the same monotone she spoke. "You could have gotten hurt, or worse." "I...I guess I wasn't," Pinkie said, feeling guilty for making her sister worry. "I know how important it is to you to have your friends become my friends, but I don't think that's going to happen." Now seeing her sister was safe, she returned to holding the same neutral and dull expression and tone of voice, resting a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "I think it's better if I spend the rest of my week back at home on the rock farm." Pinkie's ears drooped, still desperate to want her sister be friends with the others, but she didn't want to make something so ridiculous or life threateningly dangerous. Maud approached the others, recovering from her epic display of bravery unleashing all of her strength to save her family. "It was nice meeting you all. I'm happy to know Pinkie has such good friends like you." Maud made her leave back to the station to return to her home, leaving the others to question how she managed to move that fast and fight so fiercely. "Wait, Maud!" Pinkie called out, chasing after her sister. "I'm coming with you!" While their minds were reeling over what they had seen, Riku scratched his head in confusion. "...She was happy? That...didn't look or sound like happiness." "Was she...holding back from yesterday's rock throwing game?" Ventus asked, just as baffled, but just as impressed as everyone else. "She broke a Defender's shield," Aqua uttered. "That's...never happened...I thought it was impenetrable from both physical and magical attacks. But Maud actually cracked AND shattered it with only two strikes from her own hooves..." "And she actually moved incredibly fast to save Pinkie Pie," Sora added. "She must have been so worried watching her sister in danger that she could really move a mountain if it meant keeping her safe..." His ears perked up as Maud's heroic efforts made him realize what they all had in common with her. "Wait...That's it!" "What's it?" Kairi asked. "We need to catch up with Maud and Pinkie!" he said. "I know exactly what it is that all of us have in common with Maud, and we can actually take part in their tradition properly with them!" Riku and Ventus didn't have any clue what Sora meant, but Aqua and Kairi did. "Of course. It's so obvious!" "We kept looking at 'what' we liked when it should have been 'who' we liked as well!" Kairi exclaimed. On the train headed out to a barren wasteland of land, Pinkie and Maud sat together in one of the train cars. Pinkie sadly looked out at the passing scenery, getting closer to their family home as she'll have to spend the rest of Maud's time there with the rest of her relatives without her other friends, never ever sharing their tradition of making rock candy friendship necklaces. Maud was grateful to know her sister would be in good hooves once she had to leave to continue majoring in rock science, her hooves hurting slightly from kicking and punching the Defender's shield, though showing no signs of pain. "Are you ok?" Maud asked, pulling out Boulder as she twirled him around on her hoof. "Did that creature touch you?" "No. You saved me before it even got me," Pinkie said. "You remember the letters I wrote about creepy black monsters with yellow eyes? Those were the Heartless...And you beat one of them." "So those are what they look like." Maud pondered blankly. "At least your other friends really care about your safety. If I didn't do anything when they got surrounded, I thought it would have gotten you." "But I pressured them into trying to share a bond with you so we could all be best friends and make rock candy necklaces together." Pinkie sighed, pressing her face against the window as their home began to appear in the distance. "I wanted them to get to know how amazing you are." After what Maud did against that monster, she was sure to have impressed them despite having never encountered the Heartless before. The train soon rolled to a stop at the station, the Pie sisters getting off as they made their way home. However, as they reached the entrance, they spotted the others waiting for them, having teleported to their rock farm, along with a few bags filled with rock candy. "Hey! You guys took your sweet time!" Sora playfully chided. "We've been waiting for hours!" "What are you all doing here?" Pinkie asked. "What do you think, you silly pony?" the teen questioned as he held up one of the bags of rock candy. "You guys forgot about your little tradition!" "Huh? But, you guys didn't feel like you bonded with my sister," Pinkie reminded. "Yeah. We're sorry for upsetting you for not bonding with Maud yesterday," Twilight apologized, the others nodding in apology as well. "But there was something we all shared in common with your sister, Pinkie: you!" "Me!?" she exclaimed in shock. "We all just saw how much she cared about your safety when that Defender was getting closer to you when we were caught by the others and the Wyverns," Aqua explained. "I don't know how Maud was able to cause more than a dent in that Heartless's impenetrable shield, but she would literally break through anything, weak or invincible, keeping anything from harming you." "Including your happiness," Twilight added. "Maud didn't want to upset you and wanted to leave so you wouldn't do anything more reckless in a desperate attempt to have us all be friends with your sister. What gives us a special bond with Maud is the fact that we all love you, Pinkie." Pinkie blushed and looked away bashfully at the heartfelt comment. "So, Maud, what do you think about that connection we have?" "...That sounds great," Maud said, her deadpanned tone, not exactly the answer they were all hoping for. "...Umm, shouldn't you be a bit more excited?" Riku asked. "We all like your sister just as much as you do, and you say it like that?" "Are you guys kidding!?" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. "I've never seen Maud so excited in all my life!" Leaving the rest of the group confused, Pinkie bounded off and began cheering, her sister now best friends with her friends after finding something common they enjoy, which made it even better as it was her that was the common ground between them. Riku groaned at the response and Maud's neutral expression, smacking his head into the hard ground beneath him. "I don't know if any of you noticed, but I don't share the same enthusiasm as my sister," Maud stated, which was clearly obvious ever since they first met her yesterday. "Really!? I don't think we noticed at all!" Riku shouted sarcastically, earning a swift kick in the sides by both Sora and Ventus. "Why do you all keep beating me up!?" "Because you're not funny," Sora said. "I'm the funny one. You're the cool, broody guy of the group." "'Broody'???" Riku looked at the others, all of them seeming to agree with Sora as he always seemed to look pouty around them. Even when he jokes around, he fails and doesn't get a laugh from anyone. The stallion grumbled and dragged a hoof down his face. "I hate you guys..." "Love you too, buddy," Sora said as he jabbed his elbow against Riku's leg, only messing with him as the others laughed it off. With their newly formed bonds with Maud, they all spent the rest of the day creating rock candy necklaces for her and for everyone else. Several rock candy necklaces were made as the group exchanged them, each one unique in design to each pony they give it to. As the sun began to set, they were all back at the train station as the Ponyville group were about ready to go back. Before they did, everyone gave Maud a necklace, Pinkie giving hers last as she gave a simple one for her back. As Pinkie bounced off, immediately eating her candy necklace before keeping it for a while longer to hold onto, Maud pulled out a box she hid in her frock. As she laid it down, when she opened it, everyone gasped at the large collection of necklaces that Pinkie had given her in the past, none of them eaten. "You didn't eat any of the necklaces Pinkie gave you!?" Twilight exclaimed in shock. "I really don't like candy," Maud explained, placing Pinkie's new necklace inside the box with the older ones, most likely preserving them as mementos. "I discovered our special rock candy recipe because I knew she loved sweets after discovering her talent and the party she threw for our family." Surprising them even further, Maud gave a small smile as she watched her sister, dangling the necklace over her mane as she swung it, licking the last piece of candy that remained on her sister's given necklace. "But that doesn't mean I don't love Pinkie Pie." Despite the shock of seeing Maud emote in front of them for the first time, they had to admit it was a touching sentiment. "It's hard not to love her," Sora said, watching Pinkie finally grab the last rock candy and munch it up. He looked back at Maud, her face now back to its normal, stoic expression. "Say, earlier against the Heartless, you actually destroyed that Defender's shield. That's something none of us had ever done, seeing as it was impossible to actually do that as its only weakness in defenses was behind it or to its sides...Just how strong are you?" "I'm stronger than normal earth ponies," Maud said. "I always broke through tougher rocks on the farm that not even my father could break after a few tries. I put all my power into stopping that monster, barely using a fraction of my real strength the first hit I gave it." The Keyblade wielders' jaws dropped in astonishment, which amused Maud as she actually gave them a tiny smirk. "That crack was only a fraction of your strength when you blindsided it!?" "I've been careful not to use too much of it as I grew older. As a filly, I always ended up breaking rocks I had to move in the field by accident." Maud lifted the hoof that she used to punch the canine shield away from Pinkie, which looked a little swollen and bruised slightly. "That monster's shield was stronger than even the toughest of diamond, and compared to the armor plates on your shoulders, I could probably crack it with half my strength if I wanted to." Sora looked down at his pauldron, placing a hoof on it, recalling Aqua's shocking discovery of how she figured out how their Keyblade armor functioned. Aqua told them that their armor was more durable than regular armors from other worlds, seeing as they're able to better protect wielders from tough Heartless and provide protection from the darkness when traveling around through the cosmos. "But I know you all have a lot more strength inside of you than on the outside. I trust you can keep my sister safe and keep her from doing really silly things that could get her into trouble." Sora chuckled, nodding his head as he held his hoof out to Maud, the mare accepting it as they shook hooves. "You can count on all of us, Maud. Your sister's in good hooves."