//------------------------------// // Maud's Pimpin' Crib // Story: Maud Pie Becomes an Alicorn Princess // by Smoker //------------------------------// It was the day after the attempted assassination, and Cadance, Maud, Luna and Twilight were eating breakfast. Celestia was still locked in her room, raving about kittens and bedsheets. Abruptly, the doors flew open, and Word Twirl stepped in. “Your highnesses.” She said respectfully, bowing. “Rise.” Maud said simply. Word Twirl eagerly bounced back to her hooves. “Maud, darling, I have the most fantastic news! Your approval ratings – they’re higher than ever! Astronomical, even! They’re higher than all of the others combined!” Then she coughed, glancing at the other princesses. “No offense, your majesties.” “None taken.” Cadance said, smiling. “But how could her ratings be so high? I mean, she’s been princess for barely a week now!” “It’s because of the assassination! Or at least, the attempt!” Word Twirl said, bouncing with excitement. “Someone considers Maud a high enough threat to be assassinated! In other words, she's a seriously big deal!" Word Twirl stopped bouncing momentarily, placing a hoof under her chin in thought. "Or at least, that's what the public thinks. It was more likely the changelings were just expecting Celestia to be in the court that day.” “Speaking of which, whatever happened to that changeling?” Twilight asked the other princesses. “It’s in a dungeon cell as we speak.” Luna explained. “We’re trying to get information on who commissioned it to perform the attack, but we haven’t gotten anything out of it.” “In any case,” Word Twirl continued, “Maud’s unbelievably popular! Now, Maud, darling, I’m going to just bounce some ideas off of you. Tell me what you think sounds good, okay?” Maud nodded. “Maud Pie restaurant chain.” Nod. “Maud Pie Halloween costumes.” Nod. “Maud Pie castle playset.” Nod. “Maud Pie kitchen utensils.” Nod. “Maud Pie plates, shaped like your face.” Nod. As Word Twirl continued down her never-ending list of Maud Pie™ products, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that Maud was even more distant and bland than usual. “Maud? Are you okay?” Twilight said to the princess. “You seem a little-“ “Twilight.” Maud stated, cutting off Word Twirl’s rant. “Meet me in my room.” She stated, before abruptly standing up and trotting off. “Um… okay! I’ll just run the other twenty-seven pages by you later, okay?” Word Twirl said, waving. Twilight looked at the other princesses. “I… think I’m going to go check to see if she’s all right.” Twilight said quietly, before exiting her seat and rushing after Maud. “Did we have a point in this scene?” Luna asked Cadance. “Hush! Don’t be meta! They hate it when you do that!” Cadance hissed back. XXXXXXXX Canterlot Castle prided itself in having over fifty extravagantly decorated guest rooms. As such, it was not much of a sacrifice to turn one of these rooms into Maud’s royal chambers. Prepared exactly to her requests, it barely took a day for the room to become exactly how she wanted it. “Maud?” Twilight said quietly, peering around the door into the fancy, gilded – Wait. Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, Maud, I’m so sorry!” Twilight cried, rushing inside. “You must have gotten the wrong room by mistake!” Indeed, this did not at all look like the room of a princess. It was sparsely decorated, with only the most simple of beds, the plainest of drawers, and a teeny-tiny nightstand with a teeny-tiny lamp. The only signs that they were still in Canterlot Castle at all were the enormous windows high above, and the disproportionately large size of the room. “I’ll get you to another room right away, and be sure to vaporize whoever-“ Twilight said, before she was cut off by a single word from Maud. “Home.” “Maud?” Twilight asked. “Home.” Maud said, looking at Twilight. “I miss my home. I made this room look like my old room at the farm…” she let out a slightly heavy exhale which might have been a sigh. “…but it just isn’t the same.” “Oh, Maud.” Twilight said, crawling onto the bed with her fellow alicorn. Maud’s face was emotionless as ever, but it didn’t take Twilight Sparkle’s massive IQ to tell how she was feeling. “I’m so sorry.” “This new life is great.” Maud said, with a slightly heavy exhale which may have been a sigh. “Whatever food I want… whatever clothes I want… whatever I want, period… it’s nice." “Too nice." “I’m a simple pony, Twilight, and I come from a simple way of life.” Maud said, looking to Twilight. “All I ever needed – all I ever wanted – were my rocks and my family. But now… I have so many obligations.” “The worst part is, I can’t even go home now.” Maud dipped her head ever so slightly. “If I were to go home, to try and live life normally… I’d wind up being assassinated by one of those changelings. Even if I wasn’t, life would still never be the same. It just… I’d never be able to escape… these.” Maud fluttered her wings lightly. Twilight gently lifted a wing over her friend and pulled her close. “I know how you feel. I felt that way for a long time, myself. I actually was angry with Celestia for turning me into an alicorn.” She looked at Maud. “But do you know how I got through it?” “How?” Maud asked simply. “By accepting it.” Twilight said, nodding. “I accepted the fact that this was my life now; that these wings couldn’t be given back. Instead of running away from my fears, I embraced them. You can’t run away, so you may as well… use what you have.” Maud paused, and the only sound was Twilight’s voice echoing off the walls of the massive room. “You’re not a very good motivational speaker.” Maud said bluntly, the corners of her mouth twitching ever so slightly. Twilight giggled. “Yeah, I admit I’m pretty darn corny.” “I see your point, though.” Maud said, bland as she ever had been. “Thank you.” “It’s not a problem.” Twilight said, smiling. Then she jumped a bit when Maud abruptly stood up. “Where are you off to?” “Back to breakfast. I didn’t finish. I’m still hungry.” Maud stated as she trotted off. Twilight shook her head as she followed. “Oh, Maud... you so silly." she said, not noticing the momentary lapse in her grammar.