I woke up after Coco left the following morning. My head felt heavy, and my eyes refused to open for several minutes. I groggily went into the kitchen and sat with my face buried in the counter for I don’t know how long. I didn’t feel like doing much that day. In fact, my mane seemed flatter, like Pinkamina – or, whatever my version of Pinkie’s alter ego would be.
I slowly raised my ten-kilo head and saw that the newspaper was right near it. Coco must have brought one up. I casually flipped through the pages. It was a pretty uneventful news day, and thus a theme was setting in for me. However, near the back of the paper, I noticed something interesting. It was an ad for a rock show at the same museum I had stopped in on my first day in the city.
I just stared at it. I really didn’t feel like it, but something told me I should go to that rock show. It was one of those ineffable things, a nondescript natural force that compels one to action. I had to go, and I did go. It was starting in four hours. Maybe it was Pinkie sense, maybe it was nothing, But I would find out. If nothing else, at least I would see some rocks, and maybe that would remind me of happy memories.
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I observed the rock specimens, weaving through geologist ponies and rock enthusiasts. I felt so much at home, seeing so many different rock types and ponies who cared about them. There were shimmering granite sheets, hunks of limestone, some beautiful marble, and a section of assorted crystals. Some of them had come from the crystal empire. There was even a section of special rocks located near the fossil exhibit of the museum about the relationship between fossils and rocks, and how some rocks were made up of them.
For a little while, I got so caught up in the whole display that I forgot that I was waiting for something to happen, something that would validate my feeling that I was there for more than just rocks. After about an hour, it seemed that my sense was off, and I was almost ready to leave when I suddenly heard a voice behind me, a voice that I recognized.
“Hey.”
Indeed, it was the curt, flat, unaffected voice that my inner Pinkie knew and loved all too well: Maud. And as I turned and saw the hues of gray fill my eyes, I momentarily forgot myself and almost hugged her out of instinct.
“Hey, I know you.”
“Uh......you do?”
“Yes. You’re Pinkie Pie,” she trailed off for a moment as she scanned me methodically, and then added, “but you’re not Pinkie Pie.”
“Um.....”
“Are you a clone?”
My tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth, my throat closed up, my eyes couldn’t have possibly opened any wider. I froze on the spot and just stared at her for several seconds. She, being Maud, simply stared back with her stony expression.
“Um...” I knew there was no sense in trying to hide anything from her, so I admitted, “Yes, I’m a clone. How on earth did you know?”
“Maud sense. Also, you have a different hairstyle, you’re wearing a dress, and you’re too calm to be Pinkie Pie. The real Pinkie would be hopping around and saying how amazing the rocks are, and how this is the Best Rock Show EVER.”
“Um, yeah, that’s true. But still, I can’t believe you knew I was a clone of her.”
“You have her exact colors, and I’ve never seen a pony with her exact colors before. Also, I saw a part of your cutie mark when your dress got caught on the table.”
“Oh, well, I suppose that just wraps it all up in a neat little bow, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. I also heard about the incident with the clones, so I put two and two together.”
“I suppose I should have guessed. I’m just shocked to see you here.”
“At a rock show?”
I looked around me, remembered where I was, and promptly put a hoof to my forehead and laughed.
“Oh, duh. Wow, I’m really out of it right now.”
“Are you upset about something?”
“Maud sense?”
“No, you show your emotion on your face, just like Pinkie. I figured you were probably having a hard time.”
“Well, yeah, I guess I am.”
I proceeded to tell her my whole story to that point. She listened, face unchanging - unlike mine, apparently. When I was done, she blinked once, then said, “Well, it seems you’ve been pretty lucky so far.”
“Lucky?”
“Yes. You’ve had some rough spots, but you’ve made a friend who was willing to take you in on your first day in Manehattan, and you’ve made progress on becoming your own pony. I’d say that’s not too bad for a start.”
“Huh, I guess your right. Yeah, I may have had some setbacks, but I’ve gotten pretty lucky.”
“Very lucky, in fact. Most ponies in your position would have probably spent at least the first night on a bench.”
“Yeah, true....”
“What?”
“It’s my cutie mark. Like you said, it’s different, but it didn’t start that way. It was just like Pinkie’s, all three balloons.”
“It’s changed?”
“Yeah, it’s like the balloons are popping one by one.”
“Strange.”
“I know, right? What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know.” She paused, and then said, “Look around.”
“What am I looking at? The rocks?”
“Exactly. Those are the only things in Equestria I know with absolute certainty. Cutie marks work in complicated ways. I hope you figure out what’s going on, though if I had to guess, it’s probably a manifestation of you becoming a unique, new pony. But again, I’m not sure.”
“Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense, and I kinda already had a suspicion...it’s just, what if it disappears, but nothing else takes its place? What if I wind up a blank flank? How can I possibly know if I’ll get my own cutie mark?”
“You don’t, just like I don’t. All you can do is keep trying to find yourself.” She paused for a second or two again, and added, “And try to have some fun in the meantime. Just think of Pinkie.” She formed the tiniest, most subtle smile, and winked. I couldn’t help but give her a big hug.
“Hey, just promise me something, okay?” I said. Maud stared. “Pinkie and the rest don’t know about me, and I’d prefer it remained that way for now. Can you please not tell anypony about me? At least until I’m ready to tell them myself?”
Maud said nothing, only gave me a hug back. After that, Maud and I chatted a bit longer, and I gave her the address of Coco’s apartment, so we could keep in touch. It was nice having somepony I already knew to talk to. After the rock show, we parted ways, and I went back to the apartment.
Coco was working unusually late that night, so I lounged around watching a few episodes of “Power Ponies: The Animated Series”. I was just getting caught up in the episode where Hum Drum gains superpowers when Coco came in abruptly. She was slightly disheveled, and clearly upset.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Sometimes the fashion world is just harder than I thought it would be.”
“Rough day?”
“Just a little bit.”
“You want to tell me about it? I’m listening.”
“It’s just...Suri loses her temper sometimes, and when she does, she can be a little hard to deal with.”
“What made her lose her temper?”
“She just didn’t get a very positive response on some dresses she showed today. She was told they could use some more work. Suri was very upset about it. After the clients left, she just couldn’t handle it and snapped at me. Now, I don’t blame her entirely. After all, fashion designers are under a lot of pressure in this city, and Suri is trying to make a name for herself. I wish she hadn’t yelled at me, but I know I just need to give her some time and space, and tomorrow it’ll be better.”
“I certainly hope so.....Coco, I know Suri must be under a lot of pressure, and I know we can all crack under it sometimes, but do you think it’s really fair of her to snap at you regardless?”
“Well, no, I guess not. I’ve been meaning to say something to her about it, but it just never seems like the right moment. But believe me, she means well, her heart is in the right place.”
“Are you sure?”
“What does that mean?”
“Just that, maybe Suri is only thinking of herself. It seems like it’s only her career she’s interested in.”
“Oh, this again. I told you, she puts her career first, yes, but she’s also helping me to learn what it’s really like in the fashion world. You have to understand, it’s a pony-eat-pony world, especially here in Manehattan. You have to look out for yourself first and others second. Suri is showing me that.”
“I’m not sure she’s right about that.
“Well, maybe when you’ve lived a day or two in a fashion pony’s hooves, you’ll understand. Excuse me, I’m getting a headache. I’m going to bed.”
“Okay, uh, good..goodnight.”
She scrambled to go take off her collar and hair pin, hastily hanging them up on a hook, one of them missing and falling to the floor. She didn’t pick it back up. As she started to go down the hallway, I said, “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you more.” She paused and said in a near whisper, “It’s okay. See you in the morning.”
She tramped off down the hall, her hooves clopping sporadically as she went. I sat in silence for a while, pondering the situation. I also thought of Maud’s words. In a way, I still couldn’t believe she found me, but I was glad she had. I finally slumped down on the couch, and for a long time I stared at the ceiling. That night would prove to be one of my most restless. I simply had too much on my mind.