Standing in her doorway with a smile upon her face, Pinkie Pie gestured for Tarnished Teapot to come into her room. Tarnish hesitated, feeling nervous, and he looked around. Pinkie gestured again, and her smile grew a little wider. Letting out a nervous groan of worry, Tarnish hobbled to her door and followed her inside.
He saw Maud lying upon Pinkie’s bed in the pony loaf position. Unable to help himself, he smiled. Her usual smock was gone, replaced by a light blue smock covered in tiny little sheep jumping over fences.
And then, the photos on the wall caught Tarnish’s eye. He began to look around, with Pinkie Pie beside him, the pink mare grinning. He stepped forwards and began to look at the photos with a keen interest.
“When I was a filly, I stole my sister’s camera… she never once got mad. She showed me how to use it, how to take better pictures, and she was the best big sister a filly could ask for.” Pinkie Pie paused and then took a step forward. “That’s my first ever party that you're looking at.”
“I see you, your mother, your father, and I see Limestone and Marble… where is Maud?” Tarnish asked.
“Snapping the photo just as we were coming in the door of the old silo,” Pinkie Pie replied. “She took a lot of these photos. When she wasn’t off at school that is.”
“I see.” Tarnish turned his head and saw a photo of Maud, Limestone, and Marble all sitting together, the three of them covered from head to hoof in mud.
“I’m gonna tell you a secret, Tarnish.” Pinkie Pie moved to Tarnish’s side. She moved her mouth closer to Tarnish’s ear. “Maud has a little trouble expressing herself sometimes. Her photography is her way of showing her interest and her enthusiasm about stuff. Important stuff.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Tarnish turned his head just in time to see Maud’s head move in a soft, smooth nod at what Pinkie Pie had said. Tarnish heard Maud say, “It’s true.”
“And now I have to kick ya out. Sorry, but Maud and I are about to have sister time. We’re going to stay up late and talk about stuff. Important stuff.” Pinkie Pie waggled her eyebrows as she spoke.
“Goodnight,” Maud said as Pinkie Pie showed Tarnished Teapot to the door.
“Goodnight, both of you…”
The morning was a bit chilly and a misty fog had rolled over the farm. After moving rocks for several hours, Tarnish was now flipping and stacking rocks, arranging them in clusters close to the ley line intersection. Even though it had only been a few days, he felt more practiced with his magic now, certain actions seemed easier and required less effort.
He found that he rather enjoyed what he was doing. It allowed him to zone out, giving him time to think, to contemplate, a chance to mull over the many things that lingered within his mind. He liked that his magic was working, was cooperating, and that he could be a unicorn for once, rather than just a pony with a horn.
Each cluster was conical or pyramidal. It was important to be able to see the rocks, to examine them, and this meant efficient shapes for doing so. After doing this for almost an hour, Tarnish had a bit of a rhythm going, which allowed him to work in an almost mindless state, stacking rocks.
As he worked, he could not help but wonder if his magic was also having an effect upon the rocks, somehow enhancing the chaotic effects of the ley line energies. He didn’t know how to test for such a thing, but the thought lingered in the back of his mind. He thought of Maud and how she spoke of Trixie, with Trixie’s magic being unstable and even unusable here at the farm. Magic was a fickle, funny thing that Tarnished Teapot knew almost nothing about.
In his mind, as he worked, he was assembling a list of things to talk to Twilight Sparkle about, hoping to get some answers.
The springs of his bed creaked as Tarnished Teapot sat down upon it. It felt good to sit down. Walking around on three legs was taxing upon his body as it required odd movement that his body was not designed for. His back ached and as he sprawled out upon his side, there was a disturbing crackle from his spine. He had worked until his magic had depleted, fizzling out, and nothing but a few sparks had come from his horn.
Tarnish found that he enjoyed his newfound sense of accomplishment, something he had discovered while he was staying in Dodge City Junction. Crossing the salt flats, braving a pack of flying skunks, evading ravenous vampiric jackalopes and chupacabras… it gave one the sense that their life had value. Overcoming hardship, facing challenges, surviving difficult odds, even using hardship to your advantage, as had been the case with the manticore and the flying skunks. Of course, the flying skunks had also contributed to his downfall, in a way.
The Pie family had been kind to him. Cloudy worried about his busted leg. Igneous had shown a genuine sense of appreciation. Limestone and Marble had made him feel welcome. Laying there, staring at the wall, Tarnish realised he felt something that he hadn’t felt while living in Ponyville, but he could not put his hoof on what it was, only that something felt different here, with these ponies.
A knock upon the door interrupted Tarnish’s thoughts. He glanced over at the door and said, “It’s open.” He watched as the door opened, the hinges creaking and needing a bit of oil. He saw Maud and could not help himself, a smile spread across his face.
“The whole family is heading into town. We’d like for you to come,” Maud said looking at Tarnish with her usual serene, if somewhat blank expression.
“Rock Haven?” Tarnish asked.
Maud shook her head. “No, not Rock Haven.” Maud blinked, her eyelids moving with all of the hurried speed of an impatient glacier. “We’re going to Foalsom Springs. They have a movie theater and a big department store. Mama needs supplies for some of her projects and I need stuff for my photography.”
“I don’t know if I should go… I don’t know if I should be around other ponies.”
Maud blinked again and then her head tilted off to one side. “You can’t hide yourself away. Just be careful with your magic. Once we are away from the farm, we can run a few experiments.”
“But what if everypony hates me once we get away from the farm?” Tarnish asked, revealing his fear and something that he had thought about.
“Tarnish, that is a risk you are going to have to take… but I do suspect that we are all saturated with wild and unpredictable magic. Just look at my sister, Pinkie Pie.” Maud stepped into Tarnish’s room and closer to his bed. “In Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was always your friend and tried to be nice to you.”
“Maud, things finally feel like they are going right… I’m so scared that everything will become a mess,” Tarnish said. He squirmed on the bed, wiggling around, and then struggled to sit up.
“Come with us,” Maud said, looking Tarnish in the eye as she spoke. “It’ll be okay. Life, just like science, has risks.”
Maud waited as Tarnish slipped out of bed and got to his hooves. Much to Tarnish’s surprise, she pressed herself against him, and the pair stood neck to neck for a moment in something that was almost a hug.
“Hmm, this is nice. I see what Pinkie means,” Maud said as she leaned into Tarnish.
Lost in the moment, Tarnish made a confession. “I have thought about hugging you or touching you a few times… I mean, in a friendly way… not in a bad way…”
“Why haven’t you?” Maud asked.
“Because… I don’t know if it is okay or not. I mean, I have some trouble—”
“Understanding me and how I am?” Maud asked. Maud closed her eyes and let out a faint soft sigh. “I’m sorry, I can’t help how I am. It is going to make things difficult for you. I have the same wants and needs as anypony else, I just have a hard time showing it. I like hugs as much as the next pony.”
“This is nice,” Tarnish said, leaning into Maud a little. She was warm, soft, and her body had a solid well muscled feel that Tarnish discovered that he liked quite a bit.
“Come with us Tarnish.”
“Okay…”