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I was awoken by the loud jingling of a bell this morning. I sat up in bed with a start before looking around and finding that the alarm clock on the nightstand next to me was jingling and quivering. Wide awake, I reached out and tapped the button to shut it off. Fluttershy then sat up in bed as well before looking to me. "Was that the alarm clock going off just now?"

I had honestly forgotten why we even set that thing to go off in the first place. I then replied while taking it into my hand, "Yeah, looks like it. But... Wait a second! 6 AM?! Why were we supposed to wake up this early?"

It was still quite dark outside with it being so early in the morning. I had not woken up that early since my days in grade school. Fluttershy then explained, "You forgot? Pinkie Pie requested that we show up early in the morning at Sugarcube Corner to help out with something. All of our friends will be there too."

"I really hope its not to set the shop up for business. I don't even work there on Thursdays... Why did I agree to this again?" I grumbled before climbing out of bed. Fluttershy and I took a brief hot shower to freshen ourselves up before I got dressed and went downstairs. We were careful to not awaken Scootaloo and had some toast for a light breakfast to give us some fuel for the early rise. After dressing myself in a light jacket, we headed on our way towards Ponyville. The crisp cool air of the early autumn wind did perk me up a fair bit, although I knew I would be sleeping late the following morning.

Virtually nopony was out at all while we trekked through Ponyville. It was barely past 6:30 AM, so no shops or businesses were even open at the time. The light of the morning sun was only just starting to peek over the horizon, although I doubt Celestia and Luna were not yet awake to bring about the sunrise. Finally, Sugarcube Corner came into view. And as we approached the backdoor, we all saw our four other friends approaching as well. Rarity let out a yawn while she called out, "Morning, girls! And good morning to you, James."

"Morning, Rarity... Hoo, I'm not used to being up at the crack of dawn like this. Anypony even know what Pinkie Pie wanted us up this early for?" Rainbow Dash said with a yawn of her own while coming in for a landing.

Applejack did not seem all that fazed at all, probably due to her business requiring her to wake up early to get to work. "It ain't so bad bein' an early riser, girls. But from I recall... I think she said somethin' about... Actually, I don't think she said exactly what she needed help with. Has anypony even seen her since she asked us ta show up?"

"Well, she showed up for work on time, but she then asked to be allowed off early for something important. I had to mind the kitchen with Mrs. Cake until closing." I explained while gazing up at the upper windows set around the loft. With how happy-go-lucky Pinkie Pie is, it is unusual that she would take something so seriously as to be allowed to clock out early. "She even asked that she not be disturbed upstairs after she clocked out."

"Must be something really important... I hope she's all right." Fluttershy added while we all approached the back door.

Twilight was the first to knock. And before she could even get a word out, the door flung open to reveal our perky pink friend. Only she was clad in a tall white chef's hat and a pair of...safety goggles. "Phew, I was starting to wonder if you were even going to show up! Quick, get in here!"

We did not even have time to argue or ask questions before Pinkie Pie was already outside and started chucking my friends past the door. Not in the mood to get tossed along as well, I hurried inside before she could get her hooves on me. She then rushed us all upstairs into the loft. "Pinkie, quit it! We're all here now, so... Huh?"

I quickly noticed that I had stepped on some hard and uneven flooring. When we all looked down, we saw what seemed to be bits of blocky pieces of chalk set in a rainbow of colors. Twilight then asked, "Uh... What's with all the...rocks?"

"They're not rocks, silly filly! It's rock candy!" Pinkie Pie replied with a giggle that seemed abnormally ecstatic and obnoxious, even for her.

It was then that we got a good look at Pinkie Pie's room. And... What in the world possessed her to redecorate it in such a way? Just... Piles and piles of rock candy that were as tall as me! Red, indigo, cyan, yellow, green... So many colors and so many piles! And with how they looked more like rocks than candy, I was shocked they did not cause the floor to break under them. As we all stared in utter bewilderment, Rainbow Dash pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. "Pinkie, this is even more off the wall than most of your other stunts! What's gotten into you?!"

Even more oblivious to her zany antics than usual and speaking in a loud tone of voice that I simply was not in the mood to deal with so early in the morning, Pinkie Pie replied while taking a whisk and stirring a bowl filled with multiple pieces of rock candy. "Oh, nothing much! It's just that my big sister is coming to town today! I told you about Maud, right?"

Maud? I had never even heard of that name before. And judging by how my friends were looking at her, they had never even heard of her either. Fluttershy then asked, "Um... I don't think you ever told us about her. Ever."

"Yeah, me neither. I seem to recall you bringing up your two younger sisters Limestone and Marble, but never anypony named Maud." Twilight added while sounding genuinely sincere about her claims.

For whatever reason, this prompted Rainbow Dash to hover over to Twilight and say with a smirk, "You mean like how you went almost two years living with us in Ponyville before telling us about your brother right before his wedding day?"

I cocked my head to one side as Twilight brought her hoof to her face. "Can we please not go over that right now?"

"Yes, quite... Anyway, what does all this rock candy have to do your sister?" Rarity then asked while Applejack examined one of the piles nearby."

"That can wait!" Pinkie Pie chirped before holding out the bowl she was mixing. "I just need your help in taste-testing all this rock candy to make sure my recipes are up to standard. Only the best for Maud!"

"Really, Pinkie? Who eats candy first thing in the morning?" I asked while finding myself becoming increasingly annoyed by this rather petty reason to have been woken up so early in the morning.

Pinkie Pie merely winked at me and said, "You're looking at her! Anyway, try some! I promise you'll like it!"

While deciding to not inquire as to why she literally had mountains of the stuff in her own bedroom, I played along solely for her sake. And while I had to completely ignore my personal inhibitions on consuming candy so early in the morning, I soon found that the rock candy was quite good. Very tasty! Although I noticed a bit of a grainy texture while chewing. And this went on for roughly an hour. I tried to limit myself to just a single piece for each flavor, but I still found myself feeling icky and full long before the rest of my friends did. I have no idea how they held out as long as they did, but they all moaned and groaned while looking physically sick a while later. Fluttershy seemed to be trying to mimic my methods by only having one piece of each flavor, probably out of fear that a sugar overdose would not be good for the baby inside her.

"Ugh... I'm gonna need to give my teeth a good brushing and flossing... That rock candy's hard stuff..." Rainbow Dash groaned in discomfort while some bits of rock candy stuck to her face around the mouth.

Much to our horror, Pinkie Pie walked back up the stairs with a big salad bowl filled with a rainbow of rock candy. She grinned while clearly oblivious to my friends' discomfort and said, "But you've only tried about half of the flavors! I've got plenty more! We've gotta find out which of these are the best flavors so I can whip up plenty!" I facepalmed with a sigh while the rest of my friends groaned in unison at the prospect of being forced to eat more candy after already gorging themselves on it. The piles of rock candy had already been cut down to more manageable sizes, but there was still plenty lying about.

In a desperate ploy to get out of eating more, Fluttershy spoke up while trying to keep a straight face. "But... Uh... Isn't Maud your favorite sister? She'll probably love the rock candy no matter what flavors you use."

"Yeah! Uh... I think you've already made enough too. Didn't you say she was only staying for a week?" Twilight asked while also trying to hide her desperation to avoid having to eat more. I could tell that my friends were just eager to get out of there by that point, especially when Pinkie Pie downed have the bowl of rock candy as if compelled to consume it. I had forgotten how...unsettling it can be to watch her gorge herself on that stuff or any other type of candy.

"Awww... Thanks, girls. But it's not just for her. I'm making plenty for all of us!" Pinkie Pie replied while we all groaned together at the impending deluge of more rock candy. Did Mr. and Mrs. Cake even know that she was raiding the storeroom for the ingredients? At the rate this was going, I was not going to want to eat another piece of rock candy for as long as I lived.

"Well... How 'bout ya tell us what all this rock candy's for. I mean I bet not everypony in the Pie family are big eaters." Applejack then said while apparently trying to stave off Pinkie Pie's offers of more rock candy.

"I'm soooo glad you asked!" Pinkie Pie replied with quite a bit of enthusiasm while also pulling out a notebook from nowhere. When she flipped it open, it revealed some surprisingly nice crayon drawings. The first page seemed to depict the rock farm she lived throughout the earlier years of her life. Yeah, I was just as surprised as you would be when I found out she came from a rock farm of all places. The following pages depicted her and another mare with a long straight mane and tail not unlike how Pinkie's looks when she gets depressed, only a bit shorter. Their bodies were left empty over the line paper, but their outlines depicted their coat or mane colors. Pinkie Pie obviously had pink outlines while Maud... I will assume her full name is Maud Pie. She had a rather muddy purple outline. She seemed to be a friendly and happy mare judging by Pinkie's illustrations showing her constantly smiling. Funnily enough, Pinkie Pie had drawn some pages slightly differently so that when flipping through the pages, they looked like flipbook animations. "What we're doing is all part of a super-duper important tradition that only the bestest and closest of friends can ever share! We're gonna use this rock candy to make necklaces!"

Right after she said that, Pinkie Pie pulled out a simple string necklace with large pieces of rock candy hanging off of it in a rainbow of colors. It seemed rather childish for them to be making those sort of things as adults, but it seemed to be not so much that than it was as an act of kinship between sisters. Pinkie Pie continued to flip through the pages of her and Maud whipping up what was probably their first batch of rock candy complete with Pinkie Pie chugging the leftover sugar while Maud was not looking. But when Maud got back, I looked on in shock as the illustration depicted her dropping several bulky objects into the pot. Pinkie Pie then narrated, "It all started when we were just little fillies. She taught me the Pie family's secret rock candy recipe! And the secret ingredient to them is..." She then whispered the word, "Rocks..."

Before she could even get back to speaking normally, I spoke up, "Now, hold on a second! Are you saying we were stuffing our faces with sand for the last hour?!"

"That would most certainly explain that remarkably gravelly texture..." Rarity added while holding a hoof to her chin.

The rest of our friends looked genuinely freaked out as well, but Pinkie Pie merely laughed at us. "It's OK! You think I'd mix in something that'd get you sent to the hospital?! It's a special edible kind of rock that Maud discovered. Just don't ask me what they're called because that's a family secret! You'd have to marry into the Pie family for me to share it with you."

"Well, considering what I heard from you about them, they don't sound like a bunch I'd want to marry into. From how life was for you as a filly, they sound...really boring." I replied while thinking back to what Pinkie Pie told me about her childhood. A bleak and colorless rock farm where no one ever laughed or smiled.

Much to our surprise, Pinkie Pie only laughed it off. "Oh, James! They're not THAT boring! Besides, I bet you'd just love my little sister! Marble's a lot like Fluttershy even. Quiet and shy and really pretty too! You two would be such good friends!"

Before we could debate over anything else, Pinkie Pie continued to narrate while the pictures in the notebook followed along with every turn of the page. "Anywaaaaay... She showed me how to string them all together to make necklaces like this one! And then we'd trade them! We've been trading back and forth ever since I left home. Their a sign of how close we'll always be!"

"Sounds like a mighty swell tradition you two have goin' on, Pinkie. And Maud looks like a friendly girl too. I reckon we'll get along just fine." Applejack said once Pinkie Pie finished. I could see that she was still feeling a bit uncomfortable from all the candy she had eaten, but was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Come to think of it... Why haven't we not heard of her until now? And what's bringing her all the way out here to little Ponyville?" Rarity then asked with a look of puzzlement. She had a point. With how close Pinkie and Maud seem to be, it seemed surprising that I had not heard of Maud stopping by once over the past year. And with how Pinkie Pie is a bit of a nutjob at times and had never even mentioned Maud's existence to her friends, I was even starting to suspect that she was entirely imaginary.

Regardless of my suspicions, Pinkie Pie gave us a very solid explanation. "Oh, that's because of all the classes she's been taking! Now that Maud's heading out to get her rocktorate in rock science, this might be the last chance we get in a while to meet up and trade necklaces for a good long while."

"Rocktorate in rock... Oh, she's studying geology?! That's pretty cool." I said while thinking over the strange use of the word 'rock' in Pinkie's vocabulary.

"Kind of, but it's a field that focuses just on rocks! She's always been really interested in rocks her whole life, so it makes sense that she'd want to study them." Pinkie replied with an overly excited smile.

Twilight then said with a bit of a smug smile, "Well, with how long she was out on that rock farm for most of her life, it's no wonder she developed such an interest in rocks after so long."

After that, Pinkie Pie suddenly snatched us all up in a group hug and just started going on a tangent about how her sister has qualities that all of our friends possess, such as Twilight's interest in books and reading, expressing herself through fashion like Rarity, likes things one can find in forests like Fluttershy... It all started to sound like a bit of a stretch and came off as... Just what was up with Pinkie Pie that morning? I know she can be overly excitable and can be a bit obnoxious, but she was just flying off the handle today! She even shrieked at one point while describing the upcoming activities... Fortunately, Fluttershy was able to interrupt our hyped up friend by saying, "Um... Not to interrupt, but... Don't you think she'll start worrying if you're not at the train station to meet her?"

This shut Pinkie Pie up quick only for our friend to gasp, "Oh my gosh! She will! Where's a clock?!" She then glanced at a round clock hanging on the wall nearby. "It's almost 8 AM?! That's when her train pulls in! I gotta get going!"

Just before Pinkie Pie could bolt for the stairs, Rainbow Dash brought up a good point. "Hang on! What about the rest of us?!"

Pinkie came to a stop right as she was about to reach the stairs before turning, slipping and falling backwards. But just as she was about to take a nasty tumble, she simply stopped in the air as if time had frozen. "Ooh, right! I've got it all planned out! Everypony, we'll meet up at the park for a picnic lunch at noon! The spot next to that big sounds great! And be sure to bring your pets! We can get in our weekly Pony Pet Playdate all at once! In the meantime, I'll meet up with Maud and bring her back to my place to help her get settled in. When noon gets here, we'll all meet up there!"

"Noon?! Pinkie, not sure if you remember, but I've got work today! And I'll only be able to squeeze in an hour of free time for my lunch break. I won't have enough time to get to the park and back to the spa to spend any real time to spend with you girls." I then said before Pinkie Pie could let herself fall down the stairs.

Pinkie Pie then brought her hoof to her chin while looking rather serious. "Hmm... Good point. And I'd hate for one of my bestest friends in the world miss out on the first day of Maud's visit..." She then smiled and said, "I got it! I'll stop by the spa on the way over to the train station and ask Aloe and Lotus to give you double the time off for your lunch break!"

While thoughtful, I was left wondering if my two employers were even there at the local spa that early. "Huh... Yeah, that would work. Thanks, Pinkie. I guess I'll see you all there."

"You got it! Anyway, see you all later!" She replied just before gravity finally took hold. "Weeeee, ow! Ooch! Yeow! Owwie! Oof... That hurt... Ooh! Gotta go!" I then heard Pinkie Pie gallop off from downstairs before hearing a distant door open before closing behind her. I guess earth ponies really are built that tough.

We just all stood there for a moment while waiting in awkward silence. I think it was out of a curious anticipation of waiting to see if Pinkie Pie was truly gone. Finally, Fluttershy looked at us and asked, "Um... How did she do that?"

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, "Darling, if I had a bit for every time I heard somepony ask that since the day I first met her, I'd have enough bits to order everything on the café's menu in one outing."

"Well... I guess we've got nothing to do now but wait until noon gets here." Twilight then added before she too started to make her way down the stairs and to the back door. "Anyway, I've gotta get out of here. The smell of that rock candy is really getting to me."

"Ditto! I gotta hurry and clock in for the morning weather patrol anyway... Ugh... But first, I better eat some grass before I go." Rainbow Dash said with a groan while we all reeled from the queasy feeling of eating so much candy first thing in the morning.

Applejack managed to chuckle and spoke, "Easy, girls. I'll go ahead and bring a bunch of good eatin' when we meet up for lunch. That'll settle yer stomachs."

"It's appreciated, AJ. But right now, all I want for breakfast is a salad to flush my system out." I added while we entered the kitchen and started to make our way outside and into the morning sunlight. "Well, I'll see you girls at lunchtime. Later!"

The sun had already risen by the time Fluttershy and I were walking through Ponyville and I was feeling a bit sick. I could tell Fluttershy was too. "Are you feeling just as queasy as I am, honey?"

"I think so... Good thing we had some toast before coming over. I'd probably be feeling even worse without it." Fluttershy replied with a bit of a groan to her voice.

"Yeah, that was a smart move. How does Pinkie Pie eat that stuff so early without any ill effects? I'll never understand that goofball's metabolism..." I grumbled as I thought back to those miniature mountains of rock candy stacked around her room. Had she been up all night making that stuff?

Once we finally reached the meadow that separated our house from the rest of Ponyville, Fluttershy brought up an unexpected question. "James... When do you think we should tell Scootaloo?"

"Scoot? What about her? And tell her what?" I asked, not immediately catching on to the current topic.

Fluttershy smiled meekly while she seemed to glance backwards a bit. "You know... Our baby?"

"Oh..." I muttered as a tiny bit of anxiety settled over me. Even though Fluttershy had not really started to show, we would not be able to hide her pregnancy forever. And Scootaloo would need to be one of the first to know. "Hmm... Well... You think it would be a good idea to tell her over breakfast?"

"I guess so... I just hope she takes it well." Fluttershy said softly, clearly showing signs of uneasiness. It was going to be a tense meal and my queasy stomach was not going to enjoy it.

Fluttershy's little animal friends were already up and about and just flocked around her once we crossed the brook that runs in front of her house. They were eager for breakfast, but Fluttershy was quick to calm them. "Good morning, my pretties. Don't you worry. I'll be right back out in a little bit. Scootaloo and James need to eat too."

They were an understanding bunch and settled down while the two of us went inside. It still seemed that Scootaloo was asleep, but probably not for long. Fluttershy then looked up at me while we went to the kitchen and asked, "So, what would you like for breakfast, honey?"

"Just a salad would be fine." I replied while still feeling less than stellar. That crunchy lettuce sounded really good right then.

I went back to the living room to relax on the sofa for a little while. Before long, I heard the little clopping of hooves in the next room over. I glanced at the doorway to see little Scootaloo walking out of it while still seeming a bit groggy and with her purple mane looking really untidy. She let out a yawn while I waved at her and said, "Morning, Dad... What's for breakfast?"

"Um... Smells like... Potatoes and eggs for you." I replied while reaching out and gently tussling the little pegasus filly's mane. She just looks so cute in the morning whenever she wakes up looking like that.

The smell of frying eggs and hash browns perked Scootaloo up and we both headed into the kitchen. Fluttershy had only just set out our breakfast around the table. She smiled warmly at us and said, "Good morning, Scootaloo. And your food is fresh out of the frying pan."

"Mmm... Smells awesome! Nothing beats your cooking, Mom!" Scootaloo replied with her stomach letting out a growl to serenade her words. I noticed how Fluttershy blushed while letting out a giggle. It really did tickle her to be called 'Mom'. It was no wonder she wants to keep the baby when it comes. She will make an excellent mother when that day comes. However, my train of thought was interrupted when Scootaloo glanced at the two bowls of tossed salad at the sides of the table where Fluttershy and I were seated. "Hey, um... Why are you guys having salads for breakfast?"

Fluttershy merely mumbled a bit while I provided an answer. "Long story. Let's just say Pinkie Pie wanted us up early for... Well, when they say you shouldn't have candy for breakfast, there's a good reason for that... Oogh... Yeah, I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Oooooh... Yeah, I know whatcha mean. Me and the girls tried something like that before bed a while ago and... Ugh, we felt so sick when we woke up. I had to keep eating grass until my stomach stopped feeling so icky." Scootaloo retorted with an uneasy grin. I guess she and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders really did try ANYTHING if it meant getting their cutie marks.

Our salads did not have much in them aside from mixed greens, lettuce, and slivers of sliced carrots, but Fluttershy did cut down on the sweetness level by mixing it with a balsamic dressing. I was already starting to feel a bit better while feeling that crunchy lettuce settling in my stomach. However, I then glanced at Fluttershy while she paused between bites. Which of us was going to break the news to Scootaloo?

Fluttershy broke the silence while Scootaloo feasted on her hash browns. "Scootaloo? There's something your father and I have been wanting to tell you..."

"Hm? Yeah?" Our little girl mumbled through a mouthful of food. Once she swallowed, Scootaloo looked at us both with a smile. "What's up?"

"Well... Um... You see, there's something that's been going on lately that Fluttershy and I have been keeping under wraps until we feel the time is right to come out and say it..." I began to say before feeling too nervous and uncomfortable to continue. Finally, I looked at Fluttershy and asked, "Uh... Wanna take it from here, honey?"

"OK... Um... Well... Scootaloo, do you know where little foals come from?" Fluttershy asked with some hesitation as her pale gold face started to gain a bit of a blush.

Scootaloo's response was what I am sure most parents would dread to hear from their kids. She gasped in excitement and said, "Oh, wait! You and Dad did... Uh... That thing I saw in those magazines! Uh... Where the stallion climbs onto the mare and doesn't make it all the way on her back?"

I dropped my fork when I heard her say that while Fluttershy's jaw dropped wide open. I looked at Scootaloo and asked in a loud voice, "What?! Where'd you even see those magazines?!"

"The ones that Rainbow Dash keeps under her bed! She took me to her place once for a visit, but had to step out to help the weather patrol. I got bored and looked under her bed and found a bunch of really weird magazines!" Scootaloo explained while not seeming to grasp the taboo nature of pornographic magazines.

Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves in utter embarrassment while I did the same with my hands. "Oh my god, Rainbow... Really?! Well, we're gonna need to have a little talk with her at lunch time." I then lifted my head and looked at Scootaloo with a bit of an irritated scowl. "OK, so you know were babies come from. Just forget everything you saw in those magazines. All right?"

Scootaloo replied with a really broad nervous grin. "Heheh... Yeah, I was getting the same kinda feeling the first time too. I didn't look at them for very long!"

"Oh, thank goodness... Anyway... Um... The whole reason we brought that up is..." Fluttershy said with a huge sigh of relief before glancing at me. I nodded at her as a sign to keep going. Still blushing in nervousness, Fluttershy finally brought herself to speak. "You see... James and I... We're going to...have a foal in a while."

Our daughter's reaction was roughly what I was expecting. Somewhere between shock and excitement. "Huh?! Really?! You mean...I'm gonna have a baby sister?!"

"Well... Maybe. I mean it's way too early to know the gender. But yeah... Depending on how things go, you'll have your own sibling." I replied with a bit of a smile now that the tension had started to fade. She was certainly taking it better than I expected. I suppose being an orphaned only child would make her crave a little sibling of her own.

Scootaloo sprang out of her stool while her fluttering little wings held her aloft. "All right! Gonna have my own sister like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! This is SOOOO COOL!!!"

"Settle down, Scoot. There's still more to tell you." I replied, knowing that the most difficult subject would have to be mentioned. My daughter did what she was told and dropped right back onto her stool. "The thing is... We may not be able to keep the baby, depending on how things are by the time its born."

"Wait... WHAT?! But you just said..." Scootaloo shrieked in disappointment and even a bit of anger while she glanced back and forth at us. I was truly hoping she would understand where I was coming from.

I glanced at Fluttershy, who seemed to be hoping I would do most of the talking. I nodded before looking back at Scootaloo. "Just listen to me, OK? The most important thing is that the baby was not planned. We were not expecting Fluttershy to get pregnant. So we're both not exactly ready for this. We've already visited a local adoption program and found some couples looking to adopt, but only as a precaution. Looking after and raising a baby is not easy and we feel our child should have the best life possible by placing it in the custody of better parents, if necessary."

Scootaloo did not like this one bit and said, "But... You guys have been great parents to me! James, you've been the best dad I could ever want! And Fluttershy... You've been an awesome mom! You'll do fine! You'll be good parents to your baby..."

Such adamant praise got me feeling the warm fuzzies right away and I could tell Fluttershy was feeling the same way. That praise coaxed Fluttershy into speaking. "Thank you, Scootaloo... It feels really good to know you think we're doing such a good job. But the thing is... Raising you isn't the same as raising a newborn. Mr. and Mrs. Cake have had a difficult time raising two of them. You can just ask Pinkie Pie for more details. She foalsits them regularly. And... We might not be able to handle it."

"So... You mean you'd have an easier time if you didn't have to look after me?" Scootaloo asked quietly as a look of guilt started to spread across her face.

I immediately saw where this was going, but Fluttershy beat me too it by hopping off her stool and trotting right over to Scootaloo before embracing her with a wing. She then nuzzled Scootaloo's face while speaking with a smile, "No, it's not like that at all. Even if we didn't have you living with us, it would still be difficult. It's just such a huge responsibility looking after a baby. But the important thing is we ARE trying to get ourselves ready for it because we want to keep the baby."

Scootaloo's eyes opened wide with a pleasant look of surprise. She then glanced at me while I smiled and nodded. "Yup. And we're getting a lot of support with it. We're going to have a new room added onto the house pretty soon. We're also set to undergo some lessons in town to make sure we're ready and know how to take care of a newborn. I'd have to say that the odds of us actually being able to take care of the baby are looking pretty good at this rate. But if the worst happens... We need you to be able to accept that the baby would be better off in another household. Can you promise us this, Scoot?"

It took a moment for Scootaloo to offer a reply. I know she was really hoping for a baby sibling of her own and I am sure she would be a fun sister to play with. But after a moment, Scootaloo sighed and looked up at us with a tiny smile. "Yeah... I get it. I remember seeing Mr. and Mrs. Cake out with their kids and they looked pretty stressed. I guess it's gotta be tough watching babies even when you know what you're doing... OK. I guess I'd want my sister to have the best life possible and not grow up in a really bad household like I could've. I'll try to be OK with it if she can't stay..."

"That's IF she can't stay. I think we'll be able to keep her in the end, so don't lose hope, Scootaloo." Fluttershy whispered before kissing Scootaloo on the cheek. This prompted a delighted grin from our daughter, whose little wings fluttered loudly.

Breakfast continued without a hitch, especially with Fluttershy and I. We wanted to enjoy our salads before they got too soggy. Finally, I ended up having to leave in a hurry to make sure I made it to work on time. I had only just been getting back into the swing of things now that my body had made a full recovery since leaving the hospital. I know a lot of our clients were glad to have me back.

My walk through Ponyville was uneventful and I made it to the town square without interruption. I stepped into the spa, clocked in, and took my place at the massage tables. We did not get any customers at first, so I ended up passing the time by bringing more supplies out of the storeroom.

Eventually, I did hear the front door open while I looked through a magazine I keep near my checklist of sensitive clients. I thought I heard a voice I vaguely recognized speaking to Aloe at the front desk, but I just could not place my finger on it. It sounded like the client wanted to enjoy a dip in the hot tub as well as a massage, so I flexed my fingers to make sure I was ready. But when the client stepped into the spa's main chamber, she instantly turned my way. "There you are!"

I glanced towards the entrance to the room and saw a pegasus mare looking right at me with a smile. "Huh? Wait a second, I know I've seen you before..."

She seemed to have a windswept mane and tail styled in a way similar to Spitfire's. Her coat was something of an icy blue while her mane and tail were a brilliant white. Her cutie mark consisted of a horseshoe. After a moment and comparing her mane to that of Spitfire's, I soon recognized this client having only massaged her once before. "Oh, Fleetfoot! When was the last time you came in? I'm not used to seeing you out of uniform."

Fleetfoot trotted right up the steps to the hot tub and descended into it while keeping her head dry. She came right over to the edge to look at me and said, "You mean after the first time? I tried stopping in a few times over the last month or so, but I heard you were hospitalized for some reason. That really bummed out the rest of the team. They were wanting to have a team visit someday. Nopony massages wings like you do. Everything been all right with you?"

It felt good to hear such praise after so little time back at work, but I was touched by her concern. ""I'll be honest. I don't remember much of what happened during that time. Heard I was in a coma for weeks. But I'm fine now. It's good to be back and being productive again."

"A coma?! Man... Well, you're right. You look like you're doing just fine. I can't even tell you were in the hospital just by looking at you! And I know my wings were missing your hands." Fleetfoot replied with a look of alarm before she calmed down quickly. And judging by the sound of things, I would probably be getting another visit from the entire team of the Wonderbolts in time. And I always end up raking in a lot of tips when that happens.

Fleetfoot and I continued to shoot the breeze for a while as she soaked in the hot tub. Eventually, she climbed out and wrapped herself in a bath robe before coming down to the massage tables. She then smirked at me and said, "So, are your ten little friends ready to get back to work too?"

Finding myself to be in a really good mood, I decided to get cheeky with her. "Well, let's see... Yup!"

I suddenly reached out and began rapidly rubbing my fingertips into Fleetfoot's cheeks and neck. My client burst into laughter as I tickled her. "Heehahaha! Yep, they're ready! Cut it out, I'm ticklish!"

I let go of her and stepped out of the way to allow her to hop up onto the massage table. But it was then that I noticed her bath robe prevented me from reaching her body. "Say, you think you would be better of removing that first? The massage would be more effective without anything in the way."

Fleetfoot merely smirked at me before lifting one wing. "Don't worry about my body, James. All I came here was for these two to get some much needed relaxation."

Just like the last time, now that memory serves. It seems that whenever Fleetfoot comes in for a visit, she only wants me to massage her wings. And I did just that. I took her wing in my hands and felt along for the joints before tenderly kneading them from every angle. "I guess being the fastest flier on the team really takes a lot outta these."

My feathered friend shuddered at my touch as her body tensed up. "Ooooooh yeah, that's that spot... Man, I can't tell you how much the captain's been waiting for this. I'll let her know you're back to work when I get home... A little higher, if that's OK..."

"You got it." I muttered quietly before shifting my arms up an inch on her frame. As little meat there is on those bones, pegasus wings do possess a fair bit of muscle as well. I have long since gotten into the habit of tending to those tired muscles along with the joints since they are so easy to handle. "Say, how has Spitfire been doing anyway? I don't get to see her often."

"The captain? She's... Ooh yeah, that was a good one... "She's been cool. Nothing out of the ordinary. She does mention you every once in a while though, especially when one of us bring up visiting the spa. You two ever hang out?"

"Well, she did personally train me how to fly. Guess there's a bit of a mentor-pupil relationship going on there. Just don't ask me how I actually fly though. It's...a bit technical in how it works." I replied while moving on to the next segment in her wing.

Fleetfoot's eyes seemed to scan me for a bit before she smirked at me. "Yeah, it must be technical. Unless you can sprout wings whenever you want, I don't see how... Oh man, that's what I needed..."

"I'm taking it your wings have been needing this for a good long while. Good to see I haven't gotten rusty." I said whimsically while getting some entertainment out of just how much Fleetfoot was enjoying my soothing touch. Her wings did feel a bit tense for pegasus wings. Nothing unusual to me though. Rainbow Dash sometimes comes in for a good wing massage too since she gets nearly constant use out of them.

In the end, the massage did not take anywhere near as long as it could have since she only wanted those wings massaged. But when I finished with both, Fleetfoot stood up and stretched them not unlike human arms. She even hoped down from the table and did a few pushups with them before looking back up at me with a smile. "Phew! That's just what I needed. Thanks again, James! A+ job!"

"Glad I pleased, Fleetfoot. You heading out now?" I asked in return while I took her bathrobe. She seemed to be all but dried off by then.

Fleetfoot then started walking towards the exit while looking back at me. "Yeah, we've got a rehearsal in a couple of hours, so I gotta get going. But I'll let the team know you're doing fine. You take it easy, James!" And with that, she was gone. Those Wonderbolts are a busy bunch.

Not a whole lot happened for a while. We got some more clients like Ruby Ring and even old Cranky Doodle Donkey, but they did not seem to be interested in any of my massages. Conversation was kept to a minimum too, especially with Cranky. But I was eventually called to the lobby by Lotus. I stepped before the front desk and asked, "Yes?"

Lotus was looking over a list of reservations before she glanced up at me. "Ah, yes! James, I seem to recall Pinkie Pie stopping by before opening to request that you be given an extended lunch break for an important meeting with her. Would you like to head out now?"

I glanced over at a clock on the wall to check the time. 11:15 AM. "It's that late already? Sure! I'll be back at around 1, all right?" Lotus was in no disagreement. I then headed out and went on my way to the park.

The walk to the park was relaxing and I really did not bump into anyone I really knew. It felt a bit odd to feel the air having that slight crisp bite to it that early to mid autumn tends to have while still seeing the tree and bushes being lush and green. Not that I minded so much. While the changing of the colors to some is beautiful and I admit it can make for a unique atmosphere when trekking through a forest covered in autumn colors, it just comes off as kind of depressing to me since it gives me the feeling that the world is dying. Although that was something I did not have to worry about in Ponyville.

However, when I finally reached the pond I was expecting to find my friends, I was surprised to see them nowhere nearby. I crossed my arms and looked around, so sure that I had not beaten my friends to the punch. Surely they would have already arrived to set up the picnic.

Just as I was starting to suspect I was at the wrong place, I saw a peculiar sight pass overhead. A flying tortoise. It was then I realized that the tortoise was Rainbow Dash's pet, Tank. Seeing that he would not be so far from home unless Rainbow Dash was nearby, I tried calling out to him. "Hey, Tank! Hey!"

The tortoise stopped moving before he rotated in the air before looking down at me. I tried motioning my hand to him in a way to signal him to approach me and he did. The buzzing tortoise descended until he was hovering right in front of me. I was surprised to see a bright yellow aura surrounding the point between the propeller blades and the harness fastened to his shell. I suppose that such a device is not actually powered by batteries. And did I ever mention how cute those goggles look on him? I reached out and scratched his soft leathery neck with my fingertip. "Hey there, Tank. Do you happen to know where Rainbow Dash is?"

Tank slowly nodded before turning around while still looking at me. Taking this as a sign to follow him, I did just that. He buzzed along with me close behind him until we passed through a cluster of trees. Once we emerged from the tiny woods, we came to another rounder pond I had never known about that was bordered by two hilly slopes. And off to the side and up a gentle incline were Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy in the process of setting up a picnic complete with a red and white checkerboard blanket. Just as I was about to call out to them, I got a surprise as someone seemed to notice me first. A white bird suddenly flew from one of the trees an swooped towards me. Reflexively, I threw up a hand to ward it off before the bird perched upon my hand. It was only then that I realized who it was. "Hey there, Angela! Glad you could make it."

My little pet dove cooed happily while I held her to my face. I then followed Tank along to the blanket while Rainbow Dash was the first to notice my approach. "Hey there, big guy! How was work?"

"I didn't really see a whole lot of action aside from one client. Fleetfoot sure does love those wing massages." I do not know why, but I always feel so tempted to say 'White Wing' whenever I think of Fleetfoot. Not sure why.

"One of the Wonderbolts? Well, they must get a lot of use out of their wings. It's no wonder they would want someone to massage them." Fluttershy replied with a smile while I took a moment to survey our surroundings. Angel was nearby while helping toss a salad one of my friends had brought along while Owlowiscious was perched in the tree Angela had just swooped from. There was a large pink teapot set out with sugar and honey bowls along with teacups. Seemed like a loaf of bread had been brought along for making sandwiches too. The contents for the sandwiches were likely in the basket.

"Well, let's see... Now we've just got to wait for Applejack and Rarity to get here. Then all we need is to wait for Pinkie and Maud to arrive. I hope Maud's getting along just fine at Pinkie's place. She sure left quite a mess behind..." Twilight then said while she arranged the items on the picnic blanket neatly. And she was right. Unless Pinkie Pie swept up all that scattered rock candy, Maud would barely have a place to set out her stuff once she got up there.

Just as I took a seat on the blanket, I heard a dog bark. When I turned north, I saw a familiar border collie come rushing towards me and into my arms. "Winona! How you doing, sweetheart! Aw, who's a pretty girl?"

Winona went to work on licking my face while me friends looked on and giggled. Right behind Winona was a chuckling Applejack. "Heheh, she sure missed you! Hope y'all got yer appetites back. I brought plenty of good eats ta help settle yer stomachs."

Applejack then set out a basket filled with healthy baked goods ranging from muffins to crisps. It definitely looked much more appetizing than all that rock candy we had earlier. Fluttershy took inhaled their aroma and smiled with a bit of a hungry look in her eye. "Ooh, those look sooo good... I hope Pinkie and Maud don't take too long getting here. I'm already getting hungry..."

While Winona curled up beside me, I looked ahead at the dirt path that led up a shallow hill back towards Ponyville and saw Rarity making her way towards us. And not too surprisingly, she seemed to have decided to dress herself up for such a special occasion. Although the only thing she was actually wearing was a remarkably oversized tall domed purple hat lined with what seemed to be hunks of glass of varying sizes and shapes affixed to the sides. Twilight then waved at our approaching friend and said, "Hi, Rarity! Very nice hat!"

Rarity did not seemed to be entirely satisfied with her choice of headwear, on the other hand. She then out a sigh and groan while her rather top-heavy hat shifted from side to side on her head while being held in place by a sash-like ribbon tied under her chin. "I'm still not entirely certain if I got this right, Twilight! I had so little to go on aside from her interest in earth science."

"But why put glass on your hat? I mean that would probably glisten gorgeously at a rave, but... Really?" I asked in return as Opalescence hopped down from Rarity's back. It seemed she had not forgotten her pet cat.

My beautiful friend seemed to find my observations to be rather humorous since she let out a giggle while she stepped near me. "Oh, these aren't glass, darling. They're crystals! I tried using some form of rock that wasn't a gemstone and... Oops!"

Rarity took a step back as one of the largest hunks of crystal on her hat fell right off and into the basket of baked goods that Applejack had provided. It did not seem to crush anything and just stayed there. Rarity then chuckled nervously while another chunk or two rolled off. "Heheh... Well... Let's just say most rocks don't stick very well to anything. And it's so hard to keep centered..."

"Uh... Yeah, it sure does. I'm surprised all that weight ain't tough on yer neck! And did ya really need ta dress up all fancy for this? Maud's from a rock farm, ya know. I bet her duds ain't all that swanky." Applejack asked while the rest of us awkwardly eyed her hat, though probably out of concern of one of those crystal chunks falling off and hitting us. I would have hated for one to fall on my foot.

Rarity all but took offense to this as she held a hoof to her chest. "Applejack, how can you say that?! You heard Pinkie Pie! Maud has a taste for fashion and expresses herself through it. So I, as Ponyville's signature fashionista and fellow mare of fashion, I must do what I can to show we're on the same page! First impressions are vital in new relationships, after all."

"I dunno, Rarity... All that talk about Maud sounds like a bit of a stretch now that I think about it. Didn't you notice how super wound up Pinkie was this morning? Even for her?" Rainbow Dash asked while lounging against the nearby tree with her arms behind her head.

"Yes, she did... Pinkie made it sound like Maud has everything in common with all of us. She sounds amazing." Fluttershy then added while also looking a bit irked as well. Something definitely weird was going on.

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof as we all gathered on the picnic blanket. "Now that you mention it, that does sound a bit too good to be true..."

"What do you expect? Pinkie Pie's head has never really been screwed on right to begin with." I said with a bit of a chuckle. I could only imagine what was really going to happen once Pinkie Pie showed up.

Twilight giggled a bit while rolling her eyes, but then said, "Well, even if she's always been a bit loony, Pinkie sounded really determined to make sure we make a great first impression with her sister. I can't imagine her wanting to set this all up on a whim and I doubt she made up that story about rock candy necklaces on the spot. I'm sure this... Oh, there she is!"

I turned around and saw Pinkie Pie waving at us from the top of the hill before she started hopping down the path. Closer observation revealed that Gummy had tagged along for the ride and was holding onto her mane by the jaws. "Hey there, everypony! We're here!"

By the time she got to the picnic spot, there was no sign of anyone having been following behind her. When Pinkie Pie set Gummy down only for me to try petting him and having the pesky gator clamp his jaws over my hand again. Before I could even comment on Gummy having just turned himself into a hand warmer, Pinkie Pie looked at him and said, "Ooh, that hasn't happened in a long time! How many chapters ago was it? Thirty? Maybe more?"

Not feeling uncomfortable at all, I just decided to leave Gummy there for the moment. Thank goodness he has no teeth. Even so, Fluttershy then asked while glancing back up the path, "Um... Are you sure she's here?"

"Uh huh! Maud was right behind me! I made sure she knew to follow the path. She'll be here in a second!" Pinkie Pie said quite excitedly while she turned around and focused on the spot at the top of the hill where the path disappeared.

I swear a full minute of silence went by with nothing coming into view. Very slowly, our gazes began to trail off the path and settle upon Pinkie Pie. Before long, we were all giving her some very funny looks. Applejack then broke the silence and asked, "Uh... Beggin' yer pardon, Pinkie. But...uh..."

"Hm?" Pinkie mumbled before she glanced at all of us. "What? Why're all of you looking at me like that?"

Rainbow Dash then asked, "Uh... Just checking, but... Are you sure you didn't just dream Maud up last night and were really convinced that she really exists?"

"You know, that would make a disturbing kind of sense on why we had heard of your other sisters, but never heard of Maud until now..." Twilight then muttered softly as she gave Pinkie a very cockeyed stare.

To my surprise, Pinkie Pie merely laughed our suspicions off. "Oh, you silly fillies! I might be loco in the coco most of the time, but I've known Maud all my life! Just give her a minute! She's not as fast as me anyway."

I could not understand why anypony would be taking that long to finally peek over the hill unless they were being bogged down by a lot of baggage. That would not make any sense especially when considering that they should have already stopped by Pinkie's place to unload Maud's luggage. Even so, we continued to sit and watch in awkward silence while Pinkie Pie grinned broadly like a fool.

Eventually, I stood up so I could see over the top of the hill better from a higher altitude. Just as I was suspecting that this meet-up was over some elaborate joke, I suddenly saw a tiny bit of movement starting to peeking over the hilltop. "Hey, there's someone there!"

"Really?" Fluttershy asked before she hovered upward a bit to see from my viewpoint. "Oh, I see it too! Somepony's coming!"

"Phew! Just when I was wondering if she even existed." Rarity added as the two of us returned to our seats. We waited in silence as bit by bit, someone began to appear over the top of the hill. Indeed, a mare was approaching us. However... After seeing what a friendly and happy person she was after seeing those crayon illustrations Pinkie had made, I was left...befuddled by what I was seeing. And Rarity was noticing it too. "Wait... That there...is Maud?"

The mare who was starting to appear over the crest of the hill was... She just seemed incredibly bored as if she did not even want to be there. Her expression was just so dull and unenthusiastic. At first, I merely thought that studying for finals had left her severely sleep-deprived, especially with how slowly she was coming down the hill. We all watched in silence while it took a full minute for Maud to come to the bottom of the rather steep slope.

Her appearance certainly matched the illustrations Pinkie had drawn. Her entire coat was a shade of gray and her mane and tail were straight and colored a shade of...well...earthy purple, if that makes any sense. Her eyes were a similar shade of blue to Pinkie's while showing some elegant eyelashes and she was even wearing some eyeshadow that matched her mane. I suppose that was a sign of her interests in fashion. And her cutie mark... Actually, I never saw it. Her entire body was covered in a dull teal garment and it looked quite good on her. Either way, we all watched in silence while waiting for some show of reaction from Pinkie's sister while Pinkie Pie herself was grinning in excitement unfitting for such an awkwardly quiet moment.

Maud finally came to a stop a distance away from us while those bored eyes just stared at us. Unblinking... It felt like she was judging us. It made for a...bit of an uncomfortable atmosphere, although I was becoming more and more tempted to laugh at that stare to break the silence. However, she finally blinked while her eyes were drawn to the ground. It seemed that a small crystal chunk from Rarity's hat had fallen on the path during her initial approach. She seemed more interested in the crystal itself and lowered her head to the ground before...sniffing it. I was tempted to mention that identifying a rock by smell was not a good idea. I tried that back in high school and labeled all the rocks I examined as sedimentary because they smelled like sand and flunked the test. Even so, she then spoke in a very quiet and relaxed tone of voice. "Hm... Quartz."

"Uh... Come again?" Rarity asked while glancing up at her hat. She probably had not noticed the shard fall off in the first place.

"This is a shard of quartz." Maud said again as she then picked the shard up and held it on the underside of her hoof. The entire time, she still maintained that remarkably dull expression. Just...what was wrong with her? Depressed? Bored? And Pinkie Pie was acting like nothing was amiss. Even though her sister's behavior was not at all like her illustrations had shown.

"Ah, so that would make these quartz crystals I used!" Rarity replied while she glanced up at her own hat.

Our friends were quick to shrug off Maud's lackluster enthusiasm. Twilight then stepped forward and proceeded to introduce herself. "Well... I just want to say that we've all been excited to meet you and I hope you enjoy your stay with us before your trip. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

Applejack then tipped her hat towards Pinkie's sister. "Pleasure ta meet ya, Maud. The name's Applejack."

Rainbow Dash then waved at her and said, "And I'm Rainbow Dash! Nice to meetcha, Maud."

Rarity then took a bow while taking great care to not let her hat slide off. "It's such a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maud. I am Rarity."

Fluttershy then shyly smiled and said, "And I'm Fluttershy..." She then gasped lightly before looking towards me and extended her arm in my direction. "Oh! And this is James! We're getting married next April."

With Fluttershy having taken care of my introduction for me, I merely waved at Maud with a smile. However, Maud's reply was not nearly as enthusiastic as I expected. She just continued to give us that very dull stare and said in that deadpan tone of voice, "Congratulations."

Maud's noticeably lacking delivery left us more than just a bit...underwhelmed. All except for Pinkie Pie, that is. She was taking everything Maud said without any indication that something was wrong. Even so, Rarity tried to change the subject and approached Maud. "Yes, big day coming up... But I can't help noticing that you've got quite a love of fashion that matches my own."

The rather... Um... Hold on, what is that term I am thinking of? Ah, yes. Phlegmatic. That word is pretty much what I can use to describe Maud by this point. Maud then replied with that deadpan tone of hers, "Uh huh. I really like expressing myself through my wardrobe."

Rarity was showing quite a smile at that response. It seemed she was getting somewhere with Maud. "Oh, delightful! And was does that fine frock you're wearing say right now?"

Maud just gave Rarity a silent stare for a moment before giving her an odd glance that seemed to show she did not understand Rarity's question. Her response only added to the awkward nature of her reaction. "It doesn't really talk. It's just a dress."

That response combined with that cockeyed stare got me to crack up a bit with me bringing a hand to my mouth to try to muffle my snickering. However, my laughter did not go unnoticed as Maud turned her gaze towards me. "Is something funny?"

Seeing that I had been caught, I tried to explain myself. "Oh, sorry... It's just that look you gave Rarity just now. It was very unexpected and just came off as funny to me."

"See?! I told you she's funny! Doesn't Maud just make the funniest faces and funniest quips?!" Pinkie Pie then all but yelled out of nowhere. It was even a bit startling for her to jump in like that.

"Actually, you didn't say a thing about Maud being funny..." Fluttershy replied while we all gave Pinkie Pie some odd stares. Her hyperactive enthusiasm was starting to get worrisome if not outright annoying.

Pinkie Pie soon realized that Fluttershy was being serious and brought a hoof to her chin. "I didn't? I was so sure I did..."

I then glanced at Maud while she also seemed to be looking at Pinkie Pie. She then turned her gaze to me when she noticed that I was looking right at her. Finally having a member of Pinkie Pie's family with us, I took the opportunity to confirm something. "Hey, Maud. You know your sister's kinda crazy, right?"

"Yeah, she is." Maud said with a very deadpan retort. This blunt confirmation of Pinkie Pie's zaniness just caused all of us to crack up in raucous laughter. Pinkie Pie just took this all in stride, but Maud barely cracked a smirk. Either way, it did a lot to break the awkward tension.

However, it did not take long for that awkward tension to come back as our pets started gathering around. By that point, I grew weary of having Gummy stuck on my hand and managed to yank him off. Winona then let out a bark while she pranced over to Maud. Fluttershy then took the opportunity to introduce our pets. "Oh, have you met our pets yet? They're all around. That's Winona right there and you already know Gummy. There's Owlowiscious, Tank, and Angela up there, and there's Opalescence and Angel. Do you have any pets back home?"

"Yeah. He's in my pocket." Maud replied without showing a shred of interest or emotion, although I was really starting to wonder if she was really just bored or if she was in the need for some antidepressants.

The mention of a pet small enough to fit in a pocket really excited my lover. "Ooh, a pocket pet? Like a little mouse? Or maybe a hummingbird? Or a cute little frog?"

"It's a rock." Maud said bluntly while she started to reach into her frock's chest pocket.

"A...what?" Twilight asked while everyone was looking on in confusion.

Maud then pulled out something a dropped it to the ground. It was...a rock. Barely more than a pebble, really. Just an oval-shaped stone. Everyone looked on in utter... I do not even know how to describe how they were looking at her. Everyone aside from Pinkie Pie was simply weirded out by this development. I get that Maud had an interest in rocks that drove her to pursue a career in earth science, but this was starting to get creepy. And then Maud spoke her 'pet's' name. "His name is Boulder."

As I beheld the lifeless pet lying at the hooves of my friends, I felt the need to provide a quip. "Huh... And I thought the pet rock fad died out at the turn of the 90s..."

"Yeah, wasn't that around the time G2 started? Anyway, that takes care of the introductions!" Pinkie Pie replied while she hopped into the middle of the group. "And we've had such a great start! You'll all be the bestest friends Maud's ever had!"

My friends only mumbled undecidedly at each other. They clearly where having second thoughts about all this with how awkward and disinterested Maud seemed about even being around us. Me? I was not entirely sure how to think. Maud was definitely presenting herself as...weird at best and antisocial at worst. Still, she had not done anything to make me dislike her and had even gotten a laugh out of me at one point. I decided to just take it all in stride and see what else there was to see from Pinkie's sister. If nothing else, she had a very relaxing presence and her voice was strangely soothing to listen to. A very relaxed mare indeed.

Things got underway without a hitch as my friends and Maud took their seats around the picnic blanket. Various foods were passed around ranging from raw veggies to sandwiches, but I have to say I loved that pasta salad Twilight threw together with roasted broccoli and chopped tomatoes. Maud remained just as deadpan as before, but she was eating and kept eating. So she must have been enjoying the food. Although I did notice that every few bites, she would set her current morsel down and pushed Boulder a bit closer to it as if coaxing...him...to eat some of it... I am so sorry. I know I have heard of pet rocks, but now I know why that fad died out. I was starting to suspect Maud Pie is secretly a total troll of a comedic person. Even so, I stayed quiet since I did find that gesture with Boulder to be somewhat cute.

Eventually, Applejack nudged the basket of muffins she had brought a bit closer to Maud. "How 'bout some of my granny's apple-spiced muffins? Oh, there's other muffins in there too, if apples ain't yer thing."

Maud leaned over to the basket and sniffed it a bit to sample the fare. However, when she reached out with her mouth to lifted one out, I stared in shock as she instead unwittingly took that fallen quartz shard from Rarity's hat into her mouth. "Whoa, Maud! That's...uh... You OK?"

I could only watch in disbelief along with the rest of my friends as Maud seemed to be slowly and effortlessly chewing that hunk of quartz in her mouth. The crunches were remarkably loud and... Just... I know I have seen Spike eat diamonds, but to see someone eating rocks?! And she did not seem all that bothered by it. She even provided some commentary on her snack. "It's kind of crunchy."

I could not stay silent after seeing that as I burst into uneasy chuckling. "Dang, Maud! You've got the strongest teeth and jaws in Equestria! No... No, wait... Dragons eat diamonds and nothing's harder than those... But isn't eating that like eating glass?"

"I'm not sure. What does glass taste like?" She asked sincerely in return before successfully swallowing the crushed and pulverized quartz. I hope that does not give her a nasty surprise in the morning...

"Uhhh... I dunno, but I reckon y'all don't wanna eat it... Hey, are ya sure that stuff didn't hurt yer tongue?" Applejack replied while looking noticeably concern. Maud did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort, but we were all a bit worried.

Maud then stuck out her tongue and ran her hoof over it before looking back and forth at us. "It feels fine to me. But that muffin wasn't very tasty."

"Really?!" Pinkie Pie asked before her neck extended towards the basket and she took a bite of a blueberry muffin. "Hey, these taste awesome! Maybe you just got a weird one, Maud."

I noticed that Rainbow Dash was fidgeting a bit while hiding something behind her back. Before I could ask, she then looked at Maud. "Sooo... You like playing with anything? Into action figures or collecting figurines?"

Kind of an odd question since Rainbow Dash had never shown any interest in that stuff outside of collecting Wonderbolt merchandise, but Maud still gave her an honest answer. "I collect rocks. And Boulder likes playing with them. It's fun."

"So, you like playing with rocks? Well, I put something together for you." Rainbow Dash said with a bit of a smirk before she held out a trail of rocks with a string running through them. Maud's eyes opened just a little bit wider to show some interest in what Rainbow Dash was offering. "You like it?"

"Wow, Rainbow. You're already liking Maud so much that you put together your rock candy necklace for her?" Twilight asked while looking noticeably impressed. I was getting that feeling too until I noticed the rocks that lined the string looked too coarse to be any kind of candy. What was that? A rock snake?

"Nah, it's not candy. This is just a bunch of rocks!" Rainbow Dash replied while looking kind of giddy. She was right. The string was not connected at the ends at all, so it could not function as a necklace.

"OK? So, why did you..." I started to ask before I noticed the exact placement of the rocks. Each one was set maybe an inch or two apart and there were eight in all. I felt a sense of horror come over me as I spoke out, "Oh god...! Rainbow, those better not be what I think they are!"

"Hey, you know me!" Rainbow Dash retorted with a mischievous snicker. That little pervert... Was she trying to get under Maud's skin to see if she could get a reaction that was more than a deadpan stare?

Before any of us could confront her further, Maud silenced us all by reaching out and taking the...the... Oh my god, I cannot believe I am writing this... Maud reached out and took the obvious rock anal beads into her hoof before looking back at Rainbow Dash. "I've been looking for one of these for a long time. Thanks."

"No pro... Wait... You... Uh... Buh... Wha... Huh?!" Rainbow Dash replied in utter shock as she clearly was not expecting Maud to take that offer so seriously. And that face... Her face was... I covered my mouth while trying to suppress a laugh. I suppose I could have asked Maud why she had been looking for rock anal beads, but I think it would have been undesirable to know why. Did she even know what they were?

Rarity was quick to point out Rainbow Dash's expression while all our friends were starting to snicker. "Oh, goodness... I haven't seen a look like that on your face in quite a while, Rainbow!"

I rolled my eyes while eyeing the anal beads lying beside Maud before looking back at Rainbow Dash. She seemed to have composed herself enough to listen to me. "Thanks a lot, Rainbow! Now I'm gonna have images of those things being used stuck in my head all day!"

Rainbow seemed to take some offense to this and said loudly while holding her hooves up high, "What're you talking about?! You've never used those things with Fluttershy before! You don't know how they work!"

"Uh... How would you know whether or not we use those?" Fluttershy asked while blushing deeply. The rest of our friends were staying out of the argument, but they were still watching with intense interest.

Rainbow Dash began to fluster as she reeled from Fluttershy's question. I did not really care and said, "Yeah, but it doesn't take much imagination. And it's not like I can go one day in Ponyville without getting an accidental glance at a pony's bare butt. Seen one pony's backside, you've seen them all!"

That last quip just caused the entire party to burst into raucous laughter. All except for Maud, of course. I do not know how she could not even crack a smile in the middle of all that laughter. But when the laughter finally died down, she turned to Pinkie and asked, "Has James always been this funny?"

We were not expecting that kind of input at all. She thought I was being funny? Even though she did not laugh? My friends only looked on in shock, but Pinkie Pie took her sister's inquiry in earnest. "James? Oh, he's always been funny! But he's the really reserved kind of funny! He only cracks jokes at just the right time. He's all about situational humor!"

"That's probably the best kind of humor." Maud replied bluntly before looking directly at me. "You're really funny sometimes, James."

"Uh... Thanks. But just checking... You...DO know what those are, right?" I asked in return while still rather horrified that someone like Maud could have a kinky side under that phlegmatic facade.

"Yeah." She replied before putting her hoof on the rock at the front of the trail of makeshift anal beads. "They're pet rocks on a leash. I've decided to name this one Igneous, after my father. I'm still deciding on the other seven."

The atmosphere instantly became awkward again as everyone but Pinkie Pie just stared at her in a weird mixture of relief and...uncomfortableness. Assuming that is a real word. I instead found humor in this reaction and whispered to a befuddled Rainbow Dash, "Looks like your plan backfired, huh?"

"Oh, shut up. I was just trying to get her to show an actual reaction!" She replied grouchily while crossing her arms. Leave it to someone who has their mind stuck on rocks to defuse a perverted prank from Rainbow Dash. My pervy friend then cleared her throat before asking, "So...uh... There any games you're into?"

Maud looked towards Rainbow while also glancing down at Boulder. "Well, Boulder and I like playing something called 'Camouflage'. It's a lot like hide-and-seek, but waaaaay more intense." The way she said that... And the way her eyes opened wide for a moment while saying that exaggerated 'way'... I think that is about as excited as Maud ever gets. Yet she was strangely sincere about it. I was even starting to wonder if she was suffering from an emotional disorder that suppressed or made it difficult for Maud to properly express emotions.

My friends were showing a bit of hesitation about getting themselves involved in one of Maud's own games. Still, it was worth giving it a shot. Rainbow Dash finally said, "Uh... Awesome? So... Wanna give it a go?"

"Sure. Take a good look at Boulder first." Maud said again without even a hint of excitement. She held her pet rock out on her hoof for us all to see and memorize. She even allowed me to take Boulder in hand to examine him up close... Should I really be referring to Boulder as a he and not an it? Well, for the sake of Maud's sentimental value of that little thing, I will continue referring to Boulder as if he is alive. Once we had all gotten a good look at Boulder, we followed Maud a short distance away from the picnic site until we came to an area that had a fair number of loose rocks. We were then told to turn around with Maud. She then tossed Boulder over her shoulder until we heard a few taps behind us. About five seconds later, Maud turned around. "Let's start looking."

"Um... All right then?" Twilight replied while we turned and looked at the mess of rocks before us. There was no sign of Boulder anywhere. At least from a distance.

I cocked my head to one side as I took in the sight before us. "Well... I see what you mean when you call this game Camouflage, Maud. It's hide-and-seek in plain sight. But it's like trying to find one person in a huge crowd."

"That's the whole point of the name. But he's here somewhere." Maud replied with lack of interest as she began examining the rocks up close.

With this enhanced version of hide-and-seek going, we set to work searching through the rocks. I had a pretty good idea of what to look for. Although my companions did not seem all that interested in the game, I was having a good enough time if you can believe that. It felt like a type of memory game. Although it did not take all that long for Fluttershy to start complaining. "Is anypony having any luck? I'm...having a hard time remembering what Boulder even looks like."

"He's small, oval-shaped, and darkly colored. You can't miss him, honey." I replied without taking my eyes off the ground. At least I had a good idea of what he looked like, although the various rocks were so interchangeable that it was easy to forget which ones I had already checked.

Applejack wandered near me before she seemed to check that Maud was out of earshot. She and Pinkie Pie were checking rocks further away. "Don't get what she sees in this game... It's like sifting for a diamond in a quarry."

"Or a pebble in a rock pile." Rarity said in complaint while she wandered near me. As she did, a few more of the quartz shards lining her hat rolled off and scattered along the ground.

Applejack must have been a bit irritable since this roused her ire. "Oh, come on, Rarity! We've got enough rocks ta look through. We don't need ya addin' more ta the pile!"

Before Rarity could even say anything, another large chunk fell off her hat and landed right on my foot. Thank goodness my shoe was there, but it still hurt enough to make me yelp before trying to laugh it off. "Ow! Dang it, Rarity! Deja vue, huh? First, my forehead and now my foot?"

This accident clearly embarrassed her as Rarity began to back away while blushing and grinning nervously. "Oh dear... Well, that's certainly a wardrobe malfunction. I'll just...um...be taking this off now and leaving it waaaay over here."

While Rarity carefully removed her heavy hat a good distance away, Rainbow Dash finally swooped over to us while showing plenty of frustration. "Hey, I'm about ready to blow this joint! I'm sick of this! How can anypony find this fun?!"

"Well... It is pretty boring." Twilight added glumly while clearly trying hard to maintain interest for Maud's sake.

I let out a sigh while sifting through rocks by my feet, not so much bored as I was puzzled. I knew what I was looking for and was so sure I should have found Boulder by then. But I understood their annoyance. "Yeah, I getcha. I'm enjoying myself well enough, but I get why you girls don't like it. It's an acquired taste. It's like someone wanting to roleplay the script from Gone With the Wind."

When I noticed that my friends were taking a long time to offer a retort, I turned around and saw that my four companions were just giving me looks that you would expect would be reserved for Pinkie Pie's antics. I frowned and said, "That's an inside joke! I'm not expecting you girls to get it!"

"Um... OK then? Well, let's try to keep going a bit longer. Maud would be disappointed if we quit. Besides, Pinkie Pie's having plenty of fun." Twilight retorted before looking over at Pinkie Pie and Maud while Pinkie zipped back and forth while showing Maud rocks being held in her hooves.

"Is this him?! Is this him?! What about this?!" Pinkie Pie asked over and over while Maud just stood there giving Pinkie Pie that same dull expression she had been wearing since the moment we first met her. Pinkie Pie even went so far as to somewhere lift up a boulder from underneath that was bigger than her to ask if that boulder was Boulder, and even went so far as to uproot a tree effortlessly to retrieve a rock that had been stuck under its root system.

"Maud sure is patient with Pinkie Pie's ridiculous antics..." Twilight muttered as we stopped searching the rocks for a while just to indulge in the spectacle that was Pinkie Pie having way too much fun with something that would normally bore her to death. She must have developed a high tolerance for rock-based games during her years on that rock farm back home.

While we watched, it started to become clear that Pinkie Pie was not behaving normally, even by her lopsided standards. Rarity then approached us with her hat removed and asked, "Perhaps it's just me, but something seems... How do I say this...?"

Rainbow Dash then asked as she sat down near us. "Yeah, I'm seeing it too. Maybe it's just be, but Pinkie Pie's looking a bit...stupid today."

"Rainbow, that's not very nice! You shouldn't say that about a friend!" Twilight said angrily in response to Rainbow's rather coarse use of words. I will admit that Pinkie Pie certainly is not the smartest mare in town, though 'stupid' is not something I would ever refer to her as.

However, it seemed even Applejack was in support of Rainbow's observations. "I kinda don't wanna admit it either, Twi. But... I think Rainbow's got a point. I've been noticin' it since this mornin'... And maybe even last night. Pinkie Pie's actin' like she's got a few more screws loose than usual..."

Fluttershy then quietly added, "I'm noticing it too. She's just...crazy and overly enthusiastic right now. Even for Pinkie Pie. I know that her favorite sister is here to visit, but... It still seems...unreasonable."

I crossed my arms while I observed Pinkie Pie as well. I had been giving her the benefit of the doubt at the time, but they were right. The unnecessary yelling during the morning, whipping up far more rock candy than was needed so early in the morning, and her unnatural enthusiasm for a game that would have had her sprawled out on a rock in boredom in less than five minutes under absolutely any under circumstances... Something was definitely amiss. However, we were not given much time to really discuss it as Maud soon began to approach us. "What's up, Maud? Any luck?"

"Yeah. I found him." She replied quietly while Pinkie Pie started hopping in our direction.

"Ooh, you did?! Where was he?!" Pinkie asked once she was right up beside her sister with a few rocks on her back.

We all watched in silence, waiting for Maud to reveal Boulder's hiding place. However, she then reached into the pocket beside her neck and pulled the little pebble out. "He was hiding in my pocket."

Rainbow Dash's words summed up what we were all probably feeling at the time. "Are you SERIOUS?!"

I then reached out and grabbed the pebble from Maud's hoof and glared at it. "Not cool, Boulder! You know it's against the rules to hide in..."

Seconds later, I froze in place as I realized what I was doing. Maud merely stared at me in silence without showing any objection to me scolding her pet rock. Fluttershy then asked, "Um... Is something wrong, dear?"

I then muttered in embarrassment, "I'm...scolding a rock... Boy, have I hit a new low..."

"At least it's not as bad as dancing with a vase!" Pinkie Pie then added with a big grin. For once, she was not coming off as obnoxious.

While I gave Boulder back to Maud, I heard a bit of a squeak. We all turned to look and saw all of our pets is lying in a pile while looking either tired or just bored out of their minds. Owlowiscious and Angela were each perched upon one of the propeller blades that made up Tank's flying apparatus. Even Gummy looked really drained. I suppose we had been at that game for so long that they just got bored of watching. Fluttershy then looked at Maud and said, "Oh dear... It seems the poor things are all tired out. We should probably be getting them home soon since it is getting a bit late."

"Yeah, Maud and I better get going too. We've still got plenty of rock candy to try and to make sure we use the best for our best friend necklaces! Woo!" Pinkie Pie replied, complete with a fist pump. I could only give her a cockeyed stare while she displayed such a gesture that I would expect from Rainbow Dash. She definitely was exceptionally wound up about something. With that, she and Maud started to head back towards Ponyville with Maud not even saying goodbye.

Once the two sisters had disappeared over the hill, I looked back at my companions. Applejack then asked, "Well... I gotta ask... Am I the only one here who thinks Maud turned out a lot different than what Pinkie Pie showed us?"

"No kidding. She seemed to have such a happy and jolly disposition with how Pinkie Pie described her this morning." Rarity replied while looking noticeably unnerved by Maud's remarkably lacking personality. Rainbow Dash was just stewing nearby with her arms crossed while mumbling something about a 'rocks' this and a 'pocket' that.

Fluttershy then added with an uneasy smile, "Well... At least Boulder seemed nice this afternoon.

"Seriously, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked as something about what Fluttershy said got her attention. She then yelled with the most hilariously angry expression I had ever seen Rainbow Dash make on her face, "HE'S A ROCK!!!"

Fluttershy cowered in awkwardness while I could only snicker at Rainbow Dash's irritation. I could tell that Maud did not make the best first impression with her. Even so, Twilight then brought up a good point. "Easy there, Rainbow. Maybe Maud was just a bit nervous about meeting us all at once."

"Nervous? When she's used to Pinkie Pie's antics?" I asked with some confusion as I contemplated such a thought. Maud did not seem nervous in the slightest and seemed completely relaxed when we first met. Maybe too relaxed.

Twilight then explained, "Yeah. I mean... Do you remember when you first came to Ponyville, James? You were very nervous around all of us. You spoke quietly and very briefly and you voice was even in a much deeper tone than what you normally use. It was like you were emotionally walling yourself off to us until you were certain it was safe to lower your defenses. Maybe Maud's the same way and that she'll really start to show her true colors after some time to get to know us one-on-one instead of a group."

She definitely had a point. Even though it has been a while since I first showed up in Equestria, the behavior she was mentioning is definitely consistent with me whenever I am stressed and wanting to play things safe with people I am not used to. "Yeah... You know, I was kinda of getting that feeling from Maud too. Like she and I may have some things in common. I kinda like her, actually."

"Then it's decided!" Rarity then proclaimed while she stepped forward. "Since they're already on they're way back to town, I'll stop by Sugarcube Corner and invite them over to weave something for Maud to take home with her. After that, perhaps she could spend time with one of you."

"Sounds good... Wait a second. Does anyone have the time?" I asked upon remembering that I had to be back to work by 1 PM. With us being so far from the nearest clock tower, I had no means to check the time.

Apparently hearing my question, Angel came running over with a pocket watch in hand he somehow keeps on his person. And it displayed 12:35 PM. "Whoa, I better get going! Thanks, Angel. I'll see you girls later!" I then snatched up a muffin from the picnic basket nearby for a snack on the go before trekking back down the nearby path and towards Ponyville.

I made it back to the spa just in time and returned to my workstation by the massage tables. Quake was already hard at work pounding away on the back of the local DJ while Daisy and Roseluck were soaking in the hot tub. I left the customers to their relaxation and did nothing to interrupt Quake from her work. She has never been much of a social type, even since the day I started working.

Roughly two hours and a couple of massages later, I heard some familiar voices coming from the lobby. It was definitely Fluttershy and Rarity deciding to have their weekly visit to the spa. But once they finally stepped into view, I was surprised to see Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Maud with them. I waved my hand as they turned my way. "Good afternoon, ladies!"

"A very good afternoon to you, darling! I know that it's usually just the two of us during these visits, but we just had to show Maud to your workplace." Rarity replied while motioning her hoof towards Maud, who was just looking around with that same deadpan expression as before.

Pinkie Pie then stepped in and said, "You're just gonna love the spa, Maud! And the best part is always James' massages! Those fingers of his always get into the hard to reach spots and leave you feeling super limber afterwards!"

"Sounds nice. Where do we start?" Maud asked disinterestedly, which I pretty much had come to expect by that point.

Fluttershy then began to motion for Aloe to approach them before turning to Maud. "Just follow our lead, Maud. We'll take you through the grand tour. James' massages are usually the last on the list."

"Well, you girls have fun with that. I'm just gonna soak in the hot tub for a bit." Applejack said before placing her hat on a clothes rack nearby. Maud then did the same with her frock while leaving me feeling a bit uneasy seeing her disrobe. She even seemed a bit uncomfortable about doing so, appearing to be the type of mare who prefers to keep her body covered. Even so, it allowed me to get a good look at her cutie mark. It seemed to depict a simple rock cut into the shape of a gemstone. She then followed Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity into the sauna, which is usually where my two beautiful companions start their routine.

Applejack promptly made her way up to the side of the hot tub in the middle of the chamber before removing her tail's hair tie and dipped herself into the steaming pool of water. "Phew... Nothin' like a dip in the hot tub ta wrap up Applebuck Season."

"Yeah, autumn is generally harvest time, isn't it?" I replied while watching my friend from the side. With nothing else to do at the moment, I approached her and leaned over the side with an elbow. "So, what's been up over the last couple of hours? Been doing stuff with Maud?"

Applejack seemed a bit uneasy about answering that question. Even so, she did answer me. "Well, I think Rarity and Fluttershy did some stuff with 'er first before they came ta my place. I whipped up some homemade apple cider for Maud ta try and she helped with peelin' the apples. Although I can't reckon what she thought I meant..."

"Why? Did she peel them the right way?" I asked in return while wondering exactly what had been going on in my absence.

Applejack rolled her eyes and said, "Well, does smashin' apples with rocks sound like peelin' to ya?"

"Come on, Maud! That's how you make applesauce!" I retorted with a bit of a laugh. Fortunately, my three friends and our guest were being too chatty for my voice to reach them. "Are you sure she wasn't trying to be funny right there?"

"Well... Judgin' by how she described the taste of my cider, I don't think so. She's kinda weird, but dead serious 'bout everythin'." Applejack spoke with a very unsettled look in her eyes. What happened? I could not understand what she may have seen.

Trying to get to the bottom of things, I then asked, "Well... How was her critique of your cider?"

Applejack then said with a very dry tone of voice, "She said it tasted like apples."

"Uh... Yeah, I get that. But what kind of apples? McIntosh? Jonathan? Fuji? Gala? Red delicious?" I asked while wondering if Maud's sense of taste is so precise that she can discern what type of apple was used in making cider.

The answer I got from Applejack was not at all what I could have expected. "Nope. She said it tasted like apples. Just. Apples."

I did not say anything at first. My gaze turned off towards the entrance to the sauna, my eyes seeing Maud sitting with an apathetic look on her face while sitting behind a cloud of steam. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were chatting up a storm, but Maud was merely watching in silence. I was even starting to feel some degree of concern. I looked back towards Applejack and asked, "You think she's OK?"

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin while she glanced out of the corner of her eye. "Hmm... When ya put it like that... I don't really know. I mean I've seen plenty of folks throughout my life, but... Maud? That ain't normal behavior. I mean ya saw how she was in those drawin's Pinkie Pie made and how she talked about 'er. It almost feels like she really used ta be that way and that somethin'...changed 'er one day."

I looked back towards the sauna. Maud was still just sitting there quietly while watching her companions. I was almost expecting her to open up around Pinkie Pie after spending some time with her sister, but she was every bit as lacking in enthusiasm as the moment I first saw her. "I don't know... I mean that kind of apathy is worrisome, especially with how it contrasts with how Pinkie Pie described her. Almost as if she may have some kind of disorder."

I soon noticed Applejack staring at me in a very observant manner. When I turned to her, she asked, "Hey... Why don't ya spend some time with 'er today? I know ya got somethin' of a healin' personality, so maybe you'll get through ta her and help Maud come outta her shell."

"Heh, you're not the first person to say that... Sure, I'll see what I can do. It'll have to wait until I'm off work, but I'll see if I can do something." I replied with a smile. I was already having higher hopes of our time with Maud. But I was not going to make assumptions just yet.

Bit by bit, our three friends and our guest moved from one part of the spa to the next. Although only Rarity partook in the cornicure procedure. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy got the facials, but Maud skipped that and went straight to the mud bath. Lotus helped wrap her up in seaweed before she descended down into the mud pit up to her neck. Maud's expression remained unchanged, but I could tell she was likely enjoying it since she made a beeline right for it. I turned back to Applejack and said softly, "Well, she is enjoying herself."

"Ya sure? That look on 'er face ain't tellin' me much." Applejack replied while glancing over the edge of the tub to get a look at Maud.

"Yeah, her face isn't conveying much. But her body and actions did. She went right for the tub as if she had a bit of interest in it." I explained, not entirely surprised by Maud's first choice. With how much she is into rocks and earth science, it was no wonder she had a liking for mud as well.

Eventually, Fluttershy and Rarity made their ways to the hot tub after removing the facial cream from their faces while Pinkie Pie went to join her sister in the adjacent mud pit. I then asked, "Everything to your liking, ladies?"

"Oh, isn't it always? I just simply cannot go a week without at least one visit! Isn't that right, Fluttershy?" Rarity replied while keeping her head and mane above water.

Fluttershy grinned shyly and said, "Oh, it's always lovely. I especially needed this and that facial. My facial muscles are already feeling relaxed."

I smiled at them before leaning to the side to look at Pinkie Pie and Maud. Even though Pinkie's eyes were covered by the cream and cucumber slices, she was still chatting up a storm at Maud. I then looked at my three friends and said, "So... You two having trouble with Maud too?"

"Yeah, what happened between you girls before she came ta see me?" Applejack then asked while also looking towards them.

Both of our beautiful friends showed looks of uneasiness. Fluttershy spoke first and said, "Well... I took her and Pinkie for a walk through the forest near the park. I showed her around and introduced her to all of the little creatures we passed, but... She was only interested in the rocks at the edges of the path."

"Uh... OK then? And you, Rarity?" I replied before turning to the most beautiful mare in the room.

Rarity let out a long sigh while her eyes rolled a bit. "Well, I believe I was her first stop when she got back. I offered to weave for her a garment to take home with her when she departs, but..." Her expression then darkened while she dryly spoke, "All she wanted was a dish rag to wear like a scarf."

I actually got a bit of a laugh out of that, even though I knew she was being serious. It was starting to seem like, at least between Rarity and Applejack, that Maud had a sneaky sense of humor. Before long, Rarity and Fluttershy stepped out of the hot tub for a massage from me. Nothing worth mentioning really happened with each one, though I did try out some new techniques taught to me by Aloe and Lotus for massaging more effectively with the use of my elbows. I have steadily refined my technique over the past year and my clients have certainly been appreciating it.

By the time I finished with both Rarity and Fluttershy, I noticed that Maud had been sitting in the mud bath for over an hour. Out of curiosity, I went over there and found her still sitting in it while Pinkie Pie had moved on to the hot tub. I looked down at Maud while she looked up at me. "Enjoying yourself, Maud? You've been in there for quite a while by now."

"I feel at one with the earth when submerged in mud. Like a rock buried in soil." Maud said bluntly while also showing a bit of poetic flair. She definitely was enjoying herself, even if it did not seem like it.

Pinkie Pie then peered over the side of the hot tub and called out, "You don't know what you're missing, Maud! Hurry up with the mud bath so you can get the best massage of your life!"

"Mud bath? I think it's turned into a Maud bath by now." I replied in an attempt to be witty. That stupid pun got a laugh out of Pinkie Pie, but Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack just looked at me over the edge of the tub with rather bewildered gazes. I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, I know that was a lame pun, but I couldn't help it!"

"I think it was pretty funny." Maud said from behind, catching me off guard. When I turned around to look at her, I found that she was still wearing that same dull expression as before. Despite this, she still said, "Pinkie was right. You're funny at just the right moment."

"Uh... Thanks, Maud. So, you ready for a massage?" I asked in return while not entirely sure of what to make of Maud's praise.

"Yeah. Just let me wash this mud off and I'll be right over." Maud spoke while not budging from the spot. I got the feeling that she did not want me to watch her climb out of the mud bath, so I went to the other side of the room and waited for her.

A few minutes later, Maud finally emerged from behind the hot tub free of seaweed and mud. However, her already slow gait seemed even more rigid. It was subtle, but she seemed...nervous. Pinkie Pie was watching with intense interest, but Applejack was just chatting with Rarity and Fluttershy at the side of the tub to pass the time. When Maud reached me, I asked, "Are you OK? You seem a bit...nervous."

"I just don't like being without something to wear." Maud replied bluntly without a hint of apprehension in her voice. I was quite surprised by such a claim. It was no wonder she was wearing a full body garment when she first showed up. Despite such a phlegmatic disposition, Maud is surprisingly self-conscious of her appearance.

"Do you want to put your frock back on? Although the massage would be more effective without anything in the way..." I replied while wanting to avoid making Maud feel more uncomfortable than she already was.

Maud seemed to hesitate for a moment while she glanced over at her frock on the clothes rack. But she then looked back to me and said, "No. I'll go without my frock this time. I want to have the best massage possible."

"I'll do my best to not disappoint." I retorted while stepping aside to let Maud climb onto the massage table. As she did so, I could tell she was still moving more rigidly than usual. "Are you...not comfortable with your appearance? Because...you're quite beautiful, Maud."

I was not expecting much of a reaction from Maud, but I still got more than I expected. She looked over her shoulder at me with her eyes opened about as wide as they got while she was describing Camouflage a few hours earlier, but still spoke with that deadpan tone of voice. "Really?"

I was being completely serious. Even though Maud's personality would understandably alienate most people, her physical appearance for a mare is actually quite attractive. Pinkie Pie promptly spoke up and said, "Oh, James has always had a good eye for beauty! He's a real sweetheart and always sees just how pretty a mare is! And you've always been pretty, Maud! Although maybe Marble is prettier than you..."

"Pinkie... That's enough..." I muttered loudly, feeling quite embarrassed from Pinkie Pie's enthusiastic praise. I know she was being completely honest, but it was flattering all the same. I then looked back at Maud, who then lowered her gaze. "You OK, Maud?"

She soon looked back up at me while her dull face actually displayed a slight blush on her cheeks. "Thanks... I really prefer expressing myself with my wardrobe, but it feels nice knowing somepony thinks you look pretty on your own."

"Anytime, Maud. Just get comfortable and we'll get started." I replied with a smile. Maud relaxed quite a bit from that moment forward and I climbed upon the table to straddle her. But when I tried to massage her, I got a bit of a surprise. "Huh? This can't be right..."

No matter where I tried to apply pressure, I was met with a shockingly solid resistance. It felt like Maud's muscle system was nothing but a sculpture covered in flesh and hair that had been chiseled out of marble. And this is coming from someone who has massaged Big Macintosh! Even my elbows could not press into her hard enough to get to the right spots. "Good grief, Maud... It feels like your body is... Huh?"

Maud and I both looked ahead at Pinkie Pie. She was leaning over the side of the hot tub with a trombone in her hooves while giving us a very giddy grin. Even our friends at the far end of the tub had stopped what they were doing and were just staring at Pinkie Pie in silence. I decided to speak first and asked, "What do you want?"

Finally, Pinkie Pie said, "Say it."

I was left utterly confused and tried to inquire as to why she was holding that musical instrument. "Pinkie, why do you have a..."

"Say it!" Pinkie Pie said again as she interrupted me.

I was starting to become a bit irritated on top of being confused. "No, really. Where did you even get..."

"Saaaaaay iiiit!" She once again said teasingly before I could finish my sentence.

I remained silent for a few seconds before loudly saying, "Say WHAT?!"

Pinkie Pie then replied honestly, "What you were about to say!"

"Uh... OK? Uh... What was I gonna say again?" My friends at the far end of the hot tub giggled and snickered at how silly the moment had become. Maud had no input at all. Dismissing Pinkie's antics, I returned to focusing on massaging Maud only to be promptly reminded that I could not. And thus, I was reminded of what I was about to say a moment earlier. "Oh, now I know what I was saying. Maud, I swear your muscles are as tough as rock."

And right then, Pinkie Pie pulled her stunt. She played three notes on the trombone with each subsequent note getting lower with the third lasting longer than the other three. This actually got on my nerves a bit and I spoke louder than I probably should have while on the job, "Pinkie! If I want incidental music, I'll ask for it! And stop laughing! What I said wasn't even that funny!"

"Perhaps not. But the delivery was!" Rarity replied while she, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack just laughed. I snorted and rolled my eyes while climbing down from the massage table. I had finally met a client who was beyond my help.

"Ugh... Your sister is indeed pretty nutty. Anyway, so sorry I couldn't give you a proper massage, Maud. I use my hands, not pickaxes." I said apologetically, not being used to the feeling of having let someone down after offering my services.

Fortunately, Maud did not seem to be terribly bothered. Either that, or she was not showing her disappointment very well. "It's OK. I'm used to it."

However, I then glanced over to my left and noticed Quake reading a magazine to pass the time. Knowing that she is much stronger than me, I was sure that she could at least provide a massage effectively, even if it lacked the kind of precision that mine have. "Hang on, Maud. Maybe Quake here can help you. Hey, Quake. You got a client."

Quake looked up from her magazine before setting it aside. She then took her position without a word while Maud silently took up my offer and lied down on the next massage table over. However, the instant Quake slammed her hoof down into Maud's back, there was a loud smack akin to striking a hard object. Quake instantly stopped as her expression became one of extreme discomfort. I looked on with my friends while a rising tension filled the air. I felt tempted to laugh, but then burst into snickering as Quake let out a yell as she clutched her wrist. I then asked while chuckling like a fool, "Whoahohoho my god... Are you OK, Quake?"

Quake offered no reply and limped off for the spa's medicine cabinet. That whack must have bruised her wrist. Hopefully she would not be out of commission tomorrow. Maud then asked dully, "Is she all right?"

Fluttershy then came over to the massage tables and asked while also trying to not laugh, "I didn't think Quake wouldn't be able to give you a massage, Maud... That must have been like hitting a big rock."

"Yeah, that'll leave a bruise. Never thought I'd see the day when Quake's hooves would meet muscles too tough for her to work with. You're something else, Maud." I said while still chuckling with my friends. I almost expected her to take that last line literally, but she just looked in the direction that Quake went in. After that, she just settled for a dip in the hot tub to loosen herself up.

Eventually, all my friends and our guest climbed out of the hot tub and retrieved their garments from nearby. Maud seemed a bit more at ease once she was clad in her frock again. Pinkie Pie then asked, "So, Maud? Whatcha think of James' work? He's just got the softest touch in the world, doesn't he?"

Maud glanced back at me from the doorway leading back out into the lobby before looking back at her sister. "Yeah. Very soft. Not like rocks at all."

I rolled my eyes, finding it amusing and even predictable that she would mention rocks. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all bid me farewell before they headed out the door while Maud and Pinkie Pie stayed behind to discuss their next course of action. Pinkie Pie then asked, "Hey! How about we stop by Twilight's place next?! You're a total bookworm, so I know you'll totally click with her!"

Maud nodded in silent agreement, but she then looked back at me in silence. I waved in response to say goodbye. But then she turned to Pinkie Pie and asked, "Is James coming too?"

That inquiry was completely unexpected, but then again, Maud has proven herself as being someone who can catch you by surprise. Pinkie Pie then looked back at me before looking at her sister and asking, "Really?! You want James to come?!"

The silent mare's response was just as straightforward as one would have expected by that point, but was still a bit unexpected. "He seems nice."

That sounded about as strong a praise as one would get out of Maud. As lacking in delivery it was, I am certain that anything that came from her was deeply sincere. I was even left feeling flattered. Pinkie Pie then said, "Ooooh, so you like him! OK, lemme go check with his bosses to see if he can get off work early."

Pinkie Pie disappeared past the doorway and into the lobby before returning about half a minute later. She waved at me from the doorway and said, "It's OK, James! Lotus said you can leave early!"

"OK! Thanks, Pinkie." I replied before leaving my workstation and following the two sisters out. Once I was clocked out, I said goodbye to my bosses and stepped outside into the town square. "So... We're heading to the library now?"

"That's where Twilight lives, so yes!" Pinkie responded while she hopped along beside us.

"She lives in a library?" Maud asked before looking up at me with that deadpan expression of hers. "Is that legal?"

I was about to comment on that question before I suddenly let out a laugh as I realized that such a question had been asked before. "You know, I asked the exact same thing when I first visited Twilight's place after first getting her a year back! As for if it's legal... I guess it is so long as there's a loft with home furnishings in it somewhere?"

"Makes sense." Maud replied briefly while we continued on. We sure were hitting it off. At least... Hitting it off about as well as I could with someone like Maud. I just had to be patient with her. The fact that she wanted to hang out with me longer was a good sign for her getting comfortable.

We eventually came to the local library and entered through the door with Pinkie Pie. Our overexcited friend called out as Twilight just happened to be coming down the stairs ahead of us, "Hi, Twilight! It's Maud time!"

Twilight seemed to have been expecting her since she looked delighted to be seeing Maud in her home. There was no sign of Spike, so he was likely upstairs somewhere or out running errands. "Hi, Maud! Oh? And hello, James! You decided to come too?"

I glanced down at Maud and said, "Maud requested that I tag along with her after she stopped by the spa. I couldn't say no."

Maud's response was just that same blank stare as always, but she did return my gaze. While Pinkie Pie started zipping around the bookshelves as if she was searching for something, Twilight started to approach Maud. "Well, I heard that you're quite the intellectual. As you can see, I've always got plenty of different kinds of books available. Is there any you would like to borrow while staying in Ponyville? Maybe documents on earth science and geology?"

The mention of those topics seemed to get Maud's attention since her eyes opened ever so slightly wider than usual. However, Pinkie Pie then spoke up while flinging books over her shoulders and having them land in surprisingly even stacks and piles. "You got anything on poetry, Twilight?! Maud's all over that subject like icing on cake!"

"Poetry?! I never knew you had such elegant tastes in literature, Maud! I've got lots of books on those." Twilight said while sounding especially delighted. She used her magic to retrieve a few books from some higher shelves as Maud seemed to browse through a lower shelf. "Let's see... I have some works by Quilland Ink and Flourish Prose... Oh, and I have some by Plot Twist! I don't think he ever published more poetry after this one though... Always seemed better at writing fiction."

Maud looked over at Twilight while I leaned against the nearest gap between the shelves. "I prefer to read my own poetry."

"You do? Well, I'd love to hear you recite some if you remember any off the top of your head." Twilight replied with a delighted gleam in her eyes.

Pinkie Pie stopped looking through the shelves while Maud cleared her throat. And then... "Rock. You are a rock. Gray. You are gray. Like a rock. Which you are. Rock." Twilight's enthusiastic interest rapidly drained from her face with every word Maud spoke until she was looking genuinely bewildered. I must confess, as patient as I was being with Maud up to that point, even I was left underwhelmed by that one. Although I did find it strangely relaxing. Maud then added, "I've written thousands."

"Doesn't she just have the most amazing way with words, Twilight?!" Pinkie Pie asked with that unnatural level of enthusiasm she had been displaying all day. Did she really like that poem? Or did she think Maud said 'candy' every time she said 'rock'?

Twilight said nothing, probably out of both being uncomfortable and trying to respectfully allow Maud to continue. Even so, I tried giving credit where it was due. "Just one syllable short of a haiku, Maud. If you added an 'A' before that last 'rock', it'd be complete."

Maud glanced at me before looking out of the corner of her eye at nothing at all. She had her hoof raised a bit as if trying to count something. "Rock. You are a rock. Gray. You are gray. Like a rock. Which you are. A rock... Five...seven...five... That DOES make a haiku now. Thanks."

"No problem, Maud. Got anymore poems you want to share?" I replied while trying to stay interested. And this time, the next poem was quite a bit better.

"Sure. This next one is about rocks. They're all about rocks." She retorted while maintaining that constant air of indifference around her. "Rocks. These are my rocks. Sediments...make me sedimental. Smooth and round, asleep in the ground. Shades of brown and gray..."

Next thing I knew, I actually felt myself loose balance a bit as I found myself nodding off. Maud seemed to notice me leaning to the side a bit and asked, "Are you OK?"

I quickly righted myself while Pinkie Pie went riding around the walls of the room on one of those ladders on wheels. Why? Like I would know. Regardless, I quickly woke myself up and looked down at her. "Oh, sorry... That poem must've been so relaxing that I began to nod off. I rarely find something that relaxes you enough that you could take a nap to it."

"You like it?" Maud asked while giving me a deadpan stare. It was hard to tell if she was pleased that I found her poem so relaxing or that she felt insulted or disheartened that her poems could put me to sleep.

I nodded and even smiled. "Yeah. If you were to record all those poems for me, I could totally take a nap while listening to them. They're simple, but relaxing. I'd love to hear more. And poetry isn't even really my thing."

Twilight seemed shocked that I actually found enjoyment in Maud's poem, but Maud just continued to stare at me in an almost investigative manner. I then noticed something subtle on her face. Her lips... It was barely detectable, but... I saw it. A smile. "I'll be sure to record some for you. I probably shouldn't say more right now if you're not ready to sleep."

"Yeah, good point..." I replied with a chuckle. It was certainly not a good time for a nap. Nor was it the right place.

Twilight, apparently in an attempt to get herself away from Maud, then stepped forward. She then said while smiling awkwardly, "Well, if you're done looking for poems... Who haven't you hung out with yet? Did you go see Fluttershy or Applejack yet?"

"Yeah, she already paid a visit to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. They confirmed it when they came into the spa today." I replied while Maud looked on in silence.

Pinkie Pie then hopped down from that ladder on wheels and trotted over to us. "That just leaves Rainbow Dash! And I know exactly where to find her! Let's go!"

Not even bothering to wait for our input, Pinkie Pie trotted out of the library. Not wanting to get left behind, Maud and I had to bid a hasty farewell to Twilight before we hurried out the door. Only Pinkie Pie knew where Rainbow Dash was. On our way through town, I glanced down at Maud. She was not really looking at anyone and was focusing exclusively on following her sister. I thought back to what Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy said to me regarding her visits. I then asked, "So... Uh... Maud. I heard you looked at quite a few rocks with Fluttershy today."

My words got her attention as Maud then glanced up at me. "Yeah. We passed by a few. I recognized a few hunks of sandstone with some granite."

"You sure seem quite...uh...fascinated with rocks." I replied, finding her fascination with rocks starting to border on obsession. Even so, her lack of enthusiasm did not match her obsessive interest in rocks.

"Uh huh. They were all around me all the time when I was a filly. I started to try telling them apart by color and shape just for fun. Then I started doing it while comparing them based on other details. I started studying about them to tell them apart by exactly what type they are, learning how to identify igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. I guess that's where it all started." She explained while still sounding very disinterested in it all.

"Huh... I guess you've got to find some way to entertain yourself when on a rock farm. Even when all you have to do it with are rocks." I replied while just trying to imagine exactly how such a place looks. I doubt I will ever see it, but I am sure Maud and Pinkie's old home must be very boring.

After some time passed, Pinkie Pie led us back into the park and eventually right back to the same pond next to the picnic site. And floating out in the middle of the pond on a pool toy was Rainbow Dash while wearing a pair of sunglasses. Pinkie Pie then called out, "Rainbooooow! We're here!"

Rainbow Dash then looked our way before lifting her sunglasses. She then called back while smiling, "Hey, Pinkie! Hey, Maud! Hey... James?"

"Heya, Rainbow." I replied while waving back. It seemed like she was surprised by my presence.

After setting her sunglasses down on the foam pool raft, Rainbow took to the air and swooped over to us while remaining airborne. "What's up? I wasn't expecting you to tag along today."

I glanced down at Maud, who then offered a retort. "Do you not want him here?"

"Huh?! Nah, he can stay! I love hanging out with this big guy! I was just...uh... I didn't think he'd be coming." Rainbow Dash replied while immediately regaining her smile. I could only smirk and snicker under my breath. I know that rowdy mare adores me. "Anyway, you up for a game of Rock Toss? I thought that'd be thing."

"Sounds fun. What do we do?" Maud asked with that deadpan tone of voice. The mention of rocks seemed to catch her interest, but she was not doing a good job of showing it.

"Easy! Right over here." Rainbow Dash said before leading us to the pond's edge. There were a few rocks lying around the shoreline, including one that was around her size. Surely Maud would not attempt to throw that one. "All you gotta do is throw a rock to the other side of the pond. Whoever throws one the farthest wins!"

"Ooh, Maud's gonna love this one! She always won this game back home!" Pinkie Pie added with some of her constant enthusiasm. Maud offered no response, but she seemed ready to play. I merely stood to the sidelines to observe. With how competitive Rainbow Dash tends to be, she would not win easily.

"OK, I'll go first." Rainbow said before she swooped down and snatched up a rock that was close to being the size of her own head. She then went just a bit higher and spun around in the air for a bit to build up some extra momentum before hurling that rock clear across the pond and embedding it in the soft ground at the other end.

"Good one, Rainbow! Your turn, Maud!" Pinkie Pie cheered while Maud seemed to be examining the small number of rocks nearby. I was hoping she would not get too distracted in examining them and forget about the game. While Pinkie and I would probably have the patience to wait, Rainbow Dash is definitely not know for her patience.

Even so, Rainbow Dash's ego started to show for a moment as she crossed her arms while hovering. "Let's see ya beat that... WHAT THE?!"

I barely had enough time to look. Maud picked up the rock that was around her size, which must have weighed several hundred pounds, and then hurled it at Rainbow Dash! Well, maybe not exactly right at her, but it did narrowly miss her. And it kept going... And going... And flying clear over the horizon and the distant hills! All I could say was, "What the hell, Maud?!"

It was utterly surreal to see that rock just flying like that, but Pinkie Pie and Maud merely watched like nothing had happened. As the rock disappeared over the hills in the far distance, I all but held my breath while anticipating some sort of reaction. "Sheesh, forget what I said about the Apple family. The Pie family's where the real muscle's at!"

A couple of seconds later, we got a response. I felt a tremor through my feet as a huge geyser of dust burst up over the horizon as the rock probably left a crater. And I swear I saw a wall of rippling air coming our way which was probably a shockwave kicked up by the impact. And as it blew past us, I saw the water of the pond starting to ripple as it began to rise up at the end.

"Ooooh no no no no no no no!!!" I yelled as I realized that the shockwave had kicked up a small tsunami... Or rather a tidal wave. And it was going to splash all over us! I bolted for the top of the nearest slope at the sides of the pond as it seemed that the wave was not moving towards it. I barely made it to the top as it came crashing down onto my three friends.

At first, I was deeply scared for them. But mere seconds passed before I saw Maud standing where she had been before, just soaked to the bone while showing no signs of being bothered by it. With the pond's water level being a bit lower than before, Pinkie Pie popped back up to the surface while floating in a black inner tube with a cartoonish duck head sticking out of the front. She was soaked as well, but just seemed to shrug it off while cheering for her sister. "Woooo! That's how we do it on the rock farm... Huh? Helloooo, who's this?"

I saw a snorkel approaching the inner tube. At first, I thought it was Rainbow Dash, but that theory was scuttled when I noticed Rainbow Dash surface nearby. The snorkel came to a stop next to Pinkie Pie while she looked over the side. "Hi there! You like my inner tube?"

It was then that I heard a strangely familiar voice speak through the snorkel with a noticeable lisp in the voice. "Only in your dreams, sister!"

At that moment, an arm and hand coated in soaked black feathers reached up and grabbed the inner tube before dragging it and Pinkie Pie down under with Pinkie Pie surfacing just a few seconds later without it. This did not seem to faze her as she started swimming to the shoreline. However, I was left feeling a bit...unsettled as I recognized that arm. "That better not have been who I think it was!"

"Him?! That was one of my professors at the university I went to! I haven't seen him in ages! I think he specialized in spotlight stealing." Pinkie explained while she pulled herself out of the pond. I could only facepalm while trying not to think too hard on what she was talking about. Maud seemed entirely unfazed by it while Rainbow Dash seemed to have not noticed.

"Just... How did... Maud, how'd you do that?!" Rainbow Dash yelled while she treaded water. I too was baffled by how she could hurl something that heavy so far. I doubt even Big Macintosh could pull that off!

Maud's response was blunt and too the point and made me feel like she was unsure of what exactly it was she meant. "I threw it."

Rainbow Dash did not even give a response to that explanation. However, I then tried to elaborate on her question while coming down from the slope without slipping. "No, she means where did you get the strength to throw that thing. What makes you so strong?!"

Once more, her response was blunt and straightforward. "I guess years of working with rocks on a rock farm will make you get strong. Rocks are heavy."

"Oh, duh... I could've guessed that." Rainbow Dash replied while averting her eyes. She clearly seemed to be a bit tired out. "Anyway... I guess you win this one."

"I'm not really into winning." Maud replied blandly while maintaining that constant deadpan expression. Rainbow Dash's expression instantly became one that was quite laughable. The sight of her jaw dropping open like that... It was as if she could not comprehend someone not caring about winning in a competition.

Still, I totally understood where she was coming from. "You prefer to play just for fun, huh? That's good! Rainbow Dash could learn a thing or two from you."

This only seemed to annoy Rainbow Dash as she looked away. "Pffft... We've already gone over this, James! You know I'm trying to keep my ego in check!"

However, Maud then shook herself for a moment to help dry herself out before looking up at me. "Why did you run to the top of that hill a minute ago? You don't like getting wet?"

"Not when I'm wearing socks and shoes. I know you'll never know what it's like, but no one likes walking around with their socks soaked. I wasn't gonna have any of that." I explained while quite relieved that I had managed to keep my feet dry.

"OK. I don't wear socks, so I don't know what it's like. Sorry." Maud replied dully, although I could tell she was being quite sincere.

I turned around to check on Rainbow, but found that she had already flown away. Strange that she would quit playing that early. And she left without even saying goodbye. Not that Pinkie Pie seemed to mind much. "Wow, we've already gone through everypony so far! I can already taste those best friend rock candy necklaces! Hey, Maud! You wanna head back and chill for now?"

"Sounds good." Maud answered before she turned to me. "You want to come too? I'm staying with Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner."

"Sure. I'd be glad to tag along." I said in return before Pinkie Pie dried herself out a bit more before merrily leading us back towards Ponyville.

Along the way, I asked Maud a bit more about her life back on the rock farm and how she found Boulder. Maud told me that she often helped pull the carts full of rocks and loaded them up. That must have built up quite a bit of physical strength. But since her father did the brunt of the heaviest labor, that guy could probably give Big Macintosh a run for his money. As for Boulder, Maud found him while breaking up some sedimentary rocks into gravel. She found one shard that turned out perfectly smooth and oval-shaped. She took it as a sign of something special and held onto it. Thus, it became her pet rock and was named Boulder. Apparently, that was where her interest in rocks started and it has only grown since then.

Once we got back to Sugarcube Corner and went up to the loft, I found that not a whole lot had changed around the loft since that morning. Piles of various colors of rock candy still littered the room, although I did spot a couple of traveling bags that had not been present before. Pinkie Pie then said, "You two make yourselves comfortable. I gotta check to see if Mr. and Mrs. Cake need any help for the rest of the evening. See ya!"

Pinkie Pie then trotted back down the stairs, leaving me alone with Maud. I glanced around the room for a bit while Maud constantly gazed at me with that deadpan expression of hers. I was unsure of what to say. It almost felt like she was waiting for me to do something. With the room being so quiet as well aside from some music being played downstairs for extra atmosphere in the storefront, it felt increasingly awkward. I glanced around, looking for something to break the ice. And then I saw them. Boulder and those...pet rocks on a leash sitting on the bed. My god, Rainbow... What were you thinking when you put those together? Too much hard cider the night before? "Hey, Fluttershy brought your new pet by! I was worried you wouldn't get them back."

Maud and I approached the bed and found Boulder sitting right in front of the lead rock. My friend then said, "Yeah. I was worried when I realized I left them behind. Fluttershy had been taking care of them until we left her house after the visit. I came up with the name Rocky for this one. Not sure about the rest yet."

"I had a pet Labrador named Rocky a little while ago..." I replied while absentmindedly petting the rocks. Not sure why I did that.

"That's a type of rock I've never heard of." Maud added, forcing me to suppress a laugh as she probably thought that 'Labrador' is a type of rock. She then looked at me for a moment and asked, "Actually... I've been wondering this for a while. What are you?"

That question caused me to look at Maud in temporary confusion. She did not know that I was human? And come to think of it, Pinkie Pie only introduced me by name and not what I was. Even so, I replied honestly. "I'm... Well, I'm a human. The only one in the world, I think."

"Oh... Never heard of them. But you seem nice." She replied bluntly while not looking the least bit bewildered or shocked. She really did not mind or care at all about what I am. It was kind of refreshing to meet a pony for the first time who did not care about the details of what I am or where I came from. "Well... Do you want to play something while we're here?"

"Play? I really hope it's not camouflage game again. Boulder will stand out too easily with all of these colorful rocks around him." I said jokingly while Maud pushed her saddlebags over. They were simple and gray, but functional. She then lifted the flap on one side and lifted several rocks out of it. Each were of different appearance and form.

"No. It would've been too easy to play that here. Instead, I've got this game. Can you guess the rocks?" Maud replied while setting the rocks out neatly in a row as I took a seat. It seemed to be a type of 'test your knowledge' sort of game.

"Oh, I get it! Um... I did take an earth science course back in college a few years ago..." I muttered while I reached for a rather porous rock. I checked its weight, finding it to be very light. I then looked towards Maud and said, "Pumice, right?"

"Yeah. One of the lightest rocks in the world. And I bet you didn't know that it's the only rock that can float in water." Maud replied while showing more interest than she normally does in anything. She was even starting to smile a little.

"I did, actually. Never really saw it happen though." I added while putting the rock back. I then reached for a chunk of pale rock. A close look at it revealed tiny fossilized mollusks embedded in the pale stone. "Easy. Limestone. The fossilized organisms give it away."

Maud was clearly starting to have some fun as her smile became more noticeable. She still spoke with that deadpan tone of voice, but I could tell she was enjoying herself. "Very good. Limestone is pretty easy to identify."

I then set that rock back and then reached for another. It was a golden hue and was translucent like glass. I immediately recognized it and gave Maud a bit of a smirk. "Heeey, what're you trying to pull? This isn't a rock. It's just fossilized tree resin. Amber."

It was then that Maud did something I did not see coming. She let out a soft chuckle. She was laughing. I suspect that it was something that only Pinkie Pie ever got to see. "Well, yes. But it's fun to throw in a curveball sometimes. It is similar to many types of gemstones, so it can be considered a type of rock."

This went on for a bit with me getting most of my guesses right as Maud then put those away and then brought out more. After identifying a hunk of obsidian, I felt in the mood for a light snack and reached for the nearest pile of rock candy. I took a bite of one chunk while holding another out to Maud to invite her to share some. However, she merely looked at it while her expression dulled before saying, "I don't really like candy."

"Oh, sor... Wait... What?!" I yelped in shock at her words. I looked down at the chunk of rock candy in my hand before looking back at Maud. "You don't...even...like this stuff? Then..."

I started to look around, eyeing the piles of rock candy that stood around the room. There must have been dozens of pounds of it. And most of it was made for Maud, who does not even like it! "You don't... Then why... What was Pinkie even..."

Maud then got my attention by lifting her hoof. "Let me guess. Pinkie Pie got you out of bed at the crack of dawn, had you taste test all this candy, and made all of this just for me?"

Her foresight was uncanny. "Uh... Actually... That's exactly what happened. How'd you even know?"

Maud's expression became a bit of a tiny smirk while she rolled her eyes. "Some things never change."

"Hang on! Are you saying she's done this before?!" I asked in shock as Maud seemed completely unsurprised by Pinkie Pie's excessive preparation of her visit. "But...you taught her how to make this stuff in the first place! Right?"

Maud nodded and proceeded to explain herself. "Yeah. I taught her the recipe because I knew she likes candy and it would let her make her own whenever she wants some. I just liked putting the rock candy together in necklaces because I thought they looked nice. So that little tradition of ours got started that way. But even though I've told her over and over that I don't even like to eat the rock candy, she always makes way too much. So I just gave up on trying to stop her. I'm guessing she usually eats it all herself over the course of the week or shares it with her friends."

I just shook my head and cracked a smirk. "Sounds like you've got to put up with quite a bit from that goofball. I should've guessed that her take on things wasn't entirely accurate when we met up here this morning. I bet she got on your nerves a lot back home before she moved to Ponyville."

"No. Pinkie Pie never annoys me. I love spending time with my sister." She replied bluntly without a shred of humor in her tone. No wonder either. She always seemed like a shockingly patient mare.

"Heh... I was wondering why you were putting up with her antics..." I muttered softly while pushing the row of rocks back towards her since we had just finished identifying them. "Well, I think that's the last of the rocks. What are you in the mood for now, Maud?"

Maud proceeded to place the rocks back in her saddlebag before looking around for a moment. She did not say a word before approaching Pinkie's sofa before carrying some stuff over from it. When she set the items down, I saw two long threads and a needle on the floor. She then looked at me and asked, "Want to make rock candy friendship necklaces?"

This caught me quite a bit by surprise. With how poorly Maud had been meshing with the rest of my friends today, I definitely was not expecting her to make such an offer to me. I admit that I was finding myself liking her, but was she liking me? If she was, she was not showing it very well. Then again, wanting me to stick with her throughout the afternoon... "Really? You want to be friends?"

She looked at me blandly for a moment before replying, "I thought we already were by the time we came up here."

Her blunt sincerity was both surprising, yet touching. I then tried to speak. "Well... I'm really touched you've grown to like me, Maud. You're pretty cool too in your own unique way. But...uh... Why do you like me? Just curious."

While constantly maintaining that deadpan expression, Maud spoke to me. "You're not somepony who judges very much and you give everypony a chance. Most ponies I meet for the first time are kind of...weirded out by me for some reason. But you actually like my poems. And you know how to have fun with rocks like me. You're very patient. And I think that's a nice thing."

I could tell that Maud is not someone who ever jokes around when she tells someone anything. It felt odd for her to be telling me all that without any show of happiness, but I knew she meant everything she said and it was flattering. I could only smile and extend my arm to her in invitation. "Oh, Maud... You're really sweet when you want to be."

Maud took up my invitation and walked towards me before I wrapped my arm around her in embrace while she did the same, her head resting against my shoulder. Her grip was firm, but nowhere near as crushing as I was expecting. She soon asked, "So, you want to make those necklaces?"

"You bet. But how do I actually make the thread go through?" I asked in return. Maud sat down before me and demonstrated how to use the needle to dig out a hole through a piece of rock candy and where to start. It was a bit more time-consuming than I would have liked it to be, but I was focused enough to not mind the tedium. I had to figure out what colors to use first. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie had provided a rainbow of colors to choose from.

I ultimately decided on choosing seven chunks with each representing myself and one of my six dearest friends. I first chose a pink one for Pinkie Pie, then an indigo one for Rarity, a yellow one for Fluttershy, a white one for myself, light blue for Rainbow Dash, pastel purple for Twilight, and orange for Applejack. Mine hung right at the bottom in the center like it needed to be to show who it was from. "All done. Whatcha think, Maud?"

Maud looked up from her work in progress before looking at mine. She then looked at me without even smiling. "It looks good. Really colorful too. Do each of the colors mean something?"

It was less enthusiasm than I was expecting, but I appreciated her wondering about the symbolism. "Yeah, they do. The white one in the middle represents me while the six at the sides represent my six dearest friends. I don't even want to think of where I'd be without them, so I had to include them. They're like pieces of a puzzle that make up my life in Equestria."

"Sounds really nice. They must be very important to you. And I'm glad Pinkie Pie is that precious to you. You're a good friend to her." Maud replied blandly while she finished up her necklace. "I think I'm done."

"Cool. Let's see it." I replied while looking on. Maud had already tied the two ends of the string into a knot and lifted it with her hoof. The necklace consisted of seven pieces like what I used, but it also seemed color coded too. There were four at the sides that appeared to be a similar shade of dull blue as Maud's frock, two between then that matched the purplish color of her mane, and one in the middle of them all hanging at the bottom of the curve matching her coat. "Huh... I didn't notice that Pinkie Pie made some in such muted colors... Pretty fitting, but what made you choose those? They look like...you."

Maud nodded and said quietly, "I noticed how you used colors to signify who they represent, so I used colors to remind you of me when we first met. I hope it's OK with you."

"It's perfect, Maud. I'll never forget who made it with those colors reminding me." I replied with a smile. I then reached out and slipped the necklace I had crafted over her head so that it was hanging down from her neck. Maud then did the same with hers, slipping it over my head until the rock candy chunks hung against the top of my chest. But as I looked from them to her, I noticed that Maud was not even smiling. Finally, I decided to throw caution to the wind and ask a question that I am sure had been brewing in the minds of my friends for the entire day. "Hey, Maud? Just curious, but... Are you feeling all right?"

I noticed Maud tilt her head ever so slightly to the left while that phlegmatic expression remained on her face. "I don't think I get what you mean. I feel fine."

That feeling that comes with wondering if you are about to do something really stupid was flooding my senses. Still, I was certain Maud trusted me enough to know I meant no harm with my words. "It's just... The way you look and talk. You sound constantly bored and almost never smile. Are you...suffering from depression? Or is it a possible result of a certain degree of autism? Not that I'm judging..."

Maud's expression remained completely unchanged while I spoke to her. I felt unable to bring myself to talk further as I feared that I had offended her someway and would be best to avoid poking the coals further. Fortunately, Maud calmly replied, "Nopony's ever asked me that before. I mean I understand why you're concerned, but I'm OK. I just don't express myself quite the same way my sister does. I hope that's not a problem with you."

Her explanation did help me feel better as I had no real problem with her behavior at all. I was mostly asking with my friends in mind anyway. "Ah, I see. Well, it's no problem to me at all. It does make you harder to read, but it gets easier the more I get to know you."

These words seemed to coax a tiny smile from Maud. "Thanks. You're very understanding, James."

"I try to be." I retorted softly while starting to climb to my feet. "Anyway, it's probably getting close to dinner time. You wanna stop by the café? My treat."

"Sounds good. Let's go." She said in response before climbing to her feet. I then led Maud downstairs and towards store's front door. However, I paused when I noticed that it was being propped open with Pinkie Pie standing in the doorway with our five friends standing just outside. And judging by Pinkie's partially deflated mane, something bad had likely come up. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know... But if Pinkie's hair looks like that, it can't be good." I said while cautiously approaching. I almost did not want us to be seen just yet.

"Are you OK, Pinkie?" Maud asked once we drew near, throwing my stealth strategy out the window. This prompted Pinkie Pie to turn around to face us. However, her rather glum expression turned into one of shock as her eyes darted back and forth between the two of us.

Seconds later, Pinkie Pie's face displayed utter delight as her mane and tail regained their full volume. "Oh my gosh! You two did it?!" She then grabbed us both and shoved us out the door so that we were both standing before the rest of my dearest friends. "Check it out, girls! These two are getting along so well that they've already made their best friend necklaces!"

For whatever reason, this revelation elicited looks of utter disbelief from the five mares before us. Fluttershy spoke first and said, "Oh my... You... Those really are the necklaces we were supposed to make?"

I was left unsure of how to respond to that and started to feel uncomfortable from all the attention. Rainbow Dash just hovered there and held out her arms while speaking loudly, "James! Just... How?! How did... What's your secret?!"

"Uh... What secret? I don't really follow." I asked in return while not entirely sure what the big deal was. Maud just stayed silent as if waiting for something.

Before any of us could say anything, Twilight looked over her shoulder ad noticed a few customers waiting in line to get into Sugarcube Corner. "Uh... Maybe we should take this elsewhere right now. We're holding up customers."

"Perhaps we should try the park? Plenty of open space over there." Rarity added while we all gathered near Twilight. Seconds later, her horn was engulfed by her surging pink magic aura before we found ourselves not far from where we held our picnic lunch that afternoon.

"Was that magic?" Maud asked while looking around with a slightly more intrigued look on her face, although it was mostly her eyes that changed in expression. She probably never saw magic of that caliber in use before.

"Mmhm, and a pretty advanced spell too!" Twilight replied while the rest of us took a moment to get our bearings. I suppose that location was the obvious choice.

Pinkie Pie then hopped forward once and asked, "So, what's up?! What's that secret you were talking about, Rainbow?"

For a second, Rainbow seemed unwilling to speak while she glanced at Maud. Fortunately for her, Applejack interjected before anyone could force anything out of her. "We'll get back to ya in a minute. It's just...uh... Ya know. We all just gotta...um...use the rest room for a bit."

"All of you?!" Pinkie Pie asked with a bit of... Well, she was clearly a bit weirded out by the concept of a group bathroom break. Even I was too.

"Uh... Yeah! When you gotta go, you gotta go! Excuse us, girls." Twilight said with a very uneasy expression before she and the other four mares galloped away and ducked behind one of the earthen slopes that bordered the nearby pond.

"Is it normal for them to take group bathroom breaks like that? Most ponies would prefer privacy instead." Maud asked while not seeming all that bothered by what she had just seen. Then again, it seems hard to bother her at all.

Before I could offer any input, I noticed Rainbow Dash peek out from behind the hill and called out to me. "Hey, you! Yeah! James! Get over here!"

"Oh, wow! Uh... I didn't think it was THAT kinda private time! Uh... You have fun with them, James!" Pinkie Pie said while clearly misinterpreting Rainbow Dash's intentions. And I could only roll my eyes at her.

"Oh god, Pinkie... There's no way it's like that... Excuse me for a bit." I replied snidely before hurrying over to them. I found all five of my friends behind the slope and not one of them were showing any signs of needing to relieve themselves. "Really, girls? Group bathroom break and then you call me over?! Even Pinkie Pie didn't miss the implications of that!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously with Applejack saying, "Uh... Sorry 'bout that. I was kinda expectin' ya to follow us."

At that point, everypony was looking at me. Rarity then spoke up and said, "But that's beside the point. We just need to know, darling. What is your secret for bonding with Maud?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked in return while not entirely certain of what they were implying. I was getting along just fine with Maud, so what were they so bothered about?

Fluttershy then said shyly, "Well... It's just that you and her have already put together your friendship necklaces while we... Um..."

Twilight then stepped forward to try to clear things up. "What we're trying to say is... We've been struggling to really...click with Maud when she first got here, but... I just don't understand how you, of all people, can really bond with her so quickly! I mean didn't you hear her poetry? It's so...boring...

"She has such bizarre taste in fashion outside of that frock she wears..." Rarity added while averting her eyes.

"She prefers to look at rocks instead of trees, flowers, and animals..." Fluttershy then said softly while sounding noticeably unhappy about what she was saying.

"The girl's got no sense of taste for anythin' I whip up for 'er..." Applejack then said with the same level of disdain as everyone else.

"She's got no competitive spirit!" Rainbow Dash finally said rather loudly before suddenly peeking out from behind the slope to insure that Maud was still out of earshot.

Twilight then said, "So... Yeah. You can see that we're having some trouble really bonding with her. She's just...different from anypony we've ever met. But you?! You're already friends with her! So... What's your secret? How is it that you and Maud are getting along so well?"

It was no small wonder that my friends were having such a hard time understanding how Maud ticks. Someone like her would undoubtedly come across as being generally unfriendly and that phlegmatic attitude would turn off most people. "Well... I see your point. You've got to be patient with someone like her. But from what I've seen, she's fine. There's nothing really wrong with her."

"Then do you suppose you could give us some advice on how to better approach her since you understand how she thinks?" Rarity then asked while my friends started to give me their undivided attention. They were clearly desperate for answers.

I paused to think of any sort of way for each of my friends to play off of Maud's interests. I thought back to everything I had been told and everything I had seen. Maud is a nice person and it was indeed a shame that my closest friends were struggling to bond with her the way I did. Still, I did find a way. "OK, I've got it. So, yeah... Rarity. I don't really understand why she would want a dish towel, but... From what I've seen, Maud is very self-conscious about her body. She has an affinity for garments that cover her entire body. Maybe you and Maud could bond by discussing clothes of similar design and function to that frock she wears."

"She is?! I never truly noticed... Yes, that may be something we could work off of..." My most beautiful friend muttered while resting her chin on her wrist.

I then turned to Twilight. "Now, her poems... Well, you have a point. Some of them do seem really bland and focus on only one topic. But still, while simple, they're very relaxing. Rather than focus on how her poems compare to other more flowery poems that tug at your heartstrings, try to just enjoy them for their relaxing simplicity instead next time."

"Simple... Relaxing... I guess I could try that and approach it from another angle." Twilight replied with a nod. She seemed determined to put my views into practice.

Next was Applejack. "Yeah, I recall how you said she claimed your cider tasted like apples. I guess she's not much of a critic. Even so, I'm sure she does like your cooking, AJ. Maybe you should just let her try out your stuff and make sure that she just likes it. I know I'm not the best food critic myself."

This actually got a bit of a chuckle out of her. "Heheh... Yeah, I guess ya ain't. All right. I'll give that another shot. If Maud says she likes it, I guess she'll mean it."

My gaze then fell upon Fluttershy. "Now... About her fascination with rocks over animals... Well, she's lived around them for much of her life and her interest was strong enough to get her to pursue a career all about rock analysis. I admit that her intense interest with rocks is a bit...eccentric, but maybe you can bridge that gap by discussing animals or flora that live around or grow on certain rocks. Maybe some that dig out dens in them."

This suggestion brought a slightly excited smile to my lovers face. "Oh, I think I know what you mean! I know some lizards like to scurry around them and sunbathe."

I finally turned my attention to Rainbow Dash, although I soon began to smirk. "Actually, there's not a whole lot to discuss when it comes to you, Rainbow. You've just gotta keep that competitive ego of yours in check. Not every game has to be a competition, especially when there's no prize involved. Try playing for fun instead of playing to win... Wait a second, haven't we gone over this topic before?"

"You know, I think we did! Sorry! It's just not my style to not try my best!" Rainbow Dash replied while crossing her arms and pouting as our friends chuckled in unison. There really was not much else to talk about with that one.

"So, that's it? Do you girls need to know anything else?" I then asked, wondering if they had any other issues to bring up.

For the next moment or so, my five friends huddled together while muttering quietly amongst themselves. Before long, they backed out of the huddle and turned to me with Applejack saying, "Nope! I'd reckon that covers all our problems. And we've still got a week before Maud heads out, so we've got enough time ta bond with 'er."

With nothing else to discuss, we headed back over to Maud and Pinkie Pie. The two sisters seemed to be playing...something with Boulder. Once we came closer, Maud put Boulder back in her frock's pocket while Pinkie Pie asked, "How'd it go? You think you'll be fine until tonight?"

I just rolled my eyes while the rest of my friends seemed to be a bit nervous or embarrassed. Twilight then came out and said, "Uh... Yeah. I think we'll be fine until later this evening. Anyway... Um... Maud?"

"Yes?" Maud asked in return while showing no clear interest.

Twilight took a moment to clear her throat before she began to explain. "I've noticed that we haven't exactly been...clicking as friends throughout the day. However, thanks to a little insight from James here, I think we know how to bridge that gap. So I apologize if we haven't made your stay as enjoyable as we could have. Starting tomorrow, we'll start anew and make sure we get everything right."

Maud remained silent for just a moment as if she was evaluating Twilight's words. But she did finally say, "Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it."

All of my friends showed very relieved smiles at Maud's acceptance of their apology and offer. Pinkie Pie's response was much more enthusiastic with her cheering and throwing out confetti before also pulling that trombone out of nowhere again before playing a tune on it. None of us really cared for this explosion of glee, but she soon calmed down and proclaimed, "I knew you would get along just fine with Maud! It just took a teensy tiny push in the right direction!"

However, Pinkie Pie then turned to Maud and asked, "So, Maud! Seeing as how you and James are already bestest friends now, how would you describe him? I bet it's something that rhymes with socks!"

Pinkie was just grinning in anticipation, probably expecting Maud to say that I 'rock' or something. However, Maud then glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and showed a barely noticeable smirk. She probably had something special up her sleeve. "He's a very patient man and knows how to enjoy simple subjects. He appreciates the simple things in life and takes things as they come. He's nice."

That remark clearly caught Pinkie Pie by surprise as her jaw hung open a bit. Probably since she is not used to having Maud provide such depth on anything that is not a rock. A few of my friends got a good snicker out of Pinkie's blank stare. I then looked down at Maud and asked, "I take it this is your way of messing with her, huh?"

"Yep." Maud said snidely while cracking a small smile. She was clearly enjoying herself.

Regardless, Pinkie Pie then shook her head to clear up her vision. She then grinned and said, "Uh... Wow! I guess you and Maud must be buddies if she said that much about you! Awesome!"

It was at that moment that Rainbow Dash finally spoke up. I guess Pinkie Pie pulling those cheerleader pompoms out of nowhere finally pushed her to the edge of her patience. "OK, Pinkie! What's gotten into you?! I've been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt all day, but you're just bouncing off the walls more than usual!"

"Huh? What're you talking about?! I'm just fine!" Our goofy pink friend replied before turning to Maud. "Just tell them, Maud! I'm only as loco in the coco as I always am, right?"

Maud's expression remained completely lethargic while she said, "Actually, she has a point, Pinkie. You're a bit more wound up than you usually are. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you right now?"

I heard the rest of my friends mutter to each other while Pinkie Pie seemed shock that even her own sister seemed to think something was wrong with her. "Really...? Well... Uh... I dunno... Maybe..." It was while she stood there scratching her head that Pinkie Pie suddenly let out a gasp of clarity. "Ooh, I think I know what's wrong! They must've turned my personality meter up too high again! Just a second!"

Before any of us could offer any sort of input, Pinkie Pie sat down on her haunches and flipped the top of her head open as if it was stuck on a hinge. We all let out shrieks and yells of shock while Pinkie's skull hung open while she started to literally root around in her own head with her hooves. Twilight even yelled, "Pinkie! How the... What the... Nope! No, I'm not seeing this! I swear she's gonna be the death of me!"

While my friends gagged or looked away in shock and revulsion, I noticed that Maud was surprisingly unfazed by such a freakish sight. I then asked, "Uh... You're surprisingly OK with this, Maud... I take it this isn't the first time she's done this?"

"Pinkie Pie was never quite the same after she got her cutie mark." Maud explained before showing a slight smile. "But I wouldn't have her any other way."

"Uh... Yes, quite... She is quite...um....interesting. Uh... Pinkie Pie, are you certain you know what you're looking for in there?!" Rarity then added while trying to not look directly at Pinkie's cranial cavity.

"Yep! I think I've already found it! Those silly writers at the HUB got my personality meter set to the 'flanderized' setting again. I swear it happens way too often when shows get super popular early on and the writers think they don't have to put in as much effort anymore! It's a real shame." Pinkie Pie replied while her hooves continued to feel around in her own skull. I dared not get close enough to actually look inside.

"Um... Sounds like you know a lot these weird things..." Fluttershy said while still trying to not look directly at Pinkie Pie's head. Not that I blame her.

"Well, somepony's gotta know what's really going on when everything we've worked for starts to fall apart! Hasbro's always been more interested in the big bits than anything with heart and quality... Uh oh." Pinkie Pie said before suddenly being cut off by something while a look of silent shock filled her eyes.

"Uh... What's wrong now, Pinkie? You knock your brain over or something?" Rainbow Dash asked while trying to not snicker at Pinkie Pie's awkward appearance.

"Oh no... Oh no no no no no... Please tell me I didn't just knock over what I think I did!" Pinkie Pie muttered loudly while her hoofs began to frantically root around in her head. And then... Something flew up out of her skull.

We all took a step back at the sight of the little equine creature hovering right above Pinkie Pie's head. It seemed to be a tiny horse small enough for me to hold in one hand that had a yellow coat with its mane and tail consisting of two shades of orange. Sticking out of the top of its head were two curled butterfly antennae and a pair of translucent insect wings fluttered on its back. It seemed to possess a cutie mark as well, but it was too small for me to make it out from a distance. And then, the tiny butterfly pony spoke in an obnoxiously squeaky voice that sounded strangely similar to Pinkie Pie's voice. "Phew! I thought I'd never get out of there! Now, where's Tiddly Wink and Tra La La?"

While the rest of us were left utterly speechless at the sight of the creature before us, Pinkie Pie went into a total panic as she started jumping at the fluttering tiny pony. "Oh no! Quick! Get back in there, Zipzee! You can't let anypony see you! The world doesn't need to know about what came before!"

I have to say right now that while the little creature did seem to be a pony of sorts, the way she looked seemed...otherworldly in some strange way I cannot explain. Almost as if she...did not belong. Regardless, the tiny pony named Zipzee weaved and swooped to get away from Pinkie Pie while being constantly chased back and forth. "I'm not going back in there! Help! Princess Wysteria! This weird look-alike of Pinkie Pie is going to lock me up again!"

I could not even begin to make sense of what I was seeing while trying to not laugh at the sight of Pinkie Pie running around with the top of her head hanging off the back of her skull. Applejack soon asked, "Uh... Y'all think we should wrangle that lil' critter before Pinkie does somethin' really crazy?"

Most of my friends looked at Rainbow Dash, who then rapidly waved her hooves at them. "I ain't touching that! Who knows where it's been! I don't want whatever made its face look like that! Just look at the eyes! Creepy, right?"

"At least now I know what Pinkie Pie meant whenever she mentioned Zipzee whenever she thought nopony was around." Maud added while beholding the spectacle.

After a minute or so of chasing Zipzee around, Pinkie Pie finally got the chance she was hoping for. "Almost... Gotcha!" She jumped at Zipzee and snatched the tiny pony up in her arms before taking a tumble and slamming into a small rock formation back first. Zipzee began to struggle, but then asked, "Um... Is it raining rocks?"

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie then looked up only to reveal that the impact had caused a rather sizeable chunk of rock to start to teeter towards the edge of the rock formation. And it was set to fall right onto Pinkie Pie.

The two mares screamed and clung to each other at the impending miniature rock slide as it probably could have caused serious harm. But before any of us could even try to hurry to their aid, Maud was already on the move as she rushed towards her sister with speed I did not even know an earth pony could reach. And right as the rock slipped off of its perch, Maud reached Pinkie Pie and slammed her hoof into the falling rock. And just like that, it was obliterated into bits of gravel upon being struck by Maud's uppercut.

We could only look on in utter silence at both the levels of speed and strength Maud had displayed. And with how rapidly Maud came to Pinkie's aid... It really is no small wonder why she and Maud have that tradition. They really are that dear to each other. I pity the fool who tries to mess with Pinkie whenever Maud is around. Even so, I then glanced down at Applejack and said, "Yep, I stand by my case. The Pie family's got the Apple family beat in raw strength."

"I ain't gonna argue with that." Applejack replied while we cautiously approached the two sisters.

"Are you OK, Pinkie?" Maud asked with a look of slight concern on her face. I suppose having her sister in harm's way did rattle her a bit.

"Uh huh... Thanks, Maud. I didn't even notice that rock looked a bit unsteady." Pinkie Pie replied while looking much calmer than before and very grateful.

"Um... That's nice and all, but... Could you please let me go now?" Zipzee then asked while still trying to wiggle out of Pinkie's grasp.

"Nope! Now get back in there where you belong!" Pinkie Pie then dunked the tiny pony back in her head, rooted around in her skull for a few seconds, and then flipped the top of her head back into place. However, she then shook her head a bit to reveal the sound of something bumping around inside it. "Oops! I guess some of those falling pebbles got in there. One second!"

Pinkie Pie then smacked herself in the head a few times while somehow knocking bits of rock out of her opposite ear. "There we go! After all, we don't need two ponies with rocks on the brain!"

After getting a slight chuckle out of that pun, we all watched while Maud tapped Pinkie Pie on the shoulder. "Pinkie, who was that? The little flying pony."

This got quite a frightened reaction out of Pinkie Pie while she backed away from the rest of us. "Don't ask! You really don't need to know! You don't want to know! Nopony should know about what came before, especially G3.5! And don't even get me started on the Newborn Cuties! If Scootaloo ever found out about it, she'd hang herself!"

"Uuuuh... OK then?" Twilight muttered while she stepped forward and extended her hoof towards Maud. "Anyway... Now that all that zaniness is out of the way... How about we treat you to dinner to start things off now that we're starting over?"

"Sounds good. I'm up for whatever you have in mind." Maud replied while shaking Twilight's hoof.

Before we could go anywhere, Fluttershy then asked, "Um... Before we go anywhere, aren't you going to eat your rock candy necklaces first?"

I looked down at the rock candy necklace Maud had made for me and shook my head while smiling. "Nah. I had more than enough candy this morning anyway."

Maud then offered her reply. "No thanks. I don't even like candy."

This revelation got quite a shocked reaction from all my friends with the exception of Pinkie Pie. But then Rainbow Dash started to speak with a bit of a growl while her gaze settled upon Pinkie Pie. "Are...you...kidding....me?! Then... All that candy you made... All that junk you stuffed down our throats...first thing in the morning..."

Detecting the rise in hostility, Pinkie Pie began to back away in a nervous fashion. "Oh dear... Uh... Maud, I thought you'd have grown to like candy by now! Twelfth time's the charm, right?!"

Maud offered no response and just kept watching despite the fact Rainbow Dash was probably going to throw a punch at her sister at any time. Rainbow then flashed her a malicious smirk and said, "Hey, I know what you'd really like to eat right now. A nice big tasty nutritious hoof sandwich!"

Right as she said that, Rainbow Dash swooped right at Pinkie Pie only to narrowly miss her as Pinkie Pie ducked. Clearly realizing she had done something wrong, she started pleading with her ticked off friend. "Wait, I'm sorry! This happens every time! Someone always sets my personality gauge to the flanderized setting! I can't help the way I act when that happens! It's all Hasbro's fault!"

"Tell that to my digestive tract! I had to take a bunch of laxatives when I got home this morning! Now hold still!" Rainbow yelled back while throwing swooping punch after punch with Pinkie Pie ducking and dodging each of them. The goofy pink mare then took off over the horizon and ridiculous speed that only she could reach while Rainbow Dash took off after her. It was so absurd to watch that we all just burst into laughter. All except for Maud, that is.

"Oh goodness... Some things never change, I suppose. So sorry that Rainbow is probably going to leave Pinkie Pie with a black eye. Please don't hold it against her, Maud." Rarity then said while trying to compose herself while chuckling.

Maud looked at all of us and said, "I kind of saw that coming. I really should be apologizing for everything she put you through. I was hoping that Pinkie Pie had finally learned from our past experiences in making all those necklaces. Just because I can tolerate her excessive enthusiasm doesn't mean everypony else will."

"Ah, it's fine. No matter how many times she gets on our nerves, we can't bring ourselves to dislike Pinkie for it. She's a loveable nut job and we adore her for that, right?" I asked in return while my friends nodded and smiled. This answer prompted a small smile from Maud as well.

Satisfied with our answer, Maud then said, "I'm really glad Pinkie's made so many great friends since leaving home. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week with you guys."

"Well, it's a pleasure ta hear that, Maud. Now, let's getcha back ta Ponyville for some good eats. Hopefully Rainbow and Pinkie will see us there." Applejack spoke in reply before we started to make our way back towards Ponyville. The sun was starting to get quite low in the sky, so dinner was not far off.

Not a whole lot worth mentioning happened during the rest of the day. We all gathered at the café for dinner only for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to show up looking utterly tuckered out. It seemed that Rainbow Dash had given up on beating up Pinkie Pie and they just headed on over without incident. At least Pinkie Pie had settled down back to normal by then. Comparatively, that is. I went home afterwards and am now writing this while resting on the sofa.

Wait a minute. There was a knock at the door.

It was Maud. She dropped off a cassette tape she wanted me to listen to. Thankfully, Fluttershy has a little stereo here that plays them. Just let me pop it in.

Is that Maud's voice? She's greeting me... Oh, Maud. You sweetheart. It is a cassette featuring recordings of her poems. The first one starts out a bit dull, but it gets better right after that. I better finish this here. Those poems are getting me a bit too relaxed to keep writing. Then again... What was with that bizarre otherworldly fairy pony? Is it really OK that Pinkie Pie is keeping that little creature captive in the confines of her own skull? Probably better to just forget about it...

Still, quite an interesting mare Maud is. Started out as a bit of an awkward encounter, but she is really nice when you get to know her. I will withhold on writing more entries until after this week has gone by. I just want to enjoy her time here with everyone else. Now to put the pen down. I need a nap while listening to the soft words of the earth's stony denizens...