Maud looked evenly at the store clerk. The two stared at one another for several long moments. She pointed to a particular quill. "I'll take that one."
"But ma'am, are you sure? The quality of the pen isn't all that good, and—"
"And it's worth the price?" Maud inclined her head faintly at the salespony. "Three bits." That's what the sign dangling from it said.
The clerk shifted nervously. "Of course, um. Yes." He grabbed the pen off the shelf and offered it hastily to Maud.
Maud took the quill and turned around. She gave it a brief glance before pocketing it in her saddlebags. The salespony went through some nervous gestures of accepting payment and filling out the transaction receipt. "Thank you." Maud accepted the receipt and walked calmly out the door.
The ponies of ponyville, her sister aside, never seemed to understand her meanings. Maud spoke in the only way she knew how, but they rarely landed.
At least she had a gift for Twilight. "Having friends is a burden." She smiled faintly, easily missed.
It was nice.
She looked up at Twilight's distant castle. It was more of a tower, but attempting to correct Twilight on that matter rarely proved effective. She instead turned her attention to a pony standing there, talking to another pony. "Hello."
One tried to edge away, as if to avoid the conversation entirely. The other smiled brightly at Maud. "Maud! What brings you around?"
"Hello." She examined Lyra, then over to Bon Bon. The two were a couple, and Lyra seemed to understand her, at least a little. "I just got Twilight's present."
"Ooo." Lyra bounced in place. "I bet it's something Twilight will absolutely love."
"Why are you so sure?" Maud considered Lyra with one eye. "We haven't been friends long."
"Oh, nah, but!" She thrust a hoof up towards the sky. "You watch ponies. You watch and you listen. When they talk, you hear. Best listener I know! So I bet she mentioned she wanted something. She probably forgot she did, silly mare. When you give it to her, she's gonna be so happy!"
"Hm." Maud turned her gaze down towards Lyra. "I suppose." She glanced over to Bon Bon, who shrugged and took a bite of ice cream. "Thank you."
Lyra only smiled.
Maud turned away, but paused as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked back, and the unicorn was suddenly quite close to her face. She regarded Lyra a quiet moment. "This is friendship!" Lyra jumped off of Maud, and landed next to Bon Bon.
Bon Bon applied a hoof to her face. "I don't think she understood that. I don't think I understood that."
Lyra stuck her tongue out at Bon Bon. "Aw, Bonnie! I'm just saying that knowing ponies, and caring about knowing them, is a real sign of friendship. I'm jealous of Twilight now, having such a good friend."
Maud continued on her way. As she walked, she considered Lyra's words. She knew a great deal about ponies, to be sure. She didn't have a secret cave where she kept all those notes, that was her sister's thing. She just memorized the important things, or what she decided was important enough.
Then, she acted on them.
She smiled faintly, thinking about that.
"Whatcha grinnin' about?!" Pinkie landed right in front of her. "You look really happy!"
"Hello." Maud paused, then rubbed Pinkie on the head with her hoof. "I got Twilight's present."
"Fun, fun! What is it?"
"A quill." Maud glanced away and back. "It's a secret."
Pinkie mimed zippering her snout. "Nopony will hear about it from me. Is that what you're smiling about?"
"That and Lyra."
Pinkie laughed merrily. "I know what you mean! She says stuff that sometimes doesn't make any sense at all, but it makes you feel good anyway!"
Maud considered that for a quiet moment or three. "She said I'm a good friend."
Pinkie caught herself, struck by the words. "Maud. You are the absolute best friend, and sister, I know!" She grabbed Maud firmly, hugging tight. "And if you don't believe me, well, Lyra just backed me up, so you gotta believe now!"
Maud felt the urge to rebuff Pinkie, but those words refused to come. So she hugged back instead. She rested her chin on Pinkie's head. "Thank you." She added, very softly, "I love you."
Pinkie grinned up at her. "I know!" She burst into little giggles. "But it's super nice to hear that, so I love you too." She bounced back with a great smile. "See you at the party. I know she'll love it!"
"Good." Maud reached out, and poked Pinkie in the forehead. "She'd better."
Pinkie rolled her eyes at that. "Please! I'm telling you, she'll love it. I bet what you picked you thought really long and hard about. You never mess up when you pick me a gift."
Maud thought of all the gifts she had given to Pinkie over the years. From little things, like a new set of hair ties, to huge things, like an entire mine worth of rocks and minerals. "Thank you."
Maud quietly walked away, and Pinkie headed back towards her home, humming some tuneless, if cheerful, melody.
The day of the party came at exactly the speed Maud had suspected. She had noted it on her calendar.
She arrived on time to see only some of the ponies were there. She walked up to Twilight. "Hello."
Twilight started at her voice and twirled. "Maud! Nice to see you."
Maud curled on herself and drew out the felted case. "For you."
Twilight eagerly popped it open and pulled out the quill. Her eyes shined as she examined it. "Where did you get this? This is an excellent quality quill. It's handmade by..." She started rambling about the exact origin and purpose of the quill. It meant nothing to anypony there, except her.
Maud listened, and she knew she had found a good gift.
Author's Note
Maud is one of my ponies, that feels like they echo a bit of me.
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