For a sleepover, there wasn’t much emphasis on the actual sleeping part of the over.
Already now, Pinkie had heard Twilight and Sunset Shimmer creep downstairs — —probably to get some whipped cream since nobody could be blamed for that. Now, as she lay on the end of her bed, arm hanging lazily toward the floor, she could hear movement in the room next door.
Maud was awake. Or Boulder was. Either/or.
Pinkie grumbled, stretching her arms and getting out of her bed. She gave her sleeping friends a longing look, then proceeded to tiptoe out of the room. But not before spotting Spike in the corner.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” She immediately turned tailed and grabbed her phone that sat right on her bedside cabinet. A quick couple taps and swipes on the screen and she had brought the camera function up, pointing the lens at the dragon turned dog.
Pinkie bit her lip, trying to suppress the giggles that came from inside her as she pressed the record button. From there, it was ten seconds or so of comedy gold as she recorded Spike, perfectly asleep but running on the floor like a hamster in a ball.
“I’ll get all the likes…” she whispered, the light from the camera giving her grin a very devious effect.
After she finished recording, she tucked away her phone and bent down to gently rub behind Spike’s ears. He smiled (as much as a dog could) and started to settle, tail wagging calmly. Finally, Pinkie crept away from him and opened the door, slipping through.
The hallway was dark but Pinkie’s memory helped to ‘light it up’ and she walked through unperturbed. A slightly open door to her right indicated that Maud was probably downstairs. Which meant that she had probably bumped into Sunset and Twilight.
Pinkie hurried her pace. Sunset had met Maud before, but never at a sleepover and Twilight had never ever met her. Unless she met the pony version of her in which case all would be fine but maybe pony Maud was different and—
Pinkie stopped at the bottom of the stairs. It was time to stop thinking with portals.
“Pinkie?”
She jumped, snapping to attention. To her left, Sunset was stood in the doorway that led to the kitchen.
“What are you doing up?” Sunset asked, looking at her with a cocked brow.
“I was gonna ask ya the same question,” Pinkie replied. “It’s not a sleepover if you’re pattering about in the night. Unless you’re pranking someone. But you need rest for tomorrow, so get napping!” she ordered, sticking a finger up toward the ceiling.
Sunset frowned, blinking. “Er, if you say so.” She started walking to the stairs but a hand to her shoulder blocked her path. “Um…”
“Have you seen Maud about?” Pinkie asked.
“Yes,” Sunset answered rapidly, then hastily asserted herself. “Yeah, yeah. She… ‘fed’ Boulder then went up to her room.”
“Oo, right. Thanks!” Pinkie chirped, giving Sunset a quick hug, then dashing up upstairs. Coming to a stop outside Maud’s room (so sudden that she practically wobbled like a rake), she silently snuck inside.
The lights were out, save for a small one coming from under a lump in the bedsheets. Pinkie could see Maud’s outline clearly, sitting in bed, reading a book. Boulder was presumably somewhere on her lap.
“Maud,” Pinkie said, closing the door behind her.
Maud reared her head from the bedsheets, staring at Pinkie with a completely bland look. “Pinkie.”
Pinkie gave her a little smile. “You doing alright?”
“Boulder got hungry.” Maud lifted up her hand, revealing the little rock sitting in her palm.
“Yeah, Sunset told me,” Pinkie replied, taking a step forward. “You two have a nice midnight chat or something?”
“Not really,” Maud said, taking to staring down at Boulder, rubbing him across her hand. “She seemed spooked.”
“Aw, Maud…” Pinkie cooed, heading over to the bed and sitting next to her sister, wrapping an arm around her. “I’m sure she meant nothing by that. It sure is dark down there so her mind was probably playing tricks on her. She must of thought you were some kinda spooky ghost or something!”
“I like ghosts,” Maud said.
“Exactly! I do too, but I like my big sister more.” Pinkie hummed happily, hugging her sister. There were a couple seconds of companionable silence between the two before Pinkie spoke up once again. “The girls weren’t too loud, right?”
Maud took a few moments to ponder the question. “Boulder doesn’t like too much noise.”
Pinkie winced, tearing her view from Maud to look at the rock. “Sorry, Boulder.”
“It’s okay.” Maud turned to face Pinkie. “I know how important your friends are to you. And the band.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Pinkie watched as Maud placed Boulder down on a small cushion beside her pillow. “I wanna make sure you two are okay too.”
“We’re fine, Pinkie.”
“If you say so…” Pinkie said, nodding slowly.
Maud stared at her. “I did.”
“Right.”
“I would like to go to sleep now.”
“Okey dokey lokey.” Pinkie gave her another warm hug before hopping off the bed and walking towards the door. “Sweet dreams!” she wished her, holding the door open.
“Goodnight, Pinkie,” Maud said, lying down.
“Night,” she replied, going back into the hall and closing the door as quietly as she could manage. Rubbing her forehead, she allowed herself a sigh before heading back into her own bedroom, with a smile on her face.
A week had passed since the events of the Battle of the Bands. The Dazzlings hadn’t been seen since they got chewed up by the crowd and Twilight had returned back to her own world. All in all, things had gone back to normal. Yet things still weighed on Pinkie’s mind.
She stood there, leaning against the wall of the school, watching Maud from a distance. Her sister was sitting on a bench outside, eating her packed lunch. It consisted of a peanut butter sandwich, water, ready salted crisps and salad. Boulder was present too, sitting on the table.
All around her were other students, either in pairs or larger friendship groups. Every one of them was talking, smiling and generally having fun. Maud, however, sat apart from them, eating with a very neutral expression.
Sunset Shimmer went through the doors and managed to spot Pinkie to the side. Tilting her head, she stepped to the side to avoid more of the lunchtime rush. “Pinkie? What are you doing? We’re all in the canteen.”
“Watching,” Pinkie replied, her voice nearly as intense as her stare.
“Watching what?” Sunset asked, trying to follow Pinkie’s gaze. It actually took her a while to spot Maud, despite how odd the girl was. Amongst the crowd, she could hide deceptively well. “Oh, Maud? Why?”
“Does something seem off to you?” Pinkie questioned, flicking a finger towards the scene.
Sunset took another moment to watch Maud. Her brow furrowed and she turned to face Pinkie, shaking her head. “Not really, no. It’s just Maud being Maud.”
“Not that!” Pinkie cried, grabbing Sunset’s cheeks and forcibly turning her view to Maud for the third time. “Look! Around her!”
Sunset looked over, suppressing a tired groan and noted the stark differences between Maud and everyone else. “She’s just eating by herself. Seems pretty okay about it, actually. I think,” she added, after a short pause.
“That’s just the problem! She’s by herself every lunch and it’s really starting to worry me!” Pinkie exclaimed, letting go of Sunset and going down to sit on the ground, legs crossed. “She hasn’t made any friends in this school since we started. And that’s not something that’s normal for a student, nonono. Friends are our lifeblood, or something!”
“Calm down, Pinkie,” Sunset stressed, although her demeanor was perfectly calm. “Maybe she just likes being alone. Some people are like that.”
“But having friends is great! They can help you out when you’re downne, make any cloudy day a sunny one, just by being there! And, Boulder is a great pet ‘n’ all, but not even he can do that all the time!” Pinkie slumped by the wall, running a hand through her curly hair.
Sunset shrugged absently. “Why don’t you just ask her if she wants to sit and eat lunch with us?”
Pinkie gasped, jumping back up to her feet. “That’s a terrible idea!”
Sunset gave Pinkie a skeptical look, a little taken aback. “Okay… I’ll do it then.”
Another gasp erupted from Pinkie, coupled with a smile. “That’s a great idea! It’ll seem a lot more welcoming that way. ‘Cause if I did it, it might seem a bit pushy.”
“If you say so…” Sunset said, edging away from Pinkie and heading towards Maud.
The girl didn’t seem to take notice of her, intent on her lunch. Sunset merely stared at her, taking note of that completely bland gaze Maud possesed. Something about it was… off. The girl wasn’t like anyone else she had ever met. Even Pinkie’s weirdness was offset by her warm personality. Maud felt cold. Like a rock, fittingly enough.
Taking a breath, Sunset went ahead and spoke. “Hey, Maud.”
Maud turned her head like an owl intent on finding that elusive mouse.
Sunset froze, feeling a shiver go down her spine. “Me and the girls were just wondering if you’d like to join us for lunch…?” she asked, pointing a thumb behind her. In the background, Pinkie gave her sister a cheerful wave.
Maud looked from Pinkie to Sunset, her face the usual enigma. “No thank you. Boulder and I are spending some quality time together.”
Sunset refrained from making any comment. “Okay, that’s fine. But the offer’s always open,” she stated, forcing on a smile.
Maud nodded and returned to her food, while Sunset quickly (but classily) made her exit. She shook her head as she met back up with Pinkie. “I tried my best, Pinkie, but I really don’t think she’s all that interested in us.”
“What?!” Pinkie shouted, hovering off the ground for a mere moment. “That’s ridiculous. We’re the most interesting people in the school!”
“None of us are really into rocks, though,” Sunset replied, folding her arms across her chest.
“Hm, that’s true.” Pinkie frowned, stroking her chin with her thumb. Sunset stayed silent all the while, until Pinkie suddenly let out a loud gasp. “I got it!”
“What?!” Sunset almost shouted, trying to regain her composure after the sudden outburst.
Pinkie clasped her friend’s arms, leaning forward so their noses almost touched. “A rock society! That way, she’ll find a nice group of like-minded pals! It’ll be perfect!”
“Sounds… good, Pinkie,” Sunset said, squirming. “But you might want to call it a geology society. It’ll sound better that way.”
“Yes! Even perfecter!” Pinkie cried, hugging Sunset before almost pushing her away and doing a little twirl on the spot. “I’ll get it set up right away. Thanks, Sunset!”
Off she bounded back into the school, leaving behind a bemused Sunset, scratching her head. She looked back at Maud, still eating her lunch alone. “She doesn’t seem all that sad to me… but then again, she’s completely unreadable.”
After a few more moments of staring and thinking, she left the trail of thought behind, heading back towards the canteen where her friends would be.
“And you’re sure this is going to work?” Sunset asked, watching on as Pinkie made great stroikes with her arm across the blackboard, leaving behind a trail of chalk.
“Absolutely!” Pinkie cheerfully replied. “There’s gotta be some people in this school who just rock out to rocks!” She took a few steps back to marvel at her work: large, block letters read ‘Geology Society Meeting!!’ coupled with a few smiley faces. Some on drawn rocks.
Sunset groaned, rolling her eyes. “Please, no rock puns. I won’t be able to take it.”
“Hm, yeah. That would be a…” Pinkie flipped around, staring at Sunset with a cheeky grin. “Gravel situation.”
Sunset shot Pinkie a practical death glare. “Don’t.”
Pinkie tip-toed over, craning her neck backward so she viewed her friend upside down. “But it’s practically sedimentary, my dear Sunset!”
“Pinkie…” Sunset grumbled, glowering at her.
Pinkie wrapped an arm around Sunset’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Sunset, I know our relationship started off kinda rocky but how about we clear the slate?” She made a cool sweeping gesture with her hand. “I don't want you to become jaded about friendship! It's so great when a conglomerate of people can get together and become friends! What magma can you ask for?”
Before Sunset could burst a blood vessel in her brain, the door swung open, revealing Maud in all her grey glory.
“Maud!” Pinkie chirped, zooming over to her sister and guiding her into the room. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
“How could I miss anything done by my sister,” Maud said. There wasn’t enough tone in her voice to make it sound like anything resembling a question.
“Exactly!” Pinkie replied, gesturing Maud towards a set of chairs in a circle. “And Sunset’s here too!”
“Hello,” Maud plainly said, sitting down.
“Hi,” Sunset greeted her, trying not to shiver in the process.
“Great! Now all we gotta do is wait for the others turn up!” Pinkie said, putting her hands on the back of a chair and hopping up and down in anticipation.
“You actually got some people to sign up?” Sunset asked, trying not to sound too impressed.
“Yep! I even got a register!” Pinkie replied, holding out a clipboard that wasn’t there before. At least Sunset thought it wasn’t.
She pointed at the clipboard. “How many people are on there?”
“Four!” Pinkie happily answered.
“Including—”
“Including Maud,” Pinkie cut in, nodding sagely.
Sunset sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. “Right. So three other people. This is going to go swimmingly…”
Maud turned towards her. “Rocks can’t swim.”
Sunset proceeded to smack her own forehead.
“We won’t have to wait long, I’m sure,” Pinkie said, going down to sit on a chair. Just as her rear hovered over the seat, the door swung open again. Somehow Pinkie managed to swing back up into a normal standing posture. “Welcome, welcome!” she cheered, ushering the three other students into the room. They hurried along, all of them giving Pinkie a confused glance but they sat down regardless.
“Okay, role call!” Pinkie announced, holding up her register and a pen. “Maud!”
“Here,” her sister replied.
“Check!” Pinkie marked a big red tick right next Maud’s name. “Norman!”
“Er, here?” the boy replied, only half-raising a hand.
“Good!” Pinkie marked him as present. “Bon Bon!”
“Here…” the girl said, sounding even blander than Maud on a bad day.
“Goodie! Finally…” Pinkie’s eyes narrowed at the words on her clipboard. “Vinyl…?” she looked above her register, staring at the DJ, who was sitting in her chair quite comfortably, shades on. “This isn’t, like, a music thing.”
Vinyl’s brow raised.
“Nah, this is about the rocks in the ground. Not in the speakers, silly,” Pinkie said, giggling to herself.
Vinyl shrugged, put her headphones on and strutted rhythmically out of the room.
“It said ‘geology’ society. How can you even get that confused?” Sunset asked herself, shaking her head. “We’re one down already…”
“Well I did write ‘rock’ a lot all over the poster and it was pretty colorful, sooooo…” Pinkie held the note, turning her attention to everyone else. “Soooo let’s get started! Let’s introduce ourselves.”
“But the register—”
“Maud can start!” Pinkie interrupted.
“I’m Maud,” she said, not even giving the others a glance. “I like rocks.” She looked to Pinkie, who grinned and nodded eagerly at her. “Pinkie is my sister. And I have a pet rock called Boulder.”
Maud tossed out her pet, it landing right in the center of the circle with a little wobble. The two other students stared at it in disbelief, while Sunset suddenly became very interested in Pinkie’s writing on the blackboard.
“Do… do you feed it?” Norman stammered, almost stunned.
“Yes,” Maud said.
Norman exchanged a quick glance with Bon Bon.
“Isn’t she great?!” Pinkie asked, her voice full of good cheer and enthusiasm.
“She sure is something…” Bon Bon said, twirling her hair.
“Something great, riiiiiight?” Pinkie asked, zooming in on her face.
The girl shuffled in her seat, leaning back. “Y-Yeah, sure, whatever. Amazing awesomeness.”
“Goodie! ‘Cause it’d be super awkward if it wasn’t all smiles and good times here, right?” Pinkie chuckled to herself, standing up. “So I thought we could all start by making rock candy necklaces together! Maud and I always used to do that when we went to the piers, y’know, the ones where you can buy rock candies and that sorta stuff—”
“Pinkie,” Sunset said, tugging at her friend’s shoulder.
“So what you do is get some string, right, and then you get all the little rock candy pieces and put them on!” Pinkie suddenly let in a gasp of air. “But wait, there’s more! Then you get to share them with each other and because they’re rock candy, you can either eat ‘em or keep them forever, for memory’s sake!”
“Pinkie,” Sunset stressed, shaking her now.
Pinkie blinked a couple times, spinning around to face her. “Huh?”
Sunset slowly turned Pinkie around so she saw the seat, once occupied by Maud. “I’m sorry. She just… left.”
Pinkie’s smiled vanished, being replaced by something completely gloomy. “But… why?” Her expression became crestfallen as she began to stare down at the ground.
Sunset winced, then quietly waved to the other students for them to leave. After an awkward glance at each other, they did so silently.
“Maybe she felt uncomfortable?” Sunset suggested, keeping her voice delicate.
“Then why didn’t she say something?” Pinkie asked.
After a pause for thought, Sunset answered her. “I don’t think she wanted to offend you, that’s all.”
“If that’s the case, then why did she leave without saying anything?” Pinkie questioned, almost demanding now.
“Because…” Sunset let the thought trail away out of her head, letting out a resigned breath. “I’m sorry, Pinkie, but I really don’t know your sister like you do. At all, in fact. The most I know about her is that she really loves rocks.”
“So what you’re saying is…” Pinkie began, her head slowly rising as she spoke the words.
“Maybe it’d be better to talk to her directly about it all,” Sunset said before beginning to shuffle slightly. “I’m… not really an expert at that yet but it seems like the best thing to do.”
Somehow, that brought a little smile to Pinkie’s face. “Aaw, Sunset, you’re pretty great too. Ya gotta stop underestimating yourself all the time.” With those words of encouragement, Pinkie wrapped her arms around Sunset and hugged her. It wasn’t a vice-like grip like she sometimes did, but a gentler touch that was much more sincere for it.
Sunset returned the gesture, smiling herself. “Thanks, Pinkie.” Giving her another quick hug, she let go and went back a step. “Let’s find the others and you can talk to Maud after school; you’ll have more time to think of what to say and how to say it,.”
Pinkie nodded twice. “You’re the boss, Sunset!” She gave her a stern salute before marching out the door.
“I wouldn’t exactly call myself a boss…” Sunset muttered to herself, smirking as she followed Pinkie into the school halls.
Tracking Maud was tough, even for Pinkie. She was the type of person to seamlessly blend within a crowd and the end of school was the crowdiest part of any normal day. It didn’t help that the sisters never shared the same classes either.
Luckily, Sunset did and she had the joyous task of trying to catch up with Pinkie as she sped through the many students that filled the halls. She was easy to spot, being a pink blur that darted and zig-zagged erratically. Despite that, Sunset didn’t have her apparent speed and slickness. She bumped and stumbled her way past many of the students but some were even faster than her, shoving her as they went and almost knocking her to the ground. In the mess, trying to identify them became a pointless task.
Once she got outside and off the beaten path, she searched around for the Pie sisters. They were much easier to spot now, a stark contrast of colors sitting together on a bench nearby. She hung back and pretended not to notice them, although she was still close enough to be within earshot.
If they noticed Sunset, they didn’t bother calling her out. Pinkie was intently focused on her sibling, asking, “Weren’t you happy, back there?”
Maud took time to mull over her answer. That, or she was just being her usual self. “I’m happy now.”
Pinkie’s brow furrowed slightly. “Don’t dodge the question, you silly—” She stopped herself, then said in a more serious tone, “Please.”
“What’s the issue?” Maud asked, the tiniest hint of a frown line on her forehead.
“It’s just… you’ve never brought a friend back home like I have,” Pinkie said, glancing back at Sunset. A sudden brainwave entered her head as she got up and ran over to her, placing her hands on Sunset’s arms and spinning her to face Maud. “You don’t know what you’re missing! Friends are, like, the best thing ever. Well, they’re more than things, they’re friends, but y’know.”
“I don’t think I do,” Maud replied.
Pinkie pouted, letting out a small huff. “Sunset, you convince her how awesome you are!”
“What?!” Sunset exclaimed. “I’m not even a part of this!”
“Well you are now, busta!” Pinkie said, shaking Sunset around a little.
“Okay, okay!” Sunset’s shouts got Pinkie to let go of her and she brushed her arms down. “Look, Maud, friends are just… really great.” She winced, regretting how lame she sounded compared to Pinkie. “They’re not simply people you have fun with. You can share great memories with them. And if you’re having a bad day, it’s always nice to have a shoulder to lean on.”
At that moment, Pinkie plonked her head on Sunset’s shoulder. “See? They’re not just friends. They’re friends with benefits!”
Sunset blinked. “Er, Pinkie, I don’t think…”
“But I’ll always have you,” Maud said, looking right at Pinkie.
“Yeah but…” Pinkie sighed, saying her next words very carefully. “I won’t always be around ‘cause I might be busy with other stuff.”
Maud’s expression remained the same as it always was. “Then I have Boulder.”
“The rock...?” Sunset questioned.
“My rock,” Maud said.
Pinkie bit her lip. “But Boulder isn’t—”
“Isn’t what?” Maud raised an eyebrow.
Pinkie sighed deeply and sat back down on the bench. “I’m worried about you, Maud.”
Maud blinked.
“Whenever I see you at school, it’s only you. And Boulder sometimes. But mostly you, all alone, by yourself.” Pinkie fidgeted slightly, avoiding Maud’s gaze. “And I get worried that you get lonely sometimes. And the thought of you upset makes me…”
A firm hand was placed on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Pinkie. I’m not lonely. I’m fine,” Maud reassured.
“But you don’t know what you’re missing!” Pinkie protested. “Days out! Memories you’ll keep forever! Inside jokes! Presents!”
“I’m happy as I am, Pinkie,” Maud told her. She looked around at the students leaving the school. “I know I’m different from everyone else in school. But I am ‘cool’ with it.”
Sunset winced at how Maud said the word. It sounded… unnatural.
“I know your friends are your life and I’m very happy for you, but I like being alone. It lets me think about things in peace. That’s who I am,” Maud finished.
“But… but!” Pinkie fumbled, scratching her head ponderingly.
“I think what Maud is trying to say is…” Sunset paused, making sure she had Pinkie’s attention. “I think she’s saying that you’re two different people and have fun in your own different ways. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” Sunset looked to Maud with a hopeful smile. “Right?”
“Yes,” Maud answered. “And I love my sister no matter how different we are.”
Pinkie’s mood did a sudden one-eighty and almost instantly her arms were wrapped around Maud. “Awwww, I love you too!”
“I know,” Maud said, smiling very slightly as Pinkie nuzzled the crook of her neck. Her gaze went to Sunset. “Please don’t think I dislike you. Maybe we can be friends one day.”
Sunset offered her a smile. “I’d like that.” Her smile shifted awkwardly as she saw Pinkie cuddling Maud. “Should I go…?”
“If you want,” Maud said.
“I think I will then…” Sunset rubbed behind her ear, then gave the two a wave. “I’m glad you two got things sorted out before they escalated.”
“Me too,” Maud said, shuffling in Pinkie’s grip to get comfortable. “She can get carried away sometimes.”
“Oh, believe me,” Sunset said, turning on her heel. “I know.” She gave the sisters another little wave, before heading off them leave them be.
Instead of heading home, however, she found herself at her locker. Using the tried and true combination, she opened it up and collected a weathered book and pen out from it. Then she closed the locker and slumped against it, ignoring the few other students that still entered the halls. Opening the book up, she put her pen to a blank page and started to write.
Dear Twilight,
I hope things are going well in Equestria, first of all. It still feels a little odd to write to you like this but it’s much better than simply waiting until the portal opens again.
Anyway, I’m writing to you about something I’ve learned. Well, not ‘learned’ I suppose, since everybody knows it. Perhaps it’d be better to say ‘I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for it’.
We both know Maud’s unique from the rest of us (and slightly creepy to boot, I’ll admit) and so is Pinkie but I’ve never really considered before how different they really are. That came to a bit of a situation recently where Pinkie tried to get Maud some new friends by forming some ‘rock club’.
Yeah, you can probably guess how well that went. Maud left silently, as she tends to do, which made Pinkie pretty distressed at it all. But after a talk at the end of the school, they sorted everything out.
The point is, their talk made me get a deeper appreciation for how everyone works differently. Not everyone has to be outgoing like Pinkie. Fluttershy does just fine and you know how she can be. Essentially, there isn’t exactly a ‘right’ way to be a person. (Well, unless you’re a raging she-demon. Or a siren. Or the countless monsters you've described. Hopefully you get my point though.)
Sometimes it’s difficult trying to understand what another person’s perspective might be like. Maybe that’s why I didn’t realise all the wrong I was doing until it was too late. That’s way behind me now though and I’m all the more awesome for it, as Dash likes to say.
Seeing Pinkie and Maud together though, a part of me felt slightly jealous. It must be nice having siblings. Maybe you can tell me some embarrassing stories about your brother, yeah? It could be fun.
Anyway, better go. Pinkie’s back, without Maud this time. She says she’s totally cool with it though. I think she wants to treat me to cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner, or something. You never know with her but it’s better not to keep her waiting.
Talk to you soon and all the best,
Sunset Shimmer
P.S. Oh, and thanks for the advice about not trying to study Pinkie. You probably saved me a whole bunch of trouble and money that might have been spent on headache relief.
Author's Note
Thanks to all my pre-readers and friends who helped me out with this. There's too many of you to name but you know who you are, both old timers and newcomers. Without you to back me up I probably wouldn't be writing in the first place.
