I am Maud Pie

by Inky Scrolls

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Sad, Maud Pie, Slice of Life
Length: 1944

Is there any pony as underrated as Maud Pie? When you know Pinkie, her relatives must seem bland in comparison. But what if you could get under the blank exterior and discover what Maud is really thinking? What would she say if you asked...

Ah, Maud. So misunderstood. She tries her best, really she does, but somehow ponies never quite seem to like her. But she wasn't always like this. When she was young, before she grew up, before the accident...

This is the story of how a happy foalhood came to an abrupt end, and how one of Equestria's most singular characters came into being.

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*EDIT* This story was written before "Hearthbreakers", and thus can no longer be considered canon. So think of it as what could have been, rather than what was. :scootangel:

Published 2015-01-19 17:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-19 17:20:02 UTC

I am Maud Pie

I have six friends. I do not see five of them often, and they find it hard to like me. But I have one friend who finds it easy to like me. She is my sister. She is called Pinkie, and I love her very much. But I do not often see her either.

I would have had more friends, I think. When I was young, I would always think about the day, in the far distant future, when I would leave my family's rock farm and find friends. It made me happy to think about. The rock farm did not make me happy. But my family did not know that.

I miss my family. There was Mother, and Father, and four fillies. I was the second oldest filly. Pinkie was the youngest. Marble was the oldest, and Limestone was next after me. I liked my sisters, and I liked my Mother and Father. But life was not easy. We did not have much food. Sometimes Father would get angry with us and make us scared of him.

But I liked him anyway. I liked them all. And my family liked me. My sister Limestone liked to give me things, sometimes. One day, after Pinkie got her cutie mark at last, Limestone gave me a little pebble. There were always lots of pebbles, because we lived on a rock farm. But this one was special. It was lots of colours, and looked like a small bird. She told me it was called Boulder. She wanted me to have it. So I took it. And I still have it, because it reminds me of happy times.

I do not know many ponies. They think I am strange, because I have a pet rock. They think I am rude, because I do not do what they think I should do. But they do not know that I was not like that at first.

I could smile, once. And I could dance and laugh and play. I used to play in the fields with Pinkie and Limestone, keeping them happy, so Marble and Mother and Father could work on the rock farm. It was not an easy life, always. But I was happy too.

Until one day. One bad day, when it all changed. It was not my fault. But I should have done different things. Then maybe it would not have happened. I do not know.

What I do know is what did happen. I was playing with Limestone and Pinkie on a small hill. It was only little. But it had steep sides, and we liked to role all the way down from the top. We took it in turns. Pinkie went first, then she trotted back up. Then Limestone went down and came back up. Then I went down. When I was at the top again, Pinkie went down. When it was Limestone's turn, she only got halfway, and then she was gone. I did not see where she went.

So I went down to where I last saw her. There was a hole in the grass. It went down into a tunnel. Limestone was in there somewhere. I could hear her calling for help. She sounded upset. I called to Pinkie to get Father and she ran towards the farm. Then I went in the tunnel.

It was an old rock mine. The roof was not strong and it had got weaker because we rolled on it. Limestone had made it fall in. I went to find her. I was worried. She was not calling any more.

It was very dark in the tunnel, because it went round a corner. I found Limestone only by almost stepping on her. She did not say anything but I could feel her warm breath on my hooves. She was trapped under a big piece of wood. I think it had been holding the roof up round the corner.

I tried to move it off her. But it only made it worse. More rocks fell down onto the wood, and onto her back. She screamed a bit, and I stopped. I felt so sorry for her, and I started crying. She didn't cry. I went back round to the opening, to see if Pinkie was coming back with Father. She wasn't. I tried calling, but nopony came. I went back to Limestone. But it was still dark and I couldn't see where the wood was. But I could hear Limestone breathing a bit. I knocked the wood with my shin by mistake and it moved. More rocks came down onto her, and onto me. A big one hit me on the head and everything went completely black.

I woke up in a hospital in Ponyville. It seemed so bright after the tunnel. I was not used to bright things, because I had lived on a dark rock farm. It felt different. But something else felt different too. I could see, and move my hoofs in front of my eyes. But I couldn't frown at the pain in my head. I couldn't smile at a picture of my family on the desk beside me. I didn't understand.

Then a doctor came in. I looked up at him and he sat down beside the bed. He told me that I had had a very bad bump on the head, but that he thought I would be all right. I didn't smile. I asked where Limestone was. He asked me to listen carefully, because he had bad news. I felt worried but didn't frown. He told me that Limestone had been very badly hurt in the tunnel. His eyes started watering and he paused. Then he told me that Limestone had fallen asleep, and would never wake up again. He looked sad. I felt sad but I couldn't cry.

I was in the hospital for a long time. Then one day they said I could leave. I hadn't seen my family, apart from Marble and Pinkie, while I was in the hospital. Pinkie always seemed happy and funny, but I never laughed at her jokes. I could see the pain in her eyes. Marble was very quiet. She never looked at me. She never smiled.

When I left, Mother told me that Father had gone away, and would not be coming back. I did not know why. She started crying. She got angry with me because I never seemed upset. But I was, very much. Only Pinkie saw how sad I was.

I asked Marble if she wanted to talk about Limestone and Father, and she said she hated me. She said it was all my fault, and that I should just leave her alone. So I did. Mother moved to a new house in Fillydelphia, and Marble went with her. Pinkie went to live with Mother's cousins in Ponyville. Limestone was buried there. I lived alone on the rock farm, learning about rocks.

Sometimes I went to Canterlot. I went to the library there. I felt lonely on the rock farm, and it was nice to be with other ponies. But nopony liked me. They called me rude, and stupid. They didn't know I heard. They think I don't understand them. But I do. I can feel hurt. But I cannot show it. It doesn't matter what I feel like, I can never show it. If I am happy I cannot smile. If I am sad I cannot cry. If I am interested in something, ponies think I am not, because I cannot change my voice. It is always the same. So ponies leave me alone.

Marble made Mother think it was all my fault. They hate me. So I never see them. Father lives in Manehatten. He thinks I do not understand why he and Mother split up. But I do understand. I tell myself that it was not my fault. But if I had been more careful, maybe Limestone would still be alive. If I had watched her more closely, my family might still be together. But I did not, and they are not together any more.

I lived alone on the farm learning about stones and rocks for six years. I did not see Pinkie often, but we sent each other candy necklaces to remember each other by. I never ate the ones she sent me. I do not like sweet things.

Then one day Pinkie invited me to come and visit. I had not visited her before for more than a day, but this time she wanted me to stay for a while. She had new friends in Ponyville. She wanted me to meet them, and like them.

So I went to visit. I liked her friends very much. They were kind to me. But they did not like me. I know they tried to like me, but they couldn't. Pinkie was sad, because she wanted her friends to be my friends too. She knew I didn't have any other friends. So she made an obstacle course that we could all have fun together on. She hoped it would make them like me.

But she got stuck on a mountain of rocks she had made. She made it for me, because she thinks I like rocks. I do not like rocks. I do not dislike them, but they are not very interesting. But I know a lot about them. I do not have to try to be friendly, if the only things I see are rocks and not ponies.

She got stuck on the mountain, and a big rock started falling down. It made me think of Limestone rolling down the hill. I had to save Pinkie. She was my only friend, and my only real family. I had to save her.

So I did. I was able to because I knew about rocks. If I had not known about rocks, she would have died like Limestone. And I would be even more sad, because I love her very much.

And it did something else that was good. Because I could save Pinkie, it made her friends like me too. So now I have six friends. They still find it hard to talk to me, I know that. But they do like me. I am glad. The like me because I saved Pinkie, and they like Pinkie a lot. They think she is crazy and silly and only thinks about parties. They know her. But they do not know her as well as I do. I see the pain in her eyes. When nopony else is around, and we are talking, she is very quiet. She thinks about Limestone and what we lost a lot. And she does not think it is my fault.

I still keep the pebble Limestone gave me. It reminds me of her. I look after it like it was alive, because that is what she wanted me to do. I will never forget her. And I will never forget my family. Apart from Pinkie, they do not like me any more. I am not easy to like. But I have the best friends a pony could wish for. I love them all.

I am not a sad pony. I am happy. I am Maud Pie.

Author's Note

I'd often wondered what life was like for Maud, and thought it was about time I found out.

This is the first complete MLP fan fiction I have completed, so please go easy on me! :scootangel:

*EDIT*: Woohoo! 'I am Maud Pie' is now old enough to celebrate its first birthaversary! Happy Birthaversary, Maud! :pinkiehappy: