When Cider woke up again it was from the usual nonsensical dream of being planets and stars, and as well as there being a very stiff block on her back. When she woke up she could realize why. She was laid on a couch that was surprisingly stiff, and the cushion her head was propped up on did absolutely nothing to make her rest better. She groaned as she sat up and popped her back. She looked around the living room she was in. It was…gray, kinda depressing looking. As if someone took a vacuum and sucked out all the color. The pictures on the wall were of a family of five, none of them smiling, all some pretty dull colors for their coats. Though as she looked back, she spied one photo. Another family photo, all the girls younger, with a pink filly in the picture. Her pink coat was a bit washed out in color, but it stood out from the rest of her family.

Cider already dreaded the answer if she asked about the daughter’s whereabouts.

Speaking of which. Where was she?

“A-Applejack? Hello?”

“Cider!”

The sound of hoofs rapidly running to meet her in the living room echoed out. One Applejack came running out of a hallway to meet her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Ya’ gave me quite a scare back there! Ya’ went tumblin’ and knocked yerself out!” Applejack explained to the lavender pony. Sparkling rubbed the side of her head, feeling the lump on the side of her head.

“Eugh…Ah’ can still feel it too. But enough a’ all that, we gotta get back on the road with these deliveries an-“

“Not with a concussion you shouldn’t.”

Cider screamed and jumped into Applejack’s forelegs when a foreign voice suddenly came from right next to her. She whipped her head around to face it, surprised to see a gray coated mare with a grayish purple mane. Her face seemed to be caught in a perpetual deadpan, yet looking into her eyes Sparkling Cider could see…something. Like a hint of emotion beneath the stone that made up her expression.

“Ah’ know she took a tumble but don’tcha gotta hit yer’ head mighty hard for one-a’ those?” Applejack said as she continued to hold Sparkling Cider in her legs like it was the most natural thing in the world. Cider actually found the grip to be a little tight.

“She could have a big brain.” Maud said in her flat tone of voice. This simply left the two apple farmers confused as to what she was referring to.

The gray pony let out what they assumed to be a sigh.

“At least eat something before you get back on the road.” She said, walking off toward the kitchen. Applejack and Twilight looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and deciding to accept the offer.

The kitchen table had 6 spots set out for ponies to eat, but only three were in use. As Sparkling Cider and Applejack looked down at their meals, they had questions.

“The rest of my family is out right now.”

That answered one of them. The other question that went unasked was why there was a rock in a bowl with what they hoped was a broth liquid.

“We take turns going out as a group in order to look for one of my younger sisters.”

“Tha’ Pink one?” Tumbled out of cider’s mouth. Maud stared at her blankly for a moment.

“Yeah, her name is Pinkie Pie…she went missing in that crazy storm a few years ago.” The gray farmer spoke as she poured herself a cup of water from the sink. Once again, despite the monotone voice and actions of maud, Twilight couldn’t help but feel like there was something deeper she was just getting a glimpse of.

Cider looked down at her bowl of…rock soup, looking at her reflection. The storm.The same storm Applejack had found her in, yet another filly had gone missing that day. Her eyes wandered to the scar on her forehead. The bone underneath was unusually bumpy.

“Anyways, when you’re done feel free to leave if you want. Or don’t.” She walked out of the kitchen without another word, and shortly after they heard the front door open and shut. Cider and Applejack looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. They felt for the girl greatly.

“Well…ah’ guess we should at the very least wash up these here dishes and get moseying on outta here.” Applejack said with a shrug. Cider replied in kind with a shrug of her own as she lifted her bowl, and was careful to balance it so the stone inside didn’t fall out or break anything. Cider watched from the window as Maud trekked across the grey farmland into a silo nearby the house, curious as to what she could be doing in there.

The pair of apple farms stood on the front porch, making sure they had everything they needed before they went to retrieve their pie carts from the edge of the farm, and as they set out Cider heard something.

Fweee!

Her ear twitched and her head turned a bit toward the silo as she heard it.

Fweee!

This time she fully looked at the silo that Maud went into once more. What she heard wasn’t just in her mind, it was the sound of something like a little buzzing horn.

“Alrighty, Ah’d say we’re ’bout ready to set off now. Where’d Maud go an- C-Cider? Where ya’ goin’ girl!” Applejack said as she watched Sparkling Cider wander off toward the silo. The lavender mare got up to the door, pressing her ear up against it. She could hear the tweeting of what she was pretty sure was a kazoo on the other side, no doubt Maud was the one blowing it.

Cider pushed the doors open to see Maud sitting alone with a grey cone hat alongside a rock with a small hat made for it. There was a single table with a bowl of the rock soup they had earlier and one blue balloon. Mauds eyes turned to her slowly.

“Oh…hi.”

They stood in an awkward silence.

“Welcome to my party. My little sister liked them.”

Sparkling Cider’s eyes softened.

Author's Note

I RIIIISE!
Alrighty, I wanna start getting back into writing again. It’s really fun!
I’ll try and see about squeezing out an update for Run Filly Run next!