It was a dusty, dry day in Nickerlite as the passenger train rumbled to life. Ponies settled in for the ride all around, talking quietly amongst themselves or reading books and newspapers.
One mare towards the end of the car wasn't paying anyone else any mind, her stony gaze watching as the station of her home town disappeared into the twisting granite spires that seemed to go on ad infinitum.
Dressed in a dull blue sweater dress, her belongings sat below her hooves in the shape of two grey saddlebags. On such short notice, she'd had to leave most of her things behind.
It may be an exaggeration, but she'd had a kind of rough day so far. Getting disowned would do that to any day, she could only assume.
She preferred her days smooth and polished like fine obsidian- this was more of a fresh picrite kind of day in her opinion, uncomfortable and hard to deal with.
At least she still had Boulder. Good old Boulder, with her through thick and thin. She reached down, opening one of the bags to take him out.
"Looks like we're homeless now, huh Boulder." She droned, gauging his reaction intently, "Maybe Pinkie will have gotten the letter by now. Sorry I didn't ask if you wanted to stay in Nickerlite, you know how emotional I get."
She listened for a long time, soaking in his advice. She nodded subtly.
"Yeah, you're right. I wanted to visit her at some point anyway, so this works out fine. Thanks Boulder."
She sat him down on the seat beside her, careful to position him so he wouldn't roll off and hide again. What a jokester, this guy.
"Miss?"
A cream stallion interrupted her from his seat across from her. She gave him what she thought was an inquisitive look. He tipped a blue cap to her, "Y'alright? Couldn't help but notice ya been mumblin' somethin' fierce to y'erself on yonder."
Her blank look made him fidget. When she didn't say anything, he glanced away nervously. When it became apparent she wasn't going to say anything, he amended, "Y'know what, never mind ol' me, you uh, do yer own thing."
...She went back to looking out the window.
That was why she didn't really talk to many ponies outside of her family-
She paused.
And decided she didn't want to think about her family.
Trains were one of those places where time was dead and meaning had no meaning. Somepony could've told her she was staring out the window for three minutes or three days, and either would be believable.
The train stopped at Appleloosa, then Dodge Junction, and then for a long time it was just open tracks. The stallion got off at some point, replaced by an older mare with two cherries for a cutie mark that spent the ride in silence, a half-finished knit scarf her time killer of choice.
If it weren't for her predicament, she might have tried to talk to her. She had a soft spot for pretty mares.
Instead, she went back to window gazing.
When the train finally pulled into Ponyville, a spike of nervousness had wormed its way into her gut. When she sent the letter to Pinkie, it hadn't even occurred to her that she might react the way their parents had.
But she hadn't seen her little sister face to face in years. Her sister was important, she was the Element of Laughter. Pinkie didn't even send letters that much these days.
She filed off the train with the rest of the ponies that were Ponyville-bound, watching the pretty mare trot off the platform and into town with a sense of purpose.
Boulder sat safely in one of her saddlebags, their weight keeping her grounded as ponies milled about all around her.
All colors of the rainbow, all walks of life.
Ponyville was no rock farm, that was for sure.
"Maud! Over here!"
Pinkie's voice cut through her nerves like a gemcutter through quartz. She relaxed, though her stony expression never changed.
She pushed her way through the crowd until she found her sister. Pinkie waved a hoofmade sign for her, grinning from ear to ear.
HERE FOR: THE BESTEST SISTER IN EQUESTRIA!!!
She almost smiled.
Pinkie zeroed in on her overwhelming display of happiness and sprung at her with all the crushing force and speed of a pink landslide.
Confetti was suddenly all around her, and she was distantly aware of a party cannon going off.
"It's been so long!" Pinkie's thrill was palpable, her forehooves thrown around Maud in a squeezing hug, "I got your letter and I thought 'Oh no, that's awful!' so I asked Mrs. and Mr. Cake for the day off so I could get everything together to welcome you to Ponyville! I was surprised and like, I was going to send you a letter back saying you'd be like, totally welcome here but then I remembered you'd probably already be on the train! How'd you decide on Maud? It suits you! In fact, it suits you so much I made you a 'Welcome-to-Ponyville-Maud' cake!"
Maud couldn't breathe because of the vice grip her sister had on her, but that was fine.
"By the way, welcome to Ponyville! I told my friends you were coming, I hope that's okay! How are Marble and Limestone? Do you have somewhere to stay?"
Celestia, she'd missed Pinkie.
"It's good to see you, Pinkie." She blinked, "They're okay. Limestone's mad about what… happened. And I was hoping I could stay with you."
Pinkie gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry big sis! I'm still staying with the Cakes, but I know everyone in Ponyville! I can find you somepony to stay with faster than you can say sugar coated cotton candy angel food cake!"
"I think that's an exaggeration."
"You're so funny, Maud!" Pinkie finally let her go with a laugh. She was all but vibrating with unconcealed glee, pronking circles around her, "I can't wait for you to meet my friends!"
Maud fell in step with her (or at least matched her pace- she wasn't one for hopping around), and the two of them stepped off the platform.
"Right… hey, Pinkie?"
"Mmmmmhm?"
"Thanks."
Author's Note
Buckle up, guys gals and nonbinary pals, you're in for a slowburn
