Maud Pie’s Uninteresting Adventure - Rock Candy
Maud Pie’s Uninteresting Adventure
-
Rock Candy
Another morning, another day filled with work on our precious farm, Maud thought as she slowly opened her sleepy eyes, welcoming the new day with her... unique smile. She was quickly greeted with the slightly annoyed glare of Limestone.
“Get up already, Maud! You’ll be late for dinner,” Limestone said impatiently, pointing at the staircase leading directly towards the dining room. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for the past few minutes. You sleep like a rock.”
Maud yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes before stepping from her bed at an almost glacial pace. Limestone was already way ahead of her.
She fixed her pillow and her green eiderdown blanket before looking towards the edge of the bed, her attention on her clothes which served as a pillow for her loyal pet, Boulder. She woke him by poking him lightly with her forehoof before putting on her clothes and placing Boulder comfortably in her pocket.
So the tickling I felt was Limestone’s doing. Seems like an odd thing for her to do, she thought as she walked towards the stairs. She was never a ticklish pony. Her body had been the most durable of her entire family, harder than even the toughest of rocks. If her experience with Pinkie Pie ever taught her anything, it was that even the most intense tickling didn’t affect her in the least. However, Limestone wasn’t gentle when it came to farm work.
Maybe what I experienced were Limestone’s more violent attempts to wake me up. Makes sense.
She stopped in front of the stairs and took a moment to stretch her legs. She looked around her room one last time, making sure everything was in order. The room itself was rather small with only two bunk beds to the left and right.
The sun’s rays were peeking inside from a window that none of her sisters ever bothered to shut. The dark violet curtains now merely served as a decoration.
She didn’t mind the limited space though as her parents allowed her to store her rock collection in the basement, which was all she wished for.
“Get your flank down here already! Your rock soup is getting cold!” Limestone shouted, shaking Maud from her distraction.
She took a quick glance at each bed before going down towards the dining room. She and Marble Pie slept in the lower beds, so they were always kept clean and presentable while Limestone’s was always left a mess.
The last upper bed was empty ever since Pinkie Pie moved to Ponyville, though, she did still use it whenever she came for the holidays.
Maud went downstairs where both of her sisters and her parents were eating their soup. Marble’s soup was nearly depleted as she was quick to wake up, following Limestone’s instructions without speaking a single word. She wasn’t always like that. Marble Pie spoke a few words whenever she was around Pinkie. One of many things which changed ever since her energetic sister left the farm...
Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz ate their soup absentmindedly, already used to Maud’s late arrivals.
Limestone, however, shot her a ‘sit and eat already’ glare, taking a firm bite of her stone while crushing it between her hardened teeth.
Without saying a word, Maud sat at the table and started eating her soup. No one spoke during breakfast, the only sounds emanating from anyone was the slurping of soup, and the sounds of stones and pebbles being crushed. Maud looked at the empty sixth seat, one which used to be Pinkie Pie’s.
She greatly missed Pinkie, but hid it from her family and sister quite well behind her emotionless expression. In all honestly, she didn’t even have to try. All she needed to do was to be herself and nopony would notice a thing. Pinkie was the only one of the family with talent in reading emotions.
After a few seconds of looking at the calcium stone in her spoon, she opened her mouth and took a bite, sinking her sharp and hard teeth into the stone as if it were butter. She gulped and placed the stone back into the plate as she lowered her head, now looking at the green liquid with mild interest. Her family once again failing to notice her lack of appetite.
Not that they didn’t care about her. She knew deep in her heart that they loved her and were ready to risk their lives to protect her, something she would reciprocate in the blink of an eye. Working in the mine isn’t the safest occupation, and more than once each family member had a chance to show their loyalty. Pinkie and Marble being exception as they were too weak and hesitant to work in the mine, doing outside labor instead while still occasionally assisting in the quarry.
But, her family lacked at showing their love and compassion. Limestone cared mostly about work, giving Maud proud smiles at best if she worked hard enough. Marble was too shy and hesitant to show how much she cared, as if she were a sparkling crystal with no space to grow, contained by this farm and the grey monotone life. Her mom and dad were so stuck in their routine to even consider using word ‘love’, no matter how hard their daughters worked or what they did.
Pinkie however…
“Are you done yet? We have lots to do today, and you’re stalling us!” Limestone exclaimed, slamming her forehoof against the table causing the liquid in Maud’s soup to nearly splash on the wooden table. “We need to store large reserves of rectangular stone-blocks and rare minerals so we won’t get behind schedule when you’ll go on your study trip.”
Maud raised her head and took another bite of the rock, doubling her eating speed, which was still slower than her sisters’.
“Actually,” Cloudy Quartz spoke firmly, attracting everypony’s attention, “Maud will be doing a different type of work today.” She took out a rolled letter from her saddlebag and placed on the table next to Maud’s soup. “Pinkamena has invited you to Ponyville to give you her farewell before your trip, and requires a high quantity of rock candy for your rock candy necklaces.”
Marble opened her mouth, then closed it just as quickly, blushing.
“Ugh!” Limestone groaned, crossing her foreleg. “This will put us behind schedule for sure. At this rate we should start charging her for the rock candy, or at least not give her bits for those parties she always throws.”
“Now, now,” scolded her mother with a disappointed stare. “Pinkie is your sister, and as wasteful and meaningless throwing parties for free seems, as a family we should support her. The bits she earns while working at the bakery can barely cover her feeding expenses.”
“Agreed,” Igneous Rock said as he pushed his empty plate to the side and placed his forehoof on Limestone’s shoulder. “Besides, our hard work earns us more bits than we can spend, and we don’t need anything besides food and shelter. Whatever our hearts desire can be made from rocks with our hooves. It’s only fair we support Pinkamena's cause. As silly as it seems, she’s putting as much work and pride into what she’s doing as we do with our farm work.”
Limestone rolled her eyes. “Fine…” She sighed.
Maud Pie smiled deeply inside, though her face failed to show any noticeable change. This was the kind of love her family was capable of. While they disapproved of Pinkie’s way of life and all the free labor she did, they respected it enough to support with their own hard work.
She glanced at her annoyed sister who still wore an irritated look. Ever since Pinkie decided to leave the farm, Limestone took it the hardest, seeing it more like an escape from labor and responsibility as a Pie.
One quick glance at Marble showed uncertainty as the shy mare rubbed her own hoof, hiding half of the face behind her mane. In terms of hiding emotions, she was second to Maud, always afraid to speak aloud about her feelings.
After taking a slow breath, Maud took the scroll between her hooves and unrolled it.
Dear Maud Pie, It’s me, Pinkie Pie, just so you know.
I’m writing in response to your letter about how you’re going to study super duper sciencey rock stuff, and I thought, this deserves a grand farewell since we won’t see each other for a while. I mean, you live on a rock farm and I live in Ponyville, so it won’t be all that different, but what I try to say is that you deserve a big farewell party, and here I got a super awesome idea!
We can exchange rock candy necklaces, but not just with each other, but with all of my bestest friends. Thanks to this you’ll become their bestest friend and they will become yours. Everypony wins.
I do need rock candy though, and I don’t have much left, and by saying “not much”, I mean “nothing at all”. Sorry… they were just too delicious to leave alone. Anyway… I will need lots of rock candy to make the necklaces with different flavours. I think a few tons would do the trick. Thanks in advance, love Pinkie.
Letter written by Pinkamena Diane Pie, just in case you didn’t know.
PS: Can’t wait to see you again, Maudie, it will be so much fun.
PPS: I hope you’ll like my bestest friends as much as I do.
PPPS: Sorry for making this letter so long, I’m just so excited.
PPPPS: Sorry for writing so many PS… alright, I’ll stop writing right now…
Maud Pie closed her eyes as a faint chuckle echoed through her mind. This was the type of love she missed so much. By just reading this letter, she already felt the care and cheerfulness that only Pinkie could display.
“You better not waste your time,” Limestone spoke with an encouraging smile. “Working on the farm or getting rock candy for Pinkamena matters not. Work is work, and I don’t approve of slackers.”
Maud would smile in return, yet she failed to do as so. She nodded and said slowly with a dull voice, “Don’t worry... When it comes to rocks... I always do my best.”
Much to Maud’s surprise, Limestone rounded the table and picked her up.
Now on Limestone’s back, she watched as her sister ran towards the exit, bursting the door open before running towards Holder’s Boulder. She rounded the large stone and stopped in front of the cliff. Looking down, Maud could see the quarry with its entrance into a mine on the bottom. Blue and green crystals emerging from the ground shone brightly at the entrance.
Curious, Maud asked, “Limestone, what are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?“ she asked. “You’re always so slow and taking so much time before doing something. I know you’re the strongest of all of us, but without a little push, you’ll never get anything done.” Without any warning, Limestone shook Maud from her back before grabbing her. “Good luck, and get it done before dinner. Marble and I will do most of your chores in the meanwhile.”
Maud blinked slowly as she was thrown into the quarry, falling down for a few seconds before her legs hit the stone at the bottom, not even benting from the impact as her hooves left large marks on the ground. She slowly turned around and looked up, seeing her sister waving at her from the large distance. She waved back, saying, “Thanks.”
With several minutes of walking down saved thanks to considerable thinking of her sister, Maud turned towards the mine. She took a deep breath and poked her pocket, making sure Boulder was still in place. “How are you doing there, Boulder?” After a few seconds, she added, “I know Limestone is a bit pushy… but she means well…” She paused, waiting a few more seconds before saying, “I know you don’t like working, but I need your help on this. There’s no time to be a lazy rock now.” She poked her pocket again before taking her first step towards the mine. “Pinkie needs rock candy, and a little adventure could do you good…” She looked inside her pocket and added, “No, I’m not calling you fat, but you could use some exercise.”
Maud kept walking deeper and deeper into the mine as the illuminating crystals lit her way. Red, green, yellow, blue and various other colors flashed in the darkness creating a breathtaking spectacle. Occasionally a few bats flew overhead. While for a common pony it would be a maze, Maud effortlessly noticed the differences between each path, recognizing types of minerals, crystals or gems whenever finding a crossroad.
As she continued walking, more memories surfaced of her little sister, one in particular being the party Pinkie Pie threw for their family, a day she would treasure in her heart forever. That was the very day her sister changed forever, as well as the day the void in Pinkie’s heart was filled with joy.
The problem was that before said party, Maud was unsure what was missing from her life, and after receiving it she wanted more. Once Pinkie left, the routine on the farm became… dull… boring… Luckily, meeting Boulder and growing interest in rocks was enough to give meaning to her life.
Maud stopped in front of a wall and looked around, her ears straightened as she scanned the area. After making sure she wasn’t followed by Limestone, she knelt, her attention focused on a small hole with a tiny flashing rune on the wall. With a careful move of her forehoof, she took out Boulder from her pocket and placed him in the hole, the very place she found him all those years ago.
The earth trembled and debris started to fall onto Maud’s head and cloth, which she shook off absentmindedly. One look at the ceiling was enough to tell her that it wasn’t going to crumble from such a weak quake.
In front of her, a long line flashed across the stone as a secret passage opened, revealing an entrance into the secret dungeon. “Thanks, Boulder,” Maud said as she gently picked her trusty pet and returned him to her pocket before stepping forward. The secret passage closed right behind her. Not that she couldn’t have smashed the entrance open with her hooves, but it would’ve put the stability of the area at risk and reveal her secret.
She went forward, stepping down the staircase before leaving the tunnel, stopping in front of a cliff in a spacious area. With the entrance behind her, as well as several large wagons she’d brought in advance. She looked around, refreshing her memories from her last visit.
The surrounding area was in the shape of a dome with one large pillar in the middle. Said pillar was supporting two platforms made of a combination of iron and bits of coal, aside a few other ingredients, creating a very durable alloy as the result.
To each platform in the middle were attached wooden bridges leading to stone platforms with tunnels leading to other areas. Some passages had been enlarged from Maud’s past visits. On the bottom was a large stockpile of magical crystals and gems which were shining brightly, either surrounded with white or black aura. Maud could easy tell these were so much different than the ones she found in the mine, each generating a large amount of magic.
Whoever created this place must have left a long time ago, Maud thought as she walked over the wooden bridge, reaching the pillar as her attention focused on a few magical runes inscribed on it. The dust covering rusty metal and traces of decay on the stone platforms being enough clues to tell her that this place was created and abandoned over a century ago, yet most of the bridges survived without any maintenance.
Before I get the rocks for Pinkie, I may need a little assistance in relocating them. She glanced upon the tunnels, counting on her Maud’s sense to locate her secondary target, a special trait passed down from generation to generation, which had proved useful on many occasions.
While Pinkie could always sense incoming danger, or tell if somepony was arriving at the farm, Maud’s sense often helped her in finding what she was looking for.
She approached the edge of the platform, bending her legs before jumping to the bottom with a light thump and cloud of dust from the impact. With a wave of her hoof, she shook the dust away and next checked if Boulder was safe in her pocket.
The earth trembled under her hooves as she sensed movements nearby. Found him. Not wasting a moment, she hid behind a nearby crystal, waiting until a large shape appeared in her sight. The monster proved to be four meters tall, walking on two humongous legs as each step became louder than the last one. The middle body was the largest part while each hand was like three small boulders merged together. The head was like a little dome with two gems serving the role of eyes.
In front of her Maud could see a creature made of rocks with magic giving it life, a golem. Her eyes widened very slightly as she observed this creature’s every move. The beast lowered itself closer to the gem on the ground and grabbed it between his three fingers made of several pebbles, attaching it quickly towards its arm. The gem flashed brightly as several broken stones and crystals levitated towards the arm, melting into it as it grew in size. He’s perfect.
With a surge of courage, she walked from behind her cover and sat in front of the golem, looking up at him with her dull eyes. “Excuse me.”
***
The golem turned its head and looked down. Despite being lowered to the ground, it still towered over the miniscule pony, covering her in its shadow.
“I’m sorry, but I need to borrow your crystal. I’ll return it once we’re done here, I promise,” she said, not even flinching as the golem stood to its full size and raised its humongous hand.
Without any warning, it smashed its hand against her with full force, crashing one ton of stone directly against Maud’s raised face. The ground under the pony turned into a little crater with cracks scattering in all directions. At least half of her sank into the ground while golem’s hand received a few cracks from the impact. Slowly, it removed its massive damaged hand, revealing an unamused face with a few little bruises as the pony didn’t even blink.
“Should I take that as a ‘no’?” Maud asked, not moving from her current spot. Her foreleg raised protectively over her pocket before taking out her loyal pet, placing him under two crystals. “Wait here, please.”
The golem swung its hand before delivering a decisive strike against Maud’s face, sending her flying into the pillar as her body bounced against the metal, leaving a small dent. The golem approached with strong and loud steps as the pony reasserted herself, once again staring up at him.
“I see you won’t listen to reason, Mr. Golem. You give me no choice but to fight you.”
With another swing it delivered an uppercut, an failed attempt to send the pony flying as Maud anchored herself against its hand with her four hooves.
“Oh, I didn’t know we were starting already. Allow me,” she said before climbing onto its hand and running towards the arm as she raised her foreleg. With one swift strike, she hit the area connecting golem’s arm to the rest of the body, tearing it off as the result. One ton of stone fell onto the ground with a loud thump, however since golems were incapable of feeling pain, this just irritated him more.
“I just want to borrow your crystal for a bit, please.”
The golem swung its other arm at her, a failed attempt as Maud jumped forward, evading the attack as the golem hit its decapitated arm instead, leaving cracks on both hands as the result.
***
“I asked nicely,” Maud said as she jumped up and delivered an uppercut, tearing off the golem’s head. It landed on the ground as the stone-like creature shattered into pieces. She shook the dust from her forehoof and slowly approached what was left of the body and poked it. “Hmn… calcium with small ores of iron… not the most durable material for a body.”
Then, she approached the head and knocked it over, revealing an orange crystal which was emerging from it. She carefully punched the stone around the crystal before grabbing it between her teeth. She looked around in search for Boulder before approaching her friend as she placed the crystal on top of him.
She took a few steps back as the crystal flashed brightly, emitting aura which surrounded the loyal pebble. The stone from the destroyed golem levitated over as it formed a body. Maud looked up at her creation. While Boulder always proved to be good at hide and seek, occasionally sneaking out from her sight to interact with his buddies, he wasn’t the strongest of rocks she have ever encountered. She needed to alter his appearance a bit for the adventure ahead.
“Hey, Booouuulder,” she said, waving her forehoof as the golem looked down at her. The moment he knelt and lowered his hand towards her, she climbed onto it, walking slowly towards his arm before sitting on Boulder’s shoulder. She patted him gently on the large head and pointed up. “Let’s go.”
The golem nodded before walking towards the stone wall as he started climbing. Not long after, they reached the platform and entered the tunnel.
Maud looked around from the higher ground, using her sense to locate a few more golems. She needed a strong buddy to help her relocate all the rock candy, and Boulder wasn’t even stronger than her, yet.
An hour has passed as Boulder was now bigger than an Ursa Minor standing on his rear paws. Luckily, he and Maud already enlarged a few tunnels during their last visits, which made searching for rock candy so much quicker. Maud observed the area form the higher ground, no longer bothering to look for more golems as Boulder proved strong enough for her needs, which he proved by defeating the last golem with a single punch.
His body was now a mix of calcium, iron, igneous and metamorphic rocks, proof that whoever created these golems experimented on many different types of material, from the most common stone to various metals.
“Here it is,” Maud spoke as she pointed at the multicolored wall, surrounded with several magical crystals. Whoever created the artifacts in the first place most likely never assumed they would affect a common stone, let alone make it edible for living creatures. Said stones proved to be quite healthy, restoring unicorn’s magic at fast rate, improving bodies of pegasi for faster flight and hardening bones of earth ponies, a perfect gift for Pinkie Pie and her friends.
Not wasting a moment, she jumped from the golem, landing on the ground. After a few seconds, she smashed her hoof against the surrounding stone, creating one crack after another. After the stone was weakened enough, she jumped towards Boulder’s fist and waved at him. “Rock candy is ready for taking.” The golem looked to the side, his eye-gems staring away from her. “What did I say about being a lazy rock? Don’t worry, I'll help you carry it,” she said, climbing up further as she now sat in the middle of his arm.
The golem massaged his head before straightening his hands, grabbing the rock candy from both sides in spots weakened by Maud and tearing it off of the wall. Maud jumped down and walked under the several tons of stone, supporting the weight with her back as she grit her teeth, her legs bent significantly. Step by step, she walked on her trembling legs, carrying the humongous weight on her back as drops of sweat were dripping from her face.
Much to her relief, Boulder lifted the rock candy upward, releasing his pony owner from the heavy lifting as he walked towards the exit. Each step causing a loud thump and quake while leaving a large crater.
With most of the work done, Maud followed her trusty companion. She glanced upon the rock candy, the very view reminding her of Pinkie Pie. Even after the years, she still remembered how they worked together as fillies… which weren’t the happiest of memories. Unlike her dad, mom and Limestone, Pinkie and Marble always struggled with the farm labor, yet unlike Marble Pie, Pinkie didn’t get better at her work. With each passing month, she seemed more depressed, slowly losing what little motivation she had.
Unlike Limestone who found Pinkie to be weak and lazy, Maud felt pity towards her sister, trying her best to ease her burden by doing extra work. She tried to cheer her up in any ways she knew. But, stone statuettes didn’t bring any joy to her sister as a mere look at the stone proved unbearable for Pinkie. Ironically, what she liked so much was the source of her sister’s sadness.
She tried poetry to lift up her sister’s spirits, a hobby she found to be quite entertaining even today. At first, it worked like a charm, bringing out a chuckle or the occasional smile on Pinkie’s depressed face, which only motivated Maud to try harder. Yet, it worked only for so long as after half a year, even her best work failed to bring out any positive reaction. Seeing her sister like this greatly wounded her heart. Pinkie was different, and nothing she did, no rock, nor words would cheer her up.
The day Pinkie got her cutie mark was the happiest day of their lives. Not only Pinkie was finally smiling cheerfully, but seeing her like that made Maud happy and relieved. Over the years the roles reversed as it was Pinkie who brought the missing joy into the family.
Maud’s thoughts were interrupted the moment she tripped over some crystals. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she smashed it into pieces, unloading her anger. She sighed as she bypassed the pieces, shallowing in self-guilt.
Saying that Maud wasn’t the funniest of ponies would be an understatement as outsides often thought of her as a dull pony, not that they would admit it aloud. While in terms of strength and durability she was unmatched, capable of protecting her family from avalanches, dangerous creatures or bullies, when it came to cheering up her crying sister, she failed.
What bothered Maud the most was that her energetic sister always knew how to make her happy, even to a point of making her display a small smile, yet when Pinkie needed her the most, she failed. The day Pinkie left the farm was a sad day to say the least, yet part of Maud was relieved, glad that her sister found another place where she could be happy.
Maud’s thoughts were interrupted when she accidently ran into Boulder’s large leg. She massaged her forehead and looked up. “Why did you stop, Boulder?” She rounded the leg and looked ahead, now seeing a large worm-like creature advancing towards an average golem. Some sort of acid was dripping from its mouth, leaving a trail of melted stone. While the monster wasn’t as big as Boulder, its size was still intimidating, big enough to swallow an average house.
The four meter tall golem grabbed a nearby rounded boulder and threw at the worm, who grabbed the projectile with its large mouth, melting it with its acid. The golem followed up by charging fearlessly at the creature, its punches bouncing off as if hitting a trampoline.
With swift rush, the worm grabbed the golem with its mouth, melting the granite with its acids in a matter of seconds before swallowing the orange crystal and a few magical gems. After releasing a loud burp, it turned towards the Boulder, acid dripping from its hungry mouth.
Maud looked between the beast and her pet in worry. Forehoof raised up to her face. “This isn’t good.”
A loud thump echoed through the cave as rock candy was released from Boulder’s hold. His humongous fists raised and ready for strike. The worm didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest as it slithered forward.
As if Holder’s Boulder itself was falling from the sky, the humongous fist smashed against the worm-like creature, squeezing it under massive weight while causing an earthquake. Several stones and debris fell from the ceiling as the result. Much to Maud’s horror, the worm just slid from under the fist and spilled acids at Boulder’s hand, melting his fingers and half of his fist.
With firm steps, Maud walked ahead of Boulder and stood protectively in front of his legs, covered in his shadow. “Stand back,” she said, her eyes narrowed.
The worm shot more acid from its mouth, damaging surface of the large golem as it kept approaching. Its elastic build proving invulnerable to blunt attacks as it shrugged of another of Boulder’s punches. A loud thump echoed as Boulder took a step back, trying to create more distance from the approaching demise, which only encouraged the worm to charge at him with increased speed.
Maud ran to the side before jumping at the beast and body slamming it. She bounced off its elastic body, but not before pushing her foe to the side, spreading dust across the ground and shattering a few crystals in its way.
Her legs slammed against the tall pillar as she pushed herself forward, now running back to her companion’s aid. I can’t fight it like this… I need something sharp.
She looked around in search for something to use. The crystals would be too easy to shatter, while gems were too small and sharp stones were nowhere to be found.
She looked ahead, now staring at Boulder who tried to kept the worm at bay with his hands while the beast struggled to free itself and feast upon him. She narrowed her eyes further and stomped, her expression shifted into a hostile one. If Pinkie was the one who managed to bring out her smile, this beast succeeded in making her express anger. "Leave. Boulder. Alone!"
With a quick rush of adrenaline she galloped, then jumped at the wriggling beast. The moment she was close enough she hit it with the edge of her hoof, only to hit it again… and again… delivering several blows each second as if drilling through the stone. Tips of her hooves proved sharp enough to dig into worm’s elastic skin as she dug herself deeper into its body.
***
The giant worm slid from Boulder’s hold and started retreating, wriggling as it tried to shake whatever was piercing its way into its flesh. Suddenly, the intruder managed to make it into its stomach. With a hacking cough, he spilled the pony out alongside its acids before retreating towards a nearby tunnel.
***
Maud shook her head and slowly opened her eyes, feeling as if something was burning her. She examined her body before shaking herself, separating the green liquid from her fur since her clothes were no longer present, unless one would count the leftover material melting in the puddle of acid on the ground, the very puddle she now stood in.
Upon seeing that she was now in the shadow of her friend, she looked up, staring at worried Boulder who was lowered to her height. “I’m fine, don’t worry,” she said before approaching his lowered face and nuzzling it, only to notice as leftovers of acid on her face slightly melted Boulder’s cheek. “Sorry.”
As Maud and her loyal companion stared at each other for several seconds, she spoke, “No, I don’t need a break. Limestone will get impatient if we stay here for too long.” Boulder nodded before grabbing the rock candy, his height tall enough for him to place it on the second platform without unnecessary climbing. Maud bent her legs and jumped onto the ankle of her pet, then climbed up his back and head before landing next to the rock candy. “Thanks for all the help, Boulder. I’ll take it from here.”
The golem nodded before tearing his head off the rest of his body, presenting it to Maud as a small pebble emerged from it, right next to several orange crystals.
With a gentle move of her hooves, she pulled Boulder away form the crystals and grabbed him with her tail, closing her eyes as her ears drooped the moment humongous body shattered into pieces as most of the bottom was now covered in dust.
Maud looked away from the mess to glance between the large wagons and several tons of rock candy. “Now with the easiest part out of the way, time to get to work.” She approached the large stone and hit it a few times, pulling a smaller piece before lifting it into the wagon. She did the same with the rest as she ended up with six wagons filled with rock candy, each now weighing at least three tons. Pulling each wagon from the mine towards the train station surely would take some time.
“No, Boulder, I wasn’t scared of that worm. I was afraid he would hurt you,” she said as she attached the harness to herself and started pulling the first wagon, climbing the ramp next to the staircase. “Don’t worry about it. You know I would never let any creature to hurt you... Yes... I love you too.”
The Pie family glared at the entrance, summoned by the loud noises and quakes coming from the mine. Usually, only Limestone waited for Maud, knowing from experience that her sister would come outside while pulling a large wagon any minute. She wasn’t disappointed as her sister emerged. What surprised her though was that the cloth Maud always wore was no longer present while Boulder was lying among the rock candy.
“What happened?” the father asked, running towards his daugher alongside rest of the family. “Who did this to you!?” he asked before embracing his daughter with one hoof, pressing her head against his cheek.
Limestone examined Maud’s body, noticing several bruises and burned marks. “I swear, I will beat whoever hurt you into a puddle!”
Marble’s ears drooped as she asked quietly, “Do you… need bandages?”
Maud shook her head and responded, “I’m fine, and no creature hurt me…”
“Than what happened?” asked worried mother, picking up a tissue from her cloth to clean Maud’s face.
“Avalanche,” Maud lied, though her face didn’t shift in the least.
“And the cloth?” the father asked.
“Lava,” Maud said, only to be grabbed up by Limestone, who held her around the shoulders.
“Lava? Seriously. That’s the worst lie you could come up with. You know there’s no volcanic activity on our farm, and our mine isn’t nearly deep enough.” She poked her sister while giving her a smile. “Come now and tell your sis the truth.”
Maud lowered her head and said, “It was an acid from a rock-eating worm who tried to eat Boulder when he was a golem.”
Limestone frowned and released Maud as the rest of the family rolled their eyes.
“If you don’t wish to tell us the truth, we’ll respect that,” the mother said as she attached the harness to herself. Her husband and other sisters assisted as they pushed the wagon from behind.
“The faster we get it over with, the faster we can get back to actual work… also… take a bath, Maud,” Limestone suggested as she peeked from behind the wagon and raised forehoof up to her nose. “You smell worse than usual.”
“Will do,” Maud said absentmindedly, though deep inside feeling happy for the care and worry her family displayed towards her.
“Ummm… Maud,” Marble spoke up.
“Yes,” she asked.
“Can I…” Marble paused and blushed before hiding her face behind her mane. “I… I was wondering if… if I c-could… co… nevermind.”
Maud shrugged, wishing she could have Pinkie’s abilities to read emotions as she wondered what Marble Pie wanted to ask. With the wagons now waiting before the closed secret entrance, all there was left to do was to take a bath in the river and then help with transportation.
While today’s adventure proved to be somewhat fun, she knew it was filly's play when compared to the excitement her sister had prepared for her in Ponyville.
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoyed my one-shot story and the origin behind rock candy and Boulder, as well as Maud's feelings towards Pinkie. Please don't forget to like/fave/comment this story if you feel it deserves it, or leave a comment why you didn't like this story so I can make improvements.
As for now, I'm not sure if this story will be canon with Twinyverse since tiny Twilight is still in season 1 territory, so for now Maud's story stands on its own. It can change though.
If you would like to read more of my work and enjoy cute stories, tiny Twilight can satisfy your need for both ‘dawww’ and challenges in Celestia's Tiny Student.
If you’re looking for something darker yet still emotional, Pureblood Thestral Fluttershy can show you that being kind isn’t easy when you’re a blood drinking creature in Trial of Blood and Kindness.
Have fun.
