Between a Maud and a Hard Place

Maud sat alone in the passenger car on a train on the Ponyville railway which was approaching the town station at full speed. Celestia's sun shone so brightly on the carriage windows that anypony could assume it to be warm outside; and it was impossible for Maud not to be excited about arriving to Ponyville in such good, clear, weather.

Some of the passengers by this train were arriving on business; but the economy carriages were the best filled, chiefly with tourist and visitors of various occupations and interest, all eager to behold Ponyville without burdening their strictly handled purses. All of them seemed weary, and most of them had sleepy eyed expressions, which caused them some discomfort when made awake by the bright shining sun.

Maud had spent the greatest amount of time aboard the train, with nothing but a small bundle and a pebble she fiddled with occasionally before depositing it into her dress pocket. She wore a blue-gray frock, which she seemed to wear all throughout her trip. It was the sort of dress common on ponies from the Petra Valley, and was by no means in touch with the colorful and occasionally outlandish garments worn by the other passengers; although it was uncommon for ponies to wear clothes at all. The mare was young, slightly above the average height, with a gray coat, and dull purple mane; her eyes were large and light green, and had a bored, detached look about them, which most ponies affirm to be a sign of extreme apathy. Her face was, consequently, an unpleasant one; not ugly, beautiful in fact, but lacking any distinct features that detracted from her otherwise stoic appearance.

She watched intently at the shifting landscape, eyeing the glistening ivory spires of Canterlot as it came into view. A special feature of this architectural marvel were its residents, which included the Princesses' Celestia, and Luna, rulers of Equestria, and by far the most powerful ponies known throughout the world. To Maud, it meant that the train was near Ponyville, and that, while it would be nice to continue looking at the spires, she should gather her things and be ready to disembark the train.

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Ponyville was an oddity by its own right. Aside from neighboring Canterlot, it had earned a reputation for bizarre happenings and had attracted a number of peculiar ponies. The most famous of these was the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle, who, owing to a recent squabble, had suffered the loss of her library, and now resided in a tree-shaped, crystalline palace, which dwarfed the surrounding community, in both size and absurdity.

Besides this large residence, five-sixths of which had been converted into a new library, Ponyville was also the sight of a modest bakery, which shared the likeness of a gingerbread house, as imagined in the innocent minds of young colts and fillies. Maud, as everypony else, was more than familiar with the various sweets and cakes made and sold by the bakeries owners. She had made certain to eat as little as possible, hoping to gorge herself on a number of treats she had listed in her mind. She was in no hurry to eat however. She liked cake, just as much as anypony else; but she also like meeting with her sister, who she could see hopping cheerfully towards her.

It was a matter of general knowledge that Pinkie Pie was in possession of some unnatural vitality, and had performed a number of feats both in and out of Ponyville; it was even said that she could play ten instruments simultaneously, and could drill a hole into the floor with her mane. In society she was exuberant, but also kind and amiable when it was needed. Certainly nopony could imagine suffering a mare so eccentric, and yet everypony in Ponyville was proud to have her and quite understood the value of her quirky disposition. Pinkie Pie was a incredibly capable party planner, a mare beloved by foals, who would not permit anypony a life without some small bit of joy and laughter.

Pinkie Pie held her sister tightly, hugging her with enough force to break a grown stallions ribs, and snuggling her face against Maud's frock. They were in no hurry to leave the station. Maud had missed Pinkie greatly, and news of the incident between Twilight Sparkle and Tirek, had been a source of constant anxiety for her. Letters had been sent to her by Pinkie, affirming her safety and those of her friends; but holding her in her hooves was a greater source of ease than a sheet of paper.

It was about eleven o'clock in the afternoon when Maud and Pinkie made their way into the bakery section of Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie lived in a flat in the second floor of the bakery, courtesy of the owners Mr, and Mrs. Cake, who enjoyed good business with her in their employ. The bakery was crowded with customers, and Maud thought, with some dread, that she might not be able to get her hooves on any of the sweets she had been eager to buy upon leaving the train. Pinkie seated her sister, leaving her to tend to the mass of customers crowding the register. A purple pony opened the door to the bakery, and Maud was obliged to wave dramatically to the familiar face, trying to attract her attention admit the sea of ponies. At last, however, before Maud could get onto the table to call out to her, the surprised mare seated herself at Maud's table, placing her saddlebag to her side. This mare was in possession of a unicorn's horn, and robust purple wings; she was the newly crowned Princess of Friendship, and friend to Maud Pie.

"Maud," said Twilight, "I didn't know you were coming. Pinkie Pie mentioned you were in the Hollow Shades, but she didn't tell us you were coming to Ponyville."

"She thought it would be a good surprise," said Maud flatly.

"Well I'm certainly surprised to see you. Glad too. After everything thats happened its great that your here."

"Pinkie Pie mentioned somepony named Tirek."

"Oh," said Twilight glumly, "yeah, he was trying to take over Equestria. I made sure he didn't hurt Pinkie or anypony else. Thankfully we were all able to get our magic back."

"I know you wouldn't let anything happen to Pinkie Pie. I just wanted to see for myself if she was safe."

"Safe as can be," said Twilight happily. "Or at least as safe as it gets in this town."

"Yeah," said Maud, looking about the bakery. "This bakery turning into an arena."

"The Cake's had to close the place for a bit after Tirek's rampage. Sorry to say, you got here just in time for them to reopen."

"It's fine. I'll be staying for a couple of weeks with Pinkie."

"Guess you'll be first in line everyday now. I'm a bit envious."

"Are you okay Twilight?" asked Maud.

"What do you mean?" replied Twilight.

"Pinkie told me about what happened to your library. I know it meant a lot to you."

"Oh," said Twilight sadly. "I was a pretty sad for a while, and I do miss it sometimes. But I'm just happy it was the library and not somepony caught in the crossfire."

Maud's conversation was flat and cold to a degree, and Twilight could not help feeling that given the subject, this state of things was highly inappropriate. Her conclusion was that, given her personality, Maud was being perfectly candid, and was genuinely concerned for both her and Pinkie Pie; but Maud's cold countenance, if it did not denote indifference, spoke so subtly that only a sparse few could guess her feelings. Unfortunately Twilight was not one of them.

Maud rose from her seat and pulled from her bundle a small translucent stone - a little rough, but beautiful. She hoofed it to Twilight, who exchanged glances between the stone and Maud.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Its a mineral stone I found in the Hollow Shades," answered Maud. "There very hard to find, and pretty valuable. I thought it would make a nice housewarming gift."

"Maud, that's -"

"Twilight," interrupted Pinkie Pie. "Great to see you here. I guess the big secrets out."

"Are you finished at work Pinkie?" asked Maud.

"Eeyup," she answered. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake gave me the rest of the day off. Now we can plan for Twilight's super duper housewarming party."

"My what?!" asked Twilight.

"Your housewarming party," answered Pinkie blankly. "I know it must have been really tough losing the library, so I didn't think it would be a good idea to have one. But now that you've settled in we can have a party to celebrate your new home and official title. So I guess it would be more of a housewarming- congrats on becoming a full fledged princess party."

"Did you plan for Maud to be here?" asked Twilight.

"Nope. Talk about good bit of luck."

"Pinkie," said Maud dully, "I don't know if Twilight's comfortable with all this."

"No," asserted Twilight. "It's perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Maud.

"Yeah," she answered, looking back at the small stone in her hoof. "I think a party with all my friends would be really nice."

"Great," gleamed Pinkie. "You'll love Twilight's castle Maud. Its all crystally and royal. Oh, and you'll also get to meet Spike. He's a dragon and Twilight's assistant."

"A dragon?" asked Maud.

"That's right," said Twilight, "Spike was away at Canterlot so you two never got to meet. I'm sure you'll love him. He's really nice and a good friend of ours."

"I've never seen a dragon before."

"Don't worry even a teeny bit," said Pinkie confidently. "Spike's a great friend. I bet after you meet him, you two will really hit it off."