Without question, the Sweet Snacks Café was one of the most popular hang-out destinations in all of Canterlot, and on the weekends in was especially busy. Barely a moment went by when some teen didn't pass through those doors, hoping for a good and fun time there, be it from the music, the atmosphere or, of course, the delicious ice creams and milkshakes that were so famed from the place. But, by far the biggest draw of this locale was the upbeat nature of the waitresses, who always did everything in their power to ensure the place was as welcoming and fun as possible. And nobody embodied this attitude more than the most notable of their number; Pinkie Pie. The party-loving girl was skating from one end of the café to the other, providing all the smiles and laughs people wanted when they arrived there. And Pinkie herself, of course, was loving every minute of her work in this place, with a massive grin upon her with every waking moment. A grin that only widened when she noted who her next customer was.
"Maud!"
Sure enough, Pinkie's rock-loving sister had indeed entered the café, giving her younger sibling a small wave before making her way over to an empty booth by the window. Pinkie, who was of course pleased as punch to see Maud here, looked over to her Manager. The older woman, chucking to herself, gave a small nod of consent, resulting in the inevitable squeal of glee on Pinkie's part. Soon after, the latter began to roller-blade her way over to her sister, smiling widely as she reached her.
"How are you?"
Maud considered that, her infamously stoic expression never changing.
"I'm...okay."
Now, most people who knew her would have been unable to really tell any difference between that remark and any other seemingly-emotionless statement she would have otherwise made. But Pinkie, having grown up with her, was able to tell that something was up. It was subtle, and perhaps too subtle for anyone but her to see, but she saw it all the same. As such, her smile faded a little.
"Oh no! Did something happen?! What's wrong?"
Maud's head turned slightly, and she took to staring out of the window.
"It's...nothing serious."
But Pinkie was determined now, and so got into the opposite side of the booth, looking to her sister with a seriousness most would not have expected of her.
"Maudileena Daisy Pie! I am your sister, and I know something's wrong! So please..."
She reached forward, placing her hand upon Maud's, before looking to her with greater softness in her expression.
"...tell me."
Maud looked back to her, to the pleading eyes of her sister, and gave a long and slow sigh.
"It's...about me and Tom."
Pinkie tilted her head, showing confusion.
"Tom? What about him?"
There was a brief pause, and then, Maud gave her answer.
"...We broke up...about a week ago."
It took only a nanosecond for Pinkie to let that information sink in, and as soon as she'd done so, she let out a gasp of genuine shock.
"What?!"
"We broke up," Maud repeated.
Pinkie, in a rare moment for her, was absolutely at a loss for words. She just sat there, mouth agape, displaying complete shock through and through. Maud, by contrast, was her usual reserved self, never displaying any sadness over this occurrence. That is, if she felt any. And given what she spoke next, she might not have done.
"Pinkie...it's okay."
Pinkie, shaking her head, began to counter that.
"But...but...but...you two were so happy together!"
Maud nodded.
"We were. Ours was a time of great passion and whirlwind emotions. But the spark of romance has faded, and Tom and I no longer feel the great swathe of longing for each other that once defined our relationship."
She blinked slowly.
"We've been drifting apart for some time now, and we agreed that it might be best to...end things."
Pinkie slumped into her side of the booth.
"So...what's he going to do now?"
Maud thought on that.
"He's been invited to go to a far-off country, to do some research on moulds discovered in the jungle. He'll be happy with that for a while, I can promise you that."
Then, after that, Maud displayed just the tiniest hint of a smile.
"We'll stay friends, Pinkie, don't worry. We promised to keep in touch."
Letting out a long sigh of her own, Pinkie nodded, accepting that.
"Oh...okay," she said, sounding more than a little dejected.
Then, in an almost instantaneous way, she perked back up, sitting upright in her seat and giving Maud's hand a quick pat.
"You know what you need, big sister?"
Maud shook her head.
"No...but I'm going to assume it's something to do with copious amounts of sugar."
Pinkie giggled, hopping out of her seat and skating right back to the main counter of the café, all while Maud watched. She moved around it, getting down under for a while, hiding from view of both Maud and everybody else in the place. Then, after a few moments, she re-emerged, and with her came perhaps the largest dessert Maud had ever laid eyes on. It was a many-tiered ice cream bowl, filled with what appeared to be every single flavour one could imagine, and decorated in a number of other sweet items, like sprinkles, cherries and bananas. Pinkie, smiling all the time, carried it over, as though the weight of the thing was no issue for her whatsoever. Many of the other patrons watched her do this with both fear and awe, but Maud, as ever, simply looked to her sibling as thought this was the most mundane thing possible. Before long, Pinkie was back, and she carefully laid the dessert right in front of her now-single sister.
"Eat up, Maud! This right here will cheer you right up!"
With that, she offered Maud a large spoon, and Maud herself, after staring at both the dessert and Pinkie, soon sighed, accepting said spoon.
"You know...I've never been that big on sweet things."
Pinkie giggled, then leaned forward and whispered.
"Don't worry...it's sugarless!"
Maud considered that.
"I'd ask how you accomplished that...but I'm guessing it would only raise more questions."
With all that established, Maud took a deep scoop of the dessert that had been placed before her, and Pinkie got back into her side of the booth. It took a while, longer than any other patron would take, but eventually, Maud swallowed her first bite of the thing. Pinkie leaned in closer, waiting to see what she had to say about it, and when Maud finally did speak, it was with that same monotone she'd used for saying everything else thus far.
"...It's good."
Pinkie squealed in a giddy way.
"I just knew you'd like it! Whenever I'm feeling down, this super-spectacular-ice-cream-bonanza is always good at cheering me up!"
Maud nodded slowly.
"I can imagine. And I appreciate this, Pinkie. Really, I do. But you needn't have gone to so much effort."
But pinkie snorted to that.
"Pfft! Of course I needed to! You're my sister and you were all alone now! How could I not want to give you a pick-me-up?"
Maud, thinking on that, looked away slightly, prompting Pinkie to raise an eyebrow.
"...Maud?"
Then, just as slowly, Maud looked back.
"Actually...I'm not alone."
Naturally, Pinkie was more than a little confused by that, which led to Maud explaining things further.
"I've...already found somebody else."
Again, it took only an instant for Pinkie to react, letting out another gasp before leaning forward and looking to Maud with pure excitement.
"Really? Wow...and after only a week? My sister works fast!"
Then, she giggled nervously.
"Not that that's a bad thing, obviously!"
Following that, she began a number of rapid-fire questions.
"Who is he? Where did you meet? Have you dated yet? What's his name?"
Maud blinked again before starting to answer at least some of those questions.
"We met at the museum. I was heading off to my lunch-break after giving my tour guide through the geology section. And he was just coming off of setting up a new display depicting ancient trees."
Pinkie nodded, still excited.
"Uh-huh...go on."
Maud paused, but only for a few moments.
"His name is Mudbriar. And...I really hope you'll like him."
But, as before, Pinkie gave a snort.
"Come on, Maud! I mean, what are the chances that I'm going to dislike any boyfriend you have?"
