//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: The Lost Laughter // by Pinkie Wannabe //------------------------------// 10 Years Later Maud had been throwing parties for her family almost every week. It seemed to be one of the only things that made her family happy. Without them, they seemed emotionless. But, Pinkie was always quite miserable, even at parties. She avoided them the best she could. Pinkie even thought of Maud as annoying sometimes. But no matter how grumpy Pinkie was, Maud loved her more than anything. Maud had been visiting other towns to make ponies there experience happiness at its greatest. One of the towns she visited was Ponyville. A quaint little town not too far from Canterlot. Maud loved going there, so it was no surprise that she chose to move there. "Gonna miss you, sweet tooth," Limestone said jokingly. Maud was preparing to leave the farm, and her sisters were bidding their farewells. Marble opened her mouth to speak, but Maud stopped her. "Let me guess," Maud exclaimed. "You're gonna say goodbye, you'll miss me, and that I'm the best party thrower ever?" Marble nodded. "Mm-hm." Pinkie was sitting at the kitchen table, petting a small rock. "Awww!" Maud cooed, looking at Pinkie. "You and Boulder look so cute together!" "Mm-hm," Pinkie Pie grumbled. Maud ran over to hug her. "You're the best little sister ever! I'm gonna miss you so much!" Pinkie seemed to have trouble breathing from her sister's tight embrace. "Yep." She wheezed. "I'll miss you, too." Maud made her way back to the front door. "I'll miss you all! Don't forget to write, cuz I won't forget either!" Just like that, she ran out of the house, bouncing her way to the train station. A few hours later "Ponyville station!" The conductor cried. Some ponies got off the train to come to Ponyville, including Maud. Maud looked to be the most excited. This is amazing! she thought. I'm finally gonna live here! Maud bounced her way into Ponyville and looked at the ponies around her. They seemed to be having so much fun with one another. Then, Maud saw two ponies that seemed to be arguing. "Oh yeah?" said an Orange pony. She had yellow hair, green eyes, and a brown Stetson on her head. "I bet no fashion of yours could match the country life!" A white unicorn with purple hair and dark blue eyes retorted. "Please, Applejack! Even with your... interesting fashion sense," she regaurded her clothless body. The orange pony face-hoofed. "How many times do I have to tell you?! PONIES ALMOST NEVER WEAR CLOTHES!" Maud smiled. "Ooh, an argument? This I've gotta be a part of!" She walked over to the pair. "Argue! Argue! Blabber! Blah blah..." The two stopped fighting and looked at Maud like she was crazy. "Darling," the white unicorn said. "What are you doing?" Maud paused. "I just wanted to join in on your argument. It looked like fun!" The earth pony and unicorn look at each other and back at Maud. "Sorry to ruin your fun, dear, but arguing isn't very fun." "Really? Well, my family doesn't really talk to each other much, so there isn't really any arguing. By the way, I'm Maud Pie!" "Well, it's mighty nice to meet ya, Maud." The orange pony said, lending out her hoof for a shake. "I'm Applejack! This is my friend Rarity." She signaled at the unicorn. "Pleasure to meet you, darling," Rarity said with a bow. "Would you like for us to show you around?" "Sure!" Maud said, bouncing up and down. "Where to first?" "...And that's my boutique." Rarity pointed to a big, fancy store. "Fancy-shmancy! Is there anything else?" Maud asked. "Well there's Sugarcube Corner." Applejack answered. "It's just around the corner." The trio trotted their way to the sweet store. To Maud's surprise, a giant cake was in her view. "Whoa!" Maud exclaimed. "How did you guys get this big of a cake?!" Rarity giggled. "That's Sugarcube Corner, dear." Maud's cheeks turned red. "Oh." The two giggled. "Would you like to get a treat from here?" Applejack said. "Would I? I'm always up for a treat!" The three walked up to the door of the cake-like building and opened the door. The bell rang as they walked inside. There were already to customers inside, eating cake. "Oh, hello there!" A plump, blue mare behind the counter noticed them walk in. "What can I get for you?" Rarity and Applejack ordered their desserts. When Maud came up to the counter, the blue mare was quite surprised. "Why, hello!" she said. "You must be new in town! I'm Mrs. Cake." Maud smiled. "Howdy, Mrs. Cake! I'm Maud. Now let's see..." Maud closely examined the pastries laid out under glass at the counter. "Ooooh! Those cupcakes look good! How much?" "5 bits," Mrs. Cake said as she pulled out a tray of cupcakes. "Help yourself!" Maud faceplanted onto the tray. It looked like she would've been covered in icing if she brought her head back up, but somehow, her mouth opened wide enough to eat all cupcakes in one gulp. "MMMMM! These are soooooo good!" Maud said excitedly. "Is there any more?" "Er, no." Mrs. Cake said, backing up as if the grey pony was going to jump on her. "I didn't expect for you to eat them all. Sorry, dear." Maud trotted over to her two friends who were still eating. The two other customers, both of them being pegasi, saw what Maud did and they were staring at her, wide-eyed. "Wow." said a blue pegasus with rainbow hair. "Even I couldn't eat cupcakes that fast." A yellow pegasus with light pink hair who sat next to her nodded. "I'm not sure how she even did that. Pretty weird." "Oh, c'mon!" Maud said to the pegasi. "It's natural, isn't it? I was able to do it ever since I was a filly." "Really?" the blue mare said. "Didn't look like it without eating cupcakes." Everyone, even Maud, chuckled. "Anyways, you're a newbie, aren'tcha? The names Rainbow Dash. This is my friend, Fluttershy." The yellow mare hid behind her long, pink mane. "Hi," she said softly. "Well, I'm Maud! And I hope we can be good friends!"