//------------------------------//
// S7 E4: Rock Solid Friendship (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 16 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
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Pinkie Pie knew it had to be important if her sister Maud had asked her to meet up in front of Twilight's castle early in the morning. Maud was usually never an early riser, not like Pinkie who always wanted to cram as much fun as possible into every day.

Then again, Maud had recently completed her studies in rock science and had earned her rocktorate. She was now officially Doctor Maud Pie, the thought of such a title was enough to make Pinkie giggle.

Sure enough, the tunic wearing earth pony mare and Pie sister famous for her stotic nature was waiting for Pinkie in front of the large crystal tree that was Twilight's castle. It was something so hard to miss.

"Hiya, Maud!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully greeted as she slowly skidded to a halt before her sister. "Why'd you ask me to meet you here so early today? Something on your mind."

Maud Pie nodded quite slowly. "Yes, Pinkie. And it's something I'm hoping you can help me with. After all, I'm told you're very good at it."

The pink party pony proudly puffed out her chest. "Trust me, Maud, when it comes to friend making there's nopony better suited to the job than I!" Then she excitedly proclaimed! "Oh, this is the best news ever! I didn't think I could be any happier than when I heard you might be moving to Ponyville."

Maud was quick to correct. "Pinkie, we've been over this. I'm not definitely moving to Ponyville."

Pinkie waved a hoof in protest. "Ah-ah, I heard you, Maud. When we were talking after your graduation you said:" She proceeded to make her mane and tail look flat, change her expression to a netural look, and throw her voice to sound more like her big sister. "There's nothing left to study back on the rock farm, so I might move to Ponyville," Then, she blew into a hoof and poofed her mane and tail right back up to their usual state. "And you wanting a friend means you're committing to Ponyville. Because Ponyville is the friendship capital of Equestria."

The stotic earth pony mare just commented. "It isn't hard to meet somepony I like. I can do that anytime on my studies. It's finding somepony who gets me that's the hard part. Harder than any rock I've ever encountered." She looked down at the ground, appearing to show the faintest hint of glumness. But if so, it was very hard to tell from the way she carried herself.

Pinkie just replied with a giggle. "Oh, not to worry, Maudileena Daisy Pie, your favorite sister is on the case!" She proceeded to pull out a pencil and a clipboard, and questioned. "Now, what are you looking for in a friend? Gimme six qualities assigning each one a numerical importance rating between one and seven, seven being essential and one being 'eh.'"

But Maud only replied. "I want somepony I can talk to. Somepony who understand what I'm like and what I like to do. Not many ponies understand how... different, I am."

The pink party pony waved a hoof. "Nonsense. Ponies think I'm different, but I don't care. And look at how many friends I have. If I can do it, so can you!"

Maud smiled ever so faintly. "Of course you'd say that, Pinkie. You're my sister, you know me almost as well as I know myself," Then her smile faded. "I'm just not sure where to look to find somepony as unique as you."

Pinkie just replied. "Maud, you are the best! Have a little faith in your favorite sister," Then she gestured a hoof towards the castle doors. "Somepony could come barreling through that door at this very moment and become your best friend!"

But the doors did not swing open at all, they remained shut. And as such, Maud simply sighed and began to walk away. "Let me know when you've found someponies you think will want to be friends with me. I can't wait all day for somepony to just show up out of the blue."

Just as the stotic, tunic wearing earth pony was preparing to leave, however, the castle doors did indeed swing open ever so faintly. And who should come strolling out from them but a very familiar (to Pinkie Pie at least) unicorn mare with a grayish-purple coat?

The unicorn was too observed in the huge stack of books she was carrying to pay any attention to where she was going. And as such, she collided with Maud Pie (whom the unicorn had obviously not expected to be there), dropping her books as they all hit the ground with a thud!

Hastily, the unicorn recovered and apologized sincerely. "My fault! Totally my fault! I should've been watching where I was going," Then, suddenly, she spotted the earth pony with whom she had collided and put a hoof to her chin as she contemplated. "Hey, wait a minute! You look familiar. Have we met before? I feel like we've met before."

Maud Pie spun around, looking at the unicorn as she seemed to confirm. "I think we did. But you look different now. Have you done something with your mane?"

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, could hardly contain her excitement! It seemed like Maud was hitting it off with another pony, that was a good sign! With a little luck, Pinkie was hoping that her sister would indeed be able to make a friend and thus committ to Ponyville.

The pink party pony didn't anticipate that her efforts to try to help Maud make a friend would only end up make things more complicated.



"Ah, so we have met before," The unicorn realized, and then coughed into a hoof. "Oh, excuse me, where are my manners? I'm Starlight Glimmer, Princess Twilight's student. Er... well I was until just recently," She was quick to change the subject. "Who are you, exactly? Wait, no, don't tell me."

There was a long silence as both Pinkie and Maud waited for Starlight to respond. But she didn't, until eventually she admitted defeat and looked to Maud. "Yeah. See, I was really hoping you'd tell me while I pretended to remember. If we did meet, I don't think I ever asked for a name. Your face is familiar, but your name escapes me."

Pinkie Pie was all but shrieking for joy as she excitedly shouted! "You mean you two have met before? How, how, how is this possible?! Tell me, I need to know!"

Maud Pie recalled. "I remember now. It was while I was traveling Equestria, working on my rocktorate. My studies took me to a village near some mountains." And the memory started to slowly come flooding back to her.

It couldn't have been more than a few years ago, Maud knew she hadn't really changed since that time. But the village near the mountains that she had come to had still been in the process of being constructed. Ponies were working on the first houses, building the frames with lumber and laying the foundations.

Maud herself was absorbed completely in her work, checking rocks and even breaking them up with a pickaxe. As a result, she didn't hear the sound of somepony approaching.

That somepony was Starlight Glimmer (though Maud of course didn't know this at the time), who had her mane and tail styled much differently from how she now wore them. Her mane and tail were perfectly stylized right down the middle, to the point where you could say they were "equal". After looking all around to make sure she wasn't being watched, she leaned down towards Maud and hurridly whispered. "Hey you. Do you know a lot about rocks?"

Without looking up, Maud answerred the unicorn in her usual flat tone. "Yes."

Starlight continued to whisper. "Good, you're the perfect pony to ask this:" She cleared her throat as her eyes continued to dart all about, looking for anypony who might overhear. "Have you ever come across some kind of super-powerful stone that can store the combined cutie mark magic of... oh... I don't know... an entire village?"

Surprisingly, Maud answered with a confirming. "Yep. In the big cave over there." And she gestured a hoof.

"Thank you, whoever you are," Starlight called as she took off in the direction of that cave. "And if anypony asks, you never saw me."

The flashback ended as the present Starlight adopted the most guilt ridden look, and Pinkie Pie nervously giggled while looking at her sister. "Oh, so that's how it happened," Then she instructed. "Hey, I have an idea, Maud. Let's not tell anypony about how you maybe, for sure, accidentally helped Starlight enslave a town!" After a moment, her eyes narrowed and she instructed. "Seriously, tell nopony."

"Why?" Maud blinked, apparently unconcerned. "I mean, it's not like she did anything evil, right? She didn't actually enslave anypony. If she was, would she be the student of a princess?"

Starlight Glimmer gave off a nervous laugh as she tried to shake off the guilty look in her eyes. "Uh, funny story, actually. Kind of a long one too, really don't feel like telling it right now!" She then hastily took off, though not before saying to Maud. "Er, well it was nice to meet you again. Now I've... uh... gotta run a few errands. Maybe I'll see you around." As she trotted away, she let out an unhappy sigh. Yet again, her troubled past had caught up with her.

Before Starlight could disappear entirely into the distance, Pinkie looked to Maud and in a strained, hushed voice insisted. "Offer to help."

Maud spun around. "What?"

"Offer to help!" Pinkie insisted and pushed her sister forward.

The stotic earth pony mare didn't have a chance to react before her sister pushed her right up towards Starlight.

Starlight, for her part, was surprised by Maud's sudden appearance. "Oh, did you wanna help?"

Maud seemed to be confused. "Do I?"

Pinkie firmly nodded. "Of course you do! Now go! Hurry!"

The tunic wearing earth pony agreed. "Okay." And she set off with Starlight to go into Ponyville proper.

Pinkie Pie happily watched the two mares trot off together. Things were going so well! "Oh yeah! Do I know my big sister or what?!" She boasted to herself! "They're totally gonna be best friends and then Maud will choose Ponyville, and we'll get to wear BSFF slippers! Oh, this is the best idea I've ever come up with!" Already, she was thinking back in her mind about how she'd learned about her sister's consideration of Ponyville as a permanent residence.





It had all started during Maud Pie's graduation ceremony to mark the official completion of her rocktorate. The whole Pie family had shown up for the event: Igneous, Cloudy, Limestone, Marble and of course Pinkie.

Maud had never looked more elegant than she did when she strolled across the stage in a grey cap and gown, and happily accepted her degree from her professor. All the while, the event was documented for history with Igneous operating an old-fashioned camera.

Afterwards, Pinkie got the chance to share a train car with Maud, and could barely contain her excitement! "Way to go, Maud! Or I guess now I should be calling you Doctor Maud Pie! You totally rock! Get it?"

Maud nodded and blinked slowly, even as her expression did not change in the slightest. "Yes, Pinkie. Your rock puns are quite solid," Then she pointed out. "Although, actually, the certificate simply refers to me as Doctor Pie. But Doctor Maud Pie has a nice ring to it."

The pink party pony giggled and grinned. "I agree, especially since you've got your rocktorate. I guess we could call you 'Rocktor Pie'," After chuckling a bit, she questioned. "So, Doctor Pie, what's next for you? Come on, you can tell me! Are you gonna move back onto the rock farm? I know everypony will be happy to have you back."

Maud shook her head. "No, Pinkie. I'm not going back to the rock farm."

Pinkie Pie could hardly believe her ears! "What?! Why not?! The rock farm is the perfect place for you, it's got tons of rocks! And you'll get to be with family every day! We can exchange rock candy necklaces again!"

Maud Pie simply corrected. "There's nothing for me to study on the rock farm. That's why I went away to pursue my rocktorate in the first place," Then she explained. "I've been offered a chance to study rock formations in Ghastly Gorge. It's only a train ride away from Ponyville."

Pinkie replied by saying. "Oh." She sounded rather unhappy with the news.

Maud then stated in a stotic tone of voice. "But I'm also thinking I might move to Ponyville. The letters you sent me make it sound like a really nice place," A smile formed on her lips as she added. "And there's the Cakes, who you've said are basically a second family to you."

The pink party pony nodded. "Yeah, that's true!" And then she let out a gasp and an excited shriek! "Oh my gosh! Maud! Are you actually gonna move to Ponyville?! Oh, having you in Ponyville would be just... just... well, I can't even begin to describe it! It would be absolutely, out of this world incredible!"

The stotic, tunic wearing earth pony was quick to caution her overly enthusiastic sister. "I haven't made up my mind yet, Pinkie. If I do decide to move to Ponyville, I need to know it's the right fit for me."

At that Pinkie's smile was replaced by a frown. "Well, that's gonna be kinda difficult, Maud. Ponyville isn't really know for its impressive rocks. We have lots of caves, and gems, but not a lot of rocks."

Maud pointed out. "I know that. My decision isn't just going to be based on rocks. After all," She pulled out a familiar looking stone from her pocket. "That's what I have Boulder for," She then told her sister. "I'm going to be in Ponyville tomorrow. And there's something I need your help with. Something very important."

"Great!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she perked right back up. "So when should I expect to see you, Maud? And what do you need my help with?"

"I'll tell you when I see you tomorrow," Maud explained. "I was thinking we'd meet up by that castle you told me about. It seems like a good landmark." And that was the last she was willing to say on the conversation for the time being, especially since the train was pulling into the station near Ponypalooza, meaning it was time for Maud Pie to depart.





While Pinkie Pie was reflecting on what had led her older sister to seek her out, Maud Pie was currently catching up with Starlight and explaining more about what had the subject of their chance encounter years before.

"It's simple," Maud explained to the unicorn. "Rocks take on different properties when interacting with magic. In fact, with the right stone, you could rule all of Equestria if you wanted to."

At that Starlight stopped right in her tracks and glared suspiciously at the earth pony. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" She questioned.

Without changing her expression or tone of voice at all, Maud ominously proposed. "Am I?"

Starlight Glimmer gazed at Maud, trying to judge her intentions by the expression on her face. But eventually, she gave up and just burst out into a laugh. Then she sighed and waved a hoof. "You're surprisingly easy to talk to, Maud. I think I like that about you," And then she asked. "But you know, is there anything you're into besides just rocks?"

Maud nodded and began to list off a few things as they came into her mind. "Minerals. Plate tectonics. Oh, and stand-up comedy, of course," Then she looked at Starlight and asked her. "What about you, Starlight? What are you into?"

Nervous about having abruptly been put on the spot, Starlight looked all around and then with a sheepish look on her face she admitted. "I like... kites." She waited to see what Maud's reaction would be.

Maud just maintained that stotic expression of hers as she simply said to Starlight. "Kites are cool, I guess."

Starlight breathed a sigh of relief, and then decided. "Hey, why don't we fly kites together, Maud? Today's good kite flying weather. No clouds, and just enough of a breeze to keep a kite in the air without it blowing away."

The stotic, tunic wearing earth pony agreed. "Sure, we can fly kites. I'm actually interested in learning, I've never flown a kite before."

The unicorn mare then excitedly exclaimed! "Well then, it's your lucky day, Maud! Come with me!" And the two mares went off together, unaware that Pinkie Pie was watching them from afar (from inside of a barrel in fact) with the most concerned look on her face.





As it turned out, Starlight was something of an expert when it came to kite making and kite flying. She even had her own custom made kite that she was more than happy to show off to Maud. It was a typical box kite consisting of three solid squares in a light blue coloring. The unicorn happily used her magic to hold the string and get the kite airborn, all the while she was explaining to Maud. "Now, the trick with an S.L.K. is not to make the spars too heavy. But if they're too light, you've got no ballast and then good luck tacking against the A.O.I.!" Realizing that her long winded and detailed explanation probably wasn't of much interest to her guest, she sheepishly added. "I really like kites."

But Maud just replied with a slow blink as she said. "They're starting to grow on me. We never got to fly kites back on my family's rock farm. We had to find other ways to entertain ourselves."

"Oh, really?" Starlight Glimmer asked with sincerity. "And here I always thought Pinkie was just pulling my leg about growing up on a rock farm. Can't imagine a pony like her growing up in a place so... dull."

Maud nodded. "It's no surprise she left after she got her cutie mark. We all agreed it was for the best. But she still wrote letters back to the family all the time," Then she added. "This actually isn't my first time being in Ponyville. But it's my first time getting to see it more in detail," With something of a smile she stated. "It's nice."

Starlight nodded back. "I know. It really grows on you. At first, I didnt think I'd ever feel at home here. But now, I can't imagine ever living anywhere else. It was the perfect place for me to make a new start. And I'll bet it could do the same for you, if you decide to stay here."

The stotic earth pony replied. "I think Ponyville's starting to grow on me too."

Just then, however, who should come trotting up on the hillside where Maud and Starlight were standing but Pinkie Pie? She was wearing a costume that resembled a slice of pizza, and had what appeared to be a pizza box in her hooves. "Oh, hey you two!" Pinkie declared in what sounded like forced surprise. "What a nice surprise running into you two here. Isn't it funny how life works sometimes?" She gave off a nervous giggle.

Maud and Starlight turned around as Maud sighed. "Pinkie, were you spying on us this whole time?"

The pink party pony promptly protested. "Oh no no no! Don't be silly, Maud! Why would I do a thing like that? Don't you know me at all?" But the way she carried herself seemed to betray her intentions, she was really bad at feigning innocence.

"Pinkie." Was all Maud could bring herself to say.

Pinkie chose to ignore Maud's noticeable hint of displeasure. "It's okay, Maud. I was just delivering a pizza to... to..." She looked around, and happened to spot a familiar wall eyed pegasus mare with a light gray coat. "Uh, her!" And she hastily tossed the pizza box in the pegasus pony's direction.

Starlight frowned upon witnessing the display. "Pinkie Pie, Maud and I are getting along just fine. You don't need to watch every single thing we do. It's annoying."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Oh, don't be silly. I haven't been spying on everything you two have been doing. I obviously can't be everywhere at once. There are some places even I can't go," And she quickly changed the subject. "So, how's it going? You two feeling like friends yet? Because, if you aren't that's totally fine... no pressure."

The unicorn mare just cryptically replied. "We're just hanging out, Pinkie. That's all."

"Oh, okay," The pink party pony giggled. "No rush. I just was thinking, if you two are gonna be hanging out like this, maybe you could spend a little time talking about feelings! I mean, that's what friends do, right? Talk about feelings?"

Starlight shook her head from side to side. "Right now, Pinkie, I think we're both feeling that we don't wanna talk about feelings. Maud doesn't seem like much of a 'feelings' pony."

At that, Pinkie seemed to take a step back. It looked as if her mane and tail were starting to deflate a bit. But she managed to smile and shake off any signs of unhappiness. "Okay... okay.. that's fine. I'll... uh... just let you two get back to... whatever it is you're doing. Just pretend I'm not here," Then she gasped as an idea came to her! "Wait, I know! Starlight, you could totally cast a spell to make me invisible. Then it'll really be like I'm not there. You'll never even know when I'm there and when I'm not."

The unicorn mare with a slightly curly mane protested. "I don't think that's a good idea, Pinkie. I think Maud and I would feel a lot more comfortable if we didn't have to worry about you breathing down our necks, literally. So please run along. I'm sure you've got plenty of fun activities you can do with other ponies."

The pink party pony seemed to get the message as she nodded, then took off her pizza delivery costume. "Okie dokie lokie, then," As she turned to leave, however, she then declared. "Hey, Maud, I just had an idea. You should totally go explore the caves with Starlight when you get a chance. Maybe you'll even meet Rarity, she likes to go to the caves all the time for gem hunting." And then off she trotted, bouncing away with a skip in her step.

Once Pinkie was out of sight, Maud Pie turned to Starlight and sincerely apologized. "Sorry about my sister. There's no half-excited with her. And she's definitely excited at the mere prospect that I might move to Ponyville."

Starlight just waved a hoof as she set her kite down gently on the ground. "Oh, it's alright. I'm used to it by now. Knowing Pinkie, she'll calm down eventually."

Maud slowly nodded back. "Yes, eventually."

Then Starlight Glimmer proposed. "Well, I think that's enough kite flying for today. Wanna explore those caves Pinkie was talking about? Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about rocks while we're down there?"

"Sure." Maud agreed, and the two mares set off again.





A short time later, both Starlight and Maud had donned protective helmets equipped with small lights to help them see better. And together, they trotted through the gem filled caves, marveling at the beauty that surrounded them.

It was then that Starlight saw fit to ask her guest. "So, Maud, why do you find rocks so fascinating? Why'd you decide to study them?"

Maud explained. "Because each one has a different story to tell, each one is unique," She dug into the pocket of her tunic and pulled out a very familiar (to her anyway) small rock. "Like Boulder for example. He's not just some mere rock I found in a pile. No, he's special. The lines here tell me that he's actually over two thousand years old," With something of a smile, she looked at the rock and told it. "But you don't look a day over six hundred."

Starlight was amazed! "Wow! You can really tell all that just by looking at a line?"

Maud Pie nodded. "Well, I didn't get a rocktorate because I can shred on guitar like nopony else. My studies were hard, I couldn't take them for granite."

Realizing the joke, Starlight Glimmer let out a hearty chuckle. "Good one, Maud." Then she approached a sparkling diamond that perfectly displayed her reflection.

Maud went on talking. "Another reason why I like rocks," She spoke up. "They don't exclude you if you're... well..." She became rather withdrawn. "Different... from other ponies. Mom and Dad always said I was unique, even compared to Pinkie Pie."

Starlight seemed to realize what her potential friend was implying as she eyed the diamond more closely. "I think I get it, Maud: They're beautiful and strong on the outside and the inside. Yet they don't judge you or make you feel less in any way. Wow! I think I'm actually starting to like rocks too!"

Maud began to smile. "I'm glad you do. I'm glad I have somepony besides my parents and besides Pinkie who understand. You're really the only other pony I've ever felt comfortable sharing that with, Starlight. If Ponyville is full of ponies like you, I think I'll really like it."

"Well, not everypony's like me. But that's the beauty of Ponyville," The unicorn with a grayish-purple coat pointed out. "Just like rocks, everypony in Ponyville is unique. And as Pinkie Pie will tell you, there's always something new to do or see every day. Never really a dull moment in this town. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Soon afterward, the two mares left the gem caves and approached what appeared to be a thick wall of solid rock. It seemed unlikely that it could be broken or penetrated.

Maud Pie approached the wall, inspected it carefully from top to bottom, and tapped a hoof against it. To her surprise, she was greeted with a sensation different from what she had been expecting. "Hm, it's hollow."

"Hollow?" Starlight blinked. "Looks pretty solid to me."

Maud shook her head from side to side. "Not if you look more closely," Tapping her hooves against the wall again, she then stated. "It's granite. Hollow granite is highly unusual. This wall must've formed just recently, likely as a result of something else," She proceeded to instruct to her fellow mare. "Stand back." She turned around and gave the wall of granite a swift kick with her back legs!

Much to the surprise of the unicorn, the wall crumbled with ease. One good kick was all it had taken. And when the wall was no longer there, her eyes beheld a truly dazzling and beautiful sight: Light was streaming down ever so faintly from above, reflecting off of several large crystals that hung from the ceiling and stuck up from the ground. Patches of bright green grass surrounded the entire landscape, and it was possible to see a waterfall cascading down, forming a fairly large pond.

"Wow!" Starlight exclaimed as she took in the sights and sounds! "Have you ever seen anything like this before, Maud?"

"No," Maud willingly admitted while looking around. " And that's unusual, even for me."

Just then, however, in the distance came the sound of rumbling! And it grew louder by the second! Both mares turned around, and saw that a huge pile of rocks had come crashing down a ways back, blocking the exit from the caves!

A horrified Starlight raced immediately to the rock pile! "Oh no! How did this happen?!" She frantically began trying to move the rocks with her magic! "Don't worry, Maud! If we work together I'm sure we can-"

But Maud simply looked up at the ceiling of the cave, reached into her pocket and pulled out Boulder. Taking her pet into her hoof, she whispered to him. "-Get us out of here, boy." And then she threw him as hard as she could! Boulder impacted the ceiling in a matter of seconds, and when he did so the entire ceiling collapsed, allowing natural light to flood down from above. Maud had found a way out.

Starlight was (needless to say) impressed. "Wow, Maud! I know Pinkie said you once pounded an entire boulder into gravel with just your bare hooves, but I never knew you could do that! Aren't you full of surprises? I can see now how you and Pinkie Pie are related. You do things I've never seen anypony do in my entire life, and without magic."

"That wasn't magic," Maud replied as she put Boulder back into the pocket of her tunic. "That was sandstone. It's a very light kind of rock."

"And more sand than stone, apparently," Starlight giggled, before adding in a more serious tone of voice. "We should probably not tell Pinkie about how we almost got trapped in a cave with no way out. No need to make her worry. Knowing her, she'll start putting bells on us or something."

Maud nodded. "Yes. This will just be our little secret," And she looked across to Starlight. "I've never shared a secret with anypony before, not even my own sister. I'm honored to make you the first pony I've ever done this with."

The unicorn mare flashed a sincere smile. "Hey, you're not half bad yourself, Maud. Really," But then she pondered. "But isn't there somewhere else you're also considering moving to if you haven't decided on Ponyville?"

At that, Maud seemed to become slightly unhappy. Her posture became slightly ever so slouchy. "There is Ghastly Gorge. It would be a good place to continue my studies as Doctor Pie. But I don't know if it would have ponies like you in it, Starlight."

"Sounds like you've already made up your mind." Starlight commented with concern.

"Not exactly," Maud replied. "I haven't seen what Ghastly Gorge has to offer yet. There isn't much I can study around here, so I'll need to know I'm making the best decision."

"I don't suppose I could go with you to the gorge?" Starlight Glimmer pondered.

Maud Pie shook her head from side to side. "I don't think you'd like it. It's not exactly a safe place. It's actually kind of dangerous if you don't know what you're doing," She then sighed. "I know my sister means well, but you didn't have to humor me by pretending to like everything I did just to make her happy."

"Okay, maybe that was my plan at first," The unicorn mare willingly admitted. "But I actually think I've legitimately grown to like you, Maud. You're very interesting. And I hope you'll strongly consider moving to Ponyville. You're the first friend I've ever made without any pressure from anypony else."

"I'll... think about it." Was all Maud had to say, and then she trotted off, leaving Starlight puzzled and bewildered.





Pinkie Pie suspected nothing out of the ordinary when her sister didn't come to Sugarcube Corner to spend the night. She just assumed (naturally) that Maud had found a place of her own to stay, which would mean she was making a committment to Ponyville, just as Pinkie had hoped.

But the next morning, Pinkie woke up to find (much to her surprise) a paper note. She took it into her hooves and read it over. By the time she had finished, she let out a gasp! The note read as follows:

Dear Pinkie Pie,

Sorry, had to leave for Ghastly Gorge. I won't have time to make friends.

It's better this way for everypony, including me.

Sorry it didn't work, you did your best.

Sincerely,

Maud Pie

Pinkie was on the verge of tears. "Maud..." She sniffled, visibly torn up at the prospect of her big sister not committing to Ponyville after all.

Desperate for answers, the pink party pony went to the last pony she knew Maud had been with: Starlight.

As it so happened, Starlight was sound asleep in her room in the castle, mumbling and muttering to herself in the process.

Without bothering for niceties, Pinkie Pie pounced and plopped onto Starlight's bad! Then she frantically shouted at the unicorn! "Starlight, wake up! It's urgent!"

Starlight shot up in bed with a start! "Kites!" She yelped and lost her balance, falling out of bed and tumbling to the floor! Fortunately, she was more startled than hurt, and she quickly got her bearings. Once she did so, she saw the teary look in Pinkie's eyes. "Pinkie, if this is about Maud..."

But before Starlight could finish, Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs! "Maud left for Ghastly Gorge! She didn't come to Sugarcube Corner, not even to say goodbye to me!" Then she sniffled and sobbed.

The unicorn mare was taken aback by such a comment. "Well, I guess Ghastly Gorge does have really good rocks. She'd be right at home there."

The pink party pony only whimpered. "How could she just leave like that? I did what you and her wanted, I stayed away and let you two bond on your own," Looking at Starlight she complained. "What did you do to her, Starlight? Why couldn't you two just be friends? You seemed to be getting along so well."

Starlight Glimmer slowly nodded. "Yeah, we were. And I really did like her. But..." She put a hoof to her chin as she slowly climbed back into bed. "Well... I think she might have gotten the wrong idea when you showed up yesterday."

"That was only the one time," Pinkie protested. "I even resisted the urge to track you two down and put bells on you after you left for the caves."

Starlight could only sigh. "Look, I don't know what exactly was going on inside Maud's head. But I think she thought you'd put me up to this. And," She shamefully confessed. "I kind of thought that's what you wanted me to do. Even then, though," She started to smile a little. "I felt like I was forming a real connection with her, I wasn't simply trying to fake it. And I thought Maud could sense it too. I mean, she is weird!"

"Hey!" Pinkie snapped! "You can't talk about my sister like that!"

Starlight hastily corrected. "I meant weird in a good way, like you. Maud sees the world in a totally different way, she's nothing like Sunburst or Trixie or anypony else I've ever met before," She started reflecting on her time with Maud the previous day as she recalled with fond recollection. "She taught me that a rock is never just a rock, and she could make anything funny. We never really had to say it, but we seemed to get each other, more or less. I never even had to tell her about my past, about who I used to be. And that's a first."

The pink party pony looked up as she dried her eyes. "So you really were becoming best friends?"

The unicorn mare nodded again. "Yeah, I think we were. But I think you showing up that one time, it gave Maud the wrong impression. She seemed kind of annoyed that you didn't trust her to make friends on her own."

"What?!" Pinkie exclaimed as her eyes widened in disbelief! "She reached out to me! Of course I'd trust my sister to make friends on her own! I just got a little concerned because Maud's always had trouble making friends. She could be even shyer than Marble, and Marble's a pony I've always had to do the talking for. But I wanted Maud to be able to make friends on her own. I just thought she needed a little nudge, that's all."

Starlight nervously answered. "Well, maybe you should've explained that to Maud, and perhaps changed up your approach. Setting me up to be her friend probably seemed like a good idea, but in reality it just made it seem like you were trying to do everything for Maud. You kind of... sort of..." She struggled to think of what to say. "Got in the way."

Pinkie Pie stepped back and gasped upon hearing such harsh words! Then, without bothering to wait for a reply from the unicorn, she stood up and proclaimed. "I have to go!" She departed Starlight's bedroom in a hurry, practically slamming the bedroom door shut behind her.

Weakly, Starlight Glimmer tried to proclaim. "Ta-da... Friendship lesson... learned?" Then she threw her head back upon her pillow, sighing in lament while thinking to herself. "That sounded better in my head. Twilight's always better at these sort of things."





Out in Ghastly Gorge, Maud Pie had set up a small camp deep in the valley. She had thrown herself wholeheartedly into her work, even down to wearing a protective helmet and carrying a pickaxe. There she was, alone, with only Boulder and the sounds of the gorge for company. As a result, she had a lot of time to think. Deep down, she knew she was unhappy about what she'd done. But she had made her decision, she couldn't just go back on it now.

Well, there was no time for feeling sorry for herself, because the tunic wearing earth pony suddenly spotted something out of the corner of her eyes. "Stay here," She instructed to Boulder, and after setting aside her pickaxe she went to go inspect that which had attracted her attention. Slowly but surely, she made her way through the valley of the gorge, with only the whispers of the wind and the occasional crumbling of rock to break up the silence. At last, she spotted a shiny, almost glossy moss colored green rock. "Emerald jasper? This must be my lucky day." She said to herself, as she leaned down to pick up the rock, unaware of the faint, low-pitched growling sound in the distance.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had just left the train that had stopped near the gorge. Making her way down into the gorge proper, she soon spotted a set of unmistakable hoofprints. "Maud tracks!" She exclaimed and followed the trail as it wound its way through Ghastly Gorge. When she saw that the prints led past a camp Maud had set up for herself and past where Boulder was, Pinkie began to grow worried. It wasn't like Maud to just leave her pet rock behind.

Then, suddenly, a low-pitched but audible growling noise reached the pink party pony's ears! Horrified and fearing the worst, she rushed towards the noise's source! Sure enough, where the tracks ended, she found a huge quarry eel in its red-scaled glory!

When the eel roared again, its mouth opened to reveal a slime covered Maud Pie, who seemed unaware of where she was. "Oh, hello Pinkie Pie," She greeted her sister in her usual flat tone. "Guess what? I found emerald jasper. This eel dropped it earlier, and now he's letting me have it." She held up the green, glowing rock, just before the quarry eel snapped its jaws shut once again!

Horrified, Pinkie Pie immediately sprang into action! She pulled out a huge pump and hastily used it to prop open the eel's mouth, then she grabbed her sister and pulled her free before the eel could snap its jaws closed once again! "Maud, are you okay?! That eel almost ate you!"

"Oh." Was all Maud could say as she shrugged off the slime, shaking herself to get it off her coat.

Pinkie then grabbed Maud by the hoof and took off, running through the length of the gorge as quarry eels emerged from hiding left and right!

Maud tried to protest. "You didn't need to come out here, Pinkie. I'm having a wonderful time on my own. I even made a new friend all by myself."

"You mean that eel?" Pinkie protested. "Maud, it was trying to have you for a snack!"

Maud Pie shook her head from side to side. "No, Pinkie, the eel's not my friend. The rock was. I was gonna name him Jasper."

Before either of the earth ponies could say anything further, another quarry eel suddenly emerged, forcing both Pie sisters to jump out of its way! Pinkie lucked out and landed on a ledge, a ledge that she saw Maud was trying to cling to with her front hooves. "Oh no! Maud!" She cried and rushed to her sister, trying desperately to pull her up and to safety!

The stotic, tunic wearing earth pony just looked her sister in the eyes as she insisted. "Just let me go, Pinkie. I don't belong in Ponyville. I'm better off on my own, like I always have been. The rocks are the only friends I need."

Pinkie protested as she held tight to her sister's hooves! "Don't say that! It's my fault, Maud! I-" She had to pause and shriek as yet another quarry eel flew by overhead. Fortunately, the moment passed and Pinkie was free to continue speaking. "-I thought I was helping you like you wanted me to when I encouraged Starlight to befriend you. But all I was really doing was making it seem like I didn't trust you, and that wasn't true at all. I tried to help you make a friend my way, but my way isn't your way!"

Maud then looked down at the ground, and with a serious look in her eyes she told her sister. "This way."

"Exactly!" Pinkie Pie agreed.

But Maud protested and said again. "No, this way." Then she revealed that she actually hadn't been that far off the ground after all, she was in no danger if she let go of her sister's hooves.

The pink party pony blushed as she only now noticed what should've been obvious. She released her hold on her sister, and then made her down the small ledge to a lower part of the gorge. She then immediately gave her sister a big hug! "Oh, Maud! I'm so sorry I caused all of this! I didn't want you to think that you could never make friends without help."

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Pinkie," Maud sincerely apologized with a smile on her face. "I really did enjoy my time in Ponyville. Starlight is the best friend I could've ever made. And I never would've met her if it wasn't for your help. I just didn't know how to tell you that I wanted to get know to her on my own, without you always looking over my shoulder."

A realization came to Pinkie as her eyes went wide! "You knew I was watching you the whole time?!"

Maud nodded and confirmed with something of a smirk. "You forgot about my 'Maud Sense', didn't you?"

Pinkie blushed anew. "Oh yeah, I totally did. Should've known I couldn't hide anything from you, Maud. You know me even better than I know myself."

Maud simply smiled again as she sweetly told her sister. "I know you did it out of love. You're my best sister friend forever. I'm more than ready to give Ponyville another chance. I even know where I might live in the town."

"Good!" Pinkie Pie happily proclaimed! "Because I know a certain somepony who'll be really glad to see you again!"





Back in Ponyville, Starlight had taken to flying her kite once again, this time all on her own. It meant she would be alone with her thoughts and feelings. Not exactly the way she liked it, but it would have to do.

Suddenly, just beneath Starlight's kite, there appeared a brown and grayish-blue kite roughly rectangular in shape. Turning around, the unicorn saw that this new kite was being flown by a very familiar looking earth pony, who was holding onto the kite's string with her hooves.

"Oh, you're back!" Starlight exclaimed in shock and surprise! "Guess you and Pinkie patched things up and came to an understanding."

Maud nodded, but only replied with. "Mm-hmm."

The unicorn mare then asked. "So, does this mean you're back in Ponyville for good? That we're friends now?"

Maud Pie nodded again in confirmation. "Yes. It doesn't mean we have to start talking about feelings though, right?"

"No way. I'm not much of a 'feelings' pony." Starlight insisted as she brushed off the subject.

Then Maud proposed. "Hey, maybe after this we could decorate my new home together. I really want you to see it."

"Sure," Starlight eagerly agreed. "Uh, where's at it, exactly?"

"Well, it's not really in Ponyville," The tunic wearing earth pony explained. "More like Ponyville-adjacent. I think you'll recognize it when you see it, though." She was already picturing in her mind where she would settle. It was in that little alcove near the gem caves that she and Starlight had found earlier, a little slice of paradise.