The station was deserted at this time of morning. A lone conductor walked laps of the platform, stamping his hooves against the cold. Two crows warbled in the eves. The five of them huddled together and watched the northern line.

“What’s the point of bringing her here, Twi?” grumbled Rainbow Dash. “What can Monotone McGee do that we can’t?”

“You answered your own question, sug,” Applejack answered. “We ain’t had any luck with Pinkie. Maybe her sister will.”

"Have we tried everything? Maud gives me the creeps.”

Twilight sighed. She had asked herself that question countless times already. Every time she asked it, she discovered something they hadn’t done before. But no matter what it was, it didn’t help.

“First, Maud isn’t creepy,” she said. “She’s just a little . . . different. And second, we have tried everything. Talk, gifts, dinner, sleepover, pep talks – everything.” Her gaze dropped to her hooves. “We all know how well it’s worked.”

Rarity draped a hoof over her shoulder and drew her close. “Don’t blame yourself, darling. You’ve tried the hardest of any of us. But if Maud cannot help, then I think it wise that we let time be her medicine. From what I understand, Pinkie and her father were quite close. It may take a long time for her to heal."

“It’s been two weeks and she hasn't improved” Twilight snapped. She caught herself, then said in a more level voice. “I just want to hear her laugh again.”

"We all do," whispered Fluttershy.

They platform was silent until Twilight heard the rattle, click and roar of an approaching train. As it drew near, she saw it was one of the original models. Its pink enamel coat, which had been in fashion at the time, peeled in several places to reveal the cold iron underneath. As the train pulled in, a flake lifted away and landed at Twilight’s hooves.

Sometimes, she forgot where her bubbliest friend came from.

After the train came to rest, the doors opened, and Maud Pie stepped out. She wore a coarse, black shawl and battered pair of saddlebags. She turned her head, unblinking, until she saw them, and then trotted over.

“I’m glad you could make it at such short notice,” said Twilight, summoning up false cheer.

“You said Pinkie was in trouble,” Maud replied, voice as flat as a river stone.

“She is, sort of. Ever since, ah, you know, she’s—”

“—been out of sorts,” Rarity said, stepping in smoothly. “We were hoping you would know how to help.”

“Of course,” said Maud. She opened one of her saddlebags. It was filled with rocks. “Boulder and his friends came to help.”

Twilight exchanged a glance with Rainbow Dash, then said, “Why don’t we get a move on?”



“This one is hers,” said Twilight, nodding to a door that looked like it had been torn off a gingerbread house.

“Jeez, how can you tell?” muttered Rainbow Dash.

“Do you want us to come in, or . . . ?”

Maud pushed open the door, stepped through, and shut it behind her.

“Or, I’m guessing,” Applejack drawled.

From inside, Twilight heard a surprised murmur, followed by an atonal drone, and two heavy thumps. The saddlebags.

“Maybe we should give them some time alone,” said Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash scuttled closer to the door. “I wanna hear what she’s saying.”

“We shouldn't, but I am rather curious,” Rarity added.

Twilight hummed. If Maud was successful, then it would be smart to make note of what she said. If not, then no harm done.

"Okay. Stand back."

The others shuffled back. Twilight’s horn pulsed with light, and two familiar voices filled the corridor.

“. . . Granny Pie died, he didn’t get all sad and mopey,” came Pinkie’s voice, limp and heavy. “He stayed calm-a-lected, even though it was so unfair.”

“Do you know why he stayed strong?”

A sniffle. “No. Why?”

“Because he was down to earth. Even more so now.”

Twilight looked back at her friends, aghast. They shared her horrified expression.

Pinkie, however, giggled.

“He was not sedimental,” Maud continued. “But he never took anything for granite, either. We were his bedrock."

The giggle became two, three, and then a halting stream of laughter, the first in weeks.

Of course.

Twilight let the spell drop and turned around.

Rarity touched her shoulder “Twilight, what is it?”

“Time’s not the only medicine,” she said, with a small smile. “I think Pinkie’s going to be alright.”