A Gneiss Gesture
The happiest moment I've ever had? Huh, that's a toughie! At least, you'd think it would be. Everypony would think that probably, if you asked them. Not that I can blame them! I'm the Party Pony, the Saver of Smiles, the Champion of Cheer- Okay, maybe only I call myself those.
But it's true that I'm just about the happiest pony around. From the outside, it must look like every moment is the new happiest moment of my life. In a way, that's kinda true! What can I say, when you learn to laugh at anything, everything brings a smile! So, late into last nights' sleepover when Twilight asked us all what the happiest moment we can think of would be, I don't think any of my friends expected an answer. They expected, "Oh, how can I choose? Maybe Twilight's 'Welcome to Ponyville' Party, or Gummy's birthday, or- Oh! I know! The first time I baked a cupcake! Or the time I made the Best Cupcake Ever! No, the time I-" Then I'd just keep listing an increasingly random and vague list of happy moments, my voice fading into the background as they giggled and moved on. So, that's what they got.
The truth is, there is one moment, just one, that stands above the rest. I didn't tell them 'cuz, well, that's not what they needed. You don't get as good as I am at bringing out smiles without learning how to tell what ponies need to hear. They wanted an off-the-cuff, goofy Pinkie Pie answer, so they got one!
But maybe, just maybe, I wanted to tell that story. It is, after all, my favorite. You want to hear it, don't you?
I mean, since I'm already here...
Perfect! Let's go!
I grew up on a rock farm, as you probably know. A lot of ponies see rock farming as dreary, sad work. It really isn't! It's simple, but rewarding if you know what you're doing. Sure, my family never threw crazy fun parties or just danced around for no reason. That wasn't their way, and there's nothing wrong with that. Except, it is my way, though I didn't know that yet. So, I didn't really fit in. Big surprise there, right? My name itself says loads about how out of place I sometimes felt. I mean, Pinkamena? Really? It's a great name, sure. I like it! But surrounded by names like Cloudy Quartz, Limestone, and Marble... I couldn't help but feel a little like I didn't belong. You don't need a rock expert to tell you there's no such thing as a 'pinkamena' rock. But there's no rock called 'maud' either! As soon as I figured that out, it was decided. I got along okay with all of my sisters, but Maud was going to be my favorite sister, and bestie for life.
At first, though, it felt like not being named after rocks was all we had in common. There was this sense inside me that said I was missing something, something humongous. Maud, on the other hoof, was the perfect rock farmer! She loved rocks with a single-minded dedication, and never wanted anything else. She didn't see what I saw- that there had to be more to life! I was a pony person; she was a stony person. This was long before I saw my first rainbow, threw my first party, and became the pony I am today. I was a lost, droopy little melty-bubblegum of a pony. So, my earliest attempts at friendship weren't easy.
As the sun sank below the horizon, the last rays seemed to pool across a plateau not far outside the boundaries of Ponyville. A simple fence encircled this mostly barren patch of land. There was no sign, no big fancy gate to declare this the Pie Family Rock Farm. Like the Pies themselves, it simply was what it was.
The tinkle of a bell sounded across the eastern rock field, fading quickly in the cool evening air. Four fillies scattered across the field raised their heads, nudged a final rock or two into place, then began the walk to their home. Igneous waited to see them all on their way, then turned back into the house.
Limestone had already reached the door by the time Pinkie finally caught up with Maud, still several yards out. She took a deep breath to gather the courage she'd been working up all day, then trotted up alongside her sister.
"Um, Maud?" she asked in a tiny voice, pushing her pin-straight hair back from her eyes with a chubby hoof. Maud glanced down, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"I, uh... I was hoping... Wanna stay out a little longer? With me?" she blurted, slowing down.
The older filly continued for a few paces before noticing that her sister had slowed nearly to a stop. With a single glance toward the house, she stopped and turned. "Why? The bell means it's time to go inside."
Pinkie gulped, pawing the ground. "I know, I just... The sky. I've never watched the sunset before. We could watch the sky go dark..." she mumbled, feeling silly.
Maud considered for a moment, then replied, "We can't see the rocks when it's dark. That's why we go inside when the sun goes down."
Feeling her resolve crumbling, Pinkie shuffled her hooves for a moment, then finally burst out, "It's not about rocks! It's about you! I wanna watch the sky with you!" Pinkie hung her head, blushing furiously.
Maud blinked. After a pause, the pink pony heard hoofsteps, then a soft thud. When she glanced up, Maud was sitting right next to her, head tilted back towards the swiftly purpling sky. Without looking, she said in her usual tone, "You should look now. The sunset will be over soon."
Pinkie sniffed, then quickly squirmed into a sitting position, holding her breath to not ruin the moment.
Their father called them in less than a minute later.
Honestly, watching a sunset wasn't all that fun. Kinda boring, really. And Maud probably just chalked it up to another 'Pinkie Not Making Sense' moment. But it meant the world to me, in that instant. She got me! As a pony, she knew what I needed and she went with it. That's just the kind of crazy-awesome sister she is!
Aww, that's sweet. I can see why that would be your favorite-
Whoa there! I did not say that was my happiest memory ever.
But you said-
That I would tell you the story! I gotta start at the beginning though, or it won't make any sense. Just be patient, silly!
...Are you gonna listen now?
Yes.
.....Good.
Now we get to the real story! When I was old enough, Maud decided to teach me the Super Secret Rock Candy Recipe. Before you even think it, I absolutely will not be telling you the secret recipe! Duh. It's in the name! I'll start after we finished getting our very first batch ever ready.
Maud pulled the last chunk of candy from the string it had formed on, placing it in the pile between herself and Pinkie, who was watching her intently.
"Now we string them into necklaces," Maud explained, placing a spool of string on the table beside the candy.
"Why?" The question burst out before Pinkie could stop herself, which was hardly surprising since she'd been holding back new questions every few seconds for the last hour.
Maud glanced up. "Why what?"
"Why on necklaces?"
"They're easier to carry that way," she answered, snipping off a length of string and threading it onto a needle. "Now we start making the necklace. You can hand me the candies one at a time."
Pinkie nodded, scooting forward. She reached into the pile of gray-white gems and picked the largest one she could find. She could tell by the way Maud blinked so slowly that wasn't the one she would have picked, but she took it without a word and expertly guided the needle through it. Pinkie picked a smaller one next. The sisters continued like this for a while until one question had pushed the others aside so thoroughly Pinkie had to ask it.
"Why aren't they colored?"
As always, Maud considered the question seriously. "The rocks I use in them give them a gray tone. That's the only color they have."
"Okay, but... What if we added color? I like colorful things! Lots of rocks and minerals have color. These could too!"
"But they don't. They are made with a gray rock, so they are gray."
Sensing she wouldn't get anywhere with that argument, Pinkie contented herself with muttering, "Well candy is supposed to be colorful," before resuming her work. She didn't notice the thoughtful look on Maud's face.
A few weeks later, after all the rock candy necklaces had been eaten, an idea struck the filly. She approached her sister one evening, eyes bright with determination.
"I want to make more rock candy!" she declared.
"Okay."
"Oh. You don't mind making more?" Pinkie asked, a bit surprised by Maud's easy agreement.
"Sure."
The following night they cooked up the candy.When the crystals were fully formed, Pinkie asked nervously if she could make a necklace on her own. Maud readily agreed, and set about making the necklaces alone while Pinkie disappeared with a few candies and her own string and needle. A few hours later, as Maud was taking some free time to rearrange a particularly tricky patch of rocks, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Hi, Maud," Pinkie said with a nervous half-smile.
"Hi, Pinkie."
There was an awkward pause before Pinkie cleared her throat and launched into a slightly stumbling speech.
"Thanks for teaching me to make rock candy. I know the recipe is really special and it means a lot. To me. Um. And you know how much I like candy, but I know candy isn't really your favorite. And I realize maybe telling you your candy should be colorful was mean 'cuz you don't need lots of color. I like color but you don't. I mean, not that-" the filly caught herself before getting carried away. After another breath, she continued, "I wanted to make one of your favorites more like my favorite things. But you like it because it's rock candy, not just candy. So, I made you a sorry-thank-you rock candy necklace."
Without giving herself a chance to reconsider, she thrust her hoof out, dangling from which was a rock candy necklace, all in shades of gray and brown. Maud took it, bringing it up to her nose to look closely at each individual candy. Each one was different, some with thin stripes, other speckled or swirled, but all in earthy tones. They were sloppy and in some cases the original candy color showed through.
"You painted the candy," Maud stated.
Pinkie gulped. "Um, yeah, I wanted to make them look like, um, rocks. I don't know how to do that to candy so I, uh, used paint... You probably can't eat them." Her ears drooped a bit as she talked, but she kept her eyes fixed on her sister, hoping. "That one is supposed to be-"
"Sandstone," Maud finished. "Banded gneiss. Basalt. Limestone," she continued, naming each rock without hesitation. Then she lifted the necklace and slid it over her head. "I like it."
Pinkie blinked, then slowly a smile spread across her cheeks. "You do?"
"I do. And I have one for you," Maud added, pulling out a necklace, this one a blinding shade of pink. Pinkie, struck speechless, took the necklace gingerly.
"You like color. And you like candy. It's easy to add color to the rock candy."
Pinkie flung her hooves around her sister, sniffling, "This is the best thing ever!"
Maud's lips twitched up ever so slightly as she put a hoof around her sister. "Candy is meant to be colorful."
You see now? I got her. It took a while, but I got her. It took even longer to learn what I was meant to do, and get my Cutie Mark, and all that. But that was when I learned the real Super Secret Recipe. To make ponies happy, to make them smile, you have to understand first. You can't just do whatever and hope they like it. You have to know them! Maud always knew me, but I had to learn her, and learn to do what made her happy, not just what made me happy.
You and your sister have something pretty special.
I know.
But, I do have a question... Don't you make your necklaces out of all colors?
We do now! Because as much as she liked the necklace I made, you can't eat paint. Always making candy you can't eat would be awful. But only pink candies would get boring, even for me! So we use all colors. But, every now and then, I send her one with no colors added at all. I know she likes them just fine that way too.