Camaraderie is Sorcery

Chapter 4:18 – Maudileena Daisy Pie

Rarity paused outside of the Green Dragon Tavern to knock the fresh snow from her boots before entering. The first snow of the season had come the day before and coated Ponieville in a gentle layer of flakes, pristine apart from the streets where pony hooves had trampled and muddied them, especially on the thoroughfares that hadn’t yet been cobbled (much to Mayor Mare’s annoyance). The Green Dragon Tavern had often served as a meeting place for the Brave Companions in the past, and today was no different, for the other five (and Spike) awaited Rarity as she entered the building. During the warmer parts of the year, they’d commonly meet outdoors, at the Prancynge Ponie if there was a meal involved, but plunging temperatures had forced inside any meetings longer than a few minutes. The Green Dragon Tavern had become even more frequent a meeting place recently, due to the fact that Golden Oak’s laboratory was so packed with the contents of Yliiena’s Tower that there was barely enough room for them to stand around. This meeting had been called by Pinkamena, who was quite literally bouncing with excitement in her seat as Rarity arrived.

“Now that we’re all here,” Rainbow Dash said, looking pointedly at Rarity as she took her seat, “Can you tell us what all this is about, Pinkamena?”

“Yes!” the pink mare exclaimed as she produced a letter from her voluminous tresses. “My eldest sister Maud is going to be visiting Ponieville! She’s on her way to an apprenticeship in Trotstagor, but she’s going to be here for three whole days!”

“That’s … exciting,” Fluttershy said timidly, in vast contrast to Pinkamena’s shouted declarations.

“It is!” Pinkamena exclaimed. “Maud was my best friend before I left the family quarry, and every time we get together, I throw a celebration just like my first one when I got my cutie-mark!”

“So, you want us to help with putting your celebration together?” Rarity asked as she perused what the others had ordered as their food arrived.

“No, I think I can manage on my own,” Pinkamena said coyly. “I’m kiiiind of an old hoof at arranging these by now. But! I want all of you to meet Maud and become great friends with her, too! My best Ponieville friends, together with my E.S.B.F.F.!”

“Your … what?” Spike asked.

“My Elder Sister Best Friend Forever!” Pinkamena exclaimed as if it were the most sensible thing in the world (and to her mind, it might have been).

“I am sure we are all looking forward to meeting your sister, Pinkamena,” Twilight spoke for the group. “And we will all do our best to hit it off with Maud. You are our friend, and I am sure we will get along with your sister just fine.”

“That’s such a relief to hear,” Pinkamena said. “I just want everything to go perfectly so that we can give Maud a proper send-off. Now, let’s dig in! I’m famished!”

“What?” asked Spike, in response to the looks directed at him for already starting on his meal, his position outside of the Brave Companions exempting him (or so he figured) from waiting.

***

Three days later, the Brave Companions assembled outside of Ponieville’s southern gate. According to her letter, Maud would be arriving today. She’d even specified a time, though just how she knew exactly when she’d be arriving—given all the unknowns involved in winter travel—was dubious at best. Nevertheless, Pinkamena insisted that they be ready to greet her, and so they all stood in the snow beside the path, trying to steal some warmth from the braziers the town guards were using to keep warm. Rarity fidgeted with her cloak and how it sat upon her dress, worried that the outfit she’d put together wouldn’t be as presentable as she wished for Maud’s arrival. Rainbow Dash practiced her sword stances and throwing knives into a nearby stump left over from clearing the land around Ponieville. Spike practiced his fire breath, trying to keep up a sustained flame, and Fluttershy and Applejack took advantage of the heat radiating from him as he did so.

“There she is!” Pinkamena exclaimed at the appearance of a speck on the horizon. “What’d I tell you, right on time.”

Even Rainbow’s Hunter eyes had difficulty making out the details of the approaching stranger until she got nearer, so how Pinkamena had been able to identify her was a mystery. If she’d been guessing, it was a good guess. As the approaching figure grew nearer, at a remarkably slow and steady pace, she revealed herself to be the bard’s sister in truth. Maud Pie was a sturdily built mare with a gray coat and a dusty violet mane trimmed in an austere fashion. She was wrapped in a dark cloak, and behind her she pulled a two-wheeled cart with canvas stretched over the top. She slowed to a halt in front of the Brave Companions and stared at them without expression.

“Maud!” Pinkamena exclaimed, and she bounded over to embrace her sister.

“Hello, Pinkamena,” Maud replied without emotion as Pinkamena wrapped herself around her. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

“Hello, Maud,” Twilight Sparkle said as she led the others in approaching the sisters. “Pinkamena has told us all about you.”

“Only Pinkamena calls me Maud,” Maud replied in monotone, stating a fact. “My real name is Maudileena. Maudileena Daisy Pie.”

“Of course, Maudileena,” Twilight said, taken aback. “I am Twilight Sparkle.”

One by one, the others also introduced themselves to Maudileena as they stood out in the cold.

“C’mon, Maud!” Pinkamena said once introductions were concluded. “Let’s get you inside and nice and toasty after your long journey from Holderton!”

“I’m fine,” Maud said, but followed along as Pinkamena led the way into town.

Once within the walls, the group made their way up toward Sugar Cube Corner. Master and Mistress Cake were currently out of town, along with their young foals, and had left Pinkamena in charge of the bakery. Although that meant she ought to have been busily making bread and buns, she was instead taking advantage of the opportunity to use the bakery as a meeting place and somewhere for Maud to stay while she was visiting.

“So, Maudileena, what’s in the cart?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered over the wagon, which made a clanging sound whenever it bounced over a bump or stone.

“My worldly possessions,” Maud replied deadpan. “Mostly my tools and my rocks.”

“Rocks?” Rainbow asked in disbelief.

“Maud loves rocks!” Pinkamena said helpfully.

“Rocks. Ore. Some I enjoy the look, texture, and composition of. Some I may need for my apprenticeship,” Maud explained stoically.

Maud’s journey to Trotstagor was for the purpose of apprenticing with a smith there, as she’d shared in her letter to Pinkamena, which had been read out loud multiple times to the other Brave Companions. Trotstagor had been a dying city for years, held up only by its bank. It was uncertain why somepony would want to move there, but there was sure to be opportunities for work in the near future. The previous year had not held an Equestrian summit, but the idea had returned this year, and not from Celestia. On the one hoof, it irked the ancient sorceress that she had not been the impetus for the summit; but on the other, it was heartening to see the realms of Equestria putting forward the idea of their own volition, as if they really had a chance at unity. The monarchs did not choose Cant’r Laht as the site of the summit, shunning the seat of Celestia and Luna’s power and the memories of the Changeling invasion in favor of Trotstagor. Celestia also wasn’t pleased about inviting King Hadish into the city that would be part of the Kingdom of Cant’r Laht’s first line of defense were Manehattan to invade, but at least it was still part of her and Luna’s kingdom, so they would have some control over what went on at the summit. The summit had also been scheduled not for the spring solstice, but two months earlier. Perhaps it meant nothing more than the monarchs wishing to fill the empty and idle days of winter, but some couldn’t help but feel foreboding. The realms would have plenty of time to prepare for spring campaigns after talking nice or hurling out threats—more time than they had after past summits.

“I also brought this, as requested,” Maud said as they reached Sugar Cube Corner and Pinkamena beckoned them inside.

After rummaging around in her cart beneath the canvas, Maud followed the rest of them into the bakery, the twine of a large, wrapped package held in her teeth. Maud showed no signs of exertion, but when she put the package down on a table, it landed with a heavy thud and the table’s legs wobbled and threatened to give out.

“The complete Pie family genealogies,” Maud said lifelessly.

“Oh, Maud! You remembered!” Pinkamena gasped as she rushed over to unwrap the package and reveal the ponderous tomes within.

Earlier that year, records of past Apple family members had been unearthed within the Mayoral Keep’s archives during Mayor Mare’s periodic attempt to find a way to disinherit the Apples from their land. Though they were in poor condition and only barely readable in the most intact parts, Pinkamena had become convinced that one page held a name familiar to her from her own family history. Even since, she’d been pursuing a way to prove that she and Applejack were related. Granny Smith’s half-remembered and barely coherent tales were of no help and the Apple family records were far from definitive, so she’d sent a letter to her family requesting the Pie family genealogies. Now, with the books in her hooves, her research could continue. As Pinkamena flipped through the tomes with relish, the rest of them stood awkwardly around the room, awaiting Maud to start the conversation, but the mare seemed unperturbed and remained silent.

“‘Tis a shame y’ can’t stay for Hearth’s Warmin’, Maud’leena,” Applejack broke the silence at last.

Hearth’s Warming Eve was only nine days away, but Maud had to be in Trotstagor two days earlier, or so she’d promised the pony she’d be apprenticing with. He wanted to make the most of the month before the summit and didn’t want to wait for her to celebrate Hearth’s Warming at home before making the trek up.

“Oh, and Hearth’s Warmings at the Pie quarry are so wonderful. All the family together at home to celebrate,” Pinkamena reminisced before gasping so vigorously there was some worry that she might inhale the genealogies in front of her. “Applejack! If we’re family, we should all celebrate together! The Pies and the Apples, all together at the quarry for Hearth’s Warming!”

“Maybe next year, Pinkamena,” Applejack said noncommittally, trying to deter her from planning a short-notice trip that would require them to uproot themselves and travel to the Kingdom of Applewood and Mareagon.

The conversation lulled again as Maud made no attempt to express her own opinions on missing celebrating Hearth’s Warming Eve or her potential relationship to the Apples. The Brave Companions looked at each other expectantly while Maud stared ahead, until Rarity elected to break the silence.

“So, Maudileena,” she said, clearing her throat. “Pinkamena’s told me that you, like me, are interested in fashion.”

“I make all my own clothes,” Maud said in monotone. “It’s easier that way.”

“Oh, so do I,” Rarity said, grateful at last to have something to discuss with the odd pony. “Tell me about what you’re currently wearing.”

Having removed her cloak upon entering Sugar Cube Corner, Maud had exposed the plain blue frock of stiff, rough fabric beneath. There wasn’t much to it, not compared to the elaborately embroidered yet practically cut dress Rarity had donned in anticipation of meeting a fellow clothier.

“It’s warm. It’s durable. It fits me. It keeps me safe from molten metal,” Maud listed off emotionlessly.

“Yes, I, uh … heard you were a smith as well,” Rarity replied, faltering in her conversation. “It seems we have two things in common.”

“Yes, we both embody two of the mechanical arts,” Maud stated without further comment.

Again, an awkward silence descended upon the room. This time, it was Fluttershy who broke it.

“Um, Pinkamena, maybe you should—”

“Oh, you’re right, Fluttershy,” Pinkamena said, and Rainbow and Twilight each breathed a sigh of relief that the typically chatty mare would be taking over the conversation. “I should get food for you all. Have fun talking!”

Left alone with Maud, the rest of the Brave Companions looked to each other uneasily.

“Perhaps we should sit down,” Twilight Sparkle proposed.

“I can keep standing,” Maud announced, and it was impossible to determine if there was any more to it than a simple statement of fact.

***

The conversation (or lack thereof) went on like that for far too long while Pinkamena was away. The Brave Companions took turns trying to come up with conversation topics, but they never got more than a few sentences in before things petered out. Maud’s answers were uniformly vague, overly literal, or terse, which wasn’t conducive to continued dialogue. It was difficult to read her, as her face never seemed to change beyond minute expressions. Between the odd answers and the long silences, everypony began to feel uneasy around Maud, who seemed completely unaffected by the uncomfortable energy in the room. Even when Pinkamena returned, things didn’t get much better, though she too seemed oblivious to the character of the conversation.

Eventually, the Brave Companions were able to excuse themselves, giving the unconvincing excuse that Pinkamena should be allowed to have some time alone with her sister, that she nevertheless ate up. Outside of Sugar Cube Corner, the five ponies held a conference to decide what to do. All were agreed that the experience with Maud had been nothing like what they’d expected and was less than comfortable. However, Pinkamena’s wish that they become as close to Maud as she was meant they couldn’t just ignore her during her stay. Surrendering without additional effort was unacceptable, but they didn’t want a repeat of that day. Instead, they decided to divide the next day among them so they would each have individual time with Maud. Perhaps she had just been too overwhelmed meeting so many of them at once, or it would be clearer who was to take up conversation when they were alone with her.

***

Rarity was the first to meet with Maud the following morning, Pinkamena leaving her at her shop as she set out to begin putting things together for the planned celebration on the morrow.

“So, Maudileena, what do you think?” Rarity asked as she led the taciturn pony through the shop and into her workroom. “It would be short notice, so I couldn’t do anything too elaborate, but I’m sure I could make you at least one new outfit before you leave.”

“Thank you,” Maud replied, and Rarity began to hope she’d actually managed to connect to her, “But I have enough clothes.”

The frock that Maud was wearing today was, even to Rarity’s trained eye, identical to the one she’d been wearing the day before.

“Nonsense, darling,” Rarity chuckled uncomfortably. “Surely a little additional variety is no bad thing?”

“Additional?” Maud asked as she arched an eyebrow, perhaps the most emotion Rarity had seen her display. “I have no need for variety when I have a workable outfit I can consistently reproduce.”

This is worse than I thought. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt by assuming she had some variety, but she truly does have only one outfit.

“You’re not serious?” Rarity asked hopefully, but Maud’s expression was serious enough. “Don’t you want something to catch the eye of potential patrons in Trotstagor?”

“My work speaks for itself,” Maud said plainly.

“Your work! Of course!” Rarity exclaimed. “Why don’t we go down to the forge and you can show me some of it?”

Rarity reveled in her quick thinking at first, but soon began to regret her decision. It was an improvement over talking fashion, where Maud seemed to have no interest other than in what she already had; but when it came to smithing, the two of them still had disagreements in sensibilities. Maud’s passion (so far as Rarity could tell from the tiny changes in her demeanor) was metallurgy, and she vastly preferred function over form. Rarity’s interest in making functional pieces that were also aesthetically pleasing was lost on Maud. The work was good, but Rarity didn’t see how it could attract customers in any other way.

It was a relief when Fluttershy arrived in the mid-morning and Maud left to accompany her instead. Fluttershy, however, was in a tough spot. Rarity at least had something in common with Maud, but the druidess had nowhere to begin. All she had to work with was what Pinkamena had told her about Maud’s walks in the lands around the Pie family’s quarry, and so she and Maud trotted through the country around Ponieville. With the onset of winter, it wasn’t very lively, but Maud didn’t seem fazed. Between the naturally timid Fluttershy and the perpetually tight-lipped Maud, however, little conversation went on as they explored. Maud’s eyes grew a little wider, which Fluttershy had begun to recognize as interest, as they entered a clearing within a copse, and she took the opportunity to break the long silence.

“This is the meeting place of the Ponieville druid circle,” Fluttershy explained. “I’m not really supposed to bring any non-druids here, but I guess I just lost track while we were wandering.”

“Malachite,” Maud replied, perplexingly.

“Um, I’m sorry?” Fluttershy said, confused.

“These stones contain malachite,” Maud said she lowered her head to look closely at the stones scattered in a ring around the clearing for the druids to use as seats and tapped her hoof against one. “It’s not uncommon for old pegasus standing stones.”

“Oh, I’ll … take your word for it,” Fluttershy said, not knowing what else to say, disappointed that Maud had been interested in the circle of stones and not the circle itself.

***

Around midday, Twilight Sparkle relieved Fluttershy of Maud and they returned with Spike to Golden Oak’s laboratory. The tree was as crowded as ever, the tomes and relics from Yliiena’s tower filling every open space apart from the passageways that allowed movement between rooms. It was a serious fire hazard, especially with Spike’s flame breath continuing to develop, but so far nothing had happened that had threatened the precious books. If Golden Oak’s laboratory ever did go up in flames, the irreplaceable treasure trove of ancient knowledge would go up with it. Maud, for her part, seemed completely undisturbed by the towers of tomes and columns of codices that filled the house.

“So, Maudileena,” Twilight said once they were seated in a cleared-out pocket in her study. “Pinkamena has told me that you are an avid reader.”

“Yes,” Maud replied without elaboration.

“What … manner of books do you read?” Twilight asked, making an effort.

“Metallurgical and geological treatises, mainly. The Abbey of Talimanza also has a large selection of poetry,” Maud answered.

She’d answered at least one question that Twilight had: how she had managed to get her hooves on books at the Pie family quarry. The hard subjects she had forwarded, however, Twilight had no acquaintance with. She did know something about poetry, though, and leapt at the chance.

“Oh, poetry? Have you read any of the works of Courser or von Wingen?” Twilight asked.

“I prefer my own poetry,” Maud replied.

“You write poetry?” Twilight asked, taken aback.

“Yes.”

“Would you like to share some?” the sorceress said after Maud’s answer was followed only by silence.

“Yes,” Maud said, and as the silence stretched on again, Twilight began to suspect she’d need to be more direct with Maud.

“Rock that sits upon the ground,”

“Do you long for anything?”

“No. A rock you are content to be.”

“You are a rock, and a rock you are.”

“I see Pinkamena and you both are skilled at composition,” Twilight Sparkle replied when it was clear Maud had finished her unusually short poem. She wasn’t being untruthful, though Maud’s delivery and topic left much to be desired.

“Here’s another one about rocks,” Maud said, taking Twilight’s response as a cue to continue reciting more poetry. “They’re all about rocks.”

***

Twilight wasn’t able to endure much more of Maud’s unique flavor of poetry, and tried to steer the conversation back to topics of study after only a few more rock-related poems. Unfortunately, she didn’t find any success there no matter how long she and Maud talked. Maud had no interest in any of Twilight’s research topics, even her alchemical experiments (which she hadn’t undertaken in quite some time), though she did have an interest in metallic alchemy divorced from sorcery. Spike proved to be a temporary source of conversation, with Maud showing an interest in his scales and their development, but he balked at the idea of Maud taking some to attempt to use in forging or promising to provide her with scales once he’d finished growing and they’d fully hardened. By the time Applejack arrived to take over, Twilight felt she’d accomplished nothing in connecting to Maud.

Applejack was hesitant about her plans for Maud at first, but could think of nothing better. Pinkamena had told her that Maud was a hard worker and enjoyed physical labor at the quarry, and so the farmmare enlisted her to help around the farm. There were no apples or other fruits to buck out of trees at this time of year, yet bucking was going on all the same. Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom accompanied them, bundled up in warm winter clothing, as they bucked trees to knock down the dead or loose branches, often getting covered in snow in the process. Maud took to the work without complaint, but soon revealed another problem. Maud was deceptively strong, perhaps even more so than Big Mac despite the differences in their sizes. She was also accustomed to splitting rocks rather than shaking trees with her forceful kicks, and they had to stop before too much damage was done as bark flew and trunks splintered under Maud’s impacts. Like Twilight, Applejack felt she hadn’t made any progress by the time Rainbow Dash arrived to take Maud for the rest of the day.

She found no more success than the others. The Hunter had truly nothing to work with, and so she decided to take Maud along and demonstrate to her her swordsmareship as she sparred in her practice yard in Ponieville. Maud did surprisingly show some interest, but not in Rainbow Dash’s actions. She marveled at the workmareship of her sword and tried to determine how the smith who had made it had blended its metals and forged it, but when it came to the actual use of the weapon, Rainbow Dash failed to make any headway in speaking to her.

None of the Brave Companions felt very well about how the day had gone when they met with Pinkamena at the end of the day. Maud had returned to Sugar Cube Corner for the night, and the others assembled in Golden Oak’s laboratory where Spike had cleared some space so that Pinkamena could share her plans for the coming celebration.

“Now, with that all out of the way,” Pinkamena said when she’d excitedly finished explaining everything she had planned, “I hope you all had a super fantastic day with Maud and are ready to celebrate with your new friend tomorrow!”

The response to Pinkamena’s enthusiastic outburst was anything but enthusiastic, comprised as it was mostly by noncommittal mumbles and muttering.

“Pinkamena … I think I speak for all of us when I say that adjusting to Maud has been … more difficult than we expected,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean?” Pinkamena asked in confusion.

“Surely you had to have noticed, darling …” Rarity said, somewhat pleadingly.

“None o’ us have really been able t’ connect wi’ Maud’leena since she’s been here,” Applejack finished for her.

“But … I thought all the time you spent together, you’d have gotten to know each other and become friends,” Pinkamena said disappointedly.

“We tried, we really did,” Applejack said, and the others nodded, “But none o’ us know her like y’ do, Pinkamena. Maybe if we’d spent our foalhoods t’gether like y’ did, we’d be able to get along, but I’m afraid we’ve got nothin’ in common. Not that we can’t be civil t’ each other, but spendin’ time t’gether wi’ her, it didn’t really … work.”

“Oh, I see,” Pinkamena said glumly. “I guess if that’s how you feel.”

“We are really sorry, Pinkamena,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“It’s okay. I guess not everypony can be friends,” Pinkamena said nervously. “I should head back to Sugar Cube Corner.”

Pinkamena left, looking deflated, and the others were similarly troubled after she’d gone. They were upset that they had let their friend down, but what could they do to change things?

***

When the next morning dawned, each of the Brave Companions found pinned to their doors a note from Pinkamena asking them to meet her at a spot to the east of Ponieville. Confused, they followed the directions given to them and met Maud standing outside of the abandoned remains of a lumber camp that Pinkamena had reappropriated. Crude wooden cranes crisscrossed overhead, strung with canvas tents that turned the area into a loose tipi. Pinkamena emerged through a flap at the construction’s base, looking much more cheerful than she had the night before.

“Oh, good! You’re all here! Come in! Come in!” she exclaimed.

“Pinkamena, what is this?” Applejack asked dubiously as she and the others followed her inside, Rainbow Dash’s nose scrunching up as she smelled something unusually familiar.

“Well, I was headed back to Sugar Cube Corner last night when I got the best idea! If I got all the stuff that all of you love in one place, and you all did your favorite things together, then you and Maud would be sure to become great friends!” Pinkamena explained without taking a breath.

Inside, the tipi was strewn with an odd collection of half-assembled scenes. Ponnequins draped with fabric occupied one corner. Barrels of apples and other produce sat in another. There was a shelf precariously stacked with books and a small tree covered in confused-looking squirrels. In the center was a stack of rocks, some of which glinted with ore.

“Pinkamena, we already tried that-” Twilight tried to explain patiently.

“But you didn’t try it all together,” Pinkamena countered. “I’ve thought of everything! Rocks for Maud, crops for Applejack, tailoring for Rarity, books for Twilight, and animals for Fluttershy!”

“And what did you get for me?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously, a sinking feeling in her chest as she at last recognized the smell emanating from a cauldron at the eastern edge of the structure, exposed to the exterior.

“Oh, yours was the toughest of all! It took me a while to figure it out, but I managed to find a way to get-”

“A monster?” Fluttershy asked as she shuddered and stared out the hole in the canvas structure.

“How’d you guess?” Pinkamena asked cheerfully.

“Pinkamena!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she drew her sword, “That brew is meant to attract striekers!”

“So?” Pinkamena asked.

“So, do you have any idea the size of the striekers left in the Everfree Forest!”

She got the answer a moment later as one of the beasts crashed into the tipi, tearing its eastern side apart. It towered over the ponies, easily as tall as any of the trees that the loggers who’d left this camp behind had cut down. A sharply angular sharklike head filled with teeth stared down at them, perched upon a spindly bipedal body with hooked arms. From the back and sides of its head and neck stretched over two dozen tentacles covered in spines and ending in cowled spikes, which did most of the work of holding up the oversized head. Giving a high-pitched shriek from its many-toothed mouth, the strieker tore the cauldron apart with claws of tentacles, splashing the brew onto the ground and stripping the iron to bits as if it were nothing.

Rainbow Dash launched into the air, dodging swinging tentacles and falling wood and canvas as it flailed around and tore Pinkamena’s tipi to bits. Fluttershy rushed to shoo the fleeing squirrels away before returning, eyes still wide and terrified to catch falling debris as it plummeted toward her friends. Applejack ran to the opposite end of the tipi where the entrance had collapsed and tried to dig and buck a path out. Twilight Sparkle stood her ground as she began to chant words in the Language of the Horns, directing her sorcery at the strieker.

“Pinkamena, we need to get out of here,” Rarity urged her as the pink mare’s spirits swiftly fell at seeing all her work torn apart.

“She’s right,” Maud said emotionlessly from the other side, but Pinkamena barely heeded her either.

Rainbow sliced and slashed at the strieker’s tentacles; she managed to lop off some of them, but many of her hits did little as they caught on spines or armored carapace. As it spun, far more swiftly than a creature of its size should have been able to, it flung her away with a strike from its tentacles. Twilight attacked from the opposite direction, magical energy burning tentacles away, but without even looking at her, the strieker plunged its tentacles into the ground and brought them up under the sorceress, flinging her into the air and forcing her to recover using her wings. Turning back on the other ponies, it brought down more of the tipi, nearly crushing Applejack and trapping her beneath beams and canvas.

As the strieker surged toward the trio still standing in the center, Maud jumped directly toward it. Whether the monster hadn’t anticipated such a bold move or Maud was simply incredibly fortunate, all its swinging, spiked tentacles missed her and she was swiftly within its reach, spinning around in the air. Her hindhooves impacted the strieker’s jaw with a resonant thud, and its head snapped back with a deafening crack as its neck shattered. Reeling backwards, the strieker fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

“That was incredible!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she limped over the strieker’s corpse to where Maud had rejoined her sister after felling the beast.

“I’m sorry, Pinkamena,” Maud told her sister as she recovered from the ordeal. “I know how important it was for you that I become friends with those you’ve met in Ponieville, but clearly that’s not meant to be, and me staying here is only causing more problems. I think it’s best that I just continue on to Trotstagor.”

“But, Maud, the party tonight…” Pinkamena said weakly.

“Maybe another time, Pinkamena,” Maud said. “I don’t want you to get hurt just because you’re fixated on this idea, and I know if I stay, you won’t give up on it. Not everypony is meant to be great friends, especially when they have nothing in common like we do.”

“Well, we don’t exactly have nothin’ in common,” Applejack said as she finally managed to extricate herself from the ruins of Pinkamena’s construction.

“You don’t?” Pinkamena asked hopefully.

“O’ course not,” Applejack said. “We’ve got you, Pinkamena. Each o’ us cares about y’ an’ would do anythin’ we can for y’, whether that be tryin’ wi’ everythin’ we got t’ find common ground wi’ y’r sister, or fightin’ for y’r life just like she did.”

“Applejack is right,” Twilight said, “Maybe it is not enough for us to be as good friends as you wish, but we do share something. And maybe that is enough.”

Pinkamena looked at Maud expectantly, who gave a curt nod, which seemed to be enough for her sister. Pinkamena embraced Maud while the elder sister stood unmoving, yet after spending a few days with Maudileena Daisy Pie, the Brave Companions felt they were beginning to understand that the affection was indeed reciprocated.

“Will you stay, Maud?” Pinkamena asked as she released her.

“I will,” Maud replied plainly, and Pinkamena hugged her again.

***

The celebration that night was one to remember. Certainly, it couldn’t compare to the joint celebration thrown by Pinkamena and Cheese Sandwich, but it was still impressive for how quickly it had been thrown together. Pinkamena had somehow managed to convince Mayor Mare to let her hold it in the Mayoral Keep’s great hall, and many ponies of Ponieville took advantage of the opportunity to enter it at a time other than the summer solstice and get in out of the cold. At its height, while Pinkamena sang for a crowd of cheering ponies, Twilight found Maud standing alone in a corner and approached her.

“Is everything okay?” the sorceress asked her, worried that something was distressing the taciturn pony (though it was still quite hard for her to tell).

“Everything is fine,” Maud replied. “I just don’t care much for large get-togethers.”

“You do not?” Twilight asked, not nearly as surprised as she should have been, given that the celebration was all supposedly for Maud’s benefit.

“No, but I’d do anything for Pinkamena,” Maud shared.

“I understand,” Twilight Sparkle replied, watching her friend joyfully singing.