As Maud rotated the final large stone she let out an audible sigh of relief. It was the summer rotation to get the rocks exactly right; to ship some off to rock candy companies who wanted to brag about how it was local and not imported from any farms that had child labour or slavery, or simply to sell for jewelery. She looked over at the small bubblegum filly over to her left, who still had many stoned to go. Drips of sweat peeked from behind her flat, dull mane. So much for child slavery. To see her own little sister, Pinkie, like this, made her sad. She knew Pinkie wasn't mean to do this. Pinkie had a strange glow to her nopony else in the family had, the warmth of her bright colours shadowing the mute palette of her family. She always bounced about, determined, and unlike the rest of her family seemed to not enjoy rock-rotating. She's so much different than us, Maud thought. But I guess that's a good thing.
Maud snapped back to reality when her sister, Limestone, tapped her shoulder. "Maud....Maud! You're done...you can go inside," the dark lavender mare drawled out, acting just as bored as anything else in this family.
Except for Pinkie.
Maud looked over back at Pinkie, almost crying in her frustration, but still pushing to try and make her family proud. "Give me a second," Maud said.
Limestone snorted and went inside. All of the sides were done, except for Pinkie's. Maud went over to Pinkie. "I...I can help, Pinkie Pie," she said.
"No, no! I'll do it! I can do it!"
Maud gave a little smile. "Just let me help you with this one." she gently shoved the large boulder into it's place. "There. You should be able to do the rest."
"MAAAAAUUUUUUD!" Pinkie wailed. She had lots of personality behind this wail. So much different from anything in the rock farm.
"It's okay. You can do the next one on your own."
"You keep saying that but never let me!"
"I pinkie promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Pinkie gave a little giggle at her older sister performing such a childish ritual. "Hehe. Okay." She went back to work as Maud went inside.
What was it? What made Pinkie so interesting, and Maud just....not? Maud seemed to feel nothing, but Pinkie, on the other hoof... she was just filled to the brim with emotion. And she had no way to let it burst out. She sighed as she looked up through her window, when suddenly, a giant burst caused her to collapse on the floor.
"What in Celestia's name was THAT?"
She got up and looked through her window again. Pinkie wasn't outside anymore. Had she finished her rocks? No. She couldn't have. They were knocked everywhere!
Maud ran outside, not minding the destruction. "Pinkieeeee! Piiiinkkkiiiiiiiiiie! Oh, Pinkie Pie!" She frantically looked around. Pinkie wasn't there. Maud ran back inside, upset. "Where could she be? Pinkie!" She almost was going to cry, when she heard the sound of...of her parents yelling? Of things being thrown? Maud blinked a couple times and slowly creeped around, when she found the shed where this was coming from. "Pinkie?" she said very softly. She looked through the window.
Her mother was throwing a music player on the floor. "How DARE you? We do NOT allow this here! You have SINNED, Pinkamena, sinned! You have brought this...this UNNATURALNESS into my home!"
Pinkie was on the floor, crying. Maud's eyes went wide as she looked over at her. What happened to her cheerful demeanor? Her eyes were dull and she had no glow anymore. She wasn't Pinkie. Maud ducked in instinct as her mother threw more things down. She wanted to tell her mother to stop. But she would get it to.
Suddenly, silence was heard, except for Pinkamena's sobs.
"Leave our home, Pinkie. You have been shunned."
"I...I just wanted to make ponies happy!"
"Leave. Now."
The once cheerful bubblegum pony left, Maud silently crying as she saw her make her way away from the farm.
Pinkie had eventually found a new home, with the Cakes. They had been kind enough to take her in. She remembered exactly how it went still when she found Ponyville; she saw the gingerbread building with a cupcake sign. It looked and smelled like the perfect home, better than anything in the world at the moment. She remembered walking in, sniffing the delicous aroma.
"Free samples, filly? You look starved!"
Pinkie thanked the cakes and took a cupcake. It tasted of warmth and welcomness, and she regretted having to swallow, but she was hungry. Pinkie was grateful for the cupcake. She remembered Mrs. Cake asking why her parents weren't there, and squeezed the entire story out of her.
"You poor, poor thing! You can stay with us and maybe work here when you're a little older."
They became her new family and friends. They loved her so much. She loved them back and was so glad and happy she could stay with them. All she had to do was sell and bake, and she got the spare room upstairs. But one day, a small group of fillies who she knew were related to her friends, asked her the dreaded question;
"How did you get your cutie mark?"
This question caused the memories to flood back into her. Pinkie was in denial of her true story. She wanted to believe that everything had gone alright and that her parents approved and encouraged everything she did. So, she retold the story this way, in complete denial. After she had finished and left, she wanted to forget the whole thing. Everything.
But what Pinkie didn't know is that she already forgot something when retelling this story. She completely forgot to mention her own sister who had wanted to defend her so badly, who would protect her from anything that would touch a hair on her head.
And her sister was Maud Pie.
Author's Note
Please critique this. Tell me how to make it better.
