He's the Wooden Frame to my Concrete Base
The traffic of many ponies provided a tight squeeze and uncomfortable experience for many rock enthusiasts. Among them was a familiar mare who carefully maneuvered through the crowd with her pet, Boulder, safely in a homemade pouch. Maud Pie was attending a rock show where the hosts exhibited unusual rock formations. The audience would guess what combination of sediments the formations were.
She enjoyed these types of events because of the different exhibits that had been put up. Maud enjoyed the shifting tectonic plates demonstration that involved edible models that had red icing lava. After graduation, it had been quite some time since the monotone-voiced mare was able to find her type of ponies. She enjoyed the company of her friend Starlight Glimmer and her sister Pinkie Pie. But they weren't as… grounded into her passion for geology as she would have liked.
Her pen pal Sunburst knew a fair amount, but it was difficult to describe certain findings without having to chip off a small sample then mail it to each other. So, visiting Rock Shows like this one was a breath lined with slight mica. Unfortunately, Maud hadn't really clicked with any pony enough to start a standard conversation. That was until she caught on to a similar toned voice to her own:
“Technically, that is not a White Birch. It is a Quaking Aspen log. Birch trees have a unique trait of their bark that allows it to be peeled back like paper. You can also distinguish them by their leaves: Quaking Aspen leaves are perfectly straight and are shorter than that of most Birches. The White Birch Tree is often mistaken for Quaking Aspens due to the same white and dark spots.”
The voice was definitely a stallion, which drew Maud's attention to a subsection of the rock show. It appeared to have different trees that grew near to rocks, which in turn affected the saturation of certain soil samples. She began venturing toward that section out of slight curiosity.
“Sir, if you don't like my logs, then you can just say so,” a more upbeat, but annoyed voice told him.
“That isn't what is wrong in this situation, technically. It's that your stand has the wood types incorrectly labeled,” the voice badgered.
She gets a tingle from her Maud Sense which helps her to pinpoint the location of this peculiar voice. Normally, this mare wouldn't be interested in a passing conversation. The thing was that some sort of urge began compelling her to seek it out. After following the tingles, she stops near a stall selling different types of white wood. There Maud sees a stallion with a stick in mud holding a discussion with the sales pony.
As her eyes scan the stallion, she feels a strange warmth flow through her chest. Maud had never really fretted about having a special somepony. Any real dates she had been on ended up with that pony disliking her passion for geology. But, hearing how dedicated this stallion was to wood and sticks reminded Maud of herself a bit. She decided to wait until he finished his discussion to go up to introduce herself.
About an hour later, he finally stepped away from the stall to which Maud struck swiftly. “I'm glad that there are those who take attention to detail seriously,” she says which draws the stallion’s attention.
“Yes, well, I believe that being precise with wood recognition is important if you're trying to sell it as a product,” he replies, somewhat hesitant.
“Indeed, but there are some who don't take the time to learn the proper name. For instance, I have witnessed many ponies confuse Spinel with both Rubies and Sapphires. They aren't aware the gemstones have different chemical compositions. A number of traders often mistake them while trying to barter their wares,” she adds with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice.
“I have actually seen that occur a few times and technically red spinel is quite rare. My name is Mudbriar.”
“Maudileena Daisy Pie, but I simply go by Maud Pie. My friends call me just Maud.”
“So, are you here for the exhibitions or the rock show?”
“Both, I prefer to experience all that I can while attending events such as this.”
“I see. I, on the other hoof, hardly attend these events due to their lack of wooden-styled sections. So, the current location we are standing in is a real Fire Ruby among Garnets.”
Maud shows a small smile as she says: “I would imagine so. Do you have any specific plans for the show or…?”
After this chance meeting, Mudbriar and Maud kept in touch as close friends. Miraculously, they both were already quite fond of each other leading to Mudbriar asking her to hang out. Over the next few weeks, they slowly got to know each other better, which eventually led Maud to ask Mudbriar on a simple date.
It was a visit to his favorite event, the planting grounds for new tree saplings. They walked around the area just catching each other up on what had occurred that couldn't have just been simply written down in a mere letter.
“Then, I found out that my sister Pinkie Pie had traded away her party cannon just to obtain a rock pouch for Boulder. So, with the help of my Maud Sense, I found the pony she had traded with. He was a selfish stallion who wouldn't trade back after I kept on insisting. It was actually Pinkie’s friend Rarity who managed to convince him by expressing my rage,” she told him.
…
Gathering her thoughts for a moment, she continues: “In reality, I was pretty worried and scared on the inside. I mean, my sister who always does her best to make others happy had traded one of her prized possessions just so she could get me a nice present. I wish I had realized it sooner and I didn't need help to express myself. Other ponies just interpret my mood as uncaring when I just can't express emotions others do normally,” Maud explains with reluctance.
“Well, technically, it was a surprise so you couldn't have expected that situation sooner. And don't be ashamed of your personality; it’s what makes you-you. In the end, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. Your sister was just trying to make you happy, right?”
“But I needed help from her friend just to get her party cannon back.”
Mudbriar pulls Maud into a hug as she had actually started to cry a bit. “You may not be what everypony else considers normal. And require the occasional help of others. But I wouldn't want you to change a thing about yourself,” he assured her.
In all honesty, he knew part of what Maud was going through. Mudbriar had difficulty expressing certain things, but he really didn't care what others thought of him. Maud always took it so hard especially when she hung out with her enthusiastic sister. She always confided to him that she thought they always saw her as misplaced next to Pinkie Pie.
After a few moments, Maud cleared her tears and just enjoyed being close to Mudbriar. That warmth from their hangouts started, not that she minded. “Thanks… You always know what to say,” she softly spoke.
Believing that to be his cue to let go, he slowly releases the embrace, but Maud instead grabbed a hold of him tighter. “B-but can we stay like this a bit longer? Please.”
He complies and tries to hide a small blush by looking up. These two keep in a right hug until Maud decided to see why he was looking up all of a sudden. Mudbriar happened to lower his head sure that his blush must have faded when their muzzles made brief contact. Both quickly back away in shock as they gain immense blushes.
“Ah!! I tech-technically didn't mean to deliver that k-kiss on purpose!” Mudbriar hastily says.
Maud thought it had just been a bump that had unfortunately been with their muzzles, but he thought it was an indirect kiss. She decided to milk this out a bit to confirm some things she had been secretly considering between them. “Well… It wasn't like I found it unpleasant. I mean, we have been friends for a few weeks now and you did accept my proposal for this date, right?” His blush gets darker.
“No- I mean yes! It's just that I… like you as more than just a friend,” he mumbles the last part.
“Mudbriar, you know that I can have a hard time understanding my sister Marble when she speaks in a mumble. So, what did you say?” she asked already knowing the answer. Might as well let him admit it on his own.
“I said… I like you as more than just a friend…” he says a bit louder.
“Still can't hear yo-” Maud began, but was interrupted by Mudbriar.
“TECHNICALLY, I LIKE YOU AS MORE THAN JUST A FRIEND!” he shouts with his blush turning his entire face red.
As he took a breath to calm down, Maud approached him, with a smirk on her face.
She chuckled. “I know,” she says, planting a kiss on his muzzle.
