Comic Checklist

These are all the Maud Pie comic appearances out that I'm aware of:

MLP Friendship is Magic
- #20 Hot Topic variant (cover appearance only)

- #23 Hot Topic variant (cover appearance only)

MLP Friends Forever

- #9 (background appearance)

Maud Pie #14 Series 3 Trading Card

Series 3 Trading Cards

Character

#14

Maud Pie

This card shows a picture of Maud having finished peeling an apple using "a very interesting method" from the episode "Maud Pie", and asking if she should peel another. Text on the back of the card says, "Maud may not express herself the same way as her sister Pinkie Pie, but her friends still thinks she totally rocks! Maud is an expert in geology and is studying to earn her Rocktorate in Rock Science. She still finds time to pursue her passion for poetry--she's written THOUSANDS of poems about rocks! Even so, family is still the most important thing in Equestria to Maud. She would move mountains for Pinkie Pie if she had to, and she's practically strong enough to do it!" I like how this description covers so much about Maud even with its limited space. I'm not sure if their choice of the word "strong" is quite correct (I assume this comment arose from both her destroying that big rock on the rock slide and her throwing another rock in the competition with Rainbow Dash), as I think of it more as something like "intense rock-handling abilities", but that's just my interpretation -- maybe it really is just strength.

Also on the back, it lists under her "Aspiration": "Secretly dreams of someday attending the Grand Galloping Gala." That's interesting since there really wasn't any hint of it in the "Maud Pie" episode, though in the episode "The Ticket Master", it's shown how most ponies do seem to have this desire. Another thing that's intriguing about it is how it says "Secretly" -- Why does she keep it a secret? Does she see the desire as something negative? Does she want to avoid burdening her family with her unrequited desire? Who knows -- maybe this is actually a hint towards a future episode as the fact seems like it must have a source from somewhere.

My Pet Rock

I have only one pet. It's a rock. His name is Boulder. But Boulder's not just any old rock -- allow me to explain...

In April 2014 I was at a collectible toy show, and there I found one of those Pet Rocks that were sold in little cardboard carrier boxes with air-holes and everything back in the 1970s. It was only a few dollars and I like weird things like this, so I bought it. Later, my brother made the connection that it was like Maud's pet rock Boulder from the "Maud Pie" episode that had aired just over a month before, which made it even cooler since I thought the episode was the best yet. Thus, I somewhat un-creatively named my new pet "Boulder". We haven't played any Camouflage, but I'm sure it'd be really intense if we did.

Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks ALMOST Cameo

In 2013, My Little Pony got a movie called "Equestria Girls". In it, Twilight Sparkle is sent to an alternate world where human-like counterparts to the Mane Six and other familiar ponies roam. The movie got a sequel entitled "Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks", and it's here where we see a humanoid Maud Pie. She isn't actually Maud Pie, mind you, but an alternate version.

In the scene she appears, several characters are sleeping over at alternate reality Pinkie Pie's house. As Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are talking in the kitchen, humanoid Maud unexpectedly makes her appearance, saying "Boulder was hungry", and then proceeding to shake some crackers out of a box and onto her pet rock. What's funny is that it makes some sense that she'd be there since it's Pinkie's house and the two are sisters, but you totally aren't expecting it.

Unfortunately, this movie is one of the worst things connected to "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" in my opinion, but I won't bother getting into that as I feel I've been doing enough complaining on this blog recently.

Maud's Family

Maud's immediate family includes...

Name: Igneous Rock Pie

Relation: Father

Episode first appeared: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

Name: Cloudy Quartz

Relation: Mother

Episode first appeared: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

Name: Pinkamena Diane Pie (AKA Pinkie Pie)

Relation: Younger sister

Episode first appeared: "Friendship is Magic, part 1"

Name: Limestone Pie

Relation: Older sister

Episode first appeared: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

Name: Marble Pie

Relation: Older sister

Episode first appeared: "The Cutie Mark Chronicles"

Maud's non-immediate family includes...

...at least two separate grandmothers, as Pinkie Pie states in the book "My Little Pony Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!" (or sometimes, evidently, "My Little Pony Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Pony Party"), "Let's see... there's the rock farm, the barn at Nana Pinkie's, the barn at Granny Pie's...". Granny Pie gets at least two more mentions in the book, as well as in the episodes "Friendship is Magic, part 2" and "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone". Nana Pinkie gets mentioned in the episode "Too Many Pinkie Pies".

...a grandfather named Feldspar Granite Pie, as announced in the episode "Hearthbreakers".

...a great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather named Holder Cobblestone, as announced in the episode "Hearthbreakers", though the statement's just said of "their", which in context could refer to either Maud and her sisters or possibly one of their parents, and if the latter's the case, then another "great" would be added.

There's also the possibility that Maud is related to the extensive Apple family due to the events in the episode "Pinkie Apple Pie".

MLP Friends Forever Comic #9 Appearance

I just got the My Little Pony Friends Forever volume 3 graphic novel (which collects issues 9-12 of the series) and saw that Maud was in the background twice in issue #9. I've read every issue of MLP and its spin-offs, and I'm pretty positive this is her first appearance in any of them not including variant covers. The book's dated March 2015, though issue #9 was originally released September 2014.

Her first cameo, as drawn by artist Tony Fleecs, is on page three (part of a two-page spread) where she's seen standing in line for Apple Con 45 along with two of her sisters, her father, and her mother. She's practically in the book's spine, which is a shame, but luckily she pops-up again on page five, and this time much clearer.

MLP FIM Comic #23 Variant Cover

Yesterday (May 8, 2015), I visited a Hot Topic store at a mall and upon noticing a box of comics there, I recalled that there was a Maud cover for an issue of the IDW My Little Pony Friendship is Magic comic series. I wasn't really sure if the issue would still be in stores or if it was even out yet for that matter, but after taking a look, I was happy to actually find a few copies. Apparently, as I've now read, this came out September 2014, so I'm lucky to have found it this late. Anyways, I compared conditions and picked the best, and though the cover price says $5.50, it was on clearance, and I also took advantage of their buy one get one 50% off sale, so I got it for $3.23.

The cover shows a nice piece of artwork by Amy Mebberson, one of my favorite My Little Pony comic artists. Amy does a great job at combining a silly, fun, hard-to-take-your-eyes-off art style and a structured, non-sloppy one, the result of which doesn't stray far from the show's style, but also doesn't just look like a poor attempt at imitating it, either. And unlike other My Little Pony comic artists, I don't feel like she takes too many liberties on her style or approach that would start causing it to not have a My Little Pony feel anymore.

Inside is a story that stars the ponies' pets, and though Boulder is Maud's pet, that's where the logic ends, as neither make an appearance within the issue. The reason for this is because this is a variant cover. Modern comics have a nasty habit of making these alternate covers -- and lots of them -- with some even being exclusives, as this one is to Hot Topic. This act, as far as I know, is just to get people like me will buy them. The whole scheme leaves a bad taste in my mouth and gives me somethings to dislike with IDW's otherwise good work. In fact, later the same day I went to a book store and bought a previously owned copy of a My Little Pony comic that I didn't yet have, but when I got home and compared things, I found out that I did already own it... it was the pet issue sans Maud cover. How annoying. But you know what's even worse? Analyzing the cover prices. The Maud one is, as I said, $5.50, but the other one I got (cover B) is only $3.99. So they release alternate covers that trick or force you into buying duplicates and they even raise the prices... that's just mean, IDW.

I like seeing Maud around, but not in such a slapped together approach. If Maud's gonna be on a comic cover, she should be in the comic, not just there to falsely advertise on an alternate cover for a higher price.