The Rock Queen

Chapter 1: Open for Business

It all began with an ordinary social visit, one that Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon set out to pay to the newly crowned King Thorax, just to check up on how he’s doing, for running a kingdom can never be easy. Unfortunately, Discord is unable to join them, due to having already made prior arrangements to spend some… ‘Quality Time’… with Fluttershy. Trixie recalled those exact words in Discord’s excuse as she and Starlight wandered through Ponyville. “Quality Time, eh? I wonder if that’s simply a nickname for a little… something else he has planned.” Trixie smirked a little.

“Careful Trixie, if you don’t get your mind out of the gutter on that, an unamused Discord might pop out of nowhere and lecture you.” Starlight joked.

Trixie rolled her eyes in disgust. “Ugh... never mind!” The last thing Trixie wanted was to be lectured by a walking mass of contradictions, so she didn’t bring it up again.

And so, with Discord out of the picture for this visit, Starlight suggests they bring Maud Pie instead. They coax her into it by telling her of the abundance of rare rocks and how the whole Changeling Kingdom is made up of almost nothing but stone mountains and caverns. Maud pointed out that the Dragon Kingdom sounds very similar to that, but it is also quite dangerous, what with the volcanic landscapes and labyrinthian cave systems, that and from what Pinkie told her, the dragon denizens weren’t exactly the friendliest creatures in the world. Trixie replied with an explanation of how much friendlier the changelings are than the dragons, and how none of the mountains are active volcanoes, which sounded more appealing to Maud.

Since she has also yet to acquire a job in Ponyville, the changelings might even be willing to offer her one, for somepony with Maud’s background in geology would be invaluable to such a place as the Changeling Kingdom. This is enough to convince Maud to accompany them. They left at dawn on the very next day.

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“Okay I must admit; this place does look nice. Nothing but rocks as far as I can see. I like it.” Despite the flat sound of her normal monotone emotionless voice, she is actually quite pleased with the scenery.

Starlight nods “I knew you would.” As Starlight leads the way, she looks at the Changelings that pass them by, minding their own business, and were often oblivious to their presence.

Trixie notices how the citizens are both hard at work on building structures, yet also seem happy to do it, despite the fact that most of them don’t seem to be very good at it. “Hmm... well… he’s obviously doing a better job than Chrysalis. Then again...that probably shouldn’t be too hard to do, considering how she ran things.” Trixie shudders at a bad memory.

Maud interjected in her usual monotone style, “I was not there to witness the invasion of Canterlot or the Queen’s downfall, but from what you told me, it sounds like they are better off without her.”

Starlight nods in agreement. “Pretty much.” It does not take them long to see the hive-palace, but it does take them a while to reach it. Although the terms Hive and Palace are used interchangeably to refer to this one particular structure, it essentially serves the purpose of both types of buildings, despite the fact that it is becoming increasingly common for some Changelings to desire living in a home outside of it.

When the trio finally reach the steps of the hive-palace, Starlight sees a Changeling that serves as a guard to the palace, he has a light blue body and orange eyes, he is wearing the distinctive navy-blue exoskeleton armor, and has his right foreleg wrapped around a spear. He greets Starlight and Trixie with a salute. Starlight waves a low hanging hoof to signal ‘at ease’ and asks, “Excuse me...do you know where we can find King Thorax?”

The Guard replied frankly, “He’s in the lower levels of the hive discussing economic strategies with his advisors and a pair of ambassadors Miss Glimmer.”

Starlight finds the news interesting but wonders if she should wait until later to see him given his busy schedule. “Ah. Thank you. Well, we did come to visit him, but maybe we should wait until he’s finished his meeting.”

The Guard rebuked in a friendly tone, “Nonsense Miss Glimmer, you and Miss Lulamoon were instrumental to liberating our kind. You…” he then notices Maud Pie, “… and whatever guests you bring are more than welcome to come inside. If anything, King Thorax could use your advice on these matters.”

Starlight smiles at this information, “Oh, why thank you.” She then looks over to the others, and waves them inside “Come on girls, let’s head down there.”

As Trixie and Maud trot inside after Starlight, Maud briefly glances back at the guard while catching up. Maud thought as she trotted; Hmm... the citizens here also look good. Almost as good as the landscape. To be frank, Maud was more fascinated by their insectoid appearance, rather than their vibrant colors. Although the subterranean cave home full of crystals that Pinkie gave her allowed her to become more accustomed to seeing such vibrant colors, she still somewhat preferred their absence rather than their presence. As the group made their way into the lower levels, they could hear the voices of Changelings discussing economic policies.

Trixie interjected, “Sounds like we’re almost there.”

When they near the main chamber, they can hear the changelings talking to a pair of ambassadors, the sound leaking through the walls. The discussion seems to be revolving around the prospect of imports and exports for the newly recognized Changeling Kingdom. The first voice clearly belongs to a stallion, “This kingdom is nothing but rocks so that might as well be your primary export.”

A second voice chimed in. judging by its accent it could only belong to an elderly male Gryphon, “Much like the Dragons, we Gryphons desire to restore our own kingdom to its former glory. As well as expand its borders around the great tree. Doing so requires the repair of existing structures and the building of new ones, that in turn requires masonry, and because Griffonstone is currently comprised of nothing but the great tree in Grover Peaks, we do not have as much free access to masonry as the Dragons do. Henceforth we are willing to trade with you for it.”

The Pony ambassador interrupted, “Equestria is willing to do the same for similar reasons, if only to keep our cities presentable and not crumbling. The only question is; What will you get in return? You have yet to set up a proper banking system, so that forces you to barter directly for resources, yet your kind does not require food to survive, only Love and Water.” As rude as it was to interrupt he did raise a fair point.

Starlight’s ear twitches at this information; Hmmm... What exactly would the Changelings get in return? She listens closer, curious as to how Thorax is going to respond

Thorax spoke with a tone of authority he had grown somewhat accustomed to. The metamorphosis had considerably deepened his voice, making him sound quite awe-inspiring, the kind of voice that makes anyone pay attention and respect the speaker. “You just answered your own question. There is at least one thing we could get in return. Water. Our kingdom is quite arid, and we cannot literally make it rain whenever we want to like the Pegasi of Equestria. We’ve so far been relying on neglected underground springs that are slowly drying up and won’t last for much longer. My chief engineer tells me that if we don’t rebuild our infrastructure, the springs will dry up in less than 5 years.”

The Gryphon ambassador sounded interested in this fact, “So… clean drinking water will suffice for now? All right, we can work with that. 1 ton of water in exchange for every ton of masonry.”

The big numbers involved with that much rock is enough to pique Maud’s interest. She also finds Thorax’s voice to be fascinating. “Is that Thorax? He sounds… impressive.”

Starlight and Trixie raise their eyebrows in surprise at Maud’s choice of words, having never heard her use that exact wording to describe somepony or somebody before, but since they haven’t known her for as long as The Mane 6 have, they decide to dismiss it for the time being.

Meanwhile, they can hear various murmurs in agreement. Soon enough, the Pony ambassador departs from the room, he is a Pegasus whose appearance could be best described as a fusion between Ace Point and Filthy Rich, following behind him is the Gryphon ambassador who looks a lot like a snowy owl. Both are wearing black business suits with red neckties and carrying briefcases. They only briefly glance at the mare trio seemingly recognizing Trixie and Starlight as VIP’s before they leave the waiting room, taking the same path that the trio took to enter the palace, and presumably leave the palace to fly away. Another guard enters the waiting room. He calls out to the mare trio, “Okay the 3 of you can come in now.”

The trio trots inside, Starlight greets Thorax with a customary hoof shake, Trixie does the same, “Hi there, Thorax. I trust everything’s going well for you?” Starlight asked.

Thorax spoke while returning the hoof shakes, “Ah, Trixie and Starlight. While it is good to see you again things are not going as well as anticipated. Rebuilding a kingdom is no easy task as you no doubt just heard. The only comfort I can take is that my kingdom is not the only one with a restoration problem.”

Starlight’s expression shifted from happy, to slightly worried, “Oh dear... Well, just so you know we’re always available to help you out when you need it.” Her face lit up in realization, suddenly remembering Maud, “Oh, before I forget, we’d like to introduce you to another friend of ours.” She steps aside and presents Maud with a raised hoof, “This is Maud Pie, a new friend I made recently, and Pinkie Pie’s older sister.Maud’s the geologist I mentioned in the letter. There’s nothing about rocks that she doesn’t know.”

Thorax greeted Maud with a nod as she was standing too far away in the room from him for a hoof shake, “Ah, from the Pie Family Quarry huh? I think I remember Pinkie mentioning the place. Nice to have a masonry expert in the kingdom. As Starlight has probably informed you, we are in dire need of one. We do indeed have an abundance of those rare types of rock, but we lack the knowledge of their value or how to properly extract them. All Chrysalis ever cared to teach us was war, these new trade opportunities being presented to us are all very complex and confusing for most of my subjects, we...” He then notices something off with Maud, “uh... is she alright?”

Trixie and Starlight look at Maud Pie, they find that her eyes are now open wider than they have ever seen, at least from her. Now that is strange. “...uh...Maud? Are you okay?” Starlight asks as she waves a hoof in front of Maud’s face.

Maud seemingly snaps back into reality despite not changing her face, only her eyes. letting them relax back into their normal (at least for Maud) position. “Forgive me for staring. I am just taken aback by how much… rock… there is in this place. It’s beautiful to me.”

Thorax meekly smiled at Maud’s comment. “Well...thank you. It’s very rare that a Non-Changeling would refer to our kingdom as beautiful.”

“That’s a Shame...” Maud replied. “Most ponies seem to completely ignore the true beauty that rocks hold; that includes all forms, not simply those glitter-infused diamonds, crystals, and gemstones.”

“Oh, I assume our kingdom has plenty of gemstones hidden deep underground. Although as far as I know we never bothered to look for any. Chrysalis never really paid attention to that kind of stuff…” Thorax places his hoof to his chin. “Hmm… now that I think about it opening a gemstone mine might just pique the interest of the dragons and allow us to open up trade with them.”

Starlight interjected, “It’s not just dragons that are after gemstones, I’ve seen how Rarity obsesses over the jewels she can put into new clothing designs, so that means a gemstone deposit would give way to slightly better terms with Equestria as well. But you would have to find some first.”

Thorax nodded and glanced back at Maud Pie. “Well then it’s a good thing you brought over a geologist. Do tell me Miss Pie…”

Maud interrupted in her usual monotone voice. “Please, call me Maud. I’m not that big on fancy titles.”

Thorax nervously rubbed the back of his neck; it would be a long time before he would be able to fully grasp when it is appropriate to address somebody with a fancy title, and when it was not. “If you insist Miss… oh… sorry, Maud… So, uh… do you think you can help us find such a gemstone deposit?”

Maud nodded, “My area of expertise lies with rocks in general, but finding the igneous rock that conceals gemstones shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Thorax smiled at this. “Glad to hear it.”

“I was getting bored of Ponyville anyway.” Maud replied.

Trixie interjected, “Maud, is there ever a time when you are not bored?”

Maud looks over at Trixie, her usual blank expression unchanged. “For about as long as I’ve been here.” Trixie stared at Maud in confusion, she didn’t look happy or excited.

Maud Pie looks back to Starlight, “Besides, if it means going for at least a while without being exposed to Pinkie’s antics I’m all for it.” Upon mentioning Pinkie and the word antics in the same breath, for that was known to make her appear, Trixie, Starlight, and Thorax all covered their heads with their hooves in panic, anticipating the annoying pink terror to inexplicably pop out of nowhere from underneath a hat, or inside a saddle bag, or anywhere else just as strange. But after a minute or two of cowering Pinkie does not reveal herself.

As all three of them finally get back to their normal posture, Maud just rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, she’s not here.”

Everyone sighed with relief. It wasn’t that they hated or even disliked Pinkie Pie; but her endless enthusiasm and eternal hyperactive attitude could get a bit frightening and exhausting at times. Then again, what else would one expect from a pony who most likely lived solely on a sugary diet?

Starlight and Trixie simultaneously uttered, “Oh thank Celestia.”

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4 hours later…

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Three of Thorax’s Changeling servants were preparing Maud’s living quarters, while she gazed at the structure of the room. Maud was satisfied with the quarters she was given, reasonably sized, a floor made from white granite, while the walls and the ceiling are made of andesite. However, as much as Maud loved rocks, sleeping on one was not good for the spine, and stone tablets were far too inefficient for communication. As a result, the only things in the room not made of rock was the bed, the desk carved from mahogany, the glass windows, and the paperwork inside the desk. When the changeling servants were finished with their work and left the room, Maud opened her saddlebag, and placed boulder inside a neat little nest on the desk, making him look like a paperweight.

After tucking boulder in for the night, Maud opened her saddlebag again and pulled out the contract she signed about 2 hours ago, taking another read. Quickly skimming over the parchment, Maud could see that the contract guaranteed her employment with the Changeling Kingdom for at least 6 months. Any and all metallic ores, rock deposits, or gemstones found would be property of the Changelings unless stated otherwise, and should there be any breach of contract, such as attempting to claim any deposits as her own, or endangering the life of a co-worker, her employment could be terminated at any time.

As Maud read over the finer details, she suddenly heard a knock at the door. She put the contract away inside the top drawer, and asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s us, Maud.” Starlight’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“Oh...come on in,” Maud told her friends, “the door’s unlocked.”

When the door opened, Starlight and Trixie walked in and had a look at Maud’s room.

“Wow...” Trixie observed. “I’m surprised at how nice this room is.”

Starlight cast the same awestruck glances around her. The cloth bed and wooden desk seemed to be very out of place in an all stone palace. “Such high-quality furnishings could only be imported from Equestria, perhaps they were a gift from Celestia?”

“They certainly do liven up the room,” Trixie added. “Thorax definitely wants his guests to be comfortable.”

If this is just the guess room, I wonder what Thorax’s own room is like. Maud thought to herself.

“Well, since we’re all here, perhaps we should have a little slumber party?” Trixie meekly asked.

Starlight and Trixie looked around apprehensively, just in case a certain pink terror popped up, due to the word ‘party’ being uttered. With no sign of her, they felt a lot more relaxed.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Starlight agreed. “After all it did take us 7 hours to walk here from the nearest Equestrian train station, and it’s too dangerous at night for traveling. Maybe when morning comes. we can help you out with some of your duties?”

“Thank you...I’d appreciate that,” Maud replied with a small hint of a smile.

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The next day Maud Pie began her crash course lessons with the would-be workers, she taught the changelings the basic tricks of mining and stone cutting. At first, the Changelings struggled quite a bit, especially when it came to the heavy lifting. However, with Maud working closely alongside them, they were able to gradually adapt to her techniques. Trixie and Starlight leave on the second day of educating the changelings when it became apparent that the Changelings were beginning to get used to the manual labor. As a parting gift for Maud they left behind enough prepackaged food for a month.

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Two weeks had passed since Maud first arrived in the Changeling Kingdom, and took the job as the kingdom’s lead geologist, she is also the director of the mining and stone cutting operations; Thorax is now visiting her quarters, for the first time since she had received them. He knocks on her door.

“It’s unlocked.” Maud answered, in her usual monotone voice.

Thorax opened the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Maud gently shook her head. “Not really. What do you need?”

“Actually, I want to congratulate you,” Thorax replied. “I was worried, at first, over how much trouble my subjects would have learning these techniques. Many of us still have aggression issues, but stone cutting has allowed them to vent those frustrations in a nonviolent manner. I’m very impressed by how well you were able to teach them.”

Maud Pie put down her current piece of paperwork to look up at Thorax. Her face might have been its normal blank expression, but the body language especially regarding the rapid pace she used to look up at Thorax indicated surprise. “Well,” Thorax went on, “while the workers have yet to find any gemstone deposits, our economy is quickly improving; many of the Pony and Gryphon merchants we have dealt with so far seem grateful at obtaining such high-quality masonry for such a low price. Several of my subjects tell me that they are not treated like monsters anymore just because of how they look, and for the first time in a long time... my people have hope again.”

Maud gave a small hint of a smile. “That’s fantastic.”

Suddenly, a sea foam green Changeling Worker with purple eyes rushed into the room. “Lady Maud!” He yelled in an excited, but breathless tone, hinting that he ran and or flew quite a distance. “My king!” He then bowed to King Thorax out of habit. Forgetting that Thorax was still not used to such treatment.

Thorax waved his hoof dismissively. “You clearly need to tell me something urgent. So please do.” The Changeling stood back up and formally introduced himself to Maud, as Kevin, before describing the situation.

“About 2 hours ago, we found a massive crystal and gemstone deposit directly beneath the site where we were going to build Water Tower number 36! But we found a very... strange crystal in the bunch that is… difficult to describe… so I think it would be better if you and Lady Maud were to come see it for yourself my king.”

“Strange crystal?” Maud asked. “What kind of crystal are we talking about?”

“That depends Lady Maud, when was the last time you saw a crystal shaped like a ring?”

Thorax and Maud looked at each other, then back to Kevin and they simultaneously asked him, “Wait… what?!”

Author's Note

I first began writing this story in, I think it was August 2017, I thought that it would be better to lay the groundwork with 2 chapters instead of 1, and you have no idea how many times I rewrote and revised them before posting the story.

If you have any (Spoiler free) questions or notice any embarrassing syntax errors (that are not caused by this website's built in Text-to-speech program), do let me know in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.