No one really seems to take notice of the importance of rocks. No one expect rock farmers. And the best rock farmers are in Equestria. And the best rock farmers are my family. Father has a very good sedimentary rock collection. It's funny because his name is Igneous Rock, like igneous rocks. Igneous rocks come from magma or lava. They're angry rocks. Stubborn rocks. Like my father. My mother isn't as strict. Cloudy Quartz isn't really a rock name. Quartz is a mineral. My mother has a mineral name. Quartz can be in rocks though, in any type. Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. I like metamorphic best.
Growing up on a rock farm is good. Everypony here is content. We are content because we like rocks. Rocks are everywhere. No one pays attention to rocks. But we do. Rock farming is important. Ponies just don't stop to think about it sometimes. Coal is a rock. Coal is important. Coal is used for many things. Coal byproduct is used to make cement. It is used in steel production. It brings warmth. It powers trains. Trains run all over Equestria. A train took me to Ponyville. A train took me to my sister. Without coal, I wouldn't have been able to do that. Without rocks, I wouldn't be able to see my sister.
Coal is only one type of rock. There are many others. Without rocks, we wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be any pretty jewlery, any metals, any sidewalks, or any strong buildings. There wouldn't be any soil, any sand, any plants, any animals.... any ponies.
But no one notices the simple rock.
Rocks work behind the scenes; deep within the earth, so much heat and pressure is being applied to a group of minerals that they will bind together to form a diamond. Not a soul is there to witness it. But we know it happens. Rocks. So mysterious. So helpful. So beautiful.
Limestone Pie and Marble Pie are my little sisters. They both have rock names. Pie isn't a rock, but limestone and marble are. They are twins. Paternal twins. That's why they're named like that. Limestone is a sedimentary rock. Marble is a metamorphic rock; it's made from limestone rock. That's why it's funny.
Grandmother told me that my name is meant to sound like "mud pie". I think she was telling her jokes again. If my name were meant to be Mud it would be Mud. But it isn't. It's Maud. Maud is my name. Mud is wet soil. Soil used to be rocks. So I guess I like the idea if my name is related to rocks too.
I have another sister.
She doesn't have a rock name.
Her name is Pinkameana Diane Pie.
I don't know why.
Maybe Mother and Father do.
Pinkie Pie.
Sometimes I think in poems. It helps me think. This one wasn't very good. Oh well.
Grandmother and Pinkie were very close.
Grandmother didn't have a rock name either, so maybe that's why. There aren't any pink rocks. There are pink minerals, like cuprite or rose quartz. But those aren't rocks. They're minerals.
Pinkie is different.
Most of us stayed at the farm except her.
She didn't hate us.
She loves us very much. We love her very much. That's why we let her go.
On a rock farm, the rocks have to be moved in order to grow best. We move them so that the magic currents can give them the right nutrients for them to grow. If we don't move them, they won't grow right. The size doesn't matter; it's what's on the inside that counts. That's what makes my father so successful. We move the rocks. Geodes are fuller. Our tiles are stronger. Our sand is softer. They've all had a chance to be the best they can be.
That's how I look at Pinkie Pie.
She needed to leave the farm to be the best mare she could possibly be.
We've kept in touch. We sent letters. Graphite, my favorite mineral, is what I write with. Grey upon boring white paper. Simple. Elegant. But boring.
Pinkie writes back in colorful gel pens on pink paper. Gel pens aren't rock related, except by maybe the plastic parts. Plastic is made from coal, but it is very different. Ponies changed it to be that way. Not the nature, not the Earth. It isn't natural. It's new. Different. Interesting.
Her letters are long and filled with stories, and the paper is crammed with doodles and little notes.
Mine are short and concise. I answer her questions, ask one or two, and tell her if anything of any significance has happened. Straight to the point. Very business like, like my father.
We write a lot.
I tell her about rocks, how boulder is doing, and my latest discoveries.
She tells me all about her friends, her latest adventure, and about what happened last Tuesday before bedtime.
I suppose you've notice that we're both very different.
Without Pinkie Pie around, sometimes I feel lonely. It's not like I don't have friends; I have boulder after all. It's just sometimes...
Sometimes I miss my little sister.
I miss the energy and life she brings when she's here, the smiles and laughter she spreads... Boulder is always excited when I tell him we're going to visit and vice-versa. In the greys and browns of the rocks on the rock farm, a bit of bright, vibrant pink is welcome. It's hard not to see her and smile.
While my home is at the farm, I do travel a lot.
I travel Equestria for rocks.
I classify and identify rocks. I test which ones are more receptive to magic and which are not. Metals and rocks can be heat conductors, and they can be magic conductors too. Conductors and non-conductors are very useful. I'm always searching for a different way to help the world with rocks.
Most of the places I go are grey. Sometimes they're brown, or even green. But never pink.
Pink always reminds me of Pinkie Pie.
Maybe Boulder would like a Rose Quartz friend?
Pinkie Pie has helped the world a lot too. The Elements are rocks, even if they came from a tree. Rocks are very useful. But no one seems to notice them. They work from behind the scenes will others accomplish more exciting things. No one sees the little pebble roll over, but everyone sees the landslide.
I just hope Pinkie remembers the rocks.
I hope she remembers me.
