As I lay in the soft blanket on my bed, I stare at the crystal ladened ceiling. It shines with thousands of faceted eyes that all look on me while I sleep. These are Boulder’s friends. Boulder has a lot of friends in my home. That’s because I live in a cavern filled with crystals. My friend Starlight helped me find it. It’s always something I think about right before I go to bed. I think about my friends. I think about my day and how my friends are doing. Today I made a new friend. Pinkie would be proud.
I was very tired but I couldn’t sleep. So I just stared at my ceiling. I remembered a method Pinkie told me about to wind down from the day. She called “rewinding the day.” She says it helps feel like the day has been fully enjoyed starting with the joy you just had and thinking back to the first joys of waking up.
Pinkie’s “methods” can be pretty questionable sometimes but my mind won’t stop. So with a well resounding sigh I decide to try it.
I started with a few minutes ago. I placed the curlers in my mane. The rest of my sisters don’t tend to bother with mane-care like I do. Each twist took the load off of my head and reminded me the day was over. My mane is thin and the strands easily catch in the grooves. It takes five rotations to properly secure each curler. Each curler sounds like an ocean wave that crinkles as it breaks against the shore.
My purple mane in place, I took off my normal frock. Volcanic ash and blood stains cover the right flank of my favorite garb. I looked closely at the blemishes and determined that the ash and blood can easily be removed. I placed it in a warm water tub with soap to let it soak. Then I found my cotton pajamas and button them up. Pinkie gave them as a gift for our Pie sister day. They were covered in renderings of basalt. They make me feel… joy.
I looked at the statue my new friend gave me. It glowed with a pulsating red, and orange light. I looked at the strange tentacled thing that it was carved into. Something about it was both alluring and menacing. I wanted to keep it for myself or throw it on the floor and watch the thousands of hot shards burrow themselves deep into the floor. But I promised my friend I would get this to Starlight for testing. I knew it was magical. Surprisingly my knowledge of rocks could not tell me what it was for. I turned from it and headed to bed.
I thought back beyond that. I was riding the train home from my “adventure.” The train was filled with ponies that stared and pointed at me. They said things like “I can’t believe she knows her.” And “are those two friends?” And “why is that sad pony holding that glowing statue?”
I tried to tune them out. They gawked and stared and I felt like a display of granite in a display case. I didn’t like it. I don’t like it when ponies stare. They use those judging eyes and remind me that I am… different.
I inspected the statue I carried. It didn’t look like it was worked – it looked like the stone had formed into the shape it now held. It was made of some sort of fire agate, but the lattice work seemed denser. There were no indentations from tools or any markings that showed how the surface had been manipulated. It was just smooth stone.
The statue was ugly. It seemed like some cross between a squid and a cow. The tentacles dangled from its face in a menacing manner. The large doe-eyes stared with a vacant expression. It looked terrifying and stupid at the same time. I was uncomfortable with it.
I tried to tune out my feelings for it as the train barreled towards Ponyville. The gawkers had gotten tired of my oddity and drifted away to find another curiosity to peer at. I wondered what Pinkie would think. It never seemed to bother her when others found her annoying. She never thought about it at all. She just was Pinkie. Eventually the comfort and enthusiasm with herself became infectious and drew many in. I didn’t feel that way. I always felt different.
It was getting late when we arrived at our destination. I left the glass case of my train display and trotted home with my strange glowing artifact. It felt oddly warm in contrast to the night air.
I rewound further back; to the tunnel. It was dark. I could smell panicked sweat and limestone. I could feel the heat of the magma behind me. Daring Doo shouted something I couldn’t hear over the roar of the pyroclastic cloud bearing down on us. I ran harder. I noticed the door of the temple. It was made of a sedimentary rock conglomerate. It wouldn’t hold up to the super heated gasses that were chasing us. It was going to collapse.
I put on a fresh burst of speed and picked up Daring with my hoof. With her wings tied down she wasn’t able to fly. I ran for the exit with all the strength I had. I can be very fast when I want to be. Normally it’s when Pinkie or one of my friends are in danger. Daring Doo and I were in danger now.
The sides of the tunnel blurred as I passed through it. I barely noticed the limestone formations and calcite deposits as I sped by. The sunlight struck my face as the rumble of the cloud filled my ears. Luckily, the tunnel’s ceiling gave way as we ran beneath it, stopping the caustic gases from enveloping us. We were safe.
“You-you-you are a mad mare!” Daring Doo said in a mocking accusing tone. I think it was a mocking accusing tone. I am not very good with social dynamics. Rocks make more sense. “That was a rescue that I normally pull off. And you don’t even have wings! If you did I bet you would give Rainbow Dash a run for her money.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I don’t run for money. I don’t think I will sprout wings. And I don’t like being off the ground.”
“Heh heh,” Daring laughed nervously. They all act nervous when I explain things. It’s strange. “Well, thanks for the save, there, friend. I’m just just glad we were able to stop that Mad Cow cult and get this rare pony artifact.”
Daring held up the strange glowing statue. She stared at it in wonder. It glowed brighter and pulsed faster. There was something that felt uncomfortable about the way she gazed at it. I tapped her shoulder.
“Huh, what?” Daring gasped and looked at me like I was going to strike her. She looked afraid. I didn’t like that look on her.
“I think that artifact contains magic,” I told her. It was obvious it did. “I have a friend that knows magic. She can look at it and tell us what it does.”
“Are-are you sure? I mean it seems kind of evil. I don’t want you to be turned.”
“It won’t.” I knew my limits. Most ponies are rarely aware of what they can and cannot do. One of the benefits of spending so much time alone is that you get to know yourself very well. You learn where your limits are.
“Uhh yeah. I have been in this business long enough to know when something isn’t good for me. I don’t like magic items. Too many things they can do.”
We walked back to the train station. The volcano erupted behind us, but I knew due to the topography of the mountain the lava flow wouldn’t come this way.
“Thanks for your help Maud,” Daring admitted cheerily. “It took a lot of guts to handle yourself that way. That leader didn’t know what hit him.”
“I actually didn’t mean to...” The whistle for the train drowned out my words from my ears. I doubt Daring heard what I told her.
“Well, have a good trip back to Ponyville,” Daring patted my flank like I have seen Rainbow do to my sister. I’m not sure if the convention is common among pegasi but I took it as a complimentary gesture.
“Thanks,” I said. “Good bye.” The artifact didn’t fit in my saddle bag, so I carried it onto the train.
I sighed. The stress was still gnawing at me, even back home, in my bed. I saw the orange glow of the statue on my table swirling faster. Luckily, magic has a hard time affecting me. Something about even having it on my table was getting to me. I hoped to calm down further, so I thought back to the volcano.
I was dangling over a pit of lava next to Daring Doo. The ropes tied around us fought against gravity to keep us from certain doom. Despite this, my new friend still struggled against them. I don’t like being off the ground. It makes me dizzy.
“We have caught you, Daring Doo!” screamed the Mad Cow Priest. “Now you shall be the first sacrifice to the great and glorious god Cowthulu! R’lyeh Moo’ rulgeh!”
“What does that even mean?” Daring asked in annoyance.
“It’s nuanced! You wouldn’t understand, nonbeliever!”
“I don’t understand how you’re able to make that sound at all.”
“It’s not that difficult! It’s how you curl your tongue in the back of the throat!”
“Rulgth?”
“Rulgeh!”
They continued their pronunciation lesson while I tried to calm my writhing mind. The dizziness of not touching the ground was starting to bother me. I needed to get down. I needed the ground underneath my hooves. I looked for any way that could happen.
Black, glistening veins lined the inside of the volcano. Obsidian – one of the sharpest substances known to Equestria. I saw a large column of volcanic glass and started to rock the rope ball we were tied in towards it. The conversation had shifted to the different regional dialects of Cowthulu’s sheep followers, and their opinions on the correct pronunciation of “ætkg”. Our “ball” swung back and forth to the gleaming black column. Each swing frayed the all too friendly ropes, until the column finally sliced through them.
“It’s pronounced “ætkg” I corrected.
“Ohh, that makes sense!” the Cow Priest agreed. “Hey! You can’t escape!”
The column of obsidian tilted and fell towards the Cow Priest while I used the kinetic energy of our last swing to land on a nearby ledge. There was an “ooof” with a sickening crunch as the black glass tower flattened the priest and shattered.
Daring quickly looked back at the carnage. “Sick!”she shouted and paled a little. I didn’t look back. There was no need to see what I already knew. “Let’s get that statue,” she said as her color returned.
The statue was small, but somehow outshined the nearby lava. It stood on a pedestal covered with the shards of the fallen pillar. I inspected the rock the pedestal was made of. It seemed wrong to have a piece of marble standing in a place surrounded by all these igneous rocks. Something about it just did not seem right. My Maud sense said so.
“I don’t think...” I tried to say but Daring grabbed the statue before I could finish. The ground shook and she looked at me with an exasperated look on her face.
“Oh no,” Daring cried, placing her hoof over her face. “We have to leave now. I’ll just get my wings free and…”
“There is no time,” I told her. “This chamber will quickly fill with volcanic gas. The volcano will erupt.”
“E-e-erupt!” Daring shouted. “Hurry! Let’s go! Hopefully those cow ninjas aren’t stupid enough to attack us now!”
We ran. I didn’t see any ninjas.
I tossed to my left side again. I hoped that if I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t see the sickening orange of the Cowthulu statue. It was comfortable there. For some reason, this side of me conformed to the bed perfectly. I glanced at the empty half of the bed. Mud Briar’s shape still remained indented in the mattress. He was in Baltimare at a stick convention. I missed his pressure on me. It made me think of the pressure on rocks. They squeeze the dull grey matter into a gleaming crystal with that pressure. That pressure helped to make ponies live to their brightest. It made me miss him more.
I thought back again; to the attack. Daring Doo and I were approaching the volcano temple, which had obviously long since become our destination. We could see the trail we were following arching into the distance towards the looming, smoking mountain.
“Did you know there is a temple inside that volcano?” Daring asked me. Her tone implied that many did not.
“Yes,” I admitted. I had been there in a survey of the ignimbrite inside the volcano’s interior. It was said that ponies of the area worshiped the volcano as a god and the stones were its children. Boulder wanted to find his family roots. Mountain roots. It’s a pun.
“Oh,” said Daring, a little down looking. Apparently I was not supposed to be aware of it. I decided to cheer her up by pointing out something I was not aware of. “Those Ninja cows that are sneaking up on us back there were not present when I was here last.”
“Ninja what?!”
Many hooves jumped on us from behind. I wasn’t certain if this was a dangerous situation or a situation like one of Pinkie’s surprises. I stood very still and looked for any sign that this was threatening. A cow, in their darkened masks and suits, tried to push me down. I remained still. I felt his hooves break on my side as he attempted to strike me. I break rocks for a living. I am quite tough.
The cow mewed in pain. His comrades jumped on me after that. I remained standing still uncertain what to do. What was the convention? I looked at Daring Doo for guidance. She was being pushed down and tied up. So I laid down and felt the hooves tie those ropes around me. It was snug, but constrictive. They placed us on a cart and pushed us into the temple.
The night wore on. The color of the statue shimmered against my closed eyelids. They reminded me too much of lava. I wondered what happened to that band of ninja cows. Hopefully, that one received medical treatment for that hoof. I pulled Boulder close. His smooth surface brought me to a special place of calm. A pebble on a beach. Surrounded by other pebbles. One amongst the rocks.
It helped a little, but it also reminded me of the shards of rock that flew through the air. They sparkled in the sunlight, suspended in the air along with me for the briefest of moments. Though I don’t like being off the ground, being surrounded by the cold stone shards made it bearable and beautiful. My hoof stung a little but I was used to that sting.
The rock shards cascaded around me on the ground as I landed next to Daring Doo. I looked into her wide-eyed expression. Her mouth hung open like she had just mistakenly thought a jasper was an agate.
“I am Maud,” I informed the stunned pegasus. She didn’t say anything. Pinkie never told me what to say if they didn't say anything. So I stared and waited for her to say something. I figured it was best to give her her space. Some ponies need that.
“You-you-you!” she sputtered at me finally. She seemed to be having a tough time with introductions. I could relate. I tried to remember how Pinkie taught me.
“I am Maud,” I demonstrated by pointing at my chest. “Now you say your name.”
“You just flew out of nowhere and smashed that rock to bits with your bare hoof!”
“It was a boulder.”
“But you smashed it! With your hoof!”
Daring Doo did not seem to understand. I tried to assure her I took no pleasure in it. If she wasn’t in danger I would have let it go.
“I did not want it to smash you,” I tried to sound kind.
“Your bare hoof!”
“It is fine. Thank you for your concern,” I tried my most reassuring tone but it came out like all my other tones.
“Well, thanks for the save. I wouldn’t have been able to dodge it time. I’m Daring Doo,” she said with a smile and a tip of her pith helmet. Then she stopped and stared at me. I didn’t understand why.
“Boulders of that size do not wander off on their own,” I joked, “there must have been an unnatural shift of their stationary position .”
She didn’t laugh. They normally don’t. My humor is not something that many ponies recognize. Boulders don’t wander.
“Right,” Daring said with renewed vigor. “Probably those pesky cultists. I’m after a statue they stole. It’s called The Dreaded Cowthulu. They seem to think it’s some demigod or something.”
“I am not good with mythology. My sister Marble is the literature specialist in the family,” I informed her.
“Ok, but I don’t need a literature lesson. I need a tracker. I saw you following our trail from the beach to here. “
“Obsidian shards,” I told her. It would have been obvious to a rock-hound, but Daring remained confused and flustered as all the other ponies I have encountered. “The trail you have been making is following a path of fine obsidian shards I saw on the beach. They glint in the sunlight.”
“Really?” The pegasus rushed over to examine where I pointed. “I... really don’t see them... but if you can maybe the cultists might have tracked them to their hideout. Will you give me a hoof?”
I nodded. Pinkie says it’s always important to help others. I think Daring needed my help if boulders that size were after her. Another joke. Boulders don’t follow ponies.
It was getting quite late, and my eyes felt strained. I wasn’t sure I would be able to make it to morning with this artifact in my cavern. I wondered if the “‘rewinding of a day” was something that Pinkie actually tried, or if she just heard a pony say once. There was no telling with Pinkie.
I tried anyway. I recalled the reason for my trip in the first place. Ponyville felt empty without Mud Briar. So did my cavern. I didn’t understand it. I have lived a year in Ponyville without him. Now it felt like I could barely last a week. It did not make sense. I sought Pinkie for advice but she and Rarity were on a friendship mission. Starlight was busy, but suggested I find a place to relax. She said I was just missing him and that I just had to get my mind off it until he returned. That is why I decided to go to the beach.
I woke early that next day and took the train to see the sunrise. I found a perfect spot on the sand. I looked out on all the white, glowing moon stones as the sea washed over them. The sun’s first light touched them and changed them into a shining orange. Boulder loved how his beach friends could do that. The sun rose, changing the stones into little, moist, golden suns on the sandy shore. As it moved a little higher, the sheen left them and returned them to their normal white brilliance. It was just a moment. It reminded me that all of life was made of moments. Mud Briar was gone now, but he would be back. It would only be a moment until he returned.
So I felt at ease, until a strange sparkle caught my eye. It was the shine of volcanic glass. I looked into the jungle and noticed the smoking volcano in the distance. I followed the trail.
The memory of the rocks was all I needed. The strange orange-yellow glow pulsating on my eyes became the rocks shining along with the sun. They shone together like that sunrise. Soon the sun would rise here as well. That statue would be given to Starlight and Mud Briar would come home. It would be over in that moment. It would only take one more moment.
