Maud looked at the alicorn in front of her. It was a strange one with holes in her legs and wings. The alicorn had a mane made of silk and a crazy double bend horn. Her dark body was black as the deepest of cave-shadows. And she had sharp teeth.
Maud looked at her with big eyes. Such a shattered pony, an alicorn no less. This must be the one Pinkamena has told her about. The one she and her friends had fought at the castle. She tried not to stare at her. It would be rude to stare at her wounds, but she had to ask: "Your majesty, these wounds... did Princess Celestia caused such harm?"
The alicorn was baffled as the grey earthpony adressed her in such a manner. Did Maud guessed wrong and this was not the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon?
"Yes, Celestia blasted these holes into me when I tried to take over Equestria...", said the black as night alicorn hesitantly.
It must have been terrifying for her to fight with her sister to such an extend, figured Maud. No matter how bad Maud argued with her sisters it would never get this awful. The reformed princess Luna was permanently disfigured.
Even a broken leg could heal, but this? A thousand years have not been enough to heal what Princess Celestia had done to her own sister! Her own blood. Her companion!
The pie family serves the princess since ancient times, but this total lack of family values was to much for Maud. No Princess Celestia was not a kind ruler to Equestria if this is what she did to Nightmare Moon.
Unforgivable.
Inexcusable.
Unpardonable.
"Do you still fear, her wrath?" asked the grey earthpony. Queen Chrysalis looked at her with confusion. She had been to careless when roaming this desolated wasteland were she was hiding from the alicorn princess and was caught without disguise, but this mare was neither scared nor did she try to attack her. Normaly she would have put that on ponies nowadays do not remember the changelings, but this mare she has called her "Your majesty"
"Yes... I still dread her might." What was she saying? Admitting fear to the enemy? In front of your prey? That hag Celestia is going to have the time of her life if this spy of hers brings her this news. She better kills this pony on the spot.
"If it is her magic you fear", said Maud ,"with the right stone and some of your own magic you would be save from her."
This was a very strange pony indeed. Did she just offered her somekind of allegiance? To protect her from Princess Celestia herself? "Why should I trust you? You are one of Celestia´s henchponies right!"
"It must be hard for you to trust somepony, Princess Luna." suddenly everything became clear for Queen Chrysalis. This pony was mistaking her for a different pony, Celestia´s sister nonetheless. "We can craft an hideout were your sister won´t be able to hurt you any further."
The changeling queen laughed on the inside. This is going to be weird. Pretending to be somepony else within her own body. "What do you have in mind?"
"There is a mineral that, if it was inoculate with ones magic, nullifies magical wavelength of other ponies. Earthponies used them to protect themself against unicorn and pegasi in the pre-celestial times."
Queen Chrysalis eyes widen. Earthponies had something like that? Guess she was lucky to not run into a earthpony settlement with that kind of protection back in ancient times. No flight, no magic, no disguise. No food!
But with such a stone on THEIR side nopony could stop them.
"Could one craft an armor out of this rock?"
"It is too brittle for such an delicate construction", Maud replied.
The changeling queen was furious as she cried out: "Then what good is it to me!"
Maud looked at the alicorn with pity. She was scared for her life. Frighten that her big sister was going to hurt her again. Enough to want to wear armor at all time, just to be safe. One thousand years on the moon, hurt and disfigured. At her return blasted again with the Elements of Harmony. Fruit of the crystal tree of Harmony. Weaponized fossils of a leyline.
Sure she was scared, Maud would be the same if one of her sisters would wield a magical weapon against her that can turn demons into soild stone.
"Depending on the stone´s size and composition as well as magical power, we are talking about miles of an effect radius." explained Maud.
"Mi... miles?" Queen Chrysalis was astonished to say at least. Miles of land where she could reign supreme. A hive that did not need to be small enough to hide. Hundrets, if not thousands of changelings. Not just the seventy she has right now. Revenge on Celestia with a sizeable army. What a glorious opportunity was presenting her with this tiny grey mare.
"Right, miles. You see the problem that it would cause to ponykind, right." said Maud looking at the amazed alicorn lookalike. "We have to build your safty room far away so ponies would not be affected."
Maud was puzzled from the shapeshifting rocks when she entered the cave (hive) that the alicorn had chosen as her hideout. She had never seen such amazing rockformations in all her live and she was a rockfarmer from birth as well as a student of petrology and geology. It was a beautiful sight beyond anything she could imagine. She wished she could stay to study them. Some royalguards were carrying the new throne of Nightmare Moon to a big room inside.
"How big will the district going to be?" ask Queen Chrysalis.
"Depends on how much magic you are going to use. The stone is a excellent specimen you should modestly estimated reach a twelve mile radius." answered Maud, calculating the result with the power of a strong unicorn.
After Maud left the hive ask one of the changelings disguised as royal guard: "Should we not capture her, my Queen?"
"No. You never know if you could still use such a pony." with that said she casted the spell on her throne.
