Maud’s mane had almost returned to its normal state. The only indicator that something was amiss was a stray, solitary curl that stuck out from behind her ear. Sitting in the wagon, Tarnished Teapot watched as she leaned into the harness and pulled the wagon homewards.
Pinkie Pie was singing some song about smiling as she pranced in between Marble and Limestone. Tarnish sighed. The short trip was over and now they were returning to the rock farm, which Tarnish supposed he felt good about. He could use his magic there without too much risk or worry.
Off behind the wagon, Igneous and his wife walked together, talking, but Tarnish could not hear their conversation. Not that he was trying to listen of course. The day was warm, sunny, and Tarnish felt as though he could not sit still. More than anything, he wanted to be walking beside somepony. Maud in particular. Walking beside Maud would be nice.
Feeling rather proud of himself, he had found a way to make Maud respond. Sure, she didn’t smile, or frown, she never sounded surprised, or happy, or sad, or anything, but she sure could make physical responses. There was a tangible connection now.
“Igneous, is something wrong?”
“No, Cloudy, I just don’t know how I feel.”
“You should feel happy.”
“I do.”
“Yet I sense some hesitation.” Cloudy Quartz glanced over at her husband, peering out from beneath the brim of her sun hat.
“Maud is special to me.”
“I know that, Igneous… she turned out like you, only much worse. We’ve dealt with it.”
“I came out of my shell just a little. I’m not like how I was. It was you that did it. You just kept loving me and never gave up. Maud is my little filly… I don’t mean to play favourites, but she’s so much like me… just like how Pinkie takes after your side of the family. I’m scared, Cloudy, real scared.”
“Igneous, why are you scared?” Cloudy, who kept pace with her husband, tried to read his face. After a bit of inspection, Cloudy realised her husband was terrified. In silence, she berated herself for not paying attention and waited for him to respond.
“I’m scared that she’ll have her heart broken. That things won’t work out. That something will go wrong and she’ll just retreat inwards. It scares me that this might happen and because of how she is, we’ll never know just how much she’s hurting, what she’s feeling, or if she’s healing after the fact. She’ll just keep it all inside and we’ll never know.”
“Pinkie will know. Pinkie can read Maud like a book,” Cloudy replied.
“But that doesn’t help me feel better.”
“You are a sedimental softie.”
Unable to help himself, Igneous smiled and felt a little better.
“Tarnished Teapot is a good colt. He needs some guidance. He needs a little more time to mature. He’s not a bad sort. Pinkie Pie speaks fondly of him. He has a certain strength of character to him, but I don’t think he’s aware of it.”
Igneous looked at his wife and nodded. He then turned his head, looking forwards, towards the wagon where Tarnish was sitting. “I trust him around my daughters. He’s not a bad sort. He’s just young and stupid, at least for now. In time, I think he’ll straighten out. If not, if things work out between him and my little Maudy, she’ll straighten him out.”
“It is my sincere hope that Tarnish straightens Maud out.” Cloudy glanced at the colt in the wagon. “Igneous, I must confess, seeing Maud’s mane like that gave me hope. Once Pinkie Pie found her happiness, it showed. Pinkie Pie was a miserable little filly and it showed, both inside and out. But then there was the day that she changed. I was so glad to see her happy.” Cloudy blinked away some dust that had gotten into her eyes and had made them water. “Maud’s body might have some trouble expressing joy, but this morning, it found a way.”
“Maud was quite a sight.” Igneous gave his wife a sidelong glance. “We’ll always know if those two go off and do a bit of snogging. They won’t be able to sneak around.”
“She’s a grown mare, Igneous.”
“I’m her father. I never got to go through this with her when she was a filly, Cloudy, I intend to have my fun. Just a little bit. I went through a lot of trouble raising her.”
“Igneous, you are impossible,” Cloudy replied, rolling her eyes.
“You know, when little Maudlin Pie was born, I knew I had to change somehow. I wanted to make certain that my foals knew I loved them. That they made me happy. That I was proud of them. Foals need to see that.”
“Yes, Igneous, they do.”
“I hope I’ve been a good father.”
“I think you’ve been a great father. Pinkie Pie turned out okay, Limestone is a lovely filly, Marble has the potential to be anything she wants to be, and I think Maud is going to be okay. So you can relax now and stop being scared. Everything is going to be okay.”
“I hope so, Cloudy, I hope so…”
“So Maud has a mane like yours,” Limestone said to her sister, Pinkie Pie.
“I know, isn’t it wonderful?” Pinkie Pie replied.
Limestone looked back over her shoulder and back at Pinkie. “She still has that one little curl sticking out. It’s kinda cute.”
“Oh, it’s just waiting for the others to return. They will, you’ll see.” Pinkie Pie grinned. “Trust me, I’m an expert on this sort of thing.”
In a quiet voice, Marble, who felt the need to say something, spoke her mind. “Just don’t tease her about it. I think Maud was overwhelmed this morning. She was really embarrassed. She stayed under those blankets for a long time. She’s sensitive.”
“I know.” Pinkie’s ears drooped down. “I feel kinda bad. I was just so happy about everything and I guess I wasn’t paying attention to how Maud was feeling. Maud wasn’t laughing with us, which means she probably feels like we were laughing at her. Nopony likes that kind of laughter.”
“Maud doesn’t laugh.” Limestone shook her head in confusion.
“Eh, figure of speech.” Pinkie Pie turned her head around and looked back over her shoulder at Maud. “I suppose at some point, I should say I’m sorry.” After studying Maud for a moment, Pinkie Pie groaned. “She looks upset. I think I’m going to have a talk with her.”
“Good luck. I’ll stay up front and keep Marble company.”
Falling into step with Maud, Pinkie Pie pranced beside her sister, her curly pink mane bouncing. Pinkie Pie pulled out her most apologetic smile, the one she used for special occasions, extra toothy, with a side of eye wrinkles for maximum expressiveness.
“Maud?”
“What, Pinkie?”
Wincing, Pinkie Pie realised just how upset Maud was. She felt bad. Real bad. Like crawling into a hole in the ground and dying kind of bad. “I’m sorry.” Pinkie waited for some kind of response, waited a little more, tried to be patient and waited a little longer. No response of any sort seemed forthcoming. Pinkie Pie swallowed and began to understand that she had made a mess, a mess that needed cleaning up.
“Maud, I really am sorry. I saw how happy you looked and I got carried away—”
“I had just had my first kiss. I was having what felt like the happiest moment of my life. And then I discover my whole family is staring at me as if I was some kind of freak show.” Maud didn’t sound angry and no trace of emotion was in her voice. If anything, she sounded extra bored, as if she had no interest in anything at all. “It was humiliating. That was a special moment for me and it became a joke to all of you.”
“Oh gosh, Maud, I’m so sorry.”
Turning her head, Maud’s eyes narrowed. It was something that would have been imperceptible to most ponies. Most ponies would have never noticed the miniscule amount of movement. Most ponies would have never noticed the clenching muscles in Maud’s jaw. Most ponies would have never noticed the almost unnoticeable flaring of Maud’s nostrils, which would have needed a mechanical micrometre to measure the distance to know that anything had changed.
Pinkie Pie was not most ponies, and she recoiled as though she had been struck when Maud looked at her. Her lip quivered and she whimpered, “Oh gosh, Maud, I really am so sorry.”
Maud turned her head away and stared straight ahead at the road.
“Yeah, I goofed.” Pinkie Pie sighed. She felt like crying, but there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to go, and if she did cry, she knew it would ruin the day for everypony else. “I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you,” Maud said in a deadpan reply. “Just stop saying that you’re sorry. I know you are sorry. I still love you, I’m just angry.”
“I can see that now.” Pinkie Pie stretched out her neck and rubbed her cheek against her sister Maud’s neck. “I’ll make this up to you somehow, I swear.”
Maud stopped in mid step, which almost caused poor Tarnish to fall over out of the wagon. There was a cry of surprise, a loud thump, and a moan of pain. Maud raised her head high and looked down at her sister Pinkie. “Actually, there is something you can do for me.”
“What’s that, Maud?”
“When you go home to Ponyville, I want you to convince your friend Twilight Sparkle to allow Tarnish to come back for a visit. A short visit. And I want you to make certain that his mother is there when he comes to visit.”
Pinkie Pie sucked in a deep breath and held it, causing her cheeks to bulge. With wide eyes, she stared at her sister. She let out everything she was holding in with a gasp. “But Tarnished Teapot was banished from Ponyville.”
“You want to get back into my good graces, don’t you?”