spoiler The (in context) Frustration Surrounding Maud Pie

[BrawnyCharger 513]

Now please bear with me everypony. I'm not trying to offend anypony who's a big fan of Maud Pie. I think from a storyline perspective Maud Pie does provide some funny bits with her stoic contrast with the hyper Pinkie. I'm only trying to explain this from within the context of the show. and the opinions expressed here don't necessarily reflect that of me, but possibly the other 5 members of the Mane 6: Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. 

 

It's become pretty obvious to see that the other Mane 5 try very hard to get along with everypony, but as we have seen, whenever Pinkie Pie includes her "wonderful" sister Maud on any adventures with her friends, trying to find common ground with Maud Pie is a complete chore!

 

As seen in "The Gift of Maud Pie", Rarity tries everything that she can to help find a gift outside of the realm of rocks that would please her and in the scene in the marketplace, Rarity just shows Maud a bunch of interesting gifts and the ONLY thing that she is interested in is A SIDEWALK CRACK!!!!!! 

And upon hearing this, Rarity nearly blows a gasket at her, she even tells Pinkie that Maud is IMPOSSIBLE to shop for.

 

Now I understand that Maud isn't trying to be mean or anything, her stoic approach and her obsession with rocks are all a part of her personality. But Maud Pie needs to be considerate and appreciate what Rarity tried to do to make her happy. 

 

But Pinkie Pie isn't off the hook either. Pinkie has the tendency to, for lack of a better term, "overglorify" Maud, and force her upon her friends, saying how "wonderful", and "fantastic" Maud is. Now I understand that Pinkie Pie doesn't pull her punches when it comes to expressing her love for both her friends AND family, especially Maud. After all Maud is, believe it or not, Pinkie Pie's own flesh (if you can call it that) and blood. And from a storyline perspective, it does make a relatively shocking plot twist for Pinkie to have a monotone, flat, stoic, rock loving sister (as well as the rest of her family), as opposed to the more predictable approach of the Pie family all having personalities that mirror that of Richard Simmons. And as we have clearly seen, Maud Pie truly loves Pinkie. But Pinkie needs to understand and realize that Maud just doesn't mesh well with the other Mane 5 as friends. It's a fact of life. Yet I believe this also plays to a certain character trait of Pinkie: She's too optimistic and naive about situations like these.

 

I somehow have a gut feeling that one of the other Mane 5 is going to eventually be pushed to the limit by Maud Pie's frustratingly boring behavior, and Pinkie just grinning and hugging her sister saying how great she is, that I can just imagine possibly either Rarity or Rainbow Dash just losing it and shouting at Pinkie Pie:

 

"PINKIE! MAUD IS A FRUSTRATING BORE!!!!!!!" 

 

...or something of like that. 

 

Now I know that would probably make Pinkie's mane and tale deflate back into Pinkamena. But I just hope that she would be understanding about it and next time in the future whenever Maud is about to join her along with any of the other Mane 5 on an adventure, Pinkie would be serious for a second and give a heads up to the others saying: "I know that Maud does come across as a bit bland to the rest of you and everypony else. But please try to show some patience, Maud is my sister and I love her with all my heart, and she loves me just as much. So Please? Okey Dokey Lokey!"

 

Do you think that Maud's antics might drive anypony to a possible breaking point?

 

If one were to put Pinkie Pie on the spot about her sister (or family)'s stoic characteristics as opposed to her own, what do you think she might answer?

 

Once again, This is from a perspective from within the context of the story. I personally have no problems with Maud Pie as a character, and I hope I haven't offended anypony.

 

Thoughts?

[Buck Testa 5,505]

They've already established all this in the first episode she is introduced. She may never find common ground with Pinkie's friends, but they all love Pinkie and that's what matters. Also Rarity was starting to get her by the end of it once she started playing along with Maud's demeanor. 

 

"Well that certainly is impressive, but its no crack in the sidewalk." Rarity could see that Maud couldn't change the way she is, so she decided to relax and go with her way of doing things instead even if she doesn't quite understand. She's quite generous like that. 

 

Pinkie see's Maud's emotions from orbit. They are extremely subtle to anypony else, but to Pinkie they mean the world to her. I think that's part of why Maud and her are so connected, because Pinkie GETS Maud in a way no other pony does, and that's special.  

 

In short, the other ponies will figure out a way to get along with Maud because its important to Pinkie. Maud can't change who she is, but they can accept who she is. 

[Cleverclover 1,526]

Maud is the epitome of a dimensionless, one-note gimmick character, and I can barely stand her myself. 

 

But given that the mane six have already established and moved past their differences with her, I honestly doubt they'll ever be pushed to a breaking point where she's concerned. They've accepted that they ultimately have little in common with her, but they remain on decent terms nevertheless, if only for Pinkie's sake. 

[Buck Testa 5,505]

Maud is the epitome of a dimensionless, one-note gimmick character, and I can barely stand her myself. 

 

Saying Maud is dimensionless is like saying the only thing to Rainbow dash is "lol gotta go fast" or Pinkie is just the "wacky random pony."

 

Its a paper thin observation of the character at best, and a gross misrepresentation of her for simply because you don't like her at worst. 

[Cleverclover 1,526]

Its a paper thin observation of the character at best, and a gross misrepresentation of her for simply because you don't like her at worst. 

 

Her character is paper thin. Her every third sentence is about something rock-related and her affection towards Pinkie is really the only thing I have to know that she even has emotions. 

 

The irony is that I only don't like her because she's given me so little to like about her. I really don't think I have to look deeper, or that she's some enigma to be cracked. She's just a gimmick. 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Maud Pie's eccentricities are very much reminiscent of relatively strong and/or stereotypical cases of Asperger's syndrome, in many ways like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. In both cases, it's highly likely that it will never be named as such in the show, but it makes sense to use that diagnosis as a base for analyzing their personalities. On the other hand, the Pie sisters' upbringing may explain why the Pie sisters display such eccentric personality traits, including Marble's shyness and Limestone's inclination to making violent threats.

 

In both cases, it means that Maud can't help or control being socially maladjusted or "boring", it's just the way she is. She can change and overcome it, but it's a long process.

 

Pinkie and Maud can adjust, but it would be a long and tough process of character development. Probably too much for a standard MLP episode, and too long for the remainder of FiM's run. Though I like Maud, it's likely that by her next appearance more people will get sick of her.

 

Pinkie does a lot for Maud, but really has trouble gauging how others would react to her. It's nice and definitely the right thing to do, but she has a lot to learn. It generally ties into her main character flaw, which is her difficulties reading others' emotions.

[MDLineArt 93]

@@BrawnyCharger

 

I think the frustration you're feeling comes from Maud having a personality designed around anti-humour.  You have to remember, Pinkie has lived her whole life with Maud, she knows her so well and has probably learned to pick up sister's expressions so well that Maud raising the corner of her lip by a milometer appears to Pinky as Maud breaking down in tears of laughter.  Pinky has an exadurated understanding of the world, ironically making her probably the only one who really understands Maud's emotional state, while we the audience are left with the joke that every other pony is confused or feeling like Maud is uninterested.

 

Consider also that Maud is perhaps the most honest and straight-forward character of the series.  When Rarity tries to present the thousand and one gift choices to Maud, the response is the crack in the sidewalk, because that IS what has her attention.  It's not so much her not wanting to build relations with those closest to her sister, it's more a complete lack of understanding of one another, because Maud's honesty makes it seem like she isn't trying.

 

At the end of the episode however, Maud and Pinky want to include Rarity in their PSSDWR.  The relationship between Maud and Pinky would tell me this is a mutual decision, which would say Maud DOES want to build that relationship, and taking the cue from the previous episode she was featured, where Twilight said they were bound by their love of Pinky Pie, this would seem like a major olive branch.

 

Let's also consider the Rock Candy.  Maud doesn't eat it, but she keeps it, and treasures it.  Maud is a pony who seems to be more about actions than words.  When she finds out about the Party Cannon being traded, she doesn't berate her sister, she simply acts, using Maud Sense to find it and get right to it. 

 

We also found a trait in this instance that fits well with her personality, a stubbornness that is unshakable. She made up her mind about the party cannon, and would not take No for an answer when trying to trade the rock pouch back.  No haggling, no emotional plea, just straight to "This is how its going to happen"

 

In fact, the most obvious telling of Maud getting upset I would say is when she is trying to trade the pouch for the cannon, the first two times she tries to be civil, saying please.  The third time, there is no please, it is a statement of fact.  Since it is a change we as the audience can pick up on, and we know her emotional spectrum is built on subtlety, we can almost imagine that to exadurate it as Pinky sees it, the lack of a Please is a showing of Maud being absolutely livid.

[BrawnyCharger 513]

One thing that seemed forced is Maud telling Applebloom that she dreamed she was a rock and Applebloom saying that she dreamed she was an apple and saying that they have a lot in common. 

 

TBH I don't find that a legitimate reason to have something in common with each other. 

 

One wonders how much more frustrating it would be if Pinkie tried to have Limestone hang out with her friends. Maud is far more tolerable than Limestone

[ChocolateCrane 156]

As one-note, and annoying Maud is, her sister has her beat in every way shape and form. Pinkie Pie (from seasons 2 and onward) is hands down the largest vexation of the spirit in the entire show. Which is depressing af since she was my fav character in Season 1 by FAR.

 

Maud isn't too bad, but I just don't understand why she has so many over-exuberant fans. I see her as a cute little chuckle-inducer for each episode in which she appears. Would MUCH prefer Marble Pie screen-time.

[All that joy 1]

Maud is one of a kind and I think that her interaction with the other ponies is all about a lesson of acceptance. As said before, Pinkie's friends learned how to deal with this issue that was the main theme for her debut episode, so I don't think it will be a big deal for another episode anytime soon.

[Castle Bleck 19,376]

Even the Spirit Of Chaos isn't safe ( ):

 

[Lil Pip 775]

Her character is paper thin. Her every third sentence is about something rock-related and her affection towards Pinkie is really the only thing I have to know that she even has emotions. 

 

The irony is that I only don't like her because she's given me so little to like about her. I really don't think I have to look deeper, or that she's some enigma to be cracked. She's just a gimmick. 

Just because we see less of her doesn't mean more of her doesn't exist. Her being stoic does mean alot of the processes are more introverted that we see the others express more. Even Fluttershy is expressive, albeit social anxiety before. That makes her easy to follow compared to maud. Some people are just quieter than others and have a one-track mind, but it doesn't mean their personality is one track also. 

 

We see she is observant if out of touch. She notices she needs to protect her sister sometimes, which was a reused trope I will admit. Internally she is prolly thinking, why does pinkie do shit like this? *fixes problem* but she probably already knows the answer to that question. Also because she is expressively stunted you will have less evidence she has a personality anyways. So its a false assumption assuming she doesn't have one. 

 

Like the Flower mares fainting over the rabbits trampling their flower patch, its just a gag, its not the epitome of who they are. Thats stereotyping. 

 

Like Tree Hugger is a gag too. But she still has personality albeit a little different. She is making fun of stoners/hippies for sure, but do you see how she responds in an extreme situation, she has differing facial expressions, gets upset but doesn't want to be negative so doesn't express it well til she tells Discord she needs to clear her chakras first (stress relieve at least). 

 

With Maud she has a different facial expression in that very episode, Discord makes a terrible joke and she gets offended. Probably because when Pinkie makes a joke she actually tries, instead of expecting others to laugh on demand. She isn't very social, so she might compare others to her sister alot, or perhaps thought her sister should be up there rather than this attention whore stooge. 

 

Just because she doesn't say much doesn't mean she is a robot. Same for people irl. 

Maud Pie's eccentricities are very much reminiscent of relatively strong and/or stereotypical cases of Asperger's syndrome, in many ways like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. In both cases, it's highly likely that it will never be named as such in the show, but it makes sense to use that diagnosis as a base for analyzing their personalities. On the other hand, the Pie sisters' upbringing may explain why the Pie sisters display such eccentric personality traits, including Marble's shyness and Limestone's inclination to making violent threats.

 

In both cases, it means that Maud can't help or control being socially maladjusted or "boring", it's just the way she is. She can change and overcome it, but it's a long process.

 

Pinkie and Maud can adjust, but it would be a long and tough process of character development. Probably too much for a standard MLP episode, and too long for the remainder of FiM's run. Though I like Maud, it's likely that by her next appearance more people will get sick of her.

 

Pinkie does a lot for Maud, but really has trouble gauging how others would react to her. It's nice and definitely the right thing to do, but she has a lot to learn. It generally ties into her main character flaw, which is her difficulties reading others' emotions.

Funny how rock farming causes psychological depravity. Why the heck do they do it anyways if it has such costs, tradition/culture? Poverty?

[BrawnyCharger 513]

I guess the fault isn't really Maud herself. but instead it's Pinkie's constant overhyping of Maud. Pinkie can get too optimistic about Maud bonding with certain ponies. But one wonders how Pinkie would take it in regards to somepony honestly telling her about how bonding with Maud won't work. We accept Maud for who she is, but Pinkie needs to be more considerate and cautious about which ponies can bond with whom.

 

And I hope Pinkie nor the rest of the Pie family isn't offended if I refuse to eat any rocks.

[Thrond 3,263]

I think they're starting to get along better. The writers added a lot more subtle emotion to Maud with each appearance, and Rarity increasingly seemed to appreciate her in "Gift of the Maud Pie." So I think it'll work out.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

I came to respect maud alot more as a character in the FF with rarity and Maud. specifically, portraying maud as LITERALLY incapable of showing emotions, and having trouble grappling with people in social situations due to this and being legitimately saddened and frustrated by this.


I know its just headcanon, but her portrayal in the comic really leaned towards maud being a high functioning autistic who has social issues, which makes her come off much more as a woobie when you look at the scenes in more of a light of her legitimately trying her, in a two way street way, not being able to connect with the mane six despite WANTING to. (the FF comic showed maud as being INCREDIBLY grateful towards rarity and happy to have her company despite not showing it)