Maud Pie marched a short distance then stopped. She turned around and marched the opposite direction, again stopping after only a few steps. Then she turned to her right to face Boulder, who was sitting patiently on the wooden crossbeam of a fence.
"Boulder," she said simply, making sure he was listening. Once she had his attention, she continued in a low monotone. "I know some of the other rocks and minerals like to pick on you sometimes. But it can't go on forever, and I won't always be there to protect you. What I'm saying is... you have to be bolder."
Maud paused to allow Boulder to laugh. Somehow he held it in, but she still knew he liked it.
"Jokes aside, I really do mean it. And I'm not asking you to fight. Some of them would crush you. Literally," she said, punctuating her statement with a slow blink. "What I'm really asking you to do is to be yourself around them. And not just yourself, but yourself with confidence. You may be a hundred times my age, but you've been underground your entire life. I actually have the experience advantage here. And you will be surprised at how much better they treat you when they don't sense fear.
"I used to be like you, you know. Believe it or not, I was actually very antisocial. I know. Shocking. But, like gneiss through geologic uplift, I rose above it. And it all started when I realized I just had to believe in myself. And you should believe in yourself too. Because I believe in you."
Maud placed a hoof on Boulder for emphasis, giving him one of her rare small smiles. He absorbed the information and accepted the comforting gesture with contemplative silence and stillness.
"You know why I believe in you, don't you?" she asked. His lack of reply was answer enough for her to continue. "It's because you're special. Not only do you have a slightly higher magnesium concentration than any other rocks from your area, you're also the youngest basalt specimen I've ever found there. And that means something to me. You may only be a five point five on the Mohs scale of hardness, but you're a ten on Maud's scale of heartness."
Boulder had no words. Maud spoke on.
"The reason I'm saying all this is because I care about you. I want what's best for you and, after I'm gone, you might not have a pony like me to take care of you. So you'll have to learn to take care of yourself. It'll be slow, as are all geological processes, but I'll be with you for as much of it as I can. I want to tell you a story," she said.
She turned around and took two steps away from him dramatically. Still facing away, she continued.
"I used to get picked on in school. Ponies thought I was weird. And let's not call an achondrite a pluton, here. I knew I wasn't like the other foals. I was weird. But I let it bother me, and it kept me from doing what I loved. Even my own parents thought I took rocks too seriously. They've always just been simple farmers, not quite so dedicated to the study of rocks as me.
"Well, one day, when I was sorting a box of andesite, my sister Pinkie Pie barged into my room and caught me red-hoofed. I couldn't hide my collection in time. But, instead of laughing at me, she just smiled. And she said she loved seeing me happy. It really woke something up inside me, and despite her being there, I just kept sorting. Then, just as I finished, I got my cutie mark. I still haven't told Pinkie how much of a part she played in it. She just thinks I like rocks. Which I do. I love rocks. But she convinced me to believe in myself.
"You know what my cutie mark is. It's a boulder. Kind of like you. I don't think it's just about rocks, though. I think it also marks the moment I, too, became bolder. The moment I learned that it's okay to be the pony I am. Well, once I embraced it, foals at school didn't make fun of me so much. And sometimes they even came to me with rock-related problems. It really made me more extrusive. I mean, extroverted. That was a joke."
She paused and turned her head to look at Boulder. He was still not laughing. She would get him some day.
"You're the best friend a mare could ask for. And I hate to see you having the same problem I did. Especially because I know the solution to it. So, what do you say? Think you can give it a shot?" she asked, turning her body to face him.
Boulder paused, unanswering, unmoving. His eventual nod was imperceptible. Literally. There was no actual movement, but Maud still sensed it. She breathed a slow sigh of relief. She felt hope for her friend welling up in her, and a single tear, like pride given liquid form, dropped from her expressionless eye. Stepping close, she gathered Boulder in a warm hug and placed him in the front pocket of her pale beryl smock.
"How about we go test your newfound confidence in the gravel pit? It's good to start small, after all," she said.
At the gravel pit, she selected a hoofful of playmates and set them in a small pile on the hard compacted dirt, with Boulder in the center. As she watched them play, she thought of her pink sister, making a mental note to remind of her how much she matters the next time they met.
One piece of gravel suddenly toppled over, prompting Maud to intervene. She pulled Boulder out of the pile and kicked the offender away, holding her friend up to inspect him.
"Got a bit rowdy there, huh? You okay?" she asked.
Boulder was paralyzed with fear and uncertainty. Though he didn't reply, she felt she knew what he was conveying.
"No, you did fine. That was a good effort. It's not all gonna happen in one day. You just gotta keep it up," she said. "Now, come on. Let's go home."
As she walked homeward, she decided to say something she wished she had heard more herself when she was young.
"I'm proud of you."
