Chapter 6:
Rock Crush
There was a pregnant pause as Marble, Limestone, and Tom stared at Maud in disbelief. Tom was the first one to break the silence.
"Impossible! I had the perfect disguise!" he exclaimed. "There's no way you could've known it was me!"
Maud looked up at Tom and arched an eyebrow. "You're just wearing a pair of sunglasses. That doesn't cover up your scent," she said plainly. "Also, thank you for confirming my suspicions about your identity."
"Wh-what?! I, uh..." Tom sputtered.
Limestone's shock slowly turned into disdain as she narrowed her eyes. "I always thought you were bad news, buster," she snarled. "You were just biding your time and waiting for the right moment to strike, weren't you?"
"M-maybe," said Tom, trying to recover from his slip-up. "Think whatever you want, Limestone Pie! None of it matters! I am here to take what's rightfully mine!"
"So you were after Roxanne!" squeaked Marble, holding her saddlebag close to her chest. "I won't let you hurt her, you fiend!"
"What? No," said Tom, sounding a bit confused. "I mean, it is tempting, but right now, I'm after a much bigger prize."
Marble tilted her head. "You mean Boulder?"
"No."
"The candy necklace Maud made for Nana Pinkie?"
"No."
"Our ice cream sandwiches?"
"No."
"Our cracker sandwiches?"
"Oh, goodness no! Not those things! I don't want any more of those wretched bugs crawling all over me!"
"So you were the rock by the river," mused Maud. "I thought you smelled familiar back there."
"And we already know you put up the stupid sign," said Limestone, giving Tom the evil eye. "Is it safe to presume that you were responsible for the golem and the parasprites, too?"
Tom recoiled. "How could you have possibly guessed that?!"
"You're floating in midair, wearing sunglasses, and speaking directly into our brains," said Limestone frankly. "Maybe I'm just crazy, but that tells me you're no ordinary rock. As such, it's not really that much of a stretch to say that you've been behind all of our troubles during our trip."
Marble gasped. "Even our argument?"
"No, that would be giving him too much credit," said Limestone.
"How dare you!" Tom bellowed. With that, he let loose a psychic shockwave that sent Marble and Limestone flying.
"My *ow* point *oof* still *ow* stands!" Limestone grunted as she skidded along the road.
Maud's eyes went wide for a moment as she watched her sisters being hurt. She turned to Tom and let out a snort. "What's the big idea?" she growled, a subtle intensity seeping into her voice.
Tom snickered. "I wouldn't worry too much about them, my dear Maud. After all, it's not them I want. It's you."
"Me?" asked Maud. "But, why?"
"Your Cutie Mark," said Tom, using his powers to lift Maud's dress and reveal it. "It resembles me. That means it's your destiny to rule the rock farm as my queen!"
Maud blinked. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she said flatly.
"Oh, is it?" said Tom. "Well, maybe this will change your mind!"
Maud suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her head. She tried to lift her forelegs to rub her temples, but her body had gone stiff, refusing to respond. She scrunched her eyes shut, trying desperately to fight Tom's assault on her senses.
"Oh, yes. Now, you are mine," said Tom, his sunglasses glistening. "But what to do with you? I could take over your mind and win your affection. Or perhaps I'll petrify you or place you inside a prism and carry you around. Oh, or I could just keep doing this until you submit to my will. That works, too. Hmm, decisions, decisions..."
"That's no way to treat a queen."
Tom looked up and saw Marble and Limestone advancing towards him and covered in bruises.
"What do you mean?" he inquired.
"Queens are not slaves or trophies," said Marble. "They're royalty, and should be treated as such."
"Shut up!" Tom spat. "She's my queen; I'll do whatever I want with her!"
Limestone's face contorted in disgust. "Okay, dude. I don't want to even think about what you could possibly mean by that," she said, arching her back and pawing the ground. "All I know is that Marble and I aren't gonna let you hurt our sister."
"She's mine!" Tom barked, sending another shockwave that flipped Marble and Limestone onto their backs. "She belongs to me, and you can't have her! She and I will rule the rock farm, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
"See, you're still *oof* getting that wrong," said Marble, slowly getting to her feet. "She's not ruling anything if you're not going to let her, well, rule."
Tom was flabbergasted. "Why are you still on this?! I thought you were trying to save her!"
"Oh, I am," said Marble. "I just find that questioning my fears is my preferred method of standing up to them."
"B-but that makes no sense!" Tom exclaimed.
"Hey, it makes more sense than you do, Mr. Flying Psychic Rock," said Limestone. "Or do you prefer Mr. Pot?"
"Mr. Pot?"
"Yeah. After all, you're calling the kettle black. Ba-zing!"
"Enough!" Tom fumed, grabbing Marble and Limestone with his psychic powers and levitating them in front of him. "Now that Maud is my queen, I am your master! And that means you two will learn your place, even if I have to burn that fact into your brains!"
Upon hearing this, Maud's eyes snapped open. She watched in horror as her sisters squirmed and writhed in Tom's psychic grip. A raging inferno built up in her chest, even though her expression didn't seem to reflect it. She shot Tom a cold glare.
"Don't hurt them," she said sternly.
Tom looked down at Maud and sniggered. "You can't make demands of me, my queen."
"I'm not your queen," said Maud. "I'm also going to hurt you if you don't put them down this instant."
"Idle threats don't scare me in the slightest, Maud Pie," said Tom dismissively. "Your body is completely under my control. There's nothing you can do."
Limestone's eyes went wide. "I-is he doing what I *nngh* think he's doing?" she asked Marble.
"It *mmph* sure seems like it," Marble grunted, still struggling in Tom's grasp.
Limestone drew in a sharp breath through her teeth. "This is *ack* not gonna be pretty," she said.
"Silence!" Tom boomed. "You clearly have no idea of the predicament you're in right now!"
"Yeah, well. Neither do *ergh* you," Limestone retorted. "Seriously, if you keep ticking *oof* Maud off, you'll be sorry."
Tom laughed. "Oh, I highly doubt that," said he.
"I'm giving you one last chance, Tom," said Maud coldly. "I'm the one you want. Let my sisters go."
"That's not entirely true, my queen," said Tom. "I want everything. You; your sisters; the rock farm. Everything in Equestria and beyond should belong to me. If something exists, I want it, and I will not share it with anyone else. This right here is only the beginning."
"Well, that's *mmm* rather selfish of you," said Marble.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" Tom snapped, his aura intensifying. Marble wailed in pain, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Maud's glare intensified, and Limestone sighed.
"Now you're in for it," she said.
"You shut up, too!" Tom barked. "I will not be..."
"You made Marble cry. That makes me mad."
Through a sudden burst of will, Maud fought against Tom's mental powers and shook him off. Tom recoiled, both from the psychic feedback and from shock.
"Wh-what?! Impossible!" he exclaimed. "There's no way you could've broken free!"
"We tried to warn you, pal," said Limestone with a shrug. "Maud's cool as a cucumber most of the time, but when it comes to saving her family, she will move mountains to get the job done."
"Indeed," said Maud, advancing towards Tom. Tom set Marble and Limestone down before starting to back away.
"Um, wait. Y-you really don't want to do this," he said nervously. "Th-that was just a fluke. I'm still far beyond your league."
To prove his point, he sent out another shockwave. Maud was flipped onto her back and winced in pain. But soon enough, she was back on her feet.
"That hurt," she said blankly, shaking herself off before continuing to advance.
Tom made a gulping sound. "N-now look here, Maud. L-let's not be too hasty," he said nervously. "Y-you wouldn't hit a rock with glasses on, would you?"
"You're a rock. You don't need glasses," said Maud.
Before Tom could respond, Maud charged for him at full gallop and leapt into the air. Thinking quickly, Tom caught her in midair and held her tight.
"It seems I'm simply too much for you to handle," he snickered.
Limestone blinked and then blew a kiss. "Goodnight, everypony!"
Tom was distracted by this. "Um, why did you do that?"
"I'd tell you, but that would defeat the purpose of the joke," said Limestone. "Oh, by the way, you've got a parasprite on your back."
"What? Where?!" Tom yelped, his grip on Maud weakening as he tried to sense the parasprite.
"Why would a rock be afraid of a parasprite?" asked Marble. "Couldn't you just squish them?"
"Don't you dare start with me!" Tom hollered. "I've had enough of your tomfoolery, and..."
He then realized that while he was distracted, he accidentally released Maud's forelimbs. Maud raised her hoof.
"Oh, poo."
Her motions a blur, Maud punched Tom several times in rapid succession. In a matter of moments, he was reduced to little more than a bunch of pebbles scattered all over the ground. Without Tom's psychic grip to hold her, Maud dropped like a stone and landed with an unceremonious thud, scattering Tom's remains all around the path.
"Maud!" Limestone called out as she and Marble ran up to her. "Are you okay?"
Maud winced as she struggled to get to her feet. "I-I'll be fine," she said. "What about you two?"
"We're alright, thanks to you," said Marble, holding out her hoof. "Need some help?"
Maud nodded and took Marble's hoof in her own. "Thank you," she said as she picked herself up. She then wrapped her forelegs around her sisters and hugged them tight.
"Ooffa! B-bit tight there, Maud," grunted Limestone.
"Sorry," said Maud, releasing them. "I was just so worried about losing you two."
"We know," said Limestone with a warm smile. "But everything's okay now. For real, this time."
"Mmm-hmm," said Marble. "Come, let's go. I think we've kept Nana Pinkie waiting long enough."
"Agreed," said Limestone. "But, just one more thing."
"What's that?"
Limestone turned to the pile of rubble that was once Tom. "Hey, in case you're still able to hear us, I've got something to say to you about the parasprite."
After a brief pause, a sly grin crossed Limestone's face.
"Made ya look!"
With that, she galloped off ahead, laughing all the while as Marble and Maud followed her. A faint smile formed on Maud's face as she took Boulder out of her pocket.
"It seems they were right," she told her pet. "They made this trip a lot more special than it would've been if it was just the two of us. I'm glad I have such an amazing family."