Locked in the terrible grip of panic, eyes wide, nostrils flared, Maud paced in a circle around Tarnish’s statue. Each breath she took was a ragged, shivering gasp. Maud paused mid step and then rubbed herself up against the stone statue’s side, longing to feel warmth and softness again. As much as Maud loved the stones in the world around her, she did not love this, not at all.
Maud’s throat was dry, parched, and her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth. She lifted Tarnish’s canteen, fumbled with it, she was shaking far too much to have any sort of dexterity, and with great effort, she managed to get the stopper off. Almost dropping it, she managed to tilt it back and get a drink. The cool water inside sloshed and then spilled out all over her muzzle. She drank deep to try and slake her thirst.
She set down the canteen on the stepboard of the wagon and then somehow managed to get the stopper stuffed back inside. Time seemed all distorted and Maud had no way of knowing how much time had passed. The sun was approaching its zenith now, but Maud had no idea how long she had been waiting.
Overhead, there was an ominous rumble, followed by a clap of thunder.
When Pinkie was set down upon the ground by Twilight Sparkle, she saw her sister Maud and right away, Pinkie felt her heart breaking. She had never seen Maud look this way before. Her sister was a mess… it looked as though Maud was about to start crying, which was impossible, because Maud didn’t cry.
Hearing Twilight folding her wings, Pinkie Pie rushed forwards, a growing lump in her throat, and threw herself at her sister, hugging Maud with everything she had in her.
“Pinkie Pie, I’m so glad to see you,” Maud said as she returned Pinkie’s hug.
“Give me a few minutes… I can undo this.” Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, confident, her horn glowing. “Maud, I’m very sorry this happened, you look awful, but try not to worry, I can fix this. I had this happen to me.”
Pinkie Pie, hearing her sister sniffle, squeezed a little tighter. Pinkie closed her eyes, this was almost unbearable. “It’s okay Maud, it’s gonna be okay, Twilight can fix anything.”
“Why does he have to have such bad luck?” Maud asked, her eyes closed, almost crushing her sister as she clung to Pinkie Pie. Any other pony might have been jellified in Maud’s embrace, but Pinkie Pie came from sturdy stock.
“I dunno Maud, I’d say he has pretty good luck, he has you after all,” Pinkie Pie replied, hoping to make her sister feel better.
“It hurts so bad inside.” Maud’s whole body shuddered as she drew in deep breaths, her sides heaving like bellows. “I can’t bear this.”
“Just hang on, Maud.” Pinkie Pie reached up and stroked the back of Maud’s head with her forelock. Pinkie Pie pulled her head away for a moment, just enough so she could angle her muzzle around and give Maud a kiss on the cheek. “It’ll all be okay.”
There was a loud crackle of magic and Pinkie Pie turned her head in time to see that Tarnish was changing colour. The greyish-white colour was changing, becoming chocolate brown, the colour of ooey-gooey chocolate frosting. She saw his blue eyes blink for a moment and he looked very confused.
“Tarnish, try not to move, just hold still if you can hear me,” Twilight instructed.
Pinkie felt Maud’s head pull away. She turned her own head and looked at Maud. She watched Maud’s ears swivel around and perk forwards. Pinkie Pie held on a little tighter to her sister. Pinkie heard a pained cry and then felt Maud’s whole body tense.
Looking over at Twilight and Tarnish, Pinkie Pie saw Twilight lift Tarnish in a bright magenta bubble of magic. Pinkie Pie let go of Maud, but this was only temporary; she extended her forelegs as Tarnish was lowered down, and then she wrapped her forelegs around both Maud and Tarnish, pulling them both close, and sandwiching Tarnish between them.
This was a private moment, and had Pinkie Pie not been a part of this family, she might have felt as though she was intruding. She closed her eyes and could hear Maud kissing Tarnish over and over again. She could feel Tarnish convulsing as he got his movement back and his legs flailed about.
“How did you know where we were?” Maud asked. She lay half draped over Tarnish, her forelegs locked around his neck and cradling his head. “Does Tarnish’s amulet have some kind of tracking spell?”
Twilight Sparkle coughed and her wings fluttered. “Um, actually, Princess Celestia wanted a tracking spell on the amulet.” Twilight looked down at the ground and then kicked at a few leaves. “I refused to do it. I acknowledged that Tarnish was maybe just a little bit dangerous, but that he had a right to his privacy—”
“Twilight had a crisis show up on the cutie mark map,” Pinkie Pie said, cutting Twilight off. “She didn’t know what it was, but she knew where it was happening. I showed up right after she was done talking to you.” Pinkie Pie went to Twilight’s side and then began rummaging around inside of Twilight’s saddlebags. She pulled out several small boxes tied with twine, balanced them upon her back, and then closed the flaps on the bags. “I packed for an emergency.”
When Tarnish coughed up more dust, Twilight lifted up a cup full of apple juice for him to drink with her magic. “Just try to stay still and drink plenty of liquids. You’re going to be dehydrated for a while—I know that I was.” Twilight glanced over at Pinkie and then her eyes fell upon Maud. Feeling relieved, Twilight noticed that Maud’s cutie mark was getting darker, and wasn’t as faded and grey as it had been when she had first arrived. Twilight had said nothing however, as she didn’t feel the need to further cause panic. She had first noticed it when Pinkie had been holding Maud, and then had seen only glimpses of it when Maud moved around or stretched her legs and her smock shifted, revealing Maud’s hips, like now, where Maud’s smock was bunched up because of how she was sprawled over Tarnish.
Pinkie Pie set the boxes on her back down on the wooden platform where Maud and Tarnish were both laying. She began to open them up, revealing a selection of treats of all kinds. She hummed to herself, her tail swishing from side to side like a metronome, keeping perfect time. As Pinkie worked, she realised that she and Maud now shared something in common. Looking up from the boxes, she looked at her sister and saw that there were no curls to be seen in Maud’s mane. Usually, with Tarnish around, there was at least one, or sometimes a cotton candy explosion of curls, depending on what Maud and Tarnish had been doing. Embarrassed, Pinkie Pie knew what curled her sister’s mane.
Unable to help herself, Maud yawned.
“Somepony is sleepy,” Pinkie Pie said in a chirpy, syrupy voice.
“Tarnish and I usually travel at night, while it is cooler… I’ve been awake for a very long time,” Maud replied.
“Well, don’t worry, Little Sis is here to take care of Big Sis… try and eat something, both of you, and then Twilight and I will stay here with you, to watch over you while you sleep.” Pinkie Pie reached out her hoof and booped Maud on the nose, and then, with a huge grin, she booped Tarnish as well.
“I thought I lost you,” Maud whispered into Tarnish’s ear.
Tarnish coughed once more and then gave Maud a nuzzle. He blinked, his eyes felt dry and scratchy. The cup of apple juice floated near his head, the straw bobbing about in the golden liquid. He stretched out his lips and wrapped them around the straw.
“I didn’t feel like I was a rock anymore.” Maud’s voice wasn’t quite its usual monotone. Something about it sounded different… almost vulnerable. It was almost imperceptible, but Maud’s voice wavered in tone and pitch now as she spoke.
Ears perked, Pinkie Pie noticed it most of all. Maud looked miserable, even worse than when Nana Pinkie or Granny Pie had died. Maud looked troubled. Pinkie Pie’s eyes darted over to Twilight and then back to Maud. She wondered if their cutie mark crisis was over, or just beginning. Maud seemed to be recovering, but Pinkie Pie had some doubts. Her Pinkie sense was screaming at her that something just didn’t feel right.
“Both of you should try to eat,” Twilight suggested.
Twilight Sparkle sighed, filling her lungs with moist, swampy air. It was a bit too warm for her liking. When she sweated, it got into her feathers and made her wings itchy. She didn’t know how pegasi put up with this sensation, it was maddening.
Turning her head, she looked at the two ponies slumbering inside of the lean-to shelter. Maud was still draped over Tarnish, and her head rested upon his neck. Just looking at them made Twilight feel warm. It was too hot and sticky outside to sleep piled together like that.
Blinking, Twilight Sparkle returned to her task. She lifted her quill and continued making notes on practical water condensation magic, filling the margins of a book with her own helpful tips, tricks, and adjustments. She planned to leave the book with Tarnish.
“Twilight?”
“What is it, Pinkie?”
“I’m scared, Twilight.”
Lifting her head, Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie, who looked despondent while she nibbled at a cupcake. Seeing Pinkie looking so miserable made Twilight feel awful. “What’s wrong Pinkie, why are you scared?”
“Maud has changed.” Pinkie Pie heaved a sigh. “I’ve known her my whole life. She’s my big sister… but today, it was like hugging a stranger.”
For a long time, Twilight said nothing, but watched as Pinkie continued her despondent nibbling, trying to think of what to say. Twilight thought of both her brother as well as Cadance, and then, Twilight realised she knew how her friend was feeling. “Pinkie, I know how you feel.”
“You do?”
“Yes I do.” Twilight nodded.
“Really?” Pinkie Pie looked up from her cupcake.
“For a time, after my brother and Cadance were married, they both felt like strangers.” Twilight, thinking about the situation, felt the need to clarify her statement. “I’m not talking about Shining Armor acting weird because of Queen Chrysalis’ mind control or Cadance being weird because she was actually Queen Chrysalis… I mean when both of them were actually themselves again. Shining Armor changed and so did Cadance. My brother acted different, and so did my foalsitter.”
“I suppose they did,” Pinkie Pie replied as she reached up and rubbed her chin. “The day that I had to stop Maud from going after Jeff… that was the day that I started to realise that Maud had changed a teensy-weensy bit. She was going to plant him in the dirt.”
Twilight, who had heard this story, glanced over at Maud’s sleeping form. She knew what Maud was capable of, she had seen it when Maud had saved Pinkie. “Pinkie, I think love changes ponies. Shining Armor and Cadance share a bond that goes beyond friendship. They can’t just think about themselves anymore, their thoughts are always on each other, and doing what is right—doing what is best for one another.”
“Hmm.” Pinkie Pie licked some frosting from her nose and her head bobbed in agreement. She nibbled a bit more of her cupcake and then, opening her mouth, she crammed the whole thing inside of her mouth to gobble it down.
“For a time, after the wedding, it was like my brother was a stranger.” Twilight lifted a leftover cupcake out of the box and peeled away the paper. “But then, I got to know the pony that my brother had become. Not just my brother, but Cadance’s husband. And you know what?”
“What?” Pinkie asked.
“Cadance’s husband is a pretty nice pony,” Twilight replied. “It was worth it, getting to know him. He’s kinda special.” Twilight bit off half of her cupcake in one bite, smacked her lips, and chewed on her treat.
“I suppose I should spend some time getting to know Tarnish’s wife when I get the chance.” Pinkie Pie’s expression brightened and she smiled, some of her usual cheer returning. “Thanks Twilight, this time, you made everything better.”
Wait, Twilight thought to herself. She locked her eyes upon Pinkie and asked, “This time?”